5 Best Movies Starring WWE Superstars

Bryan Heaton

Source: WWE.com

For many years, WWE Superstars have been appearing in major motion pictures. Here are the best movies featuring wrestlers.

We’re in the middle of Oscar season right now. That means everyone is thinking about movies, right? So let’s talk movies!

Even before launching their own movie studio, WWE has a long history with the film industry. Major stars like Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and Steve Austin have all appeared in major motion pictures. Even stars lower on cards like Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas have gotten their chance to be in direct to video movies.

With the awards season in full swing, here at Daily DDT, we’re making a list of the best movies to feature WWE superstars. With so many films to choose from, it’s nearly guaranteed that someone’s favorite movie isn’t going to make the cut. So for the fan of The Chaperone starring Triple H out there, I’m very sorry.

It’s necessary to lay down a few ground rules before getting into the list. First off, cameos do not count. Yes, Hulk Hogan randomly showing up in movies like Spy Hard and Gremlins 2 is hilarious, but it doesn’t meet the criteria for this list. Second, to make the actual rankings, the wrestler in question had to be a part of WWE at the time the movie was relevant. Third, these are more guidelines than rules.

Let’s get started with a couple of honorable mentions (film spoilers ahead)…

Spider-Man (2002, “Macho Man” Randy Savage)

It’s a real shame Savage never made any kind of comeback with WWE, because this movie definitely would have made the top 5. Overall, this is one of the better comic book movies out there – even if the first sequel was better.

But as far as the wrestling connection, Savage is the perfect choice for “Bonesaw” McGraw, the wrestler that Peter Parker defeats using his newfound powers. He looks just like his nWo character did, and he casts the appropriate intimidating shadow inside the cage of death.

And not for nothing, how could I resist finding some kind of place on the list for “BONESAW IS REEEEEEEADY”? It’s perfect line delivery.

Ready to Rumble (2000, DDP, Sting, Goldberg, and various others)

To this day, I will never forgive WCW’s decision to put the world title on David Arquette to promote this movie. But horrible booking decisions aside, Ready to Rumble is one fun movie.

To recap for those who don’t know this wonderful flick, Arquette and Scott Caan play wrestling fans who idolize Jimmy King, played by Oliver Platt. Who is somehow Goldberg’s former tag team partner. This guy.

DDP is the company’s top heel. Joe Pantoliano (best known for The Sopranos) plays the world’s most cartoonish evil wrestling promoter. Tons of WCW wrestlers are in it playing themselves. And Martin Landau has a catchphrase!

It’s absurd and probably sped up the death of WCW, but I’ll be darned if I don’t lose it laughing whenever I watch it.

5. They Live (1988, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper)

Magic sunglasses. Alien conspiracies. The Hot Rod. And possibly the greatest fight scene in cinematic history. Believe it or not, this movie opened at number one at the box office.

They Live is a cult classic from the mind of John Carpenter (Halloween). It’s truly a bizarre film, but it is executed incredibly well. Piper plays a character with no name, who accidentally discovers that the elite in society are actually aliens. Yeah, I told you it was bizarre.

How does he do it? With a pair of magic sunglasses, of course! Wearing them shows the world how it really is – advertising is loaded with subliminal messages from the aliens, aimed at encouraging the population to accept the status quo unquestioningly.

There are two moments of the film that are incredibly well known to audiences. First, Piper’s most famous line in the film: “I came here to chew bubble gum and to kick ass… and I’m all out of bubble gum.” It’s ridiculous, but pretty much everyone knows it.

And then there’s the aforementioned fight scene (NSFW language warning):

Over 5 minutes long, just two guys fighting over a pair of magic sunglasses. Incredible. The scene was even parodied by South Park several years ago.

4. Ed Wood (1994, George “The Animal” Steele)

One of Tim Burton’s best movies, Ed Wood is the film biography of the famed B-movie director of the 1950s. Johnny Depp gives a great performance as the troubled director, and the film covers the time period where he made his most notable movies – including Plan 9 From Outer Space.

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Among the cast of Plan 9 was Swedish professional wrestler Tor Johnson. In a case of art imitating life, the actor portraying Johnson was also a professional wrestler – George “The Animal” Steele.

It was a bit of a departure for Steele to portray Johnson – after all, he had lines that needed to be delivered clearly and somewhat eloquently. Remember, he spent the majority of his wrestling career as a raving lunatic who barely spoke coherently.

