5 WWE Wrestlers Who Dabbled In MMA

Not everyone is going to be a beast like Brock Lesnar in multiple careers. And sometimes, pro wrestling is just more lucrative than actually fighting for a living. Last month WhatCulture.com took a look at five WWE stars who made the transition to the UFC, and vice versa. You know, guys like Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, and Brock Lesnar. Well, the MMA world is more than just the UFC, and a lot of pro wrestlers have made the jump - or tried to make the jump - into real fighting over the years, with varying levels of success. The two sports generally require relevantly equal levels of athleticism, with differing skill sets - stamina, for example, is key in both, for both wrestlers and fighters need to be able to compete upwards of fifteen minutes at a high level (iron man matches, anyone?). While pro wrestlers need to learn how to sell moves and take bumps, however, mixed martial artists need to learn to defend submissions, reverse positions, have clean striking, defend takedowns, and overall, bring the pain. Not every WWE star is going to be cut out for this. Guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, The Undertaker, and CM Punk count themselves as huge MMA fans, and both Taker and CM Punk have trained in jiu-jitsu and hold black belts (CM Punk trained alongside Ed O'Neill - how's that for awesome?). However, none of them have tried to make the transition over to MMA, though there's a chance Punk still might give it a go. Who has? Well, lets take a look at WWE stars who have tried their hand at MMA over the years.