Conor McGregor In Talks With WWE For WrestleMania Appearance?
UFC superstar Conor McGregor is reportedly in talks with WWE for a one-off appearance at WrestleMania 34, according to a report by SunSport in the U.K. According to the report, "a deal is close" with WWE.
"Conor is a huge wrestling fan. His entire persona on stage he has developed from watching performers like Ric Flair and The Rock," a source told SunSport. "These are the top dogs at self-promotion and trash talk. He watched these guys when he was younger. This is something he's always wanted to do. The WWE guys have asked him to do shows before with them but the timing was never really right. But this time it looks like a deal is going to be locked into place."
SunSport had also reported this past January that WWE presented McGregor with "a hefty offer," which he declined.
During an appearance at a "Leaders in Sports" convention at Stamford Bridge last week, Stephanie McMahon discussed the possibility of McGregor making an appearance for WWE, stating that he would "be a perfect fit" in the company.
"I think Conor would be a perfect fit with WWE," McMahon said. "He certainly has the personality and the athletic ability, the appeal. He speaks his mind, he's very genuine and authentic and he has a hell of a Vince McMahon swagger."
McGregor drew the ire of several wrestling superstars when he took shots at the current talent during a media conference call in 2016. McGregor said that while he respected "the old G's of the game" like The Rock and Ric Flair, the today's stars are "dweebs."
"The rest are dweebs," McGregor said. "What's the main guy? John Cena. He's 40, he's 40 years of age. He's walking around in a illuminous orange t-shirt and a headband talking about [how] no one can see him. We can see him right there, he's a big fat 40 year old failed Mr. Olympia motherf–ker! They're dweebs, those guys!
"Like I said, no disrespect to the Dons of the game," he continued. "I mean Vinny Mac's a f–king legend. They wrote Vinny Mac a couple of years ago, then he rose back up and he's back in the billionaires club. What he's been able to do with that bunch of dweebs he has over there at the moment has been phenomenal and I respect him for that. And then of course, the old G's of the game – The Rock, Stone Cold – they're all cool mother f–kers. Even Ric Flair's a cool mother f–ker... but that new age of those guys are absolute dweebs... it ain't trash talk, it's true talk!"
Adam Newell contributed to this article.