Raw is Roethlisberger
On a history-making October day way back in 1992, Deion Sanders played defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons in the afternoon and outfield for the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NLCS later that evening.
To this day, Sanders remains the only player in history to score an NFL touchdown and hit a major league home run in the same week (which he did in 1989).
But Prime Time’s two-sport supremacy is sure to be tested by the improbable double duty Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is on the verge of pulling off. Tonight, less than 24 hours after leading the Steelers to a 38-28 victory over San Diego, Big Ben will serve as guest host for World Wrestling Entertainment’s “Raw” television show on USA Network.
It’s not every day that a superstar NFL quarterback throws two touchdown passes one night and has the chance to administer a three count the next, but that fate could await Roethlisberger when the show airs tonight from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., beginning at 8 p.m. CST.
Although details of Roethlisberger’s role tonight haven’t been made public, there’s almost no chance the WWE fan and frequent live-event attendee will be involved in any story line involving physicality, not with the 2-2 Steelers facing a road game against Detroit on Sunday.
“WWE Raw” scrapped its general manager authority figure role just more than three months ago in favor of the rotating guest-host format that has featured the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, boxer Floyd Mayweather, actor Jeremy Piven and “The Price is Right” king Bob Barker. According to the script, the weekly guest host has full authority over the night’s proceedings.
Roethlisberger’s appearance tonight does make you wonder what cross-promotional opportunities might exist between Topps’ WWE and NFL products. Here’s betting if all these guest-hosting celebrities are good for Raw’s ratings, they’d also work wonders for packs of Topps WWE trading cards.
Of course, tonight’s appearance also makes you wonder how folks within the Steelers organization — chiefly head coach Mike Tomlin — feel about the franchise quarterback lording over the WWE, if only for a night.
The live show, the longest-running weekly episodic television show in history, is watched by more than 5 million viewers a week, a relatively small number considering Roethlisberger’s two Super Bowl victories were seen by almost 190 million people combined.
— Tracy Hackler
