After Ronda Rousey’s downfall and the exile of Jon Jones, the stars aligned for Conor McGregor’s rise to stardom making him the UFC’s (Ultimate Fighting Championship) biggest Pay-Per-View draw and MMA’s (Mixed Martial Arts) biggest star. Not one to shy away from controversy and the spotlight, McGregor is considered by many to be a master in the art of self-promotion.
Whether it’s MMA, boxing, pro-wrestling or even horse-riding, any place that has the dough attracts ‘Notorious’. The former UFC Featherweight champion and current UFC Lightweight King has trash-talked virtually every fighter, every fan and every person on the planet oft referring to himself as a God.
Dating back to his 2014 online war against ‘The Celtic Warrior’ Sheamus, the UFC’s golden boy has directed his unique brand of outlandish and at times, downright absurd trash talk towards the WWE and the pro-wrestling industry. Often called out by many big names including ex-WWE stars as well as current performers, the UFC champion never ceases to amaze the fans with his dedicated troll-agenda against the WWE. Today we look back at the McGregor vs WWE saga-
#5 Sheamus, Conor McGregor, Ireland and whisky
Back in 2014, Conor McGregor was asked by Sports Illustrated who’d win a fight between him and Irish WWE Superstar Sheamus, in response to which McGregor promised to whoop his ass, stating that a fight between him and the WWE wrestler wouldn’t even be a worthy contest. SI also posed the same question to the magazine’s readers on social media. Never one to back down from a fight, Sheamus who was on an injury hiatus from the squared circle at the time, fired back at Conor, sparking off a full-blown Twitter war.
In the end, McGregor and Sheamus agreed to fight one another, toast a whisky in Dublin and then fight everyone else as well. The fighting Irish eh Fella? That brings us to McGregor’s master-stroke...
#4 McGregor highlights Brock Lesnar’s UFC 200 failed drug test
In the absence of Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor, the UFC scheduled its 3rd biggest PPV star Jon Jones to headline the landmark UFC 200 event in July of last year. Nevertheless, Jones failed a drug test for PEDs and with Lesnar-Hunt already scheduled as a 3-round main card matchup, Lesnar’s fight was elevated to co-main-event status for the July 9th event.
Lesnar beat Hunt by decision but on July 15th it was revealed that ‘The Beast Incarnate’ had failed a pre-fight drug test for PEDs and on July 19th the UFC stated that he’d failed a fight-night test as well, both for clomiphene and oestrogen blocker.
Now mind you, McGregor was initially supposed to headline the card but couldn’t do so owing to failed negotiations with the UFC brass. And although ‘Notorious’ would go on to headline the company’s next marquee event UFC 202 in August of the same year, he simply couldn’t resist taking shots at Lesnar who many felt stole the Irishman’s spotlight at UFC 200. In the build up to his rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 202, Conor repeatedly threw shade at Brock Lesnar’s failed drug tests. Here’s Brock’s reply to Conor’s jabs-
The Irishman referred to ‘The Beast Incarnate’ as “juiced up to the fu**&*** eyeballs” and stated that whatever respect he had for Lesnar owing to his past work inside the Octagon is now gone. Furthermore, he went on to criticise the UFC, the WWE as well as Lesnar’s whole team, stating that the WWE superstar’s boring performance and cheating ways had tarnished the 200th edition of UFC’s PPV events. Up next McGregor trolls an entire industry...
#3 Conor calls WWE wrestlers a bunch of p*&&***
The lead-up to UFC 202 was filled with McGregor’s criticism of UFC 200, its competitors and most prominently Brock Lesnar. Nevertheless, ‘Notorious’ shifted his aim toward the professional wrestling industry and the WWE organization in particular, calling WWE wrestlers a bunch of messed up p*&&*** doubling down on his 2014 claims against pro-wrestlers in which he’d stated that sports-entertainers wear ahem...’ball stranglers’ and slap men’s behinds for a living.
In the first week of August, McGregor sent the pro-wrestling community into a tizzy by making such stinging remarks, drawing the ire of several big names in the professional wrestling industry such as Kurt Angle, Ric Flair, Sheamus and several others.
