Former NFL running back DeAngelo Williams may be looking for work in the NFL, but his agent has found him a sweet side job while the search continues. According to a report on cbssports.com, the 11-year veteran and 34-year-old Williams will appear on Impact Wrestling.
This is not the first time a former or current NFL star has taken his talents to the fledgling operation.
Impact Wrestling posted a video Monday on social media showing Williams’ arrival at their Nashville office. Williams, who finished seventh in the 2005 Heisman Trophy voting at the University of Memphis, sought out a (storyline) meeting with Impact co-founder Jeff Jarrett.
Williams is expected to enter the ring at Impact’s Slammiversary XV pay-per-view on July 2 in Orlando, Florida. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Williams will compete alongside Moose in a tag team match against Chris Adonis and Eli Drake.
The move makes sense since Moose is a former NFL star whose real name is Quinn Ojinnaka, who was a former offensive lineman at Syracuse drafted in the fifth round by the Atlanta Falcons in 2006.
He went on to play six years in the NFL for four different teams.
TNA Impact Wrestling had Williams appear at a show in Orlando when he joined Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge to rescue Moose from an attack by Davey Richards. While Williams does not have experience in the ring, it may not make a difference in the storyline or how TNA books him in the match.
The promotion may be building off a storyline from WWE and WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.
At the biggest event of the year in the business, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski took part in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal where he shoulder-blocked current WWE World Champion Jinder Mahal. The move helped Mojo Rawley win the match.