World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has been around for decades. Wrestlers put their bodies on the line as much as any other sports person, if not more. And unlike other sports, they need to know how to act in the midst of it all.
WWE professionals keep stepping out of the ring to do other things apart from wrestling, like acting in movies. But imagine if one of our favourite football players tried to make it in their world. Who would be a good fit and how?
Here’s a look at 5 footballers who could be a part of the WWE
#5 Adebayo Akinfenwa
If there’s a football player who could replace Mark Henry as the world’s strongest athlete in the WWE, it’s Adebayo Akinfenwa. At 5 feet 11 inches and 102 kg, the Englishman could give Henry a run for his money.
Akinfenwa is one of the strongest football players in the world right now and is a perfect fit – the writers wouldn’t even need to spend precious minutes thinking up a bit for him, it’s all there. Just imagine how easily he would bodyslam his opponent.
Akinfenwa can bench-press 200 kg at a time – almost twice his body weight and is nicknamed ‘The Beast’. He even has a clothing line called ‘Beast Mode On’. However, he might have to consider changing his name since Brock Lesnar is already called ‘The Beast’.
Or he could just wait for the WWE to cut ties with Lesnar permanently after all the doping scandals. The Wycombe Wanderers forward is only 34, that’s young compared to some of the superstars in WWE, and has plenty of time for a career change.
Check out Martin Skrtel dropping like a fly after a minor collision with Akinfenwa:
Video courtesy: Youtube
#4 Duncan Ferguson
There’s no point denying football is a rowdy and occasionally a violent sport. Players push, shove, kick, punch and stomp on each other with veritable enjoyment – in fact, a little violence spices up the game.
Fans love watching their favourite rivals give no quarter on the pitch. But that alone doesn’t qualify a player to be part of the WWE. Very few players have shown the necessary violence that would make them a perfect fit. Duncan Ferguson is not one of them.
With nicknames like 'Big Dunc' and ‘Duncan Disorderly’ it’s no wonder he makes this list of football players who could make it in the WWE. Ferguson wasn’t just physical on the pitch.
He has sent burglars to the emergency room after they tried robbing his home but failed because he caught them in the act on two separate occasions. A man who can send career thieves to the hospital can surely manage himself in the ring.
And that’s not the end. Duncan Ferguson has done it all – headbutted a police officer, attacked a fan who was on crutches and been in a bar fight. Most notably he received a three-month jail sentence for headbutting John McStay of Raith Rovers on the pitch in 1994.
His finishing move – the Duncan Disorderly. His entrance music – a modern rendition of ‘Barlinnie Nine’ by Finnish composer Osmo Räihälä. Inspired by Ferguson’s encounters with the law, Räihälä composed an 11-minute symphony as a tribute to him.
Check out the headbutt that earned Ferguson a jail sentence:
Video courtesy: Youtube
#3 Joey Barton
Joey Barton has changed clubs as often as most WWE wrestlers change loyalties, both accompanied by actual physical violence. His two jail sentences are evidence of that.
Barton has a penchant for getting into fights. While he has been punished for his violent conduct, his opponent has rarely gotten the better of him.
The list of his offences is long – he’s been at the root of a 10-man brawl on the pitch, stubbed out a lit cigarette in a youth players' eye, assaulted team-mate Ousmane Dabo until he was unconscious, kicked both Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero and attempted to head-butt Vincent Kompany – and these are just some of the problems he’s had with his colleagues on the pitch.
Barton was caught on CCTV camera hitting a man 20 times till he was unconscious, attacked a teenage Everton fan and run over a 35-year-old man breaking his leg.
The current Rangers player might even be open to the occasional scripted wardrobe malfunction. After all, he did expose his behind to a section of Everton fans, not once but twice, when he was a player at Manchester City.
Here’s a look at the CCTV footage that caught Barton attacking a man and beating him senseless:
Video courtesy: Youtube
#2 Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba is no brawler like the previous two on this list. In fact, he’s quite a friendly guy who everyone seems to like. So, why is he on this list about players who could make it in the WWE.
Anyone who followed his transfer saga with close attention will already realise the answer to that question. While the young midfielder was on holiday in the U.S.A. he teased fans with videos of him practicing kickboxing, specifically Muay Thai, with his trainer in New York.
With quite a few mixed martial arts moves under his belt, Pogba looks like he would do really well in the world of professional wrestling. He has the skills to pull off a successful ‘face’ routine that will have fans eating out of the palm of his hands.
The young Frenchman has the right combination of social media popularity and exotic skills to be a huge hit with the WWE universe. In fact, he is just the kind of person the New Day could invite to be a fourth member of their team.
He already has a finishing move, the ‘Pogba Combo’ which is a mix of very quick punches, twist, and a high kick. His entrance music – the song by Stormzy in the Adidas video celebrating Pogba’s signing. He could even do the dab after his entrance music has played out and he’s finally in the ring.
Video courtesy: Youtube
#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s reputation precedes him wherever he goes. His image is that of a player who can do just about anything and being a WWE superstar is definitely something he’d be good at.
If you wondered how he ever manages to contort his body and score those amazing goals, it’s because he has a black belt in taekwondo. In fact, the Italian national taekwondo team presented him an honourary black belt .
Zlatan’s persona is already larger than life and the writers at WWE could easily hook him up with a grandiose ‘heel’ story that audiences would lap up. He might have been the man to make the ‘League of Nations’ into a successful faction instead of the joke it became before it was disbanded.
Or, he could be another ‘strong style’ wrestler for the WWE who would give Shinsuke Nakamura a run for his money.
In case you find yourself unconvinced, just think of that goal he scored for Sweden against England during a friendly in 2012, that outrageous overhead kick that resulted in one of the most iconic goals in international football.
Video courtesy: Youtube
