When the concept of Wrestlemania was conceived, the idea was to create a supershow filled with wrestling, glitz, glam, and fame. It seems today that many wrestling fans have forgotten this fact, as every time a celebrity so much as sets foot in the WWE world, chaos and anger are soon to follow. To them I say, GET OVER IT! Celebrities have been a part of Wrestlemania since 1985 and that isn't changing any time soon!
Speaking of which, the latest outrage/olive branch the WWE has extended was towards a certain diminutive reality TV star, who just so happens to be one of the biggest stars in the world at this point. She is the celebrity version of Rey Mysterio, the littlest big woman with a lot of fight in her. This self proclaimed "meatball" has wrangled herself a match at Wrestlemania, teaming with John Morrison and Trish Stratus to take on the team of Dolph Ziggler and LayCool. I know pure wrestling fans hate it, but you have to hand it to the WWE for going all out to get the biggest star possible on their grandest stage. If you don't believe that this will sell tickets, you are a fool.
All of this got me thinking though. We are now heading into the 27th installment of Wrestlemania and there have been some very memorable celebrity appearances along the way. Thus, I've decide to do a countdown today dedicated to the top 10 celebrities in Wrestlemania history. My list is based on this celebrities energy level, contribution, and the appearances place in wrestling lore. The more memorable, the higher up on the list they will be.
10. Motorhead - There have been quite a few bands that have played theme music at Wrestlemania, but none were better than Motorhead. First off, they did it twice, at Wrestlemania X-Seven and again at Wrestlemania 21. Secondly, they are Motorhead! I understand that Limp Bizkit, P.O.D, and others have played superstars to the ring, but no other band can claim the longevity and fame of Motorhead. They are one of the preeminent metal bands of all-time and they played TWICE at Wrestlemania. I don't include America The Beautiful singers on this list as it is another category for me, but as far as musicians go at Wrestlemania, this is tops. Go watch Triple H's entrance at Wrestlemania 21 if you don't believe me. In his words, it's that damn good.
9. Floyd "Money" Mayweather - Of all the athletes the WWE has ever gotten, this is one of the biggest, Mayweather is one of the great boxers of all time and WWE got him to make a few Raw appearances as well as have a match with a 450 pound man at Wrestlemania. Credit to Mayweather for doing this, but he can't be any higher on the list due to the match basically sucking. It never made sense to match Mayweather up with a giant and it just didn't work well. Either have him talk trash about how wrestling is fake and have a babyface defend it, or have Mayweather be a face and have a cocky heel challenge him due to thinking he's better than everyone. Facing a giant put the WWE in a precarious position and it just didn't play off well. On a side note, one of Mayweather's posse members ended up becoming Michael Tarver, so I guess one positive came out of it! Anyway, the star power here is high, but the execution was kind of poor. Still, star power alone puts "Money" on the list.
8. Mickey Rourke - In terms of business moves, this one made a lot of sense. Rourke had just starred in "The Wrestler", so to tie in to that movie's success, WWE tried to snatch up the star. Though they didn't get him to wrestle, they got him to sit front row and end up punching out Chris Jericho after his match with WWF legends. Here's the thing though, this actually worked better than a match probably would have. I know it's always a draw to get non wrestlers in the ring, but they rarely come off well. This was short, effective, and memorable. It worked for me and thus, it lands on my top 10.
7. Bob Uecker - Man, I loved this guy in the Major League movies! A hilarious commentator, it was great to see Ueck at not 1 but 2 Wrestlemanias! However, in terms of wrestling history, Uecker will be best known for being choked by Andre the Giant. Some say this was an unscripted moment, but Uecker's face is priceless in it. That moment alone puts Uecker on this list because it has been shown literally hundreds of times. Creating a moment that lives in infamy is something that doesn't happen every day and Uecker did that. The reason? This guy is simply willing to do anything, and for two straight years, he did just that. Great guy to have at some early Wrestlemanias.
6. William "The Refrigerator" Perry - This is an interesting one. A bunch of NFL guys were brought in for a battle royale at Wrestlemania 2 and this was the guy that stood out. He was a star from that '85 Bears defense and was seen as one of the best athletes in the world at the time. He actually held his own in the battle royale and looked like any other 300 pound guy in the ring. Case and point, a battle royale involves punches, kicks, and closelines. It's way easier to get a celebrity or athlete involved in that than it is for them to work a full match. It comes off looking better and in this case, it worked. Perry even appeared to start a storyline with Big John Studd, eliminating him from the outside after he was eliminated, but this went nowhere. Perry did Wrestlemania and that was it. Still, he was a star at that time and seeing him in the same ring as Big John Studd and Andre the Giant was truly a site to see.
