5 Best (And 5 Worst) Wrestlers Turned Actors

5. Rowdy Roddy Piper

Rowdy Roddy Piper They Live

The late, great Roddy Piper starred in numerous film and TV show projects during and after his wrestling career. From playing a deranged professional wrestler on cult comedy It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, to voicing characters in animated projects like Green Lantern: Emerald Knights and Adventure Time, Hot Rod cast his net pretty far and wide.

And while, yes, many of his roles involve him playing wrestlers, which can't have been much of a stretch, he will go down in cult movie history for his lead role in John Carpenter's 1988 sci-fi horror They Live. The movie ensured his status as a cult icon. It gave birth to the catchphrase 'I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum.' Amazing.

4. Kevin Nash

'Big Sexy' Kevin Nash was one of the biggest wrestling stars of the 1990's. He wrestled for WWF as Diesel, before controversially moving over to rival WCW at the height of the storied 'Monday Night War' in which both promotions fought for ratings supremacy. While he was never known for his in-ring prowess, he was extremely successful due to his stature. Standing tall at 6 feet 10 inches and weighing in at over 300 lbs, Nash was always going to have a good chance in the land of the giants that is pro-wrestling.

He was able to experience some mild success in movies, too. In fact, most of the best entries on his filmography are from recent years, after he stopped wrestling full-time. His appearance as Super Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze and his turn as The Russian in The Punisher are probably most fondly remembered. But in the late 2000's, he appeared in small roles in films like Magic Mike (and it's sequel), Rock Of Ages and John Wick.

3. John Cena

John Cena Sisters

John Cena has been the undisputed top dog in WWE for over a decade, at this point. He is the very definition of a company man. Trained by WWE in their developmental territory before debuting on their main roster, Cena is a 15-time World Champion in the company. He holds the record for most Make-A-Wish foundation wishes granted, and is a regular fixture on the talk show circuit. He is also one of the main stars of 'reality' shows Total Divas and Total Bellas, as the real-life boyfriend of female superstar Nikki Bella.

Until fairly recently, Cena's movie career had failed to take off, however. He had starred in a number of WWE-produced films like The Marine, 12 Rounds and Legendary, but none had made much of an impression on mainstream audiences. But, in 2015, while on hiatus from WWE due to injury, Cena appeared in small (but very memorable) roles in three big comedies: Trainwreck, Sisters and Daddy's Home. Appearing alongside comedy stars like Amy Schumer, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell should do wonders for Cena's movie career.

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