Wrestlers Who Guest Starred On Sitcoms

Professional wrestlers have been intertwined with show business for years, and this is especially true following the popularity boom of the '80s. Then-WWF owner Vincent K. McMahon wanted wrestling to become as synonymous with popular culture as possible, and wrestlers crossing over onto the big screen became a proven method for creating mainstream stars. However, an often overlooked part of wrestling's relationship with show business is the abundance of wrestlers who made appearances on the small screen, namely on sitcom television shows.

Wrestlers have a long and storied history of making memorable appearances on sitcoms. The comedic timing of some of wrestling's top stars made them natural fits for one-off appearances on some of the biggest shows on television. The first wrestling-related appearance on a sitcom can likely be traced back to "Classy" Freddie Blassie's appearance on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" back in 1962, and wrestlers have continued appearing on sitcoms well into the 21st Century.

Here are 30 examples of wrestlers appearing on sitcoms over the years.

Steve Austin's appearance on "The Bernie Mac Show" may have come a few years after he removed himself from the wrestling spotlight, but still delivered for what it was. Austin, playing himself, had a role during an episode titled, "Wrestling with a Sticky Situation" in the fifth and final season of the show. In the episode, Bernie Mac's nephew, Jordan, joined the high school wrestling team and started winning matches based solely on the other teams not having wrestlers small enough to compete against him, albeit totally unbeknownst to his father.

When Bernie Mac questioned his son's decision to put on the headgear and singlet, he solicited advice from the six-time WWE champion. The episode cuts away to Mac cutting up with Austin at several points with comedic banter laden in each cutaway. The episode ends with Jordan finally meeting his match and tasting defeat on the mats. He did receive a few pointers from Austin at the end of the episode, though, with "The Texas Rattlesnake" teaching him how to apply a chokehold (even though it's an illegal move on the amateur mats).

Shortly before his most recent departure from WWE, Chris Jericho guest starred in an episode of "The Thundermans," a Nickelodeon sitcom. The show ran for four seasons between 2013 and 2018 and followed a family, the Thundermans, who tried to cope in an average society despite having superpowers. Jericho appeared in the 19th episode of Season 3, titled "Beat the Parents." In the episode, Max Thunderman is nervous about meeting his girlfriend's parents and seeks help from his sister to win them over.

Jericho plays Gary, the stereotypically gruff and scary father of Max Thunderman's girlfriend. Jericho's character hosted the Thundermans at the grand opening of his mixed martial arts gym, but ended up kicking them out after they spoiled the event. The characters reconcile, however, at the conclusion of the 20-minute episode. Two of the show's starring actors, Kira Kosarin and Jack Griffo, praised the mullet-bearing Jericho's performance in a behind-the-scenes video uploaded to the Nickelodeon YouTube channel.

Kevin Nash has quietly cobbled together quite the acting resume for himself. "Big Sexy" has appeared in 34 different non-wrestling television and film roles over the years, most of which have been comedic. His guest spot on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" marked his first since joining WCW. Nash played a defender of the elders of Bandor in the 1997 episode "The Crucible." The episode revolves around the titular character's class taking a field trip to Salem, Massachusetts to get a feel of what the witch hysteria of the late 1600s felt like. Sabrina, played by Melissa Joan Hart, is of course a witch, and her biggest fears become reality when her class takes part in a recreation of the trials. 

Nash, who credited as "The Giant," busts out of Sabrina's closet with the intent to kill but instead leaves amicably after realizing he made a mistake. His appearance is otherwise inconsequential to the plot of the episode but did occur at a time when Nash's popularity in wrestling stood at peak levels.

Comedian Drew Carey receives his fair share of criticism for being a WWE Hall of Famer despite making just one appearance for the company at "The Royal Rumble" in 2001. However, the current host of "The Price is Right" involved WWE with his own sitcom, "The Drew Carey Show," two years before he ever stepped foot in a WWE ring. Triple H guest starred on a January 1999 episode of Carey's show titled, "Rats, Kate's Dating a Wrestler" which enabled "The Game" to channel more of his comedic side.

In a previous season of the show, Carey and his friends created a new beer, Buzz Beer, that fused the wheaty taste of beer with the caffeinated aftereffects of coffee. In "Rats, Kate's Dating a Wrestler," Carey and his friends hire The Disciplinarian (played by Triple H), a popular professional wrestler, to help endorse their beer. The Disciplinarian also starts to date Kate, Drew's friend and on-and-off romantic interest. The endorsement deal ultimately fails when The Disciplinarian stops working out and making public appearances in favor of getting drunk. As a result, his relationship with Kate also meets its end by the end of the episode. 

