Should Vince Go All Out To Sign This Guy?

[THTRobtaylor]

Despite this weekend's result, there is no guy hotter in the mainstream right now than Connor McGregor.

His trash talking persona, lack of apology for enjoying success, hard hitting style and humble manner in defeat have made him the perfect candidate to take UFC forward... or could that be take WWE forward?

Cononr reportedly made $10m for that fight, and he's likely to endure a medical suspension from UFC for a period of time, as it was a particularly brutal loss. So there won't be a rush for him to fight again... if ever for Dana White and the UFC... of course THEY will want him to fight, but what if Vince made him a big money offer.

Sure it'd have to be MASSIVE... but before you dismiss it out of hand let's look at what it could achieve.

We already have seen the spike that Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey have made to WWE, Ronda with one appearance and Brock returning to WWE from UFC... add to that the pedigree of Ken Shamrock, another former UFC Champion who not only made the jump, but for a short time was very nearly at the top of the card.

McGregor is somewhat known as a WWE "admirer", he doesn't go out of his way to come across as a fan... but he engages with WWE to a degree, even if it's in the form of "banter". First with Sheamus, his fellow countryman and latterly CM Punk when he announced his UFC tilt.

Why would Connor consider a WWE stint?

First off, let's be clear, I am not saying he signs permanently... but he signs for a period of time and one match initially, potentially Mania next year. That could potentially be against Kurt Angle, Bill Goldberg or even Brock Lesnar (as moving up weights is kind of Connor's thing...) McGregor would need to be handsomely paid, but the mainstream interest in Brock or Angle facing him in an almost "shoot" scenario would more than offset the cost. Someone like Kurt could easily come in for that one off, lose to McGregor and not lose face careerwise, WWE gets another Floyd Mayweather style crossover match that makes a shit ton of money, and Connor gets...

Yep, that match with CM Punk he talked about... Think about it... if McGregor has "gone into Punk's back yard" and beaten someone like Angle, who had legit credentials or even someone who Punk never beat like Undertaker... then it instantly makes their UFC match bigger money... with a big rematch potential...and then the masterplan...

Once that's done... a year or two down the line and Punk has probably lost to McGregor twice...the challenge goes out... "now we try it in MY ring... Wrestlemania... Punk v McGregor in the decider... Punk gets to headline his Mania, McGregor gets another mahoosive payday and the potential to continue with the WWE past that point and UFC and WWE both have an epic feud that trancends what they have managed in the past seperately.

Sure it's pie in the sky... but Vince has missed the boat somewhat every time so far, not tying Ronda up or getting a deal done... McGregor is ripe for poaching right now, the sportsman in him will of course want to avenge his loss, but he's smart enough of a business man to know that Punk is where the money is for him...and to get there, he kind of needs to do what he does...and do it better, to put that pressure on Punk to sell their match..

Would Punk go for it - why the hell not? He'd be well paid, he'd be able to return to WWE under that UFC banner rather than theirs if that's what he wanted and would help launch something totally new for both businesses... which was kind of his thing all along.

Would Vince go for it? I don't see why not, unless the dollar figure was insane... but even then, this is the guy who brought Mike Tyson in... even if he brought McGregor into Mania THIS year as a referee or similar, people would be talking... Dana might struggle to keep McGregor more than Ronda, as the guy has really caught the public's imagination, even in losing... Connor's natural home seems to be the WWE and it seems like a when, not an if it happens... so why not get together and make something for both companies benefit? Cos he ain't fighting Floyd... that's for sure...

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I can see Vince loving the idea...but Dana White might be a different story all together. Dana doesn't seem to be kind towards any dealings with WWE. Even though his UFC borrows heavily off of WWE's character -type promotions. I couldn't see Dana being happy with any linking storyline that has UFC/WWE pages to it. C.M Punk has proven nothing as an MMA fighter, he's injured himself twice training but he's already featured in a video game? The guy could end up getting seriously hurt in the cage and ruins his name around MMA circles. Who knows what kind of smoldering bridge Punk left behind when he bashed WWE after the Rumble when he took his ball and went home.

The scenario you have built would bring in tons and tons of money, especially if Punk came back in Chicago....but there would be so much politics behind the scenes that I can't ever seeing C.M Punk being a part of it too.

 

[Messiah]

Dana White better keep all his talent away from WWE.. They're useless to the UFC.. and Vince is best not to work with a loser like CM Punk again.. He's a nobody to them and he's a nobody to UFC.. He's not worthy of headlining Mania and he's not worthy of working in WWE again... Jesus, I can tell you fools haven't quit sucking his dick yet. People are still obsessed with this loser they come up with any excuse to talk about him.

