ESPN's highly acclaimed documentary-series The Last Dance has been the perfect distraction for sports fans looking for any kind of sports-related content in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The ten hour series chronicles the 1997-98 season of the Chicago Bulls, which was the final year of the team's legendary NBA dynasty led by the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and head coach Phil Jackson. But, the story of the late '90s Bulls and their success cannot be told without mentioning Dennis Rodman.

While he was originally a member of the Detroit Pistons, Chicago's arch enemy in the early '90s, Rodman eventually joined the Bulls despite being the wackiest character in all of sports. His facial piercings, constantly changing hair dye and outrageous outfits overshadowed his basketball brilliance as one of the greatest defenders and rebounders in the history of the game. It's not surprising that the most colorful character in sports fit perfectly in the professional wresting world of sports entertainment. Already viewed as a villain in basketball, Rodman embraced his heel persona in wrestling by joining the baddest heel faction of the '90s: The nWo.

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On an episode of WWE Untold, the basketball Hall of Famer opened up about growing up a huge wrestling fan watching the Von Erichs in Texas. His affiliation with the New World Order kicked off in 1997 as WCW looked to capitalize on his star power and ability to generate controversy. Rodman was a natural pick to join the heel stable because his aggressive play on the basketball court had already earned him nicknames like "The Worm" and "Rodzilla."

Being a celebrity cheerleader for the group would have been enough to draw media attention on its own, but at 1997's Bash at the Beach The Worm actually wrestled in the ring. The main event of the show was a tag team match between Rodman and "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan against Lex Luger and The Giant. The crowd went wild when Rodman gave Luger an arm drag, proving that he could actually work a match, although Luger and The Giant won after applying the Luger Rack to Hogan.

Despite the natural place Dennis Rodman had in wrestling, on WWE Untold Hulk Hogan discussed  how the rest of the WCW roster didn't like having him in the locker room. He came off as arrogant and was constantly late for workouts -- similar to how his basketball teammates described his work ethic in The Last Dance, where his inconsistency reached the point where head coach Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan allowed him to take a weekend vacation in Las Vegas to clear his head. In fact, The Worm actually skipped basketball practice to appear on WCW Nitro while the NBA Finals were going on. Rodman was simply wired differently than everyone else, but he still delivered on the court and in the ring.

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WCW getting one basketball player on its show was one thing, but lightning struck twice when it got another. Whereas Rodman partnered with the heel Hogan, the beloved Diamond Dallas Page teamed up with Utah Jazz star and NBA MVP Karl Malone to take on the villainous duo. Malone and Rodman feuding represented an ideal case of wrestling capitalizing on a real life athletic rivalry, because the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls were the two best teams in the NBA at the time, having faced each other in the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons.

Putting Rodman in the ring with a trained wrestler was one thing, but could he actually wrestle one of his NBA peers? Eric Bischoff and company rolled the dice in putting on an unprecedented tag team match at Bash at the Beach 1998 between Hogan and Rodman against Page and Malone. The Pay-Per-View was held only one month after Rodman's Bulls defeated Malone's Jazz in the NBA Finals, adding even more sizzle to the match. It was even promoted on Jay Leno's The Tonight Show.

Rodman recalls drinking all night before the match and coming to the ring hungover, feeling terrible for the match's first fifteen minutes. But for a wrestling match between two NBA players, Rodman and Malone showed they were prepared to wrestle and actually made it work. nWo member The Disciple interfered in the match to give Hogan and Rodman the victory, ending the wrestling feud between the two basketball legends.

This was arguably the last decent moment in the nWo's history before their numerous revival attempts in both WCW and WWE. The Worm himself continued to wrestle, finally getting a singles match at 1999's WCW Road Wild in a loss to 'Macho Man' Randy Savage. According to his ProfightDB page, he later lost to Curt Hennig in Australia for the I-Generation World Heavyweight title. Many wrestling promotions have tried to reach out to athletes and entertainers outside the industry in order to gain crossover appeal, but no athlete was more perfect for sports entertainment than Dennis Rodman.

The Last Dance documentary series can been seen Sunday nights at 9 PM Eastern time on ESPN.

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