Daniel Cormier
This one is another obvious inclusion. The American Kickboxing Academy team captain is a lifelong pro-wrestling fan and a far bigger mark than the average MMA fan who proclaims to love sports entertainment. Just take a look at him getting hyped over Seth Rollins winning WWE gold:
And the former Real Pro-Wrestling champ does have a certain flair for the dramatic, even in serious competition:
And of course, there’s the time he got into a Twitter war with the Bullet Club.
There’s no question the stocky, squatty Cormier is more than robust enough and has the physicality to throw around men who weigh over 300 pounds in the ring. What makes “DC” a more compelling inclusion here is that there’s a variety of ways he can be utilized. First of all, Cormier has vowed to retire by next March before his 40th birthday and it was presumed that his final UFC heavyweight title fight would be a multi-million-dollar showdown with WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar. However, in the wake of UFC 232 recently, UFC boss wasn’t quite sure what to make of the current Cormier-Lesnar situation.
“He’s in a very unique position because he can play this thing between UFC and WWE,” White explained.
If we never get Cormier-Lesnar in the UFC? Do it in WWE. Even if we do get them in a cage, having them extend that rivalry into the pro-wrestling sphere is a readymade program. Cormier would require very little training and seasoning and would essentially be ready to rock out of the gate given his amateur credentials and native understanding of the pro-wrestling biz. And, after getting a few years of in-ring work out of him, WWE can easily transition him into the commentary booth, where he has been fantastic for the UFC for multiple years now and using his connections to the amateur pro-wrestling world to recruit and draw in new talent. In fact, a WWE Network original with Cormier actively scouting and recruiting amateur wrestling talent could be a compelling venture. The amount of utility that Cormier could bring to the WWE product in front of and behind the camera is immense.
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