WWE Rumors - New Superstar to debut on SmackDown and appear at WrestleMania 36
It is being reported by The Wrap that Rob Gronkowski has signed with WWE and is set to make his debut on the March 20 episode of SmackDown.
The three-time Super Bowl Champion, who retired from the NFL in 2019, is also reportedly scheduled to make an appearance at WrestleMania 36 on April 5, but he is unlikely to compete in a match.
“He’s also due to appear at next month’s WrestleMania 36 in Tampa, Fla., the insider told TheWrap. Current plans call for that appearance to be a build-up to a match after WrestleMania, not a match AT WrestleMania.”
Gronkowski has worked as an NFL personality on FOX since October 2019 – the same month that SmackDown began airing on the channel on Friday nights.
It had previously been reported by Ryan Satin on WWE Backstage that a deal for the 30-year-old to join WWE was close to being completed, but it now appears that an agreement is in place.
Rob Gronkowski - the next Ronda Rousey?
PW Insider’s Mike Johnson is also reporting that a deal for Rob Gronkowski to join WWE has been agreed.
The former New England Patriots player will work as “an active pro wrestler”, according to Johnson, with one source suggesting that his deal will be similar to UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey, who competed as an in-ring performer in WWE from April 2018 to April 2019.
Rob Gronkowski’s WrestleMania history
In 2017, Rob Gronkowski jumped over the barricade at ringside to help his real-life friend, Mojo Rawley, in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 33 kickoff show.
As you can see in the video above, he took out Jinder Mahal with a shoulder tackle before Rawley threw Killian Dain and Mahal over the top rope to pick up the victory.