‘Turning dreams into reality!’ A boyhood WWE fan, Lane Johnson, ticked off his bucket list when he got into the ‘Squared Ring’. He crashed in one of the main events at Lincoln Financial Field, during the WrestleMania 40 held in Philadelphia on the 6th of April, alongside the former Philadelphia Eagles’ center Jason Kelce. Not just that, the duo made the headlines as they helped Rey Mysterio and Andrade grab the victory over Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar.
However, the crowd couldn’t recognize the two ‘masked men’ until they unmasked. “One of the greatest centers of all times, Jason Kelce of the world champion Philadelphia Eagles, and Lane Johnson, world champion tackle of the Philadelphia Eagles,” the commentator exasperatedly said. The Philly crowd went wild upon their revelation. Now, almost 3 months later, Johnson reminisces about the surreal experience with a rather unusual comparison.
Is Lane Johnson ‘Dumber’ than Jason Kelce?
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Who hasn’t seen one of the funniest films from the early 90s, ‘Dumb and Dumber’?! Well, if you have not, in that case, you might not find humor in Lane Johnson’s subtle reference when he said, “[Jason] Kelce is Jim Carrey and I am Jeff Daniels.”
In his recent appearance on ‘The Rich Eisen Show‘, on the 29th of June, the Eagles OT spoke about his feature in WrestleMania 40. Johnson handed much of its credit to his former teammate, Jason Kelce. He said that it was the retired center who asked him to train, a week before the night of the main event.
“It [WWE] was something that I always grew up watching. Never thought that I would actually be partaking in it. But, as the Jason Kelce show progresses, he asked me if I wanted to do a week of training in Monster Factory leading to WrestleMania. It was a great time,” reminisced Johnson.
No 65 of the Eagles was also pretty honest about his ‘job’ for the night. He said, “We didn’t really know a whole lot going in, who we’re going to be working with, and got to meet Ray and Dominik. It was amazing. My job was to not get hurt.” But it was what he said after this that got everyone cracking.
The ‘Dumb and Dumber’ reference sits well here. Kelce and Johnson’s cluelessness over the night, and their tight-knit friendship also adds to it. Meanwhile, Rich Eisen, the host of the show, was quick to latch on to Johnson’s words, asking him if he was ‘the dumber’ here. Cracking up Johnson.
The headline moment from WrestleMania 40 came after a month of Jason Kelce calling it quits as a pro football player. It was not only a memorable reunion between him and Philly fans, also between him and his long-time Eagles teammate Johnson.
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Lane Johnson will not follow Jason Kelce
Kelce played 13 years with the Eagles, while Johnson is entering his 12th year with the Eagles. For the fans, Kelce’s retirement was the end of an era. However, Lane Johnson has no plans to follow Kelce into retirement. This may not entirely lift the fans’ spirits, but it is certainly a relief.
“I feel good,” Johnson said, while talking to NBC Sports on June 5th. “I’m confident I’ve got some really good years left. I haven’t lost any mobility, any of that. No injuries last year, thank God. So, yeah, feeling good, ready to roll.” It is quite reassuring for the fans to know an all-time Eagles player like Johnson is here to stay and will be around for some more time.
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From haunting the opponents together on the gridiron to ‘destroying’ a wrestler in the WWE ring, on a WrestleMania night. More than a decade long friendship has stood the test of time. What a journey Johnson and Kelce have had. Surely, there’s more to come.