標籤: Celebrity

According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, ESPN personality Stephen A. There has been serious internal discussion about Smith coming to WWE.

The report adds to the ongoing conversation about TKO’s impact on WWE programming, with Meltzer stating that those who were critical of Pat McAfee’s involvement in the build-up to WrestleMania 42 are among those favorable to Smith internally.

Meltzer addressed the topic by discussing Kevin Nash’s recent comments urging TKO to stay away from WWE creative. He said that TKO’s intervention happens occasionally but its timing is bad.

Meltzer said, “They don’t really do it a lot, but from what I was told, they don’t do it a lot, but they always seem to do it at the most inopportune times.” “It happened at WrestleMania this year, it definitely happened, yes. We haven’t seen anyone put pressure on them.

“I mean, we haven’t seen anything with Stephen A. Smith — yet, boy, that name has been talked about. And I know it’s serious discussion. To put it this way, a lot of people who weren’t really happy with Pat McAfee are on Stephen A.’s side, as far as internally.”

Smith himself addressed the possibility last month, confirming that WWE President Nick Khan had spoken to him about the on-screen role. The 58-year-old said he was not interested in any physical involvement, but did not completely rule out an appearance. Given his respect for old school heel managers like Bobby Heenan, if Smith were to move forward a managerial character would be the most natural fit for him.

WWE’s relationship with ESPN has grown significantly since the two parties reached a PLE deal in September 2025, with WWE receiving prominent daytime coverage during WrestleMania week and stars such as Dannhausen and Seth Rollins making appearances on ESPN in the Backlash build. This relationship makes Smith a more natural crossover candidate than most celebrity names coming forward for WWE roles.

On this week’s SmackDown, WWE fans were treated to one of the most disappointing performances in decades. After weeks of hype about a mystery man who was pushing WWE Undisputed Title contender Randy Orton to dark places so he could win the belt at WrestleMania 42, fans of the company were disappointed to learn that that man was… Pat McAfee.

Leading up to the expected revelations, industry veterans who had unique relationships with Orton or his WrestleMania opponent, Cody Rhodes, were named in speculation about the mystery caller. Greats like Ric Flair, The Rock, “Cowboy” Bob Orton and even Shane McMahon. Instead, WWE fans got McAfee. Sometimes analyst and wrestler, who is more known for his podcast and NFL career.

The revelations led to confusion inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and online scorn. Which includes thousands more dislikes than likes on YouTube for videos at this time. What made this surprise even more strange is the reason for all this.

The popular podcaster complained about the weak product and lack of violent, adult, gritty elements of the Attitude Era and said the company needed to move on from the 46-year-old Orton because Rhodes is a poor leader, and why the product is not what it should be.

Over the past year there has been some criticism from fans regarding Rhodes, his character, and his specific role. There is a degree of truth in what McAfee said on SmackDown. However, his return highlights a much bigger problem. This is WWE and their parent company TKO’s celebrity worship on the Road to WrestleMania.

IWC case against Pat McAfee and Cody Rhodes

In 2024, there was no hotter performer in the industry than Cody Rhodes. His journey to finish the story at WrestleMania 40 took the business by storm and made the event a historic success. He filled the void left by John Cena, but not without the divisive reactions from fans.

However, “The American Nightmare” has lost popularity with some fans over the past year. They’re tired of being the mainstays in the WWE Title picture, as well as their long reigns. Furthermore, he often lacks the edge that made him a superstar in 2023 and 2024 as he looks like this generation’s version of Cena. But is it really all on Rhodes?

He’s the QB1, especially as fellow top star Roman Reigns has a part-time schedule. In the end, WWE is still a business, and he’s putting butts in seats. Despite disappointingly high ticket prices, the company is still doing well with their faces. Certainly, he has the right to have his say in his story, but the blame for the opposition put forward to the WWE Champion should be placed squarely on the head of creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque and his team. A good face needs a lot of great heels.

Rhodes chose not to face Drew McIntyre several times over the past few months. Nor did they have any say on the rest of the show or other frustrations with the product, as McAfee noted in his statement. Like the QB1 of an NFL team, he has taken the blame for concerns over which he has no control. Yet, instead of improving the product, WWE is pushing a different strategy that has gotten out of control.

Why is WWE’s celebrity worship getting out of control?

Celebrity appearances in WWE are nothing new. That crossover of stars from other industries has often been very helpful to the brand. Like Cyndi Lauper in the 1980s, Mike Tyson in the late 1990s, and Bad Bunny in recent years. Those names draw extra attention to the product and possibly new fans.

