WWE reportedly pursuing NFL All-Pro with full-time contract
Whether or not you consider WWE to be an actual sport, it’s certainly a physical endeavor that requires some nominal sense of athleticism.
That being said, it should be of little surprise that NFL players have always found some success transitioning from the gridiron to the squared circle.
After all, NFL players clearly possess the prerequisite athleticism and are already used to having their bodies thrown around.
The number of athletes who transitioned from football to professional wrestling is telling.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson turned a successful career playing football for the University of Miami into a sterling WWE career, which then led to his successful movie career.
Bill Goldberg played for the Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers before carving out a successful career in professional wrestling.
Ron Simmons had a standout football career for the Florida State Seminoles, had a cup of coffee with the Cleveland Browns, and then moved on to professional wrestling.
Even today, several players provide a link between the NFL and WWE, including Sabby Piscitelli, who was a second-round bust from the 2007 NFL draft; Dean ‘”Mojo Rawley” Muhtadi, who tried out for the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals: Brock Lesnar, who failed to make the Minnesota Vikings; and Tom “Baron Corbin” Pestock, who was signed by both the Indianapolis Colts and Cardinals.
The common denominator among all the aforementioned athletes is that none of those wrestlers were that successful in the NFL.
Goldberg was probably the most successful NFL player out of all of them, with a career total of 11 tackles over three years and the dubious distinction of being the first-ever player cut in Panthers history.
Lawrence Taylor once wrestled in a big WWE celebrity match, but one appearance hardly constitutes a career.
WWE is reportedly looking to change its history of failed NFL prospects by landing a legitimate NFL superstar.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, via the New York Daily News, the WWE is looking to sign New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski to a deal.
It wouldn’t be a one-off deal like Taylor’s, either. WWE is reportedly interested in giving Gronkowski a “full-time” deal similar to the one they offered former MMA star Ronda Rousey.
Gronkowski would easily be the most accomplished NFL athlete that WWE has ever signed. Gronkowski has two Super Bowl rings, 474 career receptions for 7,179 yards and 76 touchdowns.
The stars do seem to be aligning for Gronkowski to jump ship to the WWE.
The jovial Patriots tight end openly pondered retirement following the Patriots Super Bowl LII loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
And Gronkowski has some experience in the WWE ring, having made a brief appearance at Wrestlemania 33.
But at the same time, if Gronkowski’s concerns about his health are the primary reason he’s considering retiring from the NFL at just 28 years old — and two years remaining on his contract with New England — a transition to WWE would be a curious one.
The WWE’s travelling schedule is notorious for the amount of wear and tear it subjects its performers to, and the WWE’s concussion history is every bit as checkered as the NFL’s.
Still, if there was ever going to be an NFL superstar who could seamlessly transition to the WWE, it’s hard to imagine anyone more qualified to do it than Gronkowksi.
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