5 times WWE worked with NFL players

WWE and the National Football League have had a pretty interesting relationship over the decades.

A former NFL player is currently your Universal Champion (Roman Reigns had brief runs with both the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars.) At least eight members of the WWE Hall of Fame have also been members of an NFL team at some point.

There have been plenty of other times, however, where the stars of the NFL jumped into the world of WWE while still playing. Some have merely been in the corner of a wrestler at a major event - and some have been in the main event of WrestleMania. OK, only one has, but still.

Seeing as how we're less than a week away from seeing the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams at Super Bowl LVI, we thought it would be fun to look at those moments. These are five times that NFL players got involved with WWE. Can you think of others? Name some names in the comments down below.

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#5. Rob Gronkowski helps Mojo Rawley at WWE WrestleMania 33

Four-time NFL Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski is no stranger to WWE. Not only has he been the host of WrestleMania 36, he also won the 24/7 Championship there, as well. His personality and fun-loving lifestyle have made him a celebrity outside of football which has, in turn, drawn more eyes to the company whenever he's involved.

His first appearance at a WWE event, however, might also be his most memorable. And for a number of reasons.

Three years before his WrestleMania hosting gig, Gronk was seated at ringside at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, FL. At the time, Gronkowski was playing for the New England Patriots, the team he would win three Super Bowls with. It was during the kick-off show where he really made his presence known.

Following the Cruiserweight Championship match between Neville and Austin Aries, the annual Andre the Giant Battle Royale took place. Among the 33 entrants in the match was Mojo Rawley, a close friend of Gronkowski's since childhood. Near the end, the last three in the ring were Rawley, Killian Dain, and Jinder Mahal.

Rawley took a spill out of the ring between the top and middle rope, and Mahal followed. Seeing Gronkowski, Mahal taunted him, took Gronk's adult beverage, took a sip, and then threw it at him. The five-time Pro Bowl tight end wasn't going to stand for that. But before he could confront Mahal, he first had to (legitimately) contend with ringside security.

As Gronkowski climbed over the security railing, a member of the security team rushed in to cut him off. Apparently, she had not been informed of Gronk's involvement in the match and ran over to, you know, do her job. It was sorted out pretty quickly and didn't negatively affect the segment, but it was still pretty funny.

Gronk would hit the ring and nail Mahal with a Hacksaw Jim Duggan-style running tackle, helping Rawley go on to win the entire match.

Prior to his WrestleMania 36 appearance, Gronkowski signed a WWE contract, effectively making him a legit WWE Superstar. Not long after, however, it was announced he had been granted his release in order to return to the NFL. It was apparently a good move, as Gronkoski would reunite with his former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and win the Super Bowl that year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Gronkowski is still signed with the Buccaneers. However, with Brady announcing his own retirement from the NFL earlier this month, it's unclear if Gronk will follow suit. If he does, however, could it only be a matter of time before we see him back in a WWE ring?

#4. Walter Payton had Razor Ramon's back at WWE SummerSlam 1994

When WWE brought SummerSlam to Chicago, IL in 1994, Razor Ramon had a problem.

Ramon had retained his Intercontinental Championship against Shawn Michaels in a classic ladder match at WrestleMania X. However, it wasn't long after that he lost the belt to Michaels' bodyguard, Diesel. However, attempting to regain the championship proved problematic for Razor, mostly due to interference from Michaels during his rematches.

So, for his bout at SummerSlam, the Bad Guy needed someone in his corner. But not just anyone. He needed someone with integrity. He needed someone with toughness. He needed a Chicago legend.

He needed the late NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton. And "Sweetness" was more than willing to lend a hand.

Payton was, and is, considered one of the greatest NFL running backs (if not one of the greatest players, period) of all time. In 1985, he and the Chicago Bears won Super Bowl XX and, just the year prior to SummerSlam, the Bears retired his jersey number, #34. He was also elected to the NFL Hall of Fame that same year.

