100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
84. Lawrence Taylor Stuns The World (WrestleMania XI)
By his own admission, reigning WWF Champ Diesel was miffed that his match with good pal Shawn Michaels was relegated to the penultimate spot on the card at WrestleMania XI. NFL great Lawrence Taylor was brought in to work a celeb vs. wrestler main event with Bam Bam Bigelow, so Diesel vs. HBK had to be content with going on second last.
That was frustrating, but even members of The Kliq had to put their hands up after the fact and admit that LT worked out in the headline position. Of course, Bam Bam takes a lot of the praise for that. He was the glue holding 'Mania's main match together, but Taylor still had to hold up his end of things and train hard to look even somewhat competent out there. If Lawrence was feeling any pressure heading into the bout, then he didn't show it.
The way Bigelow made sure to keep things relatively simple for LT whilst still looking like a killer heel himself should've led to a bigger push for the 'Beast From The East'. The WWF tried to turn Bammer babyface before giving up on him completely, which was a shame considering he was one of the best big men to ever pull on a pair of boots.
Indeed, Taylor vs. Bigelow was a remarkable success all things considered. Even Vince McMahon, who had pinned hopes on a celebrity attraction drawing casual viewership, couldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams that Lawrence would look as good as he did inside federation rings.
'Mania XI's headliner raised the bar for celeb influence on future cards.