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Baseball isn't a sport one would inherently identify as a desirable background for professional wrestlers, but it is. Professional wrestlers come from all sorts of backgrounds. Football, basketball, and fitness seem to be favorable hunting grounds for scouts due to the industry's priority on physicality, size, and power, respectively.
Meanwhile, many female wrestlers have found themselves in the squared circle of the fashion and modeling world. This was particularly valid for the diva era of WWE but has subsequently diminished in prominence.
Baseball has surprisingly been a breeding ground for many wrestlers currently appearing in promotions all over the world. They include current WWE Superstars competing on the main roster and wrestlers across the ocean in Japan. Some legends of the industry have joined the industry from a background in the sport.
Here is a list of 5 wrestlers who started their careers in baseball.
#5 WWE superstar Veer was the first Indian in Major League Baseball
Veer isn't exactly a star on the WWE main roster, where he is one of two lackeys of former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal ready to jump to their leader's defense only to get floored by the likes of Drew McIntyre. However, WWE is missing the point if they fail to groom Veer into a future star.
A multi-sport talent, Veer chose baseball as his preferred sport and participated and won in a reality show before leaving for the US for further training. He became one of the first Indians to sign an MLB contract.
After the decline of his baseball career, he signed a developmental contract in WWE. His story was detailed in the film Million Dollar Arm, and he remains the only WWE Superstar to have a biopic made and released before joining the company.
#4 WWE Hall of Famer Bobo Brazil
Bobo Brazil's baseball background is a relatively unknown fact. Brazil used to play baseball in exhibition matches and local leagues for The House of David.
Brazil went on to become a professional wrestler, where he broke all sorts of racial barriers to become a superstar. One of the first successful African-Americans in the history of professional wrestling, Brazil was beloved by fans of all races who cheered him as he faced the likes of Killer Kowalski, Johnny Valentine, and The Original Sheik.
Brazil was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 1994, where he was inducted by Arnie Ladd.
#3 Current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi played baseball in school
Shingo Takagi has grown leaps and bounds since joining New Japan Pro Wrestling. He started as a major force in the junior heavyweight division, and moved to the heavyweight division in 2020.
Takagi is the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, a title he won by defeating Kazuchika Okada. The Dragon Gate alumni originally played baseball in school but also showed interest in combat sports before turning towards professional wrestling.
Takagi is currently a part of the faction named LIJ, which leads us to the next entry.
#2 Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito
Tetsuya Naito shares a love for, and background, in baseball with his LIJ stablemate, alongside sharing the gym where they learned their craft. A school baseball player, Naito's love for the sport has made him wear the primary colors of Central League team Hiroshima Toyo Carps throughout his professional wrestling career.
Naito has been highly successful, with NJPW insistent on making him the face of the promotion. He has won multiple world championships during his career. Yet, despite fan support, he has never quite achieved his true potential as a franchise player.
#1 WWE Hall of Famer "Macho Man" Randy Savage was a professional baseball player
"Macho Man" is one of the greatest professional wrestlers to ever step inside the squared circle. Constantly oozing charisma, the flamboyant star was comfortable performing as a face and a heel.
Savage, one of the rare wrestlers to headline both WrestleMania and Starrcade, was a professional baseball player until 1974. He played for several teams in the minor leagues.
He couldn't become the cream of the crop in baseball. However, the second-generation talent soon moved to professional wrestling and became one of the biggest legends in the history of the industry.
