14 Pro Wrestlers Who Were In Horror Movies

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More and more professional wrestlers are moving into the profession of movie acting. Following in the footsteps of The Rock are names like Batista and John Cena, both of who made big splashes in comic book movies from Marvel and DC. With names like Roman Reigns and MJF already talking about a future in movies, Hollywood is likely to see more wrestlers turn into successful actors. However, for many years, there was always a spot in movies for wrestlers who didn't mind appearing in horror movies. These included low-budget releases, slasher movies, and even one wrestler taking on one of the biggest horror roles in history.

When it comes to professional wrestling, there is an obvious entertainment aspect to it. Most wrestlers have to take some acting training to become a successful star in this business. Sometimes the star might already have some acting credits to their name.

The reason that some wrestlers make guest appearances in movies and shows is because they have a knack for acting. Concerning movies, horror movies and professional wrestling can go hand in hand with certain aspects. There have been a lot of stars who have expressed their interest in the horror genre, but there are only a select few that have gotten to appear in a horror movie.

UPDATE: 2022/07/30 15:00 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS

More and more professional wrestlers are moving into the profession of movie acting. Following in the footsteps of The Rock are names like Batista and John Cena, both of who made big splashes in comic book movies from Marvel and DC. With names like Roman Reigns and MJF already talking about a future in movies, Hollywood is likely to see more wrestlers turn into successful actors. However, for many years, there was always a spot in movies for wrestlers who didn't mind appearing in horror movies. These included low-budget releases, slasher movies, and even one wrestler taking on one of the biggest horror roles in history.

14 Tyler Mane - Halloween

Tyler Mane was a WCW wrestler who didn't have a lot of upside in professional wrestling but had a huge career ahead of him in Hollywood. He broke out thanks to his role in the 2000 Marvel Comics movie, X-Men, where he played Sabretooth. However, he got an even bigger chance, thanks to Rob Zombie.

After taking on the role of Rufus Firefly in The Devil's Rejects, Mane got the lead role in Zombie's 2007 remake of Halloween. In this movie, Mane played Michael Myers. While he only lasted for two movies, and critics seemed to hate them, it still was a historical role for the former WCW wrestler.

13 Tor Johnson - Night Of The Ghouls

Tor Johnson was a Swedish professional wrestler who worked as both a wrestler and horror movie actor from the 1930s to the 1960s. His most-known role was in the science fiction film often lovingly called the worst of all-time, Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space.

That led to a cult-classic horror movie in 1959 called Night of the Ghouls. This was another Ed Wood movie and Johnson starred as Lobo, a character he also played in Bride of the Monster. In some fun trivia, George "The Animal" Steele played Johnson in the biopic Ed Wood.

12 Shane Douglas - Pro Wrestlers Vs. Zombies

Shane Douglas in Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies

Shane Douglas was one of many famous wrestlers to appear in the indie horror movie, Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies. However, Douglas was the star of the movie, while the other wrestlers were supporting characters or role players. Douglas was a wrestler who was down on his luck after accidentally killing his opponent in the ring after catching him cheating with his girlfriend.

As a result, the dead wrestler's brother brings a zombie army out through demonic magic for revenge. It is up to Douglas and his fellow wrestlers, played by Rowdy Roddy Piper, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Matt Hardy, Kurt Angle, and more to survive the night.

11 Bill Goldberg - Santa's Slay

Goldberg starred in one of the strangest horror movies when he took on the role of a murderous Santa Claus in the movie Santa's Slay. The movie opens with a family arguing about their wealth when Santa shows up and slaughters them all.

Instead of his reindeer, a hell-deer pulls Santa's sleigh, and he slaughters people in Christmas-themed ways. It is soon up to a teenager who knows the truth about this Satanic Santa to stop him before he destroys the entire town.

10 Batista - Army of the Dead

"The Animal" Batista has appeared in some major box office films, and plays a big part of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. He has quite a few acting credits under his name now, and has transitioned from wrestling to becoming a full-time actor. Recently, he starred as the main character in Netflix's Army of the Dead.

Award-winning director Zack Snyder helmed the movie, and it takes place in a post apocalyptic world. The plot follows Batista's character as he leads a group of experts to retrieve something from a zombie infected Las Vegas. Ultimately, the former World Champion puts on a great performance and really carries the movie.

9 Diamond Dallas Page - The Devil's Rejects

WWE Hall of Fame star and world renowned Yoga Instructor Diamond Dallas Page has appeared in multiple different project throughout the years. Most recently, he was the star of Netflix's new superhero series The Guardians of Justice. He started appearing in films when he played the antagonist of 2000's Ready to Rumble.

