10 Biggest Challenges WrestleMania Has Ever Faced

6. A Non-Wrestler In Its Main Event - WrestleMania XI

True Story Of WrestleMania
WWE.com

WrestleMania has seen so many celebrities spotlighted during its lifespan, yet the case of Lawrence Taylor is an utterly unique one.

By the time of LT’s WrestleMania XI appearance, the likes of Mr. T, Liberace, Cyndi Lauper, Joan Rivers, Bob Uecker, Joe Frazier, Ozzy Osbourne, Run-D.M.C., Morton Downey Jr., Elvira, and even Donald Trump had all took to the WrestleMania stage. The thing is, none of them had ever been put in the same position as NFL star Lawrence Taylor.

Sure, Mr. T had competed at the first two WrestleMania events, but the gold chain enthusiast was protected in a tag match at WrestleMania I and then staged a worked boxing contest with Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 2. For Lawrence Taylor, not only was he main eventing WrestleMania XI, he was also having a straight-up singles wrestling match.

Clearly Taylor and his status brought a whole host of eyes to WrestleMania, yet the flipside of that coin was LT's lack of actual wrestling experience. How does a non-wrestler get away with putting on a wrestling match in the main event of the biggest wrestling show of the year? Talk about a challenge!

Thankfully, the answer to that question is simple: Bam Bam Bigelow.

Bigelow had a monumental task on his hands at WrestleMania XI. A task that Bammer was more than up to, as he put together a match that came off far better than it had any right to.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.