Celebrities and WWE have been interwoven since the first WrestleMania, where Cyndi Lauper cemented the promotion’s relationship with Hollywood with her colorful performance as a manager alongside Wendi Richter, and her promotion of the event before the lights in the arena even went on. WWE has continued to bring in stars over the years, from “The Baddest Man on the Planet” Mike Tyson’s alignment with D-Generation X, to YouTuber Logan Paul becoming United States Champion, to megastar Bad Bunny and Damian Priest putting on a classic in a San Juan Street Fight. Wrestling and Hollywood are two often over-the-top industries that mesh well, but sometimes, the large personalities within them clash to the point of conflict.
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Most times, the conflicts between wrestlers and celebrities begin on social media, with one taking a shot at another. This can lead into a storyline angle on WWE TV and even culminate at an event, with both talents squashing their beef personally in order to earn a paycheck. But, sometimes, the war of words on platforms like X just stay in cyberspace, with no real resolution, just headlines and fan interest. Sometimes, celebrities aren’t aware that those within WWE might be playing toward an angle in their sassy posts, and in others, celebrities get a bit too involved with the storylines they see on television, just like any other fan, and post their feelings, not expecting a response from the wrestler involved.Â
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In the world of wrestling, sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish between a “work” and a “shoot,” meaning confusion over what’s real and what’s not. Sometimes beef is squashed and everyone involved is able to work with one another for entertainment purposes, and other times, the bad blood remains between a given celebrity and WWE as a whole.
Mia Khalifa vs. Shane Helms
Former porn star and current media personality Mia Khalifa seemingly has no love for WWE. Khalifa was discussing UFC legend Ronda Rousey’s move to WWE on “Out of Bounds,” a YouTube show, back in 2017, and took a shot at the company. The adult star said that WWE is where Rousey’s career “will go to die” after the star was still only rumored to be making the jump to wrestling, ahead of her debut at Royal Rumble 2018.
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“I have no respect for the WWE, it’s not a real sport. It’s embarrassing. You go from real fights to wearing a sequined unitard and pretending to fight?” Khalifa said on the program. The adult actress was joined on the show by former WWE star Eva Marie, who attempted to explain how wrestlers train and take bumps to Khalifa, to no avail. Retired wrestler/backstage producer, Shane “Hurricane” Helms, came to WWE’s defense on social media after Khalifa’s comments. Helms delivered a serious of spicy posts on Twitter about Khalifa’s previous occupation and how it compared to wrestling. He initially wrote that he wasn’t going to get upset “that a former porn star” didn’t respect the business, and that she was entitled to her opinion.
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“Our bodies take a pounding and well … so does hers,” Helms posted. Khalifa doesn’t seem to have beef with wrestling any longer, as she posted a video to her YouTube channel training in the ring with current AEW star Thunder Rosa in August 2018. The video featured Khalifa attempting to run the ropes and taking chops across the chest from Rosa, all to a chorus of “ow” and a string of expletives from the former adult actress. The video ended with Khalifa seeing a chiropractor, with potential new respect for the business.
Soulja Boy vs. Randy Orton
Randy Orton is no stranger to getting into scraps both in and outside of the ring, and in 2021, he got into a feud with rapper Soulja Boy, most famous for his 2007 hit “Crank Dat (Soulja Boy).” It wasn’t Orton, known to have been a hot head in his younger years, who started the online war of words, however. It was the rapper who kicked things off, with a post on Twitter claiming “rap game faker than WWE.” That got “The Viper” heated, and he issued a venomous response.
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“Fake? Dare this prick to step up. He don’t like movies?” Orton posted. “Consider us actors that do stunts, without pads 200 days a year and don’t b**** when we get surgically repaired and come right back. Consider us 100 times tougher than anyone you’ve come across. Ain’t [nothing] but a b**** a**.”
When Soulja Boy attempted to fire back at Orton, even asking “The Legend Killer” if he knew “who the f***” Soulja Boy was, he basically received a virtual RKO for his troubles. Orton told the rapper that Bad Bunny would “beat the f*** out” of Soulja Boy, and called him a “one-hit wonder.” Orton didn’t let up off the gas when it came to his posts, even daring the rapper to “come to his world” and tell Orton wrestling is fake. Despite Soulja Boy talking a big game on social media, nothing ever came of the beef. The posts, however, live on for fans to experience today if they missed the drama.
