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If there's one notion unique to the modern world, it's the concept of celebrities as a cult of personality in and of themselves. This concept extends to the world of pro wrestling and sports entertainment, and their entwined history goes back a lot further than you might think.
In its golden era in the 1940s and 50s, pro wrestling reached mainstream appeal thanks in part to the advent of the television. The burly he-men and their archetypal portrayals of the struggles between good and evil resonated well with that somewhat simple-minded audience.
But as time passed, and global politics and social strata became more complex issues, people turned away from pro wrestling. By the 1970s it had descended into blood-soaked events in smaller venues, for the most part.
When Vince McMahon Jr. took over the then-WWWF from his father Vince Sr., he wanted to make pro wrestling mainstream again. Vince capitalized on celebrity involvement at the very first WrestleMania and the War to Settle the Score. While there's no doubt this was a good tactic at the time, these days it seems like wrestling fans are less warm toward celebrity involvement in pro wrestling events.
Take Mike Tyson's involvement with the AEW TNT title picture. Ratings for Dynamite decreased during Tyson's segment, the exact opposite of what the promotion was hoping for.
So, why do wrestling companies continue to hire celebrities to appear at events when it seems to have diminishing returns? Here are five reasons why.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
#1 Pro Wrestling is forever seeking new fans
Firstly, like all forms of entertainment media from cinema to young adult romance novels, pro wrestling companies are forever seeking a new audience.
Why? Not every wrestling fan has children to pass their love of the sport on to, for one thing. For another, most businesses prefer steady growth. To grow, you need new fans in addition to the ones you already have.
A sure-fire way to get attention in pro wrestling is to involve a celebrity. As we've seen with Mike Tyson, it's not always good attention, but it got the world buzzing about AEW none the less. Take WWE's decision to make Kyle Bush their temporary 24/7 champion as a recent example. WWE was hoping that Nascar fans would tune in to see Kyle Bush, and become hooked on the wrestling content.
The drive for new fans is one of the factors which inclines promotions to involve celebrities in their programming.
#2 The Media Landscape has never been more crowded
Another reason why pro wrestling and sports entertainment promotions like to hire celebrities from outside the wrestling world is that it gets attention, however short-lived or ill-conceived. This is particularly important in our modern media landscape when there are so very many streaming services, cable channels, podcasts, and internet-based content providers that don't fit any traditional mold.
Just as cable television transformed the way content was provided in the 1980s, so too has the internet changed the game for modern media companies. It's a very crowded beach indeed, with everyone struggling to get attention--and currency--from subscribers, viewers, and advertisers.
With such a crowded marketplace, it's only natural that pro wrestling companies like AEW and WWE would turn to celebrities to garner that extra bit of attention. Even if it's just a few more clicks, a few more minutes of viewership, or a tiny bump in the ratings, you can't blame wrestling promotions for trying a tested and true method like including celebrities in their programming.
#3 Celebrities add an 'anything can happen' feel to events
Pro wrestling and sports entertainment are some of the most unique forms of entertainment in the world.
Where else can you see a superntural character (The Undertaker) take on a Sumo wrestler (Yokozuna) on the same show where Triple H takes a mud bath in a hog slop match?
Given that wacky, zany sort of vibe, it's no secret that pro wrestling often embraces it nature rather than railing against it. No self respecting wrestling fan wants irony, not in that sense. Take the abysmal failure of Vince Russo's 'work the internet' angles in the fading days of WCW. No one wants to see Goldberg refuse to cooperate with the script and storm off. They want to see Goldberg in the context pro wrestling has provided.
One of the pro wrestling industry's greatest strengths is its anything can happen feel. When you bring in an outside celebrity, it enhances that anything can happen sensation, and helps 'wake up' fans who have become complacent viewers, predicting what's going to happen a few seconds or minutes before it occurs. If there's a celebrity involved, it's a deviation from the wrestling show norm, and therefore increases anticipation of something wild and off the cuff.
#4 It gives long time celebrity fans a chance to connect with pro wrestlers
It should come as no real surprise that many celebrities are in fact fans of pro wrestling.
This is especially understandable for actors, who share many of the same facets of pro wrestlers. Acting and pro wrestling are both very much performance arts. One seeks to step onto the stage, screen, or ring and connect with an audience, often in ways both subtle and profound.
One of the reasons why actors respect pro wrestlers so much is that in acting, one has multiple takes, sometimes as many as a hundred or more, to get a performance just right.
But Pro wrestling takes place in front of a live audience (our recent COVID sanctions notwithstanding) so there's only ONE take. It has to be right the first time, period end of the story. One of the more celebrity fans of pro wrestling is an actor and former teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr. He guest-hosted RAW and espoused his love for the industry and WWE in particular. He even admitted to eating the 'disgusting' WWE ice cream bars from the 1980s.
Having celebrities like Prinze, and Stephen Amell--Arrow star and another huge wrestling fan--participate gives a chance for famous fans to indulge their inner child, and also provides connections between the industry and Hollywood.
#5 Having 'legitimate' athletes participate lends credence to pro wrestling
One of the things that have haunted pro wrestling almost from its inception as a modern concept is a fact that the matches are scripted and the victors predetermined. While this has never been a deal-breaker for fans it can be a major determent to fans of other sports partaking in pro wrestling content.
It is a performance. When Brock Lesnar hurls Roman Reigns through a table, what you see is happening even if The Beast Incarnate throws The Big Dog in such a way that he's not seriously injured.
But when you involve 'legit' celebrity athletes like Floyd Mayweather at Wrestlemania XXX or Lawrence Taylor at Wrestlemania X, such critiques seem to die out. After all, if athletes who are, no questions asked, legitimate tough men, respect pro wrestling enough to participate, then it can't be entirely a joke or a punch line.
There you have it; five reasons why pro wrestling companies keep using celebrities in their programming. Questions or comments? Please leave them below, and as always, thanks for reading!
