10 Wrestlers Who Played Professional Sports

One of the greatest wrestlers of all-time and quite possibly the most popular, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson complete shattered notions as to what a professional wrestler could become when he broke through all stereotypes to become the number one movie star in the world. The Rock has become a pop culture icon and one of the most recognizable celebrities in the world.

And to think, none of it would have happened if his football career worked out.

The son of Rocky Johnson and grandson of the High Chief Peter Maivia, the Rock was born with wrestling in his blood but football in his future. After moving around the country as the son of a wrestler, the Rock was recruited by the University of Miami out of Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He won the NCAA national title as a member of the Hurricanes in 1991 and served as the backup to future NFL star Warren Sapp the following year.

When Johnson graduated from Miami, he signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 1995. He served as a linebacker in the pro league but his football career had clearly peaked with no NFL prospects in the future.

With nowhere else to turn, he enlisted the help of his father and WWF Hall of Famer Pat Patterson to show him the family business. With a charisma that had never been seen before, the Rock catapulted himself into wrestling history and left his football career in the rear view mirror.