Roman Reigns went from the Royal Rumble to the Super Bowl.
The WWE star was in Miami for the opening night festivities at Marlins Park a night after wrestling in the Royal Rumble match in Houston, where he was the last competitor eliminated by eventual winner Drew McIntyre.
“What’s up?” San Francisco tight end George Kittle asked Reigns. “You sore at all?”
Reigns also earlier Sunday night defeated King Corbin in a falls-count-anywhere match.
“A little,” Reigns said. “Not too bad.”
Kittle is a huge wrestling fan and uses a gesture to celebrate first downs that he borrowed from
Pentagón Jr., a Mexican wrestler. Kittle makes a circle with his thumb and forefinger to form a “0” and then flicks his wrist so his other fingers form an “M” for Pentagón Jr.’s catchphrase: “Cero miedo” — or, “zero fear.”
Kittle caught some of the Royal Rumble action on TV after the 49ers got into Miami on Sunday night as they begin to prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I loved it when you all just beat the crap out of Seth (Rollins),” Kittle told Reigns with a huge smile. “That was awesome. That was fun.”
Reigns then asked Kittle who on the 49ers would win a Royal Rumble among teammates. The wrestler told the tight end most of the 49ers said Kittle would take home the belt.
“Yeah,” Kittle said without hesitation.
So, who would go out first?
“I think we’d throw Jimmy (Garoppolo) out first,” Kittle said. “He gets too much attention. Just get him out of the ring, throw him out of the ring and let the attention be on us for once.”
Garoppolo was also asked, and he went a different direction: rookie defensive end Nick Bosa.
“First time I heard Bosa,” Reigns said. “Everybody’s saying Kittle.”
That surprised the 49ers quarterback.
“George?” Garoppolo said. “Who said that?”
Reigns told him “everybody,” and then asked who’d be tossed out of the ring first.
“Deebo Samuel, probably,” a grinning Garoppolo said of his wide receiver.