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Former NFL star Shawne Merriman was in Las Vegas to watch Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) make history with their first singles show in the United States as part of Slam Fest.
Merriman recalled watching the event and the Stardom show. The all-female Japanese promotion also performed at the Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino Resort during the week as professional wrestling fans descended on the city ahead of WrestleMania 42. Merriman said she 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, California on December 31, 2006. The Chargers won 27-20. (Gene Lower/Getty Images)
“I’m a big wrestling fan,” he told Pak Gazette Digital. “I saw their show and I went to Stardom, which is the all-female Japanese show, which is crazy. I was blown away. I saw the other show, two shows in Mexico City, and there were almost 10,000 people out there. It was just crazy.
“For them to have their first show here in the United States, I think they did a very good job. There were a little over 2,000 people there. I thought it was cool. Some of the (wrestlers) I already knew and I had the opportunity to see them up close and personal. I had the opportunity to go back and meet some of the talent and shake their hands. Believe it or not, some of them were San Diego Chargers fans because they saw me growing up, obviously playing in San Diego. I really want to go. a more shows.”
Merriman has a soft spot for professional 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 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 a crowd pleaser,” he said. “Even as a player, what I always love is playing with people’s emotions when I go to stadiums. I love that. Having a great catch, dancing with the lights off, you make them happy or they get mad at you, you control the crowd, you control people’s emotions. Even Randy Orton lost (at WrestleMania 42) and how that made people feel. I remember when Undertaker, that streak went away.”
Merriman compared the emotions of the crowd at professional wrestling events to those at NFL games and praised everything it takes to put on a successful professional wrestling match.
“So when you see those wrestlers, the choreography that goes into it, the stories that are built, the storytelling, the twist… 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 had the opportunity to clothesline Joe Hendry, no one saw it coming. No one saw what was happening and how it was going to play out,” he said.
Shawne Merriman attends the grand opening of Resorts World Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 24, 2021. (Ryan Steffy/Getty Images)
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“The fact that I got there and Joe Hendry was already as hot as one of their up-and-coming guys, and I thought about that whole plot twist, I mean, the boos that came after that, they were outstanding and it couldn’t have gone any better. When you talk about professional wrestling, I’m with you. I’m all for it and I wish I was doing more of that.”
