Since the earliest days of mixed martial arts, a number of top fighters have expressed interest in being signed by the WWE. Ronda Rousey had the greatest success, quickly becoming for a time, according to the authoritative Dave Meltzer, the biggest PPV draw in the WWE. Shayna Baszler has enjoyed success. And Matt Riddle worked his way in across years, and is now half of the NXT tag team champions.
Champ champ Amanda Nunes, Paige VanZant, MMA-retired former champ champ Henry Cejudo, and former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington have each recently expressed interest in crossing over. But in an interview with Brent Brookhouse for CBS Sports, Riddle cautions that it's harder than it looks.
"I wish I could say, 'Yeah, if you're an MMA fighter, hop in.' But to be a good pro wrestler, you have to love pro wrestling," explained Riddle. "I've loved pro wrestling longer than I've loved mixed martial arts. It's just that I wrestled in high school and I just went on that path before I got into pro wrestling. Tom Lawler is the same way. He's a great example of a mixed martial artist who loved pro wrestling before he started wrestling and he's had pretty good success, I think."
"If you're a talented athlete and have charisma, you can totally make the jump... At the same time, wrestling is one of those things that does not come easy. The fans, just like MMA fans, they can be brutal at times. If you don't bring it or you mess up or you're not doing things right, they're going to be cold. Those guys all have a good amount of charisma, they have a good amount of star power, they're amazing athletes and fighters. But it's a process. When I started wrestling, I could do all the moves and was like, 'This is going to be easy. I'm super athletic and I feel like I can talk.' But when you're out there wrestling, it's a completely different animal. It's hard."
"Maybe [Covington and Riddle's] size might be an issue at first, especially Henry because he's 135 pounds. Granted, the guy is a savage and knocks people out and is an amazing athlete. He's charismatic, though, and maybe you put him in the ring with Big Show like Floyd Mayweather and, oh my goodness, you know? Time will tell. We'll see how they go."
"You also have to realize wrestling is a PG kind of show. A lot of these MMA fighters bring a lot of heat, but they're not going to be able to bring that same heat in pro wrestling. You'd be crossing a line that you shouldn't cross. Because there's lines. Lines that you shouldn't cross. I mean, you're talking to me, I cross lines all the time, you know? But you shouldn't."