Unlikely Celebrity Wrestling Fans: Volume 1

    • Unlikely Celebrity Wrestling Fans: Volume 1

      Famous people love wrestling, or at least that’s what WWE would have you believe. Unfortunately, the celebs they drag out tend to be limited to Adam Sandler, Maria Menounos, ZZ Top and a mixed bag of professional athletes.

      At Wrestling On Earth, we KNOW that there are cooler celebrities out there who love themselves some top grappling action.

      Here’s our first collection of celebs who can’t get enough wrestling, but if you know of any others (and have a link to the interview or whatever that proves it!), then let us know by tweeting @TomBlackett or @WrestlingEarth.

      Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

      One of the most likeable comedy duos of the past 15 years, there were signs early on that Simon Pegg (@SimonPegg) and Nick Frost (@NickJFrost) were keen on a bit of wrestling, as seen in the sitcom they starred in, ‘Spaced’:

      However, while their fandom might have waned a little once the Attitude Era was over,  their most recent film (‘The World’s End’) is EXTREMELY satisfying for the sheer number of wrestling moves in the fight scenes, as they discuss here:

      If you haven’t seen it, you really should. Not only because it’s pretty great, but also because Frost performs a Rock Bottom, a spinebuster and an elbow drop, and all without tearing his abdomen! Clearly, should The Rock ever chooses to return to the ring, he should take a break from his epic cheat days and study Frost’s work-out technique.

      Gillian Jacobs (aka Britta from Community)

      PWG has a strange effect on people, with the ability to turn everyone into a superfan. Even celebrities aren’t immune, with Gillian Jacobs (@GillianJacobs) being the first celebrity we’ll spotlight who’s been spotted enjoying what’s probably the best wrestling on the planet in beautiful Reseda, California.

      The star of ‘Community’ is almost evangelical about PWG, openly talking about it in this podcast at about the half hour mark. Britta might be the worst, but Gillian’s the best.

      Werner Herzog

      The extremely serious (though enjoyably accented) German arthouse film director and documentary maker Werner Herzog (@WernerHerzog) seems like the least likely wrestling fan imaginable, but he’s gone on record a few times as watching it (though, adorably, he’s just like your grandmother and seems to think the name of the company is ‘Wrestlemania’):

      He tries to pass it off as something he only watches because it’s his duty to be aware of contemporary culture as an artist, but we can tell you like it, Werner! We can tell.

      Billy Corgan (of Smashing Pumpkins)

      Given that Billy Corgan (@Billy) owns his own wrestling promotion (Resistance Pro), his fandom probably doesn’t seem that unlikely to most wrestling fans. However, to a lot of ’90s alternative music aficionados, it’ll still be a surprise. Here he is chatting about wrestling:

      If you ever have a significant other who hates wrestling but loves the Smashing Pumpkins, just tell them what a fan Billy is. When they ask for proof, show them this picture of him wearing a Resistance Pro t-shirt and enjoy their horrified reaction:

      Hayley Williams (of Paramore)

      I’m not sure if CM Punk’s to blame for Hayley Williams (@yelyahwilliams) becoming a fan, but they certainly seem to be pals, as evidenced by pics of them hanging out:

      However, she’s also got some solid indy-cred, being yet ANOTHER celeb spotted at PWG! She even posted the following pic on the Paramore website:

      Sage Francis

      This one was a surprise to me – Sage Francis (@SageFrancis) is a politically-charged hip-hop artist, who doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy who’d be that interested in the antics of oily guys pretending to fight. In fact, there’s this post on his website where he seems to be pretty bewildered by an encounter with the indie wrestling scene.

      HOWEVER, he also did this Vine poking fun at CM Punk not knowing how to unzip his hoodie. Posting snarky comments about wrestlers on social media? If that’s not the sure sign of a wrestling fan, I don’t know what is!

      UPDATE: As a further confirmation of his fandom, Sage is also involved in a monthly event in Providence, RI that runs pro wrestling matches, which you should definitely check out!

      ANOTHER UPDATE: Sage Francis: Best in the World at Vines:

      Chris Bauer (aka Frank Sobotka from The Wire)

      The name Chris Bauer might not be immediately identifiable, but mention Frank Sobotka to anyone who’s seen  ‘The Wire’ and you’re pretty much guaranteed to elicit a reaction. As one of the main characters of the second season, Frank Sobotka was the guy partially responsible for a crateful of dead Russian prostitutes and… well, you’ll have to watch it to see how that all turns out. Fans of ‘The Office’ might also recognise him as a salesman who competed with Jim and Dwight in an episode in season eight.

      Despite usually playing mean jerks though, Chris Bauer seems super nice and has been spotted at a number of PWG shows. Man, these celebrities love their PWG. Either that or they’re just there for the cheap beer and Adam Cole in trunks. Anyway, here’s Chris being awesome and plugging PWG on G4TV:

      Weezer

      Okay, so, this one’s possibly more of a stretch because there’s not much online that has Weezer stating explicitly ‘yes, we are all wrestling fans’ BUT you can’t have a lyric that goes “watching Grunge leg-drop New Jack through a press table” and not have some affection for it.

      The only way to prove it is by starting an EE-CEE-DUB chant at a Weezer gig. Go on, give it a go. I bet Rivers Cuomo gives you a high-five and invites you backstage to chat about Taz’s terrible t-shirt designs.

      Anyway, that’s all for now! If you have any other fun tips on unlikely celebrity wrestling fans, let us know by tweeting @TomBlackett or @WrestlingEarth.

      – Tom Blackett is a big fan of wrestling and also celebrities. He thinks every celebrity is just the best. He also writes The Merch Table and runs the WCW Comic Book Reading Club for this very website.

 

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