10 Biggest Celebrity Matches In WWE WrestleMania History

Since its inception, WrestleMania has enjoyed strong ties with the mainstream celebrity world. As much as purists rue it, the Grandest Stage Of Them All isn't simply a wrestling show. It often features musical performances, mainstream celebrity endorsements, guest interviews, special announcers, and so on.

Occasionally, however, things work in reverse - a celebrity will step into the squared circle and try their hand at the noble art of sports entertainment.

Now obviously, sticking an untrained non-wrestler in a bout on the grandest stage of all is a risk. Some celebrity bouts are a predictable disaster, others awkward and sloppy. Some, however, defy expectations and turn out pretty good indeed.

It's a strange phenomenon to examine because celebrity involvement is so naturally divisive. Hardcore fans often rue the time and attention such bouts take away from the actual wrestlers on the card, while casual or newer fans may be more attracted by the prospect of a familiar face.

Ultimately, celebrity matches at WrestleMania are always going to attract a degree of attention - but some are naturally more well-remembered than others. We're going to take a look at the 10 biggest examples in the 33-year history of 'Mania - from ill-advised boxing matches to surprise appearances from global megastars. There's even a certain President of the United States in there...

10. Mr T Vs. 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper

No, not 

that 

Mr T match.

The star is obviously better remembered for a different WrestleMania match - one we'll cover later - but the sequel was a rather less impressive affair.

WrestleMania 2 saw Mr T square off with non-boxer Roddy Piper in a boxing match. Admittedly, Piper tried his best here, mean-mugging and trash-talking like a proper heel should. Unfortunately, even he couldn't help Mr T to a compelling match under a set of unfamiliar circumstances.

T triumphed in the end, but it wasn't clean. Piper actually got himself disqualified for bodyslamming his opponent.

Spare a thought for the poor souls who attended the New York portion of the triple-header event. This was their 

main event

. Ouch.

9. Maria Menounos & Kelly Kelly Vs. Beth Phoenix & Eve Torres

Speaking of uninspiring celebrity matches, WrestleMania XXVIII saw a tag match where

Kelly Kelly

was the more skilled member of her team. Her partner? Maria Menounos.

In fairness to Maria, she has often been open about her long-term love of pro wrestling and has acted as a guest star, Hall of Fame red carpet interviewer, and ring announcer in her many interactions with WWE.

Celebrities often win the matches they're involved in, which makes sense - but this is a clear example of a bout where the opponents really would have benefitted from avoiding defeat. Beth Phoenix suffered the misfortune of putting Maria over, succumbing to a clumsy roll-up despite comfortably being one of the best women's wrestlers of her generation.

8. WrestleMania 2 Battle Royal (Feat. NFL Stars)

Let's head back to WrestleMania 2 for the 

other 

big celebrity match of the night. Well, not entirely. This Battle Royal featured a mishmash of WWF Superstars and NFL players. A coordinated and carefully-planned affair it was not.

Andre the Giant won, which was a good decision, as was giving Bret Hart the runner-up spot (although perhaps he deserved a more important match on the card...).

For the sake of completion, let's run through the other participants in the match. The remaining wrestlers were Pedro Morales, Tony Atlas, Ted Arcidi, Dan Spivey, Hillbilly Jim, 'King Tonga' (or Haku), The Iron Sheik, The Killer Bees, Big John Studd, and Bruno Sammartino. A mixed group, for sure.

A number of NFL players were involved, including the Atlanta Falcons' Bill Fralic and former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Harvey Martin - but the main star was William 'The Refrigerator' Perry, perhaps the most wrestler-sounding sportsman in human history.

7. Akebono Vs. Big Show

Big Show has been trusted with celebrity matches on numerous occasions, but his worst was probably this bout against sumo star Akebono at WrestleMania 21.

Full credit to Show, he really got into the spirit of things, donning traditional sumo attire and squaring off against his 6'8" opponent in a ropeless ring.

