Ranking All 16 WWE WrestleMania Celebrity Matches
The stars come out when the lights are bright, but who shined brightest?
Whenever you talk about memorable WrestleMania moments, it’s impossible to ignore situations involving stars from outside the wrestling world: Cyndi Lauper seconding Wendi Richter at WrestleMania I, Mike Tyson serving as the special enforcer at WrestleMania 14, or Pete Rose getting abused by Kane at three consecutive Manias: 14, 15 and 2000.
WWE’s obsession with celebrity involvement in their product dates back decades, before the first WrestleMania, but it has persisted, particularly at the Showcase of the Immortals, when the lights are brightest and at a time when the company is most trying to generate mainstream attention on the product
But some celebrities do more than just perform, manage, or serve as guest ring announcer or timekeeper. Some have stepped between the ropes and locked up with the superstars – to mixed results. Rating a celebrity match can be a difficult prospect: Applying the typical star rating system is wholly unfair, but it’s also incomplete to judge them on the star power they bring to the show.
With more than a dozen celebrity matches throughout WrestleMania’s history, it’s worth digging through the vault, reliving some of these bouts and seeing how they stack up against each other. Some have stood up to the test of time, while others have aged incredibly poorly. And then there are a few that shine far above the rest.
Let’s get to it…
14. Honorable Mention: Battle Royals
Throughout the years, one of the easiest ways for WWE to involve celebrities in low-stakes matches has been to include them in battle royals. It’s tough to individually count or rank these, as they typically involve a lot of punching and kicking, and eventually being deposited over the top rope.
WrestleMania II featured the first such battle royal, a unique mix of wrestlers and NFL players during the Chicago portion of the three-city event. The big draw was future WWE Hall-of-Famer William “The Refrigerator” Perry, fresh off winning a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears. He would be tossed by Big John Studd, but the Fridge got his revenge by pulling Studd out moments later.
The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royals that took place at WrestleMania 30 through 35 were good spots to stick non-wrestlers, making the contests more of a spectacle than an athletic competition. Shaquille O’Neal entered the Andre at WrestleMania 32 and faced off with Big Show, while Rob Gronkowski memorably hopped the barricade (and nearly got stopped by security) to interfere during the Mania 33 Andre. (Gronk's appearance doesn't count, as he wasn't technically part of the battle royal.)
The gag hit its low point in 2019 when Saturday Night Live Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che entered the battle royal after taunting Braun Strowman in the lead-up to WrestleMania 35. The pair were the final two eliminated by Braun in the last Andre to take place during Mania itself.