Under-the-radar Netflix wrestling anime Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc is adding to its roster with a decorated WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling champion.
As per Anime News Network, Shinsuke Nakamura (who has held several prestigious titles in his career) will play Kamandas, a 'colleague' of long-time series villain Warsman.
The second season of Kinnikuman's comeback anime is currently streaming on Netflix in most territories. It follows in a long line of series that adapt the Japanese animated wrestling icon's story from its manga. Western fans might know it best as the English-dubbed Ultimate Muscle.
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Of course, this isn't the only time wrestlers have stepped out of the ring and into the world of movies and TV shows.
Most recently, multiple-time WWE Champion Seth Rollins had his role cut from Captain America: Brave New World. There, he would have played a member of the villainous Serpent Society, who went on to be led by Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder after a round of additional photography.
Elsewhere, Randy Orton opened up about his audition process to play Cable in Deadpool 2 – a role he ultimately lost out on to Josh Brolin.
Beyond that, there's been a rich history of wrestlers putting on their working boots in front of the cameras.
Hulk Hogan, famously, made his presence felt as Thunderlips in Rocky 3 before parlaying that into a middling movie career with features such as Mr. Nanny and Santa With Muscles. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has certainly been the biggest success in terms of box office and stature, though John Cena and Dave Bautista have proven to be big stars in their own right away from the squared circle.
Bizarrely, actors have even made the jump to wrestling – perhaps none more infamous than Scream's David Arquette, who had a brief stint as WCW Champion in 2000 before taking part in a brutal, bloody deathmatch decades later, a match that left him near death after being stabbed in the neck during one particularly risky spot involving light tubes.
For more, check out the new anime coming your way in 2025. Then get ready for one of the industry's biggest events with the AnimeJapan 2025 schedule. Plus, we have all the latest on One-Punch Man season 3 and Jujutsu Kaisen season 3.
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