MMA and professional wrestling are two completely different sports. Granted that both of them require an elite skill-set and cream-of-the-crop athleticism. MMA involves unscripted combat and pro-wrestling involves high-octane manoeuvres with pre-determined outcomes.
Nevertheless, what binds these wonderful sports together is their common goal- that is entertainment. With the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) being the world’s top MMA organisation and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) being the top pro-wrestling organisation, both boast of their respective sets of Superstars.
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However, with the WWE’s recent wave of reinvigorating its female roster, it need not look any further than the Octagon for qualified and deserving recruits. A UFC invasion of the WWE’s Women’s division has the potential to add some much-needed spice and chaos to the RAW and SmackDown rosters.
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#5 Paige ‘12 Gauge’ VanZant challenges Nikki Bella to a Dance-off
Paige ‘12 Gauge’ VanZant (7-3 MMA) is a top UFC Strawweight (BW/115 pound) fighter, actress, model and dancer. Nikki Bella is a former two-time WWE Women’s champion and a long-time mainstay on the WWE roster.
It goes without saying that both VanZant and Bella are in the words of ‘The Brahma Bull’ himself, ‘Smokin!’. The UFC’s golden child has previously appeared on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ finishing the show as a runner-up, and gaining mainstream notoriety in the process.
On the other hand, Bella has won the WWE Slammy award for Diva of the year three years in a row, besides also sharing the Choice Female Athlete award at the Teen Choice Awards in 2016 with her sister.
Predicting the WWE Creative’s storylines is what we do, and considering the looks and athleticism that Paige and Nikki possess, it’s safe to say that a two-week segment on SmackDown is definitely a viable option for a potential VanZant vs. Bella booking in the WWE.
The VanZant-Bella booking has to include a Dance-Off!
#4 ‘The Irish Lass-kicker’ Becky Lynch is thrown off her game by Valentina ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko
‘The Irish Lass Kicker’ Becky Lynch is an Irish sensation and won the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Championship. Valentina ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko (14-2 MMA) is a Peruvian-Kyrgyzstani UFC BW fighter and is next in line for a title shot at the UFC 135-pound title. She is of Ukrainian descent and is known for her deadly Muay Thai as well as her killer looks.
Personality-wise, Lynch and Shevchenko are polar opposites, with the Irish redhead being fiery and aggressive and the Kyrgyzstani beauty being as cool as ice. In a scenario where ‘Bullet’ invades WWE SmackDown, she can provide the perfect foil for the feisty Lynch.
The build-up to their fights at a future SmackDown PPV alone would be promotional gold with Lynch mouthing off against her foe whilst Shevchenko plays the silent assassin-heel.
Both women are extremely athletic and insanely attractive. Add to that the fact that Lynch can make any wrestler she works with inside the squared circle, look like they belong, and you have an intriguing rivalry.
Lynch vs Shevchenko in a fire-and-ice SmackDown rivalry.
#3 ‘Alpha’ Cat Zingano schools SmackDown’s hottest heel, Alexa Bliss
‘Alpha’ Cat Zingano (9-2 MMA) is a top UFC 135 pound contender, with an MMA base of wrestling, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Alexa Bliss is a former SmackDown Women’s Champion and has trained in kick-boxing, gymnastics, cheerleading and bodybuilding.
Bliss made her SmackDown debut in July of 2016 and won the title within a few months of her debut, emerging as one of the SmackDown brand’s top heels as of late. On the other hand, Zingano is one of the deadliest fighters on the UFC’s women’s roster, as evidenced by her third round destruction of popular MMA star Miesha Tate in 2013.
Despite recent setbacks, Zingano’s bad-ass image is still intact and the WWE currently lacks a monster babyface in the women’s division, both SmackDown and RAW.
‘Alpha’ fits the bill perfectly with the mean-mugging monster babyface forming one-half of the feud with the punk-heel Alexa Bliss. Bliss can trash-talk Zingano all she wants and then get trucked in the actual matchup; building up to an epic showdown on a future WWE PPV (SmackDown or RAW).
Cat Zingano vs Alexa Bliss in an old-school monster babyface vs punk heel matchup.
#2 Miesha ‘Cupcake’ Tate challenges Naomi for the SmackDown Women’s title
Miesha ‘Cupcake’ Tate (19-7) is a former UFC and Strikeforce Women’s 135-pound champion, with an MMA base of submission wrestling, who recently retired in November of last year. Naomi is the current SmackDown Women’s Champion with an athletic background of cheerleading and dancing.
Now, recent MMA-retiree Tate is free of her Octagon obligations and works a desk job as an analyst on FOXSports for the UFC. Tate has the looks and the mic-skills (as evidenced by the press conferences and interviews in the UFC and Strikeforce) to give a career in pro-wrestling a try.
This isn’t merely a fantasy my friends, with her recent retirement, a ‘Cupcake’ appearance in the WWE is a legitimate possibility. Add to that the fact that Tate is well-known owing to her two-fight series of armbar losses to arch-rival Ronda Rousey, and you have the perfect UFC/WWE crossover star to promote in a feud against SmackDown’s reigning queen.
Naomi’s athleticism combined with Tate’s excellent mic-skills and submission wrestling knowledge would be an amazing way for the WWE to lend some much-needed zing to its women’s division. Now although Naomi is a champion on the SmackDown roster, I’d say that a feud involving ‘Cupcake’ shouldn’t necessarily be limited to one brand.
Miesha Tate vs Naomi regardless of it taking place on RAW or SmackDown!
#1 ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey plays the heel against WWE’s babyface, RAW Women’s Champion Bayley
‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey (12-2 MMA) is an Olympic bronze medalist in Judo and a former longtime UFC Women’s 135-pound champion. She also held the Strikeforce belt and has an MMA base of judo and boxing. Bayley is a former WWE NXT Women’s Champion and the current RAW Women’s Champion.
Rousey has fallen on tough times as of late in her MMA career, suffering back-to-back KO losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, and much like her arch-rival Miesha Tate seems to be eyeing an exit from the Octagon.
That said, ‘Rowdy’ is no stranger to the WWE and the world of pro-wrestling, deriving her nickname from ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper and making a guest appearance at Wrestlemania 31 in March of 2015 alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.
Rousey hasn’t ruled out a potential WWE run in the future and considering her love for the sport of professional wrestling and her cordial relations with the WWE, her transition to the squared circle won’t come as a surprise.
Rousey has mostly played that heel in her MMA career, apart from a few recent fights, and would work wonders if booked for a feud against the current RAW Women’s champion, and bubbly babyface, Bayley.
‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey staring down Bayley in her trademark one-arm-on-the-hip pose- a fan can dream!
From VanZant-Bella in a dance-off, to ‘Bullet’ being the antithesis of Lynch; Zingano teaching Bliss some manners, to ‘Cupcake’ and Naomi’s technical brilliance; WWE/UFC the crossover possibilities are pure gold. Top that off with a ‘Rowdy’ invasion and you have a pro-wresting and MMA fan’s dream come true.
Keep up with our combat tradition and chime in with your WWE/UFC fantasy invasion angles, in the comments.
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