Former Maryland and NFL player Shawne Merriman joining the WWE family

Yesterday on The John Layfield and Michael Cole show, the two announced that the former Terp and NFL linebacker would be "joining the WWE family." Now, we don't know what his role will be, but he's already begun training at the WWE Performance Center according to both Layfield and Cole.

This comes on the heels of a report last November that Merriman had not been offered a contract after he appeared at the Performance Center at the request of HHH.

Merriman was on the Wrestlemania pre-show on WWE Network this past weekend. This led us at Testudo Times (or just Todd and I) to ask a few questions...

What should Merriman's in-ring name be?

Everyone knows him as Shawne Merriman and it would seem to make the most sense to capitalize on that celebrity cache. Calling him "Lights Out," while intriguing, wouldn't be the best marketing strategy for WWE. If there's one thing the WWE and Vince McMahon know how to do, it's marketing. Vince McMahon has sold scripted wrestling to fans for 30+ years and just broke the Undertaker's streak and shocked everyone. That's a long way of me saying I think Merriman will just keep his name as is.

What should Merriman's finishing move be?

I think this is where we see Lights Out come in to play. I'm assuming he'll have a limited grasp of wrestling, even after a few months at the WWE Performance Center so something simple like a Powerbomb would be his move where he flicks the light switch tattoo and does the move. I think a sleeper name would be "Flick the Switch."

Timetable for his debut?

Assuming he's going to be a wrestler and not a commentator, this is not something we should expect soon. If he's a commentator or show host on WWE Network, we could see him soon. In fact, we've already seen him in that capacity.

Who would be his tag-team partner?

The natural answer is another former Terp that is in the WWE, Dean Muhtadi, aka Mojo Rawley. The real question now is, does A.J. Francis join these two in the WWE whenever he's done with football?

What do you think his name and finishing move should be? Sound off in the comments!

(H/T to WrestleZone)