50 year's from now you morons will continue to talk about him returning to WWE.. He's fucking done, get over it.. He's moved on with his life, maybe you should to.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's doubtful such a thing can happen. McGregor is still under contract in the UFC and is still the reigning UFC Featherweight Champion, a title he won back in December. He took this fight with Nate Diaz as it was the first step towards his goal of becoming first fighter in UFC history to hold two championships in two different weight divisions simultaneously. Even if McGregor gives up on that particular goal, he's still carrying UFC gold as he'll just have to drop back down to the featherweight limit of 145 lbs.

From a personal standpoint, I've no interest in seeing McGregor in WWE as some sort of special attraction. He'd just be another massively high priced mercenary that'd be there for an easy paycheck without any real love or passion for pro wrestling. If he'd be someone who was willing to give up his MMA career, legitimately put the effort into training to be a pro wrestler and had the work ethic, then it might be a different story.

As for CM Punk, it's unlikely we'll see him in WWE anytime remotely soon. While I don't hold quite the same view of Punk as Messiah does, I do agree that it's long since time to move on. Punk's been gone from WWE for more than 2 years now and given how he left, I've no doubt there's hard feelings on both sides. If Punk was a genuinely unhappy as he claimed, then leaving was the right decision; it's just that, as a pro wrestling fan and a fan of Punk, I felt he should have handled how he left differently. As a wrestler, I enjoyed the guy immensely; as a human being, he comes off like an asshole but I can separate the two. I enjoyed watching him as a wrestler, but I doubt I'd be interested in being around him if he's genuinely as confrontational, sarcastic and off putting as some have claimed.

I do agree with the criticism the UFC has gotten by putting Punk in its video game when he's a near 38 year old rookie who hasn't fought a single fight. His first opponent is a 2-0 nobody named Mickey Gall and if he manages to win, he hasn't beaten anyone while if he loses, he looks like some over the hill wannabe who got his ass handed to him by a nobody. What I mean by that is that nothing will really be proven or settled after Punk's first fight.

 

[SHAGAMANIA 3:16]

I'd just have him do some segments and special guest referee a match.
He's just too small to be a legit threat as a wrestler.

 

[MMA Mark]

I had actually thought of the idea of him being involved at Wrestlemania this year. My idea was Sheamus winning the US title and changing it to the Irish title. McGregor could have been the special guest host on Raw for the reveal and mocked Sheamus as a terrible representative (they had a brief twitter feud I believe). Conor then introduces a debuting Finn Balor as Sheamus' Mania opponent and Conor could be the special guest referee.

But he has spoken of WWE quite dismissively in the past IIRC. I doubt he'd ever actually wrestle a match himself.

 

[rge2010]

McGregor makes $10m for one nights work - he wouldn't even make that in a year in WWE. McGregor is 27 years old and is a natural born fighter, it is in his blood. I don't see him giving that up, in his prime years to come and work for WWE. Working for WWE is a full time job, the UFC requires a handful of nights every year with a bit of promo work in between.

Yes, Vince would love the idea but I don't see McGregor interested in the slightest for next 5 years. But the final obstacle is his size. He is 5'9 and weighs 170lbs on a good day! He would be one of the smallest competitors and with no professional wrestling experience he would look wayyyyyyyyyyyyy out of place.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

McGregor makes $10m for one nights work - he wouldn't even make that in a year in WWE. McGregor is 27 years old and is a natural born fighter, it is in his blood. I don't see him giving that up, in his prime years to come and work for WWE. Working for WWE is a full time job, the UFC requires a handful of nights every year with a bit of promo work in between.

Yes, Vince would love the idea but I don't see McGregor interested in the slightest for next 5 years. But the final obstacle is his size. He is 5'9 and weighs 170lbs on a good day! He would be one of the smallest competitors and with no professional wrestling experience he would look wayyyyyyyyyyyyy out of place.

Wow, slow down bro, McGregor does not make 10m per fight, as a matter of fact his last fight against Diaz, he made 1 millon, and it was the most he was paid in ufc.

Nobody does 10m per fight in UFC.

That being said, McGregor is far from WWE right now, way too far.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Actually, he only made $500.000 plus certain royalties and bonuses. I don't know where this 10 million dollar figure came from, this isn't boxing.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Actually, he only made $500.000 plus certain royalties and bonuses. I don't know where this 10 million dollar figure came from, this isn't boxing.

Actually he made $1.000.000 for his fight with Diaz, while Diaz made $500.000 with NO winner bonuses for him.

Anyway, wayyyy far from the 10m stated.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Actually he made $1.000.000 for his fight with Diaz, while Diaz made $500.000 with NO winner bonuses for him.

Anyway, wayyyy far from the 10m stated.

Whoops, I was looking at the wrong UFC event. Anyway, 10 million was way off.

