For decades, wrestling has gone hand in hand with acting. Pro wrestlers are among the most comfortable people in the world in front of an audience, and many of them are also well-versed in how to work a camera. This has led to many wrestlers from numerous promotions making the jump from the wrestling ring to the big screen, with varying degrees of success.
Hulk Hogan was arguably the biggest wrestling star to achieve pop culture popularity before Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson eclipsed him in terms of staying power in Hollywood. Now, the Rock is one of the most successful actors in Hollywood, and certainly one of its wealthiest. Following The Rock’s success, WWE has tried to make its other stars ‘crossover’ by featuring them on TV shows, in different live appearances, and especially in film.
Unfortunately, for WWE, few wrestlers have been even remotely able to replicate the Rock’s success. WWE have tried with their own film division (WWE Studios), with varying degrees of success. They have also tried to take many of their current/past stars after the Rock and make them into big film stars, also with little success. It has now reached the point where there might be more WWE superstars active on the roster now that have been in movies than those that haven’t.
Here are ten top WWE superstars that have never been in a movie.
#10 Mickie James
Mickie James was once the centerpiece of WWE’s Divas Division. She was booked very strongly, and won numerous titles due to her skill and popularity. Despite absurd allegations of ‘weight issues’, James has still managed to become incredibly successful in wrestling.
Oddly, James has never appeared in a movie of any kind. The only kind of ‘media work’ she has done outside of wrestling is her own country music career. James has also been successful in this venture, having released two albums, and was even inducted into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2017.
At 38 years old, there is still a chance James could land a film role in the future, so perhaps things could change for her once her current WWE run comes to an end.
#9 Sasha Banks
One look at Sasha Banks and you can tell that she’s completely comfortable in front of a camera. She can cut a solid promo (provided it isn’t 100% scripted nonsense) and under the right conditions, she could really sell emotion through great facial expressions and body language.
Yet despite having all of these traits, Sasha Banks has never been in a movie. Then again, this is to be expected, given how she came to WWE at a very young age and has been the second-most pushed woman in the company behind only Charlotte Flair.
Sasha could possibly transition into film roles later in her career, provided that she doesn’t keep hurting her back wrestling in such a dangerous style as she has been, especially since 2016.
#8 Finn Balor
By most measurements, Finn Balor would make for an ideal film actor. He has the look, he can cut a solid promo, he has the ‘allure’ of having a foreign accent, and he’s a great professional wrestler, which mean that he knows how to pull off physically-demanding stunts without getting hurt.
And yet, Finn Balor has never been in a movie, despite possessing all of those positive attributes. There are two main reasons why.
First, Balor has worked virtually his entire career in Japan and on the independent scene, meaning that he has only taken wrestling bookings. Simply put, he hasn’t even broached the idea of taking part in a film role.
Second, and most importantly, Finn Balor is short. Even though wrestling has sort of moved away from the overemphasis of big men, films have not, and if Balor is smaller than his fellow actors, he isn’t likely to be taken seriously, no matter how skilled he might be at putting together a believable action sequence in a movie.
#7 Cesaro
If there’s one thing that Cesaro has proven over the past few years, it’s that he can actually cut promos and connect with an audience, despite being Swiss. Vince McMahon might not agree with this, but fan reactions are a strong indication that Vince was indeed wrong when he made this allegation.
That said, it’s surprising that Cesaro has never been in a movie, despite his looks, charisma and ability to totally rock a suit. Cesaro could easily work a film role as a ‘heavy’ or as some kind of hired muscle, or even as a foreign assassin, given his somewhat pronounced accent.
Given that he holds such high standards for himself and carries himself as a consummate professional, perhaps there is the possibility that Cesaro could become a film star in the future.
#6 Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy is an interesting case. On one hand, Hardy has been actively involved in various artistic pursuits outside of his wrestling career. He has his own band, is a tattoo enthusiast, and appears to be quite skilled at sculpting and landscaping (as seen in the Final Deletion).
He has also appeared on numerous TV shows and has had several DVD specials made for him covering his wrestling career. On the other hand, Jeff Hardy has never actually played a role in any movie.
