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.