DeAngelo Williams On Which Announcer Contacted Him About Slammiversary, If He Will Wrestle Again
Free Agent NFL running back DeAngelo Williams was a guest on Adam Schefter's Know Them From Adam Show on Wednesday where he talked about his professional wrestling debut at last Sunday's Slammiversary pay-per-view. Adam asked him if this is something he was going to do in the future or if this was a one shot deal.
"No, it was a one shot deal," said Williams. "I tell you exactly how – like a lot of things that I do ? if not all the things that I do has a meaning to it. I don't do it just because the opportunity came."
DeAngelo Williams teamed with Moose to defeat Chris Adonis and Eli Drake in a tag team match. Josh Mathews was on the card in a No Disqualification match where he teamed with Scott Steiner, losing to his broadcast colleague Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park (Abyss).
"But me and Josh Mathews are friends ? he's a color commentator ? so he actually got in the ring for the first time as well with this card Slammiversary," Williams said. "However, we've been friends – he was with the WWE for a long time ? and he was a commentator there as well."
Williams explained that it was his uncle that got him into professional wrestling and gave him a nickname from the sport. Williams recalled taking his uncle to WrestleMania XXV in 2009 before he died. He said his uncle asked him if he would ever consider getting into the ring but Williams said he wouldn't because he respected the business too much.
Josh Mathews then called Williams and presented him with the opportunity to wrestle in GFW. Williams said he originally declined but said after thinking about it, he thought this could be his opportunity to have a match for his late uncle. It was then he called Josh Mathews back.
"I want to wrestle. This is bigger than me," Williams told Mathews in the second phone call. "I respect the sport too much to just go in there and not perform like a wrestler. So I went up to Canada for three days and came back and that was the product you got, outside of the botched table jump."
Williams went on to explain what happened with the table spot, one that could have resulted in serious injury.
"Well it wasn't my face that hit the mat," Williams explained. "I kind of protected my face with my hands, my arms. You couldn't see that part."
Williams practiced the spot beforehand but it was a different experience when he was in the ring in front of the crowd.
"What happened is in practice when I was coming off, I didn't have the adrenaline going so I didn't get that high, it was easy," said Williams. "When I got in the ring and the crowd was cheering and my adrenaline was pumping I got super high and I was up there forever. And I'm like, this is not how I practiced it. And when I came down I overshot it a little bit and when I overshot it, my back took the most of the force. But the table gave a little bit."
DeAngelo explained to Schefter how not only are the checks in professional wrestling real but the spots are very real as well.
"It goes to show the tables are real. The bumps and the bruises and the injuries wrestlers sustain are real," said Williams. "There's nothing fake about that. You kind of play with some of the things but for the most part ?- getting body slammed ? there's no faking that."
You can listen to Adam Schefter's latest episode of the Know Them From Adam Show featuring DeAngelo Williams by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Know Them From Adam Show with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.