Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff has disclosed that he once declined an offer from WWE after being personally approached by the organisation’s former chairman, Vince McMahon.
In an interview on The Overlap’s Stick to Cricket podcast, the iconic all-rounder explained how this opportunity came about following his retirement from professional cricket in 2010. Despite making a short comeback to play for Brisbane Heat during the 2014–15 Big Bash League season, Flintoff had already begun considering career paths beyond cricket.
Prior to his Big Bash League return, Flintoff had begun WWE training and even had discussions about potential storylines, including matches against The Undertaker, along with appearances at major events such as the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.
“I just took some time to step back and think, ‘What do I do now?’ TV offers started coming in, which wasn’t part of the plan – I kind of ended up there by accident. I was close to joining WWE, but boxing was never something I planned for! I probably would have ended up with the nickname ‘Big Fred.”
Flintoff admitted that his primary reason for considering WWE was to get back in shape, with his childhood passion for wrestling playing a key role in motivating him to explore this path.
“I wanted to get back in shape, but I needed something to motivate me. As a kid, I was a huge WWE fan, so I came up with this idea while working on A League of Their Own with Sky – to face the Undertaker in Manchester.”
“I wrote up this proposal and pitched the idea to Sky, and it started gaining traction. Before I knew it, it was being passed on to WWE. I was in touch with Vince McMahon!”
As the idea gained traction, Flintoff was flown out to WWE’s academy in the United States for training, where he soon realised the significant physical toll the profession required.
“They flew us over in business class, and the next morning we were driven to WWE’s academy, which was massive and fully branded. As we sat in the car, these 6ft 8in monsters were walking past us.”
“My partner asked if I was going to be okay, and I told her, ‘I thought to myself, ‘I’ll be fine.’ I walked in, and on the first day, I could tell no one really took to me because the competition was fierce, with 60 of us all battling for a WWE contract and then this English guy showed up.”