Now mind you, although he criticized the entire WWE roster and pro-wrestlers in general, the Irishman clarified that he does indeed respect the ‘Dons’ of the game such as Vince McMahon and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Triple H and the rest of the McMahon family. Here’s Triple H acknowledging McGregor’s version of Vince McMahon’s Billionaire Strut-
When probed about a possible transition from the cage to the squared-circle, he lauded MMA as true fighting whilst referring to WWE as more of a show-business kind of venture, stating that he isn’t really interested in a run with the world’s premier sports-entertainment promotion. Liar, liar, pants on fire! Read on to catch Mac’s lies...
#2 McGregor does a U-Turn on his WWE interests
Most recently, the rumour mill started buzzing that the UFC Lightweight champ may make an appearance at Wrestlemania 33 this April 2nd. On being probed whether the rumours are true, ‘Notorious’ said and I quote- “Never say Never”. Furthermore, he stated that he’d love to step into the squared-circle and knock the wrestlers around, making them experience what a real fight feels like.
Besides, he claimed to have had several offers from the WWE head-honchos, big-money offers that he’d turned down in favour of his pursuit of martial arts greatness. McGregor, being the expert manipulator that he is, keeps going back-and-forth in weekly interviews by stating that he’d love to be a part of WWE in some and then going on to berate the company and the professional wrestling industry, in others.
In several recent interviews, McGregor has claimed that the WWE needs him and is practically begging him to grace the squared circle and entertain the WWE Universe with his Irish charms.
Well, as far as a ‘Notorious’ appearance at Wrestlemania 33 is concerned the Irishman has neither confirmed nor denied anything. Instead, he uses the age-old promotional trick of simply letting the matter stew, thereby riling people up all the more. Up next is the Mac attack on WWE’s most hated ‘Nice Guy’…
#1 Conor trolls ‘The Leader of the Cenation’
The pro-wrestling business has been witness to many iconic superstars over the years and just like McGregor is the UFC’s biggest star in 2017, the WWE boasts its fair share of global superstars as well. A longtime mainstay of the company’s roster and the WWE’s global brand ambassador, John Cena, is one of the most widely respected performers in the business. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Conor from trashing him.
Back in 2016, after setting the internet afire with his stinging jabs at the entire WWE roster, McGregor doubled down on his trash-talk or in his words, ‘Truth Talk’, 1 week before his UFC 202 rematch against Stocktonian nemesis Nate Diaz. Ripping into the company’s mainstay John Cena, the Irishman mocked Cena’s ensemble as well as his on-screen WWE persona, calling him an old man wearing a shiny orange shirt and his trademark headband. McGregor also went on to mock Cena’s ‘You can’t see me!’ catchphrase, alluding that the old and sloppy pro-wrestler is right there and everyone can see him.
Furthermore, Conor went on to call John Cena ‘A big, fat, 40-year old Mr Olympia mo&&**&******’. The Irishman stands by his opinion that the WWE’s biggest star and main-roster staple Cena is nothing more than a failed Mr Olympia wannabe. And as if that wasn’t enough, he doubled down on his criticism of WWE’s new generation and current stars, calling them ‘Dweebs’. Damn!
‘Notorious’ has done more than merely ruffle the feathers of the pro-wrestling industry’s biggest names and the WWE’s most popular stars, he has downright disregarded anyone and everyone who’s not a McMahon. Apart from the McMahon family and a select few stars such as The Rock and Stone Cold, the Irishman has relentlessly trolled the WWE as well as the professional wrestling community as a whole.
And regardless of whether you’re a pro-wrestling fan or an MMA purist, one can’t help but listen when the quick-witted Dubliner fires off his typical goofy one-liners and outlandish claims. That said, Mac fans and Mac haters unite, keep up with our combat tradition and write to me about the Trollausaurus Rex Conor McGregor vs WWE saga and which other incidents deserved mention on our list.
Keep training and beware of trolls and dweebs!
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