Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film

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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film
intro
This month sees the global release of Fighting With My Family, produced by wrestling-legend-turned-movie-star Dwayne Johnson and telling the true story of former WWE star Paige. The worlds of wrestling and movies have often intertwined, but how have the greatest grapplers of all time fared in Hollywood? We take a look.

By Victoria Luxford

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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
The Rock
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – From the biggest wrestler in the world to the biggest movie star, The Rock left full-time wrestling in 2001 to pursue his Hollywood dream, and boy did it come true. Fast & Furious, Jumanji, Central Intelligence, Moana… his many many box office hits have put him at the top of the Hollywood tree, with Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw out this year, and a Jumanji sequel on the way. He’s so popular, many have called for him to run for president!

1/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Miz
The Miz – WWE’s consummate villain, The Miz’s in-ring personality is that of an egotistical movie star, so it makes sense that he should make regular appearances for WWE Studios, the wrestling company’s production offshoot. His starring roles in the 4th-6th Marine films (a franchise started by John Cena) aren’t exactly memorable, however, with the star finding more success with his own reality TV show, Miz and Mrs.

2/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
André
André The Giant – The 2.1-metre, 225-kilo Frenchman became the ultimate attraction during his wrestling career, but also proved a lure for TV and film, earning sporadic roles that played on his size. His most famous is that of kind-hearted adventurer Fezzik in The Princess Bride, displaying considerable on-screen charm despite his condition, a rare form of gigantism that left him quite weak during filming.

3/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan – A pop culture icon in the ’80s, Hulk Hogan remains the most famous wrestler of all time. He made a bid for Hollywood in the early ’90s with films like No Holds Barred, Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny. All three films were fairly terrible, and Hogan failed to translate his in-ring charisma to the big screen. He would return to wrestling in the mid-’90s to spark the infamous “Monday Night War” ratings battle, but his acting ventures were limited to cameos and low-budget fare.

4/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Dave
Dave Bautista – Arguably the most successful wrestler-turned-actor who isn’t named Dwayne Johnson, 6-time wrestling champion Bautista is best known to cinema fans as Drax in the Guardians of The Galaxy films, Avengers: Infinity War and the forthcoming Avengers: Endgame. Showing a knack for deadpan comedy, he has done tough stuff in Bond film Spectre, while also acting opposite Jodie Foster in Hotel Artemis and Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049. His success is all the more impressive considering his first acting credit came at the age of 40!

5/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash – Best known as a founding member of WCW’s villainous New World Order (NWO) in the ’90s, Nash has had a surprisingly consistent career on the big screen. Sure, they’ve not all been gold (his film debut was “Super Shredder” in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze), but supporting roles in The Punisher (2004), John Wick, the Magic Mike films and Rock of Ages (playing Tom Cruise’s bodyguard) would make actors from any background jealous.

6/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Jesse
Jesse Ventura – Wrestling at the highest level in the 1970s, there were many facets to Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura’s long career, which includes a conspiracy TV show and 4 years as governor of Minnesota. Ventura had his acting biggest hit in the ’80s opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator, stealing the show as wise-cracking quote machine Blaine. He worked with Schwarzenegger twice more, in The Running Man and Batman and Robin.

7/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Triple H
Triple H – While he has risen to the very top of WWE both in the ring and in his role as a behind-the-scenes executive, Triple H (Paul Levesque) is certainly no actor. His performance as a vampire in Blade Trinity was hardly head-turning, while comedy The Chaperone sank without a trace. He limits his theatrical work nowadays to WWE-themed cartoons, voicing a penguin in 2017’s Surf’s Up 2: Wavemania (which is about as good as it sounds).

8/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Stone Cold
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin – One of WWE’s most beloved stars made something of a push into acting following his 2003 retirement, appearing in mainly low-budget action flicks marketed to his fans. His one theatrically released starring role, The Condemned, was a modest box office success but earned a measly 15% Rotten Tomatoes rating from critics. While he’d be the first to tell you acting isn’t his true love, he’s been a small part of hits like The Longest Yard and the first Expendables film.

9/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Ronda
Ronda Rousey – She may be better known for her MMA career, but Rousey is currently WWE Raw’s Women’s Champion – and the first on this list to come to wrestling after acting. Her Hollywood exploits include Expendables 3, Furious 7, The Entourage Movie (playing a fictional version of herself) and last year’s Mile 22 with Mark Wahlberg. Her impressive fight scenes may hint at an action career in the future, although it’s unlikely she’ll replicate Furious 7 co-star Johnson’s success.

10/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Rowdy
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper – The kilt-wearing Canadian champion was part of the 1980s wrestling boom, regarded as one of the greatest “heels” (bad guys) of all time and an inspiration for Ronda Rousey in her MMA and WWE careers. He was also a prolific actor, appearing in mainly low-budget cult movies right up until his death in 2015. He’s remembered best by movie fans for being the star of the beloved John Carpenter film They Live!, a high-concept affair that is among the director’s best.

11/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Undertaker
The Undertaker – A legend of the wrestling business, The Undertaker (real name Mark Calaway) never quite made the leap to acting, instead staying with WWE since 1990 as one of their most captivating characters. Judging by his one big-screen role, in Hulk Hogan’s Suburban Commando, that’s probably for the best.

12/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
John
John Cena – One of the most successful and popular WWE champions of all time, Cena has made the move into acting in the last few years and is hoping to follow in former rival Johnson’s footsteps. We’ve seen him do comedy in Trainwreck, Blockers and Daddy’s Home 2, and he flexed his action muscles in 12 Rounds and 2018 blockbuster Bumblebee. Can he be the star in film that he is in wrestling? Watch this space.

13/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
Macho
Macho Man Randy Savage – Here’s a trivia question for you: Who was Spider-man’s first big-screen foe? In the Sam Raimi films it was Bonesaw, played by former WWE Champion Macho Man Randy Savage. The colourful character, best known for his elaborate line delivery in interviews, was also a natural fit for voice roles, and was heard in 2008 Disney film Bolt, as well as TV shows Dexter’s Laboratory and King of The Hill.

14/15
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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film.
David
David Arquette – We end with something of an outlier. Scream and Never Been Kissed star David Arquette was, briefly, a wrestler! While promoting 1999 comedy Ready To Rumble, Arquette became the WCW World Heavyweight Champion in one of the most bizarre and derided storylines in wrestling history. While he still regularly works as an actor (most notably in 2015’s underrated Bone Tomahawk), last year he even made a comeback to the ring on LA’s popular independent wrestling scene.

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Ready To Rumble: The Best (and Worst) Wrestlers On Film

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