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Sal from Impractical Jokers vs. Bubba Ray Dudley
Sal Vulcano from the popular prank show “Impractical Jokers” had a run-in with ECW legend and WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley back in ECW’s heyday. He told the story on the “Art of Wrestling” podcast alongside Colt Cabana in 2019. Vulcano explained that he baited the hardcore star, and said he thought it would be funny to yell out, “Hey, Bubba Ray Dudley! You fat f***!” while standing outside of an ECW show. He said he was standing in line with a few other people and Dudley was across the street. Vulcano said that because he was with other people, he didn’t think the star would know it was him, but, his friend said that Dudley was “charging” toward him.
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“He charged right up to me, and my friend’s like, ‘He’s coming … I wish you the best!'” the comedy star said. “I turned around and he took my Yankee hat off me and he goes, ‘What’d you just say?!’ And I just turned into Rain Man and I was like, ‘I’m just a big fan!'”
Vulcano said that Dudley started slapping him, with all his might, across the face with his ballcap. The improv comedian didn’t want to look him in the eyes out of fear, he said with a laugh. Dudley allegedly told Vulcano to “say it to his face,” but the interaction ended there. Either Dudley doesn’t remember the altercation, or all has been forgiven, as he’s appeared on “Impractical Jokers” since, alongside fellow legend and “Busted Open Radio” host Tommy Dreamer.
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Cardi B vs. Lacey Evans
The Cardi B and Lacey Evans feud is the prime example of a celebrity not knowing when a wrestler is attempting to work an angle. The rapper is a well-known WWE fan, most recently involved in a SummerSlam commercial alongside Bianca Belair. However, back at the beginning of 2021, Cardi got into a heated exchange with then-WWE star Evans. The rapper was initially tagged in social media posts by WWE fans after Torrie Wilson mentioned her on air and sent Angel Garza looking for the star, only to be confronted by the Boogeyman.
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Cardi quote-posted of the segment and joked that “this is not how my WWE debut was supposed to be,” jokingly warning Vince McMahon to “count his f****** days.” Evans jumped in to the conversation online and responded to the rapper, bringing up Cardi’s fight with Nicki Minaj at the Met Gala in May 2018. “Careful what you wish for ya nasty, we aren’t [Nicki Minaj]. You’ll get sent home with more than a busted eye,” Evans posted.
The rap star responded, though the post was swiftly deleted when she apparently realized Evans was working. She said, in part, “A white woman can’t never put fear on me, sweetie” and called Evans out for her “unnecessary bulls***.” Evans did respond, and said when she heard “debut,” she was only giving Cardi “a friendly heads up.” The star said to keep her in mind if the rapper ever showed up to WWE, because she would “kick her a** while listening to her music.” While Evans is no longer with WWE, Cardi is still a fan of the company. In September 2023, she said she still wants to go to WWE and “slap a b****.”
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MaCaulay Culkin vs. Goldberg
One of the more surprising online feuds between a celebrity and a WWE legend sounds like more a game of “Mad Libs” than an actual headline, but in February 2020, former child star Macaulay Culkin and Bill Goldberg got into a spat on Twitter. Culkin, a lifelong fan of WWE, didn’t take kindly to Goldberg’s Super ShowDown win over “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in Saudi Arabia, and took to Twitter to criticize the company over its decision.
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Culkin quote-posted a tweet from a parody account that said the show was “all about building new stars,” like Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, and The Undertaker, and the “Home Alone” star simply said “Amen.” He followed it up with a post about cancelling his tickets to WrestleMania 36.
Goldberg noticed the post, and replied “duly noted dork,” with a thumbs up emoji. Culkin fired back, asking Golderg not to tombstone him, seemingly a reference to a botch in his 2019 Super ShowDown match against Undertaker. With one last jab, Goldberg told Culkin not to worry, because his “13 year old takes take of his light work.” Whether Culkin actually seriously cancelled his trip to WrestleMania 36 in Tampa following Goldberg’s win is unknown, as everyone’s trips were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and WrestleMania was held from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, with no fans in attendance.
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Conor McGregor vs. WWE
Though UFC star Conor McGregor often teases WWE appearances now, the most recent tease involving Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, he wasn’t always so friendly when asked about making the jump to the world of wrestling from the octagon. The biggest case of McGregor versus the WWE locker room came when the Irish star was promoting UFC 202. McGregor’s rant was none too kind and not too suitable for work, and he doubled down with a post on Twitter following a press conference. He said he meant no disrespect to WWE fans, but that he would “slap the head off” the entire WWE roster, “and twice on Sundays.”
