10 WWE stars who shined in other sports

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To be a WWE superstar, you more often than not have to be a fantastic athlete. Peak athleticism and fitness can be massive factors in someone becoming an all-time great in the professional wrestling industry. With such gifted talents within the business, it's only natural that many of them aren't just talented between the ropes and on the mic, but have flourished in other sports too.

There are some very high-profile examples, but also some that have flown under the radar and may surprise you. With that being said, we've compiled a list of 10 WWE stars who shined in other sports as well as wrestling.

10 Veer - Baseball

Having joined WWE in 2018, Veer's most notable work came alongside Jinder Mahal. But in some parts of the world, his career before WWE, in a completely different sport, is what he's most recognised for.

After winning a reality show in 2008 called The Million Dollar Arm, Veer was picked up by Major League franchise the Pittsburgh Pirates. In signing with the Pirates, Veer, real name Rinku Singh, became the first Indian ever to sign with an MLB team.

The future Veer Mahaan spent the next seven years playing for a variety of Pirates affiliate teams before electing free agency in November, 2016. Despite never becoming an MLB regular, his winning of The Million Dollar Arm competition, which was also turned into a Hollywood movie of the same name, made Veer an icon back in his home nation. In 2018, he was joining WWE and eventually being paired with former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. And while Veer's time with WWE wasn't exactly the history making success his baseball exploits were, he still managed to spend a few years in the WWE system and also holds seperate victories over both Rey and Dominik Mysterio.

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Posts 4 9 Ridge Holland - Rugby

As a member of the Brawling Brutes alongside Sheamus and But....errr, Pete Dunne, Ridge Holland became known to WWE audiences as a no-nonsense, hard-hitting figure who bulldozes through his opponents. Which is why it should come as no surprise to learn that he initially shone in a sport when you are generally required to do something similar on the field.

The Englishman originally started out as a Rugby League player, one of the country's biggest sports and played for numerous teams across an impressive nine-year career. He eventually played 150 games throughout his time on the rugby pitch, making him one of the most experienced WWE stars in another sport.

Holland's Rugby League career came to an end in 2015 following a loan stint at Halifax, and it wasn't too long before he made the transition into professional wrestling. With their track record of picking up athletes from other sports, and their high level of interest in the UK and European scenes over the last decade, it wasn't much of a shock when WWE quickly took notice of Holland as he made his name on the independent circuit.

Three years after retiring from rugby Ridge Holland was officially a WWE Superstar, debuting on NXT, the brand where he won his, as-of-yet, only championship gold, capturing the NXT Tag Team Titles alongside Andre Chase. His time with the Brawling Brutes saw him go 1-0 at WrestleMania and also main event Survivor Series 2022, as the Brutes teamed with Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens to take on The Bloodline in a WarGames match,

8 Mark Henry - Weightlifting

Many wrestlers spend their careers portraying something they're not. That's part and parcel of the business and few performers are actually anything like the outlandish gimmicks they're given. That can't be said for Mark Henry, though, who truly was the World's Strongest Man for a while.

That wasn't just a nickname handed to the former World Heavyweight Champion, but he had proved it to be the truth through a series of impressive showings at the 1996 Olympics and in numerous strongman competitions over the years. Henry won the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic, WDFPF Powerlifting Championships in 1995, and the USAPL National Powerlifting Championships in 1995 and 1997, in addition to many others. He also shattered many powerlifting records along the way.

WWE jumped at the chance to bring Henry on board after the Atlanta OIympics and, after a slow start, he eventually became a legendary name in the world of pro wrestling, with numerous championships under his belt and an induction to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018. Now a successful podcaster with Busted Open, following a few years in AEW, Henry's career in the wrestling industry has far exceeded his time as a strongman, but there's still no taking away from the absolutely incredible achievements he had during his time in that field. Not everyone can claim to be the strongest man on the entire planet, but Henry certainly could at one time.

7 Roman Reigns - American football

While he's now known as the Tribal Chief and has run roughshod over WWE for over a decade now, originally Roman Reigns saw his career playing out very differently, and had eyes set on becoming a superstar in a very different sport. We'd say things worked out quite well for him, becoming one of the most dominant figures in WWE history and one of the longest-reigning world champions ever.

His run as the Head of the Table and leader of the Bloodline was magnificent and few wrestlers have seen the success he has. Things could have been drastically different, though, and it once looked like he'd forge a career in the NFL instead.

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Having spent three years at Georgia Tech playing football, Reigns declared himself eligible for the NFL draft, but after he wasn't selected, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2007. A leukaemia diagnosis led to him being released shortly after, and after a brief stint at the Jacksonville Jaguars, he ended up in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos. It wasn't long before Reigns switched lanes and instead made the decision to move into the family business. Probably not the worst decision the six-time World Champion has ever made.

6 Kurt Angle - Amateur wrestling

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will be well aware that professional wrestling was not the first sport that Kurt Angle has shined in. The four-time WWE Champion has gone down as one of the most gifted individuals to have ever stepped into the squared circle, but before he did so, he was winning Olympic goal medals.......With a broken freaking neck.

