Posted February 6, 201510 yr comment_5653095 Um, this is an odd story that's worth a thread. Yesterday, on Off The Record, Chael Sonnen claimed that he had gotten a call from WWE, where he was invited to their Hall Of Fame ceremony and WrestleMania weekend to talk to him about stuff, teasing that it could have to do with Wanderlei Silva, as he knew that he had been invited too. This is Chael, right, so most people were naturally sceptical. Then earlier today, WWE debunked the rumour to PWInsider.com with the following statement: "There has been no invitation from WWE for Chael Sonnen to attend WrestleMania." So this was Chael being full of it, as per usual. Apparently not. Dave Meltzer has doubled down on the story posting on his message board that "Chael [is] supposed to meet with Kevin Dunn" over WM weekend for a "more informal than formal" meeting. Meanwhile, Silva has tweeted: I received a great proposal of WWE and now I'm wondering what you think of the idea!!! Plus, more in Portuguese which translates as follows: I got a million dollar proposal WWE American wrestling , and I'm thinking, how can only MMA fighters receive little , presented numbers I never saw , what you guys think of the idea ???? This to me sounds like a bad idea. The dynamic doesn't work. No-one wants to see them fake fight, and I'd be surprised WWE would throw so much money at them for a match, unless Vince feels the need to "steal" two UFC stars after losing Punk and maybe Brock to MMA. Plus how does Kevin Dunn fit into all this? I could see him being intrigued at using Chael as an announcer, so he could get rid of JBL and/or Lawler or wanting to use him on the new season of Tough Enough for ratings, but Silva vs. Sonnen in a wrestling match doesn't seem like an idea he would come up with.
February 6, 201510 yr comment_5653111 Silva isn't the brightest guy and I doubt he'll understand the concept of working. Besides, he hates Sonnen... bad idea. Sonnen as an announcer makes sense, though. He's got a lot of the characteristics that they seem to look for in an announcer. They would also feel like they are ahead of the curve on UFC if CM Punk after his fighting career becomes a commentator for them as it was rumoured he wanted to become.
February 6, 201510 yr comment_5653113 I'd love to see Sonnen do some announcing work with WWE, doing the panel deal at PPV's would work well if he was allowed to have a few minutes to talk.
February 6, 201510 yr comment_5653122 I think this would be hilarious and awesome at the same time if they can make a match that Dana wanted to make so bad and couldn't
February 6, 201510 yr comment_5653128 It is possible they have limited interest but are also trying to use their interest in Sonnen & Silva as attempted leverage in their negotiations with Brock. Meltzer thinks that Brock is likely to re-up with WWE because getting back into MMA at this stage would be tough on him physically and require a greater commitment. At the same time, Brock probably knows that WWE really wants to keep him so he could ask for a lot. Perhaps this is all largely a negotiation tactic by WWE to show Brock that he can be replaced and they will move on if his demands aren't reasonable. Like everyone else has said, I can't see them actually running a Sonnen/Silva pro wrestling match. That would be so against the current WWE grain.
February 6, 201510 yr comment_5653135 Condescending, prick shoot style heel that liberally cheats is one of my favorite puroresu gimmicks. I have no faith in WWE to do it right but it would be fun to see Sonnen as a chickenshit heel that gets violent once he gets the upper handed. The money is not Sonnen vs Silva. It is Sonnen or Silva versus the current roster.
February 6, 201510 yr comment_5653140 Condescending, prick shoot style heel that liberally cheats is one of my favorite puroresu gimmicks. I have no faith in WWE to do it right but it would be fun to see Sonnen as a chickenshit heel that gets violent once he gets the upper handed. The money is not Sonnen vs Silva. It is Sonnen or Silva versus the current roster. Exactly. Imagine Shonnen running through everyone and Rusev eventually turning face as the only man who can stop them? MONEY!
February 6, 201510 yr comment_5653182 Chael would be a great pro wrestler imo. He probably walks in no worse than the third best promo on the active roster. I wouldn't trust Wandy in a worked environment.
February 7, 201510 yr comment_5653196 Any chance that WWE would promote this as something seperate from their normal output? I know they've dabbled in the past. As a fight promoter they do have a lot of the necessary tools at hand. Non PPV event ? Great way to goose network subs? Just thinking outloud here.
