It looks like the anticipated WWE debut of Rob Gronkowski will be taking place next week.
According to Gronk's friend and fellow professional wrestler, Mojo Rawley, Gronk is set to appear on Friday Night SmackDown in his first WWE appearance. Here's a look at Rawley confirming the rumors via WWE's official Twitter account.
It's unclear exactly what capacity Gronkowski will be involved in off the bat. But it should be fun to see what he can do as a part of the show.
Gronkowski was reportedly close to inking a deal with WWE earlier in the week, which wasn't a big surprise. He had long hinted at a career in wrestling and has been in the ring before. He appeared with Rawley at WWE's WrestleMania 33 back in 2017 when he was still a member of the New England Patriots.
While Gronkowski could hypothetically return to the NFL, he has repeatedly stated that he's happy in retirement and will focus on the next steps of his career. So far, those steps have included being an analyst at Fox Sports, a spokesperson for CBD products, and now, this foray into wrestling.
The Patriots missed Gronk last season and got little to no production out of their tight ends without him. This offseason, they'll be focused on adding a top target at tight end and could pursue some of these options while Gronk is preparing for his debut as an official member of WWE.