Examining the History of WWE's Connection with Pro Athletes

WWE has long looked to pro athletes to bring star power and spectacle to its own sports-like circus.

In an effort to stretch beyond its own core market and attract a more mainstream audience, WWE has featured boxers, NFL players and MLB's all-time leader in hits on its own stage. Some have actually gotten involved in the action, while others generated their buzz from the periphery. 

Considering how many eyes Muhammad Ali's, Lawrence Taylor's and Floyd Mayweather's involvement in the squared circle brought to the company, it's no surprise that WWE reached out to Michael Sam.

WWE tweeted Stephanie McMahon's open letter and offer to let him have an open forum on the Sept. 8 Raw:

The NFL draftee would have been one of many special attractions from the sports world had he accepted the invitation. He'll instead be focused on playing football. ESPN's Calvin Watkins reported that Sam "passed a physical and joined the Dallas Cowboys' 10-man practice squad" last Wednesday.

The NFL, along with the boxing ring, has been a place to find sports celebrities to promote the WWE product.

Some wrestlers have made the transition from the gridiron to the ring, including Ernie Ladd and Wahoo McDaniel. Those weren't cases of the company trying to attract attention, only talented athletes finding new homes for their skills.

One has to assume that WWE wanted Sam for the headlines. That's a route the company has been taking for decades.

Showdown at Shea 

It took a megastar to slide Bruno Sammartino out of the headlining spot.

The extremely popular powerhouse was the cornerstone of the franchise. At the time of the Showdown at Shea event in 1976, he had been WWE (then known as WWF) champ for over two years.

Ali, one of the most prominent figures in sports history, trumped him in star power, though.

WWE packed thousands of fans into Shea Stadium on June 25, 1976. The main event (via closed-circuit TV) that night had Ali battle Antonio Inoki, pitting boxer versus wrestler. 

To help hype that clash, Ali had a scripted run-in with Gorilla Monsoon earlier that month. Ali got in the large heel's face and Monsoon spun him around in the ring.

The collision of these two worlds was designed to get people talking. How could it not? The biggest star in boxing (when boxing was a thriving sport) getting involved in WWE was big news.

No amount of hype could have had Sammartino vs. Stan Hansen garner the same amount of outside interest.

Credit: WWE.com

WWE didn't stop with Ali at Shea, though. It also showcased Chuck Wepner, who had previously challenged Ali for the world title, battling Andre the Giant.

As expected, this was no in-ring masterpiece. A lot of shoving and awkwardness highlighted the spectacle.

Ali's match wasn't any better. WWE showed his matchup with Inoki from Tokyo to the fans in New York.

Dave Meltzer wrote the following about it for Yahoo! Sports:

"

The match was supposed to be scripted, with Ali losing. At the last minute, Ali got cold feet and the match almost fell apart. To save the event, Inoki agreed to fight for real, with a rule set that was akin to fighting in a straitjacket. Inoki couldn't punch because he wasn't wearing gloves. He couldn't kick while standing. He couldn't use throws, nor use any submissions. So he spent 15 rounds laying on his back throwing kicks to Ali's legs. 

"

Letdown of a bout or not, including Ali made this event more noteworthy. It remains one of the most famous matches in wrestling history.

Stardom culled from sports brought WWE added attention. The company returned to this formula again and again.

WrestleMania II

WrestleMania, Vince McMahon's brainchild, was a convergence of wrestling, celebrity and pageantry from its first years onward. That meant involving singers, actors and many a sportsman. 

The second-ever WrestleMania event featured Joe Frazier as a bonus attraction. The Hall of Fame boxer cheered on Mr. T, who took on Roddy Piper in a worked boxing match. Darryl Dawkins and Tommy LaSorda joined Frazier as special guests that night.

Much like Wepner vs. Andre or Inoki and Ali's drawn-out match, it was far from a classic. That's true for the Battle Royal that followed Mr. T's win as well.

William "The Refrigerator" Perry headlined a group of six NFL players who battled Andre, Bret Hart, The Iron Sheik and others in a 20-man clash between football and wrestling.

Credit: WWE.com

A confrontation between Perry and Big John Studd was one of the only notable moments from the NFL participants.

Both Perry and Jimbo Covert were on the Super Bowl-winning 1985 Chicago Bears team. WWE tossed in those two Bears and the other NFLers as a way to capitalize on that team's popularity. As a bonus, Chicago hosted the portion of WrestleMania 2 that featured this match so that Perry's entrance was guaranteed a nice pop.

Athletes would later be even more involved with WWE's marquee event.

WrestleMania Welcomes More Athletes 

At WrestleMania XI, WWE went so far as to give NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor top billing. LT had first had a confrontation with Bam Bam Bigelow at the 1995 Royal Rumble. 

