Wrestling In Other Venues

As big of a part of pop culture as professional wrestling is, it's always fun to see the business outside of the squared circle. While wrestlers can hold their own with icons and celebrities from across the spectrum, it's interesting to see how they interact. Sometimes it's the wrestlers themselves "visiting" in other forms of entertainment. At other times celebrities from outside of the ring will try their hand. Still, in other examples, various genres attempt to incorporate wrestling into their own brand, often with mixed results.

Wrestlers crossing over into non-wrestling television shows has been a staple since the '50s! It was then that Lou Albano "wrestled" the legendary Jackie Gleason in a sketch on the comedian's popular program. Three decades later, as Gleason and "The Honeymooners" were seeing a resurgence, The Captain appeared in an issue of a comic based around the beloved sitcom. In the story Albano is a relative of Ralph Kramden's neighbor Mrs. Manicotti. This, of course, leads the blustery bus driver into the wrestling ring.

Many wrestlers appeared on shows of all types, comedy, action, and drama alike. Hulk Hogan made many guest appearances during the '80s boom period as did Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Rowdy Roddy Piper, King Kong Bundy, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan to name a few. Andre the Giant appeared famously as Bigfoot on an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. His appearance even spawned a magazine cover and an action figure! Later on, Andre would provide a giant challenge for The Greatest American Hero before landing his most famous role as Fezzig in the film The Princess Bride.

It was not unusual for shows to have wrestling-themed episodes as well. Family Matters, Laverne & Shirley, The Munsters, Boy Meets World, and That '70s Show are ventured into the squared circle, but my favorite has to be the episode of Mama's Family entitled "Mama Mania." GLOW's own Queen Kong and Mt. Fiji guest star as "The Masked Mabels," a corpulent female tag team who end up battling Mama and her daughter-in-law Naomi. The episode captures everything fun about the wrestling boom of the period.

In the '90s, Bret "The Hitman" Hart famously guest starred on The Simpsons. While his appearance on the animated hit was brief, it was memorable. Several years ago when toy company NECA unveiled a line of action figures based on famous guest stars who showed up in Springfield, "The Hitman" was one of the highlights of the collection.

But The Simpsons aren't the only cartoon characters who have encountered wrestlers. While I don't believe that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ever tangled with wrestling in their cartoon or comic book, the action figures are a different story. There have been figures of the Turtles dressed as WWE favorites over the past few years, but the first TMNT-wrestling hybrid figure debuted in the original line by Playmates Toys. "Shell Slammin' Mike" takes the orange-masked Michaelangelo and transforms him into a caped competitor complete with belt and pet snake.

Last but not least, we look at a man...err...bear who is a champion of children, and adults, everywhere. He may not be "The People's Champion" by name, but he certainly is in our hearts. Is there anyone who doesn't love this guy? Yes, he's the "Hundred Acre Wrestling Federation Champion" according to his belt, and I would imagine he rumblies...err...rumbles over the competition. Who else could it be?

Oh bother!