Ranked: Wrestling Goes Hollywood
Professional Wrestling and Hollywood have been a winning tag team for decades.
Some early examples of pro wrestlers making the jump from the wrestling ring to the silver screen include “High Chief” Peter Maivia in 1967’s You Only Live Twice, Lenny Montana as Luca Brasi in The Godfather and who could forget the Verne Gagne vanity project that was 1974’s The Wrestler.
Hulk Hogan’s appearance in Rocky III may well have been the spark of the 1980s wrestling boom and it wasn’t long until other key players in Vince McMahon’s national expansion, like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Andre the Giant, found themselves in the movies.
In the late 90s when the then WWF was in a head-to-head battle with WCW with both companies drawing record ratings on cable television, a new crop of wrestlers with mainstream appeal had movie offers coming their way… “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg and most notably The Rock, who continues to be a major player in Hollywood to this very day.
The tradition continues in 2023 with guys like Dave Bautista and John Cena joining The Rock as current Hollywood heavyweights, who owe their notoriety to pro wrestling.
In honor of this year’s WrestleMania taking place in Hollywood, I gathered the staff of Bulletproof Action along with some special guests to countdown our favorite action movies featuring professional wrestlers.
The guest list includes Bulletproof Podcast enthusiast and independent professional wrestler Oliver Cain… Friend of the site, physical media collector and longtime wrestling fan Andrew Babcock…. And last but certainly not least, Paul London. Who better to help us talk about movies featuring wrestlers turned actors than a Hall of Fame level professional wrestler that is also an actor?!
Now onto the countdown…
Chad Cruise: No movie franchise comes across the lips of action fanatics more these days than the John Wick-averse. For a character who says so little, the star character played by action veteran Keanu Reeves is speaking volumes at the box office. It’s only natural that director and action nut Chad Stahelski would go to some legendary action stars for support but in the original film he would lean a little on WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash. While the role didn’t offer much in the way of action, he got his moment with the star and lived to tell about it. Who knows? Maybe he’ll get another opportunity in the future with the myriad of spin-offs to come.
Andrew Babcock: In 2003, it happened. The passing of the action star torch. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a cameo at the beginning, walking by The Rock in a club, saying, “have fun”. What the audience is then treated to is an over the top, Cannon-like action adventure ripped right out of the jungles of the 80s. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, while dealing with the antics of someone like Sean William Scott, has to encounter some vets of the genre, including a whip wielding Christopher Walken and martial arts legend Ernie Reyes Jr. Here, Johnson easily fit the bill of a larger than life action hero of old. Sure, he probably had bigger box office successes in the years after, but The Rundown will always mean the most to old school-hearted fans like me.
Chris the Brain: 2007’s The Condemned was tailor made for Stone Cold Steve Austin. The BMF from Victoria, Texas got to open up so many cans of whoop ass in the movie including that of Vinnie Jones. Austin played Jack Conrad, a man facing the death penalty after the United States government left him out in the cold while he was part of a black ops operation in Central America… Austin being screwed over by his boss, that sounds familiar. As an added wrestling bonus, Nathan Jones also appeared in the movie as another convict competing in the ten person contest, where only one will survive.
Andrew Babcock: I know 9/10 people when they think UniSol, they immediately think of the original. Well, I am that odd man out, as I think about this one more times than not. Good memories of this growing up for me, being an avid Jean-Claude Van Damme fan, as I remember it being promoted heavily during WCW programming on TNT. How exciting. The movie did not disappoint either. Stepping into the big Lundgren sized shoes were Michael Jai White and none other than Bill Goldberg himself. It was clear how much fun Goldberg had in this role, chewing the scenery and spitting out one great one liner after another as he chased down and went toe to toe with JCVD. Universal Soldier: The Return combined two great pillars of the 90s, Van Dammage and WCW superstar Bill Goldberg. What a time to be alive.
Ryan Campbell: The Fast franchise has pseudo become a running gag with more focus on outrageous stunts than even the cars. The pivot from car culture centric stories to action extravaganza really started with Fast Five. Still my favorite of the series, it saw the stakes raised and the action ramp up but not to the outrageous levels we have now. It also saw the first in a run of high profile Hollywood stars jointing the family in The Rock. His larger than life persona brought a new feel to the franchise that would see its pivot revitalize the franchise for years to come.
Chris DePetrillo: It’s an Ultimate Warrior like you’ve never seen before in Firepower, one of the finest entries in the PM Entertainment catalog. There are no tassels or painted faces here, because Warrior (Jim Hellwig) isn’t a muscular superhero feeding off the support of the fans; here he’s a notorious criminal known as The Swordsman, and he’s an obstacle standing in the way of two cops played by action film vets Chad McQueen and Gary Daniels. Wrestling fans who fantasy booked a heel turn for Warrior at some point in their lives will want to check this out to get a feel for what could have happened if Warrior was allowed to show a more vicious side. In fact, what you see from him in Firepower may just make you lose your head! This was the first and only motion picture appearance for Hellwig, and the film played to his strengths by portraying him as an opposing force (and by keeping his lines to the bare minimum). Though many fans wouldn’t know about Hellwig’s role in the film since the marketing around it wasn’t based on his wrestling fame at all, the film is one of the best out of the early 90’s DTV/cable crop, and his appearance is the cherry on top.
Chad Cruise: It’s among my favorite action films of the early 1990’s and a bonafide banger in the world of biker action. It’s Stone Cold, Stone Cold! But not that Stone Cold! It’s the 1991 Craig R. Baxley jam starring NFL star Brian Bosworth. Opposite him (for one scene), five years removed from his infamous 1986 match with Bret Hart was Tom Magee. The look and athleticism of a mega star with the presence of a jobber, it’s no surprise that Magee would become more memorable as a big, muscle dude in movies than he was for his big time matches in the world of professional wrestling.
Paul London: If you’re making a film about bar fights, Terry Funk is an automatic choice. The wild and dangerous Texan fits in perfectly as ‘Morgan’, the Double Duece’s former cooler now turned henchmen for the film’s villain Brad Wesley. Having been fired and replaced by Patrick Swayze’s ‘Dalton’, Morgan claims Dalton “is a dead man” before storming off in a huff. Road House was released in 1989, the same year Terry Funk would enter a feud with Ric Flair in WCW to further boost his stardom in the United States. As Morgan, Funk brings his leathery toughness to each fight scene and is often the catalyst in getting the fists flying. And as great as Funk can dish out a beating, he receives an ass whoopin’ just as memorable making the most out of his screentime. With Dalton’s zen like mantra to “Just be nice.”, Morgan looks for every reason to swing and violently create mayhem. Morgan IS Terry Funk and Road House is all the more memorable as a result.
Oliver Cain: The Princess Bride is a movie that has everything. It has revenge, sword fights, giants, pirates, 6 fingered men, a crafty Sicilian, love, and mawage. Andre The Giant plays against type as a giant named Fezzik, who along with his best friend Inigo Montoya start off as kidnappers who become heroes. It is a quintessential movie for everyone. The fact that actor Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya) used this role to as some cathartic way to get revenge on the cancer that took his father from him when he was younger makes the performance so much more meaningful. I can’t end the review without saying “as you wish”.
Chris DePetrillo: If you want a deep dive into the various live action incarnations of The Punisher, I urge you to check out The Punisher episode of the Bulletproof Podcast for a great discussion (and a bunch of arguing) about which Punisher is better. Though I think that there’s a version better than Thomas Jane’s 2004 portrayal, the film got many things right, thanks to drawing inspiration from Garth Ennis’ famous run on the Marvel Comics vigilante book. In the 2004 film, Frank Castle has to contend with The Russian, a brutish hitman played by founding member of the nWo and the man formerly known as Oz, Kevin Nash. Oh yeah, he was Diesel too. Anyways, Nash looks identical to the comic book version of The Russian (around this time in WWE he lost his hair to Chris Jericho in storyline as a way to prepare for this role), a mountain of a man giving off strong Bluto from Popeye vibes. His brawl with The Punisher sees the vigilante take a beating, but in the end some boiling water and a tackle that sends both men flying over a railing ends with The Punisher victorious, but exhausted. It’s a fun fight played with the right mix of intensity and levity that Ennis brought to the comic, and is one of the highlights of the 2004 film.
Chad Cruise: A possible contender for the best action movie on this list while still being one of the most bonkers blockbusters in recent memory. George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road is a symphony of destruction and mayhem and some of that is only made possible by the bulging bicep brutality of Nathan Jones’ Rictus Erectus. While some might consider his time in the WWE as a “missed opportunity”, I like to think that his failures in the world of professional wrestling only quickened the real future he would have in the film world. Lord knows that getting beaten up by Jet Li and Tom Hardy hurts far less than getting F-5’ed through a table!
