Celebrity involvement in wrestling is nothing new and there’s been dozens of rock stars who’ve shown up at WWE events. During his career, Bret Hart was shocked to meet Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar, until he, and the rest of those inside Madison Square Garden, learned that things aren’t always what they seem.
In a recent interview with Dark Side of the Ring, Hart recalled speaking with the man who introduced himself as Hagar, shortly after the real Hagar had taken over from David Lee Roth in Van Halen. When the pair arrived via limousine to a WWE event, suspicions quickly arose.
“Jim [Neidhart] kept going ‘That’s not Sammy Hagar.’ Why wouldn’t it be Sammy Hagar? ‘That’s Not Sammy Hagar.'”
After ‘Hagar’ snorted some cocaine, Neidhart was convinced that this poser was the genuine article. It was only during the show that the truth came out thanks to a very real special guest in attendance.
“The baseball player with the Yankees. He goes ‘I know Sammy Hager. You’re not Sammy Hager.’ And he walked right out.”
Bret recalled managment being furious, asking who claimed that this individual was the real Sammy Hagar. A sheepish Bret recalled telling Adrian Adonis and others that he was with Hagar, blissfully unaware that this was not the real rock star.
To this day, WWE uses celebrity involvement with actors and musicians often being spotted in the crowd at events. After Bret’s unfortunate incident though, WWE no doubt makes sure to double check that the celebrity their bringing in is the genuine article.
