By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

NBA star LeBron James's "decision" that played out Thursday night on ESPN has drawn plenty of pro wrestling comparisons from mainstream sports media covering the big NBA event of the summer.

ESPN had a hand in the "pro wrestling style" build-up to LeBron's decision to sign with the Miami Heat and spurn the Cleveland Cavaliers. The one-hour special Thursday night on ESPN seemed to turn James heel overnight in every NBA city except Miami.

ESPN columnist Bill Simmons, a noted wrestling fan, compared it to Hulk Hogan turning heel at the WCW Bash at the Beach 1996 PPV. Read Simmons's column to view the infamous Hogan heel turn promo for a refresher and see how similar it is to James's "decision."

Caldwell's Analysis: It's a fun game to play inserting LeBron James's name in place of Hulk Hogan in the infamous Bash at the Beach '96 promo. The main difference between Hogan and LeBron is that Hogan won championships (even if they were pre-determined) and LeBron has yet to win a championship. The big similarities are LeBron being the "third man" to join the big-name stars on the Heat and Hogan being the "third man" to join The Outsiders in the WCW angle. Also, Hogan claimed in a heelish fashion that he built a promotion (WWF) and LeBron is able to claim he put the Cleveland Cavaliers on the map in the NBA before moving on to try winning a championship elsewhere. There are some really fascinating similarities to pro wrestling with the entire LeBron story.

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