I have noticed some rather large (seven feet tall or close to it!) wrestlers in the WWE lately – burly, powerfully built men like Kane, Mark Henry, the Big Show, and others whose names escape me at the moment. I was wondering if a master martial artist like Bruce Lee could defeat one of the gargantuan wrestlers. Would he have a chance against someone that big?
A Good martial art, and therefore a good martial artist knows how to disable their opponent quickly and efficiently. Assuming Bruce doesn’t try to do any fly in the air, roll around on the ground, maneuvers like he does in some movies and the wrestler sticks to what works and not what he has to do in the ring to entertain then I’d say that the wrestler has an advantage do to his greater size/reach and probably his superior strength.
It’ll be up to Bruce to use skill to overcome those disdavantages and survive. I’d say he’s upto the task and unless the wrestler in question has considerable experience in using his skills in an actual fight and not just for show he’ll probably get very, very hurt.
You mean in the pro wrestling ring? The answer probably depends on how the writers want to script it.
If you mean it in an all out brawl, Lee would probably lose though I’m not sure that any of the guys you mention have any actual fighting experience.
Anyone who knows anything about real fighting knows that invariably it’s decided on the ground. It’s very difficult for a human to remain standing/balancing on these two tiny little sticks of legs. All it requires is someone tough enough to withstand a few hard punches in the process of dragging someone to the ground. It’s then decided with either submission holds or pummeling. It’s unlikely that Lee would have the strength to overcome a grappler.
From wiki:
While appearing on the Howard Stern Show, Wight told the story of how he had been cleared of all charges after a professional wrestling fan initiated a lawsuit against him for assault. Wight had been in a hotel lobby when the fan approached him and began verbally abusing him before shoving him. Wight defended himself by punching the fan, shattering his jaw.
I remember reading the dude that he hit was not a tiny man…somewhere around 6’6’’ and 270 of course Paul is like 7 foot. I really don’t think Bruce could beat these guys.
I don’t have an answer, but pro-wrestling insiders have always said that no one would have been a match for Lou Thesz, *Harley Race, Jack Brisco, or Danny Hodge in a legitimate shoot. (There are two or three other names that show up in that rarefied atmosphere, but I forget them.) Basically, if any of those guys got a hold of your hand or arm in a shoot, you would be toast.
One other point: Don “The Dragon” Wilson once said that in a real street fight, Lee’s favorite weapon was the finger to the eye, which is illegal in most situations.
*Meant to add that Harley Race once bodyslammed Andre the Giant.
I’m not sure about the last sentence there. A whole bunch of people opine that Bruce was phenomenally strong for his size (push-ups with about twice his own bodyweight on his back, for a start).
There was something on the Dope about some mega-huge sumo wrestler getting his ass handed to him by… lemme see…
Here we go. Royce Gracie. Got to the floor and arm-barred him to death. So I’d give Brucie a chance of pulling something similar.
Since we probably can’t find a factual answer, let’s move this to IMHO.
samclem
In the Ultimate Fighting Championship #3, kenpo karate expert Keith Hackney (roughly 6’, 200 lbs) defeated 600 lb Sumo Wrestler Emanual Yarborough. Keith brought him down by an open handed strike to the temple, then proceded to break his hand hitting Emanual’s head while Emanual was on all fours. Keith switched to elbow strikes until Emanual tapped out (surrendered, gave up). I think the entire fight lasted about 2 minutes.
It’s easy to idolize Bruce Lee, but equally important to separate fact from legend.
Lee is said to have fought as a teenager in the streets of Hong Kong, but there’s zero evidence to support the legend of him as an invincible street fighter. While in his 20s, Lee fought an opponent in his studio. Witnesses disagree on what transpired, but Lee himself later voiced disappointment in his performance and soon reinvented his fighting style.
Lee later made four or five films–most cheesy, one a timeless classic–taught a bunch of Hollywood celebrities (and a few athletes), stood 5’ 4", weighed 135 lbs, and was exceptionally strong relative to his size. Lee’s fellow martial artists declined his invitations to spar full contact with him but, remember, even the great Chuck Norris won his world titles in non-contact “fights.”
Lee go face to face against a battle-hardened cage fighter who stands 6’ 6" and weighs 270 lbs. wouldn’t be pretty. Forget the flashy choreography, balletic moves, and one-inch punches. Even if the fight had no rules, it’s doubtful Lee would survive more than 20 or 30 seconds.
A good big guy always beats a good little guy, with few exceptions. The above cites of a couple good little guys beating fatty non-athlete sumo wrestlers doesn’t even count as an exception. Lee would have his arse handed to him if he went up against a good big man, unless of course he could outrun him. Or he was magic, like a lot of people seem to think. 
The other way Lee would have a chance is if the “rules” for the fight were skewed. If the wrestler were restricted to what he usually uses in a fight (i.e., legal wrestling moves), and Lee was restricted to what he usually used in a fight (pretty much everything, including “dirty” tricks like eye gouges), then that would probably be enough to give Lee a pretty strong advantage against any wrestler.
Of course, I won’t try to pretend that such a fight would be “fair”.
And of course, you’re usual cage fighter would be just as crippled by Lee’s very very fast strikes as the next person.
Size is good, but even if you discount many of the stories, Lee was an experienced fighter, and not in the controlled environment of the Octagon. I think it would be a toss up.
Normally, I would just roll my eyes, but on this one, I gotta call you out.