Things didn't go so well for the former WWF Champion once the bell had sounded, and he found himself carted clean out of the ring to the floor in just over a minute. To make matters worse, this contest followed the excellent match between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels, one of the best singles matches in WrestleMania history.

6. Snooki, Trish Stratus, & John Morrison Vs. Dolph Ziggler & LayCool

To be honest, Snooki surprised a lot of people with her performance at WrestleMania XXVII. The Jersey Store star drew a chorus of sneers and sniggers from fans in the build-up to the event; evidently her reality show histrionics didn't give off the impression of a capable in-ring competitor.

Although her involvement in this match was wisely limited, she did display impressive athleticism towards the end. Flipping across the ring (thanks to a possible background in gymnastics), Snooki took down Michelle McCool and secured the pinfall for her babyface team.

This match isn't solely remembered for Snooki's involvement, however. It's also rumoured to be the cause of strife between real-life couple John Morrison and Melina. Allegedly, Melina didn't take too kindly to her boyfriend teaming with Trish Stratus. Given Snooki's hard-partying antics on Jersey Shore, Melina may have had her eyes on the wrong target.

5. WrestleMania 32 Battle Royal (Feat. Shaquille O'Neal)

WrestleMania 32's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was won by Baron Corbin and was used as part of the Lone Wolf's push up the SmackDown ranks. He eventually won the Money in the Bank ladder match in 2017, before suffering one of the most embarrassing cash-in attempts in the history of the stipulation.

Thankfully for Corbin, his momentum has somewhat recovered - but his Battle Royal triumph has been largely forgotten. The reason for that? Shaquille O'Neal.

With the ring full of main roster stars, NXT up-and-comers, and a few legendary faces (DDP and Tatanka among them), Desiigner's 'Panda' hit the speakers. As the Texas crowd looked to the entrance ramp in confusion, the seven-foot NBA icon burst through the curtain and jogged menacingly to the ring.

His stint in the match didn't last long, but was memorable for a truly titanic stare-down with Big Show. A singles match was rumoured for WrestleMania 33 - a supposed retirement match for Show - but Shaq is alleged to have backed out. Disappointing.

4. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Vs. The Big Show

Despite being one of the greatest boxers of all time, you'd be forgiven for thinking that 5'8" Floyd Mayweather Jr. would get beaten to a pulp against Big Show at WrestleMania XXIV.

This was a particularly unusual celebrity match in that the special guest was the outright heel. Floyd played the bad guy magnificently, and the natural showmanship he developed in the boxing world translated wonderfully to the wrestling ring.

He also picked up the win, but did so in believable circumstances against a man twice his size. Mayweather enjoyed considerable help from his entourage (a few of whom acted as punching bags for an enraged Big Show, of course).

He also tore off one of his gloves and donned a pair of brass knuckles to deliver the knockout blow, giving himself an undefeated WrestleMania record to match his unbeaten boxing career.

3. Battle Of The Billionaires

In hindsight, this could well be the oddest match in WrestleMania history. It was already pretty weird at the time, without the knowledge that Donald Trump would go on to become President of the United States.

Now yes, technically this wasn't a celebrity match, as Trump wasn't an actual participant in the match. However, he did get physically involved at one stage, tackling Vince McMahon to the floor and 'beating him up', in a way.

He also received a customary Stunner from special guest referee Steve Austin when all was said and done, and the WWE owner Vince McMahon had been relieved of his hair.

Ah yes, about that. The stipulation of this match was Hair vs. Hair, with Vince and Trump both putting their manes on the line and selecting a wrestler to fight for their honour. McMahon opted for heel Umaga, the future President for babyface Bobby Lashley.

Umaga's loss was pretty predictable - few would expect Trump to part with his infamous hair - but it was still a visual spectacle to see Vince rendered completely bald.

