It honestly makes absolute sense that wrestlers would make good actors. They can recite some of the most shamelessly over-the-top lines with straight-faced sincerity, and their adherence to kayfabe, the convention of presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic, is on par with any "method" discipline that Daniel Day-Lewis or Christian Bale might demonstrate.
The following is a top ten list of wrestlers-turned-actors according to Ranker, popularity rankings whose generational and gender bias leads to certain blind spots--the absence of the likes of Stacy Keibler and Sasha Banks seem glaring--but overall show the underrated acting versatility of these kings and queens of the ring.
Bill Goldberg
A wrestler and former NFL draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams, Bill Goldberg is well-known for his undefeated streak back in the WCW's New World Order era, where his quick, overpowering victories were reminiscent of the NES version of Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson's Punch-out.
Goldberg was a wrestler of few words--and even fewer moves--though he was able to parlay his laconic physicality into quite a few action roles in the early to mid-aughts like Ready to Rumble, The Longest Yard, and Santa's Slay (not every actor gets the opportunity to play a homicidal Santa Claus).
Kevin Nash
Surprisingly, Kevin Nash has an assortment of acting credits ranging from action (John Wick, The Assault) to comedy (Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL) to unintentional comedy (Freejack, DOA: Dead or Alive).
His crowning achievement--already a difficult task considering Nash's 6'10 height--might be his role as Super Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze where he plays the super-powered villain in the film's climactic fight in a dance club accompanied by Vanilla Ice's "Go Ninja Go," all of which seems like it was conceived by a 10-year-old, raised in the '80s on Handi-snacks and Mountain Dew.
Randy Savage
It's a curiosity why the Macho Man isn't higher on this list. Perhaps Ranker users skew younger and are unfamiliar with Randy Savage's "slap it to a Slim Jim" ubiquity during late '80s/early '90s daytime kids' television.
Granted, his portrayal as an over-the-top pitchman didn't stray too far from his portrayal as the over-the-top--often literally when it came it to the top turnbuckle--high-flying Macho Man, but this only goes to show the true greatness of the man: it's almost impossible to separate his public persona from his private one. That is a method actor at their finest. Of course, his on-screen highlight was as Bone Saw in Spider-Man.
Roddy Piper
In professional wrestling, it's often the heels, or "bad guys" that do most of the heavy lifting, i.e. talking. When it comes to heels, Roddy Piper is generally considered one of the greatest of all time.
His ferocity and basic angry-drunk-at-the-bar routine made him one of the biggest draws in the WWF (now WWE), used to awesome comic effect in two episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which of course, takes place in a bar. Still, it's his iconic role in They Live that really showcases his greatness.
Jesse Ventura
Former governor of Minnesota, current radio personality, and owner of one of the great lines in '80s action cinema, Jesse Ventura has made himself known in American popular culture. From Navy Seal (known at the time as Navy Underwater Demolition Team) to popular heel during the WWF's '80s halcyon days, to his time in politics, "The Body" has always been ready for a fight, whether pretend or not.
As for acting credits, he made a habit of playing tough guys, starring in two of the big popcorn flicks of 1987, The Running Man and Predator, the latter in which he states his famous line, "I ain't got time to bleed." He even hilariously parodied this in a cameo in Major League II.
André the Giant
If any human being could be described as larger-than-life, both figuratively and literally, it's André Roussimoff. Ironically, probably the only thing about André the Giant that was exaggerated was his listed height as wrestling likes to overexaggerate.
This is a man who once drank 10 beers in one sitting and used to move his friends' cars (with his bare hands) as a prank. There is no argument that André is an absolute icon and should be much higher on this list--perhaps at its top--if only on the strength of his endearing performance as Fezzik in The Princess Bride.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Safe to say, Steve Austin has a few fans on the Ranker website; even he would probably admit that it's a surprise to see him ranked higher than Randy Savage and André the Giant. Of course, that's no slight on "Stone Cold," an absolute star during the WWE's Attitude Era and biggest draw--along with The Rock--for close to a decade.
So synonymous was he with his image as a brawling tough guy, it might surprise readers to know that one of his first wrestling incarnations was as "Stunning" Steve Austin, a pretty boy character. Most of his on-screen roles continue the trend of him playing a tough guy.
John Cena
A WWE superstar during its PG era, John Cena's role as company babyface is partly responsible for hiding what has been plain to see in his multiple movie and TV roles: his wicked sense of humor. Whether he's playing the sexually confused, bro-ey boyfriend of Amy Schumer's Trainwreck character, or the bro-ey--seems to be a theme here--Peacemaker in the HBO Max series of the same name (and The Suicide Squad film), John Cena is side-hurting hilarious.
He's a perfect example of the way in which professional wrestlers are underestimated; his verbal slams are even more powerful than his bodyslams and his joke lines more punishing than his clotheslines.
Dave Bautista
The heir to Arnold Schwarzenegger's informal title as "funniest in-on-the-joke meathead," Bautista surprised everyone with his flawless, comic turn as Drax the Destroyer in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy films. Also, unlike most of the other wrestler-turned-actors on this list, he's stretched his acting muscles beyond the typical action or comedy fare, adding brutal humanity to his roles in movies such as Bladerunner 2049 and Dune (both helmed by Denis Villeneuve).
Fun fact: Bautista ad-libbed the line from Avengers: Infinity War when he responded to Tony Stark's "I'll do you one better: Who is Gamora?" with "I'll do you one better: Why is Gamora?" It ended up being one of the film's funniest moments.
The Rock
It's pretty hard to argue with someone who, as it stands currently, can claim a worldwide aggregate box office of over $5 billion dollars. Those numbers are a long way from performing "The People's Elbow" and "The Rock Bottom."
Normally, Dwayne Johnson plays the part of a ripped action hero with a few punchlines sprinkled here and there for comic effect, but in the near future fans can look forward to an atypical, and certainly intriguing, role for him as the villainous Black Adam in DC's film of the same name opening in 2022. It's clear that quite a few people can smell what the Rock is cooking.