Sumo is a sport, and is a martial art, same as boxing, Judo, or BJJ. Just because it’s not fancy, and the guys don’t look like what we think of as atheletes, doesn’t make it any less true.
A Sumo is expected to take a lot of punishment, and be able to move quickly, with explosive power and agility.
I remember reading a quote that said something like, “No matter how big or tough someone is a thumb to the eye will stop 'em every time.” [hijack] If anyone knows the actual quote and who said it I would appreciate it if you’d let me know. [/hijack]
It really depends on if there are rules and stipulations in this match or if it is an actual fight. A good kick downwards on the knee cap disables even the strongest of opponents, a well placed strike to the throat will end most fights, a palm-heel strike to the temple, a shot to the groin, the possibilites are endless. I would say Bruce would’ve been damn good at placing a well-aimed strike, and fast enough to avoid his opponent until the opportunity arose. In fights anything can happen, all it takes is one lucky swing at the right time and it’s all over. There are so many variables to take into account really anything could happen, but I wouldn’t be as quick as some to count Lee out. I have seen smaller guys who have never been in a fight knock out huge guys who knew how to fight. They just got that one lucky punch that caught the big guy off-guard.
With that said if all other things were equal, and I knew nothing of the fighters other than that, I would bet on the larger/stronger man.
Sorry for the double post but you are 100% correct Tristan. If you’ve ever seen a sumo competition live or even on television, you’d know those guys are fast. We’re talking exceedingly fast too, not just “fast for their size”. They also take serious blows to their face and have enormous tolerance for pain.
Royce Gracie vs. Paul “The Big Show” Wight would be a much more interesting fight, because Gracie has fought a lot of big guys. No one quite as big as Wight though (who is a legit 7’ and 350-400 lbs.)
Olympic wrestling gold medalist Kurt Angle is rumored to have ‘schooled’ Paul ‘Big Show’ Wight during warm-ups. Angle, at 71" and ~100 kg is significantly smaller than Wight. The story goes that Wight was being cocky, thinking his size and strength advantage would be enough to overcome Angle’s vastly superior skills. The two are said to have put this to the test (prior to whatever arena they were at opening - no cameras, no audience), with Angle triumphing fairly easily, and Wight gaining a new-found respect for the small man.
In this case, a great small man (in skills) beat a fair-to-good big man.
(Source is PWInsider.com, but I don’t have access to search their archives to find the story)
Oh, I agree it is a sport, and a martial art, but that doesn’t change the fact that a lot of its best players are huge fatties and not at all athletic like any of the top practioners of the other martial arts you mentioned.
Sure, for about 10 seconds, then they collapse in a heap of blubber. Most top fights last longer than 10 seconds my friend. That is why they stink at all other martial arts.
Since this is the internet and all, I do have to point out that Lee was simply incapable of being defeated. Bruce Lee in his lifetime beat up thousands of men, women and children, most of them at the same time, receiving only a small cut on his upper lip for his troubles, which did not bleed. A 40 story building, a shipload of iron ore, and a Boeing B-29 Superfortress once challenged Bruce Lee to a four-way death match; none was ever heard from again. Bruce Lee is widely regarded by most paleontologists to have traveled back in time and beat up the dinosaurs, causing their extinction. Bruce Lee soundly defeated the color brown. Pangea is believed to have separated after it lost a bet against Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee is the unrecognized and uncredited winner of the last nine Super Bowls. Bruce Lee once got in a fight with the air and beat the shit out of it; this is the reason that people now get asthma. in 1959, Bruce Lee traveled to the bottom of the Marianas trench to challenge it to a fight, but the trench backed out. Bruce Lee voluntarily left the Garden of Eden three days before Adam and Eve after leg wrestling the unicorns into submission. Mars was a moon of the Earth before being kicked out of orbit by Bruce Lee. Cheese in Bruce Lee’s refrigerator never went bad because he would fist fight the mold nightly before bed. When he rose again the next morning, his pants would fly onto his legs rather than fight him.
Whew! Okay, glad I got that out of my system.
Seriously, people confuse Bruce Lee the movie star with Bruce Lee the martial artist and assume since one is a fantasy, that both are. Not exactly true. Bruce Lee was a small guy who trained like a madman and approached the martial arts like a sport and a science, and was a pretty phenomenal martial artist off screen. I know some Jeet Kune Do instructors, and they’re pretty damn fierce. One is a 60+ guy who’s been studying JKD since before I was born 35+ years ago, and another is a smallish prison guard who has to physically confront inmates much larger than himself pretty regularly. I’m larger than both of them, but I feel moderatly certain either one could demolish me in a fight with no rules. They hit very, very hard and very, very quickly with the straight lead, and they are very, very accurate with the finger gouges to the eye.
Weight is important; don’t get me wrong, it’s huge. That’s the whole reason we have weight classes in the first place. As important as weight is, though, technique is even more important. You have to be able to transfer that weight effectively into your strikes. Put your average bruiser into the ring with a 125 pound featherweight boxer from Tiajuana or a 122 pound super bantamweight muay Thai fighter from Bangkok, and he’s going to get slaughtered. I’m not saying that’s what would happen with the wrestlers against Bruce Lee; they’re obviously highly trained athletes who probably do know how to fight. I’m just saying it might not be as one sided as you might think.
You guys still don’t get it, a good big man will always beat a good small man. If a good small man takes on a big slob, yeah, most likely he’ll win, but if a good small man takes on a good big man, being small has no advantages. Give it up with your rationalizing. Guy above pointed out that’s why in the real world we have weight classifications.