Since the days of Andy Kaufman giving Jerry “The King” Lawler grief in the 1980s, it’s not been uncommon to see celebrities get involved in pro wrestling, going as far as competing in matches. Joining celebs turned in-ring performers like Lawrence Taylor, Stephen Amell, and Bad Bunny is Logan Paul, who’s become an increasingly important character on WWE television as 2022 has gone on.
At 27 years old, Paul is certainly an accomplished figure in pop culture, but there are likely some fans who don’t know much about him. Let’s take a look at Logan Paul’s career thus far, from his online origins to his ventures into combat sports.
10 Got Famous On YouTube
Older fans may be wondering just what Logan Paul did to get famous, and that answer is “YouTube.” Growing up in Ohio, Paul started producing videos on YouTube at a very young age, even as he got into playing football in high school.
By the time he got into college in the early 2010s, Paul started gaining followers on the sadly now-defunct social media app Vine, and reposting his Vine shenanigans on YouTube made him so popular that he decided to quit school and focus on his online output, earning tons of ad revenue in the process.
9 A Controversial YouTuber
While Logan Paul was undeniably one of YouTube’s biggest stars, he was also no stranger to controversy during his time uploading videos to the platform. In addition to his infamous Suicide Forest video (see below), he’s also been heavily criticized for vlogs where he committed acts like pulling a fish out of his pond and pretending to give it CPR and using a taser on some dead rats.
His controversies haven’t been limited to his vlogs, either — he also put out a music video for a song called No Handlebars, with sexually objectifying lyrics and an equally objectifying music video.
8 Befriended The Rock
In early 2017, Logan Paul was not only able to meet one of his heroes, eight-time WWE Champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but also shoot some videos with the global movie star. The co-sign was strong, as The Rock posted a comedy video of the two on his own YouTube channel called “Logan Paul Has Been Cut from, Like, All of the Rock's Movies.”
Rocky also appeared in some videos on Logan Paul’s YouTube channel as well, with titles like “I SNUCK ON SET!” and “I GOT PUNCHED!”
7 The Suicide Forest Controversy
On the very last day of 2017, however, Logan Paul would make mainstream news headlines for his work, but not in a good way. While shooting videos in Japan, Paul and his crew ventured Aokigahara forest near Mount Fuji, often referred to as the “Suicide Forest” because it has a reputation for being a place where people go to commit suicide.
In this particular video, Paul and his friends end up coming across a legitimate dead body, and the ensuing backlash included calls and petitions for Logan Paul to be banned from YouTube.
6 Lost His Friendship With The Rock
Uploading the Aokigahara video came with various professional consequences for Logan Paul such as productions stalling or otherwise removing themselves, but one of the most high-profile results was the end of his aforementioned friendship with the Rock. Paul found out through their shared publicist, who relayed a message that the Rock wanted nothing to do with the YouTube celebrity.
Moreover, the Rock wanted Paul to delete any public document of their relationship, including not only the videos they shot, but also any photos of them together on social media, which Logan Paul agreed to do.
5 Pursued Professional Boxing
The late 2010s saw Logan Paul venture into the world of boxing, first by taking on another popular YouTuber, KSI, in a February 2018 amateur match, which ended in a draw. In September 2019, the two had a rematch as professional boxers, which KSI won by split decision.
In June 2021, Logan Paul had his biggest and most high-profile boxing match yet, taking on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition match and going the full eight rounds with the legend, an impressive feat that WWE star Sami Zayn took credit for.
4 Appeared In WWE In 2021
Before his Mayweather match, however, Logan Paul made his first appearance on WWE television as part of Sami Zayn’s attempts to document the injustices perpetrated against him. Zayn invited Paul to the premiere of his documentary, and brought the YouTube star to his match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 37.
Owens would defeat Zayn at ‘Mania and take out Logan Paul with a Stunner, but Paul would return to WWE in early September to stage an attack on Owens alongside Happy Corbin.
3 Debuted At WrestleMania 38
A year after his WrestleMania 37 appearance, Logan Paul would step into a WWE ring at the subsequent WrestleMania 38, making his in-ring debut as a heel teaming with the Miz in a tag match against Rey and Dominik Mysterio.
Paul acquitted himself well as a performer, putting himself in the upper echelon of celebrities turned wrestlers as the two defeated the Mysterios. However, in the post-match, the Miz would attack his own tag team partner, essentially turning Logan Paul face.
2 Signed To WWE In 2022
WrestleMania 38 wasn’t the last time fans would see Logan Paul as a character in WWE. In June 2022, WWE announced that Logan Paul had officially signed a multi-year deal with the company, and the reported reason for his signing has been attributed to Kevin O’Leary, one of the investors on the TV show Shark Tank.
In an interview on Paul’s podcast, Impaulsive, Paul talked about wanting to get out of boxing into something “safer,” like pro wrestling, and O’Leary questioned why he would sacrifice his health to compete in boxing, which may have influenced his decision.
1 Challenged Roman Reigns
In September 2022, Logan Paul dropped a new episode of his podcast Impaulsive, in which he interviewed fellow WWE star Roman Reigns. Days later, on the 9/16/2022 episode of SmackDown, Logan Paul showed up to invite Reigns to a press conference in Vegas the next day.
There, Paul issued a challenge to Roman Reigns for his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, which was then announced would happen at the Saudi Arabia show Crown Jewel in early November.