Chris DePetrillo: BONESAW IS READY! Those three words were uttered by one of the most iconic superstars in the history of wrestling, as he prepared to battle one of the most iconic characters in comic book history. “Macho Man” Randy Savage hadn’t been seen in the squared circle in several years, but his brief appearance in Spider-Man was about as perfect of a cameo as you could get. For those not up on their comic book history, young Peter Parker decided to try out his newfound spider powers by answering a wrestler’s open challenge in order to earn himself some extra cash, and humbled poor Crusher Hogan in the process. Since it would be blasphemous to have Randy Savage portraying someone with the surname Hogan, Crusher Hogan became Bonesaw McGraw, and the rest is history. Added bonus for Sam Raimi sticking his best pal Bruce Campbell in here in the role of the announcer who helps coin the name Spider-Man prior to Bonesaw getting his butt beat.
Chris the Brain: The Rock has been in a ton of high profile movies over the course of his acting career, but personally I prefer the simpler times in Dwayne Johnson’s Hollywood journey. In fact, my all-time favorite movie starring The Rock is 2004’s Walking Tall. Inspired by the original Walking Tall film that chronicled the real life of Buford Pusser, Walking Tall helped further establish The Rock as a larger than life action star in the tradition of Schwarzenegger and Stallone, but also gave The Rock an opportunity to test his acting abilities including some romantic scenes with the lovely Ashley Scott… which certainly couldn’t have been the roughest assignment The Rock ever had.
Matt Spector: “The ultimate male versus the ultimate meatball.” Misogyny and racism are not how you should want to live your life… unless you are a heel. The match between Thunderlips and Rocky in Rocky III may only be for charity, but Thunderlips does not take it easy on the champ showing that wrestling isn’t as fake as some think. Hulk Hogan shines as the easy to root against Thunderlips as he speaks ill of not only Rocky but the entire crowd. Hulk Hogan’s wrestling career had him at the pinnacle of babyfaces and heels, but his appearance in Rocky III proves to me heel was the way to go. Of course there is no need to bring traits of movie characters into real life or should I say “in the flesh, baby!”
Chris the Brain: As someone who became enamored with the world of professional wrestling in the 1980s during the Rock-n-Wrestling Era, No Holds Barred will always hold a special place in my heart. Hulk Hogan had sold out stadiums, broken pay-per-view records and drew monster ratings on national television, so it was probably easy to convince some Hollywood executives to give him a shot at starring in his own film. No Holds Barred didn’t body slam any box office records, but with Vince McMahon’s hype machine behind it, it was the talk of World Wrestling Federation programming in the summer of 1989. It even set up the main event for the second annual SummerSlam when Hulk Hogan teamed up with Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake to battle Randy “Macho Man” Savage and Hogan’s rival from No Holds Barred, Zeus (played by Tommy “Tiny” Lister). The Hulkster was not the only pro wrestler in No Holds Barred. Stan “The Lariat” Hansen, Bill Eadie (aka Demolition Ax), Jos LeDuc, Jeep Swenson and even some recognizable enhancement talents, “The Duke of Dorchester” Pete Doherty and Sonny Beach were all featured.
Oliver Cain: Over the Top is the rare movie that is great but every character is a terrible person. The kid is terrible, Stallone’s character is terrible, the grandfather is terrible, and the mom who dies from a botched heart surgery is the worst of them all. Terry Funk plays Ruker, one of Mr. Culter’s (Main Antagonist/ Rich Grandfather) hired thugs. Terry made a respectable career out of playing thugs. And like in most of his performances he has some killer one liners.
Over the Top follows Lincoln Hawk/Hawks (depending on what scene it is) as a deadbeat father who happens to drive a truck and arm wrestle on the side. His estranged wife Christina is having heart issues so she tells him he needs to reconnect with their son who Lincoln hasn’t seen in over 10yrs. Their son who for some reason they named Michael (Mike Hawk) is the standard spoiled rich kid who sucks. So Christina’s father Mr. Cutler isn’t really fond of Lincoln, ya know because of the whole abandoning his family thing. He’s the standard rich douchebag with hired thugs.
