The Ball family had the Staples Center crowd buzzing Monday night after their unforgettable appearance with The Miz on WWE Raw, the latest instance in a long and storied history of figures from the professional sports world dusting it up in the squared circle.
The intertwining of professional athletes and professional wrestling goes back decades. Muhammad Ali's bouts with Antonio Inoki and Gorilla Monsoon, as well as his guest-refereeing of the main event at the first-ever Wrestlemania, are still some of the most talked-about moments in the sport's history. One of Ali's most legendary adversaries, Joe Frazier, gave the striped shirt a try once, officiating one of Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes' famous bouts.