Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is among the many celebrities who have participated in WWE’s WrestleMania in some capacity, whether for a guest appearance or an actual match.
Other celebrities who have appeared at Mania are Kim Kardashian, Maria Menounos, Donald Trump, Logan Paul, Bad Bunny, and Snoop Dogg. Some have even gone on to become WWE Hall of Famers.
Snooki actually got into the ring for a WrestleMania match in 2011, participating in a six-person tag team match featuring WWE stars Dolph Ziggler and Trish Stratus, among others.
At the time, she was 23, and MTV had just finished airing Season 3 of the hit show Jersey Shore.
With most celebrities that get involved in WWE, there tends to be either a serious effort, or they’re just making the appearance to promote a show, book, or product, and then get out of there.
Ziggler recently spoke about “very low” expectations for the Jersey Shore star before the match and shared his thoughts about how she did at WrestleMania.
Dolph Ziggler talks about Snooki’s performance at WrestleMania
Snooki famously participated in WWE’s WrestleMania XXVII in April 2011, and according to several WWE stars, the company wasn’t expecting too much from her in their match.
She appeared on WWE Raw ahead of that, setting up an angle involving Dolph Ziggler, Michelle McCool, and Layla, which brought John Morrison and Trish Stratus into the ring. A match was set up from there.
During a recent Not Sam interview, host Sam Roberts joked about how Ziggler famously lost a match to a team Snooki was on.
“Superman does good. She did great,” Ziggler joked before saying, “I’m kidding.”
Former WWE star Sean “X-Pac” Waltman was also there for the interview and mentioned he was “surprised” by how she did as “there wasn’t high expectations.”
“Expectations were very low. She did fantastic,” Ziggler said, adding, “I was blown away…sometimes celebrities come and promote something on Raw, and it’s like they’re going through the motions, and they don’t care.”
Ziggler brought up how some celebrities really commit to what they’re doing when they work with WWE, such as Hugh Jackman, who wanted to throw a real punch at Ziggler.
“It’s Snooki. She has like a reputation for being like she doesn’t give a s**t. She’s here to get paid. Whatever. She busted her a**. She did great.”
Ziggler then said one of his favorite parts of the standup comedy show he does now is introducing himself by listing off his career accolades in WWE.
“I’m like, ‘Tag team champion. Intercontinental Champion. United States Champion. World Heavyweight Champion. Went to WrestleMania. Lost to f***ing Snooki. That pretty much sums up my career,'” Ziggler said.
Snooki’s team picked up the win at WrestleMania in a match that lasted three minutes and appeared before the main event. While Ziggler said she did “fantastic,” the Jersey Shore star had a different opinion of her performance.
Snooki’s Jersey Shore lifestyle had her nervous about WrestleMania
During an interview six years ago, Snooki spoke about being “really nervous” to get in the ring at WWE’s WrestleMania due to her nonchalant attitude toward her diet after previously being athletic in school.
She said she was previously “so athletic and fit” but paid less attention to her diet and health once she started doing Jersey Shore star on MTV.
“I was like, ‘I don’t care. I’m gonna drink and eat McDonald’s every night.’ So I gained the pounds, and I was probably 30 pounds overweight when I did WrestleMania, so I was like, ‘I’m really nervous because I don’t know if I can be athletic like I used to,'” she admitted.
Snooki said once WWE asked her to participate, she was “intrigued” and agreed to it. She mentioned they only rehearsed for one hour, and she picked things up quickly due to being a “cheerleader and gymnast” previously.
While her JS friend and co-star Jenni “JWoww” Farley said Snooki “owned it” during Mania, Snooki said she “winged it.”
She said they initially prepared “like a two-minute” routine planned for the match but had to cut things down to just 30 seconds.
“It was gonna be bomb,” Snooki said, mentioning in the interview that she would’ve liked to return for another WWE match.
“I want to go back because, at the time, I was 30 pounds overweight. Now I’m the fittest I’ve ever been. So if I go back, I’m gonna kick a**,” she said, adding, “I’m begging WWE to see, ‘Can we do another rematch?’ because I’ll really kick some a**.”
Her performance impressed WWE enough that she won an award. Months after her WrestleMania match, Snooki won WWE A-lister of the Year at the WWE’s Slammy Awards, defeating actor Hugh Jackman, singer Cee Lo Green, and The Muppets.
It’s over a decade since that match, and Snooki hasn’t returned for any matches. She’s enjoying her time spent with her husband and three kids as Jersey Shore: Family Vacation continues with a seventh season on MTV.
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation Season 7 premiere is TBA for MTV.