Acting has long been a part of The Miz WWE character. To reinforce this, the company landed the former WWE champion a guest spot on the USA Network comedy, "Psych." The show starred James Roday Rodriguez as Shawn and Dule Hill as Gus, as a crime-solving duo who relied on Shawn's exceptional recall and attention to detail (perceived by others to be "psychic" abilities) to solve cases. The Miz' only appearance on the show came during the season six episode, "Shawn and the Real Girl." He portrayed a character named Mario, a bachelor on the fictional dating game show "Paths of Love" who is also a suspect in an attack that hospitalized a fellow contestant.

Much like the WWE character who portrays him, Mario is a hothead. While he wound up being innocent in the case the episode is centered around, he did smash a vase over his head after Melinda, the bachelorette, chose Danny to receive the last "heart" instead of him. "The vase crushing against my head was my own idea," The Miz said in behind-the-scenes footage for WWE.com. "I always think that instead of a dude throwing it on the ground or throwing it against a wall, slamming it on his head is way tougher. Anyone can throw it at somebody, but anyone giving it to themselves? Dude is dominant! Dude is awesome!"

For years, it was questioned whether or not Bret "The Hitman" Hart actually guest starred on the legendary cartoon sitcom "The Simpsons," because of how little the character sounded like him. However, "The Hitman" put the rumors to bed in a 2009 interview with The AV Club. As it turns out, he was approached by the show's producers to voice a wrestling character in the Season 8 episode, "The Old Man and his Lisa" who buys Mr. Burns' mansion. He is recognized in the episode as "Hitman," but this was not originally meant to be the case. Unable to comprehend his popularity as one of the WWF's biggest stars of 1997, the producers tabbed Hart to play what he described as a "Mad Russian" character.

"I did my lines about 100 times in two minutes," Hart said. "I went outside to wait for my limo that had gone to get gas, and I signed autographs and took pictures for 45 minutes. The guy that was in charge of my episode came up to me and said, 'I had no idea you were this big of a star. If we haven't already started the artwork, we're going to draw you in as yourself.' That's why the voice doesn't really sound like me, because I thought I was playing a crazy Russian." The WWF ran with the publicity over Hart's appearance on the show and released the May 1997 edition of WWF magazine with Hart posing next to Bart Simpson on the cover.

A slew of notable WWF wrestlers appeared on a 1999 episode of "That '70s Show" appropriately titled "That Wrestling Show." The Rock took center stage in the episode, playing his legendary father, Rocky Johnson. Meanwhile, Ken Shamrock, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy all portrayed unnamed wrestlers of the era. Moreover, Ernie Ladd appeared in the episode as Rocky Johnson's manager, and "Judo" Gene Lebell, a retired wrestler and Hollywood stuntman, played the referee.

The episode's plot revolves around the gang attending a pro wrestling show where Johnson is one of the main attractions. In the episode, Johnson foreshadows what would become of "his son's" wrestling career, but the cameo is also notable for being The Rock's first appearance in film or television in a non-wrestling capacity (the first of many, to say the least). As for Shamrock, "The World's Most Dangerous Man" donned a '70s-style wig and received a few lines of his own. He confronted to show's patriarch, Red Foreman, at ringside in the middle of a match.

John Cena may be known in Hollywood circles for his role as "Peacemaker" among others, but during his full-time wrestling days, Cena became known for appearing on sitcoms as himself. One such appearance on NBC's "Parks and Recreation" saw Cena get "arrested" on the final episode of the "Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show," a fictional show within the show. According to a Fast Company article, Cena landed the role on the NBC hit show after getting to know lead actress Amy Poehler on the set of her 2015 movie, "Sisters." Cena made a comedic cameo in the movie as Pazuzu, one of the characters' drug dealers. 

For Cena, making cameos as "himself" is much easier than having to channel his actual personality in acting roles. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but there is a difference between the John Cena character you see on television and me as a human being," Cena told Fast Company. "A role like I had on Parks and Rec, to me is very easy to understand and that's something that I can do with my eyes closed. But these other projects that have come up are more challenging and in a good way."

