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Former NFL star Shawne Merriman was in Las Vegas to watch as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) made history with their first solo U.S. show as part of Slam Fest.
Merriman recalled watching the event as well as Stardom’s show. The all-women Japanese promotion also performed in the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort during the week as pro wrestling fans descended on the city ahead of WrestleMania 42. Merriman said he previously watched CMLL in Mexico City and hoped to go to more shows.
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San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman celebrates a big hit against the Arizona Cardinals at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 31, 2006. The Chargers won 27-20. (Gene Lower/Getty Images)
“I’m a big wrestling fan,” he told Fox News Digital. “I checked out their show and I went to Stardom, which is the all-women’s Japanese show, which is insane. I was blown away by them. I saw the other show, two shows in Mexico City, and it was almost 10,000-plus people out there. It was just insane.
“For them to have their first show here in the States, I think they did a really good job. There were a little over 2,000 people there. I thought it was great. Some of the (wrestlers) I already knew and I got a chance to see up close and personal. I got a chance to go back and meet some of the talent and kind of shake hands. Believe it or not, some of them were San Diego Chargers fans because they watched me growing up, obviously playing in San Diego. I look forward to going to more shows.”
Merriman has a soft spot for pro wrestling.
He made a few appearances on WWE programming and appeared for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2024 (TNA), interfering in Joe Hendry’s match at Rebellion.
Joe Hendry faces off with Tony D’Angelo at The Factory in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 2026. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
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“It’s a craft. It’s an art. It’s playing up to the crowd,” he said. “Even as a player, what I always love is playing on people’s emotions when I go to stadiums. I love that. Having a big sack, ‘lights out’ dance, you get them happy or get them mad at you, you control the crowd, you control people’s emotions. Even Randy Orton losing (at WrestleMania 42) and how that made people feel. I remember when Undertaker, that streak was gone.”
Merriman likened the emotions of the crowd at pro wrestling events to that of NFL games and praised everything that it takes to make a successful pro wrestling match.
“So when you see those wrestlers, the choreography that goes into it, the storylines that build up, the storytelling of it, the flip of it … When I did the wrestling show, myself, (TNA) Impact, and AJ Francis, who went to the University of Maryland and is now with TNA Wrestling, the fact that I got a chance to clothesline Joe Hendry, nobody saw it coming. Nobody saw what was going on and how that was gonna play out,” he said.
Shawne Merriman attends the Resorts World Las Vegas grand opening in Las Vegas, Nev., on June 24, 2021. (Ryan Steffy/Getty Images)
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“The fact that I get there and Joe Hendry was already so hot as one of their up-and-coming guys, and I just thought that whole plot twist, I mean, the boos that came after that, it was outstanding and it couldn’t have gone any better. When you talk about pro wrestling, I’m with you. I’m all in and I wish I was doing more of it.”