List of celebrities involved with WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The events feature wrestlers from the promotion's roster competing in a variety of professional wrestling match types, performances with pre-determined outcomes between wrestlers with fictional personalities that are portrayed as real for the entertainment of the audience. The WrestleMania franchise debuted in 1985 with WrestleMania I,[1] and has been produced annually since then. WrestleMania XXXI is the most recent production.
Aside from professional wrestling performances, celebrity involvement has been a major key in the production of WrestleMania events. WWE involves celebrities in the WrestleMania events to gain more hype and media attention for the event, in this way receiving more attraction to the event, pay-per-view buys, and ticket sales.[2][3] The celebrities involved with WrestleMania events have come from a range of occupations, including singing, acting, professional boxing, and modeling, and usually appear in non-wrestling roles, such as singing, promoting a subject, or managing wrestlers at ringside. There have been exceptions, however, in which celebrities have had a professional wrestling role.
One of the first celebrities to appear at the first WrestleMania was Mr. T, who wrestled in the main event in a tag team match with Hulk Hogan. Aretha Franklin appeared at the third WrestleMania and sang a rendition of "America the Beautiful." Franklin appeared 20 years later at WrestleMania 23 and sang another rendition of the same song. At times, WWE has inducted celebrities into their Hall of Fame. For example, Chicago Bears defensive lineman William Perry wrestled in a match that involved other NFL football players, and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a "Celebrity Inductee" in 2006. Another celebrity was Mike Tyson, who appeared at WrestleMania XIV and was originally planned to enforce the ringside area, although he was involved in a physical altercation with Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom). Pete Rose has made the most celebrity appearances at WrestleMania, with four overall appearances. Overall, there have been 99 celebrities involved at WrestleMania: 32 athletes, 29 musicians, 19 actors, and 20 others from different backgrounds.
Contents
Celebrities
Actors
Athletes
Celebrity | Profession | Appearance | Role | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|
Muhammad Ali | Professional boxer | WrestleMania I | Guest referee for the main event | |
Carl Banks | Linebacker for the New York Giants | WrestleMania XI | Manager of Lawrence Taylor in his match against Bam Bam Bigelow (Scott Bigelow) | |
Dick Butkus | Linebacker for the Chicago Bears | WrestleMania 2 | Guest referee | |
Dick Butkus | Linebacker for the Chicago Bears | WrestleMania VII | Involved in a skit | |
Jim Covert | Offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears | WrestleMania 2 | Wrestled in a Battle royal, an elimination style match in which the last person remaining is the winner, involving other NFL football players | |
Darryl Dawkins | Basketball player | WrestleMania 2 | Judge for the boxing match between Mr. T and Roddy Piper (Roderick Toombs) | |
Lou Duva | Professional boxing trainer | WrestleMania 2 | Manager of Roddy Piper in his boxing match against Mr. T | |
Eric Esch | Professional boxer | WrestleMania XV | Fought in an unscripted Brawl For All boxing match, knocking out opponent Bart Gunn (Mike Polchlopek) | |
Bill Fralic | Offensive guard for the Atlanta Falcons | WrestleMania 2 | Wrestled in a Battle royal, an elimination style match in which the last person remaining is the winner, involving other NFL football players | |
Russ Francis | Tight end for the San Francisco 49ers | WrestleMania 2 | Wrestled in a Battle royal, an elimination style match in which the last person remaining is the winner, involving other NFL football players | |
Ernie Holmes | Defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers | WrestleMania 2 | Wrestled in a Battle royal, an elimination style match in which the last person remaining is the winner, involving other NFL football players | |
Rickey Jackson | Linebacker for the New Orleans Saints | WrestleMania XI | Manager of Lawrence Taylor in his match against Bam Bam Bigelow | |
Ed Jones | Defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys | WrestleMania 2 | Guest referee | |
Tommy Lasorda | Pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers | WrestleMania 2 | Guest ring announcer at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California | |
Paul Maguire | Linebacker for the Buffalo Bills | WrestleMania VII | Involved in a skit | |
Billy Martin | Second baseman for the New York Yankees | WrestleMania I | Guest ring announcer | |
Harvey Martin | Defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys | WrestleMania 2 | Wrestled in a Battle royal, an elimination style match in which the last person remaining is the winner, involving other NFL football players | |
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. | Professional boxer | WrestleMania XXIV | Wrestled in a No disqualification match against The Big Show (Paul Wight) | |
Steve McMichael | Defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears | WrestleMania XI | Manager of Lawrence Taylor in his match against Bam Bam Bigelow | |
Ken Norton, Jr. | Linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys | WrestleMania XI | Manager of Lawrence Taylor in his match against Bam Bam Bigelow | |
Shaquille O'Neal | Basketball player | WrestleMania 32 | Participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal | |
Vinny Pazienza | Professional boxer | WrestleMania XV | Guest referee for the Brawl for All rules match between Eric Esch and Bart Gunn (Mike Polchlopek) | |
William Perry | Defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears | WrestleMania 2 | Wrestled in a Battle royal, an elimination style match in which the last person remaining is the winner, involving other NFL football players | |
William Perry | Defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears | WrestleMania 22 | Appeared as a part of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2006 | |
Kevin Rooney | Professional boxing trainer | WrestleMania XV | Judge for boxing match between Eric Esch and Bart Gunn | |
Pete Rose | Player/Manager for the Cincinnati Reds | WrestleMania XIV | Guest ring announcer and involved in a physical altercation with Kane (Glenn Jacobs) | |
Pete Rose | Player/Manager for the Cincinnati Reds | WrestleMania XV | Dressed as the San Diego Chicken and involved in an altercation with Kane | |
Pete Rose | Player/Manager for the Cincinnati Reds | WrestleMania 2000 | Was involved in an altercation with Kane and Rikishi (Solofa Fatu) | |
Pete Rose | Player/Manager for the Cincinnati Reds | WrestleMania XX | Appeared as a part of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2004 | |
Ronda Rousey | MMA fighter | WrestleMania 31 | Appeared as a member of the audience and had an altercation with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon along with The Rock. | |
Chris Spielman | Linebacker for the Detroit Lions | WrestleMania XI | Manager of Lawrence Taylor in his match against Bam Bam Bigelow | |
Lawrence Taylor | Linebacker for the New York Giants | WrestleMania XI | Wrestled in a standard wrestling match against Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event | |
Mike Tyson | Professional boxer | WrestleMania XIV | Ringside enforcer for the main event and was involved in a physical altercation with Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom) | |
Bob Uecker | Catcher for the Atlanta Braves | WrestleMania III | Interviewer, Guest commentator, Guest Ring Announcer | |
Bob Uecker | Catcher for the Atlanta Braves | WrestleMania IV | Interviewer, Guest commentator, Guest Ring Announcer | |
Chuck Wepner | Professional boxer | WrestleMania XV | Judge for boxing match between Eric Esch and Bart Gunn | |
Reggie White | Defensive end for the Green Bay Packers | WrestleMania XI | Manager of Lawrence Taylor in his match against Bam Bam Bigelow | |
Larry Young | Umpire | WrestleMania XI | Guest referee |
Note: Multiple appearances by celebrities are sorted in different columns and rows for the purpose of sorting the content in the table.
Musicians
Note: Multiple appearances by celebrities are sorted in different columns and rows for the purpose of sorting the content in the table.
Other
Note: Multiple appearances by celebrities are sorted in different columns and rows for the purpose of sorting the content in the table.
References
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- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 8.17 8.18 8.19 8.20 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 9.19 9.20 9.21 9.22 9.23 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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