10 WWE-Like Moments In Real Sport
5. Baseball - Mariano Rivera Entrance
The Sandman would be the gristly heart of ECW as it rose to prominence, much helped by an electrifying entrance routine. A typical arrival would see James Fullington emerge from the crowd with kendo stick, beer can, and/or cigarette in hand to the raucous sound of Metallica’s 1991 hit Enter Sandman.
The New York Yankees had their own Sandman, in the form of Mariano Rivera, a talented pitcher who would represent them between 1995 and 2013. For better or for worse, Rivera would not arrive equipped with said intoxicants, and as a pitcher, didn’t even carry any stick, but did share the wrestler’s iconic entrance music.
Although not the white heat synonymous with the best ECW crowds, the sound of the pop from a full 50,000 seater Yankee Stadium is something most wrestlers can only dream of. Ironically, the player would reveal after retirement that the song was selected for him, not being particularly fond of Metallica, as an avid fan of Christian rock.