Film opinion: Ranking WWE star actors Dave Bautista, The Rock, and John Cena
The last two decades have seen three WWE stars turn to acting in some of Hollywood’s biggest films.
Dave Bautista, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and John Cena have become as familiar in cinemas as they have in global wrestling arenas.
Film News Blitz co-founder Dan Lawrence debates who out of the trio is the best actor.
Hollywood WrestleMania
The idea of ranking WWE stars who have become actors isn’t new.
Not only has it been a topic of debate for many years, but it has also been the subject of a recent article published by The Hollywood Reporter.
In its ranking, The Hollywood Reporter placed Bautista at the top of the list, Johnson second, and Cena in third.
But is this the correct order to rank this trio in?
Dave Bautista is the best WWE star turned actor
There really should be no debating Bautista as the number one WWE star-turned-actor.
Since he gained worldwide acclaim as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, turning a comedy sidekick into a character of rich emotional depth, Bautista has worked hard to diversify his acting portfolio.
Sure, his career does include some drab comedy duds, but Bautista has racked up some hugely impressive credits.
A fine performance as the emotional anchor to kick off Blade Runner: 2049 led to a starring role in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, and Bautista was a fine inclusion in the Knives Out Glass Onion sequel ensemble.
Rather than let himself be typecast, Bautista has successfully developed himself into an adept character actor.
Who is the better actor: The Rock or John Cena?
While Bautista’s place at the top of the WWE turned actor list is assured, picking second best has become a harder thing to gauge in recent times.
Previously, Johnson’s brand of physical comedy and blockbuster action vehicles had helped him become a global superstar.
For a long time, doing one thing well worked for Johnson perfectly, while Cena was known purely for smaller-scale comedies of varying success.
However, the tide has turned recently as Johnson has slightly fallen out of favour thanks to peculiar stories over conduct on set (which, in fairness, haven’t been confirmed as fact), and his famously doomed attempt to hijack the DC film franchise.
DC is the cornerstone of the Johnson/Cena acting crossroads.
Cena being cast by James Gunn in The Suicide Squad and subsequently leading the critically acclaimed Peacemaker series has been a revelation.
His comedy chops expanding, Cena has added layers of dramatic prowess under Gunn’s tutelage and remained humble throughout.
Cena’s performances as Peacemaker are beyond anything that Johnson has achieved in his career to date.
This again is subject to change as Johnson is launching a dramatic acting career via Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine.
An A24 biopic charting the course of an ageing UFC fighter is just the ticket to springboard Johnson into acting realms he’s long been cast adrift from.
When The Smashing Machine lands in cinemas this October, Johnson could stake a claim to shake up the WWE star-turned-actor pecking order.
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