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Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time, will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next month in Philadelphia, WWE announced today.
Ali's wife Lonnie Ali will induct Ali, who passed away in 2016.
While he will forever be remembered for his success in boxing as well as his activism, Ali had lots of forays into professional wrestling, including being the outside of the ring referee in the main event of Wrestlemania 1 for Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Paul Orndorff & Roddy Piper. That appearance has been memoralized in recent years by WWE action figures and video game appearances.
An lifelong fan of professional wrestling, Ali credited Gorgeous George and Fred Blassie with inspiring his interview skills.
In 1976, Ali fought WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki in a boxer vs. wrestler bout. When the planned finish of the match, which aired across the United States via closed circuit, fell apart, they went into the match in a legitimate fight that was boring at the time but is now credited with being the first-ever MMA bout. Inoki's kicks actually greatly hurt Ali's legs, which led to him slowing down in the ring.
To help promote that bout, Ali made appearances in different pro wrestling territories to help boost interest, since Inoki was not a massive name in the United States. Ali confronted Gorilla Monsoon at a WWF show in Philadelphia, getting caught in an airplane spin in a scene that was replayed forever on WWF home video.
In the AWA, Ali defeated Kenny Jay via KO in a boxer vs. wrestler bout:
In the AWA, Ali also defeated Buddy Wolff:
Ali appeared at the 1995 WCW Halloween Havoc as well, presenting Hulk Hogan with the WCW World title belt after he defeated Ric Flair in Detroit.
Ali also made appearances for Mid-South Wrestling, where he got into it with Jake Roberts:
Ali's friendship with Antonio Inoki remained through the end of Ali's life with Ali appearing at Inoki's retirement and working with Inoki to bring the Collision in Korea event headlined by Inoki vs. Ric Flair to North Korea in 1995, which later aired on PPV via WCW.
The Muhamad Ali Museum was instituted in November 2005 in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, celebrating his life's achievement and legacy. For more, visit https://alicenter.org.
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