Dan Lambert embraces the pro wrestling and MMA crossover.
A long time proponent of both pro wrestling and MMA, American Top Team manager and owner Dan Lambert found himself as one of the top heels in Impact Wrestling just over a year ago. Now, he's seen several of his clients show a major interest in making the jump back and forth.
Among those includes Colby Covington, UFC Interim Welterweight Champion who has been seen backstage at WWE Raw and expressed his willingness to appear in WWE. According to Covington, he'd like to team up with another former UFC Champion in Ronda Rousey, who has taken the WWE world by storm.
When Fightful spoke to Lambert, he put over Rousey and said that he thinks Covington would excel in the wrestling ring.
"Colby's got a big interest in doing something down the road with WWE. You don't have to twist my arm to get me to go to WWE. I want to see anything wrestling related. I think Colby would do a great job over there. You talk about taking like a fish to water? I don't think that I've seen anyone take to it like that since Kurt Angle, and he had the benefit of some developmental time. I don't have a relationship with Ronda. I met her at Raw and she was very cordial and we talked about the business," Lambert told James Lynch in an exclusive interview with Fightful.
Another American Top Team name who already made his presence felt in pro wrestling is Bobby Lashley. After several runs in both wrestling and MMA, Lambert believes we've seen the last of "The All Mighty" in the MMA cage. But not for lack of skill.
"I'd be surprised if Bobby got back in MMA. Bobby's an athletic guy and he's got some talent, he could win some fights. He's in a division that isn't the deepest, and there's a lot of guys that Bobby could beat if he dedicated himself to it full time," said Lambert.
With the transition and marriage between the two sides seeming more natural than ever before, Lambert looking to recruit and share talent seemed to be a no-brainer. As Lambert tells it, the MMA fighters aren't exactly chomping at the bit to take pro wrestling punishment.
"I really didn't look at it from that perspective," said Lambert. "I don't know what those guys' backgrounds are. It's such a different occupation.A lot of the guys that came with me to Impact saw the matches and said 'Holy shit, I'd rather do a one man tournament than do what they do.' They're athletic, tough guys, but fighting's a different world. Until you seem them do it, who the hell knows?"
You can see Fightful's full, exclusive interview with Lambert below.