There’s absolutely no doubting the fact that professional wrestling and professional football are two almost immeasurably different entities. The culture amongst fans is totally different, the Superstars are obviously different, even the basic principles on which both sports were founded are far apart from each other; one is pre-determined, the other is competitive.
However, despite this, there are still certain similarities between the two. Both sports have spread to the furthest reaches of the globe, becoming popular in virtually every country worldwide, and are broadcast on live TV to an audience of millions of people per week.
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Some characters that you see in WWE are actually represented, if you draw the right comparisons, on the very separate stage of world football. There are a variety of WWE superstars who are highly suitable for comparison with some world-famous football teams, and here are 10 of them...
#10 Neville– Celtic
In much the same way that Neville claims himself to be “The King of The Cruiserweights”, Celtic FC can irrefutably declare themselves to be the kings of Scotland. Having won the league title every season since 2011-12, Celtic have displayed an insane amount of dominance over their counterparts in recent times.
The very same can be said of Neville, who has torn through every opponent that has been set in front of him since his addition to the Cruiserweight Division last year.
Neville has completely blown away top Cruiserweight stars such as Austin Aries, Rich Swann and Jack Gallagher during his recent period of dominance, whilst Celtic have easily resisted challenges from other top Scottish clubs such as Aberdeen, Heart of Midlothian and Rangers.
Like Celtic, Neville is a winner who is at the very top of his game, with his seemingly never-ending dominance in no real danger of ending anytime soon.
#9 Kevin Owens – Sevilla FC
Kevin Owens has very quickly established himself in WWE. Whilst some would claim that KO has not yet reached the level of stardom that names such as Randy Orton, Roman Reigns or John Cena project, he is still absolutely one of the best. He’s a threat to any Superstar on the roster, and on his day could outperform and defeat absolutely anybody.
The same can absolutely be said of Sevilla FC. Boasting a variety of dangerous players including Michael Krohn-Dehli and Wissam Ben Yedder, they are a hugely threatening side with the capability to defeat any other team, given the right circumstances.
They reside on a level just below the top Spanish outfits, the likes of FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid, but are still a phenomenal side. Owens is a multiple-time Intercontinental and US Champion, two titles which are not quite at the top level.
As is the case with the UEFA Europa League, which Sevilla have recently won in three consecutive seasons.
#8 Jinder Mahal – RB Leipzig
Jinder Mahal’s sudden rise to the very top of the company, having spent the majority of his WWE career in the lower region of the card, came as a huge shock to a large proportion of the audience.
Generally featured as a perennial figure, Mahal stunned the world by recently becoming WWE Champion, cementing himself as one of the top names in the entire company, at least for the moment.
RB Leipzig’s rise came in very similar fashion, as they came from absolutely nowhere, ascending from the fifth tier of German football to the Bundesliga in an incredibly short amount of time.
Whilst both Mahal and Leipzig have come under scrutiny, for the rather dubious nature of their rapid rise, they are nonetheless right near the top of their respective professions, and the fact that they have achieved what they have can only be commended.
Certainly, Mahal is no fan-favourite, and Leipzig are disliked in Germany, but both of them represent the ever-present possibility for unexpected success.
#7 Finn Balor – Juventus
Finn Balor has a slickness about him, a smoothness of style that makes him totally unique within the WWE. There's nobody quite like Balor on RAW, Smackdown Live, NXT or any other programme that WWE presents. In the same vein, Juventus ooze style. With a squad containing the likes of Dani Alves, Gigi Buffon and Paulo Dybala, there is no team quite like Juve anywhere in Europe.
One thing that attracts wrestling fans towards Balor is his ability to perform many different styles of wrestling. Juventus is his football equivalent, boasting a multi-talented squad that is able to play a tiki-taka style, a strong physical style and any style in between with equal ease.
In terms of trophies and accolades, it has to be said that Juve is more than slightly ahead, having won 33 domestic championships to Balor's one reign each with the NXT Title and Universal Title. However, given how strongly Balor has been positioned as late, it is not hard to see him being regarded as a truly legendary figure in pro wrestling, just as Juve is regarded in football.
#6 The Miz – Tottenham
This may seem like an unlikely comparison, but hear me out. Over the past couple of years, The Miz has entirely revamped his reputation, undergoing a transformation from a dull mid-card guy who was not respected by the fans, to one of the top heels in the entire company.
People who previously despised The Miz and his character, are now applauding him on the back of his fantastic promo work and superb IC Title reigns.
Tottenham Hotspur, on the other hand, has been going through their own transformation. Previously regarded as a midtable club, as well as being one of England's most hated teams, their recent form has allowed them to shed this banner.
They are as a team who have made the step up from the middle of the pile, to become legitimate top contenders, which is exactly what Miz has done. Through their attacking style and strong core of English players, Spurs have also reversed their general unpopularity, gaining an abundance of new fans, which is another thing The Miz has done of late.
#5 Seth Rollins – Manchester United
Manchester United and Seth Rollins are in very similar sporting situations, presently. Having last won the WWE Championship in November 2015, Rollins has recently been going through a slightly underwhelming phase in his career, not quite living up to the lofty expectations bestowed upon him or regain championship gold since his return last summer.
