WWE

One of the frontrunners to fight CM Punk is making his case for the big-money bout ... saying he'll make it an unforgettable scrap -- by knocking Punk the hell out!!

We spoke with MMA fighter/personality Mike "The Truth" Jackson after confirming Punk was taking a 2nd fight at UFC 225... and he dropped some real talk about why he should get to knuckle up the former WWE superstar.

"It's styles, it's personalities, it's somebody who's gonna sell the fight," Jackson told TMZ Sports. "Let's make money, Dana!"

As for the likelihood of Mike getting the call ... he says he's already chatted with a UFC matchmaker and Punk's coach, but "nothing is set in stone."

That said, they're both 0-1 and got wrecked by the same fighter in their UFC debuts (Mickey Gall) ... plus, we found video proof he can cut a promo!

Ronda Rousey has essentially announced her retirement from MMA -- even though she won't officially say the words, "I'm retired."

It all went down on the 'Ellen' show (airs Tuesday) -- when Ellen asked Ronda if she'll ever go back to the UFC.

"I don't know," Ronda said ... "I think it's just as likely as me going back to another Olympics for judo."

FYI, Rousey won a bronze medal in judo in the 2008 Summer Olympics. She began her MMA fighting career in 2010. And let's face it, she ain't going back to judo.

"No one demanded a written resignation from me for judo and I don't really think the same thing is necessary for fighting."

"I'm just doing what I enjoy and WWE is what I enjoy right now."

Former "Blue's Clues" host Steve Burns is ready to take on 16-time WWE champ John Cena for his old post when the beloved Nickelodeon show is rebooted later this year.

Steve, who hosted "Blue's Clues" for 7 years, told us part of the magic of the show was that there was an average Joe in the driver's seat. So far, Nickelodeon hasn't announced who's gonna be the new host, and Steve's still in the running, but production is strongly considering a female stepping in to fill Steve's old, green-striped polo.

Cena auditioned for the hosting gig during the reboot announcement in a green-striped polo, too. Unclear if it was for real or not, but Steve seems up for the fight regardless.

WWE superstar Jeff Hardy -- one half of the Hardy Boyz -- was arrested Saturday night after cops say he drunkenly crashed his car in North Carolina while THREE TIMES the legal limit.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, the 40-year-old was involved in a single-car crash and admitted to being the driver of the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V sedan.

Cops say he submitted to a breath test and blew a .25 -- more than three times the legal limit. He was immediately booked for misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated and is due back in court in April.

WWE addressed the arrest, saying ... "Jeff Hardy is responsible for his own personal actions. We are investigating the matter and awaiting information from local law enforcement officials."

Hardy has a history with the law ... back in 2011, he served time in jail stemming from a 2009 cocaine and prescription pill arrest.

Take a step back, Ronda Rousey haters -- Diamond Dallas Page says Rowdy's gonna be just fine ... even though her mic work for WWE's been sorta shaky thus far.

"Give the girl a break, man," DDP told TMZ Sports. "It's a lot of pressure going in, but that girl thrives on pressure."

DDP would know -- the pro wrestling legend says he faced the same acting issues coming into the biz ... but eventually settled in, just like he thinks Ronda will once she gets some more reps under her belt.

Of course, some athletes are born entertainers ... and DDP says Ronda's ex-UFC bro, Conor McGregor, definitely has that gift.

"If anyone really gets the showmanship, it's McGregor."

But, will WWE fans ever get to hear Conor slay the mic inside the squared circle? DDP ain't so sure about that ...

The Miz thinks Ronda Rousey's been AWESOME in WWE so far ... but says she's making enemies with the "wrong people" -- HER BOSSES.

We got Miz and his beautiful wife, Maryse, leaving Il Pastio in L.A. the other night ... and had to ask about Ronda -- who's been rampin' up her ring work on "Monday Night Raw."

The A-Lister gave Rousey 2 thumbs up ... but warned that body-slammin' her superiors (including one through a damn table) ain't gonna end well for her.

