While the superstars of WWE, WCW, and beyond tend to do most of their acting on weekly wrestling shows, occasionally, these kings and queens of the "squared circle" appear in small movie roles. Why wouldn't they? Whether you watch sports entertainment or not, it's undeniable that it's a major part of American pop culture. However, not every wrestler can go onto stellar acting careers like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Many just get a bit part, here or there.
Throughout the years, there have been plenty of movies where a professional wrestler has popped up, making wrestling fans around the world do a double take. The most notable of these was in 2002's Spider-Man, when Peter Parker stepped into the ring to fight Bonesaw. The bearded, muscular superstar was played by none other than "Macho Man" Randy Savage, but you already know about the cameo. There are plenty over the years that went completely under-the-radar.
Going through years of wrestler cameos in movies, we found 27 that you either completely missed or forgot about entirely, and no, not all of them are Jesse Ventura cameos. If you're interested in more wrestling-related reading material, check out all the cameos from Netflix's series GLOW, and WWE's worst segments from the past decade.
Additionally, stay tuned to GameSpot for the next couple of weeks for live coverage of Extreme Rules on July 15 and all the info you need to know about it before the PPV airs.
Jingle All The Way: Big Show
In this 1996 Christmas comedy, WCW's The Giant--who would later go on to WWE and be renamed Big Show--played a giant, menacing Santa Claus.
Suburban Commando: Undertaker
Early in his WWE career, The Undertaker appeared in the 1991 Hulk Hogan movie Suburban Commando as an alien bounty hunter.
No One Lives: Tyrus
Also known as Brodus Clay, Tyrus appeared in the 2012 film No One Lives as a villain who dies moments after first appearing on screen.
Highlander: The Fabulous Freebirds
In the opening scene of Highlander, The Fabulous Freebirds--Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts--appear and battle Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell, and The Tonga Kid.
Daddy's Home: John Cena
While recently starring in the comedy Blockers, WWE's John Cena is still new to acting in big-budget comedies. He briefly appeared at the end of the 2015 film Daddy's Home as the ex-husband to Dusty Mayron's (Mark Wahlberg) new girlfriend. Cena reprised the role and got a lot more screentime for the 2017 sequel.
Waterboy: Big Show
Playing an all-American wrestler, Big Show briefly appeared as wrestler Captain Insano in 1998's Waterboy.
The Running Man: Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura's character Captain Freedom in 1987's The Running Man is a bit more than just a cameo, but it's one of his best supporting roles that fans continue to forget about.
MacGruber: MVP, Kane, Great Khali, Mark Henry, and Chris Jericho
2010's MacGruber may not have been a huge hit, but the cameos from the wrestlers mentioned above are easily some of the best on the list. MacGruber sets to assemble his own A-Team, and things go horribly wrong.
Grown Ups 2: Steve Austin
Adam Sandler Vacations With His Friends 2--I mean Grown Ups 2--may be a movie you missed in 2013. However it does feature "Stone Cold" Steve Austin playing former high school bully Tommy Cavanaugh.
Troy: Nathan Jones
While everyone was enjoying Brad Pitt's hair in 2004's Troy, most of us missed a very brief scene with Nathan Jones. The Australian wrestler's career in WWE lasted about a year where he fought other large guys in the company like A-Train and Big Show.
John Wick: Kevin Nash
Sure, we all know because of the Magic Mike movies that Kevin Nash can strip and dance, but can he play a man who guards a door? In 2014, we found out that can when he played that very role in John Wick.
The Wrestler: Ernest Miller
2008's The Wrestler was bound to have a few wrestler cameos. One of those was WCW's Ernest "The Cat" Miller, who battled alongside Randy "The Ram" Robinson.
Gremlins 2: Hulk Hogan
One of the weirdest cameos on this list comes from the 1990 movie Gremlins 2. The actual movie stops functioning because of Gremlin mischief. The movie cuts to a theater, and an attendant asks Hulk Hogan to help him out. Hogan rips off shit shirt and tells the Gremlins to stop messing in the booth.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Kevin Nash
During the end of 1991's TMNT2: Secret of the Ooze, Shredder becomes a mutated, super-formed version of himself. Years later, we learned that it was none other than WCW's Kevin Nash playing that role.
The Other Guys: The Rock
In the 2010 cop-comedy The Other Guys, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays an all-star police officer--the kind you'd see in an action movie. However, his appearance is short-lived, as he jumps off a building and dies.
Corky Romano: Sable
WWE's Sable had an appearance in the 2001 comedy Corky Romano. She played a bouncer that attempts an elbow drop onto the main character by jumping off a couch.
Sharknado 2: Kurt Angle
The Sharknado series loves its sports entertainment. In 2014, Kurt Angle made a brief appearance in Sharknado 2: The Second One.
Sharknado 3: Chris Jericho
The G.O.A.T., Chris Jericho, briefly appears in 2015's Sharknado 3, as a roller coaster ride attendant named Bruce.
Sharknado 4: Seth Rollins
Before Mt. Rushmore explodes, Seth Rollins shows up in 2016's Sharknado 4, threatening to superkick people.
Batman & Robin: Jesse Ventura
While the 1997 movie Batman & Robin is undeniably terrible, it does have one memorable scene, when Jesse Ventura plays an Arkham Asylum Guard.
Demolition Man: Jesse Ventura
Have we talked about Jesse Ventura yet? In 1993's Demolition Man, Ventura plays a CryoCon released from his prison by Simon Phoenix. He appears briefly during a scene when Phoenix rallies his troops.
40 Year Old Virgin: Kimberly Page
In 2005's classic comedy 40 Year Old Virgin, Kimberly Page--most known for being DDP's manager in WCW--appears during the "speed dating" montage midway through the movie.
300: Kurrgan
Robert Maillet was better known in WWE as Kurrgan as a member of The Oddities. One of his earliest movie roles was playing the Uber-Immortal in 300. Since then, Maillet has had a successful acting career, most notably playing The Master on FX's The Strain and playing Sluggo in Deadpool 2.
Die Hard With A Vengeance: Ludvig Borga
Ludvig Borga's time in WWE was brief, and so was his screentime in 1995's Die Hard With A Vengeance. He played a terrorist disguised as a New York City police officer.
Spring Breakers: Jeff Jarrett
WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett appeared in the 2012 film Spring Breakers as a youth pastor.
Looney Tunes Back In Action: Goldberg
In 2003, Goldberg played a bodyguard named Mr Smith in Looney Tunes: Back in Action. As you can see, he got to fire a futuristic gun, which was not impressive to the Tasmanian Devil.
Highlander Endgame: Edge
Edge may have a much more successful acting career now, and in 2000, he played the bit part of Lachlan in Highlander: Endgame.
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