Muhammad Ali To Be Inducted Into The WWE Hall Of Fame

Iconic boxer Muhammad Ali has been announced as the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2024. 

Ali joins Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano and The US Express (Mike Rotunda & Barry Windham), who have already been announced for this year's class. 

Though known throughout the world for his exploits in the boxing ring, Muhammad Ali also had strong ties to the professional wrestling industry. 

As well as appearing as the special (ringside) referee for the main event of the inaugural WrestleMania, The Greatest also competed in a famous boxer versus wrestler match when he took on Antonio Inoki in Tokyo in 1976 (the same year Ali had a brief encounter with Gorilla Monsoon in a WWE ring).

Dubbed 'The War of the Worlds', the special rules exhibition contest resulted in a draw after fifteen rounds. Inoki and Ali became friends after the bout, and Ali even accompanied Inoki, along with wrestlers from New Japan and WCW, to North Korea for the Pyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace in April 1995. 

The festival saw two wrestling shows play out before reported crowds of 150,000 and 170,000 people, with Ali serving as the guest of honour. 

Muhammad Ali - who passed away in 2016, aged 74 - was included as a playable character in the WWE 2K24 video game.