Court Bauer Reveals WWE Nearly Signed Bob Sapp

WWE has never been afraid of pushing MMA fighters over the years, with the current WWE landscape seeing the likes of Matt Riddle, Ronda Rousey, and Brock Lesnar all positioned as major stars.

However, at one point WWE almost signed MMA fighter/kickboxer and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Bob Sapp, with Court Bauer saying on AdFreeShows:

"Similar to Bob Sapp, who at the time was huge in Japan and almost came in but there were issues with him. He didn't want to work house shows, that was a big issue. Back then, he basically wanted the Brock (Lesnar) deal and Vince wouldn't do that. You have to go out and earn your keep. He didn't want high-end guarantees and then you didn't have to work hard for it. There was feeling that, 'then you're in WCW territory. You're sitting at home, you're making your money, how motivated are you to make it when you're getting a fat guarantee?’

“Today, people are experimenting with that model more than ever. Brock is the current model, but Bob Sapp, they weren't going to do it. Bob was at the shows and talking to Vince ringside and I thought we were very close to Sapp coming in and a few others that I thought would come in from PRIDE, but no dice," recalled Bauer.

Sapp was a favourite of Antonio Inoki during the disastrous Inokism years of New Japan, defeating Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in 2004.

H/T: Fightful