Rob Gronkowski to join World Wrestling Entertainment

Rob Gronkowski (Fox Sports/You Tube, Wikimedia Commons)

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski of Amherst, New York has decided to continue his journey as a high performance athlete. However, just no longer as one of the most dependable receiving options in the National Football League, but as a professional wrestler.

According to Tony Maglio of The Wrap, Gronkowski will soon be appearing on WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Smackdown, which interestingly formed a relationship with the American version of FOX Sports in September of 2019. FOX Sports has had a contractual agreement with the NFL (mostly with the National Football Conference) since 1994.

Despite winning the Super Bowl three times, Gronkowski never played in a Super Bowl on FOX. In 2017, when the Patriots shocked the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the biggest comeback ever in Super Bowl history, he did not play because of a season ending back injury he suffered during the regular season.

At 6’6″, 270 pounds, Gronkowski joins a list of  NFL players who were also WWE or WWF (World Wrestling Federation) wrestlers. The list includes former Chicago Bears defensive tackle William “The Refrigerator” Perry, former New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills linebacker Monty Brown and New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor.

At this time Gronkowski is set to participate in WrestleMania 36 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on April 5. The stadium is home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. According to Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports,  WWE officials are aware of the Coronavirus pandemic and are making every effort possible to continue to hold the event in Raymond James Stadium. However their desire to play in front of a large crowd three weeks from now may be out of their hands because the city of Tampa are taking measures to limit large crowds.