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WWE Superstars Share Their Favorite Olympic Moments
Olympic fever has taken over the WWE locker room!
Just because WWE Superstars are usually busy suplexing and clotheslining each other into oblivion most nights of the year doesn’t mean they’re out of the loop — the men and women of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown are just as caught up in Olympic fever as the rest of the world!
Recently, WWE backstage cameras caught up with some of your favorite Superstars to ask them about their favorite Olympic events, memories, and athletes:
Here’s some of the biggest takeaways!
Grayson Waller grew up around the Summer Olympics
As one of the handful of Australian-born Superstars in the WWE locker room, the usually cocky Grayson Waller pushed aside his brash demeanor to speak about a fantastic Olympic childhood memory from nearly 25 years ago.
“Luckily for me, I live in Sydney, so the 2000 Olympics were actually in Sydney, so I got to kinda feel what it was like as a kid to have the Olympics in town and all that type of thing,” the former tag team champion explained. “I still remember Cathy Freeman, who’s a very well-known Australian athlete, winning gold and that’s something that Australians don’t really do. Track and field isn’t necessarily our place, I think that was a time that kind of showed all of Australia that we don’t care who you are, bigger countries. That was the time that Cathy showed all of Australia that we can compete.”
Who knew Waller was such a softie?
Chelsea Green is too good to compete in any Olympic sport
The delusional Chelsea Green has been one of the highlights of the women’s division in 2024, but in true fashion, she lives in a fantasy land when choosing an Olympic sport she’d like to participate in, despite her background in track and field growing up.
“I don’t even wanna pick a sport that I would compete in because I know that I’m so good at basically everything,” she declared. “It’s kind of unacceptable to do that to the rest of the [WWE] roster — and the Olympians.”
Never change, Chelsea!
Tiffany Stratton always admired Shawn Johnson
Many WWE fans peg Tiffany Stratton as the next main roster women’s champion, primarily due to her insane athleticism inside the ring and crisp moveset. Whenever Stratton competes, she usually runs circles around her fellow competitors.
As it turns out, one of her idols growing up is one of the most beloved U.S. gymnasts in history!
“I remember watching the 2008 Olympic Games, and Shawn Johnson won the gold on the balance beam and I thought that was so amazing,” Stratton said. “I think I was nine or ten years old, and that’s what inspired me to become a gymnast.”
Gunther’s favorite Olympic athlete ever is Matthias Steiner
Former Intercontinental Champion — and perhaps soon to be World Heavyweight Champion, if things go right at SummerSlam — Gunther revealed his favorite athlete ever is German heavyweight weightlifter Matthias Steiner, who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
“[He] was not a favorite to win the competition,” Gunther explained. “But he had a tragic loss of his wife, I think, close to the competition, and he went for a weight that was unrealistic for him to achieve. But, in that moment, yeah, he surprised everybody.”
The original Dream Team was everything to The Miz in 1992
Like so many sports fans growing up in the early ‘90s, the formation of the original Dream Team — a collection of 12 of the greatest basketball players to ever live — was a once-in-a-lifetime scenario that many people never thought was possible. The Miz, an avid sports fan in his day, admitted that when he was a kid, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson teaming up to dominate international competition was everything to him.
“When that team was announced, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, all my favorites on the same team at the same time, this is the best,’” he remembered.
The 2024 U.S. men’s basketball team has some big shoes to fill this year — only time will tell if LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and the rest of Team USA have a gold medal in their future!
R-Truth is, unsurprisingly, confused about Olympics history
As usual, R-Truth stole the show by somehow being two decades behind the times.
After R-Truth confessed he loves the “100-yard dash” (the official Olympic event has been measured in meters since the very first Games), The Miz put him on the spot and dared him to name anyone competing in the sport in 2024. After a few moments of silence, R-Truth finally had an answer.
“Uh, Jackie Joyner-Kersee?” he tentatively said.
“Yes,” The Miz responded. “20 years ago.”
You can tune in to Peacock to watch SummerSlam 2024 on Saturday, August 3. In the meantime, catch up on all things WWE Universe on Peacock.
