George Kittle won’t be back in WWE until, at least, after his football career has ended.
The All-Pro Tight End for the San Francisco 49ers was shown ringside at WrestleMania 40 but got far more involved in the action at WrestleMania 39 last year. He delivered a clothesline to The Miz and helped Pat McAfee to victory that year. Kittle says the 49ers told him not to do something like that again.
Kittle told ESPN that team general manager John Lynch later texted him, “Hope you had fun” and “Don’t do that again.”
Kittle did not tell his team ahead of time that he would be getting physically involved in McAfee’s match. His theory was “Just don’t get hurt, and we won’t have any problems with anything.”
Typical NFL contracts commonly include clauses that restrict an athlete from potentially dangerous activities such as hang-gliding or rock climbing. Patrick Mahomes’ contract even prohibits him from playing basketball.
“I tried to use that clause to get out of dancing at my own wedding,” Kittle added. “It didn’t necessarily work, and I was able to make it through without any injury.”
Kittle talks frequently about his love of wrestling. During a Monday Night Football game in Mexico City in 2022, Kittle was shown hugging AEW’s Penta El Zero Miedo, who also presented him with a lucha mask.
“I have more than ten lucha masks, and I’m most proud of my Penta red-and-gold Niners mask with my number on it,” Kittle later told SI.com. “That’s the one I wore into our Mexico City game in 2022.”
“Wrestling is the pinnacle of sports entertainment, as is football,” he continued.
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