12 Incredible Behind-The-Scenes WrestleMania Photos

9. Stars Of The Show

The Rock Paige Ronda Rousey AJ Lee
WWE

A picture of a picture that shows an industry icon at the height of her fame, a star on the ascendancy, and one ready to completely walk away from the spotlight. All captured by one of Hollywood's highest grossing and paid actors.

A phenomenon of WrestleMania's crossover with mainstream entertainment in the modern era, the picture denotes the worlds colliding that now commonly occur at the 'Show of Show's.

Rousey had performed a skit earlier in the night, aiding The Rock in staving off an attack from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, and in her position as the indestructible UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion at the time.

As a huge wrestling fan and celebrity, Ronda looked as thrilled to be there as WWE were to have her, and her picture with the two top females in the company at the time foreshadowed the company's huge shift toward refocussing their women's division later that year.

The picture would carry extra weight in marking the final high-profile appearance of AJ Lee, who would exit WWE days later, as well as bringing together The Rock and Paige two years before a major WWE Films project would do so again.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett