A few pro wrestlers have successfully made the switch to mixed martial arts. Bobby Lashley has had the most staying power, Batista threw his hat into the mix and Brock Lesnar should go without saying. CM Punk signed with UFC and might eventually fight one day. Here are 10 wrestlers who could realistically get into MMA.
10. CM Punk
Getty ImagesCM Punk is officially a UFC fighter, inasmuch as he has signed on the dotted line. It's not certain at this point that he'll even have a fight inside the Octagon, and as time passes his name value diminishes. He might draw a good bunch of PPV buys when (and if) he finally fights, but it's not looking good.
9. Big E
WWE Official Facebook
The 5-foot-11, 280-pound powerhouse is very quick and agile, and not just for his size. He is a former competition power lifter and only 30 years old. He has all of the tools to be a big-time pro wrestler, and with his youth and size, Big E would be an ideal man to transition to MMA.
8. Ryback
WWE Official FacebookA multi-sport athlete in high school and college, Ryback is the kind of guy who's always trying to learn new things and improve on what he's already good at. He has been weight lifting since he was 12 years old and has become a monstrous physical specimen.
7. The Big Show
WWE Official FacebookMaybe not Big Show as he is today, but in his younger years the man previously known as "The Giant" was a very agile guy. For his age and physical condition, he's arguably still one of the most agile men of his size in history. Show has tried his hand at amateur boxing before and could have done well in the Octagon.
6. Wade Barrett
Instagram @WWEA former bare knuckle boxer from England, Wade Barrett is one of the legitimate tough guys whose career path has led him to being a professional wrestler. Barrett is tall and lean, and he has the kind of heart needed to be successful in MMA. Oh, and one time a guy stabbed him with an eight inch knife and tried to steal his prize money. The guy was seriously injured and Barrett kept the money.
5. Rusev
Instagram @thelanawweA bulky Bulgarian man aptly nicknamed "The Bulgarian Brute", Rusev is a former rower and powerlifter. He actually attended a sports school as a youth, which focused just as much (if not more) on sports as it did education. He's a young man, just 30 years old, and is as wide as he is tall. The man's built like a brick outhouse.
4. Daniel Bryan
WWE Official FacebookThe recently retired and highly decorated Daniel Bryan never wrestled as an amateur and only played high school sports, but in order to hone his craft and become a better pro wrestler he trained heavily in multiple styles of martial arts. Bryan is one of the toughest men to ever step into a wrestling ring, and he likely would have been a major success if he had attempted to make the transition to MMA.
3. Jack Swagger
Instagram @WWEThe brawny heavyweight who goes at least 6-foot-5, 260 pounds is a former University of Oklahoma football player and was an All-American wrestler while attending school, setting an OU record of 30 pins in one season. Swagger could join the list of former amateur wrestlers who have made it big in MMA.
2. Chad Gable
WWE NXT FacebookChad Gable, a member of WWE's developmental group NXT, was a high school state wrestling champion in Minnesota and wrestled in the 2012 Olympics. He's a small guy, billed at 5-foot-8 and 202 pounds (he's probably smaller than that) and has the charisma to build main events and the wrestling background to win them.
1. Jason Jordan
Instagram @wwenxtThe tag team partner of Chad Gable, Jordan started wrestling at 7 years old. He was a multi-sport athlete and decided to go to Indiana University to wrestle, at one time ranked No. 2 in the nation. He wrestled (very successfully) in the 285-pound weight class while only weighing 225. The man is a beast.
