10 Wrestlers Who Flirted With Other Careers (And Then Came Back)

8. Lex Luger

Lex Luger WBF
WWE

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Lex Luger was a relatively successful football player in the CFL and the United States Football League. But during his career as a wrestler, Lex took a spell out to try his hand at bodybuilding.

For those who think that the first incarnation of the XFL was the first offshoot company of Vince McMahon's to tank and collapse in on itself, you're not aware of the World Bodybuilding Federation. The WBF was McMahon's way of getting tight in the pants over the bodybuilding world, and Lex Luger was signed to the promotion as a co-host, a star attraction, and was even given Bobby Heenan as his pseudo manager.

Sadly for Lex, a motorcycle accident put him on the shelf for a spell and the WBF had actually gone out of business by the time he was ready to return to action.

With Luger already having been WCW World Heavyweight Champion, it didn't take a genius to switch Lex from the WBF to the WWF. And upon doing so, the 'Narcissist was born and Lex Luger was well and truly back in the pro wrestling game.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.