With Dave Bautista In 'Guardians Of The Galaxy', Here’s 10 Other Wrestlers In Movies To Watch Out For
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Dave Bautista, better known to WWE fans as Batista, is currently flexing his acting muscles on the big screen in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. But the former WWE champ is just the latest in a long line of wrestlers who have made the leap from the ring to movie theatres. Alongside Batista, here’s our pick of 10 wrestler movie appearances you need to watch out for.
Dave ‘Batista’ Bautista -Guardians of the Galaxy After a few direct to video movie appearances, Batista first properly hit the big screen in The Man with the Iron Fists alongside Russell Crowe. However his big break has come with the role of Drax the Destroyer in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. His next starring role will be in a remake of 1989 martial arts movie _Kickboxe_r, originally starring Jean Claude Van Damme.
More: Critics Say 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' Is Great, But Does Anyone Disagree?
Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage -Spider-man Who better to wrestle Spider-Man than the most flamboyant wrestler of them all, Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage? Savage appeared in 2002’s Spider-Man as Bonesaw McGraw a wrestler who fights Peter Parker while wearing his worst Spider-Man costume. Apart from his _Spider-Ma_n role Savage also appeared as himself in tv shows such as 'Baywatch' and 'Mad About You', while also voicing a character in 2008 animation Bolt.
George ‘The Animal’ Steele -Ed Wood Knowing to wrestling fans for his wild man persona, George ‘The Animal’ Steele made his only movie appearance inTim Burton’s 1994 biopic Ed Wood. In the film, Steele starred as Tor Johnson a Swedish wrestler turned actor whom he had actually been mistaken for many times in the past.
Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler -Man on the Moon Memphis wrestling legend Jerry Lawler appeared as himself in the 1999 biopic of comedian Andy Kauffman starring Jim Carey. In the early 1980s Lawler had worked a high profile feud with Kauffman where the two even appeared on 'Late Night with David Letterman' together. In the film Lawler’s then broadcasting partner Jim Ross also makes an appearance as an announcer during his match with Kauffman.
‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper -They Live Since making his film debut in 1986’s Body Slams, the kilt wearing bagpipe wielding Rowdy’ Roddy Piper has starred in over 40 movies. However his best performance came in 1988’s They Live, directed by John Carpenter. In the sci-fi satire Piper starred as Nada a drifter who discovers the ruling classes are in fact aliens. A great mix of sci-fi and satire They Live is well worth a watch even if you’ve never seen Hot Rod wrestle a match.
Andre the Giant -The Princess Bride There was no better choice to play the Princess Bride’s Fezzik than Andre, the real life giant who had captured the imagination of 80s wrestling fans. The family friendly fantasy has a substantial cult following and has helped cement Andre’s legacy as the world’s most famous gentle giant.
More: The Princess Bride Quotes Remembered (Pictures)
Hulk Hogan -Rocky III Since the birth of Hulkamania, Hulk Hogan has made many film appearances, most of which we’d rather forget. But Hulk's acting debut came in 1982 alongside Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III, as Thunderlips. The attention Hogan received after his Rocky III appearance would kick start his wrestling fame in the US eventually making him the most famous wrestler in the world.
Triple H -Blade Trinity Paul Levesque better known as Triple H, makes his mark as a muscle bound vampire in 2004’s Blade Trinity. In the film Hunter as Jarko Grimwood brawls with a pre Green Lantern Ryan Reynolds in a fight scene bad even by Blade Trinity standards. Still if you cant get enough of Triple H acting he also made ‘comedy’ movie The Chaperone in 2011.
Kevin Nash -Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze Standing at nearly 7ft tall, Kevin Nash, formally known as Diesel has a pretty imposing presence, so it’s not hard to see how he landed the role of ‘Super Shredder’ in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. Basically all Nash has to do is groan a lot a knock things over, but despite him limites it wouldn't be the last acting role for Nash as he’d go on to demonstrate some impressive movies as a stripper in 2012’s Magic Mike.
The Undertaker Suburban Commando It’s unlikely that 1991’s Suburban Commando starring Hulk Hogan will be remembered for anything, but one reason why the sci-fi comedy is actually a movie of note is because it contains an appearance by The Undertaker. Yes The Undertaker pops up in this forgotten flick playing Hutch alongside future opponent Hulk Hogan. Released a year after The Undertaker’s debut, Suburban Commando is his only big screen appearance, however he has also guest starred on tv series 'Poltergeist: The Legacy'.