Tim Wiese

German former goalkeeper who turned to professional wrestling after football.

via Wikipedia: Tim Wiese · see source

Tim Wiese (born 17 December 1981) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Quick Facts

Born: 17 December 1981
Birthplace: Bergisch Gladbach, West Germany
Height: 1.93 m / 6 ft 4 in
Position: Goalkeeper
Total caps: 308

Lore & Background

Having progressed through the youth teams at DJK Dürscheid and Bayer Leverkusen, Wiese started his professional career at Fortuna Köln, and went on to play for 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Werder Bremen before signing for 1899 Hoffenheim in 2012. Wiese made 13 appearances for the German under-21 squad between 2003 and 2005, before making his full international debut three years later against England. He went on to win five further caps and was part of the German 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, but did not make an appearance in that tournament. Following Wiese's retirement from football in 2014, he gained a significant amount of muscle mass and was subsequently linked to a career in professional wrestling, eventually having a match in WWE in 2016.

Reader's Guide

Wiese moved to Werder Bremen in 2005 and was favoured to replace the aging Andreas Reinke, but tore his cruciate ligaments twice and missed the entire first part of the season. Following Reinke sustaining an injury in a match against VfB Stuttgart in February 2006, Wiese made his Bundesliga debut for Werder Bremen, and remained their first goalkeeper for the rest of the 2005–06 season. In the 2008–09 DFB-Pokal semi-final against Hamburg, Wiese helped Werder Bremen progress to the final when he saved three consecutive penalties.

Did You Know?

Wiese made his professional wrestling debut at a WWE live event in Munich on 3 November 2016, teaming with Sheamus and Cesaro to defeat The Shining Stars and Bo Dallas.
Wiese was a squad member for Germany in the 2010 FIFA World Cup but was the only player not seeing any action.
Wiese's contract with Hoffenheim was mutually terminated on 21 January 2014 after it was revealed that his body was in a bodybuilding style, unsuited to professional football.