Logan Paul Should Be A Pro Wrestler

AEW Full Gear was not the only combat show vying for pay-per-view buys on a busy Saturday sports day.

Fans of boxing, YouTube and reality television were treated to KSI vs. Logan Paul II, a boxing rematch to settle a social media beef between two of the biggest YouTubers in the world, one I had not become aware of until recently. The selling point? As opposed to the first fight held in London nearly a year ago, this fight would be a professionally sanctioned fight with no headgear and 10-ounce gloves, while serving as the headliner for a Matchroom Boxing show in front of a sold out Staples Center crowd. Between that and the trash talk, the fight practically sold itself.

Logan Paul – Pro Wrestler

When people hear the name “Logan Paul,” chances are their initial reaction is not a positive one. Those who make their fortunes as “Social Media Influencers,” probably aren’t going to be viewed in an overly positive light to begin with, but if you know anything about Paul, you’d know he has a special kind of heat to this very day for a special trip he took to Japan that I’m not going to detail in this piece.

Between listening to Paul’s appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von and watching some interviews detailing the heat between himself and KSI (apparently an acronym for Knowledge, Strength and Integrity), I couldn’t help but be roped in. Even though his YouTube channel appeals to the lowest common denominator, I saw something in Logan Paul, even finding him compelling at times. And the more I watched, the more I began to realize something: Logan Paul is a worker and is tailor made for the professional wrestling business.

A Natural Heel

First and foremost, I don’t recall seeing anyone with such a punchable face. MJF is probably up there, and a lot of that probably has more to do with his ability to manufacture heat than his bone structure, anyhow. But Logan Paul is in a league of his own as far as having the “look” of a heel. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing, but rather an observation and something that simply cannot be taught.

Paul has the personality to match. If you listen to him talk long enough, you may come away thinking he’s actually a fairly witty, together guy. When it comes to entertainment, he seems to just “get it.” When the broadcast would cut to the locker rooms before Paul and KSI walked out on Saturday, Paul always knew where the camera was. The same can be said for his walkout. Love him or hate him, he’s a showman and he has some serious mic skills. Look no further than him spouting multiplication tables at KSI during their faceoff, or when he crashed a KSI pre-fight interview to peer over a media curtain as if he were Dracula about to drop down from the sky. Does he come off as a numbskull sometimes? Yes. Does he take things too far sometimes? Yes, but that is a welcome attribute for professional wrestlers. Look no further than Sami Callihan in 2019 or the unfairly criticized Moxley-Omega match from Full Gear (which coincidentally finished minutes before Paul made the walk on Saturday night).

Athleticism

The Ohio-born YouTuber also has some physical ability. Paul played on the high school football team as an all-star linebacker and qualified for the Ohio State Championships as an amateur wrestler in the 182-pound division. Many would probably be surprised to hear that, but athletically, Logan Paul is no joke. Combine that with the improved boxing technique he showed on Saturday night and all of a sudden you have someone that checks every box for what goes into being a compelling pro wrestler. For the record, he stands at 6-foot-2 and weighed in at 199 pounds on Saturday night. No clue if he had to cut weight to make the cruiserweight limit.

Paul’s next move is uncertain. He dropped a highly controversial split decision to the British YouTuber on Saturday night despite out-striking his opponent in a fight where the referee made an unconscionable decision to dock Paul two points in the fourth round for “hitting a downed opponent,” when in reality, KSI was on his way to the canvas when he took the follow-up shot. And KSI knows it. He wanted nothing to do with a Logan Paul trilogy fight during his post-fight interview, was very quick to squash the beef and was always a bit of a strange quantity in this whole mess. Although KSI outnumbers Paul in YouTube subs, the average person in the United States probably doesn’t know him, and although he was set up nicely against a heel for the ages, he did not come across as likeable. Rather, he came across as diminutive, unskilled and overall just looked like a doofus at times, almost like he had Tito Ortiz syndrome.

While KSI ultimately came out on top of the judges’ scorecards, it was Paul who ultimately came out of the ordeal the winner. He and his brother Jake Paul have expressed a want to put their careers as “social media influencers” behind them and give their all to becoming professional fighters. There may be some juice to Logan Paul fighting in the UFC at some point down the line, but there is also a big opportunity for him to get into professional wrestling yesterday and start thriving immediately.

This begs two questions: Would Logan Paul entertain such an opportunity? And where would the opportunities lie? Discuss!