Former Viking Babatunde Aiyegbusi makes a splash at WrestleMania
Peacock
He might not have been able to play guard, but former Minnesota Viking Babatunde Aiyegbusi made a big splash at WrestleMania on Sunday night.
The former Vikings offensive lineman made his presence felt as he helped Apollo Crews win the WWE Intercontinental Championship from Big E in a Nigerian Drum Fight.
The match, which was under no disqualification rules, was nearing its conclusion when Aiyegbusi ran in from the crowd to attack Big E to help Crews win the title.
Aiyegbusi signed with the Vikings in 2015 after a successful stint in the German Football League. The 6-foot-9, 350 pounder did not make the team and signed with WWE under a developmental contract in 2016.
Since then, Aiyegbusi has periodically appeared on WWE television. He participated in The Greatest Royal Rumble event in April of 2016 and made several appearances on NXT and Monday Night Raw.
Aiyegbusi's debut was part of a major Minnesota presence at WrestleMania weekend that included Gophers heavyweight Gable Steveson.
After teasing a deal with WWE on social media, Steveson appeared at ringside during NXT Takeover: Stand and Deliver. Throughout the weekend, Steveson posted pictures on his social media account with Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman and hip hop artist Bad Bunny.
Minnesota was also represented in this year's WWE Hall of Fame class. Molly Holly (real name Nora Kristina Greenwald) of White Bear Lake was inducted as part of the 2021 class after a career that spanned from 2000 to 2005.
To cap things off another former Viking in Roman Reigns (aka Joe Anoai'i) defended the WWE Universal Championship by defeating Edge and Daniel Bryan in the main event.
With several Minnesota connections, it's surprising that WWE has not booked a WrestleMania to be held at U.S. Bank Stadium. But Minneapolis will have to wait until at least 2024 as next year's event will be held at AT&T Stadium in Dallas and WrestleMania 39 will be held at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
