Rob Gronkowski-WWE Rumors, Matt Hardy's Cryptic Tweets and Latest on Nia Jax

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Gronk Reportedly Signs with WWE; to Appear on SmackDown and at WrestleMania

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has reportedly signed with WWE and is set to appear on the March 20 episode of SmackDown and at WrestleMania 36 in Tampa, Florida, next month to set the stage for a future match, according to Tony Maglio of The Wrap.

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet was the first to report Tuesday on FS1's WWE Backstage that Gronk and WWE were closing in on a deal:

Gronkowski retired from the NFL prior to the 2019 season, and it has long been assumed that a pro wrestling career was in his future. Gronk is a longtime fan and appeared at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida, three years ago, aiding Mojo Rawley in winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

If Gronkowski makes his debut as a contracted WWE Superstar on SmackDown, it would be a sensible move on WWE's part since it airs on Fox and Gronk is an NFL analyst for Fox.

The 30-year-old Gronkowski is a five-time Pro Bowler, four-time First-Team All-Pro, three-time Super Bowl champion and potential future Pro Football Hall of Famer, which makes him among the biggest names WWE could potentially bring in.

WWE has a long history of working closely with celebrities and athletes from other sports, especially on the WrestleMania stage.

Actor Mr. T was part of the main event at the first WrestleMania, several NFL players competed in a battle royal at WrestleMania 2 and former New York Giants linebacker and Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor main evented WrestleMania 10 against Bam Bam Bigelow.

Gronk has the athleticism and personality needed to thrive in WWE, and getting him in the fold now during the most important time of the year is an ideal way to set the stage for some big matches and rivalries moving forward.

Matt Hardy Posts Cryptic Tweets

After departing WWE on March 1, Matt Hardy continues to drop hints about his potential next move in pro wrestling.

Last week, Hardy released Part 1 of the season finale of his Free the Delete YouTube series. In that episode, Hardy interacted with The Young Bucks, which has led to speculation that he will sign with All Elite Wrestling:

The following tweet Wednesday further fueled the speculation and may suggest that Hardy could make his AEW debut on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite:

The second part of the Free the Delete season finale will drop Wednesday as well, so his tweet could have also been referencing that.

Although it is still possible that Hardy could return to WWE or sign with a different promotion such as Ring of Honor or Impact Wrestling, all signs are pointing toward a working relationship with AEW, as neither side has done much to quell the rumors.

AEW even posted the following tweet about Dark Order with the first letter of each line spelling out "Matt Hardy."

Dark Order has long been teasing the revealing of a leader known as "The Exalted One." Given Hardy's "broken" character, he would seemingly be a good fit for that role.

Hardy has made it clear that he wants more creative freedom and an opportunity to utilize the broken character on a big stage, and WWE's unwillingness to let him do so was the primary reason why he decided not to re-sign.

AEW would likely welcome Hardy's input and the addition of a unique character, and indications suggest that could happen as soon as Wednesday.

Jax to Reportedly Move to SmackDown

Nia Jax reportedly may be making the move from Raw to SmackDown when she returns from double knee surgery.

According to PWInsider (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton), Jax is medically cleared to return to action and is expected to be part of SmackDown despite being listed on the Raw roster.

Jax is also reportedly scheduled to be backstage for Friday's episode of SmackDown, which means her return could be drawing near.

Nia has not wrestled since WrestleMania 35 last year, as she underwent surgery to repair two knee injuries in April 2019. If Jax does return Friday, it would mark her first appearance in 11 months.

Since the Raw women's division doesn't have much room at the top with Shayna Baszler challenging Raw Women's champion Becky Lynch at WrestleMania and Charlotte Flair facing NXT Women's champion Rhea Ripley on The Grandest Stage of Them All, SmackDown would likely be a better spot for Jax.

Bayley is the reigning SmackDown Women's champion, but after running through Lacey Evans, Carmella and Naomi, there is no obvious opponent for her at WrestleMania.

Jax is just two years removed from beating Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania, and she also has experience wrestling Bayley dating back to NXT.

If WWE wants a fresh and unexpected challenger for Bayley at The Show of Shows, Jax undoubtedly fits the bill.

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