A tireless and selfless advocate for charity himself, the NFL's Man of the Year award - which is awarded annually to one NFL player for their own volunteer work in their community - was renamed the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in his honor. The league itself has called the award their "most prestegious honor," and has been awarded to such names as Eli Manning, Drew Brees, and J.J. Watt.

Even his actions during SummerSlam 94's Intercontinental Championship match were classy. Payton was there to keep an eye on Michaels and lend Razor support, both of which he did fantastically. He it all without laying a hand on anybody (though he did chase Shawn around the ring a little). In fact, his biggest contribution to the match was informing the referee of an exposed turnbuckle that Michaels had removed the padding from.

Sadly, Payton passed away five years after contracting primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare liver disease. He would spend the final years of his life tirelessly working to encourage others to become organ donors - even though he, himself, was medically past the point where a liver transplant would have saved him. Clearly, Walter Payton was a class act until the end.

#3. NFL stars Chad Ochocinco and Ben Roethlisberger guest host WWE Raw

Back in 2009, WWE began implementing the concept of having a celebrity guest host episodes of Raw.

Much like the hosts for Saturday Night Live, WWE would bring in a celebrity in the midst of promoting a current project, a politician in a high profile election, or a pro athlete from the city they were currently performing. These hosts would be involved in the storylines of that week's show, acting as General Manager for the episode, and even participating in matches occasionally.

The October 5th, 2009 episode of Raw took place in Wilkes-Barre, PA, which is about four hours from Pittsburgh. WWE brought in Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as host - the night before, he led the Steelers to a 38-28 victory against the San Diego Chargers - and he brought his offensive line with him.

A little under a year later, WWE brought Raw to the home of one of the Steelers' biggest NFL rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals. So WWE announced the biggest celebrity in the city at the time, Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. Earlier in the year, Ochocinco gained mainstream recognition as a contestant on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

One of the biggest differences between the two episodes was the role of the host. Roethlisberger was considered the actual GM during the show, where as Ochocinco was considered a "guest star," though, as you can see in the clip above, he was given a little authority by the actual GM at the time.

Ochocinco (who has since reverted back to his original last name, Johnson) and Roethlisberger have, so far, been the only active (at the time) NFL players to host an episode of Raw. In 2013, New York Giants legend Michael Strahan hosted in episode, but had been well retired by that point. Both men are now retired, with Roethlisberger announcing his retirement this year.

#2. WWE brings in just a bunch of NFL guys for WrestleMania 2

Let's be honest here: WWE WrestleMania 2 was just weird, man. Possibly inspired by Live Aid, WrestleMania 2 took place in not one, not two, but three different cities at once. It was an ambitious undertaking, but it was just the icing on the cake for how all-out Vince McMahon would go with the show.

WrestleMania 2 was held in Uniondale, NY for its first hour, Rosemont, IL (outside of Chicago) for hour two, and then wrapped up hour 3 in Los Angeles, CA. WWE also brought in even more celebrities than the previous year, including the likes of sitcom star Susan St. James (who they put on commentary for some reason), boxing legend Joe Frazier, Ozzy Osbourne, political figure G. Gordon Liddy (again, for some reason), and so many... random... others.

Seriously, they brought in two fast food restaurant mascots: Herb from Burger King and the Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" lady.

For the second hour held in Chicago, WWE had a pretty ingenious idea: a 20-man battle royale featuring 14 pro wrestlers and six NFL players. Among the football stars at the time to participate were Jimbo Covert, Ernie Holmes and future WWE Hall of Famer William "The Refrigerator" Perry. WWE would send in some pretty heavy hitters as well, including a number of future Hall of Famers such as Bruno Sammartino, Big John Studd, and Bret Hart in his WrestleMania debut.

To their credit, the NFL players in the bout really held their own. While "The Fridge" is the one most remembered from the match, Bill Fralic of the Atlanta Falcons was impressive, as well. It was clear, just from watching him, that Fralic took being in this match seriously and he even looked like he could have even had a future in the pro wrestling world.