The hit '90s ABC show "Boy Meets World" played host to a couple of memorable pro wrestling cameos during its seven-season run. The late Leon White, better known to wrestling fans as Vader, made three different appearances on the show as a fictionalized version of himself, fitting into the show as the father of the school bully. "We [had] this character of Frankie Stechino," creator Michael Jacobs told WWE.com. "We all sat around the table going, 'This guy looks like a wrestler ... this guy's father was a wrestler!' And it sparked all of our imaginations. We were talking about, 'Who does he look like?' and, 'Who does he resemble?' And we all said, 'Hero or villain?' Everybody around the table said, 'Villain!' So we hit on Vader."

The Frankie Stechino character, played by Ethan Suplee, mirrored his "father" in more ways than one. However, the show succeeded in humanizing the giant wrestler and ultimately portrayed him as a caring father who just wanted to raise his son in what he deemed to be the right way. After debuting on the show in the May 5th, 1995 episode, Vader made two more appearances on the sitcom in 1996. Jake "The Snake" Roberts and "Brother Love" Bruce Prichard also technically appeared on the show in a wrestling scene.

The other memorable wrestling cameo on "Boy Meets World" came when Mankind, Mick Foley's popular WWF character at the time, appeared on the show in its final season. In the episode, "For Love and Apartments," Mankind busts down the door to an apartment while still donning the "referee stripes" he wore at WrestleMania XV. Given the show's setting in Philadelphia, the location of WrestleMania the year the episode aired (1999), it is entirely possible Mankind appeared in Jack and Rachel's apartment immediately before or after his main event run-in.

Mankind showed up in the episode to officiate an apartment wrestling match between the show's boys (Jack and Eric) and girls (Topanga, Angela, and Rachel) with the winning team getting the apartment. Chaos swiftly ensues with Mankind even getting involved with the action himself, helping the girls ultimately win the apartment. Mankind appeared one more time at the end of the episode to take out his frustrations on the boys over the "cute guy" on a Backstreet Boys poster "staring" at him.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and John Cena are two-time WrestleMania opponents and blockbuster movie stars known for their quick wit, but also share the commonality of having made guest spots on the Disney Channel hit show, "Hannah Montana." Johnson appeared as himself in 17th episode of the show's second season in 2007. After selling the paparazzi a picture of Hannah Montana that accidentally reveals her secret identity as Miley Stewart, Miley and her friend Lilly  made a deal with the magazine to trade them an embarrassing photo of The Rock. 

As a result, Miley and Lilly found The Rock's hotel room, posing as his "complimentary mani-pedi, hair and facial specialists." The two then proceed to give the former WWE champion a makeover complete with lipstick, manicures, curlers, eye shadow, and clip-on earrings. After snapping the photo with her digital camera, Miley felt remorse for feeling she had to embarrass The Rock to correct her own mistake and apologized to "The Great One." The Rock accepted the apology and instead helped Miley and Lilly get the photo back from the paparazzi by physical means. 

Few wrestling-sitcom cameos are talked about by fans quite as much as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper's appearance on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Piper made two appearances on the FX comedy, playing a wrestler known as "Da Maniac" in the Season 5 episode "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops." In an effort to "give back" to the troops, Charlie, Mac, and Dennis decide to do their part by putting on a wrestling show, leaving plenty of comedic opportunity between Piper and the main cast. Da Maniac returned to the show in a 2013 episode revolving around a pyramid scheme Dee and Charlie get involved with.

According to a Q and A he conducted with TV Screener, Piper based the character on Mickey Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson character in "The Wrestler," which came out shortly before the episode aired. "He's a take-off of the character Mickey Rourke played in 'The Wrestler,' and putting him in a sitcom situation," Piper said. "You know, they're very kind people, the 'Sunny' cast, I'm a big fan of theirs. When they were growing up, they watched wrestling -– they were very sweet (to me)- – and when this project came about, and I heard they wanted someone to play the part of 'The Wrestler,' so to speak, it seemed like kind of a natural (thing) there, I guess."

While celebrity likenesses have usually been resigned to skits and cutaways in Seth MacFarlane animated comedies "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair voiced himself in the Season 3 opener of "The Cleveland Show." When Cleveland learns that Peter Griffin visited his new town of Stoolbend but did not visit him, Cleveland decides to bond with his new friends on a camping trip curated by "The Nature Boy" himself. "There are three things I know: wrestling, divorce, and male friendship," Flair says in the episode, appropriately titled "BFFs."