Why I believe Christina is the real villain of the movie:
I’ve seen in synopsis people say that Mr. Cutler hid the letters sent by Lincoln for Michael and Christina. Yet, not only does Mr. Cutler never take credit, Michael finds the letters opened in a purse in desk drawer in his recently deceased mother’s room. Why would Mr. Cutler hide letters from his daughter in her own room? He wouldn’t, therefore she hid the letters thus allowing her son and possibly father to think Lincoln abandoned Michael. (A storyline ripped off by The Notebook)
As I’m typing this I realized that since Lincoln was an over the road trucker, he could’ve stopped by anytime he was in the area to see his son if not find a terminal located near his family. What a terrible person. Not to mention the whole signing over custody of Michael to get his charges dropped.
With all that being said Over the Top gave us a killer soundtrack, the backwards hat machine scene, and the “Over the Top” arm wrestling finger move every boy who grew up in the 80s used. So that’s why it rules.
Ryan Campbell: Guardians of the Galaxy besides being one of the best MCU movies also helped to set the tone that would go on to be a hallmark of the MCU. Until that point large known names had been made into movies and this was the first big gamble with a story in space, with a talking raccoon and a giant sentient tree. That type of gamble only works if you have talented performers in the rolls and Dave Bautista shines as Drax. His dry humor would really endear himself with fans as he became a staple of the MCU through his final performance coming later this year.
Matt Spector: I don’t know if I have seen a more professional wrestling movie that is not about professional wrestling than The Running Man. A slickly produced television program with a charismatic figurehead that seems to be an actual competition but is actually scripted. Sure, there is some real world parallels we are supposed to be gleaning, but I can’t help and be entertained by the show Damon Killian (Richard Dawson) is giving me. While Arnold Schwarzenegger is clearly the star, The Running Man as an eclectic cast with the likes of Jim Brown, Mic Fleetwood and Yaphet Kotto. Wrestling fans will not be disappointed with Professor Toru Tanaka wearing ice skates and Jesse Ventura wearing a turtle neck. And just like professional wrestling, the retired Captain Freedom (Ventura) can’t help but come out of retirement to step into the ring one more time.
Paul London: Having met “Hot Rod” Rowdy Roddy Piper for lunch after seeing him at WrestleMania III, legendary director John Carpenter cast Piper to lead his next film, They Live, as the blue collar drifter Nada. They Live has gained cult status in large part due to Piper’s performance both physically and as the wisecracking Nada. Carpenter, a lifelong wrestling fan, was so impressed with Piper’s ability to speak he allowed Roddy to adlib many of his lines. I mean when you’re all out of bubblegum yet you’re also there to kick ass, who better then Hot Rod? Lending his brawling expertise to the production, Piper along with fight/stunt coordinator Jeff Imada crafted what many genre fans claim as the greatest fight scene in cinematic history! At over 6 minutes (scripted as a 20 second fight), Piper’s Nada brawls with Keith David’s Frank as he attempts to have Frank wear the special sunglasses allowing them to see what’s really going on. With society overrun by mind controlling assimilation and subliminal messaging, Nada and Frank team up to battle the aliens and save the planet. Piper’s charisma and charm makes Nada one of my personal favorite characters in ANY film. A personal favorite moment is when both Nada and Frank are selling the after affects of their marathon concrete brawl. Heroes tend to fight and carry on as if nothing, so seeing our leads in obvious pain after what seemed like a childish play fight gone bad made them all the more relatable. Roddy Piper was the only possible choice to play this role and it stands as his most decorated and cherished film.
Paul London: In John McTiernan’s legendary film lead by Arnold Schwarzenegger, about an elite team of top secret mercenaries becoming the hunted, Jesse “The Body” Ventura was cast as brash loudmouthed gunner Blain Cooper. Ventura claims several factors worked in his favor in landing the now iconic role, his size (6’4″ 255lbs), his being a military vet (Navy) and that he chewed tobacco. His charisma as the equally brash and loudmouthed Jesse “The Body” Ventura for the WWF probably didn’t hurt either. Ventura’s Blaine is one of the more beloved and quotable characters of the now franchise. With regular contests of who had the biggest arms of the cast, it’s no surprise that Ventura wielded “Old Painless” (a handheld Gatling Gun) before meeting his untimely demise in the jungle. Ventura credits Predator‘s success with saving his life as he was granted access to join SAG which provided him and his family with health care and benefits. Because who has time to bleed?
