Are There Too Many Celebrities Involved in WWE’s WrestleMania?

Wrestling fans are amped up for this weekend. WWE’s “Super Bowl,” the “Grandest Stage of Them All,” WrestleMania 42 may be the biggest event in the company’s history! The PLE returns to Sin City for the second year in a row, and the two-night spectacle is set to break record numbers.

With one of the largest cards in wrestling history, we ask the simple question: Is there too much celebrity involvement with the show? For casual viewers in may spark interest, but for the diehard wrestling fans, we sometimes wonder what the hell creative is thinking?

The History of Celebrity Involvement at WrestleMania

From the very beginning, celebrities and WrestleMania have gone hand in hand. It is nothing new to have heavy involvement with high-profile people at wrestling’s version of the Super Bowl. Dating back to the original in 1985, where Mr. T from the hit show, The A-Team, teamed up with the “Immortal” Hulk Hogan to take on Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff.

With Cyndi Lauper, Muhammad Ali, and even freaking Liberace making their presence felt, wrestling fans got accustomed to having celebrities impact the biggest sports entertainment show of the year. It has been embedded into our WrestleMania DNA since the very beginning.

Since then, we have seen NFL great Lawrence Taylor in the main event against Bam Bam Bigelow. Bigelow’s offensive line couldn’t protect his “blindside” against Taylor. We also witnessed our President, Donald Trump, in a Hair vs Hair match against Vince McMahon.

Years later, we saw NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski help out his football buddy, Mojo Rawley, in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. In a surprisingly entertaining match, Sami Zayn carried the Jackass star Johnny Knoxville through a Hardcore Match. These known celebrities have helped the mainstream crossover for professional wrestling.

Has Celebrity Involvement Become Too Much?

Now that we know some of the history of the celebrity touch in wrestling, we ask, has it become too much? After the Travis Scott debacle at WrestleMania 41, wrestling fans may be concerned about their favorite product. One of the biggest moments in WWE history, with John Cena breaking the record and becoming the 17-time world champion, is now tarnished by a celebrity run-in.

This year, we see Jelly Roll, IShowSpeed, and Pat McAfee all involved in the “Grandest Stage of Them All.” McAfee has a history with the company, in the ring, and as a commentator. So some fans may not like the angle, but at least he belongs, and even though you may not love the creative, it still fits somehow.

Now we get a six-man tag with Speed, and for some reason we need to involve Jelly Roll. Logan Paul has proved he is a legit WWE superstar, being there week in and week out, heavily involved with storylines, and can be considered one of the boys. Although Speed is not involved with the “main event,” do we really need him? Do they really “need” his followers to tune in?

Final Thoughts

WrestleMania has taken on a life of its own! It has been the biggest wrestling event for the past 40 years and is now as mainstream as it comes. I know TKO and company want to make the most money they can, with the most eyeballs on their product, but can we limit the celebrity involvement?

At least keep them out of the moments that could change the world of professional wrestling. How many times are they going to risk a Travis Scott situation? What should have been one of wrestling’s greatest moments has now aged terribly, only one year removed. If you’re going to involve someone who has no business in the ring, give them an undercard match with a great worker like Sami Zayn. That doesn’t mean I would pass up the opportunity, so I will continue to wait for that phone call from Paul Levesque. Maybe one day!