The Forgotten MMA Careers of Six Past and Present WWE Wrestlers

Mixed martial arts and professional wrestling have always been kissing cousins. From the first modern MMA promotion being founded by Tiger Mask to today, when competitors can be seen in the ring one month and in the cage the next, there has always been, and likely always will be, a great deal of crossover between the two sports.

Unfortunately, both MMA and pro wrestling fans have always had short memories, and that has resulted in many crossover careers—long and short, successful and unsuccessful—being forgotten to time. With that in mind, it's worth dusting off the old imported VHS tapes and dredging the oceans of video content online today to unearth some of the lost gems wrestlers have given us.

Here are six past and present WWE wrestlers who made the jump to MMA and, for one reason or another, had their careers get largely overlooked by the public at large.

The Not-So-Forgotten Careers

Before delving into which wrestlers' careers have been forgotten about, it's worth paying quick homage to the WWE wrestlers who made a memorable mark on the MMA world.

CM Punk

The Straight Edge Savior shocked the pro wrestling world by walking out of the WWE after the 2014 Royal Rumble, and then he shocked the entire combat sports world by signing with the UFC later that year. His debut was pushed back time and again, but the spotlight still shined bright when he finally stepped into the cage at UFC 203. Unfortunately, that just put more attention on his ugly performance against Mickey Gall.

Ken Shamrock

As one of the most important fighters in UFC history, Ken Shamrock's legacy in MMA easily overshadows his career in the WWF. That's a bit of an accomplishment, too, as he managed to capture the Tag Team Championship, Intercontinental Championship and 1998 King of the Ring title in just two years with the company.

Brock Lesnar

It's pretty easy to be remembered when you demolish Randy Couture to take the UFC heavyweight championship and then defend it in one of the biggest pay-per-views in combat sports history! The second chapter of his MMA career didn't go especially well, given the failed drug tests and ongoing lawsuit, but there's no debate Lesnar set the standard for crossover success.

Dan Severn

Much like Shamrock, Severn is more fighter than he is pro wrestler. Unlike Shamrock, however, his run with the WWF didn't have any major milestones, with his biggest achievements being a semifinals run in the 1998 King of the Ring tournament and beating up the Godfather (for real) in Brawl for All.

Alberto Del Rio

Few people remember Alberto Del Rio’s time in MMA, but many have seen his work in shoot competition. That’s because Del Rio, currently known as Alberto El Patron, was involved in one of the most infamous freakshow fights in the history of MMA.

Working under the ring name of Dos Caras Jr., Del Rio faced legendary kickboxer Mirko Cro Cop at Pride Bushido 1...while wearing his lucha mask. The fight ended in just 46 seconds via vicious headkick, with the highlight eventually going viral as a testament to both Cro Cop’s devastating knockout power and the wackiness that could be found in Japanese MMA.

While that moment is by far the biggest of Del Rio’s legitimate sports career, the former WWE champion wasn’t just some jobber from the Japanese circuit. Before stepping into the squared circle, he was fairly successful in the circular circle as a Greco-Roman wrestler who actually qualified for the 2000 Olympic Games. What’s more, he continued to compete in MMA all the way until his WWE debut in 2010, amassing a respectable 9-5 record with seven submission victories.

Today, he splits his time between wrestling and working with MMA promotion Combate Americas. It’s easy to wonder if that relationship could usher him back into competition once more.

Batista

When Batista left the WWE in 2010, most were expecting him to just move to Hollywood full-time. He had picked up a few bit parts in television and movies during his time with the company, and with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surging, it seemed like directors and producers would be awaiting him with open arms.

While that may or may not have actually been the case, Batista surprised many when his first public appearance post-WWE came not on a red carpet or movie set...but in the stands of a small Strikeforce show. Rumors that Batista was looking to start an MMA career spread like wildfire from there and were eventually proved true when he put pen to paper with Rhode Island-based promotion CES MMA. The company built a pay-per-view around his debut...and it was a disaster.

A few days before the fight, the man who was supposed to face Batista, Rashid Evans, was arrested for probation violation and replaced by Vince Lucero, a paunchy journeyman with a 22-22 record. The side-by-side of the statuesque body builder next to the doughy fighter drew plenty of sneers, as did the fact Lucero largely dominated the early goings of the fight, landing some hard shots and outworking Batista in the clinch to the point where he began hamming for the crowd.

Lucero gassed quickly, though, and when he began to stall the action against the cage, quick referee separations began to follow. Eventually, Batista scored a takedown, and Lucero, quite simply, gave up! Batista went from position to position without difficulty before taking back mount and scoring a technical-knockout victory.

The wild swing of momentum left many crying that Lucero threw the fight, and some post-fight antics from both men irked many of those in attendance. The immediate reaction from fans and pundits was a resoundingly negative one, but thankfully, the fact it ever happened was quickly forgotten by all.

