The best movies starring WWE wrestlers

Wrestlers are well-known for their extraordinary physical abilities, large-than-life personalities and captivating audiences. Pro wrestlers are known for their ability to turn success from the ring into a successful career as actors. This makes sense at a certain point. Performing is still performing, whether it’s on a stage, in a ring, or on a giant screen.

From Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to John Cena to Dave Bautista, these wrestlers-turned-actors have taken over Hollywood by becoming some of the biggest movie stars in the world, or character actors sinking into roles. Action is what their talents are most obvious for, but as you’ll see below, many wrestlers have taken their considerable talents and transferred them into all kinds of roles.

From lovable giants to cynical heroes who see through the bullshit to heartbroken true believers, these are some of the best performances from wrestlers-turned-actors.

Get in touch with the Cabin

Universal Pictures

Kicking us off is M. Night Shyamalan’s Get in touch with the Cabin, which continued his miracle “comeback” run as of late. The most impressive thing about this apocalyptic potboiler? Dave Bautista in the middle. Bautista is a former WWE World Champion and future Hall of Famer. He has been acting since around a decade. In that time, he’s done everything from comedy to children’s movies to being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It’s that latter role, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Drax the Destroyer, that’s given Bautista his most success, allowing him to flex his comedic muscles and the space to explore introspection in brief, quiet moments. Although a massive man of stature, Bautista’s light touch was an unexpected surprise to the audience. Blade Runner 2049. In just five short minutes (and a pair of tiny glasses), Bautista immediately stole the film from his more established co-stars, giving a haunting performance that lives in your mind long after he’s killed off.

It’s this delicate nature and those tiny glasses that Bautista brings to Get in touch with the Cabin in the film’s central role. Leonard is the leader of an apocalyptic group. He besieges a cabin and forces the couple to leave with their baby. In Leonard’s introduction, Shyamalan makes brilliant use of Bautista’s size. Framing him in extreme close-ups, only a hand or arm visible, he greets little Wen (the couple’s child) and introduces himself as a potential friend. It is immediately scary to see the implications of this before any information about him and his plans becomes available. A man approaching a child and asking to be their friend is frightening in any context, but somehow, Bautista’s demeanor cuts through that into something almost soothing. Your mind tells you this isn’t OK; Shyamalan’s refusal to show him in full like he’s the shark from Jaws This only makes it worse, his calm presence however is captivating.

Bautista is what makes the film work. Without him, this is a group of lunatics asking a family to do the unthinkable — to sacrifice one of their own on behalf of the visions of strangers. Bautista is the center of their rantings, ravings, which are absurd. There’s a flutter of pain every time he speaks, a sadness that breaks your heart. While you might not believe what he says, your heart is sure to believe it. He believes. It’s a remarkable bit of line-toeing, so to speak, maybe even making the events scarier because of the perverse sense of calm he brings. Covered in tattoos, with a shaved head, and towering as if he’s the size of a house, this quiet and charismatic behemoth’s persistence of belief washes over you, making you second-guess yourself. Few people have been this suited to Shyamalan’s earnest, occasionally goofy dialogue. Bautista has a childlike quality that allows him to accept things the way they are, and find wonder in their beauty. It’s something he brought to Drax that pushed him beyond comic relief. It’s frightening to turn that around as Leonard does. He is a visionary of our world, the people within it, and its messy beauty. His only desire is to help save the world. He is broken.

Get in touch with the Cabin Streaming is available PeacockAvailable for purchase or digital rental Amazon, Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu.

Pain & Gain

Image by Paramount Pictures

It’s a bit tough to like Dwayne Johnson these days. The one-time face of WWE alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin during the halcyon “Attitude Era” days has seemingly fully bought into his megastar status. Whether it’s essentially playing an AI-generated version of himself in anonymous blockbuster after anonymous blockbuster or having a bizarre meltdown over Black Adam’s lack of success, it could be easy to forget Johnson was once an electrifying new movie star.

