As WrestleMania 41 fever continues to run riot, two veterans of WWE’s sister company, UFC, have complained about having been given terrible seats to one of the most historic moments in pro wrestling history.
It was March 29, 2015 – WrestleMania 31. The WWE champion, Brock Lesnar, was defending his title for the umpteenth time against the then ‘Big Dog’ Roman Reigns. Unlike his Tribal Chief days, Roman didn’t have the luxury of a posse to save him from trouble. Yet, he put on a stand against the former UFC heavyweight champion and took the fight to the incumbent, much to the joy of UFC’s resident Good Guy and Bad Guy.
But right before the match could be called in the middle of the ring, Seth Rollins ran into cash his ‘Money in the Bank’ contract in what is now remembered as the ‘heist of the century’- a moment that both Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen have bittersweet memories of.
“I had terrible seats and you were two rows behind me“, recalled Sonnen.
“I got my tickets from Jack Swagger (former WWE wrestler Jake Hager). I drove all the way up there figuring I would be hooked up. He put me in the top row“, Sonnen added, still stinging from the perceived betrayal.
Nodding in agreement with Sonnen about the sad state of affairs, DC added, “You know what the sad thing about that was? Those were the family tickets!”
“They stuck Dana White up there“, Sonnen pointed out, laughing.
Notably, former UFC and WWE champion Ronda Rousey also made her pro wrestling debut on the night. On invitation from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, she jumped into the ring and helped him ‘layeth the smackethdown’ on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Despite this, DC couldn’t enjoy it as much as he was busy being hit by a bird!
However, he is about to make up for that by being present in the second row for all the WrestleMania action over this Saturday and Sunday.
“And I didn’t even pay $7000 for them“, he bragged to Sonnen’s disbelief. Apparently, DC has credentials that get him just about anywhere inside a WWE arena.
“My kid got to eat lunch with the Usos in Los Angeles“, he adds with glee, making Sonnen ask what the wrestlers were like.
Cormier lays ground rules for WWE backstage visits
DC isn’t just a member of the WWE universe anymore. The former UFC double champion has now been part of pre-WrestleMania shows, having interviewed MMA alumnus Lesnar. He has even been part of a storyline by playing the part of the special guest referee at an Extreme Rules match between Rollins and UFC export Matt Riddle.
So, he knows exactly how to behave when in the presence of these larger-than-life figures.
“You [have] gotta walk around like you belong, man! Show no weakness, Chael. When you’re back there, you might run into like one of your idols”, he added, cautioning Sonnen against not being cool about it.
“Don’t geek out, man. Don’t embarrass me and like freak out and start acting like a child. Act like you belong. And if you do, you can eat wherever you want, you can walk wherever you want. Nobody will say nothing“, advised Cormier.
DC also claimed that if Sonnen acted uncool or looked like he was lost, he would be “screwed”. Someone would come up and snatch up his credentials and throw you out, he claimed.
Disappointed, Sonnen couldn’t believe that the WWE people didn’t appreciate ‘Marks’.
DC had to remind the former middleweight contender who he was. “You gotta relax, you are Chael Sonnen, man“. Reminded by the nudge, Sonnen confirmed that if they tried to get squirrely with him, he would just kick them in the family jewels.
