Athletes and celebrities have always been interested with wrestling even if their teams—professional and PR—try to steer them away from it or mark it as something that just isn’t happening. After all, wrestlers are in an industry where they will get injured eventually.
No team wants a player who is out for the season because they got powerbombed and got a concussion. If a player gets injured, the organization would prefer that it be on the clock.
In a new series, we’re going to look at some athletes and celebs who entered the wrestling world as an attraction and see if there was full-time potential there. First up: Dennis Rodman!
Dennis Rodman in WCW
Of course, we’re starting off with The Worm. He’s the celebrity wrestler I associate most with WCW since he was closely associated with the company’s biggest heel during its hottest period. Rodman was a member of the Hollywood Hogan-led nWo in the late 90s while also playing for the Chicago Bulls.
The interesting thing about his involvement is that a sports team typically didn’t want athletes associated with wrestling since the stigma was still particularly thick. On top of that, if an athlete does go into wrestling, they certainly don’t want them going in as a heel. Think of the public image!
Dennis Rodman was one of those rare cases as the media already had him pegged as a “bad boy” and he lived it up. I mean, if you’re going to grab attention and dabble in wrestling, you might as well be a heel. Rodman’s ability in the ring left a lot to be desired but he’s a celebrity.
You can’t expect celebrities to be Bret, Steamboat, or Okada in the ring but you can expect them to be entertaining. After all, they’re on your TV every week, they’re on your PPV in a favorable spot—yeah, you can say “OK, entertain the hell out me” and they should deliver.
Rodman was very entertaining. His antics and attitude were at home in wrestling. Plus, it brought media attention to WCW. If fans pay to see him wrestle and get lumped up then he’s doing his job right and the company is benefiting.
It’s different when you get a celeb or athlete with the personality of paint thinner and broadcast time is dedicated to them. That’s a high certain level of “Oh, you’re just wasting everyone’s time tonight, huh?”
The Worm was in WCW as an attraction and the amount of time that he was featured on WCW television wasn’t egregious. If it was a segment featuring Hogan or Bischoff, he was there and didn’t seem out of place among the nWo.
What If He Jumped to Wrestling?
Honestly, I think Rodman would’ve had the tools to improve more on mic. He was charismatic and had the “it” factor to be a crossover star, he just needed to tighten it up on the mic if it’s going to be put in his hands for any amount of time—which would be the goal with an NBA Champion going full-time wrestler.
Skill-wise, he could be successful with what he came in with but he would’ve needed to tighten all of that up. Again, he didn’t need to be a great submission expert or deliver the graps nor did he need to be a flashy daredevil. Everything just needs to look believable and not super sloppy.
I believe Rodman could’ve achieved that much with training and doing house shows with veterans who aren’t holding down the main event. They’re busy drawing and going to promotional events, adding “teaching” to their duties just seems rude, right?
As far as how far Rodman could’ve gone: he would’ve been gone either when or a bit after the late 90s wrestling boom ended. I give it until 2003 at the latest with guest appearances after that depending on how his WCW run went and if he sticks around for the Invasion angle should he get picked up by WWE in 2001.
Actually, it all depends on how Rodman develops in WCW and if he made an impact during his time there. If nothing percolated out of WCW investing in him, we probably would’ve seen him on wrestling television as much as we saw Steve “Mongo” McMichael after WCW folded.
That’s not even factoring in the Hogan Effect that could pull a formerly full-time Dennis Rodman out of retirement for a bit.
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