Major British Sports Star Turned Down 'Obscene Money' To Sign With WWE

Freddie Flintoff is a retired English cricketer renowned for being one of the best of his era, winning a litany of individual awards, captaining the English cricket team, and even winning the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Flintoff transitioned from cricket to the world of television post-retirement, becoming one of the most recognisable figures in British media - working as a TV host, radio presenter, and more. However, he could have taken a different path, with him apparently once being offered a WWE contract.

Speaking on Betfair's ‘Stick To Cricket’ show, Flintoff recalled being approached by WWE with a three-year deal that would have seen him potentially wrestle The Undertaker.

“I wanted to get fit again, but I needed motivation. As a kid, I loved WWE, so I came up with this idea, because I was doing League of Their Own with Sky, to fight the Undertaker in Manchester. I wrote this treatment up and presented the idea to Sky, it started gathering momentum and next minute it's being passed onto WWE. I was in contact with the WWE, Vince McMahon!” (H/T TalkSport)

“They said, 'We'll fast-track you and in 18 months you'll be at WrestleMania and Royal Rumble.' The money was obscene, but we wanted to move back from Dubai. The kids wanted to play cricket and didn't want to go to America, so I just changed it to boxing and had a fight instead.”

Freddie Flintoff Struggled With The Physicality Of WWE

During his interview, Flintoff recalled undergoing in-ring training, having visible bumps and bruises all over his back after just the first day of being thrown around the ring. He spoke about getting some stick from others who were going through the training, getting made fun of for potentially breaking his ribs.

In the end, Flintoff never delved down the route of professional wrestling, but it would have certainly been bizarre to see him in the Royal Rumble, compete against The Undertaker, and go on to wrestle at WrestleMania.