When WWE Superstar Randy Orton claimed Conor McGregor needed to gain 120 pounds to fight him
In a throwback to 2017, it’s time to take a look at a pretty interesting tweet sent out by Randy Orton, regarding Conor McGregor’s potential move to professional wrestling.
At the time, “The Notorious” was coming off the back of his sensational win over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. That victory at Madison Square Garden cemented McGregor’s legacy as one of the all-time greats as he became the first fighter to hold two UFC belts simultaneously.
The tease of Conor McGregor
On the flip side, Randy Orton was just a few weeks away from winning his second Royal Rumble match. He went on to WrestleMania 33 where he beat Bray Wyatt to capture the WWE Championship.
When asked about Conor McGregor's prospects in WWE, Orton came back with a typically confident reply - and we’d expect nothing less:
Ever since then, things have changed quite a bit for Conor, but the same can’t really be said for Orton. The Viper is still one of the biggest, baddest Superstars in all of professional wrestling, and some would even say he’s improved substantially across the last two years. McGregor, however, has endured a string of personal issues as well as big defeats in both boxing and MMA. He has been finished by Floyd Mayweather, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier, with just one quick win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone to speak of.
One of the reasons why a tweet like this is still circulating all these years later is due to Conor McGregor’s recent Twitter activity. In addition to vowing to beat Poirier if they wind up having a trilogy fight, the Irishman also replied to Finn Balor’s tease about him making the transition over to the squared circle.
Triple H was also pretty happy to indulge in the conversation. If you’re WWE, why wouldn’t you? McGregor may not have the sort of invincible image that he did once upon a time, but we’re still talking about one of the biggest fighters on the planet. If they can get him in even for just a one-off appearance at WrestleMania, it’d be a monumental moment, similar to the WWE arrival of Ronda Rousey.