You're probably familiar with Tiny Lister from the Friday series, or even The Dark Knight, as he's appeared in no shortage of big films throughout his career. However, one likely not included on his demo reel is the 1989 film "No Holds Barred", which features Lister taking on the likes of WWF superstar Hulk Hogan. In an effort to promote the film, the WWF chose to book Lister, who went by the ring name "Zeus" in the main event of Summerslam 1989. There's no way that could fail, right? Luckily for the inexperienced Lister, he was paired alongside notorious perfectionist Randy "Macho Man" Savage in an effort to hide his weaknesses in the ring. The two would take on Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, and Lister's co-star Hulk Hogan. While the match wasn't surprising itself-- the WWE has long booked celebrities and athletes on their program, even in physical roles-- the amount of money Lister made was. Throughout his entire WWE run, which was four appearances, Lister raked in nearly $150,000, including $56,000 for Summerslam. Lister told Grantland that he originally had no interest in pro wrestling, but Vince McMahon already wired $56,000 into his account and changed his mind. The pay-per-view payoffs are similar to others in the era, but it's still surprising to see a low-level celebrity paid that type of coin for minimal work in wrestling.
Sean Ross Sapp, 28, is a convergent media major at Morehead State University, and a news/feature writer for RantSports and WhatCulture. Before taking a managerial role for the Kraken Fight Team, Sapp was a two-time submission wrestling medalist in the region. He is also a contributor to Bill Apter's 1Wrestling.com, and an editor for Cage Passion Sports. He has also published over 300 articles for Fansided. You can contact Sean Ross Sapp for news tips and radio appearances at SeanRossSapp@gmail.com
