WWE News: Congressman Questions Linda McMahon About John Cena-Nikki Bella Engagement [Video]
A lighthearted exchange occurred at an otherwise typically boring Capitol Hill hearing this week when an Iowa congressman asked Linda McMahon about the John Cena-Nikki Bella engagement.
The pro wrestling power couple and reality TV stars who have been dating for about five years famously got engaged on live TV in the middle of the ring during WrestleMania 33 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, after their tag-team match.
“As part of the E! show Total Divas, Cena regularly expressed his desire to never get married again, but he popped the question to Nikki following their victory over The Miz and Maryse,” the Bleacher Report explained.
The former WWE CEO who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate twice from Connecticut and spent $100 million in the process, Linda McMahon is now the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, having been nominated to that post by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
A longtime fan of the WWE, Donald Trump is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame since his 2013 induction, probably the only U.S. president that will ever achieve that particular distinction.
Trump hosted WrestleMania IV and V at the now-shuttered Trump Plaza in Atlantic City in the late 1980s and also engaged in make-believe feud (unlike his real ones during and after the presidential campaign) that “became a featured storyline at WrestleMania” in 2007. Rolling Stone noted about the “battle of the billionaires” that culminated in a hair-vs.-hair match. Trump shaved McMahon’s head in that event, Wrestlemania 23.
As the hearing that focused on small business issues wrapped up yesterday, Congressman Rod Blum, who represents Iowa’s First Congressional District in the Cedar Rapids area, briefly and good-naturedly veered off into WWE News, specifically the annual pay-per-view extravaganza.
“And now that I have only 45 seconds left, I want to address the 800-pound gorilla in the room that no one has asked you so far, but I will, and some of my constituents want to know this as well, Administrator McMahon. Why did it take John Cena so long to propose marriage to Nikki Bella? And remember you’re under oath.”
McMahon seemed a bit embarrassed/surprised by the whole all-in-fun line of inquiry, and merely replied, “you’d have to ask him,” referring to Cena, as she and the other lawmakers in attendance laughed.
“The head of the Small Business Administration smiled… but shut Blum down with the efficiency of a patented John Cena STFU,” TMZ noted about Linda McMahon’s response. See video clip embedded below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTefPSS2nNs
“Due to the mainstream coverage that ‘Mania gets, people who have been hiding their fandom all year suddenly feel safe to express their love for the ridiculously amazing athletic opera that is sports entertainment,” Comic Book quipped about closet wrestling fans apparently including Rep. Rod Blum.
The former WWE exec started out the 2016 election season supporting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and during the intervening months — like many GOP insiders — slammed, as it were, future President Trump’s controversial remarks, although she supported him once the primaries wrapped up and obviously into the general election.
TJRWRESTLING: WWE PHOTOS: Vince & Linda McMahon Family With United States President Donald Trump https://t.co/vBycQPLoYt pic.twitter.com/2UenMF2wJp
— John Canton (TJRWrestling) (@johnreport) February 15, 2017
According to the Connecticut Post, no one will need to hold a bake sale for Linda McMahon anytime soon.
“In a joint financial disclosure filing, the Small Business Administration head and her wrestling mogul husband, Vincent McMahon, reported between $938 million and $1.1 billion in real estate, WWE stock and other assets that include hedge fund investments…The McMahons’ fortune is tied up mainly in WWE stock, with Vince McMahon owning 35,533,375 shares worth about $782 million. Linda McMahon claimed no stock ownership in WWE on her financial disclosure form…”
[Featured Image by Ron Sachs/CNP /MediaPunch/IPX/AP Images]
