10 Obscure Links Between WWE Stars YOU Didn't Know
7. Paul Heyman & Shane McMahon Were In Rollerball
Not the version released in 1975, when Shane McMahon was only five-years-old.
Wrestlers get roles in films all the time. Casting Directors only need to switch an episode of Raw to see larger than life superstars playing fictional characters, then make a call to Vince McMahon and ask really nicely if one of his big meaty men can have three months off work. Sometimes it leads to a successful career in Hollywood, like with The Rock, John Cena, and Batista. Other times it leads to straight-to-DVD productions made by WWE Studios... sorry The Miz.
Set in the far future of 2005, Rollerball is a remake of a film that came out almost 30 years earlier. The new version has a very simple premise: people play a violent sport on motorcycles with a giant silver ball.
What does this have to do with WWE? Well, they needed somebody to do commentary for the sports scenes, so Paul Heyman was cast a fictional version of himself. No doubt he was playing a heel. Heyman spent most of 2001 behind the desk with Jim Ross, so the casting made perfect sense. The more surreal actor to cameo was the boss's son.
Shane McMahon turned up in crowd scenes looking concerned. That was it; the role involved no lines, just a handshake and a few facial expressions. Why did they cast Simba as American Media Mogul? We'll never know, but for wrestling fans in 2002, it was surreal to see the two of them in this film together.