10 Best Wrestling Matches In Non-Wrestling Movies

You cannot get a more perfect underdog story than the original 1976 Rocky film. The movie that made Sylvester Stallone a star, it was only a matter of time before talk of sequels came along. Rocky II was released in 1979 to a warm reception, Rocky III's reception though was a lot more, well... rocky.

Rocky Balboa is riding high after winning the world heavyweight championship from Apollo Creed, raking in all the money in the world, becoming undefeated in 10 straight fights, and having his status as celebrity skyrocket. At one point, the champ is entered into a charity match pitting the boxer against the world wrestling champion, Thunderlips, played by the immortal Hulk Hogan.

It's fists vs. graps and the match is as classic an 80's WWF match that you could get. Rocky as face using speed and strikes, Thunderlips as the heel dominating with big power moves. It's almost all Thunderlips throughout the match despite Rocky's valiant attempts, and it's not until Mickey interferes with a wooden chair shot that Balboa is able to get the upper hand and bodyslam his much larger opponent out of the ring for the victory.

It's a shame WrestleMania wasn't a thing on this film's release, because the crossover appeal would have been huge. Nevertheless, for what we got from this match, it's a lot of fun.