Johnson was briefly open to being used by legitimate filmmakers after his first run as a star in starring roles. There’s the oddly prescient mega-bomb Southland Tales and his excellent, twitchy performance within, of course, but it’s hard to argue that Johnson has ever been better than in Michael Bay’s acidic look at the American dream, Pain & Gain. Based on true stories Pain & Gain Three gym-goers (Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie) become violently enthralled in their quest to make it big. After multiple attempts to extort a rich businessman (Tony Shalhoub), the trio’s schemes become more psychotic (and hilarious) while the police are unwilling to believe three morons could pull something like this off.

Bay’s brief appearance during the Transformers premiere The movie is surprisingly small and allows some absolutely ridiculous characters to shine. None are bigger (literally) or funnier than Johnson’s Paul Doyle. Doyle, a Christian and a former prisoner of war claims to be a reformed Christian. As their plot quickly gets out of hand, Doyle’s convictions repeatedly fail and Johnson is hysterical as a musclebound goliath fighting back tears as he lays waste to people. Similar to Bautista’s best work, Johnson locates a childlike innocence in Doyle. But where Bautista’s is laced with wonder and awe, Johnson’s Doyle is a psychopathic idiot. Both believing that God has granted him the power to “knock people the fuck out” and that what they’re doing isn’t all that wrong, Johnson is the key to Bay’s ethos within the film.

Bay distrusts institutions often and is open to giving people time over systems. He’s been tagged as a military propagandist, but when you view his work as whole, it becomes apparent his reverence is for the people who do these jobs and less in the juggernaut that houses them. This mindset is not different from his in other places. Pain & Gain, as Bay isn’t simply making fun of these men — he finds an empathy for them. These are guys who couldn’t cut it anywhere else in life. In a dead-end capitalistic society, desperation often wins the day, and you make decisions you otherwise wouldn’t. Prison isn’t designed to rehabilitate people, so when Johnson’s Doyle is put back out on the street, he’s a broken man looking to religion and magic power for answers. Of course he’d be easily taken in by Wahlberg’s equally stupid but much more confident conman. Bay is well aware that the country has left many behind. One must understand this and take drastic steps to help them. Because isn’t everyone entitled to the American dream? That’s the promise of this country, and it’s one these men have bought into without fail.

Yes, Pain & Gain is wildly funny, and it’s easy to see these men as a joke, but Bay and Johnson ride that line just well enough that through the laughter you also kind of feel bad for them. Doyle might be deranged, but that doesn’t make him a “bad” person. He’s just somebody who’s lost in the sauce of wanting more for himself. Johnson’s simultaneously giddy and frightened performance drives that home.

Pain & Gain Streaming is available Paramount PlusAvailable for purchase or digital rental Amazon, Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu.

They live

Image: Universal Studios Home Video

Keeping with the furious (and funny) looks at America, let’s jump back to the ’80s with John Carpenter’s classic They live. Despite the iconography, its black-and-white reality of alien figures telling you to “conform” and “consume” being more prescient with each passing year, it’s also just a great film. We all know this one — aliens have discreetly taken over our world and are living among us. They’re behind every advertisement, billboard, movie, and TV show, and the only way for people to see through them is to put on a special set of sunglasses.

Roddy Piper’s Nada is one of those people, and in putting on the glasses, he’s sent down a path that just might save the world. Piper is an intriguing choice to be an action hero. Never the biggest guy on any wrestling roster but always the loudest, he spent the majority of his career playing a heel (wrestling parlance for “bad guy”). In the ’80s “Rock ’n’ Wrestling” boom period, no villain taxed megastar Hulk Hogan like Rowdy Roddy Piper. It was an amazing sight to see his sardonic wit, fast-on the-feet improv and ability to flip wrestling promos upside down.

It’s easy to see why Carpenter went with him. Piper will fit right in this skeptical, cynical world. His eyebrows can be seen rising before he even puts on his glasses. It’s sometimes hard to parse what Carpenter was trying to say with this film when he speaks about it himself — like Nada, the filmmaker is a very funny but cynical guy, and doesn’t seem to have much use for picking thematic details out of his work. There’s potent disgust for anything or anyone tied to wealth in They live, and it’s no mistake that our lead and his ragtag group are unhoused. There shouldn’t be any doubt to whom Carpenter’s hatred is directed, and it makes any misunderstanding of this one as some sort of Illuminati/lizard people parallel deeply silly.

