5 WWE Superstars that have gone seriously mainstream since The Rock did

Pro Wrestlers — especially since the 1980s — have always been in their own tucked-away segment of pop culture, one where the public knew them just as wrestlers, but were so charismatic or held such a presence that they were recognizable, anyway. The Undertaker is one of those wrestlers. Mark Calaway has never been in any major TV or movie roles that didn't involve his iconic character (Suburban Commando doesn't count), but even non-WWE fans recognize him.

"Yeah, that's The Undertaker, innit?" a hypothetical person from England who doesn't watch pro wrestling would say upon seeing the former WWE Champion, perhaps.

It wasn't long until some WWE Superstars began to break on through, becoming stars in mediums other than wrestling. Hulk Hogan tried his hand at making films and TV, as well as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant had an acclaimed movie role in The Princess Bride.

I'm clearly talking about his role as Sasquatch in the Six Million Dollar Man

Then, The Rock came along and became the Biggest Movie Star In The World, which changed everything.

So, we're going to take a look at five WWE Superstars who have managed to crack into the non-wrestling mainstream the same way Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has. We're gonna get the obvious two out of the way, first.

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#5 Former WWE Champion John Cena

John Cena in... well... it's your call, I guess.

John Cena may not be a megastar on the same level as Dwayne Johnson in Hollywood right now, but the WWE icon is certainly right up there.

Cena began his foray into the cinematic arts with The Marine, in which he played a former US Marine who has to use all his skills to blow stuff up and rescue his gorgeous girlfriend from cool-looking bad guys.

Since then, Cena has become a genuine movie star and celebrity. He's run the gamut of doing family comedies (Playing With Fire), "raunchy but intelligent" comedies (Trainwreck, Blockers), voice-over work (Ferdinand, Dolittle), dramas (The Wall), and even major Hollywood blockbusters (Bumblebee).

Next year he'll be appearing as the villain in the next Fast & Furious film, which means we'll be seeing plenty more of John Cena.

#4 Former WWE Champion Batista

Batista as Drax

Dave Bautista will be the first former WWE Superstar to win an Academy Award for acting someday. It's stunning how good he's gotten over the years at his new chosen craft.

But, to his credit, Bautista has always said that he wanted to be an actor and not just a movie star - and he took steps to improve his work. He broke out huge in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, essentially becoming an A-list player overnight.

In between the first Guardians and its sequel, Bautista played a major role in the James Bond film Spectre, starred in a film with Robert De Niro called Heist, and a surprisingly well made action/war movie called Bushwick.

And since Guardians 2, Dave has since gone on to awesome performances in Blade Runner 2049, Hotel Artemis, and the comedy Stuber. Oh, yeah, there were a couple of big budget Avengers movies in there, as well.

Later this year, Bautista will have a role in the latest attempt to bring Frank Herbert's classic Sci-Fi novel Dune to the big screen - this time directed by Bautista's Blade Runner director Denis Villenueve.

From working with D-von Dudley as "Deacon Batista" to working with Triple H as part of Evolution to world titles to Hollywood fame, Bautista has more than made his mark on the world of entertainment.

#3 WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair

Ric Flair, in all his wheelin'-dealin'-kiss-stealin' glory.

OK, putting WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair on this list sort of seems like it's cheating, but just bear with me. I promise this will make sense.

Ric Flair has been around in the pro wrestling world since the 1970s. However, it's only been in the last 15 to 20 years or so that the "Nature Boy" has really made a significant impact on popular culture. However, he wasn't making that impact by starring in movies or reality TV shows. He was doing it by simply being Ric Flair.

Let's talk about how much Hip-Hop artists just love the Dirtiest Player in the Game. As fellow WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg put it in ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary on Flair:

"As a kid growing up watching Ric Flair, he was very inspirational to myself and a lot of other hip-hop artists because he represented what we wanted to be... He was a part of our culture and our life. That’s why we love him and we cherish him. We’ve always held him high in the black community, because Ric is one of us."

In 2019, Flair appeared on The Tonight Show with Offset, as the rapper performed "Ric Flair Drip" - essentially an ode to the sentiment Snoop shared above.

On top of that, so many professional athletes playing today (well, more than likely not today...) were wrestling fans growing up that you would think someone working for a major sports organization would hire Flair to speak to their team before a big game to motiva... *holds hand to hear* One moment... I'm being informed that this has already happened.

So many stars have come and gone who have - either by the fans or by themselves - dubbed themselves "icons." Flair hasn't just become a wrestling icon - he's always been one of those. He's become a lifestyle icon.

#2 Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho with Fozzy

Former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho (he's won a few other titles, too, I've been told) has been a consistently busy guy throughout the majority of his career. When he's not doing the wrestling thing, he's touring with his metal band Fozzy or he's writing another book. Well before USA hired WWE star The Miz to host the latest attempt at recreating Japanese gameshow - but well after WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley hosted a show about robots fightin' - the ABC Network tapped the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla to host their game show Downfall.

Although, instead of having contestants create memes involving Hitler, they decided to instead just throw prizes off the roofs of buildings.

No. Seriously.

He's also appeared on that same network's Dancing With The Stars show, which pairs professional dancers with celebrities (sometimes in the loosest sense of the word, but they're still celebrities.) Considering Jericho wasn't one of the professional dancers, it can only be concluded that WWE's Best There Is At What He Does is considered, by the ABC Network at least, to be a "star."

Although he's clearly not the best at dancing, as he didn't win.

He's also starred in his own webseries But, I'm Chris Jericho..., as well as Comedy Central's Nothing to Report. He even had a small role in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! although who hasn't been in one of those movies? I know WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has.

#1 WWE Hall of Fame inductees The Bella Twins

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Much like Paris Hilton and the Kardashians before them, soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famers Nikki and Brie Bella have found mainstream fame through their reality TV show, Total Bellas.

A spin-off of the E! cable network's Total Divas, which focused on the lives of a number of female WWE personalities, Total Bellas found itself a growing audience, as fans of this type of show were hooked on the strange relationships between Nikki and John Cena, and Brie and Daniel Bryan. Soon, the two weren't just getting coverage on wrestling websites and TMZ, but other publications as well.

While Brie has mostly keep a low-key presence in the public eye, Nikki has made the most of it. Like Chris Jericho, Nikki was also a contestant on Dancing With the Stars.

Here's where it gets way more People Magazine-y. After her break-up with WWE star John Cena, rumors began swirling that Nikki was seeing her DWTS partner Artem Chigvintsev. Now, not only are they engaged but the two of them just welcomed their first child into this world as well.

All this is plenty more material for a reality TV show. Which means Nikki, Brie, and the rest of the "cast" of Total Bellas are going to be in that public's eye indefinitely.

And with a gig like that, it would be understandable if they never stepped foot in a WWE ring ever again.