The Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska hosted WWE SmackDown! on Friday night and welcomed the Cornhuskers football team, including their new head coach, Matt Rhule.
Nebraskans love their football so much that Rhule & Co. actually received the loudest ovation of the night. Unfortunately, the WWE graphics department wasn’t quite as familiar with him and actually misspelled his name on their FOX television graphic.
Biggest pop of the night at SmackDown in Lincoln? None other than Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers. pic.twitter.com/Xr0himIXQ5
— Steve Samra (@SamraSource) April 15, 2023
Rhule sat behind the announce team of Michael Cole and Wade Barrett which meant he got plenty of screen time throughout the event. At one point, he was captured cheering on superstar Xavier Woods like a rowdy teenager during the Attitude era.
I have seen it all… Matt Rhule is sitting front row at Smackdown cheering on Xavier Woods like he’s a teenager. Live yo life coach! 😂👍🏾 pic.twitter.com/bBE0cMz3mK
— Nate Wimberly WBTV (@NateWimberly) April 15, 2023
Speaking of the Attitude era, also spotted in the crowd on Friday night were “Rhule 3:16” t-shirts.
Rhule was given an eight-year, $72 million by Nebraska shortly after being fired by the Carolina Panthers last October. He posted an underwhelming 11-27 record in the NFL and is now tasked with turning around a program that hasn’t finished above .500 since 2016.
If Rhule brings as much energy to the Cornhuskers’ sideline as he did on Friday night, Nebraska appears to be in good hands.
