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Mike Coppinger, ESPN
Muhammad Ali will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024, the promotion announced Monday morning.
The ceremony will take place on April 5th during WrestleMania 40 weekend in Philadelphia.
Ali passed away in June 2016 at the age of 74.
An influential sports icon around the world, Ali was the special guest in the main event of the first WrestleMania, a tag team match between Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul. served as a referee. Orndorff.
Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time, landed a right hand on Piper's jaw, one of many memorable moments the heavyweight champion produced at New York's Madison Square Garden.
This wasn't Ali's only foray into sports entertainment. In June 1976, Ali faced Japanese legend Antonio Inoki in a “War of the Worlds” exhibition match in Tokyo.
Ali and Inoki was a seminal event that is still celebrated today. Mixed rules matches are believed to be a precursor to MMA's explosion. In front of a crowd of 32,000, Ali vs. Inoki was ruled a 15-round draw. The event was broadcast privately to approximately 33,000 people at Shea Stadium, the home of the New York Mets at the time.
Many years later, Ali would be inducted into Inoki's WWE Hall of Fame. In 1990, Ali was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the debut class. He won the heavyweight championship three times, most notably a 6th round TKO victory over Sonny Liston in 1964 and an 8th round KO victory over George Foreman in 1974.
Both bouts were named “Fights of the Year” by Ring Magazine, with Ali winning in upsets. Ali won a gold medal at the Olympics in 1960.