Full of classic one-liners (“I’m here to kick some ass and chew bubblegum, and I’m all out of bubblegum”) and iconic imagery, nothing from They live It has endured as well as the lengthy fight between Keith David & Piper. Western cinema has a lot of epic, tiring fights. (See: The recent John Wick Chapter 4.This was a new concept at the time. These two hosses can be removed just when you think they are finished. Keep going, another thudding blow landing square in somebody’s mug. Piper is the ideal person for Nada. His world is one where story telling requires choreographed fights. Piper was often seen as the villain in these stories. Piper, in these stories, was often the antagonist. However, here he plays the role of the hero. Instead of lifting a world champion belt (which Piper never did), his victory means that Keith David can finally see the light. Few fights can be as satisfying four decades later.

They live This is digitally available to rent or buy Amazon, Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu.

Ed Wood

Image: Buena Vista International

Tim Burton’s Ed Wood This is quite a surprise for a story like this. However, it actually stars a wrestler. Mixed within those who make up Ed Wood’s cavalcade of weirdos is real-life wrestler Tor Johnson, played by legendary oddball wrestler George “The Animal” Steele.

The 1994 biopic tells the story of the most famous “bad” director of all time, Ed Wood, and his quest to make his magnum opus, Plan 9 from Outer Space. Shot in black and white and taking many liberties with the true-life story, it’s a tale of persistence in the face of doors being slammed on you, all while staying true to a singular vision that you can’t help but show to the world. Ed Wood’s outsider passion is akin to Burton’s, and even though the former never reached the highs of the latter, you can see why Burton wanted to tell his story.

The early days of film had a carny-like feel to them, and often featured a ton of “freaks” and fringe characters making up the bulk of the workers. There’s a direct throughline between cinema and wrestling in this regard, with carnies being the lifeblood and backbone of the early days of both. Wood is surrounded by all sorts of marginal dwellers. One notable exception was Bela Lugosi who has fallen from grace. However, Tor Johnson, a Swedish wrestler, stands out.

Johnson, like so many others on the list, made the move to acting by becoming a manly, muscular, and bald creature who enjoyed playing monsters. That’s exactly what he did in Wood’s film, playing an undead police inspector resurrected by the invading aliens to be their muscle. George Steele, who played the tall, towering Johnson was an excellent casting choice, both in appearance and in demeanor. By all accounts, Johnson was a sweetheart behind the scenes, and Steele’s performance is a perfect dichotomy of terrifying and wholesome. It wasn’t a far cry from Steele’s own wrestling persona. Starting as a well-spoken heel for heroic champions to dispatch before shifting into a monstrous wildman, Steele’s biggest crossover success came in that ’80s boom period led by Hogan and Piper. Steele was a wildman who would rip the turnbuckles off the ring posts, eat the foam, and grunt monosyllabically. Steele was an intelligent, soft-spoken man who could change into his character within seconds. To thousands of fans across the world he was a gigantic brute who would terrorize Macho Man Randy Savage and shout “Duh-dah!!” but to people who knew him, he was a giant teddy bear. Outside of Martin Landau’s terrific transformation into Lugosi, Steele might just be the best casting choice in the film. He’s the embodiment of that carny lifeblood pulsing through the two industries: an oddball on the surface who society would cruelly brush off, but someone with an internal life, passion, and love underneath.

Ed Wood This is digitally available to rent or buy Amazon, Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu.

Rocky III

MGM Image

For better or worse, this wouldn’t be a list of wrestlers in film without the industry’s first major crossover success, Hulk Hogan. Hogan, the man who carried wrestling from a territorial interest in the ’70s to a worldwide phenomenon in the ’80s, was never a great actor. Where guys like The Rock, John Cena, and Dave Bautista have found various degrees of success in the ability to transform into different characters, Hogan never felt like he wasn’t reading lines. Hogan stares through the camera at his partner in each scene, waiting for him to speak. Every film has a stilted interaction. Hulk Hogan has never been able to stop being Hulk Hogan.

