New WWE Rumors on Stephen A. Smith, Plans for ESPN Star to Become 'More Involved'

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith reportedly may have some involvement with the WWE product in the coming months.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t Derek Holloway of Ringside News), ESPN is "both pleased and enthusiastic" about Smith becoming "more involved" with WWE, and "all signs [are] pointing to that continuing."

WrestleVotes added that Smith has a "close relationship" with members of WWE parent company TKO, and "there is an expected payoff to his involvement coming this summer, likely as part of a tie-in with WWE programming ahead of a big time PLE."

Smith, 58, has a huge presence on ESPN, primarily as the longtime host of the popular sports debate show First Take.

Since ESPN became the official home of WWE premium live events last year, several WWE Superstars and personalities have made appearances on ESPN programming, including First Take.

Prior to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas this month, Danhausen showed up on First Take, and he "cursed" Smith as part of an angle after claiming that Smith was "very, very, very rude" to him.

Smith later attended WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium, and he was shown in the crowd at one point during the broadcast.

During his First Take appearance, Danhausen mentioned that Smith was a fan of the New York Knicks, and after the Knicks fell behind 2-1 in their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, Danhausen took to X to gloat, while also offering to reverse the curse in exchange for money:

Smith responded in an X post of his own, but refused to pay off Danhausen:

Despite that, the Knicks have turned things around, winning back-to-back games to take a 3-2 series lead entering Game 6 against the Hawks on Thursday night.

While WrestleVotes did not offer any specifics about what Smith may do on WWE programming or when he will do it, some type of interaction with Danhausen would make sense because of the foundation that has already been laid between them.

Also, if the plan is for Smith to be utilized in WWE during the summer, making the payoff happen at SummerSlam in Minneapolis on Night 1 and Night 2 would be logical, as it is one of the biggest events on the WWE PLE calendar.

WWE has never been shy about making celebrities part of its presentation over the years, and based on the access ESPN has to so many big names from the sports world, that will likely continue for as long as the two entities are partners.