Wrestlemania #2 – The NFL Vs. WWF Battle Royal – Could It Work Today?
This was a pretty big deal that you don’t hear about that often.We often see football players on wrestling shows, but never to this extent. Ok not until 1995 but you get the idea. Is this something you could see working today? It’s a possibility but I’m not sure I’d want to see it, mainly due to the amount of screwing up they could do to it if it wasn’t done just right.
Thoughts?
I really don’t know why the WWE won’t bring in Terrell Owens. The guy is going broke and is a loose cannon to boot. Someone tell me why this couldn’t work.
While this sort of idea looks good on paper, it could NEVER work today.
I think it could be done if done right. Football Players made not need the payday but its good exposure for the Business to bring in some NFL,MLB,NHL,or NBA Stars for Wrestling Shows/Matches/etc. Now if your Pacman Jones thats another story because that was a joke for TNA to bring in that moron. So I think it could work today if done correctly.
Why would the NFL players do it?
Part of the reason NFL players used to do it was because football and wrestling used to be just about on equal footing. Now, the NFL is the most successful sports business in the country, while wrestling is a joke, a punchline that never ends. Players don’t get anything from appearing on Professional Wrestling programs anymore; Brandon Jacobs got nothing from being on impact, and Pacman was laughed at for being involved in wrestling. Think; the thug that was arrested six times was viewed to be taking a step down to be a part of wrestling.
Shaq did it because he’s a legitimate fan, it seems. Any self respecting athlete wouldn’t be caught in a wrestling ring; it would be demeaning to them if they aren’t already fans
There is one very good reason why it’ll never happen. The NFL players contracts will not allow it. Back then, the players weren’t making as much, and the culture in sports was different. Nowadays, players are making huge money, and as such the teams limit the players physical activities they are allowed away from the team (pretty much the contracts don’t let them do any activity that could potentially cause injury). Some of these include (this is contracts for all sports, not just football):
-Motorcycle riding – Ben Roethlisberger got in a motorcycle wreck and the Steelers could have voided his contract, or refuse to pay the person if they so desired
-Playing Basketball (for some contracts) – Aaron Boone got injured playing basketball, and the Yankees were allowed to void his contract.
-Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro – The New York Mets announced that they would void pitcher RA Dickeys contract if he were to be injured while ascending Mt. Kilimanjaro (which he was doing for charity). The Mets were well within their right under the agreement to do so.
-Getting into a fight – Mets Closer Francisco Rodriguez injured himself while confronting his father-in-law in the family area of the Mets clubhouse. The Mets were able to get away with not paying him while he was injured.
Professional Wrestling would constitute said physical activity. Look at PacMan Jones in TNA. The NFL didn’t allow him to make contact with anyone, because of the same thing I’m talking about. At the very least, if the player got injured, the team could refuse to pay them, if they don’t release them.
Now, would any NFL player in his right mind under contract risk that for one payday? No. They had their only chance to even try something like that, and they let it pass. That was during the NFL Lockout. Due to the lockout, the players were technically not under contract, and as such were free from the restrictions. For example, Chad OchoCinco used that time to play soccer and ride a bull. Doing these while under contract would most likely have fallen under the whole injury risk thing.