 

[Prince Vee]

The idea seems to be quite overwhelming, but the possibility of that to be happening is far from dreams. UFC are going on a separate route from WWE; even after signing CM Punk they didn't make any foul comments about WWE, neither did CM Punk (Of course he did, but it was still his frustration of WWE albeit not the bantering about the differences in MMA and Pro-Wrestling) The situation is obviously visible when Dana White was lividly disappointed with Ronda Rousey's appearance in Wrestlemania 31. So I don't reckon they will want to do such storylines that involves battle between UFC and WWE.

If we can stop all the blocks and make this possibly happen, think about this. WWE isn't solely run by Mr.McMahon neither UFC by Dana White. It is a Private Limited with plenty of sponsorship and shares. The share and stakeholders won't let this to happen at any cost. Anyhow, I would love to see Connor McGregor in WWE if that is possible.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

In the 90s, Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn both were part of UFC, and the relationship was there, because it was healthy for both companies.

Now, Dana White try to separate his company from wrestling because a lot of MMA fans look wrestling as a fake and a joke. Its not Dana White mindset, but his company fans.

Back in the day, most of the ufc fans were wrestling fans, so it worked great.

McGregor (if he is able to keep the steam going on), have several years of 2 or 3 fights per year with big paychecks. And even if he is a showman as he is, he is not Brock Lesnar to the WWE, to give him part time schedule and top talent full time paycheck.

If McGregor can keep him relevant, and a marquee player, maybe in 6 years he can make the jump, he will not be so banged up, and will be able to get big money in pro wrestling.

 

[SHAGAMANIA 3:16]

In the 90s, Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn both were part of UFC, and the relationship was there, because it was healthy for both companies.

Now, Dana White try to separate his company from wrestling because a lot of MMA fans look wrestling as a fake and a joke. Its not Dana White mindset, but his company fans.

Back in the day, most of the ufc fans were wrestling fans, so it worked great.

McGregor (if he is able to keep the steam going on), have several years of 2 or 3 fights per year with big paychecks. And even if he is a showman as he is, he is not Brock Lesnar to the WWE, to give him part time schedule and top talent full time paycheck.

If McGregor can keep him relevant, and a marquee player, maybe in 6 years he can make the jump, he will not be so banged up, and will be able to get big money in pro wrestling.

Yeah but when Dana White took over the company he made it clear that he wanted no association with professional wrestling as he was trying to legitimize the sport.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

lol the delusions of grandeur in that post are impressive.
CM Punk (who will never step foot in a WWE ring again) vs. Connor McGreggor at Mania.
Hilarious. I wish it were true mate.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

McGregor is made for WWE.

The promos he cuts, the charisma, the swagger. He would be an incredible heel! If I was Vince, I'd be doing everything possible to bring him in, even just as a referee for a match. The hype around Conor right now is huge, and even being associated with him would get WWE a fuck ton of publicity.

I think it's highly unlikely to happen, with him still being under UFC contract and I don't see Dana White allowing it, but it would be epic if Vince was able to pull it off.

Plus, Conor has already mastered the Vinny Mac power walk!

[YOUTUBE]6ntJhs8Gdrg[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Connor McGregor is a natural heel, he would fit right in to the wrestling world.

But it won't happen anything soon.

As others have noted, there is no real need for McGregor to join WWE UNLESS he expresses his desire to do so (a la Ronda Roussey). Factor in that he is under contract to UFC (I think a lot of people, including the OP, forget that the UFC contracts fighters, unlike boxing where fighters are contracted to promoters rather than a particular company) and that Dana White, for whatever reason, is not exactly warm towards wrestling (which is probably snobbery tbh, of the 'wrestling is fake, UFC is real' variety)

THAT, incidentally, is the reason why Vince 'failed' to tie up Roussey for Wrestlemania - he didn't drop the ball as the OP stated, he was never in a position to. Ok wrestling is essentially hyper-physical acting (extreme theatre), but it's still effectively competition for UFC in many people's minds, it's premise is too similar to the premise of UFC

That is why Roussey couldn't commit to wrestle for WWE; that is why Brock Lesnar had to make a choice rather than the rumoured 'joint' contract, and that is why we won't see McGregor get physical in a WWE ring for a good few years, if ever

 

[Hem]

Vince would probably pay him upto a million but maybe for a Brock Lesnar type deal for one year. I'm sure HHH would go all out trying to get this sort of crossover but I don't think Dana is too keen on working with the WWE as he wants to distance his product from wrestling as much as he can. One of his top guys going over and working a match for them may not be what Dana would have in mind.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Figured with todays news this needed a bump...

Seems very much like Connor could be on WWE's radar and vice versa... if he gets anything near to Brock's deal (which he would) then they have some very interesting options... Kurt, Brock potentially Punk returning... and he gets to go back to UFC in a couple of years and get his $10m a fight he wants...

Dana White is quickly starting to look like Vince McMahon did back in the day when he was trying to control too much of what wrestlers did and being stingy with pay... he's already lost Ronda pretty much and now Connor...