February 7, 201510 yr comment_5653211 It's definitely an outside the box idea that can be seen as low risk, high reward. I say why not?
February 7, 201510 yr Author comment_5653214 Wanderlei Silva was given a lifetime ban by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for running from a drug test, and Sonnen is suspended until summer 2016 for failing drug tests for HGH, EPO, anastrozole and hCG, so promoting it as a sanctioned MMA fight between the two would be impossible. Maybe they could do it as a Brawl For All or submission grappling match on a WWE pay-per-view, but I'd imagine even that could prove problematic.
February 7, 201510 yr comment_5653233 Oof! Didn't know about Wanderlei's lifetime ban. Thought maybe they'd be working towards a 2016 bout or something. I have no idea what the implications of WWE trying to promote an unsanctioned MMA bout would be. There's money on the table, Athletic Commission is in the way, seems like calling the Wrestlers isn't a bad idea.. But as a match inside the self proclaimed WWE Universe just seems beyond wacky. Wanderlei the Worker! Probably just some exploratory conversations going on, but I'd be amused to read the ideas WWE or Sonnen are coming up with. Feasible or not.
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653317 Isnt Silva's ban in Nevada right? Couldnt they easily do it somewhere else?
February 8, 201510 yr Author comment_5653321 Typically, all other athletic commissions respects the bans/suspensions in other states. That massively cuts down where they could hold a fight between Silva vs. Sonnen.
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653378 But no one does unsanctioned fights like wrestling! Seriously tho, what would the real world blowback be like? Are the athletic commissions deeply imbedded into MMA ala boxing now? Apologies, most of my current MMA exposure is from wrestling boards.. Ha!
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653385 I haven't seen this anywhere but a friend (who visits cut and paste websites) told me that the rumour is that Sonnen has been offered Tough Enough.
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653386 But no one does unsanctioned fights like wrestling! Seriously tho, what would the real world blowback be like? Are the athletic commissions deeply imbedded into MMA ala boxing now? Apologies, most of my current MMA exposure is from wrestling boards.. Ha! The Nevada Athletic Commission is the same athletic commission that covers all boxing in the state. There might be some exceptions, but as far as I know the state athletic commissions that regulate boxing regulate MMA.
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653388 But no one does unsanctioned fights like wrestling! Seriously tho, what would the real world blowback be like? Are the athletic commissions deeply imbedded into MMA ala boxing now? Apologies, most of my current MMA exposure is from wrestling boards.. Ha! The Nevada Athletic Commission is the same athletic commission that covers all boxing in the state. There might be some exceptions, but as far as I know the state athletic commissions that regulate boxing regulate MMA. True, they are the same. I'm just wondering if they do business the same. UFC did business before they started working with the Nevada Athletic Commission. Working with the Nevada AC is an important step in their growth, opening up communication and contacts with other AC's. Not sure if the AC's work the sport, or just UFC.
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653391 Phil Baroni tweeted out that he was offered to be on Tough Enough
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653401 I'll believe it when I see it. A 38 year old, who doesn't speak English, with no background in wrestling, with drug/PED issues, who is lighter and smaller than what WWE wants by a promotion that has made it known they don't want MMA guys is going to be signed by them? Doubtful. If I'm going to sign an MMA guy and I'm WWE who likes their hosses, I'm going with Cro Cop(his story writes itself as does his finisher of his high kick), Sapp or other tall/ripped dudes.
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653418 Phil Baroni tweeted out that he was offered to be on Tough Enough Shame that Baroni is old and broken down. His personality is perfect for wrestling. Meltzer reported that Baroni vs Silva may happen (pro-wrestling not MMA) for IGF.
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653420 I'll believe it when I see it. A 38 year old, who doesn't speak English, with no background in wrestling, with drug/PED issues, who is lighter and smaller than what WWE wants by a promotion that has made it known they don't want MMA guys is going to be signed by them? Doubtful. If I'm going to sign an MMA guy and I'm WWE who likes their hosses, I'm going with Cro Cop(his story writes itself as does his finisher of his high kick), Sapp or other tall/ripped dudes. I recently was on the same plane to Japan as Mirko and he'd look tiny in the WWE.
February 8, 201510 yr comment_5653423 I'm on the BOB SAPP TO WWE train if that starts coming up. Cause Bob Sapp is a wrestling AND MMA god. And that is a shoot.
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