8 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Competed In MMA

Sometimes you just get unlucky.

To go from being a promising prospect in professional wrestling to being saddled with a male cheerleading gimmick when you make the main roster of the WWE is a perfect example of this.

After competing on the fourth season of Tough Enough, Nick Mitchell was offered a contract with WWE. He impressed during his time in developmental and would quickly be ushered into a main-roster position as Mitch in the Spirit Squad.

While the group were regularly at the top of the card during their time in the company, their stint was short-lived, and after being defeated in a feud with DX, the entire stable was relegated back to the OVW developmental territory. Though Dolph Ziggler, and to a lesser extent, Kenny Dykstra would go on to find success in WWE in their own right, Nick Mitchell was released from the company just months after being taken off TV.

The bad luck continued for Mitchell when he decided to transfer his athletic prowess into a career in MMA. Most debuting fighters face someone with a comparable record to make it a fair fight, and while Mitchell's opponent was also a debutant, the skill gap between the two was immediately evident. Despite this, Mitchell managed to be competitive throughout the fight and even mounted his opponent in the second round. The tide would then turn however, and Mitchell would go on to be stopped by strikes. He hasn't fought since.

Mitchell's opponent that night was Derrick Lewis, who has since gone on to be a legitimate UFC heavyweight contender and is recognised as one of the hardest punchers in the sport.