Pro wrestling is one of the most interesting professions one can have. Unlike other careers where schooling and experience are the keys to holding a job in your field for the rest of your life, wrestling is one of many forms of athletics where there’s a small window to make money. Unfortunately for wrestlers, the pay usually isn’t as great as it is in the NFL, NBA or MLB with a more difficult schedule due to no offseason. Most of the time, a wrestler will have to seek a new livelihood once their career in the WWE is over.

Once the WWE days are over, most wrestlers will first try their luck in TNA, ROH, NJPW or on the independent scene. While there are options there, the spots are very limited and only a select few will have the ability to make a living outside of WWE. The luck of building your name value and still having a few years left to compete at a high level is the key as stars like Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy and Alberto Del Rio are doing well. However, most of the names you see released from WWE will end up going back to school or entering a new trade as it’s the most reasonable option.

The prime years for a wrestler are typically late 20s to late 30s before he or she is forced to move towards a new profession if they haven’t earned or saved enough to live off their wrestling income. These are 15 wrestlers who were able to find a new place in life drastically changing the way they provide for their families. The transition from performing in front of 20,000 people to making a modest living causes one to shrink their ego a bit but these are examples of how some wrestlers can adapt to a normal life.

15 15. Ivory

During the Attitude Era, Ivory was one of the few mainstays of the Divas division, spending six years in the WWE. A run that long is typically more difficult for female performers in WWE making hers one of the more successful stories in the company. Once her WWE career ended, Ivory decided to use her passion for animals by running an animal daycare. It all began with rescue and care for animals affected by Hurricane Katrina before she opened Downtown Dog, which started as a do-it-yourself bathing facility for animals and later became an animal daycare.

14 14. Rico

Most known for his run as the flamboyant manager for Billy & Chuck, Rico only lasted two years on WWE TV before his release. After his WWE days ended, Rico completed his law enforcement training and earned a job as a Sergeant Inspector with the Nevada Taxicab Authority. Controversy arose at Rico’s new job due to wrestling as he worked a local independent show while on “light duty” limitations at his new job due to an injury. When footage was released of his match, he was fired before a hearing officer ordered the Authority to reinstate him with full back pay and benefits.

13 13. Maven

One of the original winners of Tough Enough, a reality show that gave him a WWE contract, Maven didn’t last as long in WWE as many expected. Most popular for eliminating The Undertaker in the 2002 Royal Rumble, Maven was released from his WWE contract after just four years. Maven now works as a bouncer at a New York City sports bar and according to various reports, he strongly dislikes when old wrestling fans spot him. After an 8 year break, Maven announced he will make his first independent wrestling appearance on July 19^th but he isn’t giving up his bouncer gig.

12 12. Glacier

Glacier was one of the most bizarre ideas for a new gimmick in the 90s when WCW president Eric Bischoff decided he wanted a character similar to someone you would see in a Mortal Kombat video game. With his karate inside the ring and faux snow falling outside of the ring, Glacier had a memorable but short run in wrestling. Today, Glacier works as a manager for Maus Media Group, an advertising and marketing agency located in Florida. In his spare time, Glacier does “DDP Yoga” with fellow WCW wrestler Diamond Dallas Page.

11 11. Shawn Stasiak

Despite being the son of the legendary former WWWF champion Stan “The Man” Stasiak, Shawn Stasiak is primarily known for running into a wall. Stasiak had a solid short run in WCW during its dying days and was retained when WWE purchased the company. Unfortunately, his role in the new company was a comedic one featuring him running into walls and falling down during "the Invasion." Seeing the writing on his wall, Stasiak studied to become a chiropractor after retiring from wrestling. The former “Planet Stasiak” is now regarded as one of the best in his field and even received a certification in Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA) from the Academy of Physical and Manual Medicine in New York.

10 10. Snitsky

Gene Snitsky had one of most odd tenures in WWE during his four years in the company. Snitsky caused Lita to lose her baby, developed a foot fetish and had his teeth turn yellow in his short time in WWE. After leaving the company, Snitsky has pursued an acting career and still wrestles on the independent scene but has seen his financial success mostly come from working as a bodyguard. Most noteworthy, Snitsky was the bodyguard for controversial baseball star Alex Rodriguez. With many critics holding a passionate disdain for A-Rod, he felt most safe with Snitsky around. Wouldn't you?

9 9. Simon Dean

With a long career in ECW and WWE, Simon Dean was the arrogant fitness guru in WWE and a member of the Blue World Order in ECW, as Nova. Regardless of how you remember him in the world of wrestling, he’s now known at his new job for helping with finances. Dean is the branch manager at Woodforest National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky. Even though he now has a successful 9 to 5 job, you can catch him at Chikara King of Trios in September as the Blue World Order makes a rare return to the wrestling ring.