The show's literal take on "The Nature Boy" gimmick alone makes Flair's appearance on the show memorable. Flair's camping trips winds up putting Cleveland and his friends in danger, but Peter and the Evil Monkey eventually come to Cleveland's rescue after Peter feels he avoided Cleveland out of fear of his abandonment issues. Flair's episode aired on September 25, 2011, and as random as the casting may have seemed, wrestling fans should be able to take as much enjoyment in the MacFarlane-ized version of Flair as the real one for its authenticity.

With a show going by the name of "Detroiters," Kevin Nash would have to be on the shortlist of celebrity cameos the show could get, especially given his comedic tendencies. Nash is a Detroit, Michigan native through and through, and was billed from the Motor City for the majority of his in-ring career. "Detroiters" aired on Comedy Central for two seasons between 2017 and 2018. The show followed friends and next-door neighbors Sam Duvet and Tim Cramblin and their experience working as creatives at an advertising agency in town.

Nash guest starred as "Big Hank" Cramblin, Tim Cramblin's father who owned the advertising agency and had recently been dismissed from the Wayne County insane asylum, paving the way for yet another memorable Nash guest spot. "Those guys kind of let me f****** let do my own thing and let me improvise and have some fun," Nash told co-host Sean Oliver on his podcast, "Kliq THIS." "I got to do a little physical comedy. I love comedy. I think I'm the best at that, when you put me in a comedic role."

"Small Wonder" was a sitcom rooted in science fiction that aired in syndication in the United States between 1985 and 1989. The show follows the family of inventor Ted Lawson who secretly creates a robotically-engineered little girl and passes it off as the family's adopted daughter. Jesse "The Body" Ventura appeared on a Season 2 episode of the show titled "Wally the Wimp," in which he plays himself. In the episode, Ventura is invited to the Lawson house for dinner, but reveals that Ted used to tease him in college back when he went by the name "Wally."

As a result of Ted's teasing ways, "Wally" took up bodybuilding and became the pro wrestler known as "Jesse Ventura." Ventura reappeared later in the episode only to get pranked by Ted's robot daughter, Vicki, who is programmed to shock people. When Vicki performs her second prank, Ventura decided to use Ted as an involuntary volunteer to demonstrate some wrestling holds. As a peace offering, Ted decided to let Jesse in on his family secret, and in return, Ventura let Ted pin him in the living room in front of his family as a way of saving face.

Edge, one of many wrestlers who have dabbled in acting following his initial retirement from the ring, is in rarified air as a wrestler to appear on an animated sitcom. Edge plays the character "Sledge" on an episode of the second season of "Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series." In the episode titled, "Clint Eatswood," the show's characters are recruited by a Hollywood producer to star in a wrestling film. One of the characters, Julian, goes one-on-one with Sledge, who bears a striking resemblance to Edge, in the movie, before things start to take a turn for the worse.

The gang quickly learns that the movie they agreed to do is not necessarily a Hollywood blockbuster in the traditional sense, but rather a gay porn movie. Hilarity in the episode ensues, and Edge put over his involvement in the series in a post to his Twitter account. "From becoming friends with John Dunsworth on the set of 'Haven,' I met the motley crew known as @trailerparkboys," Edge wrote. "What happens when we put our odd Canuck brains together? A LOT of weirdness." 

"The Love Boat" was originally a sitcom that aired on ABC between 1977 and 1986 that followed the lives of passengers on a luxury cruise ship. The concept returned for a short two-season run between 1998 and 1999, during a time when WCW was still alive and generally well. Goldberg and Kevin Nash both starred in an episode of the reboot version of the show, with the air date of the episode being October 23, 1998 — two months before their infamous match at Starrcade 1998. Ironically, Nash and Goldberg portrayed feuding tag team partners on the show and ended up settling their differences with physical confrontation in front of the ship's passengers and crew.

As hokey as the appearance may have looked to wrestling fans, Nash is upbeat about his experience working on the show. "Robert Jurich was really kind," Nash told co-host Sean Oliver on his podcast, "Kliq THIS." "He came to me halfway through the week, and sat down and had lunch with me, and he said, 'You should really look into this. You've really got good comedic timing.' And I thought, 'wow, man, that was kind of nice.'"

