Opinion
Top 5: Soccer Players Turned Wrestlers
It’s kind of a dead period in the American sports calendar. Baseball is about halfway through their season while football is getting ready to start theirs, and basketball & hockey are recovering from theirs. This is fine, as one can only take so much heartbreak in their life.
Everywhere else in the world though, people are all caught up in World Cup Fever! The US not qualifying has hampered the appeal here, but that sort of thing doesn’t matter everywhere else in the world where the sport is king. Many of the world’s greatest athletes have played soccer, including some of wrestling’s best.
These are the Top 5 Soccer Players Turned Pro Wrestlers.
5. Mason Ryan

Barri Griffiths looked like a million bucks & seemed to have all the potential in the world to be a WWE Superstar when he made his way through FCW & joined the New Nexus in 2011. He never quite figured it out in the ring the way he had on pitch. Prior to his wrestling career & his stint on Gladiators, Griffiths was a successful Welsh soccer player. He was a centre-back for Porthmadog F.C. while they were in the Welsh Premier League, but a knee injury brought an end to his career.
4. Paul Diamond

Our old school readers will remember this man as one-half of Badd Company with Pat Tanaka, or perhaps as Kato of the Orient Express. Or maybe you remember him as Max Moon! He came over to North America from Croatia while pursuing a professional soccer career. Tom Boric played for the NASL’s Tampa Bay Rowdies from 1982 to 1984. Once the league folded, he stayed in Tampa, got his green card, trained with the Malenkos & the rest was history.
3. Antonino Rocca

I don’t know if we have any readers old school enough to remember Rocca in his prime. The Argentinian was one of Vincent J. McMahon’s top draws for years, and he did big business across the United States during the 1940s, 50s & 60s. Like most kids in Argentina, Rocca began his sporting life on the pitch. Legend has it that he was very good, but injury led him into the wrestling business. He would often utilize his soccer technique in the ring, with led to an interesting style.
2. Eva Marie

Long before our favorite underappreciated goddess was a WWE Superstar, her goal in life was to be a professional soccer player. She suffered an ankle injury in her senior year of high school & was told she’d never play again, but she recovered & became a Junior College All-American at Diablo Valley College. She transferred to Arizona State and wanted to play there, but a lack of self-confidence kept her from trying out. After she transferred to Cal State Fullerton, their soccer coach convinced her to play again…but that damn NCAA got in the way & declared that her eligibility had expired.
The NCAA ruins everything.
Honorable Mention: Andre the Giant
Andre reportedly played soccer during his childhood, but I couldn’t find much more reference to it other than “Andre reportedly played soccer when he was a kid & had fun.” There will be other reasons to talk about Andre.
Honorable Mention: Hugo Knox
Stuart Tomlinson played in the English league system as a goalkeeper before making the move to NXT. He appeared on some shows as Hugo Knox & was most known for having a ripped physique & wearing way too small tights. I’m not sure if they were going for a David Beckham gimmick or what, but Tomlinson never made it onto a televised event before getting released after almost three years.
Honorable Mention: Cesaro
Cesaro was quite active in soccer during his childhood. He pursued other things instead, but I’m including him here so we can take a look at him kicking the ball around with Brock Lesnar.
Brock Lesnar, Cesaro, Orton and Sunil Singh playing football. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/bbQwducwVJ
— The Clean Sheets (@cleansheetsPW) April 27, 2018
1. Trish Stratus

Trish had a pretty eclectic road to WWE stardom. When she went to York University she dabbled in a bit of everything. She studied biology & kinesiology & played field hockey & soccer. Soccer was obviously where she honed her Chick Kicks that would become a vital part of her offense. Trish grew up a wrestling fan though, so luckily for us her destiny was in the ring instead of on the pitch.
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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