WWE Signs Former UNC Football Player Brennan Williams

During his time as an offensive tackle at UNC under head coach Butch Davis, Brennan Williams was given the opportunity to lay the smackdown on a defender each time the ball was snapped.

His sheer size and dominance led to him being taken in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. However, a microfracture in his knee stripped Williams of his pro football career before he ever took a single snap–despite two years spent working on a comeback.

In search of another shot to continue laying the smackdown for a living, he turned to the world of professional wrestling in late 2015.

Williams was an honorable mention All-ACC selection in 2012, before being picked in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. (UNC Athletics)

Last week, the 6-foot-7, 300-pounder, realized his new dream–when he was officially signed by Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

The WWE is known nationwide as the top organization in the industry.

He’ll be placed into the WWE Performance Center in Orlando as he starts his training. After some quality time honing his craft there, it’s likely Williams will begin making appearances on the company’s developmental television series “NXT.”

Although “NXT” is only available to subscribers of the WWE Network, reaching that level would still mark a quick rise up the ranks for someone whose career looked bleak after a devastating knee injury.

None of it would be possible, though, if he hadn’t returned to live in Houston in the fall of 2015–after being released from the practice squads of both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New England Patriots.

While there, Williams eventually found himself under the guidance of WWE Hall of Famer–and six-time World Heavyweight Champion–Booker T.

Williams (left) saw his wrestling career take off once he began learning under Booker T (right) in Houston. (Photo via HoustonPress.com)

This led the former Tar Heel to join Booker T’s Houston-based wrestling promotion called “Reality of Wrestling.”

Having built a strong social media presence thanks to his love of japanese anime and live-streaming video games, Williams used his personality to create his wrestling character “Marcellus Black.”

Black wrestles with his face painted to look like an anime character, and uses the nicknames “The Great Black Otaku” and “The Shogun of the R.O.W.”

He also became known for his charismatic finishing move, the “Nico Nico Knee.”

Now that he’s made it to the big leagues, though, fans should expect him to undergo a complete character renovation–complete with a name change–once he makes it onto television. That’s typically how WWE handles signing talent from the independent circuits, in order to promote the new characters as its own creations.

At UNC, Williams was named an honorable mention All-ACC performer in 2012. In addition to his size and football pedigree, he also holds a black belt in taekwondo.

WWE Signs Former UNC Football Player Brennan Williams

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