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USA Insider WWE Monday Night Raw

WWE Superstars Come Down With A Serious Case Of World Cup Fever

Take a look behind the scenes of WWE's World Cup photoshoot! 

By Ethan Absler
Split image of Rey Mysterio, Bianca Belair, Asuka

WWE and the rest of the planet are in FIFA World Cup mode as they watch their country’s national soccer or football teams battle it out on the pitch. This isn’t so different from the world of WWE, where some of the wackiest and most diverse characters look to settle their differences inside the ring. Just before the World Cup tournament started (and no, it isn’t the WWE World Cup tournament that was just coincidentally won by Ricochet last week on SmackDown), WWE released a FIFA World Cup photoshoot where various WWE Superstars posed in their home country’s jersey for some soccer-themed photos.

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Now that we’ve reached the elimination round, WWE has released a behind-the-scenes video of the photoshoot, giving fans a glimpse into how things work backstage while also allowing us to learn what some of our favorite superstars think about the World Cup.

“Could you crush it?” a WWE photographer asked Bobby Lashley at the beginning of the video.

“Like make the ball explode? Of course I can,” The Almighty responded.

The Americans started off the video and fans got a glimpse of the current RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair and Bobby Lashley posing for their photos. Next was The Nightmare, Rhea Ripley, who revealed to the camera that she stopped playing soccer at age 15 because she began wrestling at 16! The now 26-year-old Australian native finds herself in the same boat as the Americans, however, without a team to root for in the next elimination round.

One Superstar who still has their home country fighting for the Cup is Asuka, who is a native of Japan. Japan shocked the sports world when they defeated both Spain and Germany in upset victories to send them to Round 16.

English Superstars Butch and Ridge Holland also posed for their photos while showing their love for England. The behind-the-scenes aspect of the video allowed fans to catch a glimpse of Butch’s frenetic energy as he knocked the ball out of Holland’s hands multiple times and jumped on his back.

The entire photoshoot had such good energy and it’s always interesting to see how things function behind the scenes at WWE. The video allowed fans to see how a project like this comes together, how much fun the crew has, and learn a bit more about your favorite WWE stars.

If you want to watch the WWE World Cup Tournament or the jaw-dropping finals match between Santos Escobar and Ricochet, you can relive the entire thing on the WWE Network on Peacock!

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