Conor McGregor: Why UFC Star Makes Perfect Wrestling Heel

Conor McGregor won’t stop talking smack about the entire roster of WWE superstars, and it’s perfect. It’s really the kind of thing that’s been missing from wrestling from far too long. 

It’s just too bad McGregor probably isn’t going to trade the Octagon for the ring anytime soon. It would be fun to see if he could back up his words or bring an old-school level of trash talking back to professional wrestling in a more sanitized era, or even just act as an antagonist of some sort. The featherweight saying, “For the most part, I think these guys are pussies, to be honest. They’re messed up pussies if you ask me,” was something straight out of the Attitude Era that so many of us desperately miss, it’s as good as Rick Rude calling a bunch of fans in the middle of the country “fat, out of shape, sweathogs,” and overall it’s just damn good hell talk. 

So why, exactly, is McGregor going after the Chris Jerichos and Randy Ortons of the world when he has a huge rematch coming up? Why is McGregor smack talking the WWE before he goes to avenge his UFC 196 loss against Nate Diaz? Shouldn’t he be thinking about that? 

Maybe if it was another athlete; but McGregor thrives on being the bad guy. Ask any wrestler and they’ll tell you that being the heel is more fun, getting all that hate thrown your way only makes you want it more. And going into his upcoming rematch, McGregor will take any extra motivation het can get, necessary or not. 

Then there’s the other factor, the little possibility that maybe, just maybe, the fighter from Ireland is hinting at something else. That maybe there’s the possibility that we might just see McGregor in a WWE ring at some point in the near future. Maybe it won’t be like Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott, or other MMA stars who who spent time applying their skills to professional wrestling; maybe McGregor is giving his rivalry with the WWE just enough time to get hot so it boils over just in time for Wrestlemania 33 next April. Maybe he’ll pull a Ronda Rousey and just show up for a segment, maybe he’ll play a bigger part, or maybe, just possibly, Conor McGregor is looking to actually compete in the WWE. 

Of course, no, I don’t think he’d do it long-term. One or two matches, the kind of half-in, mostly out commitment that would make Brock Lesnar look like a company man. Maybe he shows up at Wrestlemania, gives it a go on one of the biggest stages of them all, takes the money, and boom, his profile is raised just a tiny bit more. You or McGregor can talk whatever smack you want about wrestlers, although anybody who really knows what those people put their bodies through on an almost nightly basis is borderline insane. Yet even McGregor can’t ignore an established brand like WWE giving him a spotlight to millions of fans who might not be as familiar with UFC or MMA, a relative newcomer in the world of professional sports. 

Then again, none of that may happen. McGregor loves to talk, and he could be out to make fun of the WWE because he can. Why not? Is it really unlike anything else he’s ever done in the past? Not really. But just in case there is some possible meeting between the WWE and The Notorious, or even if it isn’t an option, one thing is for sure: Conor McGregor is showing how to be the biggest heel in wrestling, and it’s really fun to watch. 

Conor McGregor made history by becoming the first MMA fighter to be included in Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes.