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Wrestling and Hollywood have gone hand-in-hand for years now, with WWE wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, and John Cena all making the jump to varying degrees of success. Even now, younger wrestling superstars are diving head first into the acting world, with WWE's Becky Lynch on Billions and Young Rock, Liv Morgan appearing on Chucky, and AEW's MJF and Ryan Nemeth scoring roles in the A24 wrestling biopic on the real-life wrestling tragedy of the Von Erich family. In the early 2000s, one movie would take things even further with the bridge between pro wrestling and Hollywood. The remake of the 1970s football film, The Longest Yard, would make waves in the wrestling world as a portion of the cast would be made up of big names in the wrestling world, including both "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Bill Goldberg.
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'The Longest Yard' Was An Adam Sandler Led, Star-Studded Remake
While modern audiences may know of this version of The Longest Yard, it is actually a remake of a film under the same name from 1974. The original version of The Longest Yard starred Burt Reynolds in the role that Sandler played, as Paul "Wrecking" Crewe, the ex-football player who became imprisoned and was forced to play on the inmate's football team. Blackmailed by the warden of the prison, there would be an effort for the inmates to throw the football game to the team made up of the guards. In the big climax, the team of the convicts would come together under Crewe's leadership, defeating the guards for the first time and scoring a major win for their overall morale. Decades later, the film would be remade in 2005 with Adam Sandler in the lead role, backed by a star-studded cast.
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Not only would Sandler's version feature a number of notable names, but it would also bring back members of the original cast including Burt Reynolds, playing Coach Nate Scarborough, and Ed Lauter in the role of Duane. As for the big names starring alongside Sandler, the 2005 version of The Longest Yard would feature names such as Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Terry Crews, Courtney Cox, Rob Schneider, James Cromwell, Nelly, William Fichtner, rap group D12, and Dan Patrick in the cast. The film would also feature a number of former NFL players and sports personalities throughout the cast as well.
A Number Of WWE Wrestlers Were Featured In 'The Longest Yard'
More interestingly for wrestling fans would be the film's cast featuring not one or two, but several notable wrestlers, most hailing from WWE. With the film being released in 2005, the cast would see names including Bill Goldberg, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, and The Great Khali all featured as part of the football teams, with Khali and Goldberg being a part of the cons team, and Austin and Nash being cast as guards. Also featured on the team of the cons would be Bob Sapp, a former football player who had a noteworthy career in New Japan Pro Wrestling before becoming a professional kickboxer and MMA Fighter. While the film would not feature any actual wrestling, the roles were physically demanding as the wrestlers would be performing a rougher version of American football in the film, really selling the personal issues between the guards and the prisoners.
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Though this remake of The Longest Yard would get a mixed reception from fans and critics, it was great for wrestling fans to see so many familiar faces up on the big screen alongside genuine Hollywood stars and NFL players. For the likes of Kevin Nash and Steve Austin, this would not be their final turns on the big screen, as Stone Cold would re-team with Adam Sandler for Grown Ups2, playing Sandler's childhood bully in the film, while Kevin Nash would score supporting roles in John Wick, and more notably, Magic Mike alongside Channing Tatum. Still, The Longest Yard would find success as it would earn nearly $200 million dollars at the box office on a budget of $90 million.
