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

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Sara McMann

This is an unconventional pick out of left field, but given the direction of the WWE women’s division, it’s a candidate worth exploring. No, McMann isn’t a dynamite personality or hot promo. However, her utility is more varied than simply questioning whether or not she could be a major superstar.

The success of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, the promise displayed in the infant stages of Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir’s careers, and the utilization of high-end athletes like Bianca Belair and Kacy Catanzaro tell me that WWE has an eye on big time athletes that have taken their new vocation seriously. McMann has the natural long-term story as the woman going after Rousey’s throne – someone who placed higher as an Olympic athlete and felt cheated by her loss to Rousey in 2014.

Best of all, there is an easy story that Stephanie McMahon has found an “Olympic ringer” to dispose of Rousey and she has found another “McMann” to take her out, corny puns aside. Beyond the Rousey program, the biggest value in having someone like McMann is similar to what we just discussed with Daniel Cormier: to recruit athletes at the amateur level, much like Gerald Brisco has done for the company for decades now. In my estimation, McMann’s ultimate destination is as a coach at the WWE Performance Center; if WWE could utilize her for a decent Rousey program that last a few months, then offer her a training job to lure more world-class wrestlers into its ranks, they’ve made a shrewd and prosperous investment.

Continue Reading » Mackenzie Dern