Page has appeared in a few horror movies that range in popularity. For example, he has appeared in the movie Gallowwalkers and in Driftwood, which were both lesser known films. The largest grossing horror film he has appeared in was Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects. He was not in the movie long, but he played the very memorable character of Billy Ray Snapper.

8 Triple H - Blade Trinity

Triple H is one of the most accomplished stars in the history of professional wrestling. He has won multiple championships and is currently one of the top executives in WWE. Triple H has a few acting credits to his name; including television projects and starring in WWE pictures.

One major motion picture that he played a part in was Marvel's Blade Trinity. Triple H played a vampire villain who would go to challenge Wesley Snipe's Blade. His character's name was Jarko Greenwood, and he starred alongside actors like Ryan Reynolds and Parker Posey.

7 Hornswoggle - Leprechaun

WWE's Hornswoggle was a famously comedic character in which, for most of his time with the company, he played a leprechaun. Given his enthusiasm and love for the character, he made for the perfect choice for WWE's revival of the Leprechaun horror franchise. The original movie in the franchise premiered in 1993 and starred Jennifer Aniston.

WWE pictures attempted to relaunch the franchise in 2014, but unfortunately it was not a hit. It did, however, make for an interesting take on the original cult classic film.

6 Maryse - Isle of the Dead

The horror genre does not need to be well-defined. In fact, there are multiple sub-genres that would be considered horror. For example, Maryse appeared in the horror comedy Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! in 2015. The plot of the movie revolves around a natural disaster in which sharks fall from the sky in a tornado like fashion. Mayrse makes a quick appearance as a police officer.

In 2016, she starred alongside actor Joey Lawrence in the movie Isle of the Dead. The movie sees a group of military members travel to an island filled with zombies, in hopes of taking care of the problem.

5 Jesse Ventura - Predator

On top of being a former Governor and professional wrestler, Jesse "The Body" Ventura is also an actor. Most notably he starred alongside WWE Hall of Fame star Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987's Predator. The movie sees a group of military commandos on a mission in Central American when they are attacked by an alien creature.

It turns out that the alien predator was a skilled hunter and made a game out of hunting the commandos. The movie is gruesome, scary, and overall, it gets pretty gory.

4 Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - The Mummy Returns

Easily considered one of the biggest movie stars today, it should come as no surprise that The Rock has appeared in a few horror movies during his acting career. In fact, before he transitioned to a full-time actor, two of his earliest movies were considered horror movies.

He appeared in 2001's action/horror hit The Mummy Returns, starring as the half man and half scorpion, The Scorpion King. In 2005, he starred in the movie adaptation of the video game DOOM. Unfortunately, that movie turned out to be a flop, but The Rock has since made up with it by working on multiple award-winning movies.

3 Kane - See No Evil

There are very few superstars in WWE history who are as scary and intimidating as "The Big Red Machine" Kane. He has starred in multiple different projects as a horrific character, but his scariest was when he played the vicious Jacob Goodnight in See No Evil.

WWE films produced two See No Evil films in which Kane was the star. One arrived in 2006 while the second came out in 2014. The films fit the horror trope of having a group of young adults running away from the killer in the slasher twist. Given the gruesome nature of the films, Kane was the perfect casting choice.

2 CM Punk - Girl on the Third Floor

Current AEW star "The Best in the World" CM Punk has gone on record multiple times saying how he is a huge fan of the horror genre. He has appeared in three different horror movie projects over the last few years. In 2018, he appeared as Billy in the movie Rapid which is about women who suffer side effects from an experimental treatment.

In 2019, he was the star of the film Girl on the Third Floor, where he plays a character who was recently married and sent to renovate his new house before his wife arrives. He ends up in a relationship with an interesting woman and the plot takes a horrific turn from there. He also appeared as a side character in the 2021 film Jakob's Ladder, where Punk plays the deputy.

1 Roddy Piper - They Live

The late "Rowdy" Roddy Piper starred in well over ten movies, with most of them being part of the horror genre. A lot of the films were B-rated horror films, which means they were low-budget and not wildly popular. He was in movies like Street Team Massacre, which was a zombie movie. He was also in Costa Chica: Confession of an Exorcist, which was a movie about demons.

Most famously, Piper starred as John Nada in the cult classic They Live. The movie was directed by legendary director John Carpenter and takes place in a world where "They" influence the decisions of common people. Overall, the film is one that all horror fans would love!