Ranking our favorite athlete appearances at WrestleMania

WWE has a sublime track record of seamlessly incorporating sports figures into sports entertainment's biggest extravaganza of the year: WrestleMania.

We've seen professional athletes serve as ring announcers, special enforcers, and even perform inside the squared circle as competitors, which will be the case again this year when former MMA sensation Ronda Rousey - now a full-time WWE superstar - makes her in-ring debut in New Orleans.

Here's a look at some of our favorite athlete appearances dating all the way back to the very first WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden in 1985.

7. Rob Gronkowski, WrestleMania 33

The mammoth tight end of the New England Patriots is real-life bosom buddies with SmackDown Live's Mojo Rawley, a result of Rawley playing nose tackle at the University of Maryland with Gronkowski's two brothers.

Gronkowski admittedly was a wrestling fan as a child, but not to the degree he is now with Rawley on television. It truly made all the sense in the world to bring the two-time Super Bowl champion in for a surprise WrestleMania appearance to aid his friend in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Fuming over Jinder Mahal tossing a drink on him at ringside, Gronkowski jumped the barrier at Camping World Stadium, stepped between the ropes, got into a three-point stance, and steamrolled through Mahal with a vicious shoulder tackle.

6. Shaquille O'Neal, WrestleMania 32

This was designed to be the precursor to an eventual one-on-one battle of the giants featuring the Basketball Hall of Famer and "World's Largest Athlete." Such an encounter never materialized, unfortunately, with Shaquille O'Neal and Big Show having differing stories about why the match fell through.

We did, at least, get this mini confrontation at AT&T Stadium after Shaq emerged to the sounds of Desiigner's "Panda" as a surprise entrant in the night's Battle Royal. It was a nice callback to the time Shaq was the guest general manager on "Raw" in 2009, ending that program by knocking Big Show down to the canvas.

It's a shame we never got to see these two have their singles match. The following year's WrestleMania emanated from Orlando, which would have been a perfect backdrop for Shaq's wrasslin' debut, considering he began his NBA career playing for the Magic.

5. Lawrence Taylor, WrestleMania 11

WWE took a huge gamble betting on a non-wrestler to close WrestleMania in 1995, booking a retired NFL linebacker - albeit a massively popular one - to headline against one of the meanest dudes on the roster in Bam Bam Bigelow.

Then again, maybe it wasn't such a colossal risk. The product was arguably never as putrid as it was in '95, and garnering some positive mainstream attention by having LT compete was smart business.

The novice Taylor exceeded expectations with his in-ring work, although he was carried for the most part by the veteran Bigelow. His offense was mostly limited to stiff forearm shots and the occasional throw, but it was clear he took the match seriously, evident by him being completely blown up afterward.

4. Muhammad Ali, WrestleMania 1

It doesn't get any better than witnessing "The Greatest" of all time back in "The World's Most Famous Arena" on "The Grandest Stage of Them All."

Boxing icon Muhammad Ali was a regular tenant at MSG. Fourteen years prior to WrestleMania I, Ali lost by unanimous decision to fellow undefeated fighter Joe Frazier in what was billed as "The Fight of the Century" for the heavyweight title - arguably the biggest and most noteworthy fight of his entire career.

There was no rope-a-dope or fancy footwork from Ali when he was tasked with maintaining order as an outside official in the Hulk Hogan/Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper/Paul Orndorff main event. It didn't necessarily matter what role he had, though, because, at the end of the day, it was Ali inside a ring at MSG, and that alone made this presentation truly special.

3. Pete Rose, WrestleMania 14

Bostonians have a special connection to their local sports teams. If you're a heel (bad guy) looking to draw easy heat in the area, bashing the beloved Red Sox 15 minutes up the road from Fenway Park, like Pete Rose did at TD Garden, is a surefire way to get showered with boos.

Rose held nothing back when addressing the crowd ahead of Undertaker's match against his half-brother Kane, poking fun at Boston's inability to win a World Series at the time and the dreaded Curse of the Bambino. He was welcomed with a warm reception before grabbing the microphone, and then immediately became the most abhorred man in the building with his antics.

"The Big Red Machine" promptly shut up MLB's all-time hit king by spiking Rose on his head with a tombstone piledriver, much to the delight of those in attendance.

2. Floyd Mayweather, WrestleMania 24

Boy, did you have to suspend disbelief for this David versus Goliath exhibition. But if you managed to do that, there was a lot of fun to be had.

"Money" Mayweather was at his peak as a fighter, holding a perfect 39-0 record as the WBC welterweight champion at the time. The visual of his 5-foot-8, 150-pound frame staring up at all seven feet and 450 lbs of Big Show was fascinating. Only in this environment could such a size discrepancy not end in Mayweather getting pummeled into oblivion.

Rather than go into business for himself, which was within the realm of possibility, Mayweather stuck to the script and told an engaging story with Big Show. Like Gronkowski, Mayweather grew up watching wrestling, and after experiencing the physicality and theatrics that go into it, he can look back on his brief run with WWE fondly.

1. Mike Tyson, WrestleMania 14

It's the collaboration to end all collaborations, and the standard for which all other celebrity/athlete WrestleMania appearances will be measured against.

Over nine months had passed since Mike Tyson was disqualified for chomping the ear of Evander Holyfield in their WBA heavyweight title fight. All that controversial finish did, was paint "The Baddest Man on the Planet" as more of a loose cannon than he already was. With "Stone Cold" Steve Austin shining as an anti-authority figure, having him and Tyson clash as adversaries was the stuff dreams are made of.

From start to finish, Tyson's involvement in the Austin-Shawn Michaels program was flawless in execution. He played his role to a tee, siding with D-Generation X in the buildup and then blowing the faction off by siding with "The Rattlesnake," which he capped off by striking HBK with a knockout blow.