Even though professional wrestling involves a degree of acting, the professional wrestler-to-actor pipeline hasn't been particularly smooth for most. Hulk Hogan generally found himself unable to tone down the volume and the bluster of yelling to an entire arena, and while Roddy Piper had some success with John Carpenter's "They Live," he owes it to the director being a wrestling fan.

In the '90s, wrestling began to change into its "Attitude" era, often called the Monday Night Wars, developing more adult and reality-based themes, and depending at least as much on behind-the-scenes vignettes as in-ring action. This transition required a newer, more versatile sort of performer, and none excelled at it more than Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock. It was in The Rock's charisma as both hero and villain that promoter Vince McMahon saw the potential for the World Wrestling Entertainment to gain a foothold in Hollywood, and WWE Studios,...