Honorable Mentions
Mickey Rourke and Chris Jericho – WrestleMania 25
What was originally scheduled to be a match between the two, according to an interview with Chris Jericho posted by Inside The Ropes, Jericho explains how his cousin informed him about the former boxer-turned-actor calling him out at the SAG Awards.
Afterwards, Jericho further opens up how Vince McMahon told him that he was going one-on-one with Rourke at Mania, in which Jericho seemed to look forward to as he felt that the star of ‘The Wrestler’ might turn out to be a formidable opponent after doing his fair share of training for the film.
Not soon after however, Y2J was informed that the match was cancelled, as Mickey’s agents lamented the idea of Rourke competing in the WWE as it would’ve ruined his chances at winning an Oscar. Instead of what could’ve been, we were treated to Chris Jericho taking on WWE Legend’s Jimmy “Superfly” Sunka, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and impressing the WWE Universe in the latter portion of the match as he and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat tore it up.
Perhaps this was the better option overall though, as we were treated then afterwards to a singles match at that year’s Backlash between the two competitors.
The NFL Invades WWE – Battle Royal at WrestleMania 2
Perhaps one of the most bizarre showcases of over reliance ever on multiple celebrities at a time by the WWE to date, the second annual WrestleMania featured a litany of NFL players duking it out at that year’s installment of the ‘Show of Shows.’
Jim Covert of the Chicago Bears, Bill Fralic of the Atlanta Falcons, Russ Francis of the San Francisco 49ers, Ernie Holmes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dallas Cowboys’ Harvey Martin, and lastly the Chicago Bears’ William Perry, who would go on the be inducted years later into the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2006.
Had it not have been for Perry’s Hall of Fame induction, most importantly due to Andre The Giant winning the Battle Royal via eliminating Bret Hart, this Battle Royal wouldn’t have even made it on this list, coupled with the fact that it was quite the cross-promotion between arguably two of the biggest sports rivals as football and professional wrestling clashed that night.
Mike Tyson Knocks Shawn Michaels Out – WrestleMania 14
On January 19th, 1998, after “Stone Cold” Steve Austin interrupted “The Baddest Man on the Planet” Mike Tyson live on Raw, with Jim Ross famously calling on commentary, “Tyson and Austin! Tyson and Austin! All hell has broken loose!”
Austin and Tyson briefly brawled, Vince McMahon muttering to “The Texas Rattlesnake,” “you ruined it, dammit! You ruined it!” Fast forward to March 29th, 1998, Tyson would go on to serve as the Special Guest Enforcer during the WWF World Heavyweight Championship match with the then reigning champion Shawn Michaels defending his title against “Stone Cold.”
Austin would emerge victorious, claiming his first WWF Championship, with Tyson making the three-count in a fast manner, also seemingly cutting his ties with D-Generation X. Michaels, much to his chagrin, was insulted, having a few choice words with the heavyweight boxer and eventually was on the receiving end of a right hand.
“TYSON! TYSON! TYSON! RIGHT HAND! There goes Michaels,” Jim Ross exclaimed, as WWE created a moment in WrestleMania history that is still reflected on to this day. Mike Tyson would go on to make several more appearances on WWE programming, also knocking out Chris Jericho on Raw some years later, making his involvement with the company a worthwhile entry in the honourable mentions.