John Cena, Dave Bautista, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are the holy trinity of wrestlers-turned-actors, breaking through to the larger culture and stomping mudholes in the box office. Other wrestlers are landing prominent roles in shows and movies, but none have reached the same heights of mainstream megapower.
Why did these specific superstars emerge from the acting undercard and become major draws? How did they shatter the sports entertainment stigma? And what lessons could an aspiring in-ring thespian learn from their careers?
Suppose you’re a hard-working pro-wrestler who’s tired of making towns and taking bumps, and you’re eager to swap the sweaty canvas mat for a swanky red carpet. Lesson 1: Don’t be too quick to hang up your boots. Hollywood is where the big boys play, but in wrestling, it helps to be the Man.
1. Be “The Man”
The Rock, Batista, and Cena were all “top guys” in their respective eras before jumping to Hollywood. With tons of world championships, pay-per-view main events, and truckloads of questionable merch between them, each had reached the pinnacle of pro wrestling popularity before taking their talents to L.A. You’re unlikely to see a curtain-jerking “jobber” hosting SNL or changing the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe. Wrestling star power gives you a massive head start.
Name recognition obviously plays a huge part, but there’s more to it than that. Call it what you will: aura, rizz, electricity – if there’s an “it” factor, these folks have it. Whether it’s wrestling, acting, music, or anything else, if you’re successful in one medium, you’ve got a big leg up in another.
Before pro wrestling went corporate, a wrestler’s worth was measured in their ability to “draw money,” AKA selling tickets that put butts in seats all around the world. Movies aren’t much different, and not just in Hollywood. The legendary El Santo and his fellow luchadores starred in dozens upon dozens of Mexican action films in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Their in-ring fame and the undeniable drip of masked men in wide-lapel suits transformed them into cinema superheroes.
Status-obsessed Hollywood took a little longer to embrace the inherently carny heritage of pro wrestlers, but times have changed. A bankable star’s face on a poster once all but guaranteed boffo box office, and now that the monoculture has just about tapped out, studios are looking for established, big-name talents – and the followers they bring with them.
You don’t need to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer to have a great career in the movies – workers lower on the marquee have carved out awesome careers for themselves. The likes of Roddy Piper and Jesse Ventura worked with skilled and respected cult filmmakers throughout the ‘80s, and countless wrestlers have become immortalized through minor roles and iconic cameos over the decades.
Pre-existing popularity is a huge help, but it’s no guarantee. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was arguably the most popular and lucrative pro wrestler ever, and his film career fizzled out after a couple of half-hearted attempts. “The Texas Rattlesnake” was an ill fit for acting, but he eventually found his true passion: shouting encouragement at young people doing obstacle courses in his backyard.
Austin wasn’t even the biggest Hollywood bag fumble. That honor goes to the late Hulk Hogan. The Hulkster was the biggest star of one boom period and a major player in another, but one huge misstep early in his career K.O.’ed his acting ambitions like Sweet Chin Music to the dome. Hogan could have had it all, but he stuck too close to wrestling. Which brings us to our second piece of advice: Don’t be afraid to run wild.
2. Run Wild
The rise of Hulkamania couldn’t have happened without Hollywood. Hogan’s ascent began with his pre-WWE role as “Thunderlips” in Rocky III, which inspired WWE owner Vince McMahon to poach the Hulkster and make him the face of a Rock N’ Wrestling revolution. Soon, Hogan was saying prayers and taking vitamins alongside ‘80s pop icons like Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T, and Richard Belzer. It seemed only a matter of time before he dropped the leg on the movie business, leaving WWE in the dust.
Afraid of losing his biggest draw, McMahon took matters into his own hands. Rather than risk losing control of his top attraction, McMahon would fund his own blockbuster movie and convince Hogan to star with a juicy executive producer credit. The Hulkster accepted, and the two set off to write a film that would launch Hogan’s acting career.
What kind of razor-sharp screenplay would emerge from the minds that brought us the “Kiss My Ass Club” and the “Dungeon of Doom?” What kino would they conceive to cement Hulk Hogan as the next Schwarzenegger or Stallone?