8 8. Chris Nowinski

One of the runner ups in the inaugural Tough Enough season, Chris Nowinski was offered a contract shortly after the competition ended. Nowinski showed a lot of promise and potential with a charismatic personality and athletic gift. In an unfortunate turn of events, Nowinski would retire from the ring due to dealing with post-concussion symptoms for over a year. With his wrestling days over, the Harvard graduate decided to help with the sports concussion crisis by co-founding the Sports Legacy Institute organization. Currently serving as the executive director, Nowinski helps bring awareness, attention and research to concussion issues in all of sports, already making big progress in the NFL and WWE.

7 7. Jimmy Wang Yang

After numerous memorable matches in the WCW and WWE Cruiserweight divisions, Jimmy Wang Yang found himself looking for other business ventures once he was released from WWE. Yang started with a pest control business but ended that journey after a few years. Today, he focuses on “Jimmy’s Redneck Party Bus” where he drives around a group of folks looking to party as they have a good time on the bus and most importantly, he keeps drunk drivers off the road as Yang himself drives the bus. Even with his business venture, Yang still wrestles every now and then. Sadly he doesn’t use the party bus to get to bookings. If you're interested, check out this deal on GroupOn.

6 6. Beulah McGillicutty

ECW was known for pushing the envelope and one of the factors in that was hiring sexy women to show skin. Beulah McGillicutty was arguably the most significant ECW female performer as the former Penthouse model played a large role in the Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven feud, a storyline that took ECW to new levels. Life imitated art as Beulah would eventually marry her on-screen love interest Dreamer and start a family. With her time in wrestling over, Beulah became an author with her children’s book "Gertrude the Great" getting published and she’s been working on the follow-up for the past few years.

5 5. Scotty 2 Hotty

Loved most for his bucket hat days doing “The Worm” dance as a part of Too Cool, Scotty 2 Hotty had a very respectable career with a ten year run in the WWE. After a few years on the independent scene, Scotty decided to start training to become a firefighter. Graduating from Florida’s Lake Tech Fire Academy in 2013, Scotty spent a while working as an emergency medical technician before changing careers once again. Today, he works as a Licensed Central Realtor helping Florida residents do “the Worm” into their new homes. Scotty recently made WWE appearances in 2014 on “Old School Raw” and an episode of NXT.

4 4. Stevie Ray

In WCW, Harlem Heat dominated the tag team division for most of the 90s. While younger brother Booker T would go on to have a Hall of Fame singles career in WWE, Stevie Ray stepped away from the squared circle. Currently, he puts his passion for vehicles into his trucking company, “Stevie Ray’s Trucks.” In his free time, Stevie Ray also is the president of the West Houston Cruisers motorcycle club and a member of the biggest African American Corvette club in America. Most recently, Stevie Ray signed his first WWE contract with a Legends deal as he enjoys retirement.

3 3. Spike Dudley

After noteworthy runs in ECW, WWE and TNA, Spike Dudley put his days of being thrown through tables and tossed into the crowd behind him by starting a new career as a financial adviser. Dudley credits falling in love and growing the desire to start a family as the reason for entering a more secure livelihood. The smallest Dudley works at MassMutual, an agency that helps people plan for the future with taxes, college and retirement. It’s somewhat ironic that Little Spike Dudley is now helping others plan financially considering many ECW wrestlers weren’t paid for their work by Paul Heyman towards the end of the company due to poor financial planning.

2 2. Rick Steiner

The Steiners are considered one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history with their glory days in the late 80s and 90s. Scott Steiner is still in the limelight wrestling on the independents and threatening Hulk Hogan on YouTube but his brother Rick has removed himself from the wrestling scene. Rick makes his living running his own real estate business in the Atlanta area. Considering Atlanta was the home of WCW for years, there has to be lots of old fans seeking Rick for help finding a new home. Worst case scenario, Rick can get Scott to threaten folks into buying property.

1 1. Mideon

What kind of job can someone obtain with their resume stating their past jobs include portraying a hog farmer, a brainwashed cult follower and a streaker? Well, life has been good to the former “Naked Mideon” as he currently is a chef and runs his own catering business. Whether you know him as Phineas I. Godwinn, Naked Mideon or Dennis Knight, he definitely left an impact on viewers. That carried through to his next career as a very successful chef liked Mideon enough to take him under his wing. Today, he runs Dennis Knight Catering where he cooks for events in need of his culinary skills. Hopefully no streaking is involved in his services.