That’s why his best performance is his first, Thunderlips in Rocky III. Rocky IIIThe series had a central point. The first two were dramas set in the kitchen about a boxer who is down on his luck fighting to become somebody. This third installment puts the underdog at the top of the game. It mirrors its creator Sylvester Stallone’s trajectory, as he also fought from beneath as a bit player in the New York film scene who had nothing but a script and a dream. In 1982, he had become a star and was transitioning his movies from the down-to-earth, emotional dramas into muscular, high-octane action. Rocky III The pivotal point is when our villain moves from the bigger-than-life, but nevertheless grounded in reality Apollo Creed to wildy cartoonish Clubber lang played by Mr. T.

In a standout scene, Rocky’s excesses are put on full display in a wacky charity event where he squares off with wrestling superstar Thunderlips. Hulk Hogan gets to act as Thunderlips. While he wasn’t quite the megastar or world champion that would send wrestling into the stratosphere just yet, his performance showcases everything people would come to love and ultimately embrace about “Hulkamania.” A loud, musclebound Saturday Morning cartoon, Hogan’s Thunderlips toys with Rocky to the delight of the crowd, throwing him all over the ring. Hogan playing Thunderlips perfectly captures the future direction of cinema over the next ten years. These cartoonish, one-liner-spewing giants would be the heroes of action. Hogan tried to make a profit with failed cars, but he never was better than his performance as Thunderlips.

Rocky III Streaming is available Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount PlusPlease see the following: MGM Plus. With ads, it is free to download. Tubi Pluto TVFor digital rentals or purchases, please visit Amazon, Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu.

The Princess Bride

Image by 20th Century Fox

You can’t talk about the rise of Hulk Hogan without mentioning his greatest foil, André the Giant. Simply put, without André, there might not be a Hulk Hogan. Hogan rode his success into WWE’s flagship event, Wrestlemania, and teamed with Mr. T in a fun tag-team main event. Hogan’s momentum was evident at Wrestlemania 2 a year later, though he had a noticeable lack of power in his main match against King Kong Bundy. To pit Hogan against King Kong Bundy and get him his mojo back, it would be a huge attraction.

Enter: André the Giant.

The build to WrestleMania 3 was centered around “can Hulk Hogan slam André?” and when he finally did it, the roof practically exploded from 90,000 screaming fans. There is no more indelible image in wrestling history than Hogan slamming André.

André the Giant was the ultimate unbeatable villain. At a towering 7-foot-4 and over 500 pounds, André was the perfect final boss for any conquering hero. He was the ultimate example of what it meant to achieve the impossible. In real life, the French behemoth couldn’t have been more different. He was, like many other wrestlers in this listing, kind and generous throughout his daily life. Everyone who had the opportunity to meet him loved him. That made him a perfect addition to Rob Reiner’s fairy tale, The Princess Bride

As the lovable henchman Fezzik, André brought a delightful balance to the trio of bandits supporting our leads. While Wallace Shawn’s Vizzini was conniving and sneaky and Mandy Patinkin’s Inigo was honorable yet driven by vengeance, Fezzik was an innocent jokester, happy to be along for the ride. André ultimately plays a comedic side character, but his screen presence is so lovely, again accessing that childlike state of being like many on this list. There’s a twinkle in his eye every time he’s on screen that lies somewhere between awestruck and mischievous. Like his real-life wrestling counterpart, his turn to the side of the angels (something André ultimately got to do before his in-ring retirement) is so rewarding because of how lovely that smile and laugh are. He wasn’t giving a world-class performance, but he didn’t have to. It is his grin and joy that will stay with you, making him a memorable figure. Without regard to the number of cast members, a giant will always be noticed in a crowd. That’s true in wrestling and film. A giant with a soul like André’s lives forever.

The Princess Bride Streaming is available Disney PlusAvailable for purchase or digital rental AmazonAvailable for purchase digitally Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu.

Fighting With My Family

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

This one doesn’t exactly star a WWE wrestler, but it features many and is about one. Far and away the most successful film in WWE Studios’ library, Fighting With My Family It was both a commercial and critical success. Starring Florence Pugh as WWE wrestler Paige, it charts the popular star’s rise to fame within the company. In real life, Paige likes to joke she’s been wrestling since she was in the womb, as her mother (British independent wrestler Sweet Saraya, portrayed in the movie by Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey was unaware that she had been pregnant and had fought in matches.

