10 Weird Times TV Shows Had Wrestling Storylines
6. That 70s Show
That 70s Show was decent fare, as far as high school sitcoms go.
Kelso was great value as a dumbass, Red wasn't too dissimilar to Stone Cold Steve Austin in his bald, gruff, hilarious menace, and Eric's Woody Allen-adjacent neurotic didn't molest anybody, so it was a far more palatable experience. The guy who played Hyde ruined all that years later, but for teens of a certain age, That 70s Show was, at the time, appointment after school viewing.
In 'That Wrestling Show', Eric and Red Foreman eventually bond as father and son, united by pro wrestling's eclectic power. Red goes to the show begrudgingly, laughing the whole thing off as a charade, but is impressed by both the stiff physicality and the sight of The Rock peeling little people from his thighs and crunching them down to the canvas.
In a cameo, Rock, playing his father in a neat period touch, displays some of the early acting chops that saw him rise to the top of Hollywood by complaining of "midget bites". Boasting also the fabulous sight of Ken Shamrock in gigantic sideburns, the episode treats pro wrestling quite respectfully as what it is: a medium capable of bringing people together, provided preconceptions are left at the door.