Diesel was drenched in sweat and celebrity after his exhausting encounter with Shawn Michaels (more on that later), but Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, Jonathan Taylor-Thomas and "NYPD Blue's Nicholas Turturro" weren't exactly the main roster members of the prior year, let alone Mr T, Cyndi Lauper or Muhammad Ali from a decade earlier.
It was problematic throughout the show, but the lack of actual star power the "stars" were able to leave behind on some lesser-known wrestlers had a reductive event on the entire show.
Salt-N-Peppa were in fine form bantering off Bam Bam Bigelow, but Taylor-Thomas' chess game with Bob Backlund was about as effective as Turturro's failed quest to find Pamela Anderson.
And the less said about the Baywatch's star's appearance, the better. Broadly into it at the Royal Rumble, she was miles wide of the mark by the time the 'Show Of Shows' came around.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. 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
