Before his Noche UFC debut, Charlie Campbell watched old WWF videos of The Rock and was inspired to interrupt UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier’s post-fight interview segment with a classic line from The Rock, “It doesn’t matter what you think!”, which was positively received by Cormier and online reactions.
Charlie Campbell, on the weeks of his fights, spends his time with his teammates, reminiscing the Attitude Era pay-per-view of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He once watched The Rock – a notable figure in wrestling – prior to his Noche UFC debut and it gave him an interesting opportunity. Daniel Cormier, UFC Hall of Famer and the commentator on that Saturday’s event, was known for being a pro-wrestling enthusiast. Campbell thought Cormier would like a reference to one of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s famous lines: “it doesn’t matter”. He rehearsed it and added, “I’m going to get ‘DC’ so bad, man.”
In the aftermath of Campbell’s impressive first-round knockout of Alex Reyes, an opportunity presented itself for Campbell. Not one to ignore the chance, Campbell enquired Cormier about his thoughts on his striking skills. When Cormier responded, Campbell used his well-rehearsed line and said “It doesn’t matter what you think!” As an acknowledgement to The Rock, he said, “Shout out to Dwayne Johnson, ‘The Rock.’ I’m a huge fan.” Cormier looked stunned but let the situation slide, as he said, “You know I love a good WWE reference, so I’m going to let you live.”
Campbell’s journey prior to his debut had its own fair share of ups and downs. Just eleven months ago, he was very close to knocking Chris Duncan out in Dana White’s Contender Series, only to experience a devastating knockout loss himself. However, he brushed off the incident, returned to work on the regional circuit, and got back up, winning the next two fights. He showed up at Noche UFC with the same calmness and made a memorable post-match speech while Cormier’s walkout music played in the background. He expressed how he always believed in taking chances, no matter how others would perceive his actions. He said, “I could have looked stupid, but I was like, ‘Listen, I’m going for it.'”
When Campbell looked for reactions to his interview online, he was particularly interested in The Rock’s comments. As expected, Johnson replied to the clip of the interview jokingly chiding Cormier. Campbell saw Johnson’s message as an approval stamp and interpreted it as laying the groundwork for potential future collaborations. He further discussed the idea of a possible altercation with Cormier in WWE, if UFC’s new corporate partner decided to engage aging fighters in pro wrestling. Campbell, being ever so jovial, added, “If they give DC the mic in the WWE ring, I’m going to interrupt that and come out to his song.”