5 WWE announcers who had matches at WrestleMania
The biggest show in all of professional wrestling, WrestleMania, has given fans many surprises over the years. Aside from seeing the biggest names in WWE clash in history-making matches, celebrities are also recruited to ensure the show lives up to the spectacle it has promised to be.
On top of that, sometimes a member of WWE’s announce team will have a match at the Show of Shows. This is a rare occurrence, having happened only a few times in WrestleMania’s nearly 40-year history.
Here is a list of members of WWE’s announce team who had a WrestleMania match during their time as announcers. Some have even commentated on the same WrestleMania they wrestled in.
This list is in alphabetical order and does not rank the participants.
#5. Bobby Heenan wrestled twice at WrestleMania
Aside from being one of the most highly regarded managers of all time, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan capitalized on his quick wit and comedic ability and used it to join the commentary team. He began commentating in 1984, splitting his time between the headset, managing other wrestlers, and wrestling in a few matches over the years.
At WrestleMania IV, Heenan teamed up with Tama and Haku to take on The British Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware in a six-man tag team match, with his team emerging victorious. He dressed as Andre the Giant to take on The Red Rooster, his former client at the next Show of Shows but was easily defeated.
#4. WWE Hall of Famer JBL also competed at WrestleMania during his run as a commentator
JBL joined WWE in December 1995, following a stint on the independent circuit. Before that, he played football for Abilene Christian University.
He wrestled until his short-lived first retirement in 2006 which saw him become a commentator. Despite initially wrestling sporadically while on commentary, he started to get physical, attacking Superstars who inadvertently hit him during their matches such as Batista and Chris Jericho.
Chris Jericho challenged JBL, which saw Layfield return to the ring while also working as a commentator. He then feuded with Finlay a few months later and defeated him in a Belfast Brawl at WrestleMania XXIV.
#3. Prior to 2011, Jerry “The King” Lawler had done it all in the industry except compete at WrestleMania
Beginning his career in 1970, Jerry Lawler has won more titles than any other professional wrestler in the history of the business. He joined WWE in December 1992 as a wrestler until “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s departure in December 1994 moved him further into commentary.
Lawler would still wrestle occasionally and was used in short feuds against other Superstars. He was used this way until he gradually stopped wrestling on WWE television in late 2012.
He began feuding with Michael Cole after the latter interfered in his TLC match against WWE Champion The Miz in what was Lawler’s first shot at the title. Cole would repeatedly mock him on commentary and this culminated in a match between the two announcers at WrestleMania XXVII with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as a special guest referee.
#2. Michael Cole wrestled at WrestleMania XXVII
The November 29, 2010 episode of RAW saw Jerry “The King” Lawler face The Miz in a TLC match for the WWE Championship. Michael Cole would initially commentate on this match as he does on any other despite showing a little favoritism to the champion.
Late in the match, he left the commentary table to pull Lawler down the ladder as he was inches away from the title. This began a feud between the two commentators which grew personal as the weeks went by, largely due to mocking comments that Cole made to his partner.
Cole mocked Lawler’s mother who had recently died, and invited “The King’s” son Brian Lawler to “expose” him. Lawler then challenged Cole to a match at WrestleMania XXVII, which he accepted.
This was the highlight of my #Wrestlemania27 match with @MichaelCole ...loved the smile on @steveaustinBSR face! twitter.com/pj16238/status…
Lawler won the match by submission but had the decision reversed by the Anonymous RAW General Manager, who stated that special guest referee “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was a biased official.
#1. Pat McAfee fulfilled his dream at WrestleMania 38
From a young age, Pat McAfee had a goal of competing at WrestleMania. He would go on to play in the NFL and join WWE as a commentator after his retirement from football in February 2017.
He then went on to feud with Adam Cole while on the NXT brand, who he faced at NXT TakeOver XXX in a critically acclaimed match. McAfee became the leader of a stable that featured Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan, who collectively referred to themselves as The Kings of NXT.
McAfee’s group faced the Undisputed Era in a WarGames match during 2020’s NXT TakeOver: Wargames pay-per-view but were ultimately defeated in what was his last match on the brand.
He moved to SmackDown on April 16, 2021 to do commentary alongside veteran announcer Michael Cole.
Vince McMahon appeared as a guest on The Pat McAfee Show on March 3, 2022, and offered McAfee the opportunity to wrestle at WrestleMania 38. It was later revealed that his opponent would be McMahon’s protégé Austin Theory.
Theory spent the following weeks trying to provoke McAfee, slapping him on various occasions. McAfee was ordered to apologize to Theory by McMahon or risk losing his WrestleMania match and his job.
The two finally faced each other at the Show of Shows and McAfee defeated Theory after rolling him up to score a pinfall. He then challenged Vince McMahon to a match afterwards, which saw the Chairman defeat him.
THE DREAM HAS COME TRUE
#WrestleMania #WrestleMania38 https://t.co/Qkkn2hZwtB
This makes Pat McAfee, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler the only three men in WWE history to wrestle a match in the same WrestleMania they announced in.
So, what did you think of this list? Which WrestleMania announcer match was your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.