You likely have an opinion about professional wrestling. It’s probably a strong opinion, one way or another. Regardless, pro wrestling has been extremely popular with fans and professional athletes alike for decades. Athletes love wrestling so much, in fact, that a number of Hall of Fame athletes have disgraced themselves by getting in a wrestling ring. Some at the peak of their careers!
Your Semi-Regular Reminder That Sports Superstars Have Tainted Their Careers Via Pro Wrestling
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
WWE.com recently posted a list of the strangest celebrity guests that the now-defunct WCW featured. The list was, of course, populated by more than a few sports stars. Here are just a few of the highlights.
- Steve “Mongo” McMichael: This one was kind of a no-brainer. The former Chicago Bears defensive lineman and Super Bowl champion spent years as a member of the Four Horsemen and to this day is probably more famous for being bad at wrestling than for anything he ever did on the football field. He’s also less-famous for having his wife leave him for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, but that’s neither here nor there. Reggie White also made the list for wrestling McMichael on a pay-per-view, but the less said about that, the better.
- The KISS Demon: Dale Torborg is the son of an MLB manager who was never able to make it past the minor leagues. So naturally, he went into wrestling. When WCW was at the height of their “Hey, whoever will pay up” initiative, they entered into a synergistic relationship with noted rock enthusiasts KISS. KISS wanted a warm body to dress up like Gene Simmons and wrestle guys and Dale Torborg just so happened to fit the description of “a warm body.” The KISS Demon didn’t last long and Torborg was able to get out of pro wrestling and become a strength and conditioning coach for several major league teams. He now works for the Chicago White Sox. This concludes the only story of a professional wrestler that has ever had a happy ending.
- Dennis Rodman: “The Worm” wrestled more than one tag team match as a partner of “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan back in the nWo days, and is infamous among wrestling fans not only for being really bad at wrestling, but for falling asleep on the ring apron while waiting to be tagged in. In his defense, most people were falling asleep while watching WCW at the time.
Rodman later returned to wrestling AGAIN to help out with the quasi-celebrity quasi-reality show Hulk Hogan Celebrity Championship Wrestling, where he won the first and only championship despite being the worst at wrestling. They should have just called it the “Friends With Hulk Hogan In Real Life” title.
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