Roman Reigns took his turn at appearing on a sitcom on Nickelodeon "Cousins for Life." The show, which stars "Cobra Kai" standout Dallas Dupree Young, depicts a man who moves himself and his son to Portland, Oregon to live with his brother's family after his wife is deployed on an overseas mission. In the episode "A Farewell to Arthur?," Reigns plays Rodney, a neighbor of the family, a Pomeranian dog owner, and the father of the children's friend who is upset with the family's pig, Arthur, digging around in his tomato garden.

"My character, Rodney, is not only a sweet father but he is a show dog trainer and owner," Reigns said in behind-the-scenes footage shot for WWE. "I had to come over and try to lay the law down, but it's not looking good for me. I'm outnumbered and going against a pig. I wanted to play this role because my daughter is 11 years old and I feel like half of the day I'm watching Nickelodeon anyways. I was all in and then once I told my daughter, she was like, 'daddy, you'd better do that.'"

Wrestling fans might be fascinated to find there was a sitcom that aired during the '80s wrestling boom and featured some of the sport's most recognizable faces. "Learning the Ropes" starred former Oakland Raiders defensive lineman Lyle Alzado as Robert Randall, a single father who works as a high school vice principal by day and a professional wrestler by night. The show had a working agreement with the National Wrestling Alliance, as some of the most popular non-WWF talents made appearances on the show, and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams even had a regular role, playing a character known as "The Masked Maniac." Wrestler cameos included Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Ronnie Garvin, and The Road Warriors, just to name a few.

The show's relationship with the NWA also allowed Alzado to appear on the broadcast of "Clash of Champions II" to promote the show, which aired on CTV in Canada and in syndication in the United States. The show premiered in October 1988 and ran for one season, totaling 26 episodes in all. The show is also notable for the injuries Steve Williams suffered during filming, as detailed in his book, "How Dr. Death Became Dr. Life." Williams called his pay from the show, "the most painful $2,000" he ever earned.

"Learning the Ropes" would not be the last pro-wrestling-centric sitcom to feature cameos from real-life wrestlers. "Nikki," a show that aired on the WB Network between 2000 and 2002 from the co-creator of "The Drew Carey Show," Bruce Helford. The sitcom followed the lives of Nikki White (played by Nikki Cox) and her husband Dwight, a pro wrestler. Given her husband's occupation, "Nikki" would see a handful of guest spots from wrestlers such as Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, The Fabulous Moolah and The Blue Meanie, as well as Lisa Marie Varon who later became Victoria in the WWE. WWE Celebrity Wing Hall of Famer Drew Carey even made an appearance as a business mogul who buys the wrestling promotion in the show. 

Unfortunately, "Nikki" would receive mostly mixed to negative reviews. One positive review from The Los Angeles Times mentioned that while "most of the premiere is forgettable, the second episode is wheezingly funny and the third is also a kick." "Nikki" would be canceled after two seasons with the network citing "very low ratings." Nevertheless, the Nikki Cox-led program is one that deserves to be recognized more by wrestling fans for its positive, light-hearted portrayal of pro wrestling.

Rey Mysterio's appearance on the Disney XD show, "Zeke and Luther" came in 2010 during his initial run with WWE. "Zeke and Luther" follows a pair of teenage boys in their dream of becoming world-renowned skateboarders. Mysterio plays a role in the episode, "Super Shredder," which sees Zeke and Luther help a strange man get back on the skateboard for the first time in years. The boys soon learn the man they helped is actually their favorite wrestler known as "The Death Ripper," who quits his job as a wrestler at the boys' encouragement. 

Mysterio appears later in the episode at a wrestling show, mentioning that he is "just passing through town." He meets Luther, posing as "The Death Ripper," wishes him luck and advises him to "try not to get smashed." Given his strong following among kids, Mysterio told Hollywood News he couldn't say no to the opportunity. "Lots of kids wear the mask," Mysterio said. "One of the things that fills me up with energy when I get into the ring – kids in the front row wearing a Rey Mysterio mask." "Zeke and Luther" ran for three seasons before coming to an end in 2012.

The Bushwhackers and the hit '90s sitcom "Family Matters" might seem like an odd match on paper, but the Australian tag team managed to deliver a memorable appearance on the show that sees them step into the ring with the show's most famous character, Steve Urkel. Urkel is a comedy character to the core, who became iconic for his squeaky voice, love of cheese, and scheming ways. In the episode, "Psycho Twins" in Season 5, Urkel's "snooze juice" accidentally incapacitates some pro wrestlers before a show, prompting the promoter to thrust him and Carl Winslow, the show's protagonist, into action against Luke and Butch.

