40 Greatest WrestleMania Celebrities
WWE’s biggest event of the year was founded upon the involvement of mainstream stars.
WrestleMania’s reputation as the biggest spectacle in sports and entertainment was founded upon celebrities’ involvement. Musicians, athletes, actors, politicians and other stars have found their way to WWE over the years, bringing more eyeballs to the company’s version of the Super Bowl. Here are the greatest WrestleMania celebrities …
40. Billy Martin
“Mean” Gene Okerlund told a great story to Bleacher Report about the legendary New York Yankees manager, who served as the guest ring announcer at the first WrestleMania. “I’d been given instructions to meet him in Newport Beach, CA, to do some type of promo, and he was in a bar with an American Airlines flight attendant and didn’t know anything about the event. By this time, he’s plowed. I told him the names of the people in the main event, but he couldn’t remember. So we both went outside and put on dark glasses, so you couldn’t see his eyes. I told him I’d talk about the wrestlers, and he’d respond with a baseball story. And you know what? It all worked. It had to work.”
39. Pee Wee Herman
You’d expect to see Pee Wee on WWE TV during the 1980s, but instead, the former children’s show host made a surprising cameo in a backstage segment with The Rock and “Mean” Gene Okerlund at WrestleMania XXVII. The zany entertainer claimed to be John Cena’s biggest fan, but after some roasting from The Rock, Pee Wee joined Team Bring It.
38. Ozzy Osbourne
The original Prince of Darkness supported his fellow Brits at WrestleMania II, guest managing the Bulldogs along with Capt. Lou Albano. And they just so happened to win the Tag Team Titles! Although Ozzy technically didn’t do much, he certainly looked cool in that squad. Forget The Osbournes – a reality show with Ozzy, Albano, Davey Boy and Dynamite Kid would have been must-see TV.
37. Mary Hart
One of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities, the longtime host of Entertainment Tonight juggled a few tasks at WrestleMania III. She tried to interview Miss Elizabeth, but got cut off by the Macho Man. She also did commentary with Gorilla Monsoon during Hart Foundation and Danny Davis vs. British Bulldogs and Tito Santana. She was decent, too, insisting no relation to Jimmy Hart. Finally, she served as guest timekeeper for the main event.
36. Joan Jett
Whether marching to the squared circle or Octagon, Ronda Rousey has entered to “Bad Reputation” throughout her career. However, Joan Jett had never played the jam live for Rousey until WrestleMania 35 – the first time a women’s match main evented the annual spectacle. Promoted in advance of the event, Jett’s appearance earned a lot of publicity for WWE.
35. Pamela Anderson
Universally regarded as the hottest woman on the planet in the mid-1990s, WWE scored a major coup by bringing in Pamela Anderson for not only Royal Rumble 1995, but also WrestleMania XI. By winning the Rumble, Shawn Michaels won the honor of having the Baywatch star in his corner for the WWE Championship match. However, Diesel swooped in and got Anderson to accompany him down the aisle at Mania. Although Bruce Prichard claims that she was supposed to appear awkward around the arrogant HBK, nobody has ever accused Anderson of being that good of an actress.
34. Alex Trebek
Perhaps the least likely celeb you’d expect to see at WrestleMania. Yet, the Jeopardy! host joined Regis and Marla Maples as backstage personnel in 1991. Trebek interviewed Demolition in a surreal visual and then handled ring announcing duties for the main event.
33. Ice T
Here’s a great pop culture/pro wrestling collaboration: Ice T and The Godfather. The rapper rode the Ho Train at WrestleMania 2000, singing his version of Godfather’s new entrance theme “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy.” Track 10 on WWF Aggression!
32. Alice Cooper
Another great collab: Alice Cooper and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. The legendary rocker was in Roberts’ corner at WrestleMania III, close to his hometown of Detroit. Cooper wasn’t just spooky window dressing; he almost came fisticuffs with Jimmy Hart and threatened to drape Damien on top of him.
31. Burt Reynolds
An American icon, Burt Reynolds appearing at any WWE event should have been a huge deal. But the actor’s notoriety had dipped in the mid-1990s, so the company didn’t get the publicity boost that you’d expect. Regardless, Reynolds seemed to have a good time, serving as guest ring announcer for the main event and excitedly welcoming “Rowdy” Roddy Piper back home.
30. Regis Philbin
One of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities, Regis blended right into WWE. The legendary talk show host brought enthusiasm to his interviews with Undertaker, Genichiro Tenryu and Koji Kitao at WrestleMania VII, played up the campy comedy of the era. A Hulkamaniac to the core, Regis also joined Gorilla and The Brain on commentary for the main event.
29. Joan Rivers
Six months before launching her well-publicized late-night talk show, Joan Rivers served as guest ring announcer for the boxing match between Roddy Piper and Mr. T. A natural on the mic, the comedian introduced judges Darryl Dawkins, Cab Calloway and G. Gordon Libby to much fanfare. Hell, she even accepted a hug from Herb!
28. Al Roker
America’s most famous weatherman served as guest ring announcer for John Cena and Nikki Bella vs. Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania 33. A good sport, Roker through himself into the WWE Universe, promoting the event on The Today Show and recapping his experience afterward. He even came up with his own wrestling moniker: Chocolate Thunder.
27. Ray Combs
Survey says: Ray Combs was one of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities. The former host of Family Feud put on a spin on ring announcing duties for WrestleMania VIII. Instead of just welcoming the team of Repo Man, The Mountie and the Nasty Boys, Combs tossed out a few one-liners about each member. “The Mountie doesn’t know the meaning of the word fear…but then again, they say there’s a lot of words he does not know the meaning of.” POW! “The Mountie did the work of three men: Larry, Curly and Moe.” ZING!
26. Logan Paul
Years ago, Jack Goodwillie argued that Logan Paul would be a natural fit in the world of wrestling. As evidenced by his performance at WrestleMania 38, Goodwillie was right. Limited to small doses of action, the YouTuber/social media star/celebrity boxer held his own in the ring with Miz and the Mysterios.
25. Motörhead
Thank Triple H for Motörhead being the soundtrack of WWE through the 2000s. A diehard Lemmy Kilmister fan, Triple H recruited the rock band to perform his entrance theme “The Game” at WrestleMania X-7 and WrestleMania 21. Neither time did Lemmy know all the words, but hey, it still sounded badass.
24. Aretha Franklin
One of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities, the Queen of Soul has the distinction of being the only person to sing “America the Beautiful” at two WrestleManias: in front of 93,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome and 20 years later at Ford Field. Her iconic stature and elegance added to the event’s majesty.
23. Shaq
WWE teased Shaq vs. Big Show over the years, but for whatever reason, never pulled the trigger. The closest we got was the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32, when Shaq (unannounced) joined the fray. Shaq and Big Show tangled before everyone banded together to dump them out just over two minutes in.
22. Snoop Dogg
Somehow earning a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame, Snoop Dogg has been involved in three WrestleManias. He was the Master of Ceremonies for the Bunnymania match at Mania 24, popped up backstage at Mania 27 and then actually rapped his cousin Sasha Banks to the ring at WrestleMania 32.
21. Rob Gronkowski
Before hosting WrestleMania 36 (whatever that means in this surreal time), the former tight end for the New England Patriots helped real-life buddy Mojo Rawley win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33. Perhaps Gronk rubbed some luck on tackling dummy Jinder Mahal, who unbelievably went on to win the WWE Championship just a month later.
20. Mickey Rourke
Randy “The Ram” Robinson should have faced Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XXV. Unfortunately, Mickey Rourke’s agents feared that participating in the wacky world of wrasslin’ would hurt his chances at an Oscar. (He lost, anyway.) Instead, Rourke sat ringside as Jericho faced a trio of WWE Hall of Famers, and then knocked out Le Champion afterward.
19. William “The Refrigerator” Perry
In the battle royal at WrestleMania II, William “The Refrigerator” Perry led the NFL contingent against the WWF Superstars. The Chicago Bears defensive lineman was eliminated by Big John Studd, but managed to squeak in the WWE Hall of Fame 20 years later.
18. Snooki
Go ahead and laugh, but Snooki was a big deal at the dawn of the 2010s. Jersey Shore was all the rage and she was arguably the series’ most recognizable face. A guest host appearance on Raw led to her part in a six-person tag at WrestleMania XXVII. One of the highlights of that dud show, Snooki hit a handspring elbow and a handspring splash on Michelle McCool to pick up the win.
