Pro wrestling has a long history of luring athletes to the squared circle. In the past, many ex-American football players, basketball stars, and other athletes joined wrestling to make more money than in their respective sports. Today, many athletes including Tyson Fury and Ronda Rousey have worked with the WWE as an alternative to their combat sports careers and financial gain.

English soccer player Adebayo Akinfenwa could be the next ex-sport star to join the WWE. Akinfenwa, who currently plays for EFL Championship club Wycombe Wanderers, has long been a fan of the WWE and now wants to parlay his love of wrestling into a career in the ring. Combat sports fans are anticipating the UFC 255 fight card. Fight fans can get the latest nj online gambling news and betting reviews before wagering on the fighters and bouts at the upcoming event.

Akinfenwa revealed he is “in talks” with the WWE about joining the company recently. The soccer player would be getting a very late start on a professional wrestling career. Akinfenwa is currently 38-years old, but could be used by the WWE in a variety of ways that limit the wear and tear on his body.

Known as “The Beast”, Akinfenwa is renowned for his size and agility. The soccer player is 6ft 1in and weighs 224lbs. It is an incredible weight for a soccer player, yet his ability to move around the soccer field demonstrates the athletic ability he possesses. The striker is famed for his strength which is the heights of all players on the new FIFA ‘21 videogame.

If Akinfenwa joins the WWE, he would not be the first soccer player to leave the fields of Europe for the company’s Performance Center in Florida. In 2014, former Germany international goalkeeper Tim Wiese joined the WWE Performance Center with the aim of being the company’s German star. Wiese had played a the highest level in Germany with Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim before hanging up his gloves.

The ex-goalkeeper hit the weights following his retirement from soccer and changed his body from a lean look to a beefy brawler. Wiese spent two years in the Performance Center and even made his WWE debut in Munich in November 2016. He teamed up with Sheamus and Cesaro in a tag team match, however, in 2017, Wiese put wrestling on hold and left the WWE.

The big difference between Akinfenwa and Wiese is age. When Wiese left the WWE in 2016, he was 35-years old. Akinfenwa is 38 currently.

Seeking media PR in the United Kingdom and Europe, the WWE previously worked with Wayne Rooney in 2015. Rooney slapped former WWE wrestler and British grappler Wade Barrett during a show in the UK. The WWE played up a storyline that developed organically between the duo on Twitter, where Barrett criticized Rooney for diving to get a penalty in a soccer game. Akinfenwa’s public appeal isn’t as great as Wiese nor Rooney’s, so it is anyone’s guess if he would raise interest in the company overseas.

Talking up his potential career move into the WWE, Akinfenwa recently tweeted that he is available for the Royal Rumble. In addition to telling the WWE to contact him on social media, the soccer player also put out a challenge to Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre.