Former UFC Superstar Talks WWE Being Upset With Him After Turning Down WrestleMania 32
MMA legend and former UFC star Chael Sonnen was recently a guest on CBS Sports' In This Corner podcast to promote his return at the Bellator 192 event. The conclusion of the fight saw Sonnen defeating Quinton "Rampage" Jackson by unanimous decision to improve his record to 31-15-1. This is only Sonnen's third fight since 2013, defeating Wanderlei Silva last June and losing to Tito Ortiz in January of 2017. Sonnen initially announced his retirement from MMA competition in 2014 following a failed drug test, but decided to return out of "pure anger" of "[sitting] back as a fan [and watching] these guys quibble and squabble," according to a 2016 Bellator conference call.
Sonnen also revealed in the interview that WWE was interested in bringing him in at WrestleMania 32 to participate in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but he turned it down. He stated that he does not envision a day that he would take his gift of gab and MMA background to cross over to pro wrestling.
"I kind of pissed those guys off," Sonnen said. "I was asked to be a contestant in a [battle royal] and I wasn't against it, but I just couldn't get the date. I actually worked hard and I tried to clear it. I tried to do it but [WWE] thought I blew them off. I haven't really heard back and whenever they come to down, they invite me and give me and some friends some really good tickets and we have a real blast."
In 2014, Sonnen claims that he was offered a $5 million contract to end the remainder of his contract with UFC and move to WWE. He declined it, stated that "I was still under contract with the UFC and I never took this to Dana. I handled it on my own. I told [WWE], 'No' and that was the end of that. I never told Dana White this story, but here's why I didn't tell him. I knew if I called Dana and said, 'I've got a $5 million offer from Vince McMahon,' Dana would have matched it."
While Sonnen admits that he is a fan of pro wrestling "[enjoying] it a lot in the '80s with Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior," he stopped watching "when everything happened with CM Punk." He still watches WrestleMania every year, and attends when they come to town.
Source: CBS Sports