17. Ray Charles
WrestleMania’s tradition of mainstream stars singing “America the Beautiful” to kick off the event began with Ray Charles. His stirring rendition at WrestleMania II helped foster the pageantry we’ve come to expect.
16. Johnny Knoxville
The Jackass star brought all the hijinks and shenanigans you’d expect, and then some. His match with Sami Zayn was more slapstick than wrasslin’, but a whole lotta fun nonetheless. Knoxville shares this ranking with Wee Man, by the way.
15. Limp Bizkit
For “My Way” alone, Limp Bizkit belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame. Imagine WrestleMania X-7 without it…you can’t! The band also contributed “Crack Addict” for WrestleMania XIX, and even performed “Rollin” live for Undertaker’s entrance.
14. Maria Menounos
The media personality went into the wrong business. Maria Menounos is a hardcore wrasslin’ fan who can recite Dusty’s Hard Times promo. She has hosted the WWE Hall of Fame red carpet pre-show for six years, and even inducted Bob Backlund into the Hall. If that doesn’t earn her enough cred, she actually competed at WrestleMania XXVIII, teaming with Kelly Kelly to defeat Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix. Not only did she score the pin on Phoenix, she wrestled with two cracked ribs!
13. Bob Uecker
One of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities, Mr. Baseball was a natural in WWE. He made back-to-back WrestleMania appearances, cracking us up as King Kong Bundy squashed the midgets in the Pontiac Silverdome. He also had a thing for Moolah! Uecker’s most memorable contributions are tied to Andre the Giant. He handled ring announcing for the main event of WrestleMania III (his call ended up in the opening montage of WWE programming) and he was throttled by Andre during an interview at WrestleMania IV. One of the few deserving celebrity inductions into the WWE Hall of Fame.
12. Butterbean
Capping off the disastrous Brawl For All, Butterbean was brought into WrestleMania XV for a special boxing match against Bart Gunn. The accomplished boxer knocked Gunn out in 30 seconds, basically killing any momentum that Gunn gained from the tournament.
11. Muhammad Ali
Establishing credibility to WrestleMania by just his mere presence, Muhammad Ali served as guest referee outside the ring for the inaugural main event of Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Ali didn’t have to do much as one of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities, but he was ready to throw a quick jab if need be.
10. Pat McAfee
Even though he’s technically on the WWE payroll as the SmackDown commentator, Pat McAfee is one of the biggest sports stars in the United States with a massive following. The former Indianapolis Colts punter woke Dallas up with an epic entrance, and then dazzled with his jaw-dropping athleticism against Austin Theory. Despite picking up the win, McAfee ended the night losing to nearly 80-year-old Vince McMahon and eating a drenched Stone Cold Stunner.
9. Bad Bunny
Has any celebrity ever worked harder to learn the ropes? The Grammy winner put in the time at the WWE Performance Center and it paid off in spades at WrestleMania 37. It’s a shame Damian Priest couldn’t capitalize on the rub from Bad Bunny.
8. Pete Rose
Baseball’s all-time hit king was part of the best running gag in WrestleMania history. At WrestleMania XIV, Pete Rose gave a hilarious promo roasting the city of Boston, saying he left tickets for Bill Buckner, but he couldn’t bend over to pick them up. Kane (WWE’s version of the big, red machine) interrupted Rose with a tombstone. Rose would seek revenge the next two years, always ending up in another tombstone. And even a stinkface!
7. Lawrence Taylor
Props to LT for pulling his weight in the main event of WrestleMania XI, competing against Bam Bam Bigelow without any bells and whistles. The greatest defensive player in NFL history stirred up quite a buzz in the New York media market and in sports coverage across the country for his performance.
6. Floyd “Money” Mayweather
Speaking of bells and whistles, check out Floyd “Money” Mayweather against Big Show at WrestleMania XXIV. The undefeated boxing legend came into WWE with a tremendous angle, breaking Big Show’s nose at No Way Out. Typically, fans would root for David against Goliath, but Mayweather is such a natural heel that we couldn’t wait for Show to rip him in half. That didn’t happen, but the match was still fun.
