Hart Murmurs # 149 by Bruce Hart
Greetings.
WWE Superstar Roman Reigns, who used to play in the Canadian Football League for the Edmonton Eskimos, was introduced this past week at the Eskimos home game against Ottawa and received a rousing reception.
It’s remarkable how many future wrestling stars once played for the Eskimos, including my father and Wilbur Snyder, former NWA world champion Gene Kiniski, Joe Blanchard (father of Tully) and Frank Goodish (aka Bruiser Brody).
Equally impressive is the list of Calgary Stampeders who went on to superstardom in wrestling, including Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, WWE Hall of Famer Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart, former WWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham, future movie star Woody Strode and my old tag team partner, Flyin’ Brian Pillman.
Other Canadian Football League players who also went on to become major stars in pro wrestling include Larry Pfohl (Lex Luger), Angelo (King Kong) Mosca, George Wells, Tito Santana (Merced Solis), John Helton and Lethal Larry Cameron. I might add that there were numerous other former NFL and NCAA football players who also went on to stardom in pro wrestling, including Verne Gagne, Wahoo McDaniel, Ted DiBiase, Dory and Terry Funk, Ron Simmons, JBL, Leon White (Vader), Manny Fernandez, Leo Nomellini, Paul Orndorff, Bob Windham (Black Jack Mulligan), Gus Sonnenberg, Bronko Nagurski and even the immortal Jim Thorpe, among others.
I’m not really sure why so many gridiron greats have turned to pro wrestling, as, other than the physicality of the two endeavors, football and wrestling don’t really seem to have that much in common, but it’s, nonetheless, interesting to ponder the correlation.
Given the number of footballers who have transcended to superstardom in wrestling, that could be one of the underlying reasons why Vince McMahon has seen fit to revive the XFL next year, because even if it doesn’t garner much success, it might, nonetheless, yield some decent wrestling prospects.
On another note, I was pleased to hear that the WWE has decided to revive the King of the Ring tournament, which was a popular format back in the day but was discontinued several years ago. I might note that both my brother Bret and my late, great brother Owen were King of the Ring winners and that Owen considered his King of the Ring triumph one of the highlights of his career – so much so that he subsequently billed himself as the King of Harts.
In the past, the King of the Ring tournament was a one night elimination format event, with the winner being given a shot at the WWE world champion. This time around though, the King of the Ring tournament will take place over a period of several weeks on RAW and SmackDown, with the RAW winner and the SmackDown winner meeting in the final on September 15.
I have no idea who the string pullers in WWE head office are planning to put over, but from what I can see, the best candidate to emerge from the RAW side of the draw would be the so-called Scottish psychopath – Drew McIntyre; and, from the SmackDown bracket, I’d probably go with my fellow Canadian, Kevin Owens, who’s been making great strides since they turned him into a face. To my way of thinking, a McIntryre vs. Owens showdown in the tournament final has the potential to be an awesome match.
On that note, I’ll call this a wrap but will look forward to catching up with you next time.