England cricket hero Freddie Flintoff has dabbled in quite a lot of totally different alternatives since he was compelled to retire from cricket in 2010.
Freddie Flintoff has had quite a few totally different roles since retiring from cricket (Picture: Getty Photographs)
Freddie Flintoff has revealed he turned down a colossal sum of cash to take up skilled wrestling with WWE. After hanging up his cricketing whites in 2010 on account of damage, the English sporting legend has embraced an array of recent challenges, together with his stint on High Gear. But, in a confession on The Overlap and Betfair’s Persist with Cricket present, Flintoff divulged a profession alternative within the wrestling ring that he in the end handed up.
Flintoff described his life modifications following retirement, recounting his brush with potential WWE stardom and the prospect to grapple with icons like The Undertaker. He stated: “We moved to Dubai – the plan was, I used to be going to play within the IPL and I used to be going to play for Brisbane, basing ourselves in Dubai. Unashamedly, If I might earn a little bit of IPL cash tax-free I am sorted. Once I needed to retire, we determined to undergo with it anyway and it was most likely a superb transfer getting away, my way of life wasn’t nice on the time.
“I simply hid for a bit and began to marvel ‘what am I going to do now?’ A few of the TV presents began to return, which was by no means the plan – I stumbled into that. I almost joined the WWE, I did not wish to field, that was by no means the plan! I might have been known as ‘Large Fred.'”
Flintoff has made a comeback to cricket, stepping up as a coach for England’s most important squad and youth groups after surviving a extreme High Gear collision in December 2022. But he might have taken a wildly totally different profession path.
Flintoff disclosed that he was as soon as supplied a three-year contract by WWE, which might have catapulted him into the heady world of Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble occasions.
“What occurred was, it received to some extent in Dubai the place I used to be unfit, I might put weight on and I used to be simply not in a superb place. I needed to get match once more, however I wanted motivation,” Flintoff confessed.
“As a child, I liked WWE, so I got here up with this concept, as a result of I used to be doing League of Their Personal with Sky, to combat the Undertaker in Manchester! I wrote this therapy up and introduced the concept to Sky, it began gathering momentum and subsequent minute it is being handed onto WWE.
“I used to be involved with the WWE, Vince McMahon! Dave Roberts ‘Rooster’ who was a physiotherapist who lived with us all through my profession, lived with us and taken care of us. I requested him to ship a coach over to Dubai for six weeks as a result of I wanted to bulk up.
“He despatched this fella over, I educated my nuts off, received match after which the WWE flew me to Tampa. Me and the missus have gone over to Tampa, I’ve received two weeks at wrestling academy.
“They fly us over enterprise class, subsequent morning we get within the automobile and go to WWE’s academy, two huge models all branded. We’re sitting within the automobile and this stuff are strolling previous me, like 6ft 8in monsters.
Freddie Flintoff might have ended up in WWE (Picture: Getty Photographs)
“My missus requested, are you going to be okay? I stated, ‘yeah, I will be advantageous’. I walked in – on the primary day, no one preferred me as a result of it is actually aggressive with 60 of us all wanting a contract with the WWE – then this English lad walked in.
“So I’m going in and we do the warm-ups, then they put me within the ring for 3 hours and I simply ran the ropes; I might run into somebody and so they’d throw me. The second day I went in there, I had lashes all down my again and my missus stated ‘are you alright with this?’
“I used to be sore and thought one thing’s not proper right here. I stated to this physio, ‘I feel I am having a again spasm’; so that they’re all like ‘ohh the English lad’s received a again spasm’. In order that they put me on the sofa, he is pushing me and I can really feel my ribs separating.
“I stated ‘mate, I feel I’ve damaged my ribs’. He stated I might be in a lot ache and I used to be like ‘mate, I wish to cry however I am unable to in there’. I went for an X-ray and this fella who places it up requested ‘what do you do’ I stated ‘I am a wrestler’. He requested, ‘how lengthy have you ever been doing this’ and I stated ‘two days’.
“We did all of that – on the third day you do performing classes, however I did not assume I used to be in on it. I used to be simply sitting minding my very own enterprise and so they stated ‘Fred, you are up’. I received up, and I had the microphone in my hand saying how arduous I’m; however I did not like that so stated ‘can I do one other’.
“I regarded out and there have been all of those extraordinary trying folks, so I simply tore all of them a brand new one. They have been attempting to get me to wind up after two minutes however I used to be not completed.
“Two weeks later, I received an e-mail from WWE, saying ‘you may’t do your documentary since you’ll give the secrets and techniques away, we wish to put you on a three-year contract’.
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“They stated ‘we’ll fast-track you and in 18 months you will be at WrestleMania and Royal Rumble’. The cash was obscene, however we needed to maneuver again from Dubai. The children needed to play cricket and did not wish to go to America, so I simply modified it to boxing and had a combat as an alternative.”
Watch the second episode in full right here
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