Mr. T's Wrestling Career, Explained
With his signature mohawk and wearing countless gold chains (pre-2005), Mr. T is one of the most instantly recognizable pop culture figures of the 1980s. He not only appeared on viewers’ TVs every week on The A-Team, but he also had his own cartoon and cereal, ensuring that even little kids knew who Mr. T was and what he pitied (fools).
As a figure whose persona was about looking strong and acting tough -- not to mention the fact that he had a catchphrase -- Mr. T was a perfect candidate for the world of pro wrestling, which was experiencing a tremendous boom in the 1980s thanks to WWE. As a result, Mr. T was a participant in the sport during the 1980s and even a little beyond.
10 Beginnings
Given the above mentioned wrestling-friendly aspects of the man, it would be forgivable for one to assume that Mr. T was specifically a pro wrestler. But T’s ascent to stardom started with him curating his look while working as a bouncer and later becoming a bodyguard. Eventually, he started appearing on television competition shows, which earned him the role of Clubber Lang in the film Rocky III, in which Hulk Hogan also appeared.
9 The War to Settle The Score
Mr. T’s entry into wrestling was during the “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection,” the era of the mid-1980s when WWE and MTV enjoyed a lot of cross-promotion, including Cyndi Lauper becoming a figure on WWE television. During one of WWE’s MTV specials, The War to Settle the Score, Mr. T appeared at ringside during the main event bout between Hulk Hogan and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Paul Orndorff interfered on Piper’s behalf, drawing a DQ, and Mr. T entered the ring to help Hogan out.
8 WrestleMania I
The confrontation at the end of The War to Settle the Score would set up a big marquee match at the very first WrestleMania as Mr. T teamed up with Hulk Hogan against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. While that already seemed star-studded, the match also boasted legendary boxer Muhummad Ali as a guest referee.
While not the greatest match in the world, the bout was fairly well received by fans, if a little overbooked, and would end with heel corner man Bob Orton accidentally helping Hogan get the win.
7 Saturday Night’s Main Event
The WrestleMania I main event wouldn’t be the end of the feud, however. Behind the scenes, Piper resented Mr. T for being an untrained celebrity who stepped into the ring without paying any dues. In true pro wrestling fashion, this real-life tension became a kayfabe storyline. The feud really kicked off on the fifth episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event where Mr. T took on Bob Orton in a boxing match. This led to an attack by Orton and Roddy Piper, and so the stage was set for ‘Mania.
6 WrestleMania II
While Hulk Hogan was busy with King Kong Bundy in the main event, Mr. T took on Roddy Piper in a unique solo outing: a traditional boxing match. WrestleMania II was broadcast from three different locations, and the Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper match was the main event of the New York portion of the show. The bout itself would go four rounds before Piper dispensed with the boxing and decided to bodyslam Mr. T instead, drawing a DQ.
5 WWE’s Special Enforcer
That boxing match with Roddy Piper would be Mr. T’s final match in WWE, as well as his penultimate match ever. But his relationship with WWE did not end, as Mr. T ended up working several WWE shows in 1987 as a “Special Enforcer” for main event title matches. This run is a largely obscure bit of pro wrestling history for many fans, as Mr. T served in this capacity at house shows rather than at any televised events.
4 World Class Championship Wrestling
Mr. T’s participation in pro wrestling wasn’t limited to simply WWE. In 1989, he made an appearance with now-defunct Texas promotion World Class Championship Wrestling, where he participated in a promo with Kerry Von Erich, proclaiming his intention to back up the WCCW star.
This interview was interrupted by “Gorgeous” Gary Young, who accuses Mr. T of being a fake Hollywood tough guy. Nobody took a swing at anybody, but also no actual match ensued from this encounter.
3 World Championship Wrestling
A few years after his brief appearance in WCCW, Mr. T would drop a C and show up in WCW. Hulk Hogan had debuted in World Championship Wrestling over in the summer of 1994 and immediately beat Ric Flair for the World Title, sparking a big marquee feud between the two. Naturally, Hogan’s old celebrity wrestling buddy Mr. T would come in to help the Hulkster out. In the fall, Mr. T would guest referee two Hogan matches, most notably his steel cage match against Flair at Halloween Havoc.
2 Starrcade ‘94
In November of 1994, Mr. T guest refereed the main event of Clash of the Champions XXIX wherein Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Dave Sullivan took on The Three Faces of Fear: Kevin Sullivan, Avalanche, and The Butcher. This would lead to Mr. T’s first wrestling match in eight years, as well as his last match ever: a match against Kevin Sullivan at Starrcade ‘94. The bout is a bizarre affair, with Mr. T still dressed like a referee, some stiff punches from both men, and interference from Dave Sullivan dressed as Santa Claus.
1 Hall of Fame
Mr. T’s last big appearance with WWE was in 2014 when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The official ceremony happened on the night before WrestleMania XXX, during which Mean Gene Okerlund inducted the icon. The Mr. T portion of the evening would prove pretty entertaining, as T would deliver a speech about how important his mother was to him before being interrupted onstage by Kane, reportedly because Mr. T was “running long.” Mr. T would criticize the decision on Twitter.
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