Has WWE Approached America’s First Female Olympic Wrestling Gold Medalist?
On today's episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily, Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman sat down with the first American to win a gold medal in women's freestyle wrestling at the Olympics, Helen Maroulis. Maroulis is set to defend her gold medal at this year's Olympics, but Hausman asked Maroulis if WWE has approached her at any point.
"Yeah, I actually was approached in 2016," Maroulis revealed. "I had some really good conversations, and so they kind of explained to me what it was going to be like and talked about going out to the Performance Center. I know I have a couple teammates, quite a few teammates that have gone out there.
"It just didn't feel like the right timing. I knew I wanted to come back and do another Olympic cycle, and I didn't know if I would fit into that world to be quite honest. It's a cool world. I have a lot of friends into it, but I was like, I don't know if I can do this."
NCAA Champion and fellow Olympian Gable Steveson has shown interest in WWE recently. Hausman followed up and asked Maroulis what her hesitations were.
"I definitely don't want to get hurt, that's for sure," Maroulis stated. "The acting, I mean, it's one of those things, right? The same thing with MMA, just because you're a good wrestler, doesn't mean you'll be good at these other things so until you go and see it for yourself, you just don't know."
Maroulis is currently part of P&G's latest campaign in partnership with When We Band Together. She spoke on the campaign and explained what it means to be a P&G athlete.
"I'm super grateful to be a P&G athlete," Maroulis said. "I was with them since, I think, 2019, 2020, and then after everything with the pandemic, they opened up this campaign and it was called Your Goodness Is Your Greatness. And you could apply for a grant up for $10,000, and so I'm super grateful that I received that grant and that was going towards the refugee camps to help create safe spaces for displaced people.
"And the organization is When We Band Together, and so my family is from Greece and this camp is in Greece. And so the organization When We Band Together, they're doing amazing things and providing so many opportunities for these people that really don't have anything, and it's really a struggle. So the fact that P&G recognizes that and just really helped us athletes out with that and to give back to our communities is incredible."
Maroulis father is a first-generation immigrant from Greece. She discussed if that adds any more pressure to her whenever she competes.
"It's really cool. The Olympics originated in Greece, and here I am in America and I think we're the best country in the world," Maroulis said. "So it's kind of really cool to be a part of both, and I've always loved the Olympic movement. Just having the opportunity through P&G with Your Goodness Is Your Greatness fund is is incredible because When We Band Together, it helps not just the refugees. It also helps the Greek locals there because it was really a stress on them as well, and so it's really cool that we get to do this."
Maroulis is spotlighted in P&G's latest Olympics Campaign inspired by the many Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are stepping up to take action for good, making a positive difference in their own communities and the world. In partnership with When We Band Together, Helen raises awareness and funds to continue supporting displaced people and refugees.
You can find Maroulis' full interview via the embedded players below: