The Essentials: WrestleMania Action Part 5

We are now just hours away from the WWE’s annual extravaganza known as WrestleMania.

All month long we have been counting down with our WrestleMania Action Essentials series. If you missed any of the previous parts of the series, click the links below:

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

In the fifth and final part of the series we will look at WrestleMania XX from Madison Square Garden through last year’s WrestleMania XXX from the Superdome in New Orleans…

THE MAIN EVENT

JOHN CENA: Cena’s first WrestleMania match took place at WrestleMania XX when he defeated The Big Show to become the United States Champion. A year later he won his first world title from JBL at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Cena would go on to headline WrestleMania 26-29. Cena has been a big player for WWE Studios starring in 12 Rounds, The Reunion and he was the first WWE wrestler to star in The Marine franchise.

THE MIZ: Mike “The Miz” Mizanin was the third WWE wrestler to star in one of The Marine movies. Miz took over in The Marine 3: Homefront and will continue with next month’s release, The Marine 4: Moving Target. The Miz defended the WWE Title against John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania XXVII in Atlanta. But his first WrestleMania match took place one year earlier in Phoenix.

RANDY ORTON: “The Viper” Randy Orton made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania XX in New York City, teaming up with his fellow Evolution members Batista and Ric Flair to battle The Rock and Mick Foley. Orton would headline WrestleMania 25 in Houston against Triple H. Orton starred in 12 Rounds: Reloaded, a sequel to the John Cena film 12 Rounds. Next up for WWE Studios, Orton will star in a sequel to the Steve Austin movie, The Condemned.

BATISTA: Dave Bautista is really starting to make a name for himself in Hollywood. He was in last year’s blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy. He’ll be in the next James Bond movie, Spectre. He’s playing Tong Po in the Kickboxer reboot and he’s recently been attached to the Highlander reboot as well. Batista was in the main event of last year’s WrestleMania XXX after being away from the WWE for a few years to begin working on what has become a successful movie career.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN

CM PUNK: With his WWE days now behind him, Punk never did have a chance to star in a WWE Studios movie. But Punk could definitely pull off being an action star. He wouldn’t be a Van Damme type action star. He wouldn’t be a Stallone type action star. More the Kurt Russell or Bruce Willis type of action star. Punk has done some work with Marvel Comics, could that open a door for a role in one of the many upcoming Marvel movies? He’s also set to make his debut for the UFC. If he proves to be a pay-per-view draw, Hollywood will take notice. So while right now he’s in the “What Could Have Been” category, it seems like “What Will Be” might be a fitting category too.

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS

• GREAT KHALI: The massive Great Khali is the pride of his native India. His WrestleMania debut came in Detroit, where he battled Kane. Khali was part of the action comedy, Get Smart (a movie that also starred The Rock).
• JOHN MORRISON: Morrison has a lot of variety on his WrestleMania resume, doing everything from competing in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match, challenging for the WWE Tag Team Titles and teaming up with Snooki from the Jersey Shore. Morrision aka John Hennigan starred in a direct to video Hercules movie last year called Hercules Reborn.
• TAMINA SNUKA: And speaking of Hercules… Tamina Snuka, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and cousin of The Rock, had a small role in The Rock’s Hercules movie that also came out last year. Last year also marked Tamina’s first WrestleMania match at WrestleMania XXX.
• TED DIBIASE JR: The son of the Million Dollar Man competed against his fellow Legacy members Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XXVI in Phoenix. He was also the second WWE superstar to star in one of The Marine films.
• GOLDBERG: Goldberg was a huge star for the WWE’s rival, World Championship Wrestling, but his only WrestleMania appearance would take place at WrestleMania XX where he took on Brock Lesnar in a match that is pretty infamous since the word was out that both Goldberg and Lesnar were on their way out of the WWE and the crowd hated on both through out the match. Goldberg was in the action film, Kill Speed back in 2010.
• EVE TORRES: One of the hottest divas in WWE history, Eve Torres made her WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania 25 in Houston. Eve made her action movie debut in The Scorpion King 4 and is set to star with Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville in Skiptrace later this year.