But the resemblance between Steele and Johnson was uncanny, and the Animal did a commendable job. One of his biggest character strengths in his Hall of Fame career was his charisma. Steele was always great at connecting with an audience. There really isn’t too much difference from connecting to a crowd in front of you and a theater audience on the other side of a camera.

And not for nothing, this is the only movie on the actual list to feature a wrestler playing a character who spends time in a wrestling ring. So, it’s got that going for it.

3. The Princess Bride (1987, Andre the Giant)

The Princess Bride is a film that can be classified in many different ways. On the one hand, it’s a classic fairy tale love story. But on the other hand, it’s a swashbuckling pirate fantasy.

What is certain, though, is that Andre the Giant proved himself to be a terrific actor. With his role as Fezzik, the giant who proves to have a heart of gold, Andre left a mark in the movie world as large as he did in the wrestling world.

The flick itself is a classic. Comedy and drama intertwined, Cary Elwes as the famed and feared Dread Pirate Roberts (well, one of them, at least), and some of the most memorable lines in Hollywood make it an unforgettable feature. Raise your hand if you’ve ever tried to work, “Hello… My name is Inigo Montoya… You killed my father, prepare to die” into conversation. Just me? Okay, then.

Andre gets his fair share of screen time, and nails every second of it. From Fezzik’s duel with Roberts, where he provides commentary along the way, to his joy at being able to find horses for the grand exit, it’s easy to see that Andre could have made a transition from WWE to acting if he desired.

While filming The Princess Bride, Andre became a big part of Billy Crystal’s life. In fact, the movie My Giant was basically Crystal’s love letter to his dear friend.

2. The Rundown (2003, The Rock)

If we’re being honest, The Rock has had more success in Hollywood than he had as a wrestler. Considering how successful he was in WWE, that’s no small feat. But becoming the highest paid actor in 2016 is definitely a major accomplishment.

With so many movie roles under his belt, this article could have theoretically been “The Rock’s 5 Best Movies” and it would have been all decent movies. Yeah, Rock’s been in some duds (looking at you, Be Cool). But all the Fast and Furious films, Walking Tall, and Moana are among his best.

For this list, though, I decided to choose the movie that really solidified Rocky’s status as a movie star. Not a wrestler turned movie star, but a movie star. And that film is The Rundown.

It has all the elements of a fun action movie. An exotic setting in the South American rain forest. Stifler as the comedic foil to Rock’s straight man. Rosario Dawson as the damsel who isn’t in distress, but helps save the day. Christopher Walken as a scenery chewing villain. Snappy dialogue, memorable scenes – you name it, The Rundown has it.

And it’s a good movie, to boot! But the single most interesting part of the movie is early on in the club scene. Remember, The Rock was seen as the next Arnold Schwarzenegger – he was the big action star of the future. As Beck (Rock’s character) enters the nightclub, he walks past Arnold, who tells him “Have fun.” It’s a symbolic passing of the torch from one star to his successor, and Rock has more than run with that title in the years since.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014, Batista)

Some may disagree with the placement of Marvel’s space flick on the list. If so, it’s likely because when Batista made his WWE comeback to promote the film, his status in the company was ill-received at first.

But to discount how good Guardians was as a movie would be insane. Somehow, a wisecracking raccoon, a (barely) talking tree, a green lady who can kill you six ways to Sunday, a street smart pilot, and a revenge fueled tattooed monster are a great team. And that team was the centerpiece of a terrific movie.

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Batista himself provided a large amount of highlights in the film. His character, Drax (THE DESTROYER), does not understand sarcasm. Or metaphors. Or anything other than literal meanings. As you can imagine, hilarity often ensues.

But beyond just providing laughs, Drax/Batista provided heart in the film. One of the more poignant moments occurs as Drax consoles Rocket (the raccoon) over the death of Groot (the tree). Earlier in the film, Rocket and Drax had a pretty intense fight. But to see the big man lovingly put his arm around a crying raccoon is heartwarming. (And yes, I’m fully aware I’m using words like “poignant” and “heartwarming” about a movie centered around space pirates.)

With the sequel due out this summer, Batista is unlikely to return to WWE for promotion this time around. But the first time around, we got the infamous wave, so his in-ring return wasn’t all bad.

What movies featuring WWE wrestlers did I leave off the list?

Bryan Heaton

Bryan lives on Long Island with his wife and a pug, and more often than not there's some form of wrestling or another playing on the TV or computer. Follow him on Twitter @BigHeat34 to talk about WWE, NXT, or Chikara (seriously, wrestling ice creams and wrestling ants are AMAZING), or introduce him to your favorite promotions or matches!