 

[Harthan]

With the latest news, it's certainly interesting. Now, this is all predicated on thinking Conor is a reasonable person, whereas in reality I'm pretty sure the guy is diagnosably insane, but with that caveat, Conor probably, reasonably, should look to capitalize on his fame and brand in some way that continues to grow it and opens up venues beyond MMA to him. The clear pathway is probably film-making, which Ronda Rousey has already gotten into in a big way, and "legit" guys like Batista and the Rock have also opened up. But one thing those people all had was a way to stay in the media consistently while launching their film career, whether it was the WWE or the UFC. If Conor is truly retired, he won't have that, and while he has a way of drawing attention to himself, the longer he goes without fighting, long layovers on movie sets just shooting will damage his brand. Conor should probably be looking for some way to stay active in the game, and WWE isn't a bad choice at all. A few months at the Performance Center to learn the game and bulk up and pretty soon Conor could simultaneously be a major WWE star and use WWE Films to launch a film career, opening his pathway to becoming a major action star in the same vein as Rock or Rousey.

There are other avenues he could take, of course, and many of them are less detrimental to his health, but WWE would probably pay the best and as he has said before he is a WWE fan, it might be something he genuinely wants to do.

The title of the thread is should Vince go all out, and I'm inclined to say yes. A deal with Conor is probably massive money between his big PPV matches and the potential for crossover branding (WWE Films and so on), not to mention the buzz it would generate about the whole product. Suddenly, the inexorable tide of wrestling fans becoming MMA fans could perhaps see a reversal, which for Vince's business right now would be enormous. It's the kind of thing that fits in the category of one of the few feasible moves that could shift business in a major, impactful way, and that has to be something Vince looks at very favorably, to my imagination.

 

[Blade]

I'd be surprised if Vince hasn't consulted his inner circle about this already. Hell, I'd be surprised if the WWE's people haven't reached out to Conor's people already.

Would he be worth the ridiculous amount of money it would take to bring him in? Absolutely. At first, anyway. McGregor's first TV appearance would get crazy numbers. Would his star wane after the novelty wore off? Depends on how much effort Conor puts into it. Say what you want about Lesnar and his attitude towards the business, but the guy works hard in most of his matches to make them look good. I mean, the Punk match immediately springs to mind. Can Conor bring that to the table? We'll see.

The real question that may stop WWE for getting their man is about whether or not Conor changes his mind, or is just fucking with people. Both of which are possible. WWE would need to get him tied down to a contract ASAP to ensure he doesn't go running off somewhere to a shiny, new project.

Also, training McGregor not to swear when he's in full-on promo mode will be one hell of a challenge...

 

[MERPER]

I'd love to see it happen as he is highly entertaining and can feud with anyone.

As for the money behind it... apparently he isn't retiring for the money.

From what I've heard from several good UFC sources, he is retiring out of fear of his long-term health. He was sitting ringside at a fight in Ireland recently where a fighter and friend of his died afterwards from injury sustained in the octagon.

If that is true, then he could take a WWE offer and wrestle. While we know injuries still occur in the ring, they are not taking real shots to the head which could lead to death.

 

[Joseph718YaHurd]

Realistically speaking, McGregor at this time and moment could do wonders for WWE... Ratings wise at least. As we all know ratings have been plummeting and a signing with name value such as Conors would be huge, especially given all the controversy surrounding him at the moment. I enjoy seeing Mma fighters transition into becoming wrestlers because they are able to bring a different, unique style to the ring, and as skilled as McGregor is in the ring i think WWE is where he needs to be heading if he's truly thinking of his long term health.

No doubt Vince would cough up the big bucks to get the guy under contract. I also know McGregor is a fan of Wwe , but at this point we dont know if he even wants to be under contract to anybody... We dont know if he's being serious or not about retirement, this whole thing might be a publicity stunt. Which i hope it isn't because im really a fan of McGregor as a fighter and he would be the total package imo if he were to sign to Wwe. He would be a total badass heel or face! A CM Punk type of character except just more blunt and straight forward! With a bad attitude... Its fresh if you ask me and i say Vince should go for it while he still can.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Posted a Facebook rant about the situation today but finished with the words, "I AM NOT RETIRED"

Attention seeking chumpstain

 

[THTRobtaylor]

He had to do that or be in breach of UFC contract... He is still making the right noises that show the beef is on UFC's side... they've "pulled him" from the match rather than him breaching his deal to retire... If he remains off the card then he can argue they are restraining his trade (especially as they operate in the EU as well as the US) and get his release...

At this stage WWE can perhaps send out feelers but they can't actively pursue... but the situation can change very quickly.

As for the impact he'd have and the concerns about swearing... if there was ever gonna be another Attitude Era or a move to more adult programming, he'd be the perfect guy to make it happen.