Dennis Rodman is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
The Worm is also a slam dunk for the Mount Rushmore of Las Vegas Partiers, based on his infamous run in the city during the 1998 NBA Finals. This is when Michael Jordan ran a reconnaissance mission to pull Rodman from a resort suite so he could take a private jet back to Salt Lake City in time for Game 2 of the series against the Utah Jazz (a 93-88 Bulls\u2019 victory).<\/p>\n
We recall this misadventure as Rodman joins Stephanie McMahon, AJ Styles, Demolition, Sid Eudy and Bad News Brown as 2026 WWE Hall of Famers. Friday night\u2019s ceremony is set for Dolby Live at Park MGM (tickets available at ticketmaster.com and AXS.com).<\/p>\n
Rodman\u2019s antics in Las Vegas are the spine of the in-development Lionsgate comedy\/drama \u201c48 Hours in Vegas,\u201d with LaKeith Stanfield starring in the lead role. Announced in August 2021,<\/a> the film is reportedly moving to release this year, after a few hiccups.<\/p>\n Lord Miller for Lionsgate has signed on as producer. The film is based on a screenplay by Jordan VanDina (\u201cThe Binge\u201d on Hulu). Rodman, an expert on the source material, is an executive producer.<\/p>\n The movie takes audiences through two days of madcap misadventures during what locals termed \u201cThe Rodman World Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n As we chronicled during the Jordan documentary \u201cThe Last Dance\u201d in April 2020<\/a>, Rodman received permission from Bulls coach Phil Jackson for a quick trip to Vegas during the \u201998 finals.<\/p>\n Rodman had spent much of the season as Michael Jordan\u2019s sidekick because the Bulls\u2019 No. 2 star, Scottie Pippen, who typically held that role, was sidelined with a foot injury.<\/p>\n In Pippen\u2019s place, Rodman had been a \u201cmodel citizen,\u201d Jordan says in the documentary, and was going \u201c(f\u2014\u2014-g) insane\u201d behaving himself until Pippen returned in January 1998.<\/p>\n Rodman finally asked Jackson for some time off to \u201clet loose.\u201d Jackson offered 48 hours. Jordan informed his coach, \u201cPhil, you let this dude take a vacation, we\u2019re not going to see him. If you let him go to Vegas, we\u2019re definitely not gonna see him.\u201d<\/p>\n The clock ticking toward Game 2 and Rodman nowhere to be found, Jordan flew to Vegas to retrieve the wayward power forward.<\/p>\n \u201cHe did not come back on time,\u201d Jordan says in the doc. \u201cWe had to go get his ass out of bed, and I\u2019m not going to say what\u2019s in his bed, where he was, blah, blah, blah.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan showed up, banging on the door of Rodman\u2019s suite. Rodman was with then-girlfriend and future wife Carmen Electra, who hid behind a couch and under a blanket so Jordan wouldn\u2019t find her.<\/p>\n Rodman and Electra were married in November 1998 at Little Chapel of the Flowers.<\/p>\n \u201cDennis came back and joined the team, and that\u2019s the way it went that year,\u201d Jackson says in the episode.<\/p>\n Worth noting, this all happened a few years before \u201cWhat Happens Here, Stays Here\u201d became the city\u2019s slogan.<\/p>\n Rodman\u2019s history with pro wrestling is also as colorful as his dyed hair.<\/p>\n The five-time NBA champ with the Pistons and Bulls joined the New World Order in WCW in 1997. Under the moniker Rodzilla, the 6-foot, 7-inch power forward teamed with Hulk Hogan to face Lex Luger and The Giant in the main event of WCW Bash at the Beach.<\/p>\n Following Chicago\u2019s win over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals, Rodman famously missed a Bulls practice to appear on WCW Monday Nitro in Detroit, where he and Hulk Hogan jumped Diamond Dallas Page.<\/p>\n Rodman again teamed with Hogan to face on-court rival Karl Malone and DDP at WCW Bash at the Beach 1998. Rodzilla also faced the legendary \u201cMacho Man\u201d Randy Savage at WCW Road Wild in 1999.<\/p>\n As Rodzilla, the NBA legend was a showman and lightning rod(man) for attention. But he was a force in the ring. Diamond Dallas Page once said that Rodman was \u201cas strong as anyone that ever grabbed me.\u201d<\/p>\n John Katsilometes\u2019 column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com\/podcasts<\/a>. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com.<\/a> Follow @johnnykats<\/a> on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n \t\t\t