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In a recent interview, AEW President Tony Khan labeled NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal as the "greatest celebrity wrestler in wrestling history." Former WCW President Eric Bischoff has since countered that statement with a handful of other potential worthy candidates, as well as the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
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"To come out and say that Shaquille O'Neal is the best celebrity wrestler of all time is pretty f****** dumb. Unless, of course, you don't know anything about Bad Bunny, Logan Paul," Bischoff said on a recent episode of "Wise Choices," "And I know these are relatively new celebrities. Bad Bunny, one of the most popular celebrities on the face of the earth, had a match that probably only two or three people in AEW on the entire freaking roster would be capable of having, in his first match. Now, if we apply Merriam-Webster's definition of the word 'best' to Bad Bunny, for example, I think 'excelling all others' when it comes to his physical performance in the ring absolutely applies.'"
In relation to the "offering or producing the greatest advantage, utility, or satisfaction" definition of the word "best," Bischoff pointed toward Bad Bunny's following, which currently sits at tens of millions on social media, as an advantage of exposure for WWE and possibly in the way non-wrestling fans perceive the WWE product moving forward. "Certainly someone like Bad Bunny, and the impact that he made, made WWE cool as f***. Nobody's going to argue that," Bischoff said.
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In looking back further into wrestling history, Bischoff cited the likes of Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone — both of which are former NBA players — as other top-tier celebrity wrestlers. According to Bischoff, Rodman's appearances help transform WCW programming into a "pop culture phenomenon." Malone, on the other hand, exhibited impressive athleticism during his WCW stint, which notably pitted him and Diamond Dallas Page against Rodman and Hulk Hogan.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wises Choices" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
