10 Best Wrestler Vs. Celebrity Feuds Of All-Time
2. Roddy Piper Vs. Mr. T
Former A-Team star Mr. T first entered the world of pro-wrestling back in 1985. Teaming-up with Hulk Hogan to take-on Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff, his appearance wasn’t the first time that a celebrity had been involved with wrestling, but it was by far the most high-profile example to date. WrestleMania was Vince McMahon’s attempt at bridging the gap between wrestling and entertainment, and with Mr. T being one of the period’s most recognisable TV stars, he was a natural fit.
Naturally, Piper, Hogan, and Orndorff wrestled most of the match so as not to expose Mr. T, but the former B.A Baracus did partake in a number of big spots to get the crowd buzzing. Though various sources have since reported that Mr. T was difficult to work with throughout the affair, he was able to pull-off a handful of basic wrestling moves, and fans were hot for the match.
Mr. T and Hogan walked-out the victors, but that wasn’t the end of his bad blood with Piper. The duo had engaged in a number of heated brawls throughout the match, and Mr. T returned to WWE television the following year.
T took-on a boxing persona reminiscent of his Rocky III character, Clubber Lang, and WWE decided to take advantage of his real-life feud with Piper by booking a boxing match between the two at WrestleMania 2. Piper had openly criticised Mr. T’s lack of wrestling ability following their first match, and he took the boxing match deathly seriously. He suggested making it a “real” boxing match to Vince McMahon, but Vince didn’t trust Piper: he wanted Mr. T to get a clean win, and planned a spot where T would hit Hot Rod with a huge punch, knocking him out of the ring, and ending the match.
Unfortunately, Mr. T completely missed his shot, but Piper decided to dive out of the ring anyway. Taking a rough bump on the concrete outside, Piper was livid, and after throwing his corner stool at Mr. T, he bodyslammed him for a DQ loss.