"I think she's messing with the wrong people in Triple H and Stephanie McMahon," Miz told TMZ Sports.

We know -- you think Miz is hammin' it up for his character, right??

Watch Ronda woman-handle Steph ... then get back to us.

Break out your overalls and your floppy country hat ... 'cause Hillbilly Jim is going to the WWE Hall of Fame -- and the wrestling legend tells TMZ Sports he could hardly believe it!

"I wasn't expecting it! It hit me from the clear blue," Jim says ... "It's like the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. It's as good as I could ever hope for."

Jim primarily appeared on the WWE (it was WWF back then) from 1984 to 1991 -- famously teaming up with his good buddy, Hulk Hogan, and other stars like Randy Savage.

Hillbilly says he's truly honored to be joining wrestling gods -- and friends of his -- like Andre the Giant, Captain Lou Albano, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, The Fabulous Moolah and Roddy Piper.

He also walks us through the moment he got the call from WWE -- it's pretty emotional stuff!

Ex-ESPN anchor Jonathan Coachman is firing back against allegations he was a sexual predator during his time at the network ... saying he's the victim of "vicious lies."

Coachman -- who now works for WWE -- was mentioned in a lawsuit filed by ex-ESPN legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence ... who claims Coachman was part of the "misogynistic and predatory culture" at the network.

Specifically, Lawrence claimed Coachman hit on her and employed tactics from the "ESPN predator's playbook." She claimed Coachman was a notorious sexual harasser at the office.

Lawrence is suing ESPN, not Coachman personally.

But, Coachman is furious and has finally responded to the allegations.

"In 21 years of being a PROFESSIONAL I have never been more offended in my life," Coachman says.

"In my 9 years I can count on one hand the amount of times I interacted with anyone other than a co-anchor. To allow someone to spread vicious lies and flat out fabrications is not ok and it’s time someone stood up for themselves."

"I am also offended that someone can dangerously throw peoples’ names into something for the clear attempt at getting headlines."

Cain Velasquez ain't really gunnin' for a WWE career -- so says his BFF, Daniel Cormier ... who tells us Cain's Brock Lesnar call-out at "Elimination Chamber" was just for fun.

Velasquez, who beat Brock for the UFC heavyweight championship back in 2010, hit up his first WWE event with Cormier last weekend ... and teased a fight with the Beast inside the squared circle.

"I could feel at home here! Brock Lesnar, I wouldn't mind taking another belt from you," Cain said on social media.

But Daniel tells TMZ Sports Cain was messin' around -- 'cause that's the kinda guy he is when he's not smashing his opponents' faces in.

That said, Cormier says Cain is dead set on making his UFC comeback this summer -- and wants to fight on the same card he's headlining vs. Stipe Miocic (UFC 226).

As for his opponent ... DC says that's TBD -- but we all know the door's open for Brock to return.

Cris Cyborg says there ain't a chance Ronda Rousey would come back to fight her in the UFC ... so, she's lettin' Ronda know she's 100% down to rumble in her new home -- WWE!!

We spoke to Cyborg before her upcoming fight with Yana Kunitskaya at UFC 222 ... and had to get her thoughts on Rousey -- Cris' ex-UFC rival who she literally wanted to "kill" back in the day.

Cyborg told TMZ Sports she's over the beef ... but would gladly accept an invite to toss her around in the ring.

The only problem -- "If she don't fight (me) in MMA, I don't think she gonna agree fight (me) in WWE."

But, Cris says she's got a plan to get Ronda's attention -- and it involves a STEEL CHAIR.

Before Ronda eats steel, Cyborg's gotta take out Yana -- a UFC newcomer who told us she's got the goods to pull off the MASSIVE upset.

We'll see ...

Another sad twist in the Sunny arrest situation ... we've learned the WWE Hall of Famer was arrested for DUI on two separate occasions before she was thrown in jail this week.

