Rob Gronkowski cuts WrestleMania promo in front of 'zero people'

Tom Gatto

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Rob Gronkowski cuts WrestleMania promo in front of 'zero people' image

Rob Gronkowski wants you to know that he's hyped about hosting the two-night WrestleMania in early April even if he'll be doing it an empty studio.

Gronk made his "SmackDown Live" debut Friday night, with friend/WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley serving as his hype man/guide in the ring.

The former NFL star didn't have any fans to hype up, of course; the Fox telecast was being produced inside an empty Performance Center because of the coronavirus pandemic. There was no one around to cheer (or jeer) this entrance:

Or this promo, which was . . . a thing that Gronk did.

"I'm here in front of zero people, AND I'M STILL HYPED, BABY!" he said in closing.

MORE: WrestleMania 18 match grades: Reliving Hogan vs. The Rock

Rawley jumped in and said that he'll be watching Gronk's back, because "the WWE, it's a little different than the NFL, my friend. We don't just get hit on the field here."

Don't need a degree in reading NFL defenses to surmise from Rawley's comment that Gronk may be doing some blocking and tackling in two weeks.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.