Wrestlers You Never Knew Served In The U.S. Military

The pipeline from the United States military to the world of professional wrestling is surprisingly real and vast, with many who have served crediting their military experience for their ability to quickly learn what it takes in the ring. From the physical stamina and discipline it takes to survive basic training, then train to run the ropes, to the ability to perform under extreme stress both in the field, then in front of thousands of fans, these military veterans honed these skills back when they chose to serve their country.

There are some wrestlers throughout history who have been open about their military service to the point it's been integrated into their gimmicks. The former Lacey Evans, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, flaunted her veteran status throughout her time with WWE, both as a babyface and a heel. WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura, a veteran of the Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams (the predecessor to the Navy SEALs), didn't outright use his time in the service in his gimmick, but would often mention it on commentary and is often seen sporting a Navy hat.

Other wrestlers, like Sgt. Slaughter, didn't actually serve in the military, but the soldier gimmick got over with fans. John Cena might have used military themes throughout his career to the point fans assumed he served, but Cena only played "The Marine" on movie screens.

There are other stars across all major promotions who did serve in the military, across all branches, and their service to America isn't always recognized in the wrestling world. From former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and his time in the Army Reserves, to Tama Tonga's career as an Air Force mechanic, there are plenty of professional wrestlers fans may not know served in the U.S. military.

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash is perhaps known best for being one of the founding members of the New World Order after jumping from the then-WWF to WCW, but he had quite the interesting life before diving head-first into the professional wrestling industry. Nash was initially on a path to become a basketball star. He first played for the University of Tennessee from 1977 to 1980, then for Bowling Green State University after a series of incidents led to him leaving his first school. He moved to Europe and played professional basketball for various teams before suffering a career-ending injury in Germany in 1981.

After the injury, Nash enlisted in the Army and was stationed in West Germany when he was assigned to the 202nd Military Police Company where they guarded "items of national security interest," according to Nash. He also worked in a NATO facility for two years and was promoted to the rank of specialist during his time. 

Nash spoke about enlisting on his "Kliq THIS" podcast and said it was perfect for him, but he knew everything was going to change. He also explained that he needed a "waiver" because he was so tall. The Army has specific height and weight requirements for enlistment, but "Big Daddy Cool" was able to skirt around them with approval of the recruiter.

Following his time in the Army, Nash would debut in WCW, for the first time, as Steel of the Master Blasters, in September 1990, but would move on to the WWF at the behest of good friend Shawn Michaels in June 1993, and the rest is history.

Randy Orton served in the Marines for a very brief period, but his time in the service wasn't exactly memorable for the right reasons. The third generation WWE star enlisted in the service in 1998 after graduating high school. He went AWOL, or was absent without official leave, on two separate occasions, and disobeyed his commanding officer. He received a bad conduct discharge (different than a dishonorable discharge, as the latter is for serious crimes such as desertion, spying, or murder) in 1999.

Orton was tried and convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and spent 38 days in the brig at Camp Pendleton. After he served his time, Orton made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 in his hometown of St. Louis.

He spoke about his enlistment in his "Evolution of a Predator" WWE documentary. He said he had "no reasons" for doing it, other than the fact he likes guns and said his recruiting officer was "cool." In an episode of "WWE Evil" in 2022, Orton said that basic training was "utter hell" and there were "a number of negatives" that he didn't sign up for. Orton was originally cast in "The Marine 3," but was pulled from the film when several Marines complained.

Former WWE star and current AEW star Bobby Lashley is an Army veteran, something fans learned during his time in WWE, but something that's not often brought up about him these days alongside his Hurt Syndicate stablemates. "The Almighty" followed in the footsteps of his father, who was a drill sergeant, and served from 1999 to 2002, enlisting after he graduated college at Missouri Valley. As he was serving the country, Lashley even honed his amateur wrestling skills that would serve him later in life when he started in Ohio Valley Wrestling in January 2005.

