With the 38th edition of the pro-wrestling pinnacle in WWE's Wrestlemania set to take place on April 2nd and 3rd, the anticipation is at an unprecedented high.
In addition to a stacked two-night card that includes names like Brock Lesnar taking on Roman Reigns and Ronda Rousey battling Charlotte Flair among the marquee matches, "The Most Stupendous Two-Night Event In WrestleMania History" is especially significant in that the 2022 installment also marks the first time the banner has been able to host a Wrestlemania at full capacity since 2019.
Holding court at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas the bill will include a showcase of the promotion's biggest draws along with some added star-power that has long been a staple of the annual tradition. Along with the previously mentioned big ticket matches, night one will include a co-headliner with RAW Women's title holder Becky Lynch facing off with Bianca Belair - who is dead set on regaining her strap having lost it to Lynch last summer.
SmackDown Tag Team champs The Usos take on Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs. Randy Orton and Riddle defend their RAW Tag Team Titles against The Street Profits and Alpha Academy. Additional title matches feature Queen Zelina and Carmella putting their title Women's Tag Team Titles on the line in a slobberknocker against the likes of Sasha Banks and Naomi, Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan, and Natalya with Shayna Baszler.
As for the added star power confirmed to show out for Wrestlemania 38, there will be plenty. Jackass fixture Johnny Knoxville gets into the squared circle to face Sami Zayn. Also, Logan Paul is set to join forces with The Miz to knuckle up against Dominik and Rey Mysterio.
Arguably the most exciting storyline to the 38th 'Mania however, is the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Some 19 years removed from the ring, one of the toughest SOBs to lace 'em up has stirred up quite a beef with Kevin Owens. In a recently release promo, Stone Cold makes his intentions crystal clear.
OH HELL YEAH!@SteveAustinBSR has accepted @FightOwensFight's #WrestleMania 38 invitation! pic.twitter.com/7x5t41nDBg
— WWE (@WWE) March 8, 2022
Given the kind of spectacle and showmanship that has always been an integral part of the WWE's biggest stage of the year, we are taking a look back at some of the times when the world of wrestling and rock collided with electrifying results.
Remember these?
Corey Taylor x Baron Corbin
Back in 2015, Slipknot and NXT squared off in spectacular fashion during at the Sacramento rock pilgrimage of Aftershock Festival. Slipknot was confirmed as the event's headlining act which had NXT wrestler Baron Corbin feeling some kind of way.
While doing an interview with Alternative Press, Taylor was ambushed by Corbin to address the dispute and asserted that NXT was actually the headliner of the festival, prompting Taylor to get venomous with his words. The exchange got testy and tensions eventually spilled over later in the day when Taylor was ringside to see Corbin battle Samoa Joe.
During the match, Corbin again confronted Taylor, this time, putting hands on the frontman. Not one to back down, The Great Big Mouth delivered a great big right hand that ultimately turned the tide of the match - proving disastrous for Corbin. Watch the end result here.
Snoop Dogg x Chavo Guerrero
The Doggfather has become a bit of a staple when it comes to professional wrestling. In fact, Snoop is considered elite as one of the few musicians that has had the honor of being inducted into the banner's Hall of Fame. He performed at Wrestlemania 32 for the ring walk of his actual, real life cousin, WWE superstar Sasha Banks. He shared the ring with Hulk Hogan in 2015 and has made several appearances loadning some real star power to the production.
However, the Dogg likely made his biggest splash when when he squared up with Chavo Guerrero on an episode of Monday Night Raw. The two faced off in the ring with Guerrero making the mistake of testing Snoop's hands. After a quick clothesline, Snoop hit Guerrero with a spear sending the arena into hysterics. The moment has since become legendary.
Kevin Owens x Machine Gun Kelly
Sometimes, the stars visiting the squared circle end up on the receiving end of some punishment too. Such was the case back in 2015 when rapper Machine Gun Kelly was the special guest for stint on Monday Night Raw.
The Ohio native dropped in for a performance of his track “A Little More” and while the show went over well with fans in the arena, there was one person in the building that didn't appreciate the added theatrics. Wrestler Kevin Owens came out onto the platform following MGK's performance and while everyone was applauding, it was obvious Owens' wasn't with it.
As MGK began to take issue with Owens'. attempted upstaging, a little pushing and shoving ended up with MGK taking a kick to the gut and being powerbombed through a platform off the stage deck. It was a moment that left the arena and the television audience stunned.
Bad Bunny x Wrestlemania 37
Proving pop music can pack a punch, Bad Bunny was the most recent star to make his mark in the promotion. The rapper and Latin music megastar made one of the most impressive showings ever for a non-wrestler on the sport's biggest stage, complete with an off the top turnbuckle splash that sealed his performance.
Bad Bunny would link with Damien Priest in a tag team match against John Morrison and The Miz in what turned out to be an incredibly physical bout. The performance was so convincing, the rapper was invited back to compete a second time, going a healthy distance and outlasting more than half the competitors in the 2022 Royal Rumble.
Alice Cooper + Jake 'The Snake' Roberts x Honky Tonk Man + Jimmy Hart
From the very beginning, the WWE seemed to embrace the spectacle that came with rock music icons. Dating back to Wrestlemania II, the Prince of Darkness himself Ozzy Osbourne was in the corner of The British Bulldogs Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid as they took on and won against The Dream Team in Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine.
One year later, another rock music legend in Alice Cooper played a more active role in the show with Alice Cooper making the walk with Jake :"The Snake" Roberts for the bad blood match with Honky Tonk Man. The match was one of the marquee bouts of Wrestlemania 3, a record-setting event that took place in front of more than 93,000 fans at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.
Though the bout ended in defeat for Cooper's counterpart Roberts, the post-fight antics saw Cooper get in on the action, handing Roberts his famous python Damien to terrorize Honky Tonk Man's manager, the Mouth of the South Jimmy Hart. The instance of retaliation drew a huge pop from the crowd in what would become a pivotal pay-per-view in the history of the banner.
Wrestlemania 38 streams exclusively on Peacock in the US and the WWE Network in all other territories. The broadcast starts at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