2. Lawrence Taylor Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Apart from Mr T, Lawrence Taylor has the distinction of being the only celebrity to main event WrestleMania. However, unlike Mr T, LT was not sharing the ring with the biggest name in the history of wrestling - nor did he have the benefit of a tag team stipulation to guide him through the bout.

Strangely, he went one-on-one with midcarder Bam Bam Bigelow. (That's not a knock on Bam Bam, by the way. I think he's one of the most underrated Superstars in the history of WWE.)

Ultimately, the match surpassed expectations. It's still regarded as one of the weakest WrestleMania main events. However, Taylor's performance is thought to be one of the most surprisingly competent displays by an untrained wrestler.

Happily - in terms of a heel/babyface dynamic at least - LT won with a diving shoulder tackle.

The WWF Championship (Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels) was relegated to the undercard, but HBK would get his revenge one year later, winning the title from Bret Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match.

1. Mr T & Hulk Hogan Vs. 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff

In terms of the biggest celebrity matches in WrestleMania history, only one can be considered the grandest of all time. I'm talking, of course, about Mr T and Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff - the main event of the first-ever WrestleMania.

Although hardly a slick exhibition of technical wizardry, the match stirred up an almighty reaction from the Madison Square Garden crowd. The faces inevitably won to a raucous reception, with ringside heel Bob Orton accidentally nailing his ally with a mistimed axe-handle.

In hindsight, a strange quirk to this match is the lack of attention paid to special ringside official Muhammad Ali - surely the biggest star in the building!

10. TNA IMPACT!

Starting out with a divisive entry.

TNA IMPACT! came out in 2008 when TNA was at its creative peak. It boasted a roster featuring Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, and Shark Boy amongst others, and featured arcade-like gameplay which had become rare thanks to the SmackDown vs. Raw series becoming a more in-depth simulation rather than a classic gaming experience.

Made by former Mortal Kombat head honchos Midway, TNA IMPACT! firmly had its roots in the beat-em-up genre, for better and for worse. Yeah you could plod around as Scott Steiner and throw massive ham-fisted clotheslines at everyone, but IMPACT! really came alive when playing as the X Division, especially when playing the Ultimate X game type.

IMPACT! was clunky at times, and the amount of moves wasn’t exactly stellar, but the gameplay was fun and easy and was a throwback to what wrestling games were and how they should be. It was meant as a ‘first in the series’ and was primed to expand and grow, but Midway went out of business a year after IMPACT! was released, and the chances of a sequel, unfortunately, went up in smoke.

9. WWE 2K14

Following the bankruptcy of THQ, 2K Games picked up the license for WWE video games and regular developers Yuke’s produced a banger for 2K’s first outing and the final title of the PS3/Xbox 360 generation. The gameplay remained good enough following the very good WWE 13 and featured catapult finishers off the ropes for the first time.

The game modes were what kept players coming back, though, particularly the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode that was so successful 2K Games have done it again in WWE 2K24 with 40 Years of WrestleMania. Players had 47 matches from every WrestleMania to that point to choose from, covering Hulkamania, the New Generation, the Attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression, and the ‘Universe’ era.

With such a wealth of matches, a wealth of unexpected wrestlers followed including Scott Steiner, and even Bruno Sammartino. WWE 2K14 also led to the renewed relationship between WWE and the Ultimate Warrior that saw the former WWE Champion be added to the game as a pre-order bonus.

8. WWE Day Of Reckoning 2

The GameCube, that cute purple confused little console with the tiny discs and the weird controllers. The console that had its head repeatedly flushed down the toilet by the cool kids' PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It did have Mario Kart Double Dash, though, and quietly had two of the greatest WWE games of all time in Day of Reckoning I and II.

It’s hard to quite put your finger on what it is that makes the Day of Reckoning games so good; they just work, for want of a better phrase. In terms of features, Day of Reckoning 2 utilised the stamina system and enabled players to interrupt moves, and the introduction of momentum transfer made it a competitive affair. You could also have up to nine finishers if you wanted, just in case you wanted to try and kill your opponent.