No Holds Barred.
The film was a fiasco, one of cinema’s infamous disasters. Countless bad movie podcasts have spilled innumerable riffs upon its badness, which can be summed up in one word: “Dookie.” As a debut, it couldn’t have really gone much worse.
No Holds Barred had the stink of wrestling all over it. It’s about wrestling, Hulk Hogan plays a barely fictionalized version of his in-ring character, and McMahon’s scatalogical sense of humor is rampant throughout. It’s 93 minutes of insulting sleaze. Today’s corporate, post-Vince WWE displays the broad, relatively safe, and wildly successful appeal of Marvel and Disney, but back then there was still an air of dirtbaggery around the business from which the film could not escape.
It was shilled relentlessly on WWF programming without much success, culminating in a desperate pay-per-view cage match between Hogan and his on-screen nemesis, Zeus “Tiny” Lister, that didn’t even do very well. No Holds Barred is a terrible, oftentimes revolting film. It soured the audience on the grand experiment of wrestlers-turned-actors for a long time – and put an end to Hogan’s Hollywood dreams.
The Hulkster never recovered from No Holds Barred. He carried on in increasingly low-status fare like Mr. Nanny and the TV series Thunder in Paradise. His singular acting legacy is that trailer you kind of remember from The Secret of the Ooze VHS tape. Hulk Hogan made a lot of money working for Vince McMahon, and he made the promoter even more in return. But Hogan’s loyalty to his boss – or his unwillingness to leave his comfort zone – hobbled his acting career in its infancy.
Perhaps if Hulk had just waited for the right opportunity, he could have hooked up with cool directors the way his co-workers did. A skilled filmmaker would have taken advantage of Hogan’s undeniable charisma and adapted to his weaknesses. Instead, the Hulkster hitched his wagon with McMahon and his extremely terrible track record when it comes to anything outside of pro wrestling.
Which brings us to our next lesson: Everyone needs someone in their corner – even the most electrifying man of all. The Rock came to Hollywood well-prepared to be a major player, thanks in part to choosing the right tag-team partner.
3. Tag-Team Action
Dwayne Johnson was destined for success. Born into a Samoan wrestling dynasty to a father who was one of WWE’s first Black champions, The Rock would be the ultimate nepo baby – if he wasn’t so obviously talented.
On his debut in WWE, “Rocky Maivia” was portrayed as a smiling, happy-go-lucky young rookie without much personality. The crowd turned on him so “The Rock” turned heel, tapping into his innate aura to become one of the Attitude Era’s most compelling performers. He didn’t do it alone.
In 1999, WWE filmed an MTV special to promote their upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view. That’s where Johnson first worked with a young writer named Brian Gewirtz. Gewirtz had bounced around the TV industry for a few years, snagging credits on several short-lived sitcoms. The Rock smelled what he was cooking.
In an unprecedented move for the wrestling business, The Rock convinced WWE to hire Gewirtz as his own personal writer. Today’s WWE is increasingly cinematic and tightly-scripted, often mind-numbingly so, but in The Rock’s era most wrestlers were responsible for their own “promos.” The “booker” would give them some bulletpoints, but the “worker” was expected to improvise. This was great if you were extremely talented and/or moderately insane, but the majority of the era’s muscleheads were not exactly eloquent.
The Rock changed all of that. He was always a natural promoter and a catchphrase machine, but he clearly saw bigger things on the horizon. Unlike Hulk Hogan, who hesitated when it came to leaving wrestling behind, The Rock embraced his evolution. By hooking up with an industry talent like Gewirtz, Johnson was able to hone his skills for when Hollywood came calling.
Johnson launched his acting career with some TV guest appearances, before making his big screen debut in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, ushering in a bold new era of dazzling and totally convincing computer-generated effects. The Scorpion King left the WWE to pursue acting full time in 2004, leaving Gewirtz behind as Monday Night Raw’s head writer. Johnson would keep busy over the next few years, but his roody-poo roles in mid-tier schlock left The Rock floundering for years.
