USA Rugby Star To Join WWE?

You never know where WWE is going to get its next Superstar from. Recently reaching out to MMA to grab Ronda Rousey and finding other stars in sports like soccer, football and Olympic wrestling, WWE has found a potential new recruit who is hoping to make a successful transition from professional rugby to professional wrestling. Former USA Rugby star Todd Clever is in talks to join WWE and while there is no official deal between Clever and WWE, things are looking up. A recent CNN report is documenting Clever and spent some time with WWE at their development facility in Florida and did much better than he thought he might. WWE puts most of its new talents through their Performance Centre, eventually placing them on a show called NXT. While Clever didn’t tell many people he was heading to Florida, he realizes the secret is starting to get out. He said of the news, “I think WWE is all about hitting new markets and the entertainment side. So crossover athletes are nothing new for them… And obviously, rugby players are amazing athletes. So I think there’s a mutual benefit for both sides.”

USA Rugby Star Todd Clever Talks About Being Recruited To Come To WWE https://t.co/ibTT0KURPA pic.twitter.com/FLFxDxEf4I

— eWrestling (@ewrestlingcom) May 3, 2018

This isn’t the first time Clever and WWE have spoken. He turned them down a couple years ago when his role as captain of the USA national team meant he needed to focus on rugby. Now retired, but still actively a part of the rugby scene, he’s looking for a new opportunity and leaving his rugby contracts open-ended to take off for wrestling if the right offer comes along. He thinks WWE might be calling again sooner than later. He described his experience with WWE as brilliant. “Their high-performance center was top-notch and I really felt at home… I had a tour of the facility, a meeting with some of the guys and they asked me: ‘Do you just wanna watch; how do you want to do this?’ I was keen to get stuck in.” He performed exercises like somersaults and cartwheels and said the workout was unlike anything he’d ever done before. Whether or not WWE makes an official pitch to bring him aboard is unknown but it appears that may be the case.