WWE Superstars are known for their wild antics inside the ring.
Whether it’s Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt or Braun Strowman, WWE has a number of stars whose gimmicks borderline on lunacy. And oftentimes, that craziness extends well beyond the ring to real life.
Throughout WWE’s long and storied history, there have been a number of incidents where the company’s stars have found themselves in, well, interesting situations as a result of something bizarre they chose to do, all while staying in character.
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It may not have involved a suplex, a clothesline or a finishing move. But it was bizarre, strange and downright odd. Here are five of the weirdest things WWE superstars have done while remaining in character outside of the ring.
#1 “The Deadman” waits for “The King”
Remember that time The Undertaker and LeBron James embraced before a Cleveland Cavaliers game? Yeah, neither does LeBron.
Prior to the Cavs' season opener last October, The Undertaker showed up outside of Cleveland's locker room, in full gimmick including his trademark trenchcoat and hat, in the hope of having a meeting with the best player on the defending NBA Champions.
He waited outside the locker room for a photo op with "The King." And waited. And waited. And waited. But James, who is known only to meet with guests he actually knows are coming, never showed up. Not even for "The Deadman."
While The Undertaker was able to snap a few photos with Kevin Love and other Cavs players, he was spurned by "The King." So, yes, The Undertaker, in-ring gear and all, apparently wasn't important enough for James to change his routine. Sounds like the start of a potential WrestleMania rivalry.
#2 The Wild Samoans and Hulk Hogan go to jail
In his autobiography, Hulk Hogan details a story in which he was pulled over while travelling with The Wild Samoans, Afa and Sika.
According to Hogan's account, when he reached into his glove compartment to get his registration, an unregistered gun he had recently bought in Florida fell out in plain view of the police officer. Hogan, who was unaware of New Jersey's firearm possession laws, was hoping the Samoans would help him out and explain that to the cop.
But at the time, the Samoans' wrestling personas did not speak, so in an attempt to protect their gimmick, neither Samoan uttered a word in defence of Hogan. That resulted in "The Hulkster," and the Samoans themselves, being arrested when perhaps all it would have taken was a brief explanation to avoid the whole thing.
Talk about protecting kayfabe, right?
#3 Vader goes off
Here's a lesson for everyone out there: If you're going to play a prank that could potentially result in someone getting arrested, you probably shouldn't do it.
Just ask Vader, who in 1997 wound up being arrested for an in-character interview gone awry. As the story goes, Vader appeared on "Good Morning Kuwait" and was asked the dreaded question by a news reporter for the show: Is wrestling fake?
In totally unsurprising fashion, Vader, offended by the comment, freaked out and put his hands on the reporter.
Maybe this wouldn't have been that big of a deal if the reporter had been in on it, but apparently, the show's producer thought it would be a good idea not tell him what was happening in order to generate a genuine reaction.
Well, it's safe to say that the mission was accomplished, but it resulted in a big misunderstanding and a major catastrophe for Vader.
With the reporter and, most importantly, the police unaware the incident was part of the producer's plan to produce an entertaining segment, Vader was arrested for all the altercation and actually spent some time in a Kuwait Prison, all because he refused to break character and give in to the host's offensive question.
As a result, WWE talent didn't show up in Kuwait again until nearly 10 years later in 2006.
#4 Big E’s big day
Picture this: You show up to a friend's wedding, expecting to see a priest standing near the altar on your buddy's big day.
Only, it isn't a priest, a reverend or any other religious figure. It's WWE Superstar, Big E.
That's what happened for one lucky couple, Joseph and Brisa, earlier this year. Big E had previously revealed on Twitter that he was getting ordained in order to officiate weddings in Los Angeles, and because Big E is known for his comedic antics, most pro wrestling fans thought that he was just kidding around like he often does.
But no, Big E did, in fact, channel his inner preacher, a fitting task for the member of The New Day, when he became the wedding officiant for a couple of lucky WWE fans. Though it remains to be seen if Big E will perform any weddings in the future, it's safe to say that he'd probably be the most sought after Superstar in the company if he did.
#5 Bruno Sammartino tries to protect Kayfabe
It's 2017, so virtually every fan that is reading this will tell you that he or she realises that pro wrestling is a scripted form of entertainment.
That's what makes it mind-boggling to imagine a professional wrestler writing a "tell all" autobiography and portraying pro wrestling as a non-scripted sport on the same level as football or soccer. Yet, that's exactly what Bruno Sammartino, one of the greatest pro wrestlers and biggest draws of all-time, did in his autobiography.
Sammartino essentially wrote an entire book in which he maintained the illusion that pro wrestling is real, claiming that the outcomes of matches were not pre-determined and longtime traditions, such as blading, did not exist.
Perhaps in an effort to remain in character and protect kayfabe, Sammartino painted a picture of pro wrestling as everything most fans knew it wasn't.
Especially when you consider all of the fantastic autobiographies written by the likes of Chris Jericho, Mick Foley and others, it was extremely difficult for fans to react to Sammartino's book with anything but disbelief. Was he trying to protect the business? Was he confused? Maybe a bit of both?
No matter what Sammartino's motivation was, his autobiography is certainly a tremendous example of a pro-wrestler taking extreme measures in order not to expose the business. If only today's wrestlers would do the same.
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