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Former WWE Champion Ranked As Best Wrestler Turned Actor

WWE Dave Bautista Batista

A lot of wrestlers have tried their hands at acting, but one major Hollywood website believes a specific WWE legend stands above the rest.

Pro wrestlers are playing characters in a wrestling ring. It’s a unique business because a wrestler like Hulk Hogan was known by his stage name rather than his real name, Terry Bollea. It’s not like Tom Cruise is known as Ethan Hunt because of his Mission Impossible character, so that’s how wrestling is different than acting in a movie or a TV show.

Many wrestlers have also transitioned into the acting world, with some achieving considerable success and others facing numerous failures.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson walked away from millions in WWE as a full-timer when he was about 30 years old to pursue an acting career. Over 20 years later, The Rock is one of the most well-known celebrities around the world, so clearly he made the right decisions.

Other former WWE Champions like John Cena and Dave Bautista (Batista) have become full-time actors. Bautista has been in the acting world for over a decade, while Cena has been full-time in acting for over five years. This year marks his final year as a full-time wrestler.

Other wrestlers have had significant acting roles over the years, like Hulk Hogan, Adam Copeland (Edge in WWE), Roddy Piper, Jesse Ventura, and many others.

Former WWE Champion Dave Bautista Ranks Above The Competition

When it comes to who is the best actor turned wrestler, the respected Hollywood publication The Hollywood Reporter has gone with Dave Bautista in the top spot, followed by The Rock and Cena.

Here’s the top ten list by writer Tony Maglio.

#1. Batista
#2. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
#3. John Cena
#4. Roddy Piper
#5. Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland
#6. Kevin Nash
#7. Hulk Hogan
#8. Paul Wight / Big Show
#9. Jesse Ventura
#10. Andre The Giant

Here’s what was written about Bautista on the website.

It felt like Bautista (Batista in WWE) would be just fine as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy — he had the build, and the makeup department could take care of the rest — but as it turns out, he’s actually a fine and fairly versatile actor. Bautista is as busy in Hollywood these days as Batista was in WWE in 2006, which is to say, he’s heavily booked.

Bautista did something very smart that helps him stand out here. The former “The Animal Batista” was built like — well, like an animal. Bautista is 6’4” (WWE exaggerated to 6’6”) and now a very trim 240 pounds; he was billed as 290 lbs. as a wrestler, and that was probably about right.

Though actors usually need to bulk up for certain roles, Bautista has slimmed down to fit in. That sort of reverse body transformation has really helped the suspension of disbelief aspect that Hollywood, like WWE, demands. When you’re built like “Batista” (and Drax), you’re probably not going to get many everyman roles.

Dave Bautista lost his last WWE match to Triple H at WrestleMania 35 in 2019 and will likely be officially in the WWE Hall of Fame at some point in the future. Bautista was set to be inducted into the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame class, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the live event. He decided to wait until the ceremony could be held in front of fans. He has yet to join the WWE Hall of Fame officially.