Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will most likely be entering the “Oscar contender” phase of his career with his critically-acclaimed performance in The Smashing Machine. His portrayal of UFC fighter Mark Kerr has already been earning rave reviews on the festival circuit, which may very likely lead to his first Oscar nomination come January.
The film — тιтled after Kerr’s own nickname throughout his career in the octagon — chronicles not only his success as a fighter, but his struggles with substance abuse and addiction. This nuanced tale earned a whopping 15-minute standing ovation after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival that brought The Rock to tears.
Now that The Smashing Machine is heading to theaters on October 3, its potential success could open the door for other mixed martial artists and pro wrestlers to have their tales told on the big screen. There is already a Hulk Hogan biopic in development starring Chris Hemsworth.
In fact, Mark Shapiro, the president and COO of TKO, which owns both the WWE and UFC, thinks the film could open the floodgates for WWE/UFC biopics, telling Variety there are, “a treasure trove of stories that are just waiting to be mined” from these unique worlds, and he’s not wrong.
Andre the Giant
Few men towered over the Earth like Andre Rene Roussimoff a.k.a. Andre the Giant. Billed at 7-feet-4-inches tall and weighing 520 pounds, Andre the Giant was dubbed the “8th Wonder of the World” and a mainstay of WWE (then WWF) programming in the 1980s and 1990s. His rise to fame started in the most unlikely of places.
Born to a 6-foot-2-inch Bulgarian father and a 5-foot-2-inch Polish mother, Andre started showing signs of gigantism at an early age, standing 6-foot-3-inches tall at just 12 years old. He started his wrestling training in Paris at 18, before being taken under the wing of Vince McMahon Sr., who made him a star of the squared circle and the silver screen.
Naturally, the biggest obstacle to an Andre the Giant movie would be casting, though it would not be impossible. Paul Wight a.k.a. The Big Show stands 7-feet-2-inches tall and could realistically play him, as could 7-foot-7-inch Gheorghe Muresan. They both have the height, acting experience, and age range, so it could very well be feasible.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts
There have long been rumors that Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 film The Wrestler was based on Jake “The Snake” Roberts life, which Roberts himself confirmed in 2023, saying the filmmakers, “didn’t want to pay me.” Much like Mickey Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” Robinson, Jake “The Snake” was one of WWF’s biggest stars of the 1980s.
He would head to the ring with his mᴀssive Burmese python dubbed “Damien” in a sack, which he would toss into the ring to frighten opponents, or drape the snake over his felled foes as they laid on the mat after a victory. He engaged in feuds with various wrestlers and even had a “talk show,” The Snake Pit.
Jake (born Aurelian Smith Jr.) battled various addictions, covered in the 2015 documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake. A true biopic could also cover his traumatic childhood of abuse at the hands of his father (also a pro wrestler) and stepmother leading up to his career. It’s a role that an actor like Vince Vaughn could truly shine in.
Eddie Guerrero
There were few wrestlers as universally beloved as Eddie Guerrero, which was part of what made his sudden death at just 38 years of age in 2005 such a jarring moment in WWE fandom. While Eddie grew up in a famous wrestling family, he would ultimately come to be known as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
The son of Lucha Libre star Gory Guerrero, Eddie followed in the family footsteps, training and debuting in the Mexican circuit before moving on to wrestle in Japan and later for ECW, WCW and ultimately WWE. Dubbed “Latino Heat,” Eddie was immensely popular in just a few short years in WWE, but he also battled plenty of inner demons.
Eddie struggled with addictions to alcohol and painkillers before he was found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ by his cousin Chavo Guerrero in a Minneapolis H๏τel at just 38, later revealed to be caused by a heart attack. He would have to bulk up, but it could be a perfect role for an actor like Diego Boneta to tackle.
The Iron Sheik
Every great “babyface” (a.k.a. good guy wrestler) needs a good “heel” (a.k.a. bad guy wrestler), and The Iron Sheik is among the best heels of all time. Born Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri in Iran, he was an Olympic wrestler for his home country in the 1968 Munich games, before he left for America and ultimately became part of pro wrestling history in a few different ways.
He debuted as The Iron Sheik in September 1983 in the WWF, becoming the first ever Iranian-born WWF champion that December. However, he lost that тιтle just two days later to a new upstart named Hulk Hogan, a match that would usher in “Hulkamania” for many years to come and put WWF on the map.
The Iron Sheik’s career is, like many wrestlers’, littered with bouts of addiction and troubles with the law, but he gained fame later in life through outlandish interviews. He pᴀssed away at 81 years of age in 2023 from cardiac arrest. This would also be a role that would require bulking up, but it’s possible Iranian actor Arian Moayed could certainly fit the bill.
Don Frye
Before the UFC became the global brand it is today, its pay-per-view specials used to be much, much different, featuring open weight tournaments dubbed “The David and Goliath Tournament.” Not only were fighters of wildly different heights and weight classes pitted against each other, but they fought multiple times in one night, and Don Frye was an early star.
Frye made his debut in UFC 8 in what is now considered legendary, and one of the last with a tournament-style match. The 206-pound Frye set a record by knocking out his first opponent — 410-pound Thomas Ramirez — in just eight seconds, a record that stood for 20 years. He then took down Sam Adkins and Gary Goodridge to take home the victory.
He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2016. Just a behind-the-scenes glimpse at UFC 8 alone would be fodder enough for a biopic, but his whole life is quite intriguing. An actor like Cole Sprouse — who’s the same age Frye was (31) during UFC 8 — would be a great choice to play Frye.
Ken Shamrock
While Frye’s career in the octagon didn’t quite cross over to mainstream success, Ken Shamrock certainly did. Shamrock became a UFC mainstay since the first ever pay-per-view, and his rivalry with Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Royce Gracie quickly became the stuff of legend. He was even named, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man.”
Shamrock parlayed UFC success to WWE, Pride, Bellator and even a stint as a kickboxer, fighting well into his 50s, including a 2016 match with his longtime rival Royce Gracie. He even started a bare-knuckle boxing promotion called Valor in 2019. Shamrock’s rivalry with Gracie could be great fodder for a biopic starring (a severely bulked up) Austin Butler and Lino Falcoli.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has the kind of rags-to-riches story that Hollywood loves to see in a biopic. Born in Memphis, Jackson was selling drugs and getting in street fights before discovering combat sports in high school. He started fighting in Japan before moving on to Pride and, ultimately, the UFC, where he was one of the organization’s biggest stars.
He parlayed his UFC success into an acting career, playing the iconic role of B.A. Baracus — originally played by Mr. T – in The A-Team movie in 2010 and many other films. His ascent from the street fights of Memphis to a UFC and a Hollywood career are perfect for a cradle-to-the-grave biopic that an actor like Yayha Abdul-Mateen II would be simply perfect for.
Kimbo Slice
Kimbo Slice was an internet legend whose bare-knuckle street fights spread like wildfire in the early 2000s. Born Kevin Ferguson, he worked as a limo driver and bodyguard before he started popping up in these videos, leading Rolling Stone to call him “The King of the Web Brawlers” in 2006 before going pro.
He moved to boxing later in his career, amᴀssing a 7-0 record with six knockouts, before his untimely death in June 2016 at just 42 years of age, from congestive heart failure. It was revealed in 2018 that Black Panther star Winston Duke had signed on to play Kimbo Slice in a biopic, though nothing has materialized since then.