Lashley was a successful amateur wrestler in college, where he won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Wrestling Championship three years straight, starting in 1996, at 177 pounds. In the Army, he won gold and silver competing in the International Military Sports Council's senior freestyle wrestling event.

When he left the army, he moved to live and train in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to attempt to qualify for Team USA to wrestle in the 2004 Olympics. Life got in the way and Lashley suffered a knee injury while protecting himself from gunfire when he witnessed a bank robbery. The injury required surgery, ending his amateur career, but leading him to WWE.

WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne served in the Marines for a short period of time toward the end of World War II, though he stayed stateside rather than being deployed as the war was wrapping up. Gagne, who would go on to become a pioneer in the professional wrestling industry, enlisted in 1943. Gagne answered the call of duty in the middle of his college career at the University of Minnesota, where he returned after the war to continue his NCAA amateur wrestling career, as well as a short football career that was so successful, he almost ended up in the NFL rather than professional wrestling. The discipline Gagne learned in the Marines only served him further in his wrestling career when he decided to enter the industry in 1949.

Gagne would go on to become a top promoter as the owner of the American Wrestling Association, or AWA, the top promotion in the Midwest during his time. He would win the company's World Heavyweight Championship ten times, as well as the IWA World Heavyweight Championship once. His almost four-decades long legendary career led him to becoming one of only seven men to be inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, as well as the WWE Hall of Fame.

Tama Tonga was introduced to WWE fans in April 2024 after an extensive career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but before his time in NJPW, Tonga served in the Air Force. The Bloodline member enlisted in 2000, after he graduated from high school in Florida, and stayed in until 2005 and received the rank of technical sergeant during that time. Tonga was stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster, Missouri, where he served as a B-2 Spirit mechanic.

He decided to become a professional wrestler alongside his adoptive brother, Tanga Loa, in 2004 while Tonga was still serving. They didn't start training until January 2008. He wouldn't become Tama Tonga officially until he made his NJPW debut in May 2010. He and his brother would go on to be known as the Guerillas of Destiny.

Tonga is yet another wrestler who has been open about how their time in the military shaped them as a wrestler. Tonga has often shared photos and thoughts about the subject on his Instagram account, though his service has never been mentioned on air during his time in WWE.

AAA creative team member and former WCW star Konnan's journey to the military was a bit different than others. In 1976, he started to get into trouble in his South Florida neighborhood and began stealing cars after learning how to drive at age 12. In 1982 after he graduated from high school, he was arrested and charged with credit card and motorcycle theft. He was charged as a juvenile for that crime, but shortly after his 18th birthday he was arrested again, this time for selling drugs. He was charged as an adult and given a choice: enlist in the military or go to jail. Konnan took the first option and joined the Navy.

Konnan was assigned to a destroyer tender, the USS Cape Cod, in the Pacific Fleet after relocating to San Diego following basic training. He was deployed to the Middle East following the U.S. Embassy being bombed in Beirut in April 1983. Konnan was also on the Cape Cod in the Strait of Hormuz when the Marine barracks in the area were bombed in October 1983. The following year, the ship was rotated out of the Persian Gulf and Konnan returned to California, where he received an honorable discharge and moved on in his life to start a career in professional wrestling.

Montez Ford is another Marine veteran who moved from the service to fighting in the ring to advance up the ranks to a successful career in WWE. Ford was in the ROTC program when he was in high school and after graduation, chose not to go to college, but to join the Marines in 2008 due the financial problems his family was going through. He spoke about his decision to Yahoo Sports in November 2019, and said he didn't want his family to have the burden of worrying about him. He said he "took on the pleasure of going and serving his country" and called it "the best decision" he had made to date.

Impressively, Ford scored a perfect 300 on the Marines physical fitness test, which involves a three-mile run, numerous pull-ups (the only physical fitness test across all the branches where the exercise is tested), and much more. Ford served in the Marines for four years and left in 2012 to spend more time with his family. In 2013, he found his way to the WWE Performance Center, but was told he needed to put on some more weight. Ford packed on around 40 pounds and was signed to WWE following his second tryout in late 2014.

