Professional wrestlers have come a long way in terms of mainstream exposure. Once viewed with disdain from the Hollywood crowd, the combined box office success of Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista has opened doors for many sports entertainers looking to turn their in-ring popularity into A-list paychecks.
There was a time when having the “professional wrestler” title was an albatross for stars looking to crossover into mainstream territory. Those days are over thanks to the efforts of guys like Johnson, Bautista, and all those who came before them. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at 10 pro wrestlers who took their talents to Tinseltown.
10. MJF
Casual fans may not immediately recognize the name Maxwell Jacob Friedman, but the AEW star is quickly becoming the most talked about performer in professional wrestling. Known for his edgy and offensive promos, MJF has become a viral sensation for his brutal takedown of fans — and they love him for it.
Mainstream audiences could be seeing much more of him in the coming years. He will play Lance Von Erich in A24’s upcoming The Iron Claw which stars Zac Efron. The studio that established itself for groundbreaking horror has moved into dramas, and it dominated this year’s awards season. Having their backing behind The Iron Claw should immediately put the film into next year’s Oscars chatter, and it could launch MJF’s acting career.
9. Kevin Nash
Before he established himself as one of the premiere wrestlers of the 1990s, Kevin Nash used his massive frame to land film roles. Anytime a studio needs a towering figure, they call the former University of Tennessee basketball standout. In fact, you may remember him as the Super Shredder in the second live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, The Secret of the Ooze. Since then, he’s appeared without a mask opposite Thomas Jane in 2004’s The Punisher. More recently, he can be spotted in a cameo as a Russian mob enforcer in the first John Wilk film. He’s also a standout in all three Magic Mike films, showing off his impressive physique and dance moves. Nash even had the distinction of being mentioned during the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation lawsuit, so he’s clearly moving up in the acting world.
8. Mercedes Varnado
Better known to the world as Sasha Banks, Mercedes has left the world of WWE behind. Now wrestling under the name Mercedes Moné, she has taken her talents to the Far East, performing for New Japan Pro Wrestling. However, her real ambitions could be on the screen. She made an impression on Star Wars fans when she appeared in The Mandalorian’s second season in a recurring role as Koska Reeves. As the third season is underway, we are bound to see more of her in the series, and she could be involved in the much-rumored Bo-Katan Kryze spinoff show.
7. Jesse Ventura
These days, Jesse “The Body” Ventura is known for his political career more than his wrestling and acting days. However, the former governor of Minnesota and television host was one of the premiere villains of the 1970s and early ’80s wrestling scene before his in-ring career was brought to an end. During the Vietnam War, he was a Navy SEAL, and his exposure to Agent Orange damaged his lungs, thus cutting short his time in the squared circle. However, his gift of gab made him an even bigger star on the microphone as a heel announcer from the ’80s and into the ’90s.
As closely as he is tied to wrestling, it’s his role as Blaine in one of the most quotable movies ever filmed that garnered him mainstream attention. Whether it’s “I ain’t got time to bleed” or “This stuff will make you a god damned sexual tyrannosaurus…just like me,” he has some of the most memorable lines in 1987’s Predator. Considering this is the film that saw Arnold Schwarzenneger utter the classic phrase, “Get to the choppa,” that is a testament to Ventura’s delivery.
6. Andre the Giant
André René Roussimoff was the epitome of a larger-than-life character. Standing at over 7 feet tall, he was an attraction unto himself. This was particularly true in the early days of his career before the World Wrestling Federation had its national audience. Andre would travel the territorial circuit, appearing for limited times in smaller venues, which made the sight of a bona fide giant worth the price of admission.
Being a star attraction and novelty, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood came calling. His breakout role came in one of the most beloved movies of the 1980s, The Princess Bride. By this point, Andre’s in-ring career was mostly over as Roussimoff was dealing with health concerns and injuries related to his gigantism. As such, his movements in the movie are stiff, and he was in pain through much of filming. Still, his infectious personality shone through, and it broke down barriers for wrestlers moving into acting.
5. Hulk Hogan
To this day, Hulk Hogan remains the single biggest name in the history of professional wrestling and WWE’s brand of sports entertainment. He is truly the icon of icons in the business, recognized worldwide by practically every human being on the planet, wrestling fan or not. In the 1980s, his impact on pop culture built the foundation for WWE’s billion-dollar empire.
Although Hogan was already established in the wrestling world in the early ’80s, his exposure to the mainstream market was due to Sylvester Stallone, who cast Hogan as fictional wrestler Thunderlips the Ultimate Male for Rocky III. It sent the Hulkster on a path to becoming the most famous name in wrestling and sports entertainment history.
From there, he made frequent appearances alongside Mr. T in The A-Team before taking aim at lead roles in some highly questionable films. When the peak of your acting career is a toss up between No Holds Barred and Suburban Commando, it speaks volumes. Still, he deserves a spot on this list for raising the bar for a wrestling star’s impact on pop culture despite a string of awful flicks.
4. John Cena
Following in Hogan’s footsteps, John Cena became Vince McMahon’s handpicked in-ring superhero. When the WWE became a publicly traded company, the brand was watered down to be more kid-friendly after the raunchy success of the Attitude Era in the late-1990s and into the 2000s. Thus, Cena became the perfect face of the PG Era.
Like many WWE sports entertainers, Cena dabbled in acting. While he flirted with being a leading man for years, it was his turn as Peacemaker for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad that catapulted him to star of stage and screen. He followed that with an impressive performance in the HBO Max series, Peacemaker.
3. Dave Bautista
Although he may never fully escape Dwayne Johnson’s shadow, Dave Bautista is forging his own path in the world of acting. While he has played his share of goons and henchmen, he’s since stepped into more artistic roles. In fact, he’s been vocal about not wanting to follow Johnson’s example. Bautista has worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest directors, from James Gunn, Zack Snyder, and M. Night Shyamalan to Rian Johnson. Who knows? He could be the first wrestler-turned-actor to get nominated for a major acting award.
2. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
You knew Johnson would be at the top of the list, right? He’s set the standard for crossover stars, proving that a superstar wrestler can translate that charm and charisma onto movie screens. Thanks to The Rock’s transition to full-time acting, he has won over non-WWE fans and established himself atop the Hollywood mountain. That has opened the door for plenty of other wrestlers to make the journey into legitimate movie and television roles for generations to come.
1. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
He’s all out of bubblegum.
Wait. How could anyone outrank The Rock on a list of wrestlers turned actors? Johnson is the biggest box office draw in the world, a feat that no other professional wrestler can even dream of touching. Sure, his DCU behind-the-scenes fiasco and Black Adam’s failure have dimmed his star a bit, but there’s no denying the clout Johnson has in Hollywood. Why wouldn’t he rank number one?
So that someone like The Rock could rule Hollywood, Roddy Piper had to slay a few dragons of his own. Certainly, Piper didn’t have near the success on the big screen compared to Johnson, Bautista, and Cena, but he helped legitimize professional wrestlers as actors. It was John Carpenter who saw a movie star in Piper, handpicking him for his cult-classic role as Nada in They Live.
In 1988, professional wrestlers generally weren’t taken seriously as actors. It’s not to say they didn’t find plenty of success and keep a headlock on the beefy henchman parts, but casting a pro wrestler as a leading man in a major production was mostly unheard of. Piper may not have gone on to be the biggest actor in the world, but he pulled off the role, thus paving the way for the modern generation to shine in Tinseltown.