Top 5 celebrity angles in pro wrestling

1. Celebrity in Pro Wrestling - Andy Kaufman (Memphis pro wrestling circuit)

Andy Kaufman, Jerry Lawler, David Letterman

Andy Kaufman was involved in not only the best celebrity angle, but possibly one of the greatest pro wrestling angles of all time, period. Andy Kaufman was by no means a wrestler, he was a comedian actor who seemingly fell in love with the business. In the early 1980s, Kaufman began calling himself the Inter-Gender Champion of the World, wrestling women at shows and offering $1,000 to any that could pin him.

In kayfabe, Jerry "The King" Lawler took offense to Kaufman wrestling women which led to the start of the feud between them. The two would wrestle each other, and Kaufman even suffered a neck injury after taking one of Lawler's piledrivers. In typical wrestler fashion, Kaufman wore a neck brace, playing up his injury worse than it was.

But then Kaufman used his celebrity to bring light on the Memphis pro wrestling scene, by appearing on the David Letterman Show in 1982 with Lawler. Many in attendance and watching at home actually believed Kaufman and Lawler hated each other, and after Lawler slapped Kaufman, he began throwing an expletive-ridden tirade at The King. The feud was a work of entertainment art in a time when pro wrestling was focused on just that, wrestling.

In fact, the angle was so good, it took over 10 years for Lawler to admit that he and Kaufman were actually good friends. Kaufman and Lawler might've started a change in pro wrestling. Using a celebrity that had all but no in-ring skill in a storyline that was based solely on the story arguably helped make wrestling what it is today.