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Chris Jericho responded and said he meant no disrespect, but his fights were “legit,” and implied McGregor’s fights in UFC were fixed. Big E had a more lighthearted response, asking McGregor if he would like to find the WWE stars individually or have them all line up at once. “I know your time is valuable, sir,” he posted.
Kofi Kingston said it looked like “The Notorious” one could use a bowl of Booty-O’s. AJ Styles and Roman Reigns took shots at McGregor’s size, with Styles saying he could do well if WWE had a featherweight division. “The Tribal Chief” told the UFC celebrity to shut up, because he was “the size of his leg.” Sheamus and Becky Lynch, the Irish stars of WWE, didn’t take too kindly to McGregor’s comments, either. Following the merger of WWE and UFC to create TKO, some fans are still holding out hope that McGregor will one day appear in a wrestling ring.
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CM Punk vs. Chris Brown
Another surprising celebrity versus WWE star feud occurred between singer Chris Brown and CM Punk. The pair engaged in a Twitter war in February 2012. It started after Punk took a shot at Brown during the Grammys that year. Punk tweeted and referenced Brown’s 2009 assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna. In his post, Punk said he would like Brown to “fight somebody that can defend themselves.” He went on to say that “curb stomping that turd would be a WrestleMania moment.”
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Brown didn’t take that lying down, and responded by saying Punk needed more followers and that he was on steroids. Punk then released a video to address Brown accusing him of steroid use, mentioning his straight edge lifestyle, and once again brought up Brown’s assault against Rihanna. Punk challenged Brown to a fight and said that all proceeds of the fight would go to a women’s shelter of Punk’s choosing.
The war of words wasn’t a storyline, until WWE attempted to make it one. The company posted a full breakdown of their Twitter spat on its own website, including Brown’s follow up response of “missing real wrestlers” such as Bret “Hitman” Hart, Koko B. Ware, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and more, and used the hashtag #notnopunks. The article outlined the fact the hashtag was trending while Punk was in the ring. Despite the company attempting to make a profit off the real-life heat between the pair, nothing ever came to fruition.
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Nancy Grace vs. WWE
Journalist and television host Nancy Grace has been a known hater of wrestling for years, and her beef with the industry as a whole became better known after she picked up on the death of the Ultimate Warrior in 2014. Grace ran with the story and attempted to attribute all wrestler deaths in recent memory to steroid use. Grace invited WCW legend “Diamond” Dallas Page onto her show, allegedly under false pretenses. Page has said in interviews he believed he was going on Grace’s show to talk about Warrior, the man, and their relationship in WCW, not his steroid usage.
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“I was even given bullet points from her producers about the topics we would discuss,” Page said in an interview with RadarOnline after the appearance. “After seeing the topics which were pretty basic. I felt it would be great to go on and discuss the legend he was and how I got to know him.”
Page said he felt “ambushed” after the fact, and he would have nothing to say to Grace now. Grace was confronted by Sam Roberts, noted WWE fan and contributor to PLE pre-shows, on “The Jim & Sam Show” after the fact. Roberts said that Grace established the argument that drug use and steroid abuse was causing wrestlers to die young, though she listed men who had died other under circumstances on her show. Grace ended up walking out of the interview.
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Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville
Sami Zayn feuded in a storyline with Johnny Knoxville that was incredibly believable and enjoyable to fans, and even culminated in to what many call one of the best celebrity matches in history at WrestleMania 38. Their feud started off with Zayn being upset that the stuntman got a spot in the Royal Rumble that year and Zayn’s jealously boiled over from there, with Knoxville’s “Jackass Forever” movie debuting ahead of WWE’s annual showcase.
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Zayn went so far as to evolve from taking shots at Knoxville both on-air and on social media to turning up on the red carpet of the movie premiere to further his feud with Knoxville. The “Jackass” star retaliated in a multitude of ways, including putting out Zayn’s personal phone number to the world after he flew a plane with the digits on a banner over Los Angeles.
Despite the feud seemingly being entirely kayfabe, it’s one of WWE’s best, most effective, and also most recent, celebrity versus wrestler feuds. Zayn has admitted he doesn’t believe his feud with Knoxville is over, and teased a potential rematch of their Anything Goes bout as recently as in an interview in 2023. Knoxville most recently performed alongside Zayn at his “Sami Zayn & Friends” comedy show ahead of Money in the Bank 2024.
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