Update on Rob Gronkowski Signing with WWE, Smackdown Debut on March 20, WrestleMania Appearance

It was reported last night on WWE Backstage that NFL legend Rob Gronkowski was close to signing with WWE, which we wrote about here. This morning, it is being reported by The Wrap and PWInsider that the deal is done and that Ryan Satin on WWE Backstage said it was “close” was a way to get people talking about it. In other words, they wouldn’t have put it on WWE Backstage most likely unless it was going to happen.

The report from Tony Maglio of The Wrap notes that Gronkowski is expected to make his WWE debut on the March 20 edition of Smackdown in New Orleans. That was mentioned as a possible appearance on the WWE Backstage report. I assume that WWE will promote it ahead of time.

The Wrap also notes that Gronkowski will be set to appear at WrestleMania 36 in Tampa Bay, Florida on April 5th. It states that “current plans call for that appearance to be part of a build-up to a future match.” In other words, they would do some angle at WrestleMania to set up a future match.

The PWInsider report from Mike Johnson reports that WWE saying Gronk was “close to signing with WWE” is just a storyline and that the deal is already in place. They noted that Gronk’s debut is set for March 20 in New Orleans. The belief is that Gronk will work as an active pro wrestler and not as a non-wrestler. One source described it to PWInsider as a deal similar to Ronda Rousey, but that doesn’t mean he will wrestle as many matches as Rousey. It just means he would be a wrestler.

Gronkowski is a very close friend of current WWE superstar Mojo Rawley. Gronk has been ringside at many WWE events supporting Rawley and at WrestleMania 33 in 2017, he went into the ring to knock down Jinder Mahal and help Rawley win the WrestleMania Battle Royal. Gronkowski is 30 years old.

There is a WWE.com post about Gronkowski right here that doesn’t say much other than he might be coming to WWE soon.