6 recently released WWE Superstars who have turned to acting

Several recently released WWE Superstars have turned to acting in the past few months.

A few household names have made it big in Hollywood over the past few decades. The Rock is probably the most successful so far, having kicked off his acting career nearly two decades ago. He has become a Hollywood mega-star and one of the highest-paid actors in the world.

Likewise, a few recently released superstars are now pursuing acting careers. While some have already starred in movies before, others will make their acting debut in the next few months.

Here are six recently released superstars who have turned to acting.

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#6. Former WWE Superstar Lana

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Lana graduated from Florida State University with a degree in dancing and acting. The 36-year-old later moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career.

Between 2008 and 2012, she landed a few acting roles in movies like Pitch Perfect and television shows like The Game. In an old interview with SayWhatNews, Lana disclosed why she wanted to pursue an acting career:

"I always wanted to be an actress but I didn't have the opportunity to really pursue it. Acting is dance but with words. When I moved to Hollywood, I was like ok here I am in the city where the best of the best come to be stars so let me train with the best! That is what I did (...) My ultimate inspiration in the TV and film business is that I love telling stories and that is what the film business is, it is story telling," she said.

Lana joined Vince McMahon's company in 2013 and spent nearly eight years there. Meanwhile, she continued acting in a few movies, including Pitch Perfect 2, Interrogation, and Another Version Of You.

In June 2021, WWE released Lana from her contract. Since then, the former RAW Superstar has not made any wrestling appearances. Instead, she is now focusing on her acting career. Lana is currently filming two new movies, WifeLike and Trail Blazers.

#5 & 4. Former WWE Superstars Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux

Karrion Kross joined WWE in February 2020 after competing for a few years in different promotions. The 36-year-old quickly became one of the top superstars on the black and gold brand, winning the NXT Championship only six months after his debut. Nonetheless, he had to relinquish the title after only four days due to injury.

After returning, Kross defeated Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in April 2021 to capture the title for the second time. However, nearly a month after making his main roster debut in July 2021, he lost the belt to Samoa Joe.

The former NXT Champion spent only five months on Monday Night RAW before WWE released him from his contract last November.

Following his release, reports suggested that Kross and his fiancée, Scarlett Bordeaux, wanted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. Scarlett was also released from her contract in November, together with the Herald of Doomsday.

In a recent interview with Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions, Kross disclosed that he had already landed a leading role in an action movie:

"I’m not sure how much I can talk about it, but I think it’s okay for me to say that I’m going to be playing an underground fighter in a very bad town. It’ll be very violent, but also a dark comedy," he said.

Bordeaux has also confirmed that she will play a small role in the same movie.

#3. Former WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt joined WWE nearly 13 years ago. During his tenure with the company, he proved himself to be one of the best actors, adopting a few different entertaining gimmicks.

He also became one of the most accomplished superstars on the roster, winning three world titles and two tag team championships. Nonetheless, Vince McMahon's company released Wyatt from his contract last July.

Since his departure, Wyatt has not competed inside the squared circle. Instead, Callosum Studios owner Jason Baker recently revealed that the former Universal Champion will be playing a role in a new feature movie.

"He’s a phenomenal collaborator, he’s become a really good friend, and we’re actually—you’re the first person that we’re publicly telling about—we’re starting a film at the end of the month," Baker told Alistair McGeorge of Metro.

Wyatt's last wrestling appearance came at WrestleMania 37 when he lost to Randy Orton. Although his 90-day non-compete clause with Vince McMahon's company ended on October 31, 2021, he has not joined any other wrestling promotion.

The former RAW Tag Team Champion now seems focused on kicking off his acting career.

#2. Former WWE Superstar John Morrison

John Morrison first joined WWE in 2002 and spent nearly nine years in the company before leaving in 2011. Following his departure, the 42-year-old started pursuing an acting career.

Over the past decade, he has appeared in several movies and television shows, including Bullet Ride, Russel Maniac, and Space Command.

In an interview with The Sports Courier in 2013, the former ECW Champion disclosed that acting in action movies was one of his childhood dreams:

"Acting was something I'm interested in and I took some acting classes when I was younger. In high school I got into wrestling (...) then I realized a blend of performance and physicality was what I was interested in. And at the time, what I really wanted to do was action acting, the type of stuff that Jackie Chan did. He was my hero at the time. And I slowly realized that professional wrestling been closer to like what I wanted to do (...) It's been really fun to have the opportunity to do that and to do some of the action acting stuff that I've been wanting to do for really long," he said.

In 2019, Morrison returned to Vince McMahon's company. He spent another two years before WWE announced his release last November.

The former Intercontinental Champion will return to the ring next February to face El Hijo del Vikingo at Rey de Reyes in the main event for the AAA Mega Championship.

Meanwhile, Morrison recently participated in the television series Stellar People. Rumors have also suggested he will play a role in the upcoming movie The Chronicles of Rick Roll.

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#1. Former WWE Superstar Eva Marie

Eva Marie has had two WWE runs in the past decade. Her first run started in 2013 and lasted for four years. She left Vince McMahon's company in 2017 to pursue an acting career.

Since her departure, the 37-year-old has acted in a few movies, including Inconceivable and Hard Kill. She also played a role in the 2021 Amazon Prime series Paradise City.

In an interview with TooFab in 2017, Eva Marie addressed her transition from professional wrestling to acting:

"It's always been something I was definitely interested in and the opportunity came about at the perfect time. Luckily, for me, when I started WWE, my husband and I were like, if I can get in front of The Rock's agent and manager, that would be a dream (...) A year later, it just so happens that it fell into place and I ended up having a meeting with his agent, then his manager, then I talked with Dwayne for an hour and everybody signed off on me and I signed with his exact team," she said.

The All Red Everything returned to Vince McMahon's company last May. Nevertheless, her second run was very brief, as she got released in November 2021.

Since her release, Eva Marie has been working on a new movie. She has even posted a few photos from her project on her Instagram account.