Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton swapped studs for sequined boots on Monday night as he made a shock WWE debut on Raw.
The Brazilian entered the squared circle less than 24 hours after clobbering Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto during Sunday’s Premier League clash.
The 28-year-old left the Cherries’ custodian seeing stars with a thunderous clothesline in injury of a fortunate 1-1 draw for the Magpies, taking out frustrations that had built up during the laboured performance on the unsuspecting goalie.
“Joe was fed up as we played sh*te – if he hadn’t knocked the keeper’s block off he’d have smashed Jason Tindall over the head with a fold-up chair in the dressing room afterwards, I’m sure of it,” a source within the club said afterwards.
“Mind you, he probably deserved it for concluding the half-time teamtalk with ‘if you smell what JT’s cooking’ and a mic-drop, to be fair.”
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 05: Jason Tindall (R), Assistant Manager of Newcastle United looks on with Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United, during the Sela Cup match between ACF Fiorentina and Newcastle United at St James’ Park on August 05, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
However, the midfielder avoided a red card for the assault, with PGMOL explaining that the VAR crew working the game were too busy watching Chelsea’s 6-2 demolition of Wolves on a dodgy stream to intervene.
And the good news kept coming for Joelinton afterwards, as onlooking WWE talent agents were so impressed with his forearm smash on the hapless shotstopper that they immediately contacted his agent to arrange a swift trans-Atlantic swap in for weekly wrestling show.
Just over 36 hours later he was cutting his first promo in a black-and-white striped leotard.
“If you think I hit Neto hard, you ain’t seen nothing yet!” he roared. “These wrestlers think they’re tough, but they’ve never spent a Saturday night in the bigg market.”
He then proceeded to thump some jobber in his first ever bout before roaring “howay the lads, the mackems are sh*te!” to the crowd.
Fans back at St. James’ Park have been quick to show their support for Joelinton’s unexpected career change, with black-and-white wrestling masks already appearing on Tyneside, and some have said they always expected this move to happen.
“We always knew Joelinton had a bit of WWE in him – he’s been lifting Miguel Almiron like a dumbbell in the weight room for years,” one fan said.
While Newcastle gaffer Eddie Howe, when asked about his star midfielder’s new venture, simply shrugged and said, “As long as he keeps performing on the pitch, he can body-slam who he likes – except Dan Burn, who would snap him like a twig.”
Newcastle take on Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, with goalkeeper Matz Sels expected to wear a boxing headguard just in case.
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