Impact Wrestling has confirmed that NFL veteran running back DeAngelo Williams will be making his pro wrestling debut at this year’s Slammiversary pay-per-view. The 34-year-old free agent will likely be stepping into the ring in just a few weeks time, but hasn’t ruled out a return to football as early as the 2017-18 season.
While the official press release sent out by Impact didn’t explicitly say that Williams will have an in-ring presence at Slammiverary, he has been training with Scott D’Amore for the last few weeks, and recently met with Jeff Jarrett at the company’s headquarters in Nashville. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that he will team up with fellow NFL alumni Moose, taking on Eli Drake and Chris Adonis (fka Chris Masters).
For now, his involvement with Impact is being looked at as a one-time thing, but that could very well change depending on how well he’s received at Slammiversary, and of course his potential placement for the upcoming NFL season.
While plenty of prospective football players have made the jump to pro wrestling after their careers didn’t pan out, that is definitely not the case for DeAngelo Williams, who has spent the last 11 seasons in the league. Before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015, he smashed over 20 franchise records for the Carolina Panthers over the course of 9 seasons, including all-time rushing yards, and was the first Panthers player to ever score a touchdown in a Pro Bowl game.
