WWE has by no means been shy about borrowing expertise from different sports activities, and different sports activities have returned the favor simply as usually. Crossover stars pull in martial arts crowds simply as a lot as they pull in wrestling diehards. Some names constructed complete second careers outdoors the ring. Others walked in from a special area and made the transition look simple. Listed here are eight who proved stardom travels properly past WWE.
Floyd Mayweather
Mayweather by no means signed a WWE contract, however his two appearances, together with a WrestleMania brawl with The Large Present, stay among the most talked-about crossover moments the corporate has produced. He constructed his title on being undefeated within the ring, and he has stored followers guessing a few return to the game that made him a family title.
Mayweather’s future retains producing headlines, too. There are studies pointing to a return to skilled boxing, together with his exhibition match in opposition to Mike Tyson nonetheless very a lot on the desk. Actually, some platforms have already printed their boxing betting odds for this bout, which suggests they suppose it’ll occur. That is nice information for boxing followers. Not a lot for WWE followers, although. The factor is that if he’s actually excited about entering into the ring with ‘Iron Mike,’ then he’s most likely not plotting a professional wrestling comeback.
Logan Paul
Few outsiders have tailored to WWE as quick as Logan Paul. He got here in from a boxing background, having shared the ring with Floyd Mayweather himself, and turned that fight sports activities intuition right into a reliable in-ring type. His matches in opposition to Roman Reigns and The Miz proved the crossover was greater than a YouTube stunt.
Tyson Fury
The ‘Gypsy King’ confirmed up at Crown Jewel and instantly seemed like he belonged, buying and selling pictures with Braun Strowman in a spot constructed for spectacle fairly than competitors.
Tyson Fury’s unimaginable boxing résumé (a unified heavyweight boxing champion who beat Deontay Wilder and Wladimir Klitschko) provides each WWE look an additional layer of credibility most visitor stars merely wouldn’t have.
Fury hasn’t made a visit to the WWE universe since 2022, and doubtless gained’t till a minimum of 2027. The reason being that the ‘Gypsy King’ has simply come out of boxing retirement and is reportedly getting ready for a super-fight in opposition to Anthony Joshua.
Ronda Rousey
Rousey got here into WWE as one of many greatest crossover signings in firm historical past after dominating girls’s MMA and serving to construct the UFC’s complete girls’s division. Earlier than any of that, she was already a skilled judoka with an Olympic bronze medal. Her WWE run leaned exhausting into that legitimacy, and he or she by no means shied away from discussing her rougher nights within the cage.
Dennis Rodman
Lengthy earlier than fashionable athletes made leaping between sports activities look regular, Rodman was doing it. The five-time NBA champion and Corridor of Famer acquired concerned in WCW in the course of the peak of his fame, teaming with Hollywood Hogan and turning basketball trash speak into wrestling warmth nearly in a single day.
Pat McAfee
McAfee spent eight seasons as an NFL punter earlier than constructing a media empire, and his transfer into WWE by no means felt like a stretch. He wrestled actual matches in opposition to Adam Cole and Austin Concept, took actual bumps, and have become one of the credible colour commentators the product has had in years.
Brock Lesnar
Lesnar’s path runs the opposite route. He left WWE on the peak of his reputation to chase a UFC heavyweight title, gained it, then got here again to WWE and beat The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak. Only a few athletes have main-evented in two utterly totally different fight sports activities promotions.
Kurt Angle
Angle gained Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling with a damaged neck, a element he has by no means let anybody neglect. That credibility carried straight into WWE, the place his novice background formed one of the embellished in-ring careers of his era, title runs included.
Pinning Down the Verdict
Whether or not they got here from the Octagon, the ring, or someplace else, these eight made it clear that WWE stardom and success elsewhere usually are not mutually unique. These crossover stars additionally paved the way in which for brand spanking new athletes to placed on the masks and take a look at themselves within the WWE world. That mentioned, we’re 100% sure extra will comply with quickly.
