Before she was recognised as the biggest female MMA champion, Kayla Harrison was popular for her appearance on Impractical Jokers in 2017.
Impractical Jokers is one of truTV’s flagship shows, and one of the most popular and acclaimed comedy candid camera reality-format shows to date.
Having first aired in 2011, the series has seen multiple cameo appearances by known and, at the time, unknown personalities.
Some of the lesser-known mainstream media personalities that were featured on the series have since garnered national and international acclaim.
One such personality is undefeated pro-mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, Kayla Harrison.
She featured on the series a year before signing as a pro-MMA fighter, and due to her dominance in the industry, has continually been reminded of her stint on the series.
What is Impractical Jokers?
Impractical Jokers is truTV’s flagship series which first premiered in 2011. The series, to date, has nine seasons and counting. The incongruence in terms of the ratio of seasons to years is due to the delay caused by the pandemic.
The premise of the comedic series is, “Comedians Joe Gatto, James ‘Murr’ Murray, Brian ‘Q’ Quinn, and Sal Vulcano are real-life best friends who love challenging each other to the most outrageous dares and stunts ever caught on hidden camera.”
Moreover, for each dare that a joker fails to complete, they lose a point and at the end of each episode, has to fulfill a ‘punishment’ dare that they cannot decline.
Looking back on MMA champion, Kayla Harrison’s Impractical Jokers appearance
In 2021, Kayla Harrison was crowned the undefeated women’s MMA fighter with a record of nine wins, no defeats and seven stoppages.
She is also the title holder of the Professional Fighters League in the women’s lightweight category, for which she won $1 million dollars.
However, as news of her win and record became sport news, in entertainment news, Harrison was remembered for her cameo appearance on Impractical Jokers in 2017 in an episode titled The Party Crasher.
The premise was, “Joe, Sal, Q and Murr dodge shakedowns with the help of some strangers, then get handsy in a parking lot. A clip bait battle goes down in the park, and tonight’s loser has a run-in at a party that leaves him down for the count.”
Joe lost in the episode, and his punishment was tackling Harrison, which was wildly comical, as Joe ended up over a table and his wig came off during the multiple tackles.
Kayla Harrison on Impractical Jokers appearance
Kayla Harrison was approached to be part of the series in 2016, the year she had won the 2016 Rio Gold Olympic medal for judo.
While she garnered sporting prominence after signing as a professional MMA fighter in 2019, in a 2021 interview with The Sun about her appearance on Impractical Jokers , Harrison said, “I was so nervous. I was like sweating, and I was just nervous as no one at the party knew what was going on.”
Adding, “So I was like, ‘What’s going to happen?’ But it all turned out really well I feel like.”
Fun fact: Kayla Harrison was approached for Impractical Jokers: The Movie
In 2020, the creators of Impractical Jokers expanded the universe of the series through the release of the fictional film Impractical Jokers: The Movie.
Created by James Murray, Joe Gatto and Chris Henchy, for which the premise was, “The story of a humiliating high school mishap from 1992 that sends the Impractical Jokers on the road competing in hidden-camera challenges for the chance to turn back the clock and redeem three of the four Jokers.”
Kayla Harrison was approached to be a part of the film as a cameo; but she explained her non-appearance, stating, “It was right during my debut, or that would have been pretty cool.”
Where can I watch Impractical Jokers?
Impractical Jokers can be watched on truTV, on cable television. However, if you do not have cable, there are paid subscription video-on-demand platforms that offer the channel as an add-on.
Most of the popular streaming services offer the channel via their platforms, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or any compatible smart television.
If you are looking to watch Kayla Harrison’s first appearance on the series, the video is currently available to view on YouTube. The video has proven popular as it currently sits with over 2.8 million views.
Final thoughts
Impractical Jokers is still a popular viewing option for television viewers 11 years after the show first premiered in 2011.
The series is considered a more family-friendly version of the iconic comedy series Jackass, hence its popularity only continues to grow.
During its 11-year run, the series has featured multiple cameo appearances. One such appearance was that of MMA female pro fighter, Kayla Harrison in 2017, which was a year after she won her gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
Harrison would go on to feature again in the series and was almost a part of the film adaptation, but was unable to feature due to schedule conflicts.
