1956-57 - Joe Louis switches rings
Following his retirement from boxing in the 1950s, former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis tried his hand in a different ring. Unfortunately for “The Brown Bomber,” sports-entertainment was far less kind to him than the “sweet science” ever was; injuries derailed his second career, forcing him to forever exit the squared circle after two years.
June 2, 1976 - Ali meets a Gorilla
Muhammad Ali made a splash everywhere he went, and sports-entertainment was no exception. On June 2, 1976, “The Greatest” prepared for his upcoming bout with Antonio Inoki by deciding to interrupt a match between Gorilla Monsoon and Baron Mikel Scicluna. Ali ripped off his shirt and taunted the 400-pound Gorilla, who easily scooped Ali up in an airplane spin and dumped him like yesterday’s garbage. (
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June 25, 1976 - Ali vs. Inoki
On the same night that Andre the Giant squared off against Chuck Wepner, three-time boxing World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali took on one of Japan’s biggest wrestling legends – Antonio Inoki. Inoki avoided Ali’s powerful jabs by spending the entire match on the mat, kicking away at his opponent’s legs. It might not have been exciting, but the smart strategy helped Inoki earn a draw.
June 25, 1976 - A Giant Encounter
No man in sports-entertainment could take down the 7-foot-4, 500-plus-pound Andre the Giant in the 1970s. On June 25, 1976, inside New York’s Shea Stadium, boxer Chuck Wepner found out that he couldn’t, either. The 6-foot-6 Wepner closer resembled a small child next to Andre, and after three brutal rounds, the giant won by count-out after easily hurling “The Bayonne Bleeder” nearly three rows out of the ring.
1983 - Rocky meets Hulkamania
Hulk Hogan and Sylvester Stallone may be good friends now, but in 1983, they were mortal enemies – sort of. That year, Rocky III was a silver-screen smash, and one of the biggest scenes in the film was the bout between boxing champion Rocky Balboa (Stallone) and Thunderlips (Hogan). The Hulkster may have had an impressive WWE win-loss record in the 1980s, but his big screen battle with Balboa went to a draw.
Starrcade 1984 - A "Smokin'" Referee
At Starrcade 1984, former boxing Heavyweight Champion "Smokin'" Joe Frazier donned the stripes to referee the $1 million NWA World Heavyweight Championship Challenge between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. Flair won the bout via referee stoppage when Frazier – perhaps flashing back to his own loss in the “Thrilla in Manila” against Muhammad Ali – rendered a badly-bloodied Rhodes unable to continue. (
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WrestleMania 2 - Mr. T gets "Rowdy"
At the first WrestleMania, Mr. T stepped onto “Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s turf and teamed with Hulk Hogan to defeat Piper & Paul Orndorff. A year later, the “Rowdy Scot” challenged T to a boxing match at WrestleMania 2. Unfortunately, it was second verse, same as the first for Piper, as T beat the “Hot Rod” by disqualification when the “fool” Scotsman bodyslammed him. (
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Feb. 23, 1990 - "Buster" gets Macho
The Feb. 23, 1990 edition of The Main Event saw Hulk Hogan defend the WWE Championship against Randy Savage, and the bout had a special referee: Undisputed World Heavyweight Boxing Champion James “Buster” Douglas. Hogan defeated Savage, and when the “Macho Man” stepped to "Buster" following the bout, the pugilist pounded him into the mat with a hard right hand. (
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WrestleMania XIV - Iron meets Stone
If it wasn’t bad enough that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin picked a fight with Mike Tyson – the special enforcer for his WrestleMania XIV match with WWE Champion Shawn Michaels – on a January 1998 Raw, it became worse when “Iron” Mike joined DX soon after. But come WrestleMania, Tyson double-crossed the D-Generate, counting a winning pinfall for new champion Austin before flooring HBK with a right hook. (
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WrestleMania XV - The Brawl for All
Bart Gunn proved his toughness to the sports-entertainment world in 1998 when he won the inaugural Brawl for All tournament. However, he was no match for super-heavyweight boxing phenomenon Eric “Butterbean” Esch in a Brawl for All Battle at WrestleMania XV. The 330-pound “Butterbean” decimated poor Bart, knocking him out less than a minute into the bout. (
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August 2007 - Hardy's Real Deal
Matt Hardy should have been fighting MVP on the August 2007 Saturday Night’s Main Event, but a heart ailment allowed MVP to choose a surrogate. He picked a good one: Former four-time boxing Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield. “The Real Deal” pounded Hardy, but it would end up being MVP who got cold-cocked after mouthing off to Holyfield one too many times. (
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