WWE: 10 Pro Wrestlers Whose Acting Careers Bombed

Just because you can fall over convincingly doesn't mean you're going to win any Oscars...

There's no denying that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the most successful wrestler-turned-actor in pro wrestling history: even beyond that, he was named the highest grossing actor of 2013 by Forbes Magazine and as fellow wrestler Scott Steiner would say, the numbers don't lie. Though none have been as successful as Johnson, there have been a number of other wrestlers who have found some Hollywood success like "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Steve Austin, Batista and Kevin Nash. And when you think about it, it's not surprising given the transferrable skills: wrestling in the squared circle and giving macho interviews are all about performance, so it's not a stretch to think of in-ring experience as acting training. However, most wrestlers who have attempted Hollywood careers star in movies that probably make less money than the catering budget on one of The Rock's blockbusters. While many wrestlers typically star as wrestlers in movies (think Randy Savage in Spider-Man),or in cameos (like Hulk Hogan's appearance in Gremlins 2,) others who have tried to step out of their comfort zone in action or comedy movies usually end up making turkeys and find themselves turning right back to wrestling. To commemorate those who tried and failed, we're looking at 10 examples of wrestlers whose attempts at big screen careers never matched their in-ring accomplishments.
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Contributor

Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.