With WrestleMania 42 approaching the two-night affair on April 18 and 19 in Las Vegas, NV, it hopes to deliver on the yearly event known as ‘the show of shows.’ The show’s significance did not come in a vacuum; in fact, FightsATW.com has, over the years, covered the desperate state WWE (then WWF) was in as a company heading into the first Mania at Madison Square Garden.
As the brainchild of Vince McMahon, the first WrestleMania was akin to jet setting to the nearest casino with your entire bankroll in hand, ready to ‘push your chips’ all- in on ‘red.’ Fortunately for McMahon and the company, the gamble paid off massively by eventually setting the unreachable bar for not just wrestling events but entertainment altogether.
While the lights are always brighter, the stage grander, and the fireworks as loud as they are impressive, there is a factor about Mania that is unique to all other PLEs—including the other three tentpole shows along with Mania that make up the ‘Big Four.’ Sure, you can expect bigger, more elaborate entrances sometimes with a live rendition of a superstar’s theme music, but none of that compares to the celebrity influences that make Mania the ‘Super Bowl’ of wrestling.
The first Mania set the precedent, and you could argue that Vince saw the ‘clout chase’ style of content creation long before the live-streaming world invented the term ‘clip farming.’ Wrestling had a reputation at the time of WrestleMania I, March 31, 1985, sculpted by the unregulated territory era, which invoked images far from the commercial presentation of the modern sport.
So, McMahon knew the only way to legitimize wrestling, and thus the event itself, was to bring in established celebrities in the form of athletes, artists, and actors representing the upper echelon of entertainment.
Muhammad Ali, considered the biggest athlete in the world at the time, took on the role of referee for the main event tag match. In that match, Hulk Hogan teamed with one of the most popular actors of the 80s, Mr. T, fresh off his success in Rocky 3 and starring on The A-Team television series. Ali gave an athletic legitimacy to the event as the ‘outside match enforcer’ while Mr. T targeted the exact male demo that WWE covets.
Cyndi Lauper served as the manager for Wendi Richter, while Liberace handled the timekeeping duties, and the WWE gave credence to the celebrity’s use in ways that added to the storyline of a program or increased the spotlight and stakes of a match. Vince also had the sense to book New York Yankees manager Billy Martin to pop the home crowd, and the Yankee franchise was ‘America’s Team’ before the Dallas Cowboys, so it vouched for wrestling as both a franchise and as a piece of Americana.
The following is a list of the most impactful celebrity appearances and performances in WM history, excluding the WrestleMania I card, considered the blueprint for all future events:
Celebrity Examples At WrestleMania
MIKE TYSON—It could be said that “Iron” Mike was the most influential celebrity guest spot in Mania history because it helped to turn the corner on the Monday Night Wars versus WCW. The two companies battled it out on Mondays for cable supremacy, and WWE’s biggest stars continued to crossover with names like Hogan, Hall, and Nash.
However, it was not until Bret Hart left following the ‘Montreal Screw Job’ in 1997 that the company decided to pivot into the “Attitude Era.” Tyson’s reputation helped launch that era, which, in turn, helped Vince conquer and eventually buy out WCW.
Tyson’s RAW segment with Stone Cold Steve Austin delivered on an iconic moment in wrestling, but the ‘turn on DX’ from the ‘enforcer ref’ and former heavyweight champion of the world would go down as a defining moment in WM lore.
BAD BUNNY— Considering that Logan Paul is basically a ‘full-timer’ now makes Bad Bunny arguably the greatest celebrity wrestler in the history of sports entertainment. The global pop star, before he was selling millions of records and headlining the Super Bowl, was on a generational run when he decided to get into wrestling full stop.
Many in the media questioned why Bad Bunny would make this decision, considering his music career, but what followed was a legendary run by a complete novice. Bad Bunny has always been a wrestling fan, admitting in many interviews that the Lucha Libre culture in his home country of Puerto Rico influenced him in his formative years.
Bad Bunny would go on to have an incredible performance teaming with Damian Priest against The Miz— one of WWE’s ‘go-to guys’ when it comes to working with the ‘green celebrity.’ Bad Bunny would have an even better performance in Puerto Rico when he faced off against Priest to bring his wrestling story full circle.
TRAVIS SCOTT— Not all impacts are positive, and influence carves out a company’s public persona—Coca-Cola, as an example, has introduced successful alternatives to their staple product with the likes of Diet Coke while crapping the bed on their ‘New Coke’ attempt, and the company exists today as a product of their ‘dos and don’ts.’
In the case of Grammy award-winning pop artist, Travis Scott, his Mania appearance will forever be in the ‘negative influence’ column.
What started as an amazing final segment at Elimination Chamber several weeks prior ended in a nonsensical, clout-chasing WrestleMania main event last year. After The Rock initiated Scott’s usage over the ‘battle for Cody’s soul,’ his absence from the program left a gaping hole in rationality— like how Scott, a skinny auto-tune artist, is supposed to be the difference maker for John Cena’s quest for 17.
The decision to use Scott in that spot was heavily criticized by fans and the media, to the point that his relationship with the WWE quickly deteriorated, and the planned match WWE hoped to stage with him was now off the table.
LAWRENCE TAYLOR— Many will say that Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the greatest athlete to ever compete in a WrestleMania ring on top of being the most accomplished in his respective field, and that is, potentially, the case.
However, when it comes to impact, there is an argument that the WWE capitalized on “The Money Team” (TMT) before he cemented himself as a mega star.
Instead, Lawrence Taylor’s WrestleMania XI program with Bam Bam Bigelow, a storyline that began at the Royal Rumble after the “Beast from the East” shoved the HOF’er, had the bigger impact on WWE. Before Mike Tyson, LT’s ‘spot’ at the Rumble made mainstream news while eating up the news cycle heading into Mania.
NFL players have competed in wrestling rings prior to the April ’95 show; there was never a star of this magnitude in a one-on-one situation. This helped to validate the ‘sport’ in “sports entertainment” in a way the Floyd thing never did.
Floyd fighting the Big Show was memorable, but not validating from a sports perspective, because a 7-foot giant does not lose to the guy who fought at 147lbs. LT solidified wrestling as an option for athletes, and it opened the door for guys like Dennis Rodman (2026 WWE HOF inductee) and Karl Malone.
This year’s WrestleMania celebrity looks to be Grammy-award-winning artist Jelly Roll, though he is not new to the squared circle. But there are always surprises and cameos, but the impact they leave will always be a ‘rolling momentum’ based on the work of this list.
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