However, the company is starting to move much further towards that instead of focusing on making its content as strong as it was a few years ago. And this overindulgence may be something imposed on the decision makers by their bosses at TKO.

According to a new report, McAfee’s unexpected return to join the Orton and Rhodes storyline was pushed forward by TKO. Many believe that CEO Ari Emanuel is a big fan of McAfee and is trying to turn him into a movie star.

It was speculated in the past that TKO may also have been a driving force in The Rock making a random return at last year’s Elimination Chamber, but never returned to finish his role in John Cena’s heel turn. Similarly, hip-hop superstar Travis Scott was in that story, but turned into an unbelievable celebrity flake who made just one more appearance and then disappeared.

Recent WWE Celebrity Appearances: Jelly Roll, Lil Yachty, Cardi B, iShowspeed, Sexy Redd, Pat McAfee

Still, there are other examples of overuse by celebrities that have nothing to do with TKO. GRAMMY winner Jelly Roll appeared in five disturbing segments on SmackDown last week. Including winning over Kit Wilson in a singles match and hitting him with an RKO at the end of the broadcast.

Rapper Lil Yachty served as the guest sidekick to rising star Trick Williams on this week’s SmackDown. IShowSpeed ​​was on WWE Raw this week, accidentally helped The Vision win the tag titles, and is expected to be in a six-man tag match at WrestleMania this month.

There are also rumors that NFL legend Tom Brady could also appear at WrestleMania this year to continue a bizarre rivalry with Logan Paul. Rapper Sexy Redd will make another appearance for NXT this weekend, and Cardi B hosted SummerSlam in August. Furthermore, due to his fame outside WWE, McAfee is back again.

WWE’s over-reliance on celebrity appearances is getting out of control. And in a wonderful irony, McAfee has shed further light on – although it was not his goal – how this has become a much bigger problem than Rhodes’s. At a time when WWE has its largest roster ever, wasting TV time and valuable spots in major storylines on celebs instead of current or veteran talent is not Rhodes’ fault and is a symptom of a larger problem.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

A new report claims WWE will be inducting another celebrity into its Hall of Fame next month, but this time it’s a nice honoree.

Celebrities being involved in professional wrestling is nothing new, and over the course of its 40-plus years of existence, WWE has mastered the art of using them to benefit the company. WWE loves to include famous people from other industries in its content, seeing music stars like Cyndi Lauper in the 1980s, Lawrence Taylor in the 1990s, and more recently Bad Bunny and Jelly Roll.

They appreciate him so much that they even have a celebrity wing in their Hall of Fame. However, this has always troubled traditional wrestling fans. Especially since many of the people involved, like Drew Carey, William Shatner, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, didn’t really have any meaningful impact on the company and the industry.

Well, it looks like there will be a new celebrity inducted at the 2026 Hall of Fame ceremony. But this man actually deserves respect.

Dennis Rodman to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame

On Friday morning, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania surprisingly broke the news that Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is expected to be immortalized in the WWE HOF ahead of WrestleMania 42 next month.

For quite some time, WWE has attempted to make its Hall of Fame a true hall of fame for professional wrestling in general. They have included many industry veterans who had no major impact on the brand or who never even performed for the company. Rodman, along with Andy Kaufman, will be the second celebrity to be inducted into WWE’s HOF without appearing for the company.

As mentioned above, most celebrity inductions into the WWE HOF are watched by a select group of fans, but Rodman made a huge impact on the industry in a short period of time in the late 1990s. When WCW was hot, the NBA bad boy broke the mold of celebrity appearances by joining the villainous faction, the nWo.

It was a match made in heaven for the company and the group as it garnered massive mainstream media attention and helped elevate WCW as the top wrestling promotion in the world. Since the great forward was a top star on the Chicago Bulls, the best team in the NBA at the time.

Rodman would compete in three matches for WCW, including a highly successful crossover clash that saw him team with wrestling icon Hulk Hogan against Diamond Dallas Page and his NBA rival, Utah Jazz great Karl Malone. Of the various celebrities in the WWE HOF, Rodman arguably had the biggest impact on the industry.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

Taco Fall served up an unreal dunk highlight during the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game on Friday night.

