The empty-arena WrestleMania 36 wasn’t Gronkowski’s first WWE appearance, however. He had a notable moment, almost for the wrong reasons, at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida. He was meant to jump the barricade at the event to help Rawley in the 2017 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but was held up by security for a moment when he started to execute the spot.

“But my favorite was the security guy that didn’t know I was part of the show,” he said. “She came running over and she looked at me and grabbed me. I looked at her and I said, ‘Oh s***. She don’t know.’ Like, I know when someone’s playing the part, I knew she wasn’t tipped off. I was like, ‘Oh s***.’ So I played back, I was like, ‘Alright. This will be fixed.’ But I was like, ‘I ain’t fighting this girl…’ I was like, ‘I’m part of the show. Part of the show!’ … She kind of like, put me back in my seat, and then a couple people radioed in to her, and then she looked at me, and she was like, ‘Oh s***’ back to me.”

After the awkward moment, “Gronk” was able to get in the ring and hit a clothesline to Jinder Mahal, who started the chain of events when he threw a drink, in storyline, on the NFL star and got in his face at ringside. Gronkowski and Rawley, who won the battle royal, stood tall in the middle of the ring after Rawley threw Mahal out. Gronkowski joked with McMahon that he and the security guard became best friends after the mix-up.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “What’s Your Story?” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.