Rob Gronkowski Was "Kind Of Panicking" About WWE WrestleMania Spot
Former Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski has some memorable moments from his brief ventures into the world of WWE. The first was a surprise involvement in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33. Most people, including former WWE star Dean "Mojo" Muhtadi, best remember the match for Gronkowski's involvement and a security guard at ringside who didn't expect him to come in from the crowd.
"In rehearsals, we tried hard to limit as many people as possible to who actually knew what was coming," Muhtadi recalled on The Session with Renee Paquette. "And somehow, no one buzzed security. So, we get to the spot and I'm laying on the ground, I'm selling, and Rob steps over and comes charging up and, you know, Lisa (the security guard) jacked his ass up. And I know Rob, so I saw Rob's face when it happened, and I was like, he has no idea what to do right now. That is his legitimate, confused shocked face. Not trying to sell, like he is kind of panicking right now because he can't pivot. We're trained to pivot.
"I'm on the ground covering my face, I'm like, 'Aye, part of the show. Part of the show, let him go. Part of the show. He's good', Muhtadi continued. "And I remember Tony, the other security guard runs up and he sees this and he's just like, 'What the f*ck'. Screaming out, I was dying. I was trying so hard not to let anyone see my face."
Rob Gronkowski helped Dean Muhtadi (known as Mojo Rawley in WWE) win the battle royal at WrestleMania 33. Looking back, Muhtadi feels Gronkowski's awkward moment helped to get the fans behind him.
"It actually worked out better because you know how the hardcore fans are," Muhtadi said. "When they see mainstream people, they tend to typically boo them. So when they showed Rob in the beginning, you know, there was kind of a mixed reception here. Of course, it wasn't New England. That would've helped. But, you know, when we finally got to the spot and Lisa took it away, now all the people that may have wanted to boo a third party person or outsider, they just wanted to see the spot. So they actually all got on board so it actually built the spot better and got to right where we needed to be and it just made the whole thing even better."
Rob Gronkowski was briefly under a WWE contract in 2020. He pinned Dean Muhtadi to win the 24/7 Championship at WrestleMania 36. Gronkowski lost the 24/7 Title and left WWE after he exercised a release clause in his contract for him to return from his NFL retirement to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.