Former NRL player Daniel Vidot, who stepped away from the sport in 2017 to pursue professional wrestling in the WWE, will line up for the USA Hawks this weekend.

Vidot is currently dominating the All-Star Japanese Pro Wrestling (AJPW) under the alias Xyon, where he competed on Monday night in front of a couple of thousand people in Japan.

It is a quick turnaround for Vidot; he rushed to Las Vegas to get the opportunity to represent USA Hawks in a team environment, and told Rugbyjp.com he is keen to get back into the sport, which he spent eight seasons at the top grade.

“I love rugby league, I always have, I want it to grow and especially in USA," he told the publication.

"Wearing the jersey and representing USA, for me it's a win-win situation. I still miss footy every now and then so whenever I get a chance to play, I want to take it if my schedule aligns.

“I love both things, footy and wrestling right now. I want to take on whatever challenges come my way.”

Vidot spent time training with the Newcastle Knights squad throughout the week in preparation against his showdown with Scotland.

The wrestling star has a few techniques up his sleeve in a bid to showcase his athletic abilities when he dons the Steeden again.

“The cool thing about wrestling is that it's taught me how to block out the crowd, I have confidence out there, I'll mostly thinking about how to get my breath back.”

“They were saying ‘what, you're still playing?'. I told them, yeah, I still try. For me I think I need to get that fix of playing league still.”

When speaking with Zero Tackle in 2021, Vidot admitted he always had a keen interest in returning to the 13-man code now that he boasts the athletic build of a pro wrestler.

"There is times when I'm like, 'oh man, I wonder if I could go back now, I'm in the best shape of my life'. They would definitely have to put me in the forwards though, I'm 120kg as the moment," he told Zero Tackle.

With the NRL showing keen interest in USA expansion, Vidot agrees that there is a huge opportunity for global expansion and that the local Americans will love the product.

“I think there's massive potential there. Not taking away from the NFL, but we do 80 minutes without breaks and no pads. I encourage everyone to watch this weekend.”

The USA Hawks will host Scotland in all three grades (youth, women's and men's) at Cougar Stadium in Coronado High School.

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