Daniel Garcia is finding out how much of a difference there is between pro wrestling and sports entertainment.
Garcia spoke with Chris Mueller for Bleacher Report and talked about his run as a “sports entertainer” versus learning to be a solid professional wrestler. Garcia said he finds it more challenging to be a sports entertainer and noted how things can go wrong if one element isn’t executed to perfection.
“I do think that pro wrestling and sports entertainment are different things,” Garcia said. “I know you’ve heard people even say it on podcasts. You’ve heard Triple H say it on Logan Paul’s podcast that there’s a difference between a sports entertainer and a pro wrestler. And I think I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any difference.
“I think that sports entertainment is maybe more challenging than pro wrestling, to me anyway. I never grew up saying I want to be a sports entertainer. When I grew up, I wanted to be a pro wrestler. And then when I went to wrestling school and started to learn different styles of professional wrestling, I really realized what the difference was. Sports entertainment, people think it’s more consumable to a wide audience. And it’s not. Pro wrestling can garner just as much emotion and as much storytelling as sports entertainment can, if not more. I think sports entertainment can possibly be limiting.
“Pro Wrestling itself is very different than sports entertainment. I think sports entertainment, if not done perfectly, holds pro wrestling back severely; I think sports entertainment, when it’s great, is amazing. But when it’s bad, it’s bad. It holds pro-wrestling back a lot. It can if it’s not done correctly.”
Daniel Garcia will challenge Wheeler Yuta for the Ring Of Honor Pure Championship next week on AEW Dynamite; the match will take place in his hometown of Buffalo.
Garcia also spoke about his status with the JAS and learning from Chris Jericho. Read more about the biggest lesson he’s learned from Jericho here.
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