UFC
Chael Sonnen says he and Wanderlei Silva to speak with WWE at Wrestlemania 31; Silva calls it "a million dollar proposal"
Feb 5, 2015 - 9:25:21 PM Chael Sonnen says he and Wanderlei Silva to speak with WWE at Wrestlemania 31; Silva calls it "a million dollar proposal"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

While Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva ultimately didn't wind up facing off in the Octagon, it appears the WWE is interested in pursuing the two men.

Sonnen revealed that news during an appearance on TSN's Off The Record program this week, saying he plans to meet with them during the weekend of Wrestlemania 31, and Silva confirmed that he's received an offer from the leading pro wrestling organization on Instagram.

"I got a call from WWE," Sonnen said (transcribed by Sherdog.com). "They said, 'Look, we have a Hall of Fame show in March. If you want to come out, we want to talk to you about some stuff.' They laid out at that."

"If they are buying me a plane ticket and they're giving me a ticket to the show, I do enjoy that product. I don't know what we are talking about, but I'll give you a little bit of a scoop: Wanderlei Silva was also invited. I don't know if he's accepted and I don't know if the two are related, but there you go."

Wanderlei Silva posted the following to Instagram himself:

I received a great proposal of WWE and now I'm wondering what you think of the idea!!! Recebi uma proposta milionária do WWE o telequete americano,e estou pensando,como pode somente os lutadores de MMA recebem pouco,apresentaram números q eu nunca vi,o que vcs acham da ideia????

A photo posted by Wanderlei Silva (@wandfc) on Feb 5, 2015 at 6:25pm PST

"I received a great proposal of WWE and now I'm wondering what you think of the idea!!! Recebi uma proposta milionária do WWE o telequete americano,e estou pensando,como pode somente os lutadores de MMA recebem pouco,apresentaram números q eu nunca vi,o que vcs acham da ideia????"

(Rough Google translation of the Portuguese passage: "I got a million dollar proposal WWE American telequete, and I'm thinking, how can only MMA fighters receive little, presented numbers q I never saw, what you guys think of the idea?")

Both Sonnen and Silva were essentially forced into retirement by the Nevada Athletic Commission last year. Sonnen failed multiple drug tests for a myriad of substances, while Silva skipped town when the commission tried to administer a random test. Both received significant suspensions; Sonnen accepted his two year bid, while Silva has sued the commission over the indefinite term levied against him.

Penick's Analysis: I'm not sure what the WWE would try to put together with them in the context of a pro wrestling angle; perhaps they'd try to get them to do a worked fight with one another, though I don't know that they could necessarily work together on that end. Then again, maybe they could. If the WWE is actually willing to give them each more money than they were likely making in the UFC, more power to them I suppose.

[Chael Sonnen art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]