Tampa Bay Rays reliever Ryan Thompson spent a large part of his offseason here in Florida, as his home state of Oregon shut down soon after the Rays saw their season come to an end in the World Series. But throwing bullpens at Tropicana Field this offseason has been different because WWE has been using the facility as the site for their ThunderDome.
“It was pretty cool,” Thompson said Wednesday about getting his work in around the sports entertainment setup. “I’m enjoying their product right now. I think they’re enjoying the Trop so it’s pretty cool.”
The right-hander was quick to name which of his teammates could be the recipient of an in-ring attack.
“If there’s anybody I was going to jump off the top rope on, it would be Ryan Sherriff,” Thompson said with a laugh. “Let’s go.”
The 28-year-old, who calls himself a “low-key WWE fan,” said he was excited to see the ThunderDome setup.
“Coming in there, and I would just peek through the curtain and see the ThunderDome, I was like ‘This is pretty sweet,'” Thompson admitted. “I was thinking about it and was like ‘maybe if I tweet at a heel like Baron Corbin, maybe they’ll request me to be on the show or something.”
Corbin, a former WWE United States Champion who also played in the NFL and was a Golden Gloves boxer, was quick to respond.
Tell @R_Thompson15 come on out. If i can hit homers against @Dutch_Oven45 I can defn hit them off him. Then he can bow down or meet the End of days! https://t.co/DY99yoLIMu pic.twitter.com/kX54WU8owO
— THE KING (@BaronCorbinWWE) March 3, 2021
Thompson’s no stranger to challenging guys who have power. Here’s him using his submarine angle and sharp break to get Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in the ALCS last year.
Meanwhile, Corbin’s swing has been limited in recent years to steel folding chairs, like he did against Seth Rollins in an Intercontinental Title match at Tables, Ladders, and Chairs back in 2018.
ADVANTAGE: Thompson
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
