Tim Tebow, WWE Had 'Secret Meeting' About WrestleMania Match in 2013, Nick Khan Says
Mike Chiari@@mikechiari
Featured Columnist IVJanuary 23, 2024
WWE president Nick Khan revealed Tuesday that he was part of a secret meeting in 2013 regarding former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow potentially having a WrestleMania match.
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Khan said now-WWE head of creative Triple H reached out to him in 2013 about possibly setting up a match between Tebow and Big Show:
Pat McAfee @PatMcAfeeShow"Paul Levesque introduced me to WWE when I was an agent..<br><br>When Tim Tebow got cut by the Patriots he called me about him wrestling the Big Show at WrestleMania..<br><br>Tim, HHH, Vince and I had a secret meeting about that but ultimately it didn't happen"<br><br>Nick Khan <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMSLive?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PMSLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/UiLmHFLnZN">pic.twitter.com/UiLmHFLnZN</a>
Khan said the call was placed after Tebow was released by the New England Patriots, which occurred in August 2013, just before the start of the regular season.
That means the potential Tebow vs. Big Show clash would have had to have taken place at WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans in 2014.
Khan added that himself, Tebow, Triple H and Vince McMahon had a "top-secret, private meeting" in Anaheim, California, about the offer, but it ultimately didn't come to fruition.
Triple H and Khan stayed in touch after that, though, and Khan noted that Triple H set up a future meeting between him and McMahon that resulted in Khan getting hired by WWE.
Tebow was a superstar quarterback at the University of Florida, winning two national championships and a Heisman Trophy before the Denver Broncos selected him in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft.
He spent two seasons in Denver and led the Broncos to the playoffs in 2011, but when the Broncos signed Peyton Manning in free agency, they traded Tebow to the New York Jets.
Tebow was used sparingly during his one season with the Jets, which led to his release. New England subsequently signed him, but he was unable to make the team out of training camp.
There was a one-year gap between Tebow getting cut by the Patriots and trying to make the Philadelphia Eagles' roster in 2015, and while a WrestleMania match could have happened during that time, it wasn't meant to be.
Big Show competed in the first Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30 instead, and he was the last person eliminated by Cesaro.
WrestleMania 30 is mostly remembered for Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker's WrestleMania undefeated streak and Daniel Bryan beating Randy Orton and Batista in the main event for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Although it struck out on Tebow, WWE has continued to make celebrities a key part of WrestleMania in the years since then, including the likes of Rob Gronkowski, Bad Bunny and Logan Paul.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.