5 WWE stars who majored in surprising subjects in college

It's not uncommon for WWE to play up one of their star's college experience as part of their character. Stars such as Chris Nowinski, Jack Swagger, David Otunga, and even Brock Lesnar wore their college pedigree on their sleeves when first debuting - in Nowinski's case, almost literally. WWE will even mention a wrestler's higher education once they've outgrown their original gimmick - it was years before the company recognized Dolph Ziggler's amazing college wrestling career but they eventually did it.

Chris Nowinski went to Harvard, if you hadn't heard.

Just because WWE doesn't acknowledge the scholastic credentials of their other stars, however, doesn't mean they don't have them. While sports entertainment is a lucrative business if you can succeed in it, many have found it prudent to get a college degree before getting started. Which is not unwise. Sometimes that education went on to help them with various aspects of the wrestling business - and sometimes it doesn't come into play at all.

You know, kind of how life in general works.

So, here are 5 WWE Superstars who grabbed college degrees in majors that you might not have expected.

#5 Mandy Rose - Speech Pathology

When Mandy Rose first started in WWE, many people - myself included, I'll admit - figured her hiring was a throwback to the days of the Divas. While her stunning good looks are certainly a trademark of hers (heck, she's even a former Maxim cover model), they belie her other, much more impressive talents.

Before entering the world of WWE, Mandy worked as a fitness model and in bodybuilding. While that's certainly impressive - I mean, I can't do that - it's her college education that really helps her stand out. Mandy Rose has a bachelor's degree in Speech Pathology, a medical field that helps patients recover from communication difficulties, such as stuttering, as well as social communication issues, like talking too softly or standing too close to someone while talking. You know, like a typical Seinfeld episode.

She also received her degree from the prestigious Iona College in New York, whose other alumni include M*A*S*H* actor Bud Court, "American Pie" singer Don McLean, and former White House Communications director and no relation to me Kevin Sullivan.

#4 Carmella - Marketing

Carmella might be one of the more underrated wrestlers on the WWE roster today. Talented in both the ring and on the microphone, But, she's also incredibly creative, as well. She knows how to recreate her character - even if it's ever so slightly - to keep her within the attention span of the WWE audience. That may be from changing her hair color to starting a crazy partnership with R-Truth, complete with crowd-rousing dance breaks.

Whatever your feelings are about James Ellsworth (and this is neither the time or place to get into it), but her partnership with the Chinless Wonder was one of the most entertaining programs on WWE TV at the time. And Carmella was the one who pitched it - not just to Creative, but to Vince McMahon himself.

How does "The Princess of Staten Island" know how to connect with the masses so well? It might be partly due to her degree in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She's in pretty talented company, as well, as other notable alumni from the school include "Payback" writer and directed Brian Helgeland, UFC fighter Joe Proctor, and former Massachusetts House of Representatives member David B. Sullivan - also no relation.

And, yeah, I hate to be the one to break the illusion, but... The Princess of Staten Island is actually from Boston.

I KNOW!

#3 Eve Torres - Industrial and Systems Engineering

Eve Torres might no longer be on the WWE roster, but she's a major part of the history of the company's women's division and still occasionally works with them to this day. Her last appearance was as part of the pre-show panel of WWE's 2018 all-women's PPV Evolution. She's also a martial arts instructor (in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu of all things - and with the Gracie family), an actress (she was Maxima on Supergirl, for crying out loud!), a model, a dancer (for the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team, even) and so much more.

Oh, and she also won the 2007 Divas Search. Because she's awesome.

res didn't become this awesome just on natural talent alone, however (though she certainly has plenty of that). She attended the University of Southern California - on a full scholarship at that - founded a sorority chapter on her campus and graduated - with honors - in 2006.

And what, pray tell, did she graduate in? Something "common" like English or Physical Education or a Liberal Arts degree (no disrespect to those majors, by the way! English major here myself!) Nah, she went ahead and got a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. That just sounds complicated.

Oh, and she kissed John Cena on television once, too.

How fortunate can one person get?

#2 The Rock - Criminology

At this point, we don't really need to tell you who The Rock is. The Great One. The Most Electrifying Man in Entertainment. The Guy Whose Cooking He's Wondering If You Can Smell. That Guy From Jumanji. Yeah, you get it.

It's also fairly common knowledge among wrestling fans that the man who now guys by Dwayne Johnson (since that's, you know, his name) attended the University of Miami, where he was a football standout for the school at Defensive Tackle. In fact, he was on the team that won the 1991 NCAA National Championship game. Of course, a pro football career really wasn't in the cards for Johnson, who then tried his hand at pro wrestling and that turned out... OK, I guess.

What's not as commonly known is what he actually majored in. That's right, The Rock didn't just play football at Miami - he got an education there, too. In 1995, Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies in the fields of Criminology and Physiology. Basically, if The Rock wasn't going to lay the smackdown on his opponents on either the football field or the wrestling ring, he was going to do it to gosh darn criminals.

"Nobody breaks the law in The Rock's town, if you smellllllllllllllllllllll-la-la-la-la...."

Interestingly enough, one of his more iconic roles would be that of government agent Luke Hobbs in the Fast & Furious film series, in which he... well... chases criminals.

#1 Edge - Radio Broadcasting

WWE Hall of Famer Edge knows how to talk to a crowd (remember those? crowds?) - part of the reason why he's such a legend in the wrestling business. Which is interesting since, when he first debuted with the company, he hardly talked at all. Eventually, though, Adam Copeland found his voice, combining bombastic bravado with that Canadian twang of his, along with an... OK, I'm just going to say it... an edge that every great performer needs.

A lot of this can be attributed to his education at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, where he majored in Radio Broadcasting.

Now, according to the many... and I mean many... stories of Edge's early days (and he's my favorite wrestler, so I'm not complaining), Edge's goal was always to be a pro wrestler. He got a degree, however, as a safety net and felt that radio broadcasting would help him overcome his natural shyness, which he would need to do in order to succeed in the wrestling business.

I've been involved in radio broadcasting myself (shout out to both KURE FM in Ames, IA and, also, our own Rick Ucchino, who works for 700 WLW and ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati, OH), and learning that craft has made me a better writer, gave me the courage to do stand-up comedy, and generally helped me communicate with people better in both my personal and professional lives.

The training also helped him during his career following his 2011 retirement, as he found roles on cable TV shows like Haven and Vikings.