Bodybuilders are celebrated for their discipline, muscularity, and charisma on stage, but swapping poses for powerslams requires these athletes to maintain their phenomenal physiques while being tested in the pro wrestling ring. Many bodybuilders have crossed over to WWE with varying success, but a select few have used their larger-than-life presence on the competitive stage, to go all the way to WrestleMania. With that in mind, M&F takes a look at seven bona fide bodybuilders, who bodyslammed their way to pro wrestling’s greatest event.
WWE
Ultimate Warrior
James “Ultimate Warrior” Hellwig set the pace for intensity in a pro wrestling ring, becoming one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time, but he first found the spotlight as a competitive amateur bodybuilder, winning the NPC Mr Georgia title in 1984.
Hellwig made his professional wrestling debut in 1985, alongside Steve Borden, and would climb to the top of the WWE mountain by beating Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 6, before a crowd 60,000 fans at the SkyDome in Toronto. He sadly passed away in 2014, but his aura remains unmatched.
WWE
Sting
Speaking of Steve Borden, he also made his debut alongside his gym partner, Jim Hellwig in 1985, before changing his original wrestling name from “Flesh” to “Sting” in 1986. Both men had been scouted for the mat while working out, due to their sculpted physiques. And, like Warrior, Borden was a competitive bodybuilder, who found international wrestling fame. After signing with WCW in 1987, Sting became a six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. But because of his star status in that promotion, the grappler had been resistant about the idea of signing with WWE. When WCW was bought by Vince McMahon in 2001, he eventually made it to the rival company, and competed at WrestleMania 31, in 2015, in a losing effort against Triple H.
WWE
Triple H
Before he was WWE’s “King of Kings,” Paul Levesque took up bodybuilding at the age of 14 to look more like his pro wrestling heroes. He won the 1988 Mr Teenage New Hampshire competition at 19 years of age and later became known as “Terra Ryzing” in WCW, Lavesque made the move to WWE in 1995 under the name “Hunter Hearst Helmsley,” but when he started up the D-Generation X faction, with best friend Shawn Michaels, he shortened that monicker to “Triple H.”
Of course, Levesque is now retired from wrestling, but serves as WWE’s chief content officer. During his ring days, however, Triple H was one of the most prolific WrestleMania performers, battling everyone from the Ultimate Warrior to mixed tag team action alongside his wife, Stephanie McMahon, against Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey.
As Alexa Bliss, the pocket powerhouse is still making WrestleMania history, making her in-ring action debut at WrestleMania 33 in a women’s Battle Royal, and winning the tag team title with Nikki Cross at WrestleMania 36. In 2026, Bliss has another chance at the tag team championships as she will partner with Charlotte Flair in a fatal-four-way battle.
WWE
Tony Atlas
Tony “Anthony White” Atlas was a champion powerlifter who won the Pro Mr. USA bodybuilding title through the World Bodybuilding Guild in 1979 and is reported to have earned the “Mr USA” title 3 times overall.
In WWE, Atlas is well-known for winning the tag team titles with Rocky Johnson (who was the father of Dwayne Johnson) and for being part of the famous Battle Royale at WrestleMania 2 that featured both WWE and NFL combatants. Atlas was more recently part of WWE’s “Legends House” reality show.
Becoming Dana Brooke in WWE, the star signed with the pro wrestling juggernaut’s developmental system in 2013 and remained with the company for over a decade, winning the 24/7 championship 15 times no less. Brooke appeared at WrestleMania 34 in a women’s battle royal, WrestleMania 35 as part of the kick-off show Battle Royal, and most recently at WrestleMania 37 in a Tag Team Turmoil Match.
WWE
John Cena
Before he became out of sight as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all-time, John Cena earned a degree in science and kinesiology from Springfield College in Massachusetts before moving to Venice, CA, and picking up odd jobs at the famous Gold’s Gym, all while giving competitive bodybuilding a shot. Those Gold’s Gym connections would provide a chance for Cena to train as a pro wrestler, and took on the apt name of “The Prototype,” before signing with WWE in the year 2000.
As the “Doctor of Thuganomics,” and later the master or “Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect,” John Cena carved out an exceptional pro wrestling career, earning a record-setting seventeen world titles before retiring as a sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer upon losing to Gunther in 2025. In addition to his Hollywood career, Cena is slated to be the official host WrestleMania 42.
Those who want to see even more muscularity on display can tune into WrestleMania 42 on April 18 and 19, 2026, live from Allegiant Stadium, in Las Vegas. WWE’s biggest annual event will stream on ESPN in the U.S. and on Netflix internationally.
