There has always been a lot of overlap between WWE, and Hollywood.
But before Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson traded in the wrestling ring for the silver screen, the relationship was rather one-sided. Wrestling adopted a lot from Hollywood. Hollywood? Not so much.
Al Pacino's Tony Montana in the classic, 'Scarface', begot the Razor Ramon character. Scott Hall himself recommended that Sting base his WCW vigilante character upon Brandon Lee's eponymous character in 'The Crow'. There are eerie similarities between Bray Wyatt's original cult-leader character and Robert De Niro's Max Cady in Martin Scorsese's 'Cape Fear'. Although not technically a Hollywood film, Steve Austin' based his 'Stone Cold' persona upon information gleaned from a documentary on notorious contract killer, the 'Ice Man', Richard Kuklinski.
We're going to buck that trend. We believe that Hollywood could take a lot from wrestling. We believe that Hollywood could interchange certain characters for these WWE Superstars, and nobody would know the difference.
This article looks at the Hollywood movie character equivalents of WWE Superstars. These selections have been made by factoring in similarities between the personalities and motivation of WWE Superstars, and the Hollywood movie characters. Certain selections have been made by taking into account the Superstar's perceived suitability for the role. This article also includes tag-teams, in honor of those iconic duos in movies that we just can't get enough of.
Agree? Disagree? Feel like we've missed out somebody? Let us know in the comments!
For part 1, click here: WWE Superstars and their Movie Character Equivalents
The Undertaker
WWE Superstar: The Undertaker (Ministry Era)
Movie Character: Lord Voldemort
Movie(s): The Harry Potter Franchise
The Reasoning: At some point during the Attitude Era, The Undertaker began collecting followers, forcing them to do his bidding, including but not limited to; kidnapping fellow Superstars, terrorizing the locker room and marking the scenes of his crimes with his symbols. Oh, and he began to refer to himself as "The Lord of Darkness". This is the same undead Wizard Undertaker, who had powers that nobody else did, who had returned on numerous occasions, despite being buried alive.
Sound familiar? Ring any bells? The Dark Lord? His Death Eaters? Launching the dark mark into the sky?
Was the Undertaker's urn actually a Horcrux?
John Cena
WWE Superstar: John Cena
Movie Character: Superman
Movie(s): The Superman Franchise
The Reasoning: Tall. Strong. Good looking. Righteous. A hero to children everywhere. Always overcomes the odds. Never gives up. I am talking about Superman, but I could well be talking about John Cena.
As if any more proof were needed, Jerry Lawler once said "John Cena is Superman" on commentary.
Maybe Superman could learn a thing or two, and try out different colored costumes for each movie.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman
WWE Superstars: Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman
Movie Characters: Rodney "Rod" Tidwell and Jerry Maguire
Movie(s): Jerry Maguire
The Reasoning: Tom Cruise's Jerry Maguire is the agent of Cuba Gooding Jr's Rod Tidwell. Tidwell's constant refrain?
"Show me the money!"
If the evidence of WWE television is anything to go by, Paul Heyman receives a similar mandate from Brock Lesnar.
The B-Team
WWE Superstars: Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas
Movie Characters: Pintel and Ragetti
Movie(s): The Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise
The Reasoning: Start as bumbling sidekicks for a villain? Check.
The disappearance of the said boss? Check. (Albeit in vastly different circumstances; The Miz was traded to Smackdown Live, and Captain Barbossa was killed).
Transition into bumbling, albeit lovable idiots? Check.
The only question is who amongst Dallas and Axel would be called upon to wear the fake eyeball, if they were slotted into the movies.
The New Day
WWE Superstars: Kofi Kingston, Big E, Xavier Woods
Movie Characters: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis
Movie(s): The Three Musketeers
The Reasoning: One for all, and all for one isn't the New Day's motto, but it should be. The trio is inseparable, and will always have each others' backs. The studious Woods is surely Aramis, the boisterous Big E an admirable Porthos, and the fearless Kofi, an excellent Athos.
And if you needed more convincing, they're obsessed with Unicorns and even rode fake horses to the ring once.
En-guard!
The Bar
WWE Superstars: The Bar
Movie Characters: Detective Lee and Detective Carter
Movie(s): Rush Hour Franchise
The Reasoning: Detective Carter and Detective Lee were mismatched police offers from vastly different backgrounds who were forced to work together. Naturally, they fought with each other. A lot. But they eventually became a well-oiled machine.
Mick Foley was almost certainly not thinking of this when he forced Sheamus and Cesaro to team up, but the results were the same.
Now, if we could only get The Bar to sing 'War"...
Bray Wyatt
WWE Superstar: Bray Wyatt
Movie Character: The Joker
Movie(s): The Dark Knight
The Reasoning: Alfred told Bruce Wayne that the Joker was not like other men. He could not be bought, bullied, or reasoned with. This is because he was not motivated by the same things as normal people. He just wanted to watch the world burn. He wanted to bring Batman over to the dark side in order to prove to Gotham that their hero was fallible. He was even willing to sacrifice himself in order to do so.
Bray Wyatt's original character was like the Joker. A charismatic, unhinged agent of chaos who tried to corrupt WWE's hero, John Cena. Remember their Wrestlemania 31 match? Remember the steel chair? Remember how Wyatt implored Cena to hit him with it?
Follow the buzzards.
Dude Love
WWE Superstar: Dude Love
Movie Character: Austin Powers
Movie(s): The Austin Powers Franchise
The Reasoning: Austin Powers was probably very cool in the 1960s. In the 1990s? Not so much. But despite the clothing, the corny catchphrases, and complete lack of self-awareness, we couldn't help but cheer for the guy.
Mick Foley's Dude Love was the same. The "coolest cat" that ever lived he was not, but he still found a way into all of our hearts.
Now, if only he could find a way to go back in time...
The Miz
WWE Superstar: The Miz
Movie Character: Steve Stifler
Movie(s): The American Pie Franchise
The Reasoning: Steve Stifler is the single most annoying character in all of the American Pie movies, and that's saying something.
He's a loudmouth. he's braggadocios. He's a liar. And he has an exaggerated sense of his own importance. You just want to punch him every time he's on the screen.
Seriously.
Every. Single. Time.
Kane
WWE Superstar: Kane
Movie Character: Harry Potter
Movie(s): The Harry Potter Franchise
The Reasoning: Family killed in an attack by an evil wizard during childhood. Left irrevocably scarred by said attack.
You see the similarities, right? Right?
Okay, maybe this one's a bit much.