Once upon a time, primarily during his stint with the Orlando Magic, Dwight Howard was on top of the world. The many-time All-NBA First Teamer took the Eastern Conference squad to the NBA Finals at a time when most critics were checking out LeBron James' direction.
After leaving the Magic controversially, D-12 has bounced from team to team. Gone are the days of his superstar status - and this was further proven when none of his peers recognized him as "NBA 75 Greatest" material. With that said, Howard became a veteran presence and there are times when he would switch from cameo player to the Dwight Howard of old. In fact, Howard would win an NBA championship in 2020 - re-joining the Los Angeles Lakers as part of LBJ's veteran crew.
At 36, Howard is at the crossroads of his career. He maintained his health which means he is a young 36-year-old (like how James is a young about-to-turn-38-year-old) but I do think switching jerseys for nine times might take a toll on his league importance. At the moment, Howard, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins, and Carmelo Anthony have yet to sign with any team and there is a thin line between being a good vet presence and a waste of vet minimum.
So at the moment, Dwight Howard went to WWE to try out for a roster spot.
What?
I guess we can see this "move" as WWE's version of Satnam Singh if this will take place. The tryout happened in WWE Summer Slam 2022, with the likes of Triple H, Paul Heyman, the former Prince Albert, and Big E preceding the event. With that said, I can't see Triple H liking these raw stars over his interest in other wrestlers in various promotions. Maybe there are anomalies like Gable Steveson but this is a Vince McMahon project - and NXT 2.0 has been one of the things HHH should be re-vamping because most of the stars there are not ready for Raw and Smackdown callups (with the exception of Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes).
But Howard is big-name a la Pat McAfee with some sort of ridiculousness that positively or negatively affected his career. I am not saying that he can be a Big E in terms of character but maybe he can be a parody of himself. He can align himself with MVP or become a Trick Williams-like character (bodyguard/buddy).
While he is a big name with character restrictions, he can still work. Unlike Satnam, Howard is mobile. Plus, he can talk, unlike most athletes. While his age will be an issue, if David Arquette can do it, why can't Howard?