Rampage Jackson to host Raw

[jmt225]

Yep, on the June 7th addition of Raw, MMA star Rampage Jackson will co-host the show along with his A-Team co-stars Bradley Cooper and Sharito Copley.

Rampage will be the very first Mixed Martial Artist to host the show since Raw brought the host concept to the program back in June of last year.

So, I have a couple of questions for you all regarding this:

1. Is this a good or bad thing for MMA/UFC?

2. How do you think WWE fans will respond to Rampage?

3. Do you think this could lead to seeing future MMArtist host the show, and if so, who would you like to see?

4. What would you like to see from Rampage come June 7th? Is there a certain wrestler you think he'd have chemistry with on the microphone, or do you want him to have a small role that doesn't require much of anything?

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So, I'll be the first to answer the questions.

First of all, yes... this will be a great thing for MMA and the UFC. Rampage is arguably the most colorful, charismatic fighter in the entire sport, and honestly... there couldn't be a better person to represent the sport as a host of Raw than him. And even though they're there to promote the A-Team movie, I'm sure Rampage's stature as a Mixed Martial Artist will get mentioned plenty of times, win or loss come next week.

A good third of the crowd should know who Rampage is, if not half or more. I'm really thinking he gets a GREAT response, and if not... then he might win them over by the end of the show if WWE decides to give them a big role like they gave say Jeremy Piven and those guys.

For the third question... no, I don't. I mean, I would LOVE to see people like Dana White, Brock Lesnar, Tito Ortiz, etc. host the show, but I wouldn't bet on that happening anytime soon. I think WWE looks at the UFC as too big of a threat.

And finally, most likely we'll get Rampage vs. Jericho type of stuff, and I don't mind that (just as long R-Truth doesn't have anything to do with it), but I think if it were up to me... I would make Rampage a bad guy and have him kick HHH's ass. But, that's just me.

 

[Via Armbar]

This is seriously awesome. The UFC and mma in general has very few guys who can talk like Rampage. Add that to the fact that he is charismatic and one of the worlds most well known fighters and you have a formula for win. I've also heard that Rampage was a wrestling fan growing up so if it's anything like past guest hosts who were wrestling fans this is should be rather entertaining.

This is going to be good for both WWE and UFC. There is already a decent cross base there to begin with. It may not be huge but it's definitely there. There is a good chance that the more open minded mma fans could tune in to check it out. So the fact that it could potentially bring some mma fans over is a good thing for Vince and company. this does more for the UFC honestly though. They get a much more accepting audience to showcase for. People that already watch a show based on larger than life characters are more likely to see Rampage, like him and want to watch him again. Great exposure for the UFC and a chance to tap into a different market.

The only fighter I could see hosting Raw would be Lesnar. That's a pretty big longshot anyway. He has stated though that he wouldn be open to it if it didn't interfere with his training or anything. Would Vince go for it though? That's the bigger problem. If Vince could swallow the past then it could happen. Wouldn't count on it.

 

[Ferbian]

1. Is this a good or bad thing for MMA/UFC?

I think it's a good thing, it gives them a little exposure in a business they're very much "alike", and with good chance I feel that both business can gain something from this, WWE may very well be able to steal a few viewers that night due to it being a UFC/MMA fighter, and UFC may very well be able to steal some viewers at some other time because they've grown interested in Rampage.

2. How do you think WWE fans will respond to Rampage?

I think, all depending on the viewers and people attending, that they will welcome him in that manner, as in if there's few people who knows him, the respond won't be very big, but on the other side, if there's a lot of people who does know him, the respond is obviously gonna be huge.

3. Do you think this could lead to seeing future MMArtist host the show, and if so, who would you like to see?

I do, I think it opens up a chance for a guy like Brock Lesnar to potentially host RAW if he accepts it, but in the end I really think it will come down to whether Rampage is gonna be able to draw a crowd, obviously it would be ridiculous if they brought in another MMA fighter with same reputation / fan base, if he didn't draw.

4. What would you like to see from Rampage come June 7th? Is there a certain wrestler you think he'd have chemistry with on the microphone, or do you want him to have a small role that doesn't require much of anything?

I'm not sure really, I think he has the potential to "get in the face" of pretty much anybody, I think he'll be able to have nice chemistry with pretty much anybody that is something, while I think that it may very well have him come off as the usual "Cena loving" guest host, which I think will be a shame if it's forced.

But I definitely wanna have him do something on RAW, something that leaves an impact, something that will get people interested in him, especially me, due to the fact that it would be a great gateway to opening up interest in the MMA business for clean wrestling fans.