According to police record, 45-year-old Sunny -- real name Tammy Sytch -- was busted in New Jersey on January 23 around 8:53 PM. The incident is Sytch's 4th DUI citation that we know of.

But Sytch got into more trouble on Feb. 2 ... when she was involved in a car accident in NJ around 8:52 AM. Cops say she fled the scene -- but was tracked down and later cited for DUI, as well as leaving the scene of an accident.

Her total DUI count at this point is 5 -- with 3 DUI arrests in 2015 alone.

As we previously reported, Sytch is currently behind bars in New Jersey for other charges -- which include being a fugitive of justice stemming from prior convictions.

FYI, Sytch's rap sheet also includes 5 arrests from 2012 where she was busted for things like burglary and crimes related to domestic violence.

WWE Hall of Famer Sunny -- real name, Tammy Sytch -- is behind bars again after cops say she was a "fugitive from justice," TMZ Sports has learned.

Jail records show the 45-year-old is currently locked up in New Jersey on contempt of court and fugitive from justice charges. We're trying to figure out exactly what happened.

Sytch is no stranger to the law ... she had 3 DUI arrests on her rap sheet from 2015 and was popped 5 times in 4 weeks back in 2012 for things like burglary and crimes related to domestic violence.

The last time we spoke with Tammy was right about this time last year ... when she was going to rehab to clean herself up. She seemed to be in a good place at the time.

WWE nailed it with Ronda Rousey's in-ring debut -- so says pro wrestling legend Diamond Dallas Page, who explains why Rousey slammin' Triple H through a table was a 10/10.

FYI, Ronda got her first in-ring action at "WWE Elimination Chamber" Sunday night ... and, while her mic work drew some criticism from fans, DDP says the setup to her fued with Trips and his wife, Stephanie McMahon, couldn't have gone any better.

"When she's staring down Stephanie you're wondering if she's gonna rip her head off," DDP told TMZ Sports at his performance center in Georgia.

"Now they have, what I would believe is the hottest woman -- and not just physically, hot like 'red-hot' -- and they just made her even hotter."

Brock Lesnar's tearin' it up as WWE Universal Champion right now, but there's a very real possibility he goes back to the UFC -- so says the guy closest to Brock in WWE.

We asked Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman, about his client potentially stepping back inside the Octagon after WrestleMania (when his WWE contract runs up) ... and he told us why the Beast is ready as ever.

"The time away (from UFC) actually makes him better because his body gets a chance to heal," Heyman told TMZ Sports.

"Brock Lesnar's probably the healthiest fighter to enter UFC if he decides to do that."

The timing's pretty interesting -- Dana White recently said he wouldn't be surprised if Brock gives it another shot.

FYI, there were also rumors of Brock wanting to come back to fight Jon Jones ... before Jones' positive steroids test in August.

Vince McMahon's former real-life nemesis, Jeff Jarrett, is going into the WWE Hall of Fame ... and no one's as shocked about the news as Double J himself.

TMZ Sports spoke with Jeff just hours after WWE made the announcement -- and even though he got the call several weeks ago, the pro wrestling legend still can't believe it's happening.

"It's still surreal to me -- it really is," Jarrett said. "I'm getting goosebumps just sitting here talking to you."

The 11-time world champion was a huge star with WWF and WCW ... but had a rocky relationship with Vince -- culminating in him being fired ON LIVE TV after McMahon bought out WCW in 2001.

But even though the next decade-and-a-half outside WWE was filled with ups and downs, Jarrett told us -- "I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

Jeff adds that he's got nothing but love for the McMahons now ... and he's incredibly grateful and humbled to join Goldberg and others in this year's HOF class.

"There's no denying the fact I have given my professional and, at times, my personal life to this business. So, I wanna thank them and have already thanked them for giving me this opportunity."

FYI, the induction's going down at WrestleMania 34 in April ... where one of Jarrett's biggest stars for TNA Wrestling -- an org. he created to rival WWE -- is one of the headliners.

Ronda Rousey's set to debut at Mania, too ... and Double J is expecting BIG things from her.