From its inaugural class in 1993, the WWE Hall of Fame has welcomed in greater than a dozen members into their “celebrity wing.” These celebrity members have come from the sports and music worlds, being individuals who made significant contribution to WWE and transcending the business into their career fields. WWE Hall of Famer Kane joined “Off The Ropes” and noted how he feels that a current member of the “celebrity wing” could have entered the Hall of Fame for in-ring work.
“If Pete Rose hadn’t been a Hall of Fame baseball player, he would’ve been a Hall of Fame skilled wrestler as well. The guy just had the personality, he was very self-deprecating, he didn’t care, he did not have an ego, he just desired to placed on show,” Kane said laudably. “Celebrities are hit and miss, you’re employed with some which are great, some not so great, he was certainly one of the best, he’d just do anything they asked and it was all about putting on show and ultimately that is what we do. So, I actually have mad respect for him and his showmanship behind the scene.”
“Charlie Hustle” Pete Rose made his first WWE appearance at WrestleMania 14 in Boston, Massachusetts as a special guest ring announcer, using his time to insult the local Boston crowd and their Red Sox MLB team that Rose defeated as a part of the Cincinnati Reds and their “Big Red Machine” lineup within the 1975 World Series. This prompted the arrival of WWE’s “Big Red Machine” Kane, who dropped Rose with a Tombstone.
Rose appeared in the subsequent two WrestleManias (15 and 2000) attempting to get revenge on Kane but got wound up flat on his back every time. Rose made a surprise appearance within the promotional industrial for the 2002 No Mercy PLE, encountering Kane once more on Halloween night. Rose was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004, becoming their first celebrity inductee. Rose made his final WWE appearance in March 2010 because the guest host of “WWE Raw.”
When you use any quotes from this text, please credit “Off The Ropes” with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.