Former Syracuse football player Josh Black had two dreams growing up: to play in the NFL and to be a WWE wrestler. Last year, he achieved his first goal. Yesterday, Black completed his bucket list.
On Thursday, Black inked a three-year rookie contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, which serves as the big leagues for professional wrestling. While the immediate future for the former defensive lineman is more training and developmental shows, he has the ability to move up if he performs well.
This comes after Black’s short stint in professional football. Over the past year, he was cut from both the Bears and Saints without making an appearance in a regular season game. However, that worked out well for Black, given that the WWE has been recruiting him for over a year.
Josh Black’s tryout finally happened earlier this month, and he immediately knew it went well. According to a video released on his social media pages, he posted a top-three score in the medicine ball drill, vertical jump, and third in the broad jump. Although Black performed well, it wasn’t an easy process.
“It was one of the most fun experiences, but also the most tiring,” Black said. “It was just so hard to train for.”
Still, his physical prowess shouldn’t be surprising. Back at SU, Black squatted over 700 pounds.
In his football playing days, Black spent six years with Syracuse football. The defensive lineman was an All-ACC Honorable Mention as a senior. Black also posted a career statline that included 24 tackles for loss and and eight sacks.
If Black makes it big time in the WWE, he wouldn’t be the first former football player to succeed as a professional wrestler. He’d join Ernie “The Big Cat” Ladd, Ed “Wahoo” McDaniel, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as guys who transferred their size and skills from the gridiron to the ring.
