The WWE is home to some of the biggest stars in Hollywood and former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman credits the company for their success. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ believes it was the WWE’s operational process that helped athletes like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and John Cena become big-shots.
Usman knows a thing or two about acting from his appearance in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. But WWE stars like ‘The Rock’, Cena or Batista, enjoy stardom, unlike many others. Johnson also holds the record of being the highest-paid Hollywood star for several years from 2016 to 2023.
Cena is being touted as the next big action-comedy star while Batista has been part of the highest-grossing movie franchise of all time, while also starring in Oscar-winning films. But how has their connection with WWE helped them get to where they are right now?
Despite trying to refrain from being disrespectful, Usman opined how WWE stars needed to “act” throughout their appearances before the audiences. He counted their WWE tasks, like pertaining to the storyline and “playing the character” as great mock drills to evolve them into seasoned actors. Usman said,
“To be able to put on the storyline, play that character, and do the whole s*it. No wonder a lot of them can transition and be good movie stars. You see it with ‘The Rock’, ‘Stone Cold’, John Cena …”
Several other UFC stars like Georges St-Pierre, Francis Ngannou, and others have also bagged cameos in Hollywood movies. But none of them have been able to match the glory that the WWE icons earned from the same. However, people have sincere hopes for one madman, who recently became a meme after his debut film.
Conor McGregor looks set to challenge Dwayne Johnson’s stature in Hollywood
Everyone talked about Conor McGregor’s Hollywood debut alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘Road House’. His performance wasn’t going to win any awards but it was hilarious and McGregor is only going to get better as he gets more experience under his belt.
That said, Road House might have been a streaming hit but it wasn’t that great of a film, or we would have seen it in the theatres as was originally planned. Regardless, McGregor shone.
Currently, McGregor is gearing up for his comeback fight at UFC 303. But if he got bitten by the acting bug on the sets of Road House, it is possible that he might venture into the world of pure entertainment. After all, he has the name, the charisma and if nothing else works for him, he has enough cash flying around to produce films himself.
