5 famous Sports personalities to appear in storylines in WWE

WWE bringing in celebrities to attract some mainstream attention is not a rare sight. Sometimes, they bring in Hollywood stars like Hugh Jackman or Mickey Rourke and on other occasions, they bring in some C-grade celebrities that we haven’t even heard of. Then there are these rare occasions where WWE presents us with sports personalities who look comfortable in the professional wrestling arena.And when WWE gives them a storyline platform to shine, it ends up being a memorable outing as well. Over the years, a handful of famous sports personalities have been part of WWE storylines and this list is going to take a look at the top ones from the lot.

#6 Honorable Mention: Ronda Rousey

Dwayne Johnson and Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey is perfect when it comes to being in WWE. She is a lifelong fan and the things she has achieved in UFC are second to none. Ronda got a taste of how it is like to be at the biggest stage in wrestling when she showed up at WrestleMania 30.

She taught Triple H a lesson and unfortunately WWE wasn’t able to follow up the storyline. If they had, Ronda would have been higher up on the list.

#5 Shaquille O\'Neal

Shaquille O’Neall is a big fan of wrestling and whenever he got the chance to appear on the show, he jumped in. Shaq was supposed to be part of a match with The Big Show at one point and WWE hyped the possibility by inviting Shaq as the special guest host for Monday Night Raw. Shaq went on to body tackle Big Show that night and everyone was looking forward to seeing these two fight.

The match was called off for one reason or the other but Shaq’s appearance was a memorable one and it wouldn’t be a big surprise if WWE ropes him in for some storyline in the future.

#4 Butterbean

At one point, Vince McMahon came up with the idea of letting WWE superstars perform MMA type fighting. He launched the Brawl for all tournament for the same and Bart Gunn ended up winning it. Instead of getting a present for his win, Bart Gunn got a match with boxer Butterbean at WrestleMania.

The match was not scripted and it lasted less than 30 seconds. Butterbean knocked out Bart Gunn twice in that time frame and Vince McMahon decided to keep such ideas away for the time being after seeing the beating that Gunn got. As for Butterbean, he earned his WrestleMania moment in style.

#3 Pete Rose

Baseball fans will see Pete Rose as a former MLB player and manager, but WWE fans, on the other hand will see him as the San Diego Chicken who took Tombstone piledriver from Kane. Rose made numerous WrestleMania appearances in WWE.

At WrestleMania XIV, Pete Rose was the guest announcer for Kane vs. Undertaker and he took a piledriver from Kane that night. A year later, he dressed up as the San Diego Chicken and tried to get revenge on Kane, that night also, Rose got a Tombstone. He got another tombstone from Kane a year later and it was funny to see Rose having such a feud with the Big Red Monster.

#2 Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one of the most hated sports personalities right now. However, back in 2008, WWE wanted to pit him as a baby face against Big Show. It was supposed to be a David vs. Goliath clash at the biggest stage of them all and WWE did everything in their power to promote the match. It ended up getting a lot of hype but for some reason, the actual match received mixed responses.

Mayweather needed five extra guys, brass knuckles and a steel chair to knock out Big Show. Mayweather won the match nevertheless and WWE got what they wanted. The only loser here was Big Show, who got beaten up by a much smaller man.

#1 Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson has made numerous appearances in WWE. He won over the fans every single time and it was the wrestling fan inside him that made him look good the whole time. The most memorable appearance of Tyson came during WrestleMania XIV. Tyson was roped in as the special guest enforcer for Shawn Michaels vs Steve Austin.

During the buildup, WWE projected Tyson as the ally of Shawn Michaels. Austin mouthing off at Tyson added motive for the same, but the match produced a big swerve. Austin ended up winning the match with the help of Tyson and this is still one of the benchmarks for celebrity appearances in WWE.