Mr. T Recalls WWF Talent Being Jealous When Vince McMahon Brought Him In

With the legendary Hulk Hogan as his tag team partner, actor Mr. T (real name Laurence Tureaud) competed in and won the main event of the very first WWE WrestleMania, all the way back in 1985. During a recent appearance on the "comPODres" podcast, Tureaud reflected on the time period surrounding his stint in WWE (known at the time as WWF), and specifically discussed the reaction of some of the company's existing stars without naming any names.

"See, when I came in, at first some of the wrestlers [were] a little jealous," Tureaud said. The former "A-Team" star said that he had previously been a wrestling champion two years in a row in Chicago, Illinois, and he knew what he was doing.

"They didn't realize the business of wrestling," Tureaud continued. "Vince McMahon brought me in to elevate wrestling. ... I'm bringing light to wrestling. They didn't see that, so they [were] a little jealous at first." Tureaud also stated that the performers quickly realized that he could hold his own in the ring.

However, there were certainly wrestlers there at the time that Mr. T had no problems with, and that includes "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Tureaud called Piper "the most [awesome] wrestler there is" and compared their rivalry to that of Muhammad Ali and "Smokin'" Joe Frazier. Piper was one of Mr. T's opponents at WrestleMania I, and the two would face off again in a boxing match at the following year's WrestleMania II. Tureaud would go on to make several more appearances in professional wrestling over the years, both in WWF as well as WCW. However, it's his performances at the first two WrestleMania events that cement his wrestling legacy.