The WWE announced on Monday morning that Muhammad Ali will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
The ceremony is scheduled for April 5 during the weekend of WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
Ali died in June 2016 at the age of 74.
A sporting giant whose influence transcended the globe, Ali was the special guest referee in the main event of the first WrestleMania, a tag-tag match starring Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff.
Ali, one of the all-time great fighters, threw a right punch to Piper’s chin, one of many iconic moments the heavyweight champion created at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
That wasn’t Ali’s lone attempt into sports entertainment. In June 1976, Ali met Japanese star Antonio Inoki in the “War of the Worlds” exhibition match in Tokyo. Celebrated as a landmark event, Ali-Inoki is recognized as a prelude to the explosive growth of mixed martial arts.
Before a crowd of 32,000, Ali-Inoki was declared a 15-round draw. In addition, it was televised on closed circuit to about 33,000 fans at Shea Stadium, the then-home of the New York Mets.
All these years later, Ali will join Inoki in the WWE Hall of Fame. In 1990, Ali entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame in its debut class. He captured the heavyweight title three times, the most notable being his TKO victories over Sonny Liston in the sixth round of 1964 and George Foreman in the eighth round of 1974.
Ring Magazine’s “Fight of the Year” contests saw two unexpected wins for Ali. 1960 saw Ali win a gold medal at the Olympics.
