10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Were Bodybuilders

1. Steve Blackman

Here's the 'Lethal Weapon' hinted at in the intro.

Anyone who knows anything about Steve Blackman could tell you that he was a stoic-but-accomplished athlete with a background in martial arts. Listen to stories from men like Ken Shamrock or JBL on podcasts and they'll tell you how legitimately tough Blackman was. Those Taekwondo kicks he used to throw weren't worked.

Before breaking into pro wrestling in the mid-80s and using mixed martial arts to keep himself in tip-top shape, Blackman was a bodybuilder. That's not something many folks know; by all accounts, Blackman was competitive, but there's not a lot of info to go on. Regardless, it'll surprise some to know he competed.

Blackman, like Hercules, Sting and The Great Khali is another who left competitive bodybuilding behind him when he started getting serious about pro wrestling. His MMA training style took precedent too.

What other wrestlers do you know of that were bodybuilders? Let us know down in the comments section below!