Do not rule out a brief stint with WWE for Ben Askren.
Askren (19-2 MMA, 0-0 boxing) will make his professional boxing debut against YouTuber Jake Paul (2-0) on April 17. Ahead of the fight, “Funky” told Chris Van Vliet that he visited the WWE Performance Center in October.
“I went down there in October… It was fun. They were really cool,” Askren revealed. “I left with an open door there. I’m running my wrestling academy business. It’s not something I think I would do full-time. I would be interested in doing a little something with them. They were so cool. Everyone was really professional. It’s a very professional operation down there. It was awesome.”
“Maybe I’ll do one match,” he teased. “You never know.”
Askren also shared his favorite memories of WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Briscoe.
“He would always come to all the NCAA tournaments and actually, you know the thing he always used to tell me. He would tell me every single year. ‘Ben, if you were over 200-pounds I could make you a million dollars.’ I said, ‘Jerry, I’m not going to be that big. Ever. So, sorry. And I want to wrestle in the Olympics,'” Askren shared. “When I was at the performance center, Jerry came over there and hung out with me. We bullshitted. He’s a great guy.”
Speaking of pro-wrestling, Askren gave two thumbs down to Paul’s ability to cut a promo.
“I actually don’t think it’s that good. I don’t think it’s that funny. And I appreciate a good trash talker, of which I don’t think he is.”
Askren also panned Paul’s attempts at comedy by following the UFC alum’s wife on Instagram.
“I think that was like a teenager move. That’s something teenagers would get mad at,” Askren said. “Me and my wife laughed at it.”
Justin Bieber, The Black Keys, Doja Cat, Saweetie, Diplo, Major Lazer, and the first appearance of hip-hop super-group Mt. Westmore featuring Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Too $hort and E-40 are among the musical acts announced for the fight. Askren was aware of Paul’s social media following, but even “Funky” is surprised by the scale of this event.
“The guy has got a huge social media following. I realized there would be quite a bit of attention on it. But now with the announcements today, it seems like it’s going to be a really, really big thing because they’ve got Bieber — he’s got a large following, Snoop Dogg has a large following,” he shared. “There are a lot of big names on this thing.”
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