Brock Rechsteiner has wrestling in his blood and football in his heart.
So it’s easy to understand why the undrafted rookie wide receiver plans to make the most of his opportunity to try out for the New Orleans Saints.
“I want to do football as long as I can,” Rechsteiner said. “Once that’s done, I will pursue wrestling.”
Those future goals shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Afterall, Rechsteiner comes from pro wrestling royalty.
His dad Scott Rechsteiner, who wrestled under the aliases Scott Steiner and Big Poppa Pump, is a former wrestling champion and a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.
His uncle Rick Steiner was his father’s tag team partner, forming one of the sport’s best tandems.
And his first cousin Bronson Rechsteiner, who currently wrestles in the WWE as Bron Breaker, participated in WrestleMania in April.
Brock attended WrestleMania in Las Vegas and would like nothing more than to participate in WWE’s main event someday, too. But for now, he’s more interested in getting on a team and trying to play in a Super Bowl than being a part of WrestleMania.
Rechsteiner caught 36 passes for 383 yards and five touchdowns this past season at Jacksonville State.
He attended rookie camp with the Tennessee Titans last week.
“I got some good feedback there,” Rechsteiner said.
Now he’s trying to use what he learned in Nashville last week in New Orleans this week. He’s at least caught the attention of Saints’ receivers coach Keith Williams, who used another wrestling reference when asked about the chiseled 6-foot-2, 225 guy wearing the No. 10 Saints’ jersey.
“Yeah, Stone Cold,” Williams said. “He’s kind of nasty. I just told him, ‘Hey, if you get mad at me, just don’t put me in a small package. I know you’ve got a few (wrestling) moves up your sleeve.’ But yeah, Stone Cold has been great.”
Although the Saints’ wide receiver room is as crowded as a wrestling ring during a battle royal, Rechsteiner likes what he was able to show on Friday, the first day of rookie camp. What did he want to prove?
“Just that I belong here,” Rechsteiner said. “I believe I can play at this level. I think I proved today that I can hang with these guys. I just want to make the team.”
To do that, he wants to showcase what he says are his best assets.
“My combination of size and speed and strength,” Rechsteiner said. “There aren’t many people as strong as me and as fast as me.”
In addition to receiver, Rechsteiner says he can also contribute on special teams. He’s always been athletic.
Growing up right outside of Atlanta, he played both basketball and football. His brother Brandon also plays basketball. Brandon is transferring to Kansas State after previously playing at Virginia Tech and Colorado State. He and Brandon aren’t the most famous brothers in the family though.
That title belongs to their father and their uncle, both inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022 as one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history. Perhaps Brock will join them in the wrestling Hall of Fame someday when he switches careers. He hasn’t put much thought into what his wrestling name or finishing move would be.
“Hopefully I’ll just be Brock Steiner,” he said. “We’ll see.”
But first things first: making his mark in the NFL.
