Bad Bunny and Logan Paul: Two very different WrestleMania appearances

When wrestling fans hear the phrase “celebrity appearance,” their hearts tend to sink into their guts.

That was certainly the case when both Bad Bunny and Logan Paul were both announced to be part of WrestleMania 37. These men were non-wrestlers entertainers who were going to be involved in matches in some capacity.

Logan Paul’s appearance was in line with what fans had come to expect. But Bad Bunny came out of left field, wrestling a legit match that stunned fans and pros alike. In the end, WrestleMania 37 was the tale of two WrestleMania appearances that couldn’t have been more different.

Who are Bad Bunny and Logan Paul?

Logan Paul is one of those names that a lot of people know, but a significant percentage of them don’t know why. He was extremely popular on Vine before the social media app was shuttered a few years ago. Paul moved his talents to YouTube where is popularity skyrocketed.

He has done well for himself as an all around internet personality, particularly as a podcaster. Paul has also made forays into the worlds of acting and boxing, the latter of which likely being a big part of the reason he caught the WWE’s attention.

Bad Bunny’s success came in a very different medium. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny built a career as a songwriter, singer and rapper. Some of his first major wins came working with artists like Cardi B and Drake.

From there, he became a worldwide success with several major hits and albums. On top of that, Bad Bunny has been nominated for and has won dozens of awards. He’s often referred to as the world’s biggest pop star. But he’s also a lifelong fan of pro wrestling, particularly WWE.

Celebrities in the ring

Wrestling is often referred to as sports entertainment, particularly by Vince McMahon. It’s actually a fairy apt name. While it’s definitely a sport, it’s also as much about entertainment. Pro wrestlers have to be athletes, actors and more to be successful.

But the entertainment component tends to draw in a lot of celebrities, most of whom don’t really understand the athletic aspects. There are a select few like Jon Stewart, Snoop Dogg and Shaq who actually seem to put some effort into their appearances. They care about wrestling.

Others, not so much. WWE in particular has a long history of bringing in random celebrities in the hopes that they’ll pop the ratings. And sometimes they do. But those appearances often come across as disingenuous and as distractions from legit in ring performers.

Fans can see that coming a mile away, and have been largely conditioned by WWE to expect blah performances from celebrities who step into the ring. That’s a big part of the reason why both Logan Paul and Bad Bunny were met with such tepid responses.

Bad Bunny and Logan Paul at WrestleMania 37

In the case of Logan Paul, fans were right. He popped up a couple of weeks before the event. His only substantive contribution was getting stunned by Kevin Owens, which got a lot of cheers from the fans. He didn’t need to be part of the angle with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at all

What no one saw coming was Bad Bunny. Unlike Paul, Bad Bunny had been involved in his angle with Damian Priest, The Miz and John Morrison for several weeks leading up to WrestleMania 37. He might not have wrestled, but at least he was a factor.

It was supposed to be a tag team match but it became a singles match when Priest and Morrison were injured. Both men were cleared at the last minute, allowing the tag team concept to be resurrected for their WrestleMania bout.

Fans expected that Damian Priest was going to wrestle the bulk of the match, which is usually how these celebrity tag matches go. Instead, Bad Bunny started the bout and wrestled at least 80% of it. Even more important, he did an incredible job.

Bad Bunny is a musician/wrestler, now

Reputedly, Adam Pearce and Drew Gulak took the lead on training Bad Bunny, and it showed. The man obviously put the work in. Some credit has to also be given to Priest, Miz and Morrison. They are ring veterans, and helped the rookie through his first full match

But credit has to be given when and where it is deserved. Bad Bunny showed respect to the business by putting on what was easily the best in ring performance by a celebrity ever. Just the fact that he wiped his feet before stepping through the ropes showed that he had respect.

The difference between Bad Bunny and Logan Paul at WrestleMania 37 could not be more stark. At this point, fans would love to see Bad Bunny wrestle again while they would rather forget that Logan Paul was ever there.

Bad Bunny set a high bar for any other celebrity who decides to step through those ropes in the future. And he will be a hard act to follow. Unfortunately for Logan Paul, he was the first celebrity to do just that and he certainly did not measure up.