Perhaps a good reason for this is that shooting a film, like wrestling, requires considerable commitment and patience in order for the story to be shot well enough to move onto editing. This relates to Hardy because he has a noted history of drug issues and personal problems that have followed him like a black cloud for many years, in both WWE and in TNA.
It’s possible that Hardy could possibly land a movie role, but he would have to first convince the movie producers that he wouldn’t engage in any behavior that would prevent him from doing his job while on set.
#5 A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles is widely considered not only the best wrestler in WWE right now, but also the best wrestler on the planet. Few wrestlers can match him in terms of his versatility, agility, and technical prowess, which is why so many people love seeing him perform on a weekly basis.
But if there’s one thing that Styles hasn’t done yet, it’s appear in a movie. Styles has traveled so extensively for wrestling purposes and has wrestled in so many different promotions that it’s likely that he simply hasn’t been asked to appear in a film as of yet.
Furthermore, given his immense popularity in WWE and soaring merchandise sales, WWE would likely prefer to keep him in a wrestling role to maintain those high sales as opposed to risking a reduction in sales with Styles away filming a movie.
As for the future, it isn’t likely that Styles will appear in a movie, simply because he doesn’t appear to be the kind of wrestler cut out for the big screen, whereas many of his current WWE co-workers are.
#4 Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman has quickly become one of WWE’s biggest stars. Despite debuting as seemingly another generic musclebound bodybuilder, Strowman has improved by leaps and bounds in the realms of moving like a wrestler, cutting promos, and showing charisma.
He has improved so much that many people now consider him to be the biggest star in WWE, literally and metaphorically. Oddly, he has not appeared in a movie as of yet, despite being the perfect person for the role of a thug for fire, or one of those ‘giant henchmen’ that a bad guy would hire to prevent a film’s protagonist from passing him.
With Braun’s popularity with WWE fans growing, and with his promo skills improving on a weekly basis, perhaps a film role, however small, might be on the horizon for him.
#3 Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe is one of WWE’s biggest stars, given how he has been thrust into main event rivalries almost instantly upon his arrival onto the main roster. Despite being hampered by injuries, Joe is a formidable wrestler and dangerous force for anyone that crosses his path.
These days, Joe is marketed as a hitman for hire, and he looks perfect in that role given his menacing face and aura of intimidation. That’s why it’s surprising that Samoa Joe has never been in a movie. He has never been in any film, big or small, not even as an uncredited extra appearing on the screen for thirty seconds.
This might change in the future, however, as WWE does like to market its top stars in films all the time. Joe could find himself in a WWE Studios film sometime in the future, especially since that studio has a fondness for action films, which would be right up Samoa Joe’s alley.
#2 Stephanie McMahon
Over the years, WWE has gone to great lengths to try and sell the idea that Stephanie McMahon is a big name worthy of crossover popularity. In many respects, she has enjoyed more successful bookings than any other on-screen character, especially since she rarely, if ever, gets her comeuppance as an on-screen villainess.
Yet, despite all of those efforts to make Stephanie McMahon into a crossover star, she has never made it into a movie, not even for a brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo appearance. Maybe it’s because she has far too many responsibilities in WWE at this time to take time off to film a movie.
Or maybe it’s because she has one of the most annoying voices to ever come out of the wrestling business. Whatever the case may be, Stephanie has never appeared in a movie, but who knows if that’ll still be the case a few years down the road.
#1 Roman Reigns
As shocking as this might sound, Roman Reigns has never appeared in any movie. The reason this might be shocking is that Reigns does possess one attribute that many in WWE consider to be very important: looks.
There’s no denying that his long hair and facial features make him attractive to certain segments of the audience, and that is one reason he gets pushed so prominently.
Conversely, Reigns has proven many times over the past few years that he still struggles with promos, especially those that are 100% pre-written by WWE script-writers for him without him having any input of his own.
Though Reigns can cut a solid promo when he has more freedom to add his own ideas and emotions, this struggle with fully-pre-written dialogue is perhaps a good reason why he has yet to be signed for any film role.
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