The Impractical Jokers (And 9 More Of The Strangest Celebrities That Crossed Over To Wrestling)
There are few things wrestling promoters enjoy doing more than bringing a celebrity or high profile athlete to their show. In most cases, these crossovers make sense. For example, Logan Paul was a celebrity with an athletic background before him WWE Signing, making it a match made in paradise.
However, not all crossovers make much sense on paper. Recently making their AEW debut, the Impractical Jokers have no athletic background and aren’t exactly looking to shake the ratings. That being said, the Jokers aren’t alone as there have been many head-scratching transitions into pro wrestling.
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10 lavar ball
In 2017, there were few people more on camera than Lavar Ball. The father of NBA players Lamelo, Lonzo, and LiAngelo made headlines because he was a colorful character, to put it lightly. Some of his highlights that year included falling outs with NBA coaches and US President Donald Trump and starting his own shoe brand.
He also appeared on Monday Night Raw that year in a segment with The Miz. The whole thing is a train wreck from start to finish, Ball teamed up with the former WWE Champion and his sons yelled into a live mic.
9 Pee-Wee Hermann
There were few things worse than the special guest era of Raw. There have been a few good guests during this period, but Pee-Wee Herman has to be one of the strangest. In 2010, Paul Reubens hosted the show as his comedic persona.
To be fair, Herman wasn’t terrible, having had segments with The Rock, The Miz, and more. However, the fact that he was even on the show was bizarre.
8th MacGruber
WWE really enjoyed having actors in the role during the innkeeper era, right? A few months later, not only did they have Paul Reubens portray Pee-Wee Herman in a 2010 edition of Monday Night Raw, but they also had the cast of MacGruber play their parts on the show.
Yes, Will Forte, Kristen Wig and Ryan Phillippe reprized their roles from Saturday Night Live for their appearance on Raw. To his credit, Forte had a match with Vladimir Koslov on the show. However, the comedian was replaced by The Great Khali, who wore MacGruber clothes.
7 Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton has been in American pop culture for about as long as one can remember. The civil rights activist, talk show host, minister and politician has apparently done it all his life. With that in mind, it seems kind of fitting that he guest-hosted Raw.
In 2009, Sharpton appeared on an issue of Raw. While he didn’t do as much as some of the other hosts of the time, he did help make a tag team title match between JeriShow and the team of MVP and Mark Henry.
6 Dennis Mueller
Dennis Miller is considered one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time. After a lengthy appearance on Saturday Night Live and several talk shows, he was also part of the guest-hosting era of Raw. However, Miller was used to his strengths, a rare feat in that era.
Miller was the guest host for the 2009 Slammys. Luckily, WWE just let the comedian do what he does best, which is telling jokes. Miller told jokes at awards shows and was not used in an overly complicated storyline like other celebrities.
5 Cheech and Chong
WWE seems to have really enjoyed seeing older comedians who were beyond their relevance on Raw during this time. Dennis Miller hosted the show in 2009, and Cheech and Chong received the keys to the car just months later in 2010.
The couple was used primarily in backstage sketches, which played to their strengths. While Cheech and Chong weren’t really relevant until 2010, the comedic legends were still used surprisingly well. However, like most guests from that era, they never returned to wrestling.
4 snooki
He has to be given credit, and the Jersey Shore’s Snooki was much more involved in professional wrestling than most celebrities. In March 2011, the reality star guest-hosted Monday Night Raw and was quickly thrust into a storyline featuring the likes of John Morrison and Trish Stratus.
Ultimately, Snooki teamed with Morrison and Stratus against LayCool and Dolph Ziggler at this year’s WrestleMania. The reality star clinched the win in her one-ring appearance but appeared on an edition of Raw later that year to collect a Slammy award.
3 The three henchmen
Although no one really remembers it, The Three Stooges got a reboot in 2012. Actors Will Sasso, Sean Hayes and Chris Diamantopoulos play the comedy troupe. Ultimately, the reboot didn’t go down well and didn’t go much beyond the original film.
One reason the reboot is even remembered is because of her appearance on Monday Night Raw. In 2012, the trio appeared on the show to promote the film and were eventually chokeslammed by Kane for their efforts.
2 Jewel/Ty Murray
Singer Jewel and bull rider Ty Murray became co-hosts of Monday Night Raw in 2010. The pairing was extremely odd on paper and ended up being just as odd in execution. There’s a reason this episode isn’t fondly remembered.
The innkeepers were used almost exclusively for a bull riding competition with the WWE Divas back then. All in all, this celebrity crossover is best forgotten.
1 The impractical jokers
The Impractical Jokers is a comedy troupe starring Sal Vulcano, Brian ‘Q’ Quinn and James Murray. The trio has a comedy show where they challenge each other to do things and is ten seasons long. While funny, their recent AEW crossover is strange to most fans.
They don’t really come from a sporting background and their debut on AEW TV didn’t go well for them as they were jumped by Chris Jericho and co. To their credit, all three men appear to be huge fans of the sport and have used names such as Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray on their show in the past.
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