WWE TLC: Amell joins Tyson, Floyd as celebrities to grace WWE

Barnaby Read 17:27 11/08/2015
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  • Some of the biggest celebs to appear in the WWE.

    This past week, Arrow star Stephen Amell threw himself into a match at this month’s SummerSlam as his ongoing feud with Stardust spilled out from social media and into the ring. Amell will now side with Neville against Cody Rhodes’ confused character and King Barrett in tag-team action.

    — Stephen Amell (@amellywood) August 11, 2015

    It is not the first or last time that a celebrity has crossed over and become involved with the WWE and is hardly surprising given the nature of sports entertainment’s most successful company.

    From the very first WrestleMania to 2015’s SummerSlam, TLC looks at five of the most famous celebrity interventions in WWE history.

    MUHAMMAD ALI & MR. T (WrestleMania I, 1985)
    Back in 1985, and less than a year after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, former world heavyweight champion Ali would guest referee the match between Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, and Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndoff.

    Ali and Mr. T had a real hatred for Piper and this spilled over into a boxing match between Hot Rod and the A-Team star at the same PPV one year later.

    During the match, Ali caught Piper with a right hand as tempers flared, something that Piper would go on to explain was a very real conflict. Ali’s appearance set the trend for a number of boxers to jump on the WWE bandwagon in the years to come. LAWRENCE TAYLOR (WrestleMania XI, 1995)
    One of the most controversial NFL players of all-time, Taylor took on Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event at WrestleMania XI.

    Taylor, who openly admitted to taking recreational drugs during his playing days and was suspended from the sport on a number of occasions, actually went on to win the match.

    A hugely divisive figure in the States, Taylor’s appearance at WrestleMania is one of the most successful turns by a celeb. MIKE TYSON – (WrestleMania XIV, 1998)
    One such boxer to follow Ali down the path to WWE celebrity was Mike Tyson, who would later be put into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012 as recognition of his contribution over the years.

    Installed into a storyline revolving around D-Generation X and Stone Cold Steve Austin, Tyson stole the show at WrestleMania XIV as he turned from face to help Austin beat Shawn Michaels to lift the WWE Championship.

    After the match, Tyson ‘knocked out’ Michaels in a truly iconic WrestleMania moment for the ages. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR (WrestleMania XXIV, 2008)
    Another iconic boxer to take on the WrestleMania locker room was pound-for-pound king of the ring, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

    In a long running feud between Mayweather and the Big Show, the two faced off at the WWE’s showpiece PPV in a No Disqualifications bout back in 2008.

    Mayweather took some big spots in the matchup and served up a treat of in-ring entertainment. The boxer went on to secure the win with a big right hand that put The Show on his backside in probably the best match on this list. SNOOKI (WrestleMania XXVI, 2011)
    There had to be one horror show on this list and this one is a definite blight. Jersey Shore ‘star’ Nicole “Snooki” Polazzi took part in a mixed six-person tag-team match alongside Trish Stratus and John Morrison, against Dolph Ziggler and LayCool.

    Completely out of her depth in the ring and a relatively irrelevant ‘celebrity’, the whole thing was painful to watch.

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