Jason Licht Reacts To Tristan Wirfs Agreeing To A Wrestling Challenge
March 31st, 2026
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
So over the weekend, Tristan Wirfs may have bitten off a bit more than he can chew.
And that is one helluva bite.
It’s not that Wirfs may not be up for the challenge; it’s just that his employer may be uncomfortable with it.
On Saturday night in something called the “RAF” which stands for “Real American Freestyle,” a wrestling organization based in Tampa, there was a match where the heavyweight champion Wyatt Hendrickson called out Wirfs.
The organization claims its matches are unscripted and above board. It is exactly like amateur wrestling you see in high school and college. The kind without the ropes but with thick mats.
However, RAF does have some of the schtick of WWE rasslin’.
Wirfs, back in high school, was an Iowa state wrestling champion. On Saturday, Hendrickson, who goes by the handle of “Captain America,” claimed that football players are scared to wrestle him. And he called out Wirfs’ by name.
Right on cue, which would bring a smile to Vince McMahon, Wirfs stepped up and agreed to the challenge, saying, “I know the Bucs won’t have a problem with me whipping your ass.”
Well, it seems Wirfs didn’t exactly clear this with Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
In Arizona for the NFL owners meetings, Licht was asked what he thought of his All-Pro left tackle just a year removed from knee surgery, stepping back onto the wrestling mat. Licht busted out laughing but apparently, he wasn’t laughing at the idea of Wirfs returning to (real) wrestling.
“I’ll just say Tristan is a very smart guy,” Licht said when he finished laughing.
In other words, Licht was indirectly telling Wirfs, “Don’t be dumb. We’re paying you millions to block, not to try to be the next Dan Gable.”
So no, Joe doesn’t think Wirfs wearing tights soon. That’s a good thing in several ways.
Captain America calls out 4x NFL Pro-Bowl Offensive Lineman Tristan Wirfs of the Bucs, and he accepts! Wirfs was a 2017 Iowa 2A State Champion at Heavyweight. 💪🏼 #RAF07 pic.twitter.com/i3wIYIy45j
— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) March 29, 2026
March 31st, 2026 at 12:16 am
Just good advertising for the wrestling venture
Innocent fun
March 31st, 2026 at 12:17 am
He’s just having some fun.
But speaking of wrestling… I’ve said this before, but how in the world did Sapp never have a program with The Rock back in the day. I mean Sapp went to Miami, took Dwayne’s job … just think if he showed up in wrestling, gave the Rock a big hug and smile, then when he turned his back he smacked him in the head with a chair and cut a promo on The Rock about keeping his head on a swivel, and how he’s going to take the Rock’s job yet again. Sapp could have been a monster heel – and that was back in the day when players did wrestling and got physical, instead of nowadays when every dullard on the planet is going to tell you why it’s a bad idea to even walk to mail box to check the mail because you might twist an ankle and miss the season.
March 31st, 2026 at 12:28 am
Wrestling was never real or physically damaging in any way. Unless they screwed up, anyway…
March 31st, 2026 at 1:03 am
how cool would it be to see big wirfsy rumbling around in the ring in the same onesie andre the giant used to rock…
the black one strap over the shoulder style…
and maybe he could become a heel to appease licht…
no more i am that man since lvd is gone…
now it’s time for frothy bad guys to infiltrate the organization with badness & madness…
ahhhhhh…and what if the hulkster was still around…he was a regular at ray jay too
March 31st, 2026 at 1:16 am
Put Todd in the ring with him. The shear girth alone must implode the whole ring.
March 31st, 2026 at 5:42 am
Trade him for 2 firsts, and two seconds, his trade value will never be higher.
March 31st, 2026 at 6:51 am
Sorry Stpetematt, but the injuries in WWE are real. Kevin Owens, neck surgery. May never wrestle again. Big E — from Tampa — neck injury and done. B. Brian Blair, every level of his spine fused. Bianca Belair, out since last April with a broken knuckle which is now double its normal size. Charlotte Flair, multiple knee surgeries. Tyson Kidd, retired neck injury in the ring. Owen Hart, dead in the ring.
On and on.
Outcomes predetermined, yes. But these things they do cause as many injuries as guys in the NFL.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:22 am
I could never be in the NFL (the fact I’m 65, 6′ and 165 pounds aside) You aren’t allowed to ride motorcycles
March 31st, 2026 at 9:40 am
Stpetematt:
most wrastlers bodies are beat to sh!t…like almost totally destroyed…many die young fro the roids too…the old school guys used to razor blade their heads open, to gush blood in the nwa and awa years also…no insurance left their bodies a mangled mess…the staples in the backs were real…nick foley was really jumping off sh!t…new jack was 100% insane af, and almost k!lled that fat kid in the ring too, from the massive beating he gave him…google the new jack story…vs erich kulas…google the mass transit incident…some guys can barely walk when they do conventions to sell a few things so they can survive life after wrestling…true story…and check out the movie the wrestler by my buddy darren aronofsky…great movie but a tough watch…and it won best movie of the year or something like that…also the match new jack vs mass transit if you can find it online – because it’s kind of hidden…is a tough watch
March 31st, 2026 at 10:00 am
My first roommate was a pro wrestler.
The moves are real. Most pf the injuries are real. There is risk.
But the outcomes are totally scripted, and the wrestlers work together to make it exciting and set up the high risk moves.
Got a funny storry too.