Pat McAfee is set to be the latest athlete turned wrestler at NXT TakeOver XXX when he faces Adam Cole. Plenty of athletes have transitioned to wrestling for a one-off appearance including the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Lawrence Taylor.
But which athlete could have survived as a full-time wrestler if that's what they decided to do? Booker T gave his thoughts on his Hall of Fame podcast.
"If I had to say which guy could have been a professional wrestler if he had started before playing ball, and he would have maybe been a top guy and one of the greatest big men ever, that's Karl Malone. He was actually really talented. He had charisma. When he did a little bit in WCW, he actually knew what he was doing. He was jacked. He could have been a huge star in pro wrestling if he would have gone that route. Dennis Rodman was a gimmick. Dennis wouldn't have lasted five minutes in wrestling if Eric Bischoff hadn't been hired. He would have been too drunk. Dennis Rodman was a mess in WCW. He was blitzed half the time, out there, gone! They treated Rodman like Michael Jackson in WCW. The office treated him like Michael Jackson," said Booker.
Rodman and Malone were famously brought in by WCW following the 1998 NBA Finals when Rodman's Chicago Bulls defeated Malone's Utah Jazz. Rodman teamed with Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach 98 while Malone teamed with Diamond Dallas Page.
Fightful recently spoke to Eric Bischoff, who weighed in on how TNT felt when Rodman skipped Bulls practice. You can find his comments by clicking here.
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