WWE News: Why Celebrities Will Always Be Welcome in the Company

“He must have something to sell.”

It’s the first statement made by most fans upon seeing an actor or musician guest starring on WWE TV. 

Everyone has said it.  I have said it.  So have you.  Don’t play.

It’s a fair statement, let’s be honest here.  After all, WWE’s Raw guest host concept inundated us with a vast assortment of celebrities, promoting one movie or TV show after the other.  And it did not start there.

For years, the Hollywood crowd have visited the house that McMahon built, in an effort to cross over and sell themselves, and their projects, to the WWE faithful.  Some fans understandably get upset when this happens, because they feel it’s an unwelcome intrusion by pampered celebrities who don’t care for the business or its fans.

But the flip side of that coin is the fact that, especially in the beginning, WWE sought acceptance from the mainstream by bringing in Hollywood stars to get attention.  

The thought was, of course, to infiltrate pop culture with professional wrestlers whose notoriety would not ordinarily extend beyond the ring.

Vince McMahon understood that the only way to ensure that his company could see any real legitimate success was to shine the bright lights of Hollywood onto the product.  Bringing in outside stars means possibly bringing in their fans who are perhaps not familiar with WWE.  

Again, a lot of fans don’t care for celebrities in pro wrestling.  After all, many times they don’t add anything to the program, they only get in the way, and more often than not, we’re all sitting there waiting for the guest celebrity to screw something up.  I get that, I see where they’re coming from and I admit I have felt that way before.

But, as we say here in the South, "What are you gonna do?"

That’s our polite way of saying, "Get over it."

At this point as WWE fans, we should be more than used to the occasional visit from the outside world, and that includes actors, musicians and sports stars.  It’s a way of life for WWE, it’s what they do and by now it should come as no surprise when one of them is scheduled to appear despite the fact that he or she has no bearing on any matches that may be on the card.

As fans, we just need to take the good with the bad.

And, come on, tell me it wasn’t cool to see Wolverine take out Dolph Ziggler.

Hugh Jackman represents the kind of celebrity guest star that we as fans actually enjoy watching. Why?  Because he had a blast doing it and even cared about how it looked.

Jackman could have had some butterflies for the spot, and while that seems impossible for a guy who is used to being on a worldwide stage, the truth is, he’s only human.  The raucous atmosphere of a live WWE crowd may have psyched him out, and the punch could have ended up looking very weak, a moment that is better off forgotten.

But, Wolvie came through, and it ended up being one of the better moments featuring a celebrity on Monday Night Raw in quite some time.

And, who can forget about about Floyd “Money” Mayweather breaking Big Show’s nose?  Their match at WrestleMania 24 may not have been a technical masterpiece, but it brought the attention of not only the boxing world, but the sports world in general.  

Not to mention the fact that it was fun, and the fact that Mayweather loved every minute of his time on the WWE stage was evident in every move he made.

When it comes to boxing champions who crossover, no one has been better than Mike Tyson.  

For a guy who has never had a professional wrestling match in his life, Tyson made the biggest impact in a WWE ring of possibly any athlete who has ever stepped between the ropes.  The fact that he looked like a big kid made it all the more fun for fans, because he really enjoyed the product himself. He was a fan.

Of course, this is only recent history—we can’t forget about Lawrence Taylor versus Bam Bam Bigelow at WrestleMania VI in 1995.  Talk about raising the bar.

On a less intense note, we have Pete Rose, whose spot as Kane’s punching bag earned him a spot in the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame.

What about the Donald?  Trump may have butchered a promo here and there, but the guy did it with a straight face and felt as real as any talent who works in the business.  He did not seem like an outsider, and for me, the angle involving him “buying” Monday Night Raw should have lasted a lot longer than it did.  He just seemed to fit the role.

Besides, the man has more money than God, with much bigger things on his plate, and he took the time to get involved in a business that at one time, most of the outside world laughed at and ridiculed. He should be commended for taking it seriously.

Two words: Mr. T.  Well, maybe that’s one word and an initial.  Either way, he blazed the trail for every tough guy with a scowl on his face who thought he could hang in the crazy world of WWE that followed.

And, who was tougher than Mickey Rourke, the man who was never a pro wrestler but very well could have been?  

The Wrestler was a true-to-life epic, a movie that was essentially a documentary, and Rourke was by far the best man for the role.  He brought the audience behind the curtain and led them down the rocky road that so many workers travel every day of their lives in the business.

The point is that like it or not, the age of celebrities in WWE that began so many years ago is one that will probably never end.  It’s one of the many ways Vince McMahon likes to do business, and for those fans out there who despise every minute of it, I can only say that while I feel your pain, I can also appreciate what many of these people bring to the table anytime they’re in the spotlight.

Like Snooki.  

Thought I forgot about her?  No freakin’ way.  

Like I said, take the good with the bad.

This is number 300 for me, and for anyone who took the time to read this or has checked out my stuff before, then I just wanted to say thanks for reading!