Cage-match cinema: we take a look at the 10 greatest wrestlers to make the transition from the squared circle to the silver screen

Wrestling Digest, June, 2003 by Mike Stokes

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLERS HAVE been making the jump from the squared circle to mainstream entertainment for decades.

Classy Freddie Blassie gave Rob Petrie an airplane spin on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" back in 1962. Hulk Hogan was looking for romance on "The Love Boat" in 1985.

Randy Savage pummeled a guy in a gorilla suit on "Mad About You" in 1999. The Rock even played his own father, Rocky Johnson, on a recent episode of "That `70s Show."

While some wrestling superstars get slammed in the transition (has anyone heard from Sable lately?), many big-time grapplers thrive under Hollywood's bright lights.

Here are history's 10 most prolific acting wrestlers and some of their most memorable work.

1. El Santo

Lucha libre films began thrilling audiences South of the Border back in the 1950s with the man in the silver mask, El Santo, leading the way. The star of nearly 60 features over four decades, El Santo was Mexico's greatest grappler and biggest movie star. His film career began with 1958's "Santo vs. the Infernal Men" and ended with "Fury of the Karate Killers" in 1982. During that span, El Santo battled everything from run-of-the-mill thugs to ghosts, vampires, mummies, and even the daughter of Frankenstein. El Santo's success in the ring and on the screen also paved the way for several of his fellow countrymen, including the Man of 1,000 Masks, Mil Mascaras, to become lucha libre stars. On screen, Mascaras fought alongside side El Santo in the 1972 classic "Mummies of Guanajuato." Having never appeared in public or on screen without his trademark mask, El Santo was buried in his mask upon his death in 1984. He remains the most prolific acting wrestler in history.

2. Hulk Hogan

While the bulk of Hollywood Hogan's films are hard-to-watch kiddie capers like "Mr. Nanny," "Suburban Commando," and "Santa with Muscles," the Hulkster's over-the-top turn as flamboyant wrestling champ Thunderlips in "Rocky III" is pure genius. Truly a living legend, Hogan has also appeared as himself or thinly veiled, non-trademarked wrestler characters in numerous demographic-shattering films and television shows including "Search for Tomorrow" and "Suddenly Susan," as well as testosterone-fueled fare like "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "The A-Team." Though many fans may never forgive him for his hand in the horrible wrestling flick "No Holds Barred," there's no denying Hogan's Hollywood appeal. He has been featured in his own Saturday morning cartoon show, served as product pitchman in commercials, and shared the guest couch on numerous talk shows. And as Hurricane Spencer, Hogan even starred in his own syndicated television series, "Thunder in Paradise."

3. The Rock

The most electrifying man in sports entertainment has proved he is the people's champion of the box office as well as the wrestling ring. Turning a glorified cameo in 2001's "The Mummy Returns" into a title role in 2002's "The Scorpion King," Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson laid the smack down on Tinseltown. The film grossed $36 million in its opening weekend, establishing the Rock as a bona fide Hollywood hero and opening a flood of offers for future roles. The Rock returns to the big screen this year starting as a bounty hunter in "Welcome to the Jungle" and with a small cameo in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." At press time, the Rock was also in talks to reprise the legendary role of Sheriff Buford Pusser in a remake of "Walking Tall."

4. Jesse Ventura

Even before he became governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura was an extremely busy man. He didn't even have time to bleed as a hard-charging special forces operative in "Predator" and he was chasing fugitives as Captain Freedom in "The Running Man," both in 1987. Ventura completed the Arnold trifecta in 1997 with a small role in the franchise-killing "Batman & Robin," one of more than a dozen feature film cameos by "the Body." The former politician/Navy Seal/tag-team champion now hosts his own issues-oriented show on MSNBC.

5. Lenny Montana

An old-school grappler from the 1950s and `60s, Lenny "Bull" Montana wrestled under names like the Zebra Kid and Chief Chickawicki. It was his role as Luca Brasi in 1972's "The Godfather," however, that made him a pop-culture icon. Making his acting debut as Vito Corleone's trusted enforcer, Montana was understandably nervous working with a screen legend like Marlon Brando. In fact, director Francis Ford Coppola filmed Montana quietly practicing his lines and used the footage in the film. When it came time to actually shoot the scene, prankster Brando made it his mission to make the wrestler laugh by taping obscene notes to his own forehead. Montana went on to appear in more than a dozen other film roles before his death in 1992.

6. Andre the Giant

Initiating a proud tradition of Arnold Schwarzenegger collaborations with professional wrestlers, Andre the Giant made his big screen debut as Dagoth in "Conan the Destroyer" in 1984. He followed with a cameo in "Mickey Maude," a 1984 "comedy" starring the late Dudley Moore (and also featuring Big John Studd) and a bravura performance as Fezzik in 1987's "The Princess Bride," Andre's greatest contribution to Hollywood, however, is his unforgettable role as the terrifying Sasquatch that battered the original Sieve Austin in two episodes of "The Six Million Dollar Man" in 1976. (Andre also re-teamed with series star Lee Majors in a 1981 episode of "The Fall Guy.") Of course, many will also remember the Giant's 1979 arc in the epic trucker with a monkey series, "B.J. and the Bear."