10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Weren’t Supposed To Last Long
2. Pete Rose
Various celebrity guests have gone beyond the regular smiles-and-waves at WrestleManias over the years, but few have performed with as much pro wrestling proficiency as Pete Rose.
Making his 'Grandest Stage' bow in 1998 towards the end of a WrestleMania themed around rebellion and revolution, Rose was loathed by the Boston locals for his references to their horrific luck in baseball's World Series, delivering zingers at the expense of the city and the team that took them closest to it in 1986.
Despite the rowdy crowd's rambunctiousness towards 'Mr Baseball', Rose looked on indignant until Kane emerged for his huge semi-main event against The Undertaker. As was his wont at the time, the 'Big Red Machine' flattened Rose with a Tombstone. It was the end of his night, but not their conflict.
Rose was back a year later, having stolen the costume of the San Diego Chicken midway through WrestleMania XV. Though the set-up was different, the end result was the same, as too was his fate at WrestleMania 16 when he emerged from the crowd wildly swinging a bat. The running gag came to a stop the following year, though Rose's affiliation with Kane would remain. Appearing yet again with him in a pay-per-view commercial in 2002, Rose was inducted into the 'Celebrity Wing' of the re-opened Hall Of Fame in 2004 as part of a warm shared appreciation between the company and the controversial competitor.