With WrestleMania this weekend, it’s time we debate which WWE wrestler who cameoed on Star Trek would win in a fight, The Rock or The Big Show!
On this week’s Frida Night Fight, we’re taking a look at pro wrestling, Star Trek and the biggest wrestling event of all time (in the United States) WrestleMania! For a period in time Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise appeared on UPN, which was also the home for the WWE’s late-week show, Smackdown. Due to both shows airing on the same network, some synergy was brought into Star Trek shows in order to pull in fans from the then-more popular WWE property in order to boost ratings for Enterprise and Voyager.
As a fan of both at the time, these were great cameos for a little ‘ol me.
First up is the lesser-known wrestler to non-wrestling fans, but still a crossover star in his own right, Paul “Big Show” Wight. Wight has been in many movies and shows from the Adam Sandler lead Water Boy, to a guest-spot in USA’s Psych. In Enterprise, Wight played an Orion slaver, who ran a processing plant for captured aliens where he had an episode-long arch with T’Pol. Of course, being bad in Trek never pays and he’s eventually dropped by T-Pol with a swift kick to the nards.
On Voyager was the more notable star from pro wrestling, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson where he played a championship pit fighter. Johnson’s character was widely promoted in the lead up to the episode, due to him being a rising star who was just before his peak in popularity in wrestling. His character faced off with Seven-of-Nine, defeating her in a fight that was broadcasted to millions of aliens who were wanting to see bloodshed. Considering the whole fight felt like an MMA bout, and considering how many in the mainstream thought MMA was “human cockfighting”, the episode feels a bit dated in hindsight. That said, it had The Rock, so who cares?
So who wins? The Rock or The Big Show?