Why WWE WrestleMania 38 Reeks Of Desperation

Sami Zayn Johnny Knoxville
WWE.com

Celebrities are rooted in the very DNA of WrestleMania. Mr. T competed in the very first Mania main event. Lawrence Taylor beat Bam Bam Bigelow at WM 11. Floyd Mayweather battled Big Show at WM 24. And Bad Bunny dazzled at last year’s event.

So it’s not unusual to have Hollywood and music figures take part in the festivities and even mix it up in the ring. But having two celebrity-involved matches at the same Mania? That’s pretty damn unusual, if not unprecedented.

First up, Johnny Knoxville has been a thorn in the side of Sami Zayn for several weeks, and now he’s back to get in the new Intercontinental Champion’s face. This time, however, it’s not a short confrontation at the Royal Rumble, but a Mania match between the two. The question is whether the IC title will be part of this story or not.

And now, the Miz has recruited social media star Logan Paul to team with him to face Rey & Dominik Mysterio. Never mind that Paul threatened to beat up Miz the last time he was in WWE, the celebrities are teaming up to take on the luchadores in the name of reality TV!

How much of a crossover audience will Knoxville and Paul bring? Probably not much, but it might generate a quick headline or boost some social media metrics.

CONT’D (2 of 7)

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.