10 Non-Wrestlers Who Completely Changed Wrestling History
4. Mr. T
Yet another entry in the group of celebrities who helped make the first WrestleMania a success, Mr. T is inarguably the most vital of those performers. While Cyndi Laupers popularity helped put eyes on the product and Ali added some legitimacy to the big sporting event atmosphere, the A-Team star was the man who helped sell the show. At the time, Mr. T was a big time star in Hollywood and had much of America convinced that he was the baddest man on the planet. Vince McMahon scoring him to be in the main event was a huge acquisition for the business as a whole, and fans were on the edge of their seats to see how B.A. Baracus would do when he came face to face with the villainous Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Despite the potential for the match going sideways due to the very real tension between Piper and T, the WWE star kept it professional and did business, following that up with another clash with the actor at WrestleMania 2, which also had the potential of turning sour once again, and Piper went on record as saying he got disqualified because he refused to do the favor for the actor. Hands down the most important contribution Mr. T ever made to the wrestling business was his epic Hall of Fame speech. No man on Earth has ever loved his mother more than Mr. T, and the world is a better place for having known that. Thanks, Momma T.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
