MMA Fighters That Could Become Crossover WWE Superstars & Their WWE Counterparts

Tai Tuivasa

Unlike a lot of folks on this list, Tuivasa has never once mentioned he was a pro-wrestling fan and his interest in such a pursuit is a total unknown. However, at just 25 years old, possessing a natural heavyweight body and enormous charisma and microphone skills, “Bam Bam” is an intriguing, prime athlete worth considering.

Tuivasa is a plus athlete, there’s no doubt there; he was a professional rugby league player prior to his MMA career and it took him just a few short years to get his fighting skills shored up to become a top-15 heavyweight. Clearly, he’s a quick athletic study and likely wouldn’t need much time at the WWE Performance Center before he would be ready to start working. Also, stereotypes be damned, there’s always going to be a demand and a soft spot for Samoan gimmicks in professional wrestling. There’s a world of possibility if a guy like Tuivasa wanted to try his hand in the squared circle.

Now, given his candid and often uncouth promo stylings in MMA, the Australian would need mind his Ps and Qs, cleaning up his vulgarity for the more family-friendly WWE environment, but that also has some charming twists to it, as well. I’m sure WWE would love to have Tuivasa adapt his “shoey” gimmick for its product, swapping out beer in his boot for whatever its most recent soft drink sponsor was, likely resulting in a ton of impressionable children drinking soda out of their Converses.

More than all of this, Tuivasa’s inclusion dovetails with the aforementioned concept of global localization. In the 1950’s and 60’s, Australia was one of the biggest and most lucrative territories for pro-wrestling on the entire planet and since 2002, WWE has run an annual tour in Oz. In fact, just this past October, WWE held its “Super Show-Down” pay-per-view in Melbourne, drawing over 60,000 fans. On top of that, WWE has actively sought more Aussie talent in recent years to help its global initiatives, locking up Billie Kay and Peyton Royce and pairing them as the The IIconics for its SmackDown brand, putting the inaugural NXT UK women’s title on Rhea Ripley and making Buddy Murphy its Cruiserweight Champion. Australia often gets overlooked, but it’s a crucial piece of wrestling history and one WWE has recognized the value of over the last decade or so. To not include a young, magnetic talent like Tuivasa on this list would be negligent.

Continue Reading » Michelle Waterson