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Celebrities and professional wrestling go together like peanut butter and ice cream (and if you doubt that, just toss a scoop on your Ben & Jerry’s!). Lately, when a celebrity like Stephen Amell, Bad Bunny, or Logan Paul step into the squared circle, not only do they train to put on a passable match, they train to steal the show! More often than not, thanks to lowered expectations, they can do just that.
While celebrities did work hard back during the days of WCW, sometimes the decision of what celebrities to use was fare more head scratching than any of the work that said celebrities had done to get in shape for the big match.
8/8 Steve McMichael vs. Reggie White – Slamboree 1997
Steve McMichael had been a member of The Four Horsemen for quite some time. But as a member of the Chicago Bears, he had done battle with Reggie White once or twice on the gridiron. Thankfully men like White and McMichael were going to do all they could to make sure the match was good. But unfortunately, Mongo wasn’t good enough in the ring to carry Reggie to that good match.
7/8 Jeff Jarrett Vs. David Arquette Vs. Diamond Dallas Page – Slamboree 2000
Practically everyone in the world bemoans the fact that David Arquette defeated Diamond Dallas Page (or anyone else for that matter) for the WCW World Heavyweight Title, but the guy still had to lose it. That meant wrestling at least one more time, defending the gold at Slamboree 2000.
He defended the title in a triple threat Doomsday Cage match against Jeff Jarrett and DDP. He would eventually turn on DDP, allowing Jeff Jarrett to capture the WCW gold.
6/8 The Macho Man vs. Dennis Rodman – Road Wild 1999
In one of the most perfect celebrity versus wrestler pairings, the wild and crazy Macho Man Randy Savage took on the equally insane Dennis Rodman at Road Wild 1999. In what was Rodman’s first and only singles match in WCW, Savage had beaten Rodman from pillar to post, including a Port-A-Potty! Despite being “just a celebrity,” Savage still needed help defeating The Worm – Gorgeous George decked him from behind with a low blow.
5/8 Bret Hart Vs. Will Sasso – Nitro 02/15/1999
Mad TV was a variety show, ala Saturday Night Live. Where SNL wanted to have (and got to have) The Rock, Mad TV asked for Bret The Hitman Hart to come to their show. Bret even appeared on the show while still in WWE. In a bit of synergy, cast member Will Sasso played Jesse Ventura announcing his candidacy for Governor. Bret would be his assistant on the job. During the skit, Bret “broke character,” and attacked Sasso. The comedian headed to Nitro to seek revenge, but fellow cast manner Debra Wilson turned on her cast mate to help Bret win the match.
4/8 Mr. T Vs. Kevin Sullivan – Starrcade 1994
The list of superstars who have gotten to wrestle in both WWE and WCW’s biggest shows of the year – WrestleMania and Starrcade, respectively – is an elite one. But as far as celebrity matches go, only Mr. T gets that distinction.
With Hulk Hogan facing his old bestie, The Butcher, he needed help taking on the rest of The Faces Of The Fear. Mr. T. took on Kevin Sullivan in a brief contest, which thanks to Sullivan’s brother Evad decking him with the microphone, T was able to defeat the Taskmaster.
3/8 Jerry Only Vs. Dr. Death – Nitro 11/29/1999
The Misfits and Dr. Death Steve Williams have more in common than you might think. The Misfits are a not-so-underground, but still underground legendary punk band that die-hard fans and industry insiders respect for their contributions to music. The Doctor was a well known superstar who is still respected to this day for contributions to the sport. This contribution wasn’t one of the more memorable ones. He took on The Misfits’ Jerry Only in a Steel Cage on Nitro. So instead of the star of the band, Danzig coming in, Only did. Fans had to unfortunately listen to “Oklahoma’s” commentary during the match. Ideally this would have led to a Vampiro vs. Misifts match that never surfaced.
2/8 Kevin Greene Vs. The Giant – Nitro 06/22/1998
Had it not been for the 49ers imposing a “no wrestling” clause into Kevin Greene’s NFL contract, WCW fans might have gotten a lot more of the football hero. He did however make a big return to Nitro in the home of the Jaguars. After pandering to the crowd, he got beat down by the nWo to set up the evening’s main event – Greene Vs. The Giant.
The whole match ended in less than the time it took the two men to get to the ring. The smodge finish was used to set up their rematch at The Great American Bash, which The Giant won.
1/8 DDP And Karl Malone Vs. Hulk Hogan And Dennis Rodman – Bash At The Beach 1998
Considering one month after Bash at the Beach, Jay Leno would infamously keep Hollywood Hogan at bay with a headlock, it’s easy to forget that the better celebrity match took place at the Bash. Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman, rivals on the basketball court would collide in the ring with DDP and Hollywood as their respective partners. Not only would either athlete allow themselves to have a bad match, DDP and Hogan certainly weren’t going to stink up the place. The result was actually one of the better main events during the latter years of WCW.
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