Former UFC Champion reveals turning down WWE offer due to full-time schedule

Multiple MMA fighters have crossed over into pro wrestling.

When it comes to MMA fighters and champions crossing over into professional wrestling, or vice versa, former UFC Champion Ronda Rousey and multi-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar are prime examples of these crossovers.

Multiple stars from both disciplines have expressed a desire to try something new by crossing over into the other. However, a former UFC Champion has recently revealed that he turned down an offer to sign with the WWE.

Bas Rutten turned down an offer from WWE

In a recent conversation with Heavy Sports, former UFC & Pancrase Champion Bas Rutten revealed that he was contacted by the WWE, but turned down the offer due to the full-time schedule.

“I was contacted by the WWE one time and my daughter was just born, I thought it was maybe 20 shows a year or something. I was like, ‘Oh, sign me up.’ No, 220 [shows] and that’s without the traveling. So I go, ‘Yeah, I decline that.’

[It] was bad at that time because I needed the money, trust me. But, family time you can’t get back. It’s one of those things that once it’s gone, it’s gone, so I decided not to do it.”

Although he declined the offer to step into the squared circle, Rutten expressed having the “utmost respect” for the pro wrestling industry.

“I had the utmost respect for all these pro wrestlers for what they’re doing. If you hear these crazy stories, eating raw potatoes like Stone Cold Steve Austin because it was the only thing they could afford, driving to the next state, that’s crazy, I always think there’s been this connection between the pro wrestlers and the fighters.”

Bas Rutten is one of the pioneers of European MMA

Bas Rutten was a trailblazer in Mixed Martial Arts during the 1990s and is widely respected in the sport. He claimed the UFC Heavyweight Championship in 1999 and made history in 2015 as the first European inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Rutten, like other prominent MMA figures from his time, such as Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn, also ventured into professional wrestling, making occasional appearances in Japan from 2000 to 2002. In addition to his MMA and professional wrestling career, Rutten has also competed in kickboxing.

Rutten, during the conversation, looking back on his short time in pro wrestling in Japan, shared that he actually sustained more injuries in the ring than he did during his MMA career.

“I did a little bit of pro wrestling in Japan, I had way more injuries in pro wrestling than I did in real [fighting].

My wife was literally telling me to go back to real fighting because [I] never had so many injuries. That’s how hard it is. And those guys do 220 shows a year.”

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