"Actually, they asked Vince if they could have us because they were fans of the Bushwhackers and Urkel was a huge fan, so was the uncle," Butch said in an interview with Fightful. "So, when they heard the opportunity, that if they got a hold of the WWE and asked for us and Vince, let us go." In the episode, the Bushwhackers end up going into business for themselves on "The Psycho Twins," after learning that Carl Winslow is a cop. From there, all hell breaks loose with the crowd charging the ring and the promoter asking Steve Urkel and Carl Winslow back for more matches.

One of the first known cases of a pro wrestler appearing on a sitcom, if not the first, came when Freddie Blassie made an appearance on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" back in 1962. Blassie's appearance on the show would be short and sweet. He appeared at the end of the episode, being introduced by Sally Rogers as "the world champion heavyweight wrestler, Freddie Blassie." The episode, "The Twizzle" revolves around an eponymous dance craze that was a comedic take on the various other dance crazes sweeping the nation at the time.

The end of the episode sees Sally try to introduce another dance craze, "The Twastle," after seeing Blassie perform "his variation of it" at a show that night. Blassie then proceeds to put Van Dyke's character, Rob Petrie, on his shoulders in a fireman's carry and dance around with him as the other characters look on and the show goes to the credits. Blassie's appearance may have been a bit ahead of its time, but given the popularity of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" at the time, it is safe to say Blassie's appearance resulted in a great deal of positive publicity and exposure.

Steve Austin is not the only former WWE superstar to appear on Fox's "The Bernie Mac Show." Triple H made a guest appearance on the show in the episode, "The Big Picture," and like Austin, played himself. Much like Austin's episode, "The Big Picture" revolves around Bernie Mac's nephew Jordan, who must learn his crank phone calls have consequences beyond his wildest imagination. When flipping through his uncle's Rolodex, Jordan finds the phone number of Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, who is apparently a friend of Bernie Mac's.

Jordan ended up calling "The Game" and delivering a relatively lame prank phone call. Jordan dialed Triple H back again the next day and conversed with him for a while, until Bernie Mac jumped on the line to tell Jordan his aunt hurt his ankle and had to go to the hospital, blowing his cover. Upon finding out Bernie's nephew was the one behind the prank calls, Triple H was not happy but showed up at the Mac household at the end of the episode to surprise Jordan and help his uncle with dinner. While random, Triple H's appearance on the Fox comedy showed "The Game" still has the comedic timing that helped put him on the map as a member of D-Generation X in the late '90s.

John Cena appeared in the fourth season of "Hannah Montana," roughing up the main character Miley Stewart's brother, Jackson, in the subplot. Rather than read a book, Jackson decides to open a wrestling magazine, prompting Cena to jump off the page to teach Jackson a lesson about focus and the importance of reading. 

Cena proceeded to slam Jackson on the couch and perform signature moves such as the "Attitude Adjustment" and the "Five-Knuckle Shuffle." As it turns out, Cena's appearance on the show turned out to be a dream, but The Doctor of Thuganomics' brutal lesson still hit home for Jackson, who wakes up and opens the book like he's supposed to. One bit of trivia from Cena's appearance in the episode, "Love That Lets Go" is that Cena and Jason Earles, the actor who played Jackson on the show, are the same age. The 29-year-old Earles started playing Jackson in the hit Disney series in 2006, roughly the same time Cena established himself as a long-term main event player in the WWE as well as the company's cash cow.

It may have been merely a coincidence that King Kong Bundy shared the same last name as "Married with Children" main character Al Bundy (played by Ed O'Neil), but the coincidence led to a pair of memorable appearances for the "WrestleMania II" star in 1988 and 1995. Unlike Vader, who appeared on "Boy Meets World" three times as the same character, Bundy played different characters in each of the episodes he guest-starred in.

His first appearance on the show came in 1988 when he played "Uncle Irwin," Peggy Bundy's king-sized uncle. The episode revolves around Irwin and a slew of Peggy's other relatives visiting the Bundy household and interacting with different family members. The former WWF main eventer made his presence felt by smashing his head through the Bundy's front door, proclaiming, "we're here!" Bundy's other appearance on the show came as King Kong Bundy in the 1995 episode, "Flight of the Bumblebee." In that episode, Bud crashes a televised wrestling show to snap a picture with Bundy in order to earn initiation into NO MA'AM (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood). Dressed as a bumblebee, Bud accidentally gets himself booked in a match with Bundy and subsequently ends up in the hospital along with Al.