As for Manchester United, they have also been going through hard times with their last Premier League title coming back in 2013. Despite many fans predicting United to challenge for the championship last season, they ended up finishing in a highly disappointing sixth place.
Despite the recent barren period, there is still high hope that Rollins will once again fight for the Universal Championship and contend at the very top. His overall talent and relationship with the WWE Universe is simply off the charts, making a return to the top of the card inevitable.
United, meanwhile, are also fully expected to return to the higher end of the Premier League table. Everybody knows that a squad containing the likes of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will find its way to the top again, sooner or later, and this is the exact same spot that Rollins is currently in.
Expect both Rollins and United to return to the top, very soon.
#4 Roman Reigns – Chelsea
Ever since he burst into the spotlight, Roman Reigns has been a very controversial figure. Whether people love or hate him, the chances are that at any given moment, there is a wrestling fan talking about him.
Chelsea is in a similar position, as one of England’s most famous football teams. They’ve had a lot of success in English football since 2003, but that hasn’t been enough to stop the negative opinions of the masses. Whilst Chelsea clearly has a large fanbase, it is also a widely despised club, and the same has to be said of Roman Reigns.
Looking at Chelsea’s line-up for a moment, their star player is arguably the Spanish striker, Diego Costa. Renowned for his highly physical style, tendency to taunt and rile up his opponents and his ability to turn up his performances just at the right time, Costa himself displays many characteristics than Roman shows.
Roman’s best ever performance?
Probably WrestleMania 31 against Brock Lesnar, for the WWE Championship. The stakes don’t really get higher than that. Despite being on top the vast majority of the time over the past few years, there have been brief instances where Roman has drifted out of the main event spotlight, only to quickly return to the top.
Chelsea experienced the same situation in 2015/16, as Leicester City grabbed the Premier League title and Chelsea slumped to a tenth place finish. In response, the following season, they signed Leicester’s best player and won the league.
#3 John Cena – Bayern Munich
John Cena is a dynasty, that's for sure. A 16x World Champion, along with multiple other accolades, Cena ranks as one of the most decorated Superstars in the history of WWE and he will undoubtedly go down as a legendary figure in WWE history.
The same can be said of Bayern Munich, the German side who have won a record 27 national championships, 5 European Cups and 18 domestic cups to etch themselves into the history books as one of the most successful football clubs of all time.
Cena isn't quite at the peak of his powers anymore, having aged and been overshadowed by the likes of Roman Reigns, AJ Styles and Seth Rollins at various points over the course of the past few years.
Bayern Munich occupies a similar position in the football world presently, possessing an ageing squad and having been overtaken in quality by the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus since their last Champions League victory, back in 2013.
Despite this, both Cena and Bayern are highly respected, dangerous, talented and are still a huge force to be reckoned with.
#2 Brock Lesnar – Real Madrid
Would any list of WWE Superstars be complete without Brock Lesnar?
The answer is, of course, no. Would any list of world football teams be complete without Real Madrid? Again, absolutely not. Brock Lesnar is undoubtedly WWE’s version of Real Madrid.
Lesnar has long been recognised as the biggest star in the entire industry because he is a name that appeals to both the hardcore fans and the regular fans. The same is true of Real, their incredibly impressive and dominant history allowing them to transcend the football scene and become one of the most recognised sporting brands anywhere in the world.
An absolute powerhouse, and one of the top names ever to grace WWE, Lesnar will always be considered as the most dangerous man in the business, until he chooses to retire.
In much the same way, Real Madrid will always be regarded as one of the top clubs in world football, simply by virtue of what they have already achieved. Lesnar has a stunning array of suplexes, throws, strikes and the F5 within his offensive arsenal, with which he could obliterate any competitor he chooses to.
Real Madrid’s attacking options are rather different, featuring names such as James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo. Very disparate weapons to those that Brock uses to win his matches, but no less potent in their attacking threat.
Lesnar and Real Madrid will both always have an army of fans, in part due to their simply awe-inspiring stature. WWE will never employ a man quite like Lesnar again, just as football will never produce another club like Real Madrid.
#1 AJ Styles – AS Monaco
It would be extremely difficult to argue against the fact that AJ Styles is one of the more flamboyant Superstars currently employed by WWE. Not personality-wise, but his in-ring style is highly crowd-pleasing, and this is echoed in the way AS Monaco operate.
At every level, from their on-pitch style to their stunning mountain-side training ground, AS Monaco radiates flamboyance. You will never see a boring AJ Styles match, just as you will rarely see a boring AS Monaco match.
Monaco have gained armfuls of new fans with their own brand of stylish, skilful and attacking football in recent times. It is plainly clear that AJ also performs in a stylish, skilful and offensive manner, making him WWE’s equivalent of AS Monaco.
Another similarity between Styles and Monaco is that AJ has only recently hit the WWE spotlight, coming to the company in January 2016. In a similar vein, AS Monaco have also recently hit the big time, winning the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 Title after a few years slightly further from the spotlight.
Neutral football fans tend to gravitate towards supporting Monaco over their opponents during their matches, due to their overall style and approach, and the same appears to be true regarding AJ Styles.
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