/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59223597/914355422.jpg.0.jpg)
I’ll admit it, I consider myself a pretty avid pro wrestling fan. I watch Monday Night Raw every Monday, I watch SmackDown Live every Tuesday, and I tune into the WWE Network for every pay-per-view event.
(Side note: If you’re a wrestling fan and you haven’t already subscribed to the WWE Network, close out of this article right now and GO SUBSCRIBE! It’s only $9.99 per month and you get to watch literally everything. And that isn’t an exaggeration.)
I enjoy wrestling entirely because of the entertainment and comedy aspects of it. What’s more entertaining than grown men pretending to fight each other and playing out completely unrealistic scenarios in front of a live audience every week? Actually, don’t answer that. Yes, WWE is full of absolutely atrocious acting, and the pretend fighting is so obviously fake that a five-year-old could catch on pretty quickly. That’s the biggest reason why it’s hilarious, and Rob Gronkowski would be tremendous at it.
It’s actually not a total surprise that Gronk has been considering walking away from the NFL for a new career in the WWE. After all, he’s no stranger to the squared circle. He made an appearance at WrestleMania 33 last year in Orlando, sitting in the front row at ringside, and hopping the barricade to help his real-life buddy Mojo Rawley win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Just by performing that one act, he’s probably already earned a spot in the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. They let anybody in there.
Plus, Gronk totally has the personality to be a WWE superstar. He definitely has the enthusiasm and the goofiness to go along with it. And he has the size and the strength. He’d fit in perfectly.
WrestleMania 34 is coming up on April 8 (a week from Sunday). One of the biggest matches from the Raw brand is going to be a mixed tag team match, featuring former UFC champion turned WWE fan favorite Ronda Rousey teaming up with Kurt Angle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. What if Gronk was serious about coming to the WWE, and they decided to have him make a surprise appearance at WrestleMania? What if, just when things were looking bleak for Rousey and Angle (the “good guys” in the storyline), Gronk came out of nowhere and attacked Triple H, shocking the world and helping them win the match? Then Gronk kicked off his pro wrestling career by forming a partnership with Ronda Rousey – the team of the former UFC fighter and the former NFL tight end. It definitely sounds like something straight out of a WWE script.
I would love to see Gronk in the WWE. I think it’s definitely something he should consider doing … just not right now. Right now, he’s the best tight end in football (when he’s healthy) and he’s in the prime of his career. On top of that, he’s fortunate enough to be a member of the most successful team of the last two decades, and to be catching passes from the greatest quarterback of all time. He still has a chance at a few more Super Bowl rings.
There’s plenty of time for a career in wrestling, or in Hollywood. He can make that transition at some point in the next 5-10 years. Right now, he still has a lot of football left in him. You only get so many years to be at the top of your game as a professional athlete, and they should never be wasted.
So, at least for right now, I can say thank goodness Gronk isn’t leaving the Patriots. At least, I hope not.