Former AEW World Champion and fan-favorite Swerve Strickland was in the Army Reverses for eight years, starting in 2008, the same year he started his professional wrestling career on the independent scene. Strickland grew up a military brat with his father in the Army, and he spent the first few years of his life on a base in Germany. After basic training, Strickland went a step further and went through 22 weeks of Advanced Individual Training. He served as a 25U Signal Support Systems Specialist, where he provided technical support and maintenance of communication systems, like radios and data transmissions devices, while also working with tactical teams to keep all means of communication functioning.

He was stationed in York, Pennsylvania, for his eight years in the service, and that's where he started to take independent bookings. He trained at Ground Xero Pro Wrestling Training Academy, in Rochester, New York, while still honoring his Reserve commitments in Pennsylvania.

Strickland has been open about how his time in the Reserves prepared him for the ring. He told Muscle & Fitness ahead of his first AEW Championship win in April 2024 that training involved a lot of endurance, which also helped his posture and form as he was carrying things like rucksacks on his back. He told the outlet he trained to strengthen his back through deadlifts, and at the peak of his lifting, could deadlift 425 pounds.

Shane Taylor Promotions and the Infantry's Trish Adora, a current freelance wrestling star who has worked primarily for Ring of Honor and AEW over the last year, is also a military veteran. Adora served in the Army for eight years as a military police officer as well as a signal support specialist. Adora decided to enlist after dropping out of college, which she admitted wasn't for her. She revealed on the "Pro Wrestling Podcast" that her co-workers at a restaurant where she was waitressing convinced her to enlist, and she was hooked after talking with a recruiter.

Adora was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2012, where she started to think about a career in professional wrestling. She told The Washington Post in September 2019 she was faced with either re-enlisting and working in the Army for the rest of her life, or going off to try her hand at wrestling.

"It wouldn't be fair to me if I didn't at least explore what wrestling was," Adora told the outlet.

When she got out of the Army, she began training at the Dudley Boyz' wrestling school, Team 3D Academy, in May 2015. Adora has been vocal about how her military training translated well into her training in the wrestling ring. 

Brian James, better known as Road Dogg during his time between the ropes, is currently WWE's Senior Vice President of Live Events and co-lead writer for "WWE SmackDown"; he's also a military veteran. James served in the Marines from 1987 to 1993. He started in the professional wrestling industry prior to enlisting and had his debut match against Kevin Sullivan for NWA Southeast Championship Wrestling. He put his wrestling career on hold after that first victory to become a Marine. 

James was a platoon sergeant during Operation Desert Storm. Following that tour, he got back into wrestling in WCW in July 1991 for a match at Great American Bash before going on yet another tour of duty.

James was nominated as the United States Department of Veterans Affairs' Veteran of the Day back in April 2019, where all his accomplishments were listed, from his time as a New Age Outlaw alongside Billy Gunn in D-Generation X, to the fact he was a six-time WWE Tag Team Champion. He retired from in-ring competition in 2015 before moving on to his executive roles within the company. Road Dogg was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of DX in 2019.

WWE Hall of Famer William Moody, known better to fans at Paul Bearer, the urn-carrying manager of the Undertaker and Kane, was a lot of exciting, yet wildly varied, things throughout his life. He was also a military veteran prior to his time as a prominent figure in the professional wrestling world. 

Bearer started his professional wrestling career as a ringside photographer in the 1970s, but left the industry to enlist in the Air Force after he graduated high school. He served from 1972 to 1976 and achieved the rank of sergeant at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. Bearer also received the Air Force Good Conduct Medal during his time in the service. Throughout his time in the Army, Bearer would wrestle for independent promotions in his off-duty hours.

Bearer left the Army and got his degree in mortuary science, with certifications as an embalmer and mortician, following the birth of his first son. He would return to the world of professional wrestling full time in 1984 and started managing he Undertaker when he joined the then-WWF in 1990. Bearer had an extensive, Hall of Fame career that ended officially in 2012 after his final storyline alongside Kane.