With Rob Gronkowski now retired from the NFL, there has been some talk of the former New England Patriots tight end pursuing one of his other passions by entering the world of professional wrestling. He did, after all, make a memorable cameo appearance at WrestleMania 33 in 2017, and has a well-documented friendship with Monday Night Raw superstar and former NFL defensive lineman Mojo Rawley. And while “Gronk” recently admitted that he indeed wants to compete for WWE, he stressed that he only sees himself as a part-time competitor for the world’s largest and best-known wrestling promotion.
As cited by Bleacher Report , Gronkowski appeared at a press conference earlier this week, where he announced his partnership with Abacus Health Products and talked about his plans of joining WWE in the future. The 30-year-old former All-Pro tight end told reporters that he doubts he will ever become a full-time wrestler for WWE, but added that he has plans of wrestling in one specific match if given a chance to sign with the company.
“[T]here is one thing I’m down for. And that’s to do one crazy match,” Gronkowski said.
“Practice it for a little bit, go out there, like in a Royal Rumble, go out there, I got my friend in WWE [Mojo Rawley], practice it and do a full-on WWE match. I’m not saying when. Maybe five years. I got the rest of my life to do that. I’ve always dreamed about doing that, just one time, going in there and going full out. That may be a possibility, one time, down the road.”
Through the years, WWE has had its share of crossovers with pro football, with one of the first and more notable examples taking place in 1986, at WrestleMania 2 . Per the NFL ‘s official website, the second iteration of WWE’s biggest annual event included a 20-man battle royal that featured several NFL stars, including Chicago Bears legend William “Refrigerator” Perry and the late Bill Fralic. Close to a decade later, 1995’s WrestleMania XI featured a main event match between WWE superstar Bam Bam Bigelow and eventual Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor.
Former #Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski insists “I didn’t retire from life.” When asked if he could come back, he says “not in the foreseeable future,” but he says he needs that fire “week-in and week-out.” If he feels good enough — and he’s not there yet — he didn’t rule it out. pic.twitter.com/WU2jtuSGiL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 27, 2019
As for Gronkowski, his WrestleMania 33 appearance over two years ago saw him ostensibly in attendance as a fan during the 2017 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, only for him to leap over the protective barrier and eliminate Jinder Mahal, thus allowing Rawley to win the match.
Rob Gronkowski’s latest comments about his future WWE plans came several months after WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque told Sports Illustrated that the “door is open” for the former NFL standout to sign with the company. However, Bleacher Report also noted that during this week’s press conference, Gronkowski did not completely rule out a potential NFL comeback, assuming he’s able to fully recover from the injuries that forced him to retire from football at a very young age.
