John Cena Thinks Conor McGregor Would Be Fantastic in WWE

Ever since Conor McGregor rose to the top of the MMA world, pro wrestling fans have speculated over if and when he’d make the jump over to pro wrestling and appear in a WWE ring. And while McGregor has antagonized WWE wrestlers on social media in the past, he’s never fully shut the door on the idea. John Cena was asked about the idea while speaking with Dan Patrick this week and gave it his full endorsement, believing McGregor’s charismatic and bombastic persona would be the perfect fit for sports entertainment.

“It’s entertainment. You have to buy into that reality. If you don’t believe you’re piece of that world we’re in or your opponent is a piece of that world, it doesn’t work,” Cena said (h/t Fightful). “I don’t watch much MMA or anything. To me, it’s true fight sport, but then a guy like (Conor) McGregor comes along with a wonderful personality and will talk people into the building. You either root for him or root against him and you buy his fight, like (Floyd) Mayweather or (Muhammad) Ali, they talk about developing that great personality and believing in it. The way to make people buy into you as a WWE personality is to drop the make believe of it and make it a reality and believe in what you do.

“He’d be fantastic. He is what we do,” he later added. “It’s a little less predictable. Our surprises are getting people to show up at random and weave the ‘choose your own adventure’ into a different alley. His surprises are getting a few teeth knocked out or getting an operation. Not to say that this doesn’t happen with us, mistakes happen, but in his profession it’s not a mistake. I hope (he makes an appearance) because I want to see it. At my core, I’m a fan. He’s interesting and have a gravity about him. I want to see him perform.”

Cena is far from the only major star to give McGregor that kind of endorsement. The two-time former UFC Champion has lost three of his last four fights, with his latest defeat coming against Dustin Poirier in July when he suffered an ankle injury during the opening round.

“He’s teased [coming to WWE] a couple of times,” Sheamus told Digital Spy back in January. “He’s still staying active, he’s a lad who’s won belts, he’s done a lot, so I think he’s that type of person who’s always trying to try his hand at something different. I think WWE would suit him down to the ground. You know, we’ve had a lot of people come in and out, [Floyd] Mayweather came in, a lot of celebrities have come in, a lot of sports people. So I don’t think anyone would raise eyebrows if he came in to WWE. I don’t think it’s if, I think it’s a matter of when to be honest.”