Former Germany and Werden Bremen keeper Tim Wiese has swapped the penalty box for the squared circle after confirming he will begin training to become a WWE wrestler.
Wiese, a 13-cap Germany international, has accepted a personal invitation from Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, WWE's executive vice president of talent, to join the WWE Performance Centre in Orlando, Florida, for an extended training period.
The 2009 German Cup winner, who went to the World Cup with the national team in 2010 when they secured third place, confirmed the wrestling switch on Twitter with a picture alongside WWE legend Levesque captioned: 'It's finally happening! @WWE'.
The hulking, 6-foot-4 custodian first made moves into sports entertainment in November 2014, when he was a guest timekeeper for a WWE Live Event match in Frankfurt.
There, Wiese interjected himself into the match, scoring immediate fan approval in the process, not to mention widespread gossip and assumption that he would be joining the organisation.
Throughout 2015, Wiese made several public statements that further implied any future involvement in WWE was more a matter of when than if. Those statements eventually prompted WWE to invite him to a one-day workout at its performance centre.
Wiese impressed the facility's trainers and WWE executives – chief among them, 'Triple H', who contacted the former goalkeeper about a longer stay in Orlando.
'Tim is tenacious,' said Levesque. 'He continues to be very vocal in his desire to prove that he has what it takes and he has shown tremendous resilience and determination to create an opportunity for himself.
'This is his break to walk his talk. If all goes well in Florida, he will get his chance in the ring.'
Triple H's challenge is one that Wiese is extremely motivated to accept – so much that he has even attached a time-frame for achieving his goal.
The 34-year-old, who retired from football two years ago, wants to be ring-ready by the time WWE Live returns to Frankfurt, Munich, Oberhausen and Berlin on November 2, 3, 8 and 9, respectively.
'I have been training hard for this, and I am excited for the opportunity,' Wiese said. 'No matter what it takes, my goal is to be in that WWE ring this November. I want that match.'
-DailyMail
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