Dwayne Johnson was adrift, but he had his sights set. He told his agents to make him bigger than Will Smith. They scoffed, so he fired them and found management that could make it happen. With their help, business began to pick up for Johnson, especially after landing the role of Luke Hobbs in 2011’s Fast Five. His anointment by the Fast & the Furious franchise gave the public permission to perceive him as a movie star first and a wrestler second.
When The Rock finally came back to wrestling for two once-in-a-lifetime dream matches against John Cena in 2012, it was huge. He was huge, thanks to countless hours clangin’ and bangin’ in the iron paradise. Freshly tattooed and boldly bald, he was fully reborn as a bigger than life, bigger than wrestling, S-tier star.
The Rock reunited with Gewirtz in 2015, hiring him as SVP of Development for his successful Seven Bucks Productions. A partnership sparked 16 years earlier now had the Hollywood clout to realize their illustrious vision: A bald guy in a brown shirt laying the smacketh down on monsters, bad guys, and natural disasters in movies that make billions of dollars. Gewirtz helped Dwayne Johnson blossom into a big Hollywood player in more ways than one, but as The Rock began to throw his newfound weight around, he risked losing his title as the People’s Champ.
Reports of “D.J.’s” diva-ish attitude abounded, from allegedly showing up late and peeing in bottles to refusing to lose a fight onscreen. Add in his clumsy takeover attempt of the DCEU and the chaos he’s caused behind the scenes in WWE, and it’s clear why The Rock has turned heel in the eyes of many fans. It’ll take a lot of endearing viral videos to rehabilitate Johnson’s image. That or an Oscar.
The Smashing Machine, Benny Safdie’s biopic starring Johnson as fighter Mark Kerr, dazzled at festivals worldwide, creating awards buzz for the first time in the Great One’s career (though the box office wasn’t as kind). Premiering alongside a new, slimmed-down look, The Rock seems open to eating some humble pie and eager to move on to the next stage of his stardom, with more challenging roles from auteur directors.
In short, Dwayne Johnson is entering his Dave Bautista era. Hopefully he’ll learn the most important lesson from “The Animal’s” rise: Check your ego at the door and pick your spots wisely.
4. Pick Your Spots
In wrestling, a “spot” is a preplanned flashy move or highlight in a match. It’s the Thing You Do in a match, the notes between the music. Some are riskier than others. A mad leap off a ladder could make your career or end it, while a technical showcase can either earn the crowd’s respect or shatter their disbelief. While it’s possible to coast off of canned routines, the best wrestlers choose their spots wisely and maximize every minute inside the ring.
Actors also excel at picking their spots, since they can’t exactly shoot every script that comes across their desk – though some will try. Some artists only emerge from hibernation for the occasional tour de force. The Rock played it safe by creating his own cottage industry of assembly-line “Dwayne Johnson” movies. Batista was a little more savvy. He realized that the most beloved movie stars are the ones with an eye for interesting, involving roles.
Dave Bautista wasn’t the most athletic wrestler ever, but all those miles walked inside the pit of danger gave him a knack for making memorable moments. “The Animal” clearly displayed some acting talent beyond “I want to beat that guy up”; it was obvious Bautista had potential, and he was willing to bet on it.
After leaving WWE in 2010, Bautista began his film career on a similar trajectory to Johnson’s, paying his dues in direct-to-video action movies. Also like The Rock, his big break came from being cast in a massive franchise: Drax the Destroyer made Bautista a star. But where Dwayne Johnson used his newfound fame to shape Hollywood in his image, Big Dave took the opportunity to grow himself as an actor.
Bautista’s scene-stealing turn in Blade Runner 2049 as a meek yet massive android in tiny glasses showed more range than basically ever role played by a wrestler up until that point, and he would continue to push himself as unique, atypical characters in movies like Glass Onion and Knock at the Cabin. He even became the first wrestler to voice the American dub of a Studio Ghibli film.
