Celebrity cameos in wrestling are a tale as old as time, but some star appearances are certainly more memorable than others.

With its unrivalled mix of athletic ability, showmanship and soap opera, professional wrestling as long been a magnet for celebrities who either grew up as fans themselves or seek a crossover into its passionate fanbase.

Mike Tyson’s 1998 run with WWE was one of wrestling’s most renowned crossoversWWE

Back in the mid 1980s, WWE staged the first ever WrestleMania at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and loaded the card with celebs as music greats Liberace and Cyndi Lauper joined sporting icons Muhammad Ali and Billy Martin in the mix.

Years later, Mike Tyson featured in arguably the most iconic and renowned sports-to-wrestling cameo at WrestleMania in 1998, initially joining forces with Shawn Michaels and Triple H before eventually betraying them to aid Stone Cold Steve Austin in winning the WWE Championship.

Sports stars and celebs to have followed in later years include Butterbean, Floyd Mayweather, Tyson Fury and Ricky Hatton and former US President Donald Trump, all of whom dipped their toe into WWE waters with explosive results.

Some stars made careers of wrestling before moving on to greater fame while some, like Logan Paul, have transitioned into the squared-circle after noteriety elsehwere.

Nonetheless, some cameos and stints in wrestling haven’t quite remained as firmly etched into the memories of fans as others, as this talkSPORT handy guide to a few forgotten grappling appearances by megastars in the squared circle explores:

Lennox Lewis

While still completing the climb to the very top of the boxing world, Lewis appeared at one of the most famous wrestling events of all time – WWE SummerSlam in 1992.

At Wembley Stadium in front of 80,000 fans, he flanked The British Bulldog for his Intercontinental tile match with Bret Hart, proudly waving the Union Jack.

Sadly Lewis never made it as far as wrestling in WWE, reportedly turning down $5m to battle Brock Lesnar.

Tyler Mane

Mane is undoubtedly better known to a generation of fans for his Hollywood credits as a star in blockbuster films like X-Men and Deadpool & Wolverine where he played villain Sabretooth.

But the 57-year-old, was also a wrestling star in the 1990s, working in WCW and New Japan before switching to Hollywood with more permanency.

Lewis was in charge of British Bulldog’s flag at SummerSlam 1992Instagram/@thebritishbulldogwwe

As Big Sky in WCW, he teamed with Kevin Nash who went on to find glory in WWE as Diesel before returning to Atlanta a much bigger star than he left. His exit ultimately paved the way for Mane to depart, too, and he retired from the ring in 1996.

Terry Crews

Terry Crews boasts a CV with a variety that would be the envy of many, now firmly established as a popular figure in film and television thanks to his roles on Brooklyn Nine Nine, Americas Got Talent and White Chicks to name just a few.

He was, before that, a star in the NFL world, playing more than 30 games for the San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins before his 1997 retirement.

Crews broke into the acting world with a role on Battle Dome in 1999, which resulted in a memorable WCW cameo where he jumped the barrier at ringside in an attempt to battle with stars Diamond Dallas Page and Rick Steiner who had goaded him.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The worlds of sports, movies and politics have always been closely aligned and, perhaps no greater example of that being Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is actually a WWE Hall of Famer.

The seven-time Mr Olympia is arguably best know for his starring role in the Terminator Franchise, and 1985 film Commando, but from 2003 to 2011 served as the Governor of California.

A long-time friend of wrestling icon Bruno Sammartino, his links to the grappling world are decades old and, in 1999, he featured on WWE television and attacked Triple H in an on-screen storyline, punching The Miz on Raw four years later.

Terry Crews was a number of big names hosted by WCW in the late 1990sWWE

Kevin Greene

A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Greene was an NFL Draft pick for the first time in 1985, going on to feature for the LA Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers during a stellar career that earned him a spot in the 1990s NFL All-Decade Team.

He returned to the gridiron in the 2000s a coach and was part of the Green Bay Packers’ 2011 Super Bowl win but, in between starred for WCW alongside greats like Randy Savage and Ric Flair.

He would team with – and battle against – fellow NFL star Steve McMichael during his tenure, and even defeated the star later known as The Big Show in a match at the 1998 Great American Bash.

Wayne Rooney

While Wayne Rooney‘s WWE cameos have cult status amongst Brit wrestling viewers, few outside of the grunt-and-groan world will know how the Manchester United and England legend has dabbled in that theatre over the years.

WWEWayne Rooney dished out a slap to Wade Barrett at a WWE event in Manchester[/caption]

In 2015, while United Captain, Rooney dealt a stinging slap to Brit wrestling villain Wade Barrett after being goaded at ringside during an episode of Raw.

Even as recently as this year, Rooney has continued to take in the delights of live wrestling shows, confronted at a WWE live event by Drew McIntyre, who blasted at the football icon: “I’ve got to give this man his props, from one British legend to another, you were the freaking man in your day. But, aren’t we the same age? What the hell happened to you?!”

Walter Peyton

Constantly plagued by the interference of Shawn Michaels during his rivalry with Nash, Razor Ramon enlisted the help of hometown hero Walter Payton, the legendary Chicago Bears star, when SummerSlam was held in the City in 1994.

‘Sweetness’ did his bit in thwarting Michaels’ attempts to stop Ramon, and watching their game of cat and mouse made for great fun, and the crowd ate it up – as they did Ramon’s eventual win.

WWEWalter Payton was one of the all-time greats with the Chicago Bears[/caption]

Payton spent 13 seasons with the Bears, a glittering career including a Super Bowl win, an MVP award and five inclusions in the First-team All-Pro.

Karl Malone

WCW were doing all they could to compete with – and regularly beat in the ratings – WWE in the late 1990s.

Their strategy was to load their shows and events with mainstream stars, leading to a wild tag-team match featuring NBA great Karl Malone and Bulls star Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach. They teamed up with Diamond Dallas Page and Hulk Hogan respectively , the bout helping WCW earn its highest pay-per-view buy rate in history.

Dubbed THE Mailman, the forward spent 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz before a short stint with the LA Lakers and was a two-time NBA MVP having racked up almost 200 games in his two-decade career.

Rob Gronkowski had a run holding the farcical WWE 24/7 titleWWE

Rob Gronkowski

The Gronk‘s four Super Bowl Championships do little to tell the story of his incomparable NFL career; the 35-year old phenom is generally regarded as one of the finest players of all time.

But the football iconand New England Patriots legend is also a keen wrestling fan, and even held a Championship in WWE.

At WrestleMania in 2017, he made global headlines by helping good pal turned WWE star Mojo Rawley win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and later won the 24/7 Championship from Rawley amidst hosting the spectacle three years later, holding it for over two months before eventually losing it to R-Truth.