Published: 14 minutes ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 14 hours ago by Dave Adamson
Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.
WWE
With Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns currently starring in Street Fighter, Nick Khan has revealed the approach WWE is taking to such crossovers.
The new live-action incarnation of Street Fighter sees Cody Rhodes in the role of Guile, while Roman Reigns brings Akuma to the cinema screen.
It isn’t the first time that WWE stars have crossed over to the mainstream, and won’t be the last, with Nick Khan revealing how such opportunities are assessed:
Case-by-case
Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns may be lighting up the big screen in Street Fighter, but Liv Morgan has a darker role in Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, which received its Toronto Film Festival promo recently.
Speaking to New York Times, WWE president Nick Khan made a clear argument for stars to feature in movie and television projects, ciring Rhodes and Reigns in particular, saying:
“If past is prologue, the bigger that these guys can become outside of the WWE, the bigger they become inside WWE — that’s good for everybody.”
The report notes that Khan said that WWE “would review film and television opportunities with other wrestlers on a case-by-case basis.”
This suggests that there’s more to the decision than “it’s a movie, have at it”, which could protect stars from a Hollywood system that sees its fair share of box office bombs.
The unattainable goal
Speaking on the subject of the movie world, Reigns would describe the level of fame that the cream of Hollywood has in no uncertain terms, saying:
“The movies have a different ring to it; the top actors still have a level of fame that seems unattainable.”
Recognizing the responsibility he has as a WWE star in such rarefied air, Reigns would go on to say:
“It’s on us to show that we can continue to hold that standard and take the sharpened tools that we’ve learned in wrestling and pull those over to the big screen.”
Liv Morgan has previously discussed the crossover between wrestling and acting skills, and how a career in WWE has prepared her.
Success outside WWE is still not guaranteed
Despite the entertainment nature of WWE, it’s curious that few stars have truly broken out into the movie and television world.
The Rock is perhaps the easiest example, with his first lead role being The Scorpion King in 2002, having portrayed the character in The Mummy Returns. A box office success, it was hardly the critical darling that some of his more recent work would become.
John Cena and Batista have also seen immense success in the movie space, with the latter star’s Hollywood career success coming after he left WWE.
Many wrestling stars have found their way to the movie world, with straight-to-video providing a wealth of opportunity, although not exactly critical praise or box office success.
It’s curious that, despite the physical nature of professional wrestling and the need to deliver beyond the in-ring action, more stars haven’t seen mainstream success. In some cases, however, the talent doesn’t translate to convincing movie performances.
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