10 Side Businesses You Didn’t Know WWE Wrestlers Owned

WWE Wrestlers make a lot of money each year, and some still do side jobs. Some use their strength and muscle to moonlight as bodyguards, like and Brodus Clay, who has been a bodyguard for Snoop Dogg. And was a funeral director in his spare time and went back to it full time after he retired until his death in 2012. And some of the previous jobs WWE Wrestlers have had are a little different as well;

Steve Austin worked at a dock before he became a wrestler.

Orlando Jordan worked for the U.S. Forest Service for the group that helps put out forest fires. The WWE’s Maven was a sixth- grade teacher before wrestling. Rico was a one of the American

Gladiators before becoming a wrestler, for those who don’t know what the was, it was TV show on in the 90’s. That had strong men and woman go up against contestants; they had events that they had to complete to win prizes.

Another profession that many WWE Wrestlers did before where a wrestler is a professional athlete. competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in freestyle wrestling and won a gold metal. Mark Henry also competed in that Olympics in weightlifting. Goldberg played for three years with the Atlanta

Falcons. Junk Yard Dog and both played for the Green

Bay Packers. Believe it or not but Macho Man played in the minor league Cincinnati Reds before he was telling the world “Oh Yeah.” Just like most famous people they had day jobs before they because professional wrestlers. After most wrestlers retire they have a nice nest egg to do whatever they want, most just sit back and relax. But some wrestlers use that money to start their own businesses; this ensures that they will still have a steady income after they have retired.

10. Funaki

Shoichi Funaki started wrestling in 1990 but is wasn’t until

1998 when he joined the WWE (then WWF). During his career in the WWE, he awarded WWE Cruiserweight Championship and WWF

Hardcore Championship. Since being released from the WWE in

2010, he has wrestled on the and doing cameos on WWE a few times.

A few months after he was released from WWE, Funaki announced that he was going to open a wrestling school in Texas called Funaki Dojo. He gave his first class on January 15,

2011. Here he teaches others how to be a professional wrestler and has talent scouts visit the facility often.

9. From 3 Minute Warning

Rosey’s real name is Matthew Anoa’i and debut in the WWF in

1996 and WWE in 2002. He was part of the team 3 Minute Warning with his partner and cousin Eddie Fatu. He wrestled with the

WWE till mid-2006, when they released him from his contract.

Since leaving the WWE, Anoa’i has wrestled in Japan and the independent circuit. Then in December 2012, Anoa’i opened his

Samoan style BBQ restaurant in Cincinnati Ohio, called Island

Boi BBQ. Recently, Anoa’i had some medical problems with his heart that landed in the hospital in January 2014 but has recovered since then.

8.

Lance Storm came onto the WWE scene in 2001 till 2005, where he wowed crowds with his signature move, the Canadian Maple

Leaf. After Storm retired from the WWE in 2005, he has still continued to wrestle in the independent circuit. His last match was in June 2014, when Mike Bennett at House of Hardcore 6 defeated him.

Shortly after leaving the WWE, Storm opened his training center called Storm Wrestling Academy in

September of 2005. He runs three twelve-week train sessions a year for students that want to learn how to wrestle professional and be taught by a former wrestler.

7. Half of , Thrasher, real name Glenn Ruth bust into the WWE in 1996 along with partner . This