John Cena recently revealed that someone by the name of Al Roker was going to be the guest ring announcer for his and Nikki Bella's mixed tag team match against The Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania 33.
Now, except for a portion of the WWE's American audience, the rest of the WWE Universe has no idea as to who exactly this Al Roker person is. Well, I'm here today to clear up those doubts and give you some insight into WrestleMania 33's latest celebrity guest.
Now, as you all know, John Cena makes a bunch of appearances on mainstream media in order to push the image of both the WWE and him personally; this how he met one Mr Al Roker who works at Today.
Also read: Why John Cena will propose to Nikki Bella at WrestleMania 33
The two have become good friends through their various interactions, and this has led to Cena inviting the man to make an appearance at The Showcase of the Immortals as a guest ring announcer.
If you were wondering just how close Cena and Roker are, check out the last one minute or so of this video:
Now, without any further do, let's get into some interesting facts about Al Roker:
#1) He is a weather forecaster by profession
Al Roker's primary occupation is that of a weather forecaster for Today. He is also a journalist and has been in his chosen field for over 40 years now. He has been a full-time employee on the Today Show for half that period and is widely respected in the TV space for his contributions to the field of journalism and weather forecasting.
#2) He holds a Guinness World Record
Not many people can claim to hold a Guinness World Record on this planet, but Al Roker is very much one of those men after he earned his way into the record books in November 2014.
What for, you ask? Well, he embarked on something called The Roker-thon where he decided to do a non-stop 34-hour weather forecast to beat the previous record of 33 hours. Oh, and the kicker here is that the 33-hour record is actually unofficial and hence not considered by the Guinness Book. Regardless, he has made a name for himself as a record holder.
#3) He is related to Lenny Kravitz
A little know fact is that Al Roker is actually related to the rock star, Lenny Kravitz. Roker is first cousins with Kravitz's mother and actress, Roxie Roker. This officially makes Kravitz his first cousin once removed.
This also makes Zoe Kravitz his first cousin twice removed as she is the daughter of guitar god, Lenny.
#4) He is an author
Al Roker has published three books during his lifetime so far. In 2009 and 2010 he published a couple of murder mysteries along with a man named Dick Lochte which were quite well received. The second book became especially popular and was even nominated for a Nero Award in 2011.
Buoyed by this success, he also released a non-fiction book last year called "Been There Done That: Family Wisdom for Modern Times" which was co-written along with his wife, Deborah Richards.
#5) He has been married twice
Roker was formerly married to a woman named Alice Bell for a decade from 1984 to 1994. Following the collapse of his first marriage, he was soon married to his current wife, Deborah Richards. The two have been happily married since 1995.
He has three kids – One daughter (Courtney born in 1987) from his first marriage and a son and a daughter from his second marriage (Leila born in 1998 and Nicholas born in 2002).
#6) He has had multiple surgeries
After fighting obesity for most of his life, Al Roker finally underwent Gastric Bypass Surgery in 2002 – a move which helped in lose over 100 pounds and bring his weight back down to a manageable level in the years after.
He has also had both of his knees replaced through two Total Knee Arthroplasties. The left one went under the knife in 2001 and the right one 15 years later in 2016. He was also forced into a back operation in 2005.
Here is a man who certainly understands the difficulties WWE superstars face when they are forced into surgeries for their injuries.
#7) He has made numerous TV and Film appearances
Roker has been pretty popular in television and Films where he mainly appears as himself. He has been credited with appearances in The Simpsons, Sharknado 2, Sharknado 3, and Sharknado 4 just to name a few.
He has been active in these roles since 1990, and it doesn't look like he's going to stop anytime soon. Oh well, at least he has some experience in such things before making his way to the WWE. That should instantaneously make him better than someone like Shaquille O'Neil.
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