Professional wrestling combines elements of storytelling with choreographed wrestling matches. It’s essentially a soap opera, but with people getting beat up with steel chairs and trash can lids. The results are predetermined, and superstars deliberately play a “heel” or “face” role and do promos to hype fans for upcoming matches, especially pay-per-views. WWE Superstars, in particular, combine acting and athletics to create great content loved by generations of fans who go all out back to the 60s.
Some of the more prolific WWE superstars have achieved huge success as movie actors in Hollywood, as outlined by GQ. It is logical; if someone can captivate an entire live audience and millions of people worldwide every week, it seems feasible that they would have success starring in a movie or TV show. However, time has taught us that this is not always the case. Some of the most popular WWE superstars of all time such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H, The Big Show and others got their chances on the big screen but fell flat in the most horrific ways. That said, here are some WWE superstars who have maneuvered successful careers as movie stars .
4/4 Ronda Rousey
The term “success” in Hollywood can have a broad definition. While Ronda Rousey is certainly not elevated to the success of the other members of this list in Tinsel Town, at least not yet, she has had several on-screen appearances in big budget franchises such as the Fast and furious franchise (which happens to include three of the four members of this list). It’s interesting to note that Rousey appeared at WrestleMania 31 alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for a tag team match leading up to the release of fast 7, in which the pair defeated the snot of WWE Legend Triple H and his wife Stephanie McMahon. The show was fun, provided a unique “WrestleMania moment” and is just one of many times WWE has brought Hollywood celebrities, MMA fighters, boxers and even sumo wrestlers to the “Grandest Stage in sports entertainment.”
3/4 Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista (known in WWE as “Batista, The Animal), had his breakthrough role in Guardians of the Universe, where he took on the role of Drax the Destroyer. Batista would go back and forth from heel to face in his career in World Wrestling Entertainment. He could get a crowd excited, cheer them up, and make them boo. It wasn’t until the later stages of Bautista’s WWE career that he started to get more comical – unlike the serious, aggressive, no-nonsense badass he’d portrayed early in his career and in his prime.
Bautista teamed up with WWE legends Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton. They formed the group known as Evolution. With Flair for the past, Triple H for the present, and young men Batista and Randy Orton (known for his signature move, the RKO) were WWE’s future. This proved to be true, as both men became multiple world champions and guaranteed candidates for the WWE Hall of Fame.
Batista officially retired from WWE in 2019 after a brief return in 2014, during which he reformed Evolution for a few months, then returned to Hollywood to make another appearance in 2018, ending his career in 2019. Bautista is a main antagonist in the blockbuster Dune, and he will reprise his role as Drax for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
2/4 John Cena
Since he started his career as a ‘gangsta rapper’ with his trademark ‘You Can’t See Me’, John Cena is best known today for his role as Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad and the subsequent HBO Max peacekeeper series. He has also appeared in the Fast & Furious franchise, and like The Rock, Cena can make a promo like it’s nobody’s business.
Cena quickly rose through the ranks of WWE due to his massive fan appeal when he had the mic (not to mention the performance he was able to deliver in the ring). With his ability to “freestyle” with rapping, prank his opponents and signature catchphrases, Cena went from a nobody to a title contender in just a few years. Cena was absolutely adored by the public until 2006 when the “Cena fatigue” kicked in.
Unlike most WWE superstars, Cena never flipped a heel. He was always portrayed as the good man. He was the Superman of the WWE, always coming in to save the day and usually coming in with a win coming from behind. And as the WWE transitioned from the “Relentless Aggression Era” to the “PG Era,” the WWE forced Cena to change the name of its signature move and make some other adjustments that retain much of the appeal of its early years. took away. This led to a divided audience. On any given night, when Cena was in the ring, you could rely on half the crowd chanting for Cena and half the crowd chanting “Cena Sucks.”
1/4 Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
And last, but certainly not least, the man who paved the way for others like Cena and Bautista to become a superstar outside the square circle, the man of many names: “The Most Electrifying Man In Sports and in Entertainment”, “The Great One”, “The Bramma Bull”, “The Champion of the People”, – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Rock is widely regarded as one of, if not the most talented WWE performers to ever step into the ring. Not only because of his incredible athleticism and agility in the ring, but also and perhaps just as importantly because of the way he was able to make a promo. The Rock at its peak, always had the audience in the palm of his hand, able to generate the crowd’s most exciting reactions, the cheers, the hulking pop when his music hits, and you can’t forget his iconic one-liners like “Bring it along” and “If you smell what the Rock…is cooking?”
Johnson is a true Hollywood A-lister. He has starred in multiple big budget movies and franchises such as The Fast & Furious Saga, Jungle Cruise, Jumanji, and many movies ranging in tone from action/adventure to comedy, as well as some dramatic roles. Johnson is currently starring in his most prominent role to date, landing the role of Black Adam in the film adaptation of the DC antihero.
Johnson has always been loyal to WWE fans, saying he wouldn’t have the success he has today without the support of The Rock’s millions (and millions) of fans across the WWE universe. The Rock has retired and made several appearances in WWE history, including returning to take on the man below him on this list, John Cena, at WrestleMania, the largest annual pay-per-view event. WWE event. The match was so hyped and the event performed so well that they did the same at the following year’s WrestleMania. Even though he’s getting older and can’t be as physically active in the ring, the Rock can still go out and do a promo with the best of them.