John Cena acts really, really big in his new movie, 12 Rounds.
At its muscular core, professional wrestling is an oiled-up, spandex-clad act. Though it's a choreographed farce, wrestling does beat a body up, so it makes perfect sense that wrestlers want to change into clothes that don't hug their nuts and put their steroidal guns and funk-faking abilities to use in Hollywood. Many wrestlers have appeared in movies, but a select few, like John Cena, have achieved leading man status.
This Friday, Cena can be seen making his second star turn as a New Orleans detective in the cat-and-mouse action thriller 12 Rounds. In honor of his power moves, Complex looks back at six other flicks starring wrestlers that will pin you for the full count, with or without the bedazzled briefs...
They Live (1988)
• Rowdy Roddy Piper (pause?) is a homeless worker who finds a pair of glasses that allow him to spot an alien race living amongst people, subliminally brainwashing humanity from positions of power. And you thought your Slanties changed your perspective, you racist fuck.
No Holds Barred (1989)
• Hulk Hogan is a kind-hearted wrestling champ who sleazy suits manipulate into a brutal, ratings-boosting fight that has no ring, no ref and no rules. Almost twenty years later, it's more like MMA on estrogen, but still.
The Rundown (2003)
• The Rock plays a bounty hunter pursuing prized booty in the Amazon with Rosario Dawson. And he's after some hidden riches, too!
See No Evil (2006)
• Kane plays a sociopath who collects eyeballs because his mom locked him in a cage and forced him to watch porn. Or maybe he's like us and just wishes he had more eyes to watch porn with.
Halloween (2007)
• In Rob Zombie's horror remake, Tyler Mane plays the masked killer Michael Myers, who mysteriously transforms from a pint sized boy into a gargantuan monster while locked in an asylum. Apparently A-Rod's cousin was on his visitors list.
The Condemned (2007)
• Stone Cold Steve Austin plays a death row inmate who's bought and entered into a reality TV battle royale in which he must fight other condemned killers to the death. Hey, we just got an idea for a new Brody Jenner show!