5. Muhammed Ali/Mr. T - The first Wrestlemania needed to be huge in terms of celebrities, and these were the most important of them. Mr. T was a part of the main event and the team of T and Hogan did a media blitz that is basically unrivaled. It actually lasted two years, as Mr. T came back the next year to box Roddy Piper. That was a flop, but no one could take away what he meant to the first Wrestlemania. As for Ali, there's literally two or three people in the world that would be held in higher regard than Muhammed Ali, and the president of the United States is one of them. This is one of the most important athletes of all time, and having him at Wrestlemania was a an amazing coup. He was a guest referee, but star power alone puts him in the upper echelon of celebrities at the show.
4. Lawrence Taylor - You have to put a celebrity that wrestled in a singles match in the main event at Wrestlemania on the list right? I think so, though this one will be hotly contested. In a truly unprecedented event, a bunch of NFL stars got involved with the WWF around Wrestlemania 11. For some reason, this star power trumped the title match between Diesel and Shawn Michaels, so it actually main evented the show. Wrestling purists hate this and this show is universally panned, but at the time it sold very well. That has a lot to do with the most feared linebacker perhaps ever competing in the main event. Being a New Yorker, I know how legendarily good LT was (to the point that Ladanian Tomlinson cannot be LT because there is "only one LT"), so having him wrestling was something people were curious about. Looking back, he didn't do that poorly and it actually didn't come off so bad. The problem was that he fought a guy that no one cared about. It was a big moment though and I say with certainty that LT was the best in the ring of any celebrity that has wrestled at Wrestlemania.
3. Pete Rose - I was tempted to put him even higher because he was so funny, but the other two guys deserve it more. Rose was great though, having moments in three straight Wrestlemanias that involved provoking Kane. It become a recurring gag, and one that was even revisited this year. He legitimately seemed to have a lot of fun with it and his excitement about the appearances make them highly regarded. He was inducted into the WWE hall of fame, starting the celebrity wing, and while I still think this was done to stick it to MLB a little bit, it started a nice tradition. I'm not one that thinks having a celebrity wing of the WWE hall of fame cheapens the honor. Having Koko B. Ware inducted might, but not having a celebrity wing. I think it's great to honor the men and women who used their celebrity to promote wrestling in a positive way and Rose was certainly deserving. I can still watch his stuff from those Wrestlemanias and get a chuckle. I'm sure Kane doesn't feel the same way though.
2. Donald Trump - No celebrity has been involved in more Wrestlemanas. I have to believe that's because no other celebrity can claim to be as big a wrestling fan as Trump. This guy has been working with the WWE since Wrestlemania 4 when his hotel hosted the event in Atlantic City. They did it again the next year and this started a great relationship between Trump and McMahon. Trump was on hand for Wrestlemanias 7 and 20, being interviewed in the crowd at both, and I'd venture to guess that he attended a couple of more inconspicuously. However, he'll most be remembered for his feud with McMahon that culminated at Wrestlemania 23. His closeline of McMahon outside the ring was a classic moment, but it all came to a head (literally) when Trump, Steve Austin, and Bobby Lashley, shaved the boss completely bald. It was a huge seller that year and it went over so well. Of course, Trump wouldn't make a bad investment right? This is a guy that has done so much with the WWE over the years and he probably should be number 1 on this list. I went another way, but for good reason.
1. Mike Tyson - First of all, this man was the biggest boxer in the world for a time. He was hugely popular and known as "the baddest man on the planet". Getting him to work with the WWF was huge at the time. Getting him involved with WWF's baddest man, Steve Austin? Even bigger. That main event generated so much interest and Tyson was a huge part of that. The fight he had with Austin at Raw is almost legendary, and the moment he counted 3 for Austin is the moment most fans attribute as the start of the Attitude Era. This was an inconic moment for the company, and Tyson was a huge part of it. He helped usher in Austin as WWF's biggest star, and he even got to knock out Shawn Michaels to further prove that point. While Trump has more impact in the long run, having done so many different things, Tyson's one moment is truly iconic, so he gets the #1 spot for that very reason.
Will Snooki crack this list someday? Time will tell, but I beg of you, give her a chance! Her involvement is selling the show, and maybe people who buy the show for her will see some great wrestling, great characters, great stories, and become big wrestling fans like you and me. It might not happen, but it surely wouldn't without celebrity involvement. They will always be there, so embrace them and hope they love being involved as much as we like watching!
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