In Rumble, Terry Crews plays a massive Sharktopus wrestler named Tentacular who’s one of the best wrestlers in the world. As a wrestling fan, I loved it, and I especially loved Crews’ Tentacular, who really exuded the energy of the average pro wrestler. It got me wondering if we’d ever get to see Crews wrestle in an organization like the WWE, and surprisingly, I learned from the actor himself that this is a possibility.
Terry Crews had a brief stint in WCW when his Battle Dome series crossed over with the wrestling organization, but the appearance was short-lived. I asked Crews when we talked about Rumble if he’d ever considered doing an actual match in the WWE, considering his relationship with the WWE, and to my surprise, Crews revealed he’d had talks about doing exactly that. He told us:
I would love that. We've been talking –- trying to talk about it, but now it's [about] scheduling and the whole thing. I've actually done some promos for them. I remember when they did a big thing at Barclays Center, I did a bunch of promos really hyping up Roman Reigns and all the new WWE guys. I love what it is, man. First of all, it's grand theater at its best. I can understand why –- it's almost like every generation has their favorites, and it will never go away. It's one of those things where, even when you're talking about a Mexican Lucha libre, the fighters from there, it transcends story. It really gets to our subconscious. It's about good versus evil, and I love it. I absolutely think it's one of the greatest entertainment venues ever.
Terry Crews is big on professional wrestling, and --provided his busy schedule ever clears long enough for it -- he’d love to do a match within the WWE. That’s an exciting thing to think about as a pro wrestling fan, so I’m obviously hoping his schedule frees up sooner than later.
Of course, being ready to wrestle in the WWE isn’t enough. A celebrity has to learn at least a few moves when participating in a match to protect themselves and the performers around them. Luckily, Terry Crews had trained in the WWE before, as he revealed to me when I asked him if he imitated any of Tentacular’s wrestling moves while doing voice work for Rumble.
Actually, I knew a lot of those [moves]. You know, I played a wrestler in Sandy Wexler, and I got to really team up with a lot of great, great WWE guys who taught me a lot of moves. I mean, I was in the ring doing the fighting, doing every move, and my god, man, it was hardcore. It was as hard as the NFL. Easily, easily as hard as the NFL. I'm taking a couple hits, and it was like, oh my god. I mean, you're literally in car accidents, and every time you go out and fight, it's like getting in a car accident. So I know all those moves, and when I watched them [while recording], I was like, ‘Yeah, they know the whole thing,’ and I knew how to play it.
It seems like Terry Crews is one of the biggest celebrities ready to go in the WWE when the time is right. Now we just need an event for him to wrestle at, perhaps when The Rock is ready to perform at WrestleMania?
Rumble is currently available to stream over at Paramount+. WWE fans should do themselves a favor and stream it, especially if they have young fans in their lives who may appreciate it.
