In the mid-to-late 80's, wrestling fans cheered when Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, & Jesse Ventura made the transition to acting, with mixed degrees of success. Piper was the most successful of the three, if you go by box office figures. "They Live" (1988) was a certified blockbuster that went to #1. However, after a jailhouse comedy, "Buy & Cell", came out and tanked the next year, Piper was relegated to direct-to-video actioners. Hogan had three top 10 hits from 1989-93, but after "Mr. Nanny" ('93) exposed Hogan's limited range as an actor, he was no longer considered an A-list star in Hollywood, either. It was either direct-to-video ("Secret Agent Club" in '96) or doing television. "Thunder in Paradise" was modestly successful during his run in WCW, but critics saw it as a vanity vehicle for Hogan and little more. At least Ventura had the good sense to make another career transition, to politics in this case, to gain his outside-the-ring success.

A generation later, and more wrestling stars are angling for acting jobs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, for example, was in line for a spin-off series from "Nash Bridges" before being sidelined for much of 2000 with neck troubles. Last year's action thriller, "The Condemned", was declared doomed before it hit the theatres, but then, that was because of an anti-WWE bias in effect in the media in some circles.

Then, there's Dwayne Johnson. You don't have to call him "The Rock" anymore, because he's retired that persona. Part of the reason WWE is lucky to get him at least once every other year or so is because he has a steady stream of movie projects. Up next for Johnson is a movie reimagining of the 60's hit, "Get Smart", starring Steve Carell, and also featuring current WWE star Great Khali, who was in "The Longest Yard", along with Austin, Bill Goldberg, & Kevin Nash, 3 years ago. Almost every film Johnson has made has gone to #1 at the box office. In effect, he has become critic proof. They trashed "Doom", yet it still went to #1. Some critics didn't like "The Game Plan". Guess what? Yup, another #1 hit. "Get Smart"? Well, gee. Would you believe that could conceivably go straight to the top, too?

Meanwhile, there's Stacy Keibler, who has much more in common with Johnson than being WWE alumni. Both came out of football (she was a cheerleader for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, he was a defensive star for the University of Miami), and both have parlayed their stints in WWE into successful gigs on TV and movies. Stacy has gone one step further, and has landed endorsement deals. Her latest is a TV ad for Reebok that has her sharing the screen with Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck and Cincinnati Bengals wideout Chad Johnson (no relation to the People's Champ). Stacy just wrapped a stint on ABC's "October Road", in which she acted opposite real-life love Geoff Stults, and it's been mentioned that there may be a sitcom for her down the road, given her deal with Disney, ABC's parent company. To paraphrase NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus (a fair actor in his own right), who says linemen and cheerleaders are dumb?

The success of Johnson & Keibler is counter-balanced by WWE's failure so far to establish their own movie studio as a successful venture. Even though Austin got some good reviews for "Longest Yard" (Khali was ignored by most of the press), and Triple H for "Blade: Trinity", any project associated with WWE will be assassinated by the press regardless. We know these guys can act. The critics, especially in New York City, prefer to wear blinders and have predetermined opinions. A great example of this was in 2002, when Johnson's starring debut, "The Scorpion King", was released. A NY Post critic trashed the film, but it read as if he hadn't really seen it. Small wonder, then, that the critic, Jonathan Foreman, is no longer with the paper.

Last Friday, Vince McMahon became the first wrestling personality that I can think of to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Chances are pretty good that Johnson & Keibler will soon follow, some 5-10 years down the line. Not only that, but I'd be willing to bet that one or both of them could wind up with something Vince will never have, like Oscars, Emmys, and Golden Globes.