As an amateur wrestler, Angle was a very, very special talent and there were few who could go toe-to-toe with him in the sport. Winning an Olympic gold medal despite breaking his neck is a testament to that.

Angle is not the only amateur wrestler to transition to professional wrestling over the years, there have been numerous figures follow that path, but no one has done it as seamlessly and as successfully as he did. Going down as one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots, it is hard to imagine he would have become anywhere near as big a star if he had not switched to the pro wrestling industry and forged one hell of a legacy in both WWE and TNA.

5 Goldberg - American football

Few wrestlers have entered the business and immediately made the impact that Goldberg did when he joined WCW in the 1990s. He was pushed like an absolute phenom right off the bat, emerging as a true superstar for Ted Turner's company. He hadn't had too much experience inside a wrestling ring beforehand, but that did not seem to matter to WCW and he went on a lengthy unbeaten run.

The reason that Goldberg wasn't too experienced of a wrestler was due to the fact he had actually spent a large portion of his life before he joined the industry, thriving in a different sport entirely. Before the former WCW World Champion was running through opponents inside the squared circle, he was doing it on a football field. And he was very, very good at it.

The intimidating star was even drafted into the NFL when he was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1990 draft. He went on to play 11 games in the National Football League for the Atlanta Falcons, but after an injury effectively brought his career to an end, he transitioned into the wrestling business and the rest is history. Seeing his football career slip away from him has to have been hard for Goldberg, but considering the career he had in wrestling, we'd say things worked out just fine for him.

4 Braun Strowman - Strongman competitions

Looking at Braun Strowman, is this one really that surprising? The former WWE Universal Champion is absolutely massive and cast a gargantuan shadow over anyone he ever stepped into a WWE ring with. Including Brock Lesnar. Despite limited experience in wrestling before joining WWE, Strowman had plenty of success and won numerous titles throughout his two runs with the promotion.

Outside of WWE, though, the former Wyatt Family member was thriving as a strongman competitor. His insane feats of strength were regularly on display, and he dominated the competition, winning several big-time strongman competitions such as the 2010 Monsters of the Midland, 2011 Central GA Strongest Man, 2011 North American Strongest Man Nationals, and 2012 Arnold Amateur World Championship.

3 The Rock - American football

While The Rock has gone down as one of the greatest superstars in WWE history, his success outside of the company is largely what he's known for these days. In Hollywood, he's become a global icon and there aren't many who don't know his name these days.

His work in the Fast and Furious franchise, as well as numerous other blockbusters such as San Andreas and Moana have seen his legacy on the big screen far exceed what he accomplished in WWE, but what many may not know, is he actually shone in a completely different sport before he made his move to WWE.

That's right, when he was younger, The Final Boss was actually a very gifted American footballer and a career in the NFL was briefly on the cards. He's always been a freak of an athlete, so it's no surprise that he was talented in another field such as American football, but we're so grateful that things didn't work out and he eventually joined WWE instead. Who knows how differently things could have shaped up over the last 25 years if we didn't have the Great One?

2 MVP - Jiu-Jitsu

Known more these days for his excellent work on the microphone, Montel Vontavious Porter was a very solid worker inside the squared circle during his career. His run as the United States Champion in the 2000s is a sorely underrated gem of a reign, and his tag team and subsequent feud with Matt Hardy is one that deserves to receive its flowers in the modern era.

He may have stepped away from regular in-ring action these days, but that hasn't stopped MVP from trying his hand at another sport and shining in it, to say the least. In the late 2010s, the 50-year-old took to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and competed in several championships, coming out on top in a few.

The former US Champion actually won the World Master Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2019 in the Masters 4/Male/Purple/Ultra-Heavy Category and then went on to see glory in 2020 at the IBJJF Masters Tournament as well, where he won a gold medal for his troubles.

1 Brock Lesnar - MMA, Amateur Wrestling, American Football

One of the most famous examples of a WWE superstar thriving in another sport has to be Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate is one of the most dominant figures in the history of professional wrestling and in terms of pure athletes, there are few quite as impressive. The former WWE Champion has excelled in not just one other sport, not two, but three.

Before he ventured into a career in professional wrestling, Lesnar was a very, very gifted amateur wrestler. During his senior year at the University of Minnesota in 2000, Lesnar won the NCAA Division I heavyweight wrestling championship. The Beast would conclude his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, the 1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion, two-time NCAA All-American and two-time Big Ten Conference Champion, with an utterly insane record of 106-5 overall in four years of college.

After several years in WWE, Lesnar decided to try his hand at American football and to the surprise of many, he was incredible at that too, and it wasn't long before he was picked up by an NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings.

A career in the NFL wasn't to be, though, as, at the age of 27, Lesnar was cut from the Vikings, though he received rave reports from their coaching staff and may have been able to turn pro had he not tried out so late into his twenties. With the NFL in the rearview, Lesnar decided to transition into mixed martial arts and joined the UFC. Despite losing his first fight in the promotion, he quickly went on to win the UFC Heavyweight title, making him the baddest man on the planet. Excelling at one sport is tough enough, but Lesnar thrived in so many that it almost defies belief.