Roster-wise it came in the thick of the Ruthless Aggression era, so expect the best and worst of that era. Sure, you can have Jericho vs Eddie, but you can also have epic Hell in a Cell encounters between Heidenreich and Snitsky if you’re that way inclined.

Day of Reckoning 2 felt like it bridged the gap between the THQ N64 games and the next-gen. SmackDown games, despite coming after both. Like I said, it’s a hard one to put your finger on. Just get hold of a copy and you’ll understand.

7. WWF WrestleFest

If you’ve seen Stranger Things then you may be aware of a time called the 1980s, when the arcade reigned supreme. By the time the ‘90s rolled around, the arcade was still the daddy, with some of the medium’s best games released just before the home console market all but wiped arcades out.

In 1991, punters could team up with their mates and tackle WWF WrestleFest. It was loud, it was colourful, it was cartoony - it was WWF in a nutshell. A far cry away from the complex in-depth grappling systems found in modern wrestling titles, WrestleFest was a very punch-kick affair, but in 1991 no one know any better and didn’t care.

You could be Hogan, Warrior, Jake the Snake, you could team up with a mate as Demolition and try to take on the Legion of Doom, you could even battle it out in the classic blue cage.

Unfortunately with the decline of arcades and the eye-watering price of the original cabinets on the secondary market, your best bet to play WrestleFest is to get an emulator, or download the THQ remake for IOS, but it isn’t quite the same.

If you do manage to track down an original arcade cabinet, make sure you watch the message from the FBI warning about the dangers of drugs that opens the game.

6. WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It

Do you remember the first time you played SmackDown for the PS1? It was a breakthrough for the console, a WWF game that wasn’t gimmicky and daft like In Your House, and a vast improvement on the Acclaim titles War Zone and Attitude.

By the time SmackDown! Just Bring It rolled around for the PS2 the series was just starting to hit its stride. We now had full entrances, customisable move-sets for the established roster, and a full commentary track from Michael Cole and Tazz, although the less said about that the better.

Just Bring It started to move away from the arcadey feel of its predecessors, and was intent on replicating the full wrestling experience on a home console. You could even take the action backstage, and all the way to Times Square for a big street fight if you fancied it.

Coming out in 2002, it was after the Attitude Era but still had a meaty roster, and it finally had the full American Bad Ass Undertaker entrance with Rollin’ blaring out. Speaking of which, you could unlock Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst as an in-game character, and piledrive them through the Spanish announce table.

5. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns

Fire Pro Wrestling is a weird one; you’ve either never heard of it, or you are obsessed with it and will do anything to defend its honour.

The Fire Pro series has spanned 29 games, most of which were released only in Japan, but ported worldwide by eager gamers. The pick of the bunch is Fire-Pro Wrestling Returns, released for PlayStation 2 in 2005 (Japan) 2007 (USA) and 2008 (Europe).

If you’re new to Fire Pro then it’s unlike any other wrestling game on the market. It’s displayed at a weird 45-degree angle, and is all about strategy and tactics, rather than just nailing rapid-fire finisher after rapid-fire finisher. It’s a full-on wrestling game, part strategy game, part 2K style simulator, part arcade fighter.

Also it has a roster of 327 wrestlers. Chances are, if you can name a wrestler, then you’ll find them. Some of your favourites may need a costume and name change to be the finished article - like playing as Merseyside Red in PES - you know who it is, with or without the official license.

And if the 327 don’t whet your appetite, there are 500 create-a-wrestler slots.

4. WCW/NWO Revenge

Wrestling fans of a certain age hold the AKI N64 wrestling games with almost God-like reverence. Just say to them “Hey, have you played the latest WWE ga-" and they’ll come in with almost cat-like reflexes with “Is it as good as the N64 games though?” It may be annoying, but they are right.