This wouldn't be Fralic's last dance with WWE, however. In 1993, the company invited a number of pro athletes to come aboard the USS Intrepid to attempt to bodyslam the then-WWF Champion, the 550 lbs. Yokozuna. Fralic was among those who tried and didn't succeed, but it was pretty cool to see him again. Sadly, Fralic passed away from cancer in 2018.

Eventually, the match itself would be won by - and prepare yourselves for a shock, everyone - Andre the Giant.

Nowadays, you won't really see currently active pro athletes involved in something like this - there's just too much risk involved. And, while pro wrestling was in a boom period at the time, it still wasn't very well understood or respected by mainstream sports media. Which is why it was so refreshing seeing these NFL players in this battle royal, treating it seriously and not as a gag, and putting on a great show.

#1. NFL legend Lawrence Taylor headlines WWE WrestleMania XI

While the WWE/NFL Battle Royal at WrestleMania 2 featured plenty of pro football greats, it wasn't the main event of the show. Heck, it wasn't even the main event of its hour of the show. But ten years later, an NFL legend - albeit a retired one - would headline the Show of Shows. It would also give one of the most underrated WWE stars ever a much deserved WrestleMania moment.

Lawrence Taylor, who played with the New York Giants for his whole NFL career, is one of the greatest athletes to ever play the sport of American Football. He was also one of the most feared - so much so that offensive coordinators from other teams would develop whole new play systems to counter his speed and ferocity. He would play up his reputation as an unstoppable monster on defense in video games like Blitz: The League and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and movies like Any Given Sunday.

So, while Taylor had been retired for nearly two years as WrestleMania XI came around, the NFL Hall of Famer still had an aura about him. WWE decided to capitalize on that - and we ended up with one of the weirdest main events in WrestleMania history.

At the 1995 Royal Rumble, Taylor was seated ringside with his entourage as a "guest" of then-WWF Champion Diesel. The final bout before the Rumble match itself was a tournament final to determine the new WWF Tag Team Champions. Sean Waltman and Bob Holly, both in their 1-2-3 Kid and "Sparkplug" days - face off against Million Dollar Corporation members Tatanka and Bam Bam Bigelow. The match ended with Waltman pinning Bigelow and the crowd taunting the Beast From the East because of it.

Taylor was one of those in the crowd openly chuckling at Bigelow's misfortune. Despite the NFL star's offer of a handshake, Bam Bam shoved Taylor and it was on.

Bigelow would follow that up with a challenge to Taylor for a match at WrestleMania XI - one that the Hall of Fame linebacker would initially refuse. Eventually, though, Taylor would pick up the guantlet thrown down by the New Jersey native, and our 'Mania XI main event was set.

Since Bam Bam had the rest of the Million Dollar Corporation to watch his six, Taylor needed to have a team to have his back, as well. He found it in a group of his fellow NFL stars, including Reggie White and future WCW United States Champion and Four Horsemen member Steve "Mongo" McMichael.

The match itself was pretty outstanding, all things considered. Taylor was clearly taking all of this seriously, showing lots of respect for this new athletic world he found himself in. Bigelow, one of the promotion's most unappreciated stars, got to perform in the main event of WrestleMania. He helped carry Taylor to one of the best performances from a non-wrestler ever.

In the end, Taylor won the match following a forearm off the second rope. The NFL star was clearly exhausted following the match but, over the years, has had nothing but fond memories of the show. He even told Ric Flair, on an episode of his WOOOOO! NATION podcast, that there's an audience out there that is only familiar with his WrestleMania XI match.

“To this day, people come and say, ‘Hey, I know you! You were on WrestleMania 11!’ and I say, ‘Yeah, okay. That’s one of the things I did! Yeah, okay!”

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Did we miss any other NFL-WWE collaborations? Let us know in the comments section below.