Dwight Howard may have become a professional wrestler if it wasn’t for Ric Flair.
Howard took part in a WWE tryout in Nashville over SummerSlam weekend in 2022. Triple H would later say “The ball is in his court” regarding whether he would end up with the company.
Howard told TMZ recently that Flair talked him out of a post-NBA career in WWE.
“I was talking to Ric Flair,” Howard said. “He said I don’t know if my knees is good for wrestling.”
Howard dealt with knee injuries throughout his 18-season NBA career.
“My knees feel good, it’s just wrestling,” he continued. “You’re talking about picking up 300-pound dudes and all that stuff. Nobody wants to do that for their whole life!”
It doesn’t look like a wrestling career is in the cards for the 38-year-old, who signed a contract with the Taiwan Mustangs of The Asian Tournament (TAT) earlier this year. He also told TMZ he is interested in getting into stand-up comedy.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque has commented on the WWE futures of Tyson Fury and Dwight Howard.
Fury has performed once inside a WWE ring at Crown Jewel in 2019. He was also on-hand for Clash at the Castle in Cardiff earlier this month. Levesque spoke with the Sporting News at the Crown Jewel press conference recently and stated that he believes Fury has the potential to do something special in WWE.
“I think Tyson Fury is chomping at the bit to get in the ring,” Levesque said. “The question is which ring will he get into? Is it going to be the boxing ring or is it going to be the WWE ring? We were just together in Cardiff, we had a long talk. He’s as enamored as ever in wanting to do this with us. I think he knows he’s got a few big fights left in him in the boxing world. I think he’s going to capitalize on those fights.”
“Selfishly, I want him to come work with us. Also selfishly, I want to see those fights. So, I hope he knocks those out and I hope he stays interested because I do think with the dedication and the drive that he could do something special with us as well.”
Howard attended a WWE tryout in Nashville during SummerSlam week. Levesque says “the ball is in his court” regarding the basketball player’s WWE future.
“I think the ball is in his court. It’s a funny thing, Dwight, in the conversations we had, was like, ‘You Know, I really want to do this. I’m serious, I really want to do this’ but we hear that a lot and there’s a difference between saying I want to do this and putting in the grind and doing the work to get there. [He] came by our tryouts in Nashville, was incredibly entertaining, jumping in promos by himself and then with others. Incredibly entertaining, really driven to want to do this.”
“He’s got a lot of other things going on, so when he says, ‘Hey, I want to give this a shot,’ he’s got my phone number. All he’s got to do is call me and we’ll see what can happen. And if he’s willing to put in the grind and the drive that guys like Logan Paul and Bad Bunny and Tyson Fury are willing to put in then let’s go.”
Eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard took part in WWE’s SummerSlam tryout session in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday.
Dwight Howard was a surprise participant at the WWE Tryout in Nashville today. He told me he legit wants to join the WWE one day. pic.twitter.com/LiUnNqPsdv
Howard took part in both in-ring drills and a promo showcase at the tryout, and met WWE executive vice president of talent relations and head of creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque at the session.
Dwight Howard just met Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who is in charge of WWE creative and EVP of Talent Relations. pic.twitter.com/r9csgmW2zl
Arash Markazi reports that Howard was at the tryout session for five hours, intends to be ringside for Saturday’s SummerSlam event, and says he is serious about his desire to join WWE.
Howard, 36, played last season for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA in his third stint with the team. Howard began his NBA career straight out of high school, and was the first overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. He played eight seasons for the Orlando Magic, three seasons with the Houston Rockets, parts of three seasons with the Lakers, one season each with the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Charlotte Hornets, and parts of one season with the Washington Wizards in his 18-year NBA career. Howard is currently not signed to an NBA team, but has not officially retired from the league.
According to Basketball Reference, Howard has career NBA salary earnings of $247.88 million.
