We’re looking at guests who have crossed over into the world of wrestling with former NFL defensive end and outside linebacker Kevin Greene in WCW. This is one that fellow The Overtimer writer CP Bialois and I have been positive on. Let’s get into his run and his prospects for full-time.
Kevin Greene in WCW
Greene first showed up at Clash of the Champions XXXII in January 1996 alongside Hogan and Savage for their bout against Flair and The Giant. That Flair-Giant pairing was a bit odd but there was a build to it. He would get physical after the match helping Hogan run off Pillman and The Zodiac.
Ugh…the Zodiac.
Anyway, we would have his first match that June at Great American Bash 1996. Greene was paired with Mongo McMichael once again to face Ric Flair who was teaming with Arn Anderson.
Apparently, Kevin Greene was brought in to set Flair straight after the Nature Boy was pitching woo at his then-wife Debra—who was always at ringside and caused trouble for Mongo.
She also caused trouble for Jarrett in WWE now that I think about it.
That match would end with McMichael turning on his partner and joining the Four Horsemen after Debra returned from the back with a briefcase of cash. Greene was definitely tied to the ongoings of the Horsemen during his appearance, because his last appearance saw him return in late June 1998 on Nitro.
While he was out for an interview, Curt Hennig and Rick Rude showed up to create problems for the guy but it was just a distraction as the Giant showed up and attacked him.
A match was scheduled as the main event later in the night and Greene picked up an italicized “W” after winning by DQ after Hennig and Rude interfered. Goldberg would clear house after the Giant, Hennig, and Rude laid a beating on his former teammate post-match.
His last match was a loss to the Giant at Bash at the Beach in July 1998.
What If He Jumped to Wrestling?
The late 90s would’ve been the best time for him to enter wrestling full-time. However, he was tied down by his contract with the 49ers and the Panthers. He was a big wrestling fan and even got Goldberg to give it a shot. From what others have said about Kevin Greene, he gave 100-percent during his training. This translated into him having a ridiculously amount of energy during his matches although he was a bit basic in-ring.
Mind you, he’d only wrestled five matches between the summer of 1996 and the summer of 1998. Training wasn’t something he could just do year around since it would’ve clashed with both his NFL training and his contracts.
I’m going to say that Greene would’ve not only transitioned well to full-time wrestling, he would’ve probably had a longer career than Dennis Rodman. We saw him as a sporadic babyface but he could’ve been a good regular babyface and a shocking heel.
Kevin Greene had high full-time potential both for his athleticism but also for the energy he brought to what he could do on the mic and in-ring. He was very similar to Steve “Mongo” McMichael but there was a possibility that he would’ve been cleaner if he was a contracted WCW wrestler.
CHECK IT OUT: To get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