Mitch

You may not remember much of Mitch. As the least important member of the Spirit Squad, he was rarely given any time in the spotlight as an individual and wasn’t part of some of the group’s prouder in-ring moments due to a litany of injuries.

That said, he has three notable achievements in his combat sports career; he is officially a former WWE World Tag Team Champion, he dated Torrie Wilson for five years and he actually was the debut opponent of fan-favorite UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis.

Following his quiet release from the WWE in 2007, Mitch (real name Nick Mitchell) began training in mixed martial arts and signed on with regional show Worldwide Gladiator for his debut fight in 2010. Unfortunately for him, his opponent would shake out to be one of the hardest hitters in the entire sport.

After a reasonably competitive first round, a poor takedown attempt by Mitchell was met with heavy punches in the sprawl. Mitchell kept hold of Lewis’ leg and kept pushing for a takedown, but Lewis just kept on landing hands until he was forced to let go. Lewis kept the heat on, and before long, Mitchell was in a prone position.

Mitchell hasn’t been seen in the cage since, but eyewitness accounts state a crate labeled “OVW” was seen leaving the premises after the fight…

Bobby Lashley

Despite the fact Bobby Lashley is among the Western world's most successful wrestling-to-MMA converts, the MMA career of the TNA World Heavyweight Champion (and man who helped future President Donald Trump shave Vince McMahon’s head) has largely flown under the radar.

Debuting in 2008, Lashley quickly established himself as one of North America’s top main eventers for hire, bouncing around between various promotions and amassing a solid record against recognizable journeymen. He didn’t manage to find a steady home, however, until 2014 when he put pen to paper with Bellator MMA.

Through his five fights with the promotion, Lashley has done an amazing job of elevating himself from a circus attraction to a legitimate, high-level heavyweight. That isn’t necessarily a surprise, given his strong NAIA wrestling credentials and his thickly muscled physique.

His ceiling is yet to be determined, and unfortunately, as a 40-year-old part-time fighter, that isn’t likely to change.

Bam Bam Bigelow

Bam Bam Bigelow is remembered as one of the best big men of the 1990s, and that’s a good thing! Because he very easily could have been remembered as one of the worst fighters in mixed martial arts history.

In 1996, not long after his second stint with WWF, Bigelow signed a deal with fledgling MMA promotion U-Japan for a shoot. As the biggest name on the card and with no legitimate combat sports experience on his record, he would traditionally be booked opposite an easy foe, giving him time to develop and keeping the wheels greased for him to take another fight.

U-Japan, for whatever reason, didn’t use that logic. Instead, they booked him for a fight with Kimo Leopoldo.

Leopoldo wasn’t an elite mixed martial artist, but with wins over UFC 2 finalist Patrick Smith and Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba, Bigelow was likely to get steamrolled even on his best day. And the guy that actually showed up for the fight? Well, that probably wasn’t the best Bigelow.

Within just 7 seconds, Leopoldo was in full mount position, with Bigelow pinned into the corner of the cage. That’s an incredibly difficult situation for a well-trained competitor, but for a complete novice? And at a time when pretty much everything (including fence-grabbing) was legal? It was basically checkmate then and there.

For a solid two minutes, Leopoldo landed hard, uncontested punches to Bigelow with the referee sitting back and watching the carnage. The end wouldn’t come until Bigelow rolled to his stomach and nearly begged Leopoldo to sink in a merciful rear-naked choke. The UFC alum obliged and earned the stoppage win at 2:15 of the first round.

Bigelow would go on to claim the fight was a work (as detailed by MiddleEasy.com). Whether that’s true or it was just an effort to save face is unknown. Even if Bigelow did throw the fight, there is little doubt it would’ve shaken out the exact same way.

Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura’s career was a short but incredibly memorable one. Taking place during his historic early career in New Japan Pro Wrestling, the future King of Strong Style made his way onto a number of iconic and memorable cards.

After debuting at the 2002 year-end Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye card opposite Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist (and future rival) Daniel Gracie, Nakamura found himself a frequent foe to crossover talent from K-1. He picked up his first win over 6’11” kickboxer Jan Nortje six months later and went on to compete at the inaugural Jungle Fight event, which featured fellow hot prospects Fabricio Werdum, Lyoto Machida, Stephan Bonnar and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

With a 2-1 MMA record, Nakamura returned to NJPW and became the youngest IWGP heavyweight champion by defeating Hiroyoshi Tenzan at Battle Final 2003. That boost to his profile in professional wrestling afforded him bigger opportunities in MMA and set him up to face Alexey Ignashov in the co-main event to Dynamite!! 2003. The first fight ended in a controversial knockout loss for Nakamura (which would later be overturned to a No Contest), but he would get his win back five months later with a second-round submission.

That victory would wind up being his final appearance in shoot competition.

While his MMA career only lasted about a year and a half, Nakamura found his way to some of the grandest stages of his era. It’s easy to wonder how far he could have gone had he stuck with it.