NBA’s Dwight Howard participates in WWE tryout, wants to join the company
NBA star and future Basketball Hall of Famer Dwight Howard debuted his pro wrestling persona at the WWE SummerSlam Tryout Camp in Nashville earlier today.
Howard, a noted pro wrestling fan, was a surprise participant on Thursday at the WWE tryouts being held at The Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, TN. Howard cut a fiery promo in front of the crowd, met with WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations & Head of Creative Triple H, and spent time with the other athletes trying out, and some of the WWE Superstars in attendance. You can see photos and videos below.
Thursday’s tryout camp saw Howard debut his proposed ring persona – Sho ‘Nuff. This appears to be a nod to the character from the 1985 martial arts film, The Last Dragon. He received a pop from the crowd in attendance, and has received significant praise from fans on social media.
Howard told sports reporter Arash Markazi that he legitimately wants to join WWE one day. He added that he’s serious about joining the company.
The 36-year-old Howard didn’t just cut his viral promo and then leave Thursday’s tryouts as he spent around five hours at the camp, and was seen cutting promos with the other participants. Markazi noted that Howard was asking the coaches and other attendees about how to properly take a bump in the ring, and do other moves.
Howard also revealed that he will be in attendance for WWE SummerSlam at Nissan Stadium on Saturday.
Howard posted an Instagram video tonight and asked fans what his pro wrestling name should be. You can see that post below, along with footage of Howard with Big E, and more clips from the camp. Howard has re-posted several photos and clips from the camp to his Instagram Stories, including photos with Triple H and WWE NXT Tag Team Champion Brutus Creed.
Howard, who stands at 6-foot-10 and 265 pounds, just finished his 18th season in the NBA while under his third stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the #1 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft and is a one-time NBA Champion, an eight-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team Player, a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and has numerous other awards and highlights from his career. He has played for a different NBA team in each of the past seven seasons, and is currently a free agent, which adds a bit of uncertainty around his basketball future.
Howard is a noted pro wrestling fan and once mixed it up with Rusev (aka Miro) and Lana (aka CJ Perry) at a WWE live event in Houston, TX on January 18, 2015. After appearing with local radio personalities earlier in the show to cut a quick promo inspired by WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and asking the crowd if they were ready for “some wrestling,” Howard later interrupted an anti-USA promo by Lana and Rusev, yelling at them from his seat. Lana yelled at Howard to “shut up” but that brought him to the ring. At the time, Howard was playing for the Houston Rockets, who are rivals of the Los Angeles Clippers, who Rusev and Lana are big fans of in real-life. Howard later attended the June 4, 2015 SmackDown and posed for a backstage photo with Triple H, who told him to give him a call if he ever wanted to step in the ring. Howard was also interviewed backstage that night by JoJo Offerman, and was interviewed backstage by a WWE camera man at the November 14, 2017 SmackDown. Howard joked about wanting to hit opponent and fellow WWE fan Giannis Antetokounmpo with a Stone Cold Stunner after a May 2021 game.
WWE began their three-day SummerSlam Week camp at The Wildhorse Saloon on Wednesday. The first-ever WWE Tryout Viewing Experience will be held today, Friday, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the tryout process. Tickets for the Viewing Experience were at $20 for General Admission, and $1000 for VIP, which included a ring photograph with WWE Superstars and Legends. WWE previously announced that they were hosting more than 50 male and female participants at the camp, and that it was exclusively for current and recently graduated college athletes “with collegiate athletic backgrounds across football, basketball, track and field, wrestling, volleyball, gymnastics, cheer and dance. Athletes [were set to] partake in performance evaluations, individual and group promo evaluations, in-ring technical sessions and sit-down interviews as part of the tryout process. The invite-only event [was to feature] several athletes who attended 2022 NFL Rookie Mini Camps” and there was talk of some indie stars attending.
Howard has not publicly commented on the WWE tryout experience as of this writing.
Dwight Howard was a surprise participant at the WWE Tryout in Nashville today. He told me he legit wants to join the WWE one day. pic.twitter.com/LiUnNqPsdv
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 28, 2022
Dwight Howard didn’t just cut this one promo and leave. He’s been here for hours. He’s now cutting promos with the other attendees at the WWE Tryout in Nashville. pic.twitter.com/J9HQQq23cN
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 28, 2022
Dwight Howard just met Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who is in charge of WWE creative and EVP of Talent Relations. pic.twitter.com/r9csgmW2zl
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 28, 2022
Dwight Howard spent about five hours at the WWE Tryout in Nashville today. He told me he’s going to be ringside at SummerSlam on Saturday. He said he’s serious about joining the WWE. He was asking coaches and attendees how to properly take a bump in the ring and do other moves. pic.twitter.com/ZLOzzvvb1P
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 28, 2022
Is @DwightHoward a standout during the #WWETryouts?!? pic.twitter.com/fxGuf2pn5y
— WWE Recruit (@WWERecruit) July 28, 2022
