Pro wrestling and baseball grows ever-closer
In a story so odd it just had to be retold, word has it that former Montreal Expos outfielder Warren Cromartie is set – at the age of 53 – to make his professional wrestling debut in Japan.
Yes, that Warren Cromartie – and yes – The Heckler said professional wrestling.
Old-school fans may remember that Cromartie left Major League Baseball in the early 80s to play for the Yomiuri Giants from 1984-1990. In 1989, he not only led the league in batting with a .378 clip, but also took home that league’s Most Valuable Player award in the process. Nicknamed “Crow”, he often led the Yomiuri faithful in cheers of “Banzai!” from his outfield position.
Cromartie will be part of an event called Hustle Aid on June 17, where he will step inside the squared-circle for his debut match at the Saitama Super Arena. No stranger to Japan, the obviously would-be babyface Cromartie will take on a rumored opponent of near-equal legendary status in the country, namely, Abdullah the Butcher (pictured at left) or Tiger Jeet Singh. The Heckler, for one, could think of easier ways to make one’s professional wrestling debut than having to face either of these two savages, but I’m not Warren Cromartie.
The link between the world of professional wrestling and baseball is seemingly only growing stronger by the day with the Cromartie tale. It follows on earlier stories this year about several Detroit Tigers – including Curtis Granderson, Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander — attending World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Wrestlemania 23 (held recently in Motown’s Ford Field) as well as the Chicago White Sox A.J. Pierzynski and St. Louis Cardinals having brief on-camera roles with Total Non-Stop Action (TNA). In addition, former Boston Red Sox slugger Wade Boggs was recently spotted ringside at the WWE’s taping of Monday Night Raw.
- The Heckler
Thanks to good friend Mr. Mal Occhio for the heads-up on the Cromartie story. For more on the world of professional wrestling, check out WrestlersRamblings.com. Photo of Abdullah the Butcher/Mr. Mal Occhio courtesy of The Troublemaker and WrestlersRamblings.com. All rights reserved.