Arrow star Stephen Amell returned to the pro wrestling ring at tonight's All In pay-per-view event, but came up short to veteran Christopher Daniels. Over the course of wrestling history, more than one celebrity from outside the scripted sport has seen fit to try their hand at performing in the ring. As one might imagine, most of these instances have occurred in WWE, as they offer the biggest platform available in the wrestling world. Most often, these crossover competitors are pro athletes from traditional sports like football or boxing, but sometimes movie and TV stars have also stepped between the ropes.
One such actor turned wrestler is Amell, the Canadian-born star of The CW's long-running DC superhero series Arrow, lead program of the Arrowverse suite of shows. Amell is a diehard wrestling fan in real life, and successfully lobbied online for a guest appearance on WWE's Monday Night Raw, which he received in 2015. This led to an onscreen feud with WWE's Stardust, a wacky, cosmic supervillain-esque character then-portrayed by Cody Rhodes, son of legendary wrestler "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. Amell ended up having his first official match at WWE's SummerSlam show that August, teaming with high-flyer Neville to take on Rhodes and Wade Barrett.
Related: Stephen Amell Still Wants an Arrow/Supernatural Crossover
Offscreen, Amell became great friends with Rhodes, who subsequently left WWE over creative differences. Rhodes has since become a huge star on the independent wrestling scene, and is one of the lead promoters of tonight's All In pay-per-view event in Chicago. As part of the festivities, Amell was booked to have his first ever one-on-one match as a wrestler, after having competed in another tag match alongside Rhodes' Bullet Club faction at a Ring of Honor show in 2017. Amell went head to head with veteran Christopher Daniels, a multi-time champion in both ROH and Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA). Sadly, Daniels came out on top, after a nearly 12-minute contest.
In the context of professional wrestling being a scripted form of entertainment, many might wonder why those behind All In brought a recognizable celebrity like Amell in for the show, only to have him lose. That said, it all makes sense when one considers just how big a fan Amell is of wrestling, and the respect he has for its regular performers. In fact, it would not at all be surprising to learn that Amell was insistent on not being put over a man with the resume of Daniels.
While it's too soon to tell whether Rhodes and company will embark on a follow-up show to All In, considering how quickly tickets sold out for it, a sequel isn't hard to imagine. If another show happens, one assumes Amell would be up for jumping into the ring again, whether it be for singles or tag team action. For now, he'll need to concentrate on season 7 of Arrow, which premieres in October.
More: Stephen Amell is Taking A Beating Filming Arrow Season 7
Arrow season 7 premieres October 15 on The CW.
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