Cody Rhodes name drops Haaland as a potential WWE guest star and honestly I'm here for it

[Rough Reece]

Cody Rhodes was on Jimmy Fallon this week promoting his SummerSlam title defense against CM Punk and got asked about celebrities who might step into a WWE ring, Erling Haaland's name came up alongside Tom Holland, Travis Kelce and Jason Momoa which is quite the crossover fantasy list

Rhodes leaned into the bit pretty hard too, joking that with the matching hair he and Haaland could pass as cousins since everybody in wrestling is somebody's cousin eventually, it is a small detail but it is exactly the kind of throwaway line that gets clipped and passed around for weeks

What makes this more than just idle talk show banter is the timing, Haaland picked up something like 32 million social media followers off the back of Norway's World Cup run this summer, he is a legitimately massive crossover name in the US market right now in a way few footballers have managed before

At six foot five he is literally the same height as The Rock, which is a fun stat and also a real practical point, WWE has a long history of putting oversized athletes from other sports into the ring for a one off spot and Haaland's frame would not look out of place at all

Nobody is pretending this happens anytime soon, Haaland has plenty of playing years left and Manchester City are not about to let their striker anywhere near a folding chair mid season, but the WWE has never been shy about chasing a viral crossover moment and this is exactly the kind of story that keeps circulating until it eventually happens in some form

Wrestling rings are calling him: Haaland in line to compete in WWE bouts | Goal.comwww.goal.com

[Sandra_29]

The Rock height comparison is doing a lot of work here, genuinely never clocked that Haaland is that tall until it was spelled out like that

[Rory_39]

City would have an absolute fit if their striker so much as brushed shoulders with a turnbuckle during the season, this stays a fun offseason daydream at best

[Daresh84]

Rhodes throwing out names on a late night show is standard promotional filler though, I wouldn't read too much into an actual booking happening from this specific interview

[Gary90]

Fair but WWE has done this before with athletes from other sports for a one night cameo, it doesn't need to be a real match to happen, just an entrance or a guest referee spot

[alwaysMason58]

32 million followers off one World Cup run is the real story buried in here honestly, that is a staggering crossover number for a player who wasn't even a household name in the US a year ago

[Bob81]

Would honestly pay good money to see Haaland just walk out to his own entrance music at a WrestleMania even if he never throws a single move

[Comet Barrel]

The cousin joke is peak wrestling promo logic, everyone in that business really is somebody's storyline cousin sooner or later