Fall represented Team Giannis throughout the competition, with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo serving as an honorary coach. On the roster, he includes actor and comedian Keegan-Michael Key, actor Rome Flynn, Chinese actor and singer Dylan Wang, NBA insider Shams Charania, social media creator and basketball personality Jenna Bandy, Charlotte Hornets co-chairman and governor Rick Schnall, former NBA champion Jeremy Lin, rapper Glorilla, Brazilian soccer legend Cafu and Detroit Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Worked together.

Fall played three seasons in the NBA from 2019 to 2022, representing the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers over that span. He appeared in 37 career games, averaging 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest. He shot 67.3% from the field and 32% from the free-throw line.

Fall got a chance to enjoy throughout the festival. He produced several highlights in the game, including this neat reverse dunk in the first quarter.

Point guard Tacko Fall threw a reverse dunk 😮‍💨🔥

pic.twitter.com/9IDyAKbfC3

– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 14 February 2026

How Taco Fall played in the celebrity game

Taco Fall is dominated by the annual gathering of celebrities from sports, music and other forms of entertainment. He finished with a stat line of 20 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks.

Rome Flynn won the Most Valuable Player award at the 2026 Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday. He scored 17 points and added 4 assists for Team Giannis in a 65–58 win over Team Anthony.

Jeremy Lin (12 points, 15 rebounds) hit a key 8-point shot at the end of the fourth quarter, putting Team Giannis in a strong position. Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen scored a team-high 18 points for Team Anthony. Meanwhile, Adrian Nunez contributed 13 points in support.

Rome Flynn is making the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game his personal playground. For the second year in a row, the multitalented actor and musician walked off the court with the hardware, proving that his 2025 performance was no fluke. Flynn led Team Giannis to a 65-58 victory over Team Anthony on Friday night, solidifying his status as the undisputed king of the star-studded exhibition.

While the celebrity game is usually known for its viral moments and questionable jump shots, Flynn brought the legitimate game to the hardwood. He was there to surround. Flynn finished the night with a game-high 17 points, showcasing a smooth offensive performance that kept the defense on its heels. Whether he was driving to the rim or hitting a timely jumper, he served as the engine that kept Team Giannis ahead in competitive back-and-forth.

back to back!

Rome Flynn has been named NBA All-Star Celebrity Game MVP for the second consecutive year.

pic.twitter.com/3j7Sg1M6UH

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 14 February 2026

Team Anthony did not go down without a fight, keeping the score within reach until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. However, the cohesion of the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led team proved to be too much to handle down the stretch. Beyond the scoring, Flynn’s defensive energy and three steals helped spark a crucial run in the second half that ultimately decided the outcome.

Repeating as MVP is a rare feat in this format, putting Flynn in an elite category of celebrity athletes who have the skill to live up to the hype. Now with two trophies under his belt, the conversation has turned to whether or not he can keep playing, whether anyone can really stop him from a three-peat. The celebrity game is Flynn’s; Everyone else is playing for second place.

NBA All-Star Weekend begins with the Celebrity Game. giannis and taco fall playful banter exchangedWhereas Jeremy Lin was exceptional.

During the game, Lynn showed a glimpse of his greatness By converting an 8-point shot, according to ClutchPoints. Lynn was representing Team Giannis, going up against Team Anthony, coached by actor Anthony Anderson.

Team Giannis included Keegan-Michael Key, Glorilla and Shams Charania. Team Anthony included Jason Williams, Keenan Allen and Andre De Grasse.

Jeremy Lin 8-point shot 🤯👀

pic.twitter.com/Xlnp6A27P3

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 14 February 2026

Team Giannis won 65–58. Lynn is remembered For their breakout “Linsanity” season With the Knicks during the 2011–12 NBA season.

At the time, Lin was a graduate of Harvard University. Additionally, the Knicks were struggling and decided to move Lin off the bench and into the lineup. Almost overnight, his amazing performance helped push the Knicks to a seven-game winning streak.

In the process, Lynn overcame racial prejudice and became a global phenomenon. During one game he scored 38 points against Kobe Bryant. Overall, Lin played in the NBA from 2010 to 2019 and for eight teams. Lin played for the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, and Atlanta Hawks. He would average 11.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

In 2019, Lin was a part of the Toronto Raptors when they won their first NBA championship in franchise history. Last year, he officially retired from sports After 15 years, including a stint in the Taiwan Basketball League.

NBA All-Star Weekend concludes Sunday with the highly anticipated All-Star Game, which promises to be one last showdown of basketball’s brightest stars.