The follow-up to WCW World Tour, Revenge was revolutionary when it came out in 1998. It blew its predecessor out of the water in every way, in terms of roster, movesets, customisation, and entrances.

Whether a veteran of World Tour or a complete newbie, it was easy to just pick up a pad and play. No matter whether you played as WCW mainstays such as Hollywood Hogan, Goldberg, or everyone’s favourites Han Zo Mon and Dake Ken, the game was a slick fun affair.

Despite what came after it - more on them later - many fans still hold Revenge as the pinnacle of the series, probably because you can start any match as La Parka with a chair in hand and just virtually batter your little brother until he cries.

3. Virtual Pro Wrestling 2

We could have put WWF WrestleMania 2000 here. Hell, we could have made this entire list out of AKI N64 wrestling games, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 is, for all intents and purposes, WrestleMania 2000 but with the cream of the Japanese crop instead of the Attitude Era’s finest. Even the opening video is the same, with Mitsuharu Misawa plodding along looking moody instead of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

VPW2 has the edge for us, though, because it managed to do more than Mania 2000. For a start there is that roster; the best of All Japan, New Japan, FMW and Michinoku Pro, legends like Terry Funk and Vader, MMA stars like Bas Rutten, and crossover stars like absolute lunatic and Pancrase legend Minoru Suzuki.

Talking of which, VPW2 has an MMA mode, allowing you to trade pins and top rope manoeuvres for an in-depth striking and submission system. Ever wanted to see Giant Baba vs Atsushi Onita in a submission match? Of course you have. VPW2 lets you make it a reality.

Don’t believe how good this game is? Just ask Samoa Joe or AJ Styles, both of whom claim it to be the greatest wrestling game of all time. AJ even collects copies of it like they’re going out of fashion.

2. WWE SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain

The second WWE game following the inaugural brand split, Here Comes the Pain was the turning point for the SmackDown series.

Building upon four games worth of fan-pleasing video game action, HCTP was the definitive turning point from button basher to immersive gaming experience. The grappling system was tweaked and built upon from games past, but was still accessible enough for newbies, a fine balance between casual grappling experience and intense furious warfare.

The roster featured the big hitters of the era such as Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Dr of Thuganomics John Cena, and legends like George Steele for some reason. It even marked the only WWE video game appearance of Sean O’Haire and his under-rated Devil’s Advocate gimmick.

Here Comes the Pain was a game full of plenty. If you could think it, chances are you could do it. After HCTP, WWE games started to strip it back and focus on the sport rather than the spectacle, with THQ rebuilding the series from the ground up. There’s nothing wrong with that, but some of us would rather play Mario Kart over Gran Turismo, if you catch my drift.

This was the last pure SmackDown title before the Smackdown vs. Raw era, and although these games were excellent in their own right, they just didn’t feel as special as the SmackDown games. Dust off your PS2 now, and thank us later.

1. WWF No Mercy

Of course it is.

No Mercy is still the benchmark wrestling video game, almost 20 years after it came out. It built on everything that the N64 WCW titles, the Virtual Pro Wrestling series and WrestleMania 2000 had perfected before it, creating the ultimate pick up and play grappler.

Released at the tail end of both the Nintendo 64 and the Attitude Era, No Mercy was a game changer when it came out. It had an amazing roster - something which let down WrestleMania 2000 - an expansive backstage area, ladder matches, tables, weapons that didn’t disappear - it was wrestling video game Nirvana.

Even now the graphics still look half decent, which can’t be said for other N64 games (we’re sorry Goldeneye). This is part of the lingering appeal of the AKI games; the graphics are good enough that you know who each wrestler is supposed to be, but not so crystal and sharp that they look awful as soon as the next game comes out. Your create a wrestlers blend in seamlessly next to the established roster, rather than looking like a stick drawing next to the Mona Lisa like with the modern WWE games, meaning that each copy felt personal to whoever owned it.

As good as No Mercy is though, that story-mode handicap match against the APA still gives us nightmares.