WWE superstar A.J. Styles ponders if Georgia’s Kirby Smart could handle himself in wrestling ring

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart is a lot of things. An excellent recruiter, a top-notch in-game coach, a boisterous presence, and one of the most recognizable faces in college football.

Can he handle the wrestling ring though? Georgia fan and WWE superstar A.J. Styles wants to find out.

“The Phenomenal One” joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday amid the road to WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia. On April 6 and 7, WWE will present its annual extravaganza from Lincoln Financial Field. Styles will be part of it, as he’s scheduled to wrestler the popular LA Knight in a singles match.

Styles, a noted Dawgs fan, went back and forth with Finebaum on the show. They eventually discussed Smart and whether Styles, a 20+ year veteran in the ring, had the chops and the prowess to hang with the wrestlers.

“I’m curious though. Kirby Smart. Young, athletic, could you see him playing a big role in the future? Maybe in a Coaches’ WrestleMania? What would he be like?” asked Finebaum.

“I think he’s a Bulldog right? Through and through!” Styles said. “There was a time where they kind wanted to say, ‘He’s the Pitbull!’ Talking about AJ Styles, ‘of WWE!’ And I said, can you change it to bulldog? Because I’d really like to be a bulldog.”

“Kirby can get after it for sure,” Styles continued.

WWE Superstar @AJStylesOrg is one of the biggest Georgia Football fans in wrestling, so as we discussed the rapidly-approaching Wrestlemania we had to ask…could Kirby Smart handle himself in the squared circle?? pic.twitter.com/16WlYXXABK

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) March 27, 2024

Finebaum said that Smart could certainly “talk his way” into it, and Styles agreed he could cut a promo. But it is a PG world in WWE now.

“I’d have to tone him down a little bit. A couple ‘freaks’ and ‘darns’ in his promo, but he could definitely cut one to hype the boys up, for sure,” Styles admitted.

[Paul Finebaum]