The long-anticipated WWE debut of Daniel Cormier is finally in motion.
UFC hall of famer Cormier appeared via satellite on this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw to lay down the law ahead of Extreme Rules. He’ll have the position of overseeing Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins vs UFC prospect turned pro wrestling star Matt Riddle as special guest referee of their ‘Fight Pit’ match, as first reported by Ariel Helwani.
Daniel Cormier’s First WWE Appearance
Being a lifelong fan, DC has certainly made no secret of his desire to work within pro wrestling. Many had predicted he’d be following in the footsteps of other greats such as Ken Shamrock, Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar earlier post-retirement. The idea that he’d eventually transition has often felt inevitable with the skill set and natural charisma he possesses. However, he has seemingly now found the perfect opportunity to dip his feet in and emphatically introduced himself as the enforcer of Saturday’s match.
“We have had to watch you two whine, argue, and complain for months. We’ve had enough. Your behaviour has been insane and we are tired of the foolishness,” stated Cormier.
The former two-weight world champion pulled no punches in putting the pro wrestling world on notice of his legendary status inside the octagon.
“And for all the people lookin’ going, ‘Who is this guy?’ I’m Daniel Cormier. I am one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time. I am the double champion.
Cormier Backstory
“Matt, listen bro. We go way back. You’re a former UFC fighter and I respect that. You’re apart of the fraternity. Seth you know that from afar, I’ve always admired you. I was there in Santa Clara when you won that first world championship, and I may have celebrated. But as the world is fed up, I too am fed up.”
DC was indeed celebrating in Santa Clara watching Seth Rollins win his first WWE world championship at Wrestlemania 31. This along with the connection to his fellow UFC alumni Matt Riddle perfectly intertwines DC into an intriguing story entrenched in personal trash talk with real life themes going beyond the WWE norm. One ‘off air’ digital split screen segment even made major waves earning comparisons to the famous Sportscenter Jon Jones vs DC “I wish they would let me next door so I could spit in your f*****n face” clip, likely leading us here in the first place. Seth admitted that the segment was a nod to the classic moment between the two MMA greats in a sit-down interview with Ariel Helwani.
“Someone told me you two are competing in a Fight Pit match this Saturday at Extreme Rules. Well I’m into that. That’s my world. I live in the cage. I love it. One thing I do know, is there has to be a stern third man. It can’t be any old referee. So you know who they called? They called your boy DC to come down and lay down the law.
“So now it’s time to stop yappin’, train hard, train smart and I’ll see both you boys this Saturday in Philadelphia.”
Extreme Rules will take place at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the 8th of October, this Saturday.
Check out: The official trailer for Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins vs Matt Riddle at Extreme Rules inside the fight pit
Are you excited to see DC enter the squared circle?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
Great article! However, I’m surprised it has taken DC this long to cross over to WWE.
Great read. It is about time this crossover happened. Extreme rules is always fun too so I’m excited. I got Rollins