The day before Wrestlemania XXVIII, Mike Tyson will be inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. Tyson will join sports stars like Pete Rose and William “The Refrigerator” Perry. In the WWE, Mike Tyson is known for the Wrestlemania XIV storyline involving Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.
Five other sports stars have had huge moments in the WWE and deserve their own spot in the Hall of Fame.
Ken Shamrock
At Wrestlemania 13, UFC fighter Ken Shamrock served as special guest referee for the Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart “I Quit Match”. In the months that followed Shamrock would return to the WWE as a wrestler, and he feuded with several stars, including The Rock.
Shamrock brought an intensity to the ring and mixed his UFC fighting style with WWE wrestling. He had several memorable matches, like the Lion’s Den Match and held the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Lawrence Taylor
The main event of Wrestlemania is a rare occasion that WWE Superstars strive their whole career for. At Wrestlemania XI, former New York Giants player Lawrence Taylor got this spot in a grudge match against Bam Bam Bigelow.
At the time, the match got huge promotion and Taylor was surrounded by other NFL players as he battled Bigelow in the ring. It wasn’t the best Wrestlemania main event, but it was entertaining enough to warrant Taylor a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman has never set foot in a WWE ring, but he was a huge part of WCW. Rodman came to WCW during the height of the NWO. His antics from the NBA translated perfectly in the wrestling world, where he feuded with stars like Macho Man Randy Savage and DDP.
Butterbean
In 1999, the WWE attempted a legit boxing brand on “WWE Raw” known as “Brawl For All”. WWE Superstars competed in a tournament that Bart Gunn eventually won. He earned the chance to face professional boxer Butterbean in a match at Wrestlemania XV. Butterbean showed his power merely 27 seconds into the match when he knocked out Gunn with a quick punch. This highlight has been played for years on WWE programming and is an impressive knock-out punch.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
WWE extended boxing events at Wrestlemania with a match between The Big Show and Floyd Mayweather Jr at Wrestlemania XXIV. Mayweather was at the height of his career and brought a lot of hype to the event. A month before Wrestlemania, Mayweather had an in-ring encounter with The Big Show where he punched and broke his nose.
The match between the two was a mix between wrestling and boxing that provided a lot of entertaining moments. Whether you love him or hate him, he had a huge impact in the WWE and deserves a spot in the celebrity wing.
Alan Donahue is a lifelong fan of the WWE. He has written hundreds of articles on wrestling and has seen every Wrestlemania.
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