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If you don't watch TNA, you might not be familiar with Moose, but you're surely getting to know more about him now, as the X Division Champion has made several appearances in WWE NXT, whether it be in a match with Lexis King, or to set up his match with against NXT Champion Oba Femi at Roadblock. During his time in NXT, commentators have regularly referenced Moose's time as an NFL player. This is not uncommon, as many wrestlers have played football, and a few, like Goldberg, Baron Borbin, and Pat McAfee, of course, have even made it to the NFL. So just how good was the man they call Moose?
Moose Played College Football At Syracuse
Moose Actually Isn't A Big Football Fan
- Moose's real name is Quinn Ojinnaka.
- Moose played offensive lineman in football.
- He was never really into football, he just happened to be good at it.
Moose's real name is Quinn Ojinnaka. At 6'5" and 300 pounds, it's easy to see how he became both a football player and a professional wrestler. Football came first, with Moose first playing as an offensive lineman in high school, before doing the same collegiately at Syracuse. While there, he played in nearly every game and started half of them. He was a great football player, but as he once told Chris Van Vliet in an interview, he wasn't really passionate about it.
“I was never a big football guy. Even playing, I never really was a football guy. It’s just one thing that luckily I was good at." (h/t chrisvanvliet.com)
Moose Got His Wrestling Nickname From Michael Vick
Moose Played For Seven Seasons In The NFL
- Moose was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 2006.
- Moose didn't know who Warrick Dunn was when he met him.
- Michael Vick first gave Moose his nickname, but he wanted to be called Tank.
Football may not have been Moose's passion, but he was good enough at it to get drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He immediately made a bad impression with how little he paid attention to football, telling Van Vliet:
"When I got drafted by the Falcons in 2006, I remember on the first day in the building I run into Warrick Dunn. Stupid me, I didn’t even know who Warrick Dunn was. I remember meeting him and going ‘Hey, my name is Quinn Ojinnaka, what’s yours?’ He looked at me like, ‘You serious?’ It’s like in wrestling and meeting Sting and not knowing who Sting is.”
Moose admitted that he didn't have any NFL goals outside of making money. This was because he wasn't enjoying it at all, to the point that he was anxious and stopped caring. Still, he made it four years in Atlanta and made many stars at left tackle and right guard, but his most important moment came from the team's legendary star quarterback.
“Michael Vick actually gave me the name I think. It stems all the way from my rookie year when I was in Atlanta. There was a guy that was called Moose a few years before I got there, I guess I looked like him so that was how I got the name. I hated it at first, I wanted to be called tank, because everyone called me that in high school. But the rule in the NFL is you don’t get to pick your nickname. So it just stuck with me.”
In 2010, Moose was traded to the New England Patriots, where he got to be teammates with Tom Brady, but his time there was short. Moose was only with the team for eight games and was never more than a backup. He then had very short stints with the St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts, where he did nothing, before rejoining the Rams in 2012. However, he was released early in the season and never played again.
Why Did Moose Quit The NFL?
Moose Has Gone On To Have A Great Pro Wrestling Career
- Moose quit the NFL in 2012 at just the age of 28.
- Moose made his wrestling debut with Dragon Gate USA.
- He has been a multi-time TNA World Champion and is the current X Division Champion.
In 2012, Moose was only 28 and had the opportunity to sign with another NFL team, but he decided not to. It was time to pursue his real passion. He told Van Vliet:
"I decided to start this journey to be a pro wrestler. You go from the last pay check at the Rams, $60,000, the first match I got paid for was $25. But it didn’t matter because I lived what I was doing."
Moose was such a big wrestling fan that he watched it whenever it was on, and would even go to WrestleMania with his friends every year. He never thought he could be a real wrestler though, until now. Moose quickly became his ring name, and it has stuck ever since. He first started in Dragon Gate USA, but by 2014 he was in Ring of Honor. He competed here and there in New Japan Pro Wrestling as well, but it was in 2016, when he signed with TNA, that his career really took off. In his nearly decade-long run with them, Moose has been everything from a multi-time TNA World Champion to the current X Division titleholder.
After some early success in the NFL, a career in football wasn't for Moose. He gave up the money to take the huge risk of following a wrestling dream. The gamble has paid off and then some.
More must-reads:
- Braves to place star player on 10-day IL
- Andrew Vaughn lifts Brewers over Cubs with career-high RBI night
- The 'NFL stadium names' quiz
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Packers starter hits back at Matt LaFleur, calls for 'bus fine'
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Steelers reporter shares big claim about how Aaron Rodgers has looked in training camp
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Oilers to Acquire a Top-Tier Goalie. An Official Trade Offer Is on the Table in a Blockbuster Deal
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Solving Henrietta's Map in Hogwarts Legacy
Jordan Love causes teammate to get yanked from drill
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