Ah, MMA fighters appearing at WrestleMania. It's something that people cannot and will not stop talking about, and rightly so. Following Ronda Rousey's appearance back at WrestleMania 31, fans and members of the media alike have been clamouring for at least one or more members of the mixed martial arts family to come on over and say hello on the biggest night in sports entertainment.
As we all know, it hasn't quite come to fruition yet, but as the popularity of the UFC continues to grow, the WWE will be forced to pay a lot of money for a quick five to ten-minute appearance.
This model would work better with some than others, which is obvious, so we've decided to come up with a range of different ways in which the WWE can utilise these competitors to their fullest potential.
Before you gasp in horror don't worry, there's not going to be anything too odd or out there on this list. We aren't suggesting the second coming of The Boogeyman or turning McGregor into an Irish jig dancer - although that would be hilarious.
Instead, we want to treat fighters from that world with the utmost respect as we would expect them to do for us. With that being said, here are five ideas for MMA fighter appearances at WrestleMania.
#1 Front row
Potentially the most simple of them all - sitting in the front row. This one probably leads the least complications and whilst complications can be a fun thing in professional wrestling, that doesn't always need to be the aim.
Obviously, Ronda Rousey was sat in the front row at Levi's Stadium before being brought into the ring, but in this hypothetical instance, we wouldn't have any of that.
Instead, they are shown on camera once, maybe twice - and the seeds are planted in the minds of the audience with questions flying around left, right and centre. "Why is he here? Is he going to have a match? Why does he look like a convicted murderer?"
You know, the usual stuff. it's fun to imagine a world where this could happen, mainly because of how multi-layered it could be. Onto something a little bit more realistic.
#2 Called out
Let's say you've got a relatively stale mid carder who's disgruntled about the fact they don't have a match at WrestleMania. Have them go out to the middle of the ring unannounced and cut a vicious promo on how they've been underutilised in the WWE and have them demand respect.
Then, they spot an MMA fighter in the crowd - and things turn a little sour.
The midcarder berates the fighter to the point where they've had enough, jumping the guardrail and causing some form of physical interaction. It may not sound like much but trust us, that WrestleMania crowd will pop for anything that feels even a little bit more real than they're used to.
Why? Because that's the beauty of professional wrestling.
#3 Match
Floyd Mayweather made the brief move over from the world of boxing to fight Big Show at WrestleMania 24, so this seems well within the boundaries of logic. It doesn't have to be a technical masterpiece and it can even be a no disqualification, so long as this actually happens one day.
It would draw in some MMA fans and the odds of the fighter actually getting injured are extremely small.
Business wise this is a no brainer for Dana White because he could help to orchestrate every single part of the match. He's smart enough to deny Vince full creative control and this could be the smartest way in which WWE and UFC could possibly work together.
It may come across as a little bit cringeworthy, but WWE knows how to make things like this work effectively. Now to something a little bit more low key.
#4 Backstage
Whether it's just an Instagram photo from the backstage area or an actual interview, introducing a new character that may or may not stick around from mixed martial arts, is an exciting prospect. The unpredictability would leave everyone fascinated, with people who don't recognise the person in question frantically asking friends or nearby strangers who it is.
Naturally, the interview may feel a little bit awkward but an interrupting Superstar could help to eradicate that factor. Either way, it's a safer way to protect the fighter involved as there's always a chance 75% of the live audience won't recognise them. Well, unless your name is Conor McGregor - hint hint, let's make it happen please Vince.
We conclude with one of WWE's best weapons.
#5 Vignette
Vignettes in WWE can either be great or absolutely awful. They can either excite fans for the arrival of a new Superstar or make them face palm at the prospect of a poorly repackage old timer.
In the case of this unknown fighter, a vignette would work perfectly as it would hype up that realistic aspect of scrapping that made Brock Lesnar so intriguing when he first came back.
It would only need to last about 20-30 seconds, if that, in order to get the point across and airing it at WrestleMania would prove to the world how serious WWE is about pushing an MMA guy. It may not sound like a big deal as they aren't actually physically debuting at the showcase of the immortals, but it would certainly be a step in the right direction.
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