DeAngelo Williams is calling quits on pro wrestling, and that’s probably best for everyone. Williams made his debut in Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary XV during the holiday weekend and nearly destroyed his face/neck in a frog splash gone wrong.
Williams bounced back up and didn’t sustain any injuries, but it wasn’t pretty.
Here’s some more action from Williams’ debut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VocLjEcMTh0
On Wednesday, he spoke with ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his wrestling debut. Here are a few excerpts of their conversation, via For The Win. First he told Schefter his appearance was a one-time thing, seemingly regardless of his near-injury:
“It was a one-shot deal. A lot of the things that I do, if not all the things that I do, has a meaning to it. I don’t do it just because the opportunity came.”
And here’s Williams explaining the botched table stunt:
“It wasn’t my face that hit the mat. I kind of protected my face with my hands, my arms. But you couldn’t see that part. What happened is in practice when I was coming off, I didn’t have the adrenaline going. So I didn’t get high and it was easy. When I got in the ring and the crowd was cheering and my adrenaline was pumping, I got super high and I was up there forever. And I’m like, ‘This is not how I practiced it.’ And when I came down, I overshot it a little bit. And when I overshot it, the way that I landed, my back took most of the force. But the table gave a little bit. It goes to show too that the tables are real … There’s nothing fake about that.”
Williams, an 11-year veteran, is currently a free agent, but he hopes to find a home for the 2017 season. He appeared in nine games for the Steelers last season, rushing for 343 yards and four touchdowns on 98 carries.