Paige’s story — first as a girl coming of age in a ring surrounded by a family of wrestlers, then as a woman who didn’t have the look WWE desired but still found success — is compelling. It was so compelling that an entire documentary film (also known as “The Paige Story”) was created. Fighting With My Family) following Paige’s and her brother Zak’s attempts to be signed by WWE. As the story goes, The Rock, having seen the documentary, was so enamored with Paige’s journey that his production company (Seven Bucks Productions) bought the rights and partnered with WWE to recreate the inspiring journey.

The film is a sports biopic that ticks all the boxes, but it manages to transcend to show a charming slice of an everyday life. Sure, we’ve seen the social outcast proving everyone wrong on their way to victory, but the scrappy world of British independent wrestling is a unique setting for this kind of narrative.

Stephen Merchant’s lovely script cuts through the schmaltz, but the lion’s share of credit has to go to Florence Pugh. The same year that the film was released. Midsommar Little Women, it’s easy to forget this one hit first. Already a rising star, thanks to Lady MacbethPugh was a star in 2019 with three distinct, well-recognized performances. If you haven’t seen My Family: Fighting with My Family Pugh is a natural in her character of Paige. She nails her sardonic humor and don’t take herself too seriously. It’s a good film, but Pugh is greatYou radiate the same kind of magnetic energy that so few others possess. The idea that you’re watching a major star in the making is as clear as day.

Here’s a great time capsule featuring one of the biggest movie stars in history, just as she was breaking big. Fighting With My Family is essential. That it’s a rock-solid sports/family drama packed with earned emotion is a bonus. Just try to ignore Dwayne Johnson gracelessly inserting himself into the film for a few moments that absolutely didn’t happen in real life.

Fighting With My Family This is digitally available to rent or buy Amazon, Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu.

Marine 3-6

Image: WWE Studios

Even if you have zero knowledge of WWE Studios, you’ve likely heard of Marine. Starring John Cena, it was one of WWE’s first solo outings as a production company and, to be frank, it’s not great. If you’re at all familiar with the DTV action market, you know no minor action film is truly dead, because all you need is name recognition and a vaguely well-known face to keep the flame alive for endless installments. It was this that forced franchising. Marine’s fate isn’t exactly surprising. How can this be? IsSurprisingly, the franchise got even better and became a great brand.

DTV Action is full of these types of successes stories (the Universal Soldier The Undisputed Although series are some of the finest examples, they were also built on stable ground. If you were one of the few sitting in a theater enduring the first Marine movie, there’s no way you’d ever believe that by the sixth entry you’d be on the edge of your seat, holding back tears as it came to a close. That at the center of the franchise is a famed WWE bad guy, the obnoxious Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, makes the series’ success even more shocking.

The Tetralogy of Marine 3Through 6 follows The Miz’s Jake Carter, a former Marine whose sister is kidnapped. The unlikely hero rescues his sister and becomes a protector for many others throughout the series. Every entry in the series is as boring as possible. So why are they so important? They feature the best DTV action.

If you’re a DTV action head, you’re likely familiar with the names William Kaufman (director of 4) James Nunn (director of 5 and 6). If you aren’t, giving these films a spin will totally change your perception of what DTV action can be. Kaufman and Nunn, two of the top DTV producers in this genre, have been doing some amazing work on the tactical aspect of production. Their level of craft behind the camera takes these standard action flicks and turns them into some of the most pulse-pounding and efficient action you’ll see.

As the series progresses, you can actively see The Miz get better and better as an action lead, and there’s a real sense of fulfillment in sticking the series out. You can see the value of the series’ investment in the final episode. 3 It gets into your bones. Other wrestlers crop up in fun appearances, most notably The Miz’s real-life wife, Maryse, WWE legend Shawn Michaels, and current megastar Becky Lynch in a legitimately great villain turn in 6, but this is The Miz’s franchise. This series is no longer a footnote, thanks to his dedication and the impressive craft displayed.

The Marine 3 Marine 4 These books are digitally available to rent or buy on Amazon. Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu. The Marine 5 6 These are free to stream with advertisements on The Roku Channel or Crackle. They can also be digitally rented or purchased online. Amazon, Apple TV, Google PlayPlease see the following: Vudu.