Through the decades, professional wrestling has experienced ebbs and flows of popularity. The decline in fans keeping up with action inside the squared circle on a weekly basis is often due to the lack of creativity in storytelling and the inability for promotions to create new stars.
Professional wrestling is beginning to go through a bit of a resurgence in popularity, greatly in part to the start-up of a new company. All Elite Wrestling, AEW, came to be due to the lack of competition the mega-company known as World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, had. WWE has owned the majority share of the casual fan’s interest for over two decades now ever since they put their closest competition, World Championship Wrestling, WCW out of business in 2001.
Over the years, WWE’s weekly creative content has become lazy and they have seen many longtime fans walk away from the company only to pop up occasionally just to see if there have been any changes. The biggest issue WWE has had ever since the likes of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and most recently John Cena have packed up their boots is that they have not been able to create the new generation of stars. Instead of giving some of the younger guys on their roster a true push to see if they captivate the public’s interest, they instead repeatedly dust off some of the legends of the past that are long past their prime. No one really wants to see Goldberg or The Undertaker wrestle today.
WWE has their own development system and will reach out across the world to athletes from MMA, the Olympics, and every sport in between in hopes of finding the next big thing. All of Vince McMahon’s energy should be zoned in on what has been going on in Mobile, Alabama this week. The 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl practices have taken place this week leading up to the Senior Bowl game on Saturday. The Senior Bowl is a postseason college football game played by some of the best seniors in football who are eligible for the NFL Draft.
WWE has had immense success using former college football players in the past. Current Universal Champion Roman Reigns lined up at DT for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He is joined by past stars like former Georgia Bulldog Bill Goldberg, University of Texas All-American Steve “Mongo” McMichael, and Florida State All-American Ron Simmons to name a few. The next big name to come out of the word of college football is making himself known at this year’s Senior Bowl.
Northern Iowa Panther offensive tackle Trevor Penning has put every defensive lineman in Mobile on notice with the nasty moves he showed in practice. Repeatedly during the three days of practices, Penning dominated whomever the coaches lined up in front of him. The Clear Lake, Iowa native was quick to be in face of his opponent to let them know that they should just quit now and save themselves further embarrassment.
Penning displayed a nasty streak in his one-on-one drills, tossing defenders to the ground and adding an extra shove at the end of drill. The 6’7” 321 pound OT is light on his feet, so he could easily work with the smaller stars in the WWE. I can just envision Penning scooping up someone like Rey Mysterio, Jr. and slamming him down with all of his weight. On the field, he imposes his will in a bully-like fashion, leaving defenders questioning why they put pads on and me fantasy booking him against Roman Reigns. If that doesn’t scream WWE heel, I don’t know what does.
Penning has proven his worth this week. As a player at a smaller school like UNI, Penning did not always have the opportunity to prove his worth against NFL caliber opponents, but he more than made up for it at the Senior Bowl.
If the NFL does not work out for Trevor Penning, then I can only imagine it won’t be long before we see the self-proclaimed ‘mauler’ in the main event at WrestleMania.
MORE SENIOR BOWL 2022 CONTENT
- Brian Robinson Jr. Absolutely POPPED Channing Tindall At Senior Bowl Practice Today
- Players Of Local Interest In The Senior Bowl
- A Round 1 Quarterback Selection Isn’t Out Of The Question For The Titans
- Sam Howell, Malik Willis, And Bailey Zappe To Play For Lions Squad In The Senior Bowl
- Senior Bowl: American Team Practice Day 3 Notes
- Senior Bowl: National Team Practice Day 3 Notes
- Titans Fans Should Be Paying Attention To The Senior Bowl
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Steven McCash is the Lead Music Writer and Utility Man for SoBros Network. Steven is the host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast, and the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music in addition to the occasional live show review. He also pitches in as a Nashville lifestyle writer and football analyst (hence the ‘Utility Man’ title). Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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