Until The Smashing Machine, smart money had Dave Bautista as the wrestler most likely to win an Oscar first. No matter what kind of film he’s in, Bautista is always improving, pushing himself to sharpen his craft. He’s ranked highest among wrestlers in terms of acting chops, but it’s not like he exclusively goes for artsy films. Big Dave has been in plenty of high-profile blockbusters and the occasional bomb, but he’s learned to lean towards buzzworthy, respectable projects like Dune and Knives Out as opposed to CGI nonsense and Kevin Hart vehicles.
Even beyond his talent and selectiveness (or great agent), Bautista has earned a rep in Hollywood as one of the kindest, most generous stars around. His co-workers love him, he spends his free time rescuing animals, and the only real drama he’s ever been involved in was defending his friend James Gunn when Disney unfairly canned him. He’s just a likeable guy with a ton of goodwill from the audience.
The world loves a babyface, after all, and there’s no bigger “good guy” in the industry than John Cena, a man who embodies our last, and maybe most important piece of advice for pro wrestlers looking to make the leap to movie stardom: Never give up.
5. Never Give Up
Like Hogan, Cena’s acting career started in-house. He starred in WWE Studios’ inaugural The Marine film, starting a franchise that would become a testing ground of sorts for WWE Superstars with acting potential.
Though he incorporated some aspects of his Marine character “John Triton” into his wrestling character, Cena put his movie ambitions to the side for the better part of the next decade. He was still in the prime of his in-ring career, and instead of leaving WWE at the first opportunity he spent the next decade devoting his hustle, loyalty, and respect to the company.
John Cena has granted more Make-a-Wishes than anyone in human history, endured endless publicity appearances and promo shoots, and willingly agreed to spend 20 years of his life dressed like a three-year-old. He even learned Mandarin just to better promote WWE (and himself) abroad. The only place we actually couldn’t see him was at the movie theater – though that was about to change.
The first real hint that Cena had some untapped talent came in 2015, with two surprisingly hilarious appearances in comedies Trainwreck and Sisters. Cena lightened his wrestling schedule as the roles grew more frequent, but he wouldn’t have a grand definitive sendoff until 2025. He would go off to film a movie, come back to hastily FU someone at WrestleMania, then split again.
Maybe it’s the lack of closure that prevented Cena from achieving the kind of singular hit movies that launched the careers of Rock and Bautista. Sure, he’s duked it out with the Decepticons and butt-chugged a few forties over the years, but he’s never enjoyed a Hobbes or Drax style breakout role that truly separated the wrestler from the actor.
Obviously, his stellar run as Peacemaker has made him a big deal – it was the only thing worth salvaging from a billion-dollar cinematic universe. But one pandemic-era underperforming film and a streaming series do not make a megastar. Cena did that himself through sheer perseverance.
Cena pounced on his acting career with the ruthless aggression he displayed for WWE. Junkets? Bring it on. Cameos? Time to go to work! Cena is so utterly dedicated to self-promotion that he appears in-character as Peacemaker in various press tours – the ultimate commitment to kayfabe. You don’t see Robert Downey, Jr. cosplaying as Marvel characters.
Well, now you do, but the point is: John Cena appears to be a really hard-working, dedicated guy just like his character on TV. He never really made that clean break from pro wrestling, and the line between man and Superstar is so blurred we can’t help but root for him. So beloved is Cena that his long-awaited heel turn crashed and burned after fans refused to boo him.
John Cena is more than a mere movie star like The Rock or Batista. He’s an ambassador for the entire art of pro wrestling, and an inspiration for a new generation just now stepping through the ropes of Hollywood. Younger wrestlers are making their move. Modern wrestlers like Becky Lynch, Mercedes Moné, and MJF are getting their acting reps in with some major movies. More importantly, they’re making connections. Wrestling and film are both cutthroat businesses, but savvy politicians like Cody Rhodes are well-equipped to navigate the schmoozing backrooms of Hollywood.
How high are their ceilings? Who will break through? Can the Street Fighter movie possibly be any good with this many wrestlers involved? We’ll sure find out!
There’s no single path to success when it comes to sports entertainers dominating Hollywood, but in a changing industry that’s thirsty for talent, some lessons from the past can help any wrestler step out of the squared circle and onto the silver screen.
