Pro-Wrestling Steve McMichael Page Pro-Wrestling Steve McMichael Page
Last updated 16 September 1999
He spent 15 years as a defensive tackle in the National Football League.
He played in the Super Bowl XX and was a four-time NFC All-Pro selection.
He won an Emmy in 1994 for his work on a Chicago post-game show.
So, after his retirement from the NFL last year, where would you expect to find Steve McMichael?
How about as an announcer on "WCW Monday Nitro," a live pro wrestling show airing Monday nights (9 p.m., TNT)?
Instead of tossing offensive linemen to the ground and sacking opposing quarterbacks, McMichael now spends his Monday evenings watching the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Randy Savage and Sting do battle in the squared circle.
"I've been a wrestling fan my whole life," explains McMichael. "As far back as I can remember, I've watched wrestling on television. When I was a little kid growing up in Texas, that was the first thing I'd turn on."
"WCW Monday Nitro" debuted in September on TNT. It is programmed directly opposite the World Wrestling Federation's "Monday Night RAW" on cable's USA Network, and has held its own in the ratings war between the two shows. In fact, it was McMichael's appearance at Wrestlemania XI last April - he was one of the several NFL stars in Lawrence Taylor's in LT's match against Bam Bam Bigelow - that got him thinking about a career in pro-wrestling.
"I was just looking for something to do," says McMichael, "and my my wife suggested that I put together a tape of some of my television work. I sent it to the WCW, and (executive vice president) Eric Bischoff looked at it and gave me a call."
If you have any comments, I can be reached via email at Hack-Man@twc-online.com