this week, The discussions between the Canadian Football League and XFL have caused a lot of talk in the football world, Especially since the new owner of XFL, The Rock, is hugely popular and loves to remind people of his history that passed through CFL before becoming a WWE superstar and then a Hollywood superstar.
As The Rock, over the past few weeks, his “autobiography” series, Young Rock, has been shown on TV.
So when he mentioned that he had discussions with the Canadian Football League, there was a lot of talk afterwards and this is great news for the Canadian Football League.
Especially with the economic setbacks caused by COVID-19.
The Rock, CFL and The Wrestlers
Many have ignored Dwayne Johnson’s short stint with Stampeders. Wrestling fans often heard the story, but since it had no real impact on Canadian stadiums, sports fans may not have heard of the story.
After his college stint with the University of Miami, where he was a teammate of future NFL legends like Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp, The Rock tried to keep his soccer dream alive by trying his luck with CFL.
Unfortunately, The Stampeders cut him into camp and it was the end of a promoter for Johnson who would follow in his father’s footsteps in WWE.
We know the rest.
What if we told you that The Rock isn’t the only famous wrestler to try his luck with CFL?
Here is a small compilation.
Lex Luger
Before being “the full package” or “narcissist”, Lex Luger was called Larry Pfohl and played up front in the Montreal Alouettes between 1979 and 1981.
Older people may remember it.
Luger also played briefly in the NFL afterward before officially jumping into wrestling in the latter half of the 1980s.
Roman times
The current world champion in WWE makes no secret of his past as a footballer.
Joe Anoai, whose real name is, spent the 2008 season as a defensive man with Edmonton Eskimos after his college career with Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This was after they were invited to the Viking and Jaguar camps.
The end of his football dream will be good tidings for Anoai, who will then join his family in the WWE ranks. Her father, Sika Anwai, was a resident of Wild Samoa in the 1980s at the WWF. The family ties of the Anoai are numerous and Reigns, in particular, is related to the Uso brothers, Yokozuna and The Rock.
A large family of wrestling and soccer fans.
Brian Bellman
Loose Cannon Brian Bellman didn’t have a long career due to his death at a young age, but he conquered the ’90s with his undeniable charisma, unique style, and partnerships with major stars such as Steve Austin and the Hart family.
After a brief NFL career with the Bengals and Bills, Bellman tried to expand his experience with Stampeders in 1986. In Calgary he met the Hart family and debuted his training in the family basement of Stu Hart Brett and Owen’s family.
All roads lead to Stu’s dungeon.
Stu Hart
Speaking of Stu Hart, the patriarch of the huge wrestling family including the Brett brothers and Owen Hart played several seasons with Edmonton Eskimos before founding Stampede Wrestling, the most influential Canadian organization of its time that has seen dozens of great wrestlers pass, from Bret Hart to Chris Jericho to a multitude of talents In the 1980s and 1990s in WWE.
Jim Dogan
We know him with his 2 × 4 and his American flag, but before Hacksaw was in WWE, Jim Duggan played the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL and a little bit with the Toronto Argonauts at CFL. Injuries dampened his career, but Duggan became the first winner of the Royal Rumble created by Pat Patterson in 1988, a tradition that still persists in WWE.
Ron Simons
Ron Simmons made a name for himself by being the first black world champion for a major organization (WCW) in the early 1980s. Then he built a solid reputation in WWF as Farouk, sometimes the leader of the Nation of Domination, then half of the APA team, the famous Attitude Era.
Simmons influenced many wrestlers in her career and started out on the soccer field. After a stint in Florida, Simmons played for the Browns and Ottawa Rogue Riders in the early 1980s.
Billy Graham
Before Hulk Hogan and 80s Hulkamania, there was Superstar Billy Graham.
Flaming Graham has been a huge inspiration for Hogan and is a former WWE World Champion.
But in the late 1960s, Graham (Wayne Coleman) played five matches for Aloyte after a short stint with Stampeders.
Others are in large quantities
The list goes on and on to tell you that CFL is completely unknown to football players in the United States.
Angelo Musca, for example, is a Canadian Football League legend who has played for Hamilton, Ottawa and Montreal. A member of CFL Hall since 1987, Mosca was known in the ring as King Kong Mosca as he wrestled in the CFL offseason. This dual career was like a generation.
Other than that, the illustrious Tito Santana played in British Columbia, Gene Kinesky was visiting the Eskimos, Glenn Kulka featured in Edmonton and George Wells in Saskatchewan.
All this without talking about NFL alumni like Bill Goldberg who have climbed into the ring for huge success.
Anyway, the potential relationship between CFL and XFL – we love that.
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