Since its inception, WrestleMania has not only been for the superstars, but for WWE to break into the pop culture stratosphere. WWE takes advantage of the venue’s location, using figures that can draw a reaction and garner mainstream headlines.
So with WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, it only makes sense for WWE to use people who identify with the City of Brotherly Love. And especially at Lincoln Financial Field, one figures sports players will come into play.
During the Rey Mysterio and Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar match, two men in green masks entered from the crowd to stop Dominik from using a steel chair. They threw him into the ring and cheered on the babyfaces, with Rey hitting a 619 to defeat his son for the second consecutive year at WrestleMania.
After the match, the two men removed their masks to reveal themselves as Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson and the recently retired Jason Kelce, who played for the team for his entire career.
PHILLY STRONG.@JasonKelce & @LaneJohnson65 just destroyed @DomMysterio35 at #WrestleMania XL! pic.twitter.com/k2xZdODDHA
— WWE (@WWE) April 7, 2024
It was hardly the first time WWE used football players at WrestleMania, with Lawrence Taylor notably main-eventing WrestleMania 11 with Bam Bam Bigelow, and, for a more recent example, Rob Gronkowski appearing at WrestleMania 33 and 36.
Kelce and Johnson created another pop culture-inspired WrestleMania moment that gave this tag match some extra sizzle. While neither man got too physical, it still drew a nice reaction from the crowd in the stadium they play football in. That’s about all WWE can ask for.
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