5. Ronda Rousey
Although technically a WWE Superstar, Ronda Rousey is one of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities for paving the way for the women’s revolution. Rousey first appeared at WrestleMania 31 at the height of her UFC fame, helping The Rock lay the smackdown on Triple H and Stephanie. Three years later, she made her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34, teaming with Kurt Angle to defeat that evil couple. Rousey was also responsible for women finally main eventing WrestleMania, losing the Raw Women’s Championship to Becky Lynch at MetLife Stadium.
4. Donald Trump
Believe it or not, the 45th President of the United States is one of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities. Trump Plaza hosted WrestleMania IV and V, the only venue to hold consecutive WrestleManias. (Technically both events took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, but Trump sponsored them.) The Donald was also interviewed in the crowd at WrestleMania VII and XX, the latter of which featured Jesse Ventura asking if Trump would support his presidential campaign. (Irony!) And of course, Trump played a HUGE role in WrestleMania 23 – the most bought pay-per-view in WWE history until WrestleMania XXVIII – in the Battle of the Billionaires.
3. Cyndi Lauper
You may be surprised to see the pop singer this high up on the list, but that’s because WWE has done a terrible job of explaining how important Cyndi Lauper’s contributions to the company really were. One of the greatest WrestleMania celebrities, she did a lot more than just accompany Wendi Richter in Madison Square Garden.
In the mid-1980s, Lauper was one of the biggest stars in the world. A fixture on MTV, her songs “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time” and “She Bop” were constantly shown. After meeting Capt. Lou Albano on a plane trip, Lauper’s boyfriend and manager Dave Wolff invited Albano to appear in one of her music videos. That’s how Capt. Lou ended up as Lauper’s father in “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
The chemistry was palpable, and Wolff orchestrated some cross-promotion, segueing into a Piper’s Pit where Albano called Lauper a “broad” and Lauper retaliating by whacking him with her purse. This led to The Brawl to End It All on MTV – the first live wrestling match on cable TV – in which Albano managed Fabulous Moolah against Wendi Richter with Lauper. After Lauper cracked Moolah with her purse, Richter ended Moolah’s 28-year reign as Women’s Champion.
Lauper’s influence extended to the main event scene, as Piper targeted her next. This led to Hulk Hogan getting involved, setting up The War to Settle The Score and eventually, WrestleMania. By getting WWF so much attention on MTV and in mainstream media, Lauper was instrumental in the Rock N Wrestling Connection, which took the company to unprecedented heights.
2. Mr. T
While Lauper’s enormous contributions mostly happened outside the ring, Mr. T actually got down and dirty with the wrestlers.
The mid-1980s were the peak of the actor’s popularity. Fresh off his role as Clubber Lang in Rocky III, Mr. T joined hit series The A-Team. He also had his own cartoon! Appealing to children and young men with his jacked physique and charisma, he seemed like a perfect fit for pro wrestling, especially during WWF’s Rock N Wrestling Connection.
Aligning with the Hulkster, Mr. T brought a ton of mainstream exposure to the WWF, even hosting Saturday Night Live ahead of the first WrestleMania. Of course, he and Hogan defeated Piper and Orndorff in the inaugural main event. Mr. T continued his feud with Piper over the next year, culminating in a boxing match at WrestleMania II.
1. Mike Tyson
It wasn’t the D-X tank that turned the tide in the Monday Night War. It was “Iron” Mike Tyson.
In June 1997, Tyson was the talk of the world for biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear during their heavyweight title fight. Fined millions of dollars and suspended from boxing for over a year, the controversial star was in a rough spot. That’s when Vince McMahon capitalized.
A lifelong wrestling fan, Tyson was invited to the 1998 Royal Rumble, cheering on “Cold Stone.” The next night, he and Steve Austin got into a confrontation in the greatest moment in Raw history. As a result, Tyson announced that he was joining DX and would serve as special enforcer during Shawn Michaels’ WWE Championship match against Stone Cold at WrestleMania XIV.
Anticipation over Tyson’s antics brought so many eyeballs to WWE. He transcended sports – he was a household name whose unpredictability captivated the nation. Pairing him with DX and Austin was brilliant; so many combustible elements interacting made WWE must-see TV. Tyson’s role culminated at Mania, when he made the fast three count to screw DX and crown Austin the new WWE Champion.
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