49ers' George Kittle vs. Rob Gronkowski in the wrestling ring? It could happen
Sporting Green // Sports
Rusty Simmons Jan. 31, 2020 Updated: Jan. 31, 2020 4 a.m.
49ers' George Kittle vs. Rob Gronkowski in the...
1of10George Kittle attends WrestleMania 35 on April 7, 2019, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.Photo: George Kittle
2of10SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 19: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after winning the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers beat the Packers 37-20. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images
3of10San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) acknowledges the crowd and waves his NFC Championship Game shirt following the NFC Championship Game at Levi's Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, in San Francisco, Calif. The San Francisco 49ers won 37-20 against the Green Bay Packers. The 49ers will play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle
4of10MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 27: Tight end George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers speaks to the media during Super Bowl Opening Night presented by BOLT24 at Marlins Park on January 27, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)Photo: Rob Carr / Getty Images
5of10San Francisco 49ers Tight End George Kittle, right, with Ring of Honor Wrestler Cero Miedo at the Ring of Honor Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling event at Madison Square Garden on April 6th, 2019. One of Kittle's signature celebration moves is when he forms a circle with his thumb and index finger and the other three fingers on his right hand briefly pointed to the sky. This distinct hand gesture is a tribute to Pentagon Jr., a masked Mexican wrestler who makes the cero miedo – "zero fear" – signal during his matches.Photo: George Kittle
6of10George Kittle (85) signals a first down after his catch In the first half as the San Francisco 49ers played the Pittsburgh Steelers at Levi�s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, September 22, 2019.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
7of10TAMPA, FL - SEPTERMBER 8: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers yells in victory on the sideline during the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. The 49ers defeated the Buccaneers 31-Photo: Michael Zagaris, Getty Images
8of10George Kittle attends "Ring of Honor: Honor For All" on July 20th, 2018 Nashville, TN in Nashville Municipal Auditorium.Photo: George Kittle
9of10LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 20: George Kittle #85 and Dante Pettis #18 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate after a first down against the Washington Redskins during the second half at FedExField on October 20, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. ~~Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images
10of10SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 19: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after winning the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers beat the Packers 37-20. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images
After plowing over a defensive back on his 19-yard catch in the NFC Championship Game, George Kittle formed a circle with his thumb and index finger.
The other three fingers on his right hand briefly pointed to the sky, before the 49ers' tight end gently flipped them toward the ground.
The distinct hand gesture was a tribute to Pentagon Jr., a masked Mexican wrestler who makes the cero miedo — "zero fear" — signal during his matches.
To recognize the obscure ode to the underground fighter, you'd have to be an absolute wrestling fanatic, and Kittle is just fine being tagged with that label.
"I've always enjoyed watching (wrestlers) and their mind-set and attitude," Kittle said before the 49ers flew to Miami for Sunday's Super Bowl against Kansas City. "Day in and day out, no matter what, they always put on a great show. …
"It was definitely force-fed to me, and now I just love it."
Steve Manders, who goes by the name "Cornbelt Cowboy," introduced Kittle to professional wrestling when they were college teammates at Iowa. In what sometimes turned into six-hour sessions, they would replay matches from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on the WWE Network.
When Seth Rollins, from nearby Davenport, Iowa, won an impromptu three-man match to capture the WWE world heavyweight championship at the 2015 WrestleMania, Kittle was hooked.
Kittle regularly wears wrestling T-shirts and for a long time had a "Stone Cold" Steve Austin action figure prominently displayed in his Levi's Stadium locker stall.
Who: 49ers vs. Chiefs
When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Miami Gardens, Fla.
TV:Channel: 2Channel: 40
Radio: 104.5, 680, 107.7, 1050
He has gone to New Orleans and New York City to watch WrestleManias in person and quickly sneaked out of a 2018 news conference after an overtime victory against Seattle to get to San Jose for a "Tables, Ladders and Chairs" event.
That's where Kittle met WWE executive Stephanie McMahon and wrestler Paul Levesque.
Kittle "is a huge personality," said Levesque, better known as "Triple H," WWE's executive vice president of talent, live events and creative. "In my world, that's what I do: recruit athletes and find the next generation of athletes for WWE. He's the kind of guy, who is an amazing athlete, but when you meet him and get to know his personality, you say: 'Oh yeah, he's custom made for us.'"
Kittle is the most prominent football player currently considering a future crossover to wrestling, but there's a long history of athletes who have made similar leaps.
The NBA's Milwaukee Bucks regularly mimic wrestling moves in stadium tunnels before taking the court, and some MLB players use WWE music as their walk-up song. The connections between football and wrestling seem endless.
"The Rock" played football at the University of Miami, Austin earned a football scholarship to the University of North Texas, Bill Goldberg was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams, John Cena played on the Division III Springfield College team, and Brock Lesnar tried out for the Minnesota Vikings. NFL players such as William "The Refrigerator" Perry and Lawrence Taylor made pro wrestling appearances, and at the 2017 WrestleMania, former New England tight end Rob Gronkowski jumped into the ring and helped Dean Muhtadi secure a victory.
WWE founder and CEO Vince McMahon is restoring the XFL, an American professional football league. Many wrestlers are in fantasy football leagues, and as they wait to perform on "Monday Night Raw," their discussions are almost always centered around the previous day's slate of NFL games.
"You see the crossover, especially in football, because of the impact nature of what we do," Levesque said. "In WWE, we are everything that you want to be and wish you could be as a professional athlete. Sometimes, athletes (in other sports) are discouraged from having too much individual personality or too much individual brand recognition. They want it to be about the team itself. In WWE, the athleticism is second to none, but the spectacle, the entertainment, the showmanship is a key in becoming something more.
"It's really the stuff you remember."
Even though he wears a face-masked helmet, Kittle's personality spills out during games.
His mouth moves almost as quickly as he runs routes down the seam. His words are nearly as loud as one of his punishing run blocks. His persona and production have prompted "The Rock" to dub Kittle "The People's Tight End." Kittle often mimics the wrestler's catchphrases and famed moves.
The camera loves Kittle and Kittle loves the camera, even as he'd played the past eight games through the pain of a chipped bone in his ankle and a burst capsule in his knee.
"There is a bit of an unspoken respect and bond between athletes who compete in contact sports," said Rollins, who has finished matches with a torn ACL, broken jaw and separated shoulder. "There's an understanding of what we put ourselves through and what we sacrifice. When you understand what someone else is going through, what that grind is like, and what it takes to get to an elite level, there's a similar mind-set."
Niners defensive tackle Earl Mitchell has done two internships with WWE, but instead of considering a career in the ring, he's thinking mostly about a future behind the scenes in talent recruitment, athlete mentoring or script writing.
Mitchell is the one who took Kittle to the 2018 event at the SAP Center. When they were shown on the arena's big screen, Mitchell remained almost silent as Kittle played to the crowd.
"He just has the ability to perform in front of big crowds and bring that personality," Mitchell said. "I think George would be a shoo-in for that type of environment.
"I can just imagine George and Gronk meeting up in the ring. Now, that would be a show."
Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron
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Rusty Simmons has worked at the San Francisco Chronicle as a reporter since 2002, when he moved to the Bay Area from Texas — via Washington, D.C., Seattle and Germany. He covered prep sports and then Cal football and basketball before assuming the Golden State Warriors beat in 2009. Along with regularly breaking news and putting creative spins on big-issue stories within the Cal athletics beat, Rusty spends his offseasons writing human-interest features on the Bay Area sports landscape.
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