Wrexham AFC’s remarkable rise has been revisited again, this time in a TikTok clip from FX Networks, where Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney talk about the message that brought them together.
The story feels different now. Wrexham are no longer the National League side that first caught the attention of two actors from across the Atlantic.
Today, the club is part of a very different conversation. Wrexham’s Championship place is now a daily reality for fans, making the origins of the story feel even more unlikely.
The clip, shared by FX Networks, begins with a simple question about what the first meeting between the pair was like.
Ryan Reynolds says the friendship moved quickly
Rob McElhenney did not hold back. He joked that he knew exactly how he would react when he first met Reynolds.
“I’m definitely going to swoon. So you gotta stay wide for that shot. Because if you see my eyes, I’m going to be, like, floating.”
Reynolds then summed up what happened next in just a few words. Those words explain how quickly their partnership gathered pace.
“We became pretty close pretty fast.”
The interviewer followed up by asking if the friendship started when McElhenney slid into Reynolds’ DMs. Reynolds was quick to correct that version of events.
“No, I slid into his DM.”
That detail still matters when you look at Ryan Reynolds’ time at Wrexham. The partnership did not start in a boardroom or through typical football channels.
You can watch the full clip here:
It began with a message, turned into a friendship, and eventually led to a takeover that changed the club’s future. Since then, Wrexham have climbed from the National League to the second tier, with three straight promotions.
Rob McElhenney keeps the tone light
What stands out in the interview is that neither Rob nor Ryan takes the story too seriously. That has always been part of the charm behind Welcome to Wrexham.
The football side of things has become serious. Phil Parkinson has had to guide the club through several divisions, and Wrexham’s manager remains central to that part of the story.
But Rob and Ryan’s public friendship still gives the club a unique feel. At one point, McElhenney jokingly asked Reynolds if he held any “anger and or resentment” towards him for getting him involved in the Wrexham project.
Reynolds responded in a way that fans have come to expect from him.
“My wife wants to kill you Rob.”
It was a joke, but it worked because it spoke to just how much had happened since that first message. A DM turned into a friendship, then a takeover, then a documentary, and now a club playing far above where they started.
For supporters at the Racecourse, that is part of what makes the story so special. The clip is light-hearted, but it also captures just how unusual Wrexham’s journey has been.
The club’s present is now defined by serious Championship ambition. But it all began with a message, something Ryan Reynolds can still laugh about years later.
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It’s interesting how one DM can lead to such big changes. What sparked Ryan’s interest in Wrexham in the first place?