Arnold Schwarzenegger Poked Fun At Travis Kelce Over This Previous Dig
Arnold Schwarzenegger was a guest on Travis Kelce's podcast where he spoke to the Kansas City Chiefs tight end about comments previously made on the show about the veteran actor. The issue originated in May 2023 when the tight end had a disagreement with his brother (and co-host), Jason Kelce, on an episode of their "New Heights" podcast. The two pondered over who they would hypothetically want to lead Earth against an alien invasion. "I'm sending The Rock. Just a physical specimen," Travis said. "I think his WWE career kind of exceeds anything that Schwarzenegger did."
The ensuing argument offered an inside look into the Kelce brothers' relationship as the two bickered. "Well, you are f***ing out of your mind," Jason replied. "And I think he's stronger than Schwarzenegger," Travis countered.
The debate of Schwarzenegger versus Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made its way back to "The Terminator" star, who addressed the debate when he was a guest on "New Heights" on April 4. Fortunately for Travis, the movie star was magnanimous. "[Travis] was partially right because The Rock is stronger now than I am," Schwarzenegger said. "He has more muscles than I have right now." That allowed the Super Bowl champion to breathe a sigh of relief. "You're a good man. My tail was between my legs as you walked in here," Travis said.
Fans were impressed with how the Kelce brothers allowed Schwarzenegger to speak his piece. Later in the interview, the "True Lies" star gave insight into his relationship with The Rock.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has praised Dwayne Johnson in the past
After it seemed Arnold Schwarzenegger was fine discussing the topic of himself versus Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jason Kelce pushed the matter aside, revisiting the topic that was the source of the mild controversy between his brother and the "Kindergarten Cop" star. Jason asked Schwarzenegger to determine who would be better at leading humanity against an alien invasion. "I don't think that you should limit it to just one or the other. Why not work together?" the Hollywood veteran responded. He also praised Johnson, calling him "the modern-day Arnold." The Kelce brothers were not going to get Schwarzenegger to disparage his younger action-movie counterpart because the two were friends.
On a previous sports-related podcast, Schwarzenegger was asked about the perceived rivalry between himself and the "Red Notice" actor. "I've known him for many many years and he and I are friends," he said on "Pardon My Take" in December 2023. In fact, Schwarzenegger said The Rock was among those celebrities with surprising political ties, as the WWE legend helped him out while he was the governor of California. "[Johnson] was the honorary chair for a year," he said.
Perhaps there was no feud between Schwarzenegger and Johnson, but the Kelce brothers did ask the former about his past beefs. He flipped the script and inferred the football pros were eyeing acting roles themselves. "There's a reason these guys are out here together in Hollywood," Schwarzenegger said, seemingly onto something.
Travis Kelce's next Hollywood role
Arnold Schwarzenegger had a hunch that Travis and Jason Kelce were trying to tap into acting, and he had just cause to believe that was the case. Travis' popularity soared in early 2023 after the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl, and "Saturday Night Live" tapped him to host in May of that year. At the time, the tight end spoke about the prospects of another career. "So I'm definitely interested [in pursuing more acting projects], but that's a whole new craft that I feel like I really got to lock in and focus on [before I do]," he told People at the time.
The heir to Schwarzenegger's action star throne, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, had a similar response when discussing Travis' potential acting future. "I wouldn't bet against Travis Kelce," the "Walking Tall" actor told Entertainment Tonight in February. "And the reason why ... is [professional athletes] take that same discipline at their sport and they apply it [to acting]."
It may not have been a starring role in an action vehicle, but Travis signed up for more work in Hollywood. In March, Variety reported that the Kansas City Chiefs star was in talks to host a reboot of the game show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" One major change to the show's formula was that in the iteration hosted by Travis, the contestants would be celebrities. That could be the NFL player's pathway into Hollywood and — who knows — possibly becoming the next Schwarzenegger.