The tension didn't die down that night apparently. Bigelow earned his first and only shot at headlining a WrestleMania but had to do so against a non-wrestler.

Considering his lack of experience, Taylor did a respectable job. Still, the show was valuing star power over wrestling ability, and the unsurprising result was a letdown of a main event.

WWE hasn't stopped bringing in athletes but has since given them less prominent roles.

Mike Tyson was a huge part of WrestleMania XIV three years later but was only asked to throw a single blow. Tyson was the special enforcer for the main event between Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.

He was a huge buzz-creating presence leading up to that night. His showdown with Austin on Raw remains one of WWE's biggest moments.

The company feels as if its trying to convince fans at times of its legitimacy. It can't be some fringe form of entertainment if someone like Tyson is involved, right?

Tyson's appearance and his knockout shot to Michaels was in part the launching pad for Austin's era as the top dog.

Before that climax, Pete Rose was having his own WrestleMania moment. He riled up Kane enough to experience a Tombstone Piledriver firsthand.

Rose suffered a similar feat at WrestleMania XV while dressed in a chicken suit and again at WrestleMania 2000. Being a good sport about this running joke and bringing some attention to the product garnered him a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame.

The MLB Hall of Fame is another matter altogether. 

Rose wasn't the only one to suffer embarrassment at WrestleMania XV. Butterbean knocked Bart Gunn out at the event. Gunn had slugged his way through WWE's shoot-fight Brawl for All competition. His reward for that was a go-round with a pro boxer. Butterbean put an emphatic end to his foe's run in a matter of seconds.

Even if it leads to moments that make wrestling look bad, WWE has made it clear that it will try to shove every bit of star power it can into its premier show.

More Boxers, More Buzz

In 2008, a feud between Montel Vontavious Porter and Matt Hardy brought boxing back onto the WWE stage.

MVP was sidelined with an abnormality in his heart and needed someone to take his place against Hardy on Saturday Night's Main Event. Evander Holyfield got the call.

Hardy got lucky. MVP's badgering eventually led to "The Real Deal" clocking him rather than Hardy. 

Holyfield served as a special guest, someone exciting to bring aboard temporarily. Seeing the former world champ step into the WWE ring contributed to the "anything can happen" feeling that is a big part of what WWE does. 

You won't see a boxer lock horns with an NFL linebacker on Sunday Night Football. You won't see Jon "Bones" Jones put Charles Barkley in a rear-naked choke. WWE, on the other hand, prides itself on random, unexpected meetings like that.

A key example is Mayweather and Big Show forcing worlds to collide in 2008.

Leading up to WrestleMania XXIV, another boxer-versus-wrestler feud got underway when Mayweather attacked the giant to protect Rey Mysterio. The hype built from there.

Big Show vs. Mayweather wasn't Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat by any stretch, but it was an entertaining match. Mayweather needed some brass knuckles to fell the big man in what was a strange but compelling contribution to WrestleMania.

Mayweather is one of the few stars left in boxing. WWE found a way to use his drawing power for itself.

With a history that includes showcasing LT to welcoming Mayweather, it's clear that the company has no issues in borrowing hype from sports. 

Reaching Out 

Had Sam appeared on Raw, it would have been par for the course. The show has looked to boost ratings by having a number of athletes guest star on it.

Shaquille O'Neal showed up in 2009 and crossed paths with Big Show. Michael Strahan appeared on Raw this year and ended up sharing an awkward moment with Erick Rowan.

Boxer Ricky Hatton has served as a guest star, as has Ben Roethlisberger and Chad Ochocinco.

From 2009 to 2010, Raw was a conveyor belt of celebrities of varying fame. Sometimes that included singers or actors in addition to athletes. That trend has slowed of late, but looking to sports figures for publicity won't ever end.

WWE has recently shown that it has found a new way do that: issuing replica championship belts.

Per WWE.com, the company sent out WWE titles to last year's Cy Young winners Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. It also made sure to promote the fact on its website that LeBron James outfitted the Miami Heat with gold after winning the NBA championship.

Should an athlete be wearing a WWE title out in public, rest assured that WWE will spot it and promote it. Cameras caught Yoenis Cespedes lugging around the championship belt after winning the 2014 Home Run Derby just as he did the year before. WWE put up a feature about it on WWE.com.

The same thing happened when David Ortiz sported a WWE title during his celebration of winning last year's World Series. WWE.com was sure to post an article about it.

The company will run with that kind of free promotion every time.

WWE has often attempted to fold outside athletes into its own programming to accentuate the sports side of it and increase its audience. Sam didn't follow in that tradition after his first invite, but should his stardom rise, he'll be increasingly likely to get more phone calls from WWE.

McMahon and Company don't care what sport you play, what your sexual orientation is or what race you are. If you can help sell tickets, you're an asset.