Billy Gunn joined Kevin Nash as pro wrestlers to have appeared on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," when he largely portrayed himself as "Mr. Ass" in the episode, "Salem's Daughter." Gunn's character, Xavier "The Avenger" Prescott bears a striking resemblance to his likeness as "Mr. Ass." In the episode, Sabrina finds herself as the maid of honor in an "Other Realm" wedding, which refers to a dimensional world for magic users that is light years away from reality. As it turns out, the father of the groom is none other than Xavier Prescott himself, and in order for the wedding to commence, Sabrina, as the only "human" in the room, must wrestle Prescott in order to complete the ceremony.

With Sabrina forced to step into the ring with Billy Gunn of all people, she succumbs to a beat down from the pro wrestler until she decides to utilize her magical powers to teleport out of reach. After multiple magical distractions and interference from Sabrina's cat, Salem, the teenage witch ends up hooking the leg to get the three count. "See, I'm not a big cat lover," Gunn said in behind-the-scenes footage. "Never have been. I'm a dog guy. So if they would have had a dog in the script it would have been a lot cooler." Gunn's appearance is notable in that he does more actual wrestling and bumping than any other wrestler to have appeared in a sitcom, making his appearance on "Sabrina" one worth watching for wrestling fans.

Chyna, real name Joanie Laurer, appeared on an episode of "3rd Rock from the Sun" titled "Little Dick went to Market" in 2000. The show starred John Lithgow in the lead role and detailed the adventures of four aliens who attempt to adjust to life on earth. In her episode, Chyna played a cop named Janice who got into an unwanted feud with Sally Solomon, one of the show's aliens. Much like Chyna, the Janice character was portrayed as largely misunderstood by those around her. "I'm sorry, it's just that everyone sees me as this tough warrior," Chyna said on the episode. "I'm a woman and I'm soft inside. No one understands."

Chyna made multiple subsequent appearances on the fifth season of the show as Janice. The Janice character would interact with more members of the cast throughout her time on the show, even sharing flirtations with French Stewart's character, Harry Solomon. 

Mick Foley made his second sitcom appearance as Mankind when he guest starred on NBC's "30 Rock" in the 2012 episode, "The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell." The episode revolves around a falling out between lead characters Liz Lemon and Jenna Maroney. Mankind fits into the episode in multiple ways. He is first seen in a movie trailer for his role in the fictional movie, "Martin Luther King Day," a spoof on the ensemble cast holiday movies being released at the time. However, while the trailer merely shows a picture of Mankind, Mankind appears again towards the end of the episode when Jenna introduces Mankind to "Knob Kardashian" and "Charlie Bit My Finger," who introduces the three of them to his friend, Mr. Socko. 

Foley spoke to AV Club ahead of his appearance on the NBC comedy. "'30 Rock' is probably my favorite show on network television," Foley said. "Judah Friedlander is a buddy of mine. Judah presented me as one of Jenna's cool new friends. I'm not only on the show, but I'm on as 1997 Mankind, and I do have a kissing scene, so it was a win-win." While brief, Foley's "30 Rock" appearance makes him one of a small handful of wrestlers to appear as a specific character on multiple sitcoms.

There might not be a better fit for a sitcom featuring former world champion Bill Goldberg than "The Goldbergs." The show, which has been airing on ABC since 2013, follows the wide-ranging stories of a Jewish-American family living in the Philadelphia suburbs in the '80s. Goldberg, the wrestler, may not be related to the family the show is based on, but found his way into the show's lore as a guest star in the aptly-named 2017 episode, "Goldberg on The Goldbergs."

Goldberg played Nick Mellor, a football coach at the fictional William Penn Academy. In the episode, Beverly Goldberg helps Nick mend his strained relationship with his brother, Rick, a recurring character on the show played by comedian Bryan Callen. Goldberg opened up about his appearance on the show in an interview with TV Insider. "Within each segment, you can find some relation to your upbringing," Goldberg said. "Whether it is being a brother, sister or any other family member. It's as if there is a part of me that I can relate to, as many other viewers can. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to be on the show."