Celebrities have always had a place in professional wrestling, whether they were wrestling themselves or not. This has become a common aspect of WWE’s marquee events, particularly WrestleMania, which has previously seen the likes of Bad Bunny, Logan Paul, Johnny Knoxville, Mr. T, and Shaquille O’Neal compete on ‘The Showcase of the Immortals’.
Though these matches often prove divisive, the reaction to them has gradually changed over the years. Matches involving the aforementioned Bunny, Paul, and Knoxville proved to be some of the greatest action on their respective ‘Manias, outshining the work of official WWE Superstars.
EC3 Highlights Issues With Celebrities In WWE
One former WWE Superstar who isn’t open to having celebrities involved in professional wrestling is EC3. ‘The Essential Character’ discussed the topic during Sportskeeda Wrestling’s The Wrestling Outlaws podcast, stating how, more often than not, they can’t lose their respective matches:
“I think when you deal with high-level celebs that are complete narcissists, what has Bad Bunny done besides have a couple of hit songs? He’s probably coddled to and given everything. They can never give on the way out, whoever gets over. Bad Bunny can’t do the job on the way out. Bad Bunny’s got a show in two weeks; he can’t be beaten now.”
This, in EC3’s mind, also applies to WWE’s events in Saudi Arabia, which have previously seen the likes of Tyson Fury and Cain Velasquez make their WWE in-ring debuts. As EC3 explained, someone of the ilk of Tyson Fury can’t lose if he’s a World Championship-winning boxer:
“Tyson Fury is a Heavyweight Champion boxer; he can’t go to Saudi [Arabia] and lose. You’re just putting yourself in a terrible position where you’re sending them off to a match with a bad finish, and nobody gets over, and that makes the casual viewer tune off.”
WWE’s most recent Saudi Arabia show – the 2022 Crown Jewel premium live event – saw Logan Paul suffer his first loss, failing to dethrone Roman Reigns as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.