Analyzing the Potential of Shawne Merriman as a Wrestler in WWE

In the most newsworthy week in pro wrestling in many years, a lot of things fell by the wayside.  For example, Jim Ross was in the front row of the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony after whatever led to his departure last year.  

Another was the presence of former NFL player Shawne Merriman as an analyst on the WrestleMania and Monday Night Raw pregame shows on WWE Network.  It was odd that he was being used in that spot instead of the usual older wrestler, but he's friendly with WWE so it didn't seem like a big deal at WrestleMania.  He was more conspicuous when he came back the next night, though.

Now, as initially reported by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (link behind paywall, h/t WrestlingInc.com) and supported by TMZ, it looks like the three-time All-Pro has signed or is on the verge of signing with WWE.  Not only is he going to continue as an announcer, but he'll be training for pro wrestling at the WWE Performance Center.

One of the ideas behind the Performance Center was its importance as a recruiting tool.  Instead of trying to direct blue-chip athletes to whatever wrestling school had the developmental contract at the time, WWE built its own state-of-the-art facility.  

Not only would this help WWE get college athletes, especially amateur wrestlers without aspirations of mixed martial arts careers, but also football players still in their athletic primes when their careers ended.  Merriman fits the latter category perfectly.

Merriman would be the most accomplished pro football player under contract.  He was a teammate of current NXT star Mojo Rawley (real name Dean Muhtadi) at the University of Maryland before his pro career.  

WWE has two other former pros on the roster, and one of them may surprise you.

The less surprising one is Roman Reigns.  While he comes from a wrestling family, he spent time on the rosters of the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars as well as the practice squad of the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos.  While he wasn't especially impressive in developmental, using him as the muscle in The Shield was a great way to help him along by hiding him in trios matches until he could hold up his end.  Meanwhile, he'd constantly be in matches with several great workers between his partners and opponents.

The one you wouldn't be able to guess is Summer Rae.  Under her real name of Danielle Moinet, she was the cornerback of the Lingerie Football League's Chicago Bliss from 2008 to 2011.  Say what you will about the LFL, but the women were still real athletes playing real football, not just a bunch of models flailing around.  Of the current WWE Divas without prior pro wrestling experience (meaning no AJ Lee, Paige, Natalya, and so on), she really shines as an all-around performer, coming along much faster than her contemporaries.

While there are conflicting stories about how Merriman's initial trip to the Performance Center went last year, adjusting to pro wrestling training is difficult and someone's first class isn't necessarily representative of his or her potential.  

When it comes to pro football players from the past, for every Hall of Fame wrestler like Wahoo McDaniel, Ernie Ladd, Curtis Iaukea, and Bronko Nagurski, you have a number of popular mid-level stars like Brian Pillman, Russ Francis, and Don Manoukian. You also have total washouts like Jim Wilson or Otis Sistrunk and whatever you want to call Steve McMichael.  While Lawrence Taylor and especially Kevin Greene put in strong performances in their guest shots as wrestlers, Reggie White was terrible.

There's also the question of how long Merriman will last.  It's not uncommon for football players, prize fighters, and other athletes from contact sports who have tried pro wrestling to say it's the hardest thing they've ever done.

If Shawne Merriman sticks with it and doesn't see himself as "above" wrestling (a problem that affected the development of some "real athletes," including Jim Wilson), he should do reasonably well.  Just how well will be determined by everything else, like who he gets to work with and learn from.

David Bixenspan is the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly. Some of his work can be seen in Fighting Spirit Magazine.

Follow @davidbix