UFC Icon To Referee WWE Extreme Rules 2022 Match

This legendary UFC name will serve as a special guest referee next weekend.

Oct 2, 2022 October 2nd, 2022

Daniel Cormier will serve as the special guest referee for Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins' Fight Pit battle at WWE Extreme Rules next weekend.

Ariel Helwani was the first to break this news, with DC himself soon taking to Instagram to state:

"I will be fair. I'll be honest. I'll be impartial. And I will not take anyone's s**t. I will be there for a reason. The law has been called in, and I will enforce it with every part of myself to the fullest extent."

A former UFC Heavyweight Champion and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Cormier is one of the finest fighters of his generation. Likewise, he is a long-time wrestling fan who has been rumoured to do something with WWE for several years now.

Interestingly, the 43-year-old does have some semblance of 'previous' with Seth Rollins, for Cormier was in attendance at WrestleMania 31 when Seth famously cashed-in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win his first WWE Championship.

Whether this is merely a one-shot deal or leads to further Cormier appearances in WWE down the line, that remains to be seen. Nowadays a commentator in the UFC, if the Louisiana native ends up eventually having a match or two at some point, he'll be following in the footsteps of the likes of Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Brock Lesnar, Matt Riddle and Ronda Rousey in having fought in both a UFC cage and the squared circle.

As it stands, the card for Extreme Rules reads as follows:

- SmackDown Women's Champion Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey in an Extreme Rules match

- Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley in a Ladder match

- Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle in a Fight Pit with Daniel Cormier as special guest referee

- Karrion Kross vs. Drew McIntyre in a Strap match

- Edge vs. Finn Balor in an I Quit match

- Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook

Emanating from Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, WWE Extreme Rules takes place next Saturday.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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