Famous Olympian comments on potential WWE career
Ilona Maher — one of the breakout stars of the 2024 Olympics — says she has been approached about a potential pro wrestling career.
In both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, Maher represented the United States in rugby, helping the U.S. earn bronze at the latter games. She has more than five million followers on Instagram, more than three million on TikTok, and won an ESPY Award last month for Best Breakthrough Athlete.
The 2025 ESPY for best breakthrough athlete goes to Ilona Maher 🤩@ilona_maher | @USARugby pic.twitter.com/eKAunuS1dI
— ESPN (@espn) July 17, 2025
BBC Sport has a new interview with Maher where they asked if she would consider a career in WWE.
“I’ve been approached before. I don’t know if I would,” Maher responded. “I haven’t thought about it. I should — great money in it. Great money in it.”
Maher expressed that she would like to break into Hollywood one day. She’s excited for the potential opportunities that are ahead of her, but she views herself as a rugby player first. The content she produces on social media is so she can make a sustainable living while competing in rugby.
WWE recently introduced an Olympic gold medalist to the NXT TV roster, with wrestler Tyra Mae Steele (Tamyra Mensah-Stock) winning season one of WWE LFG and progressing onto NXT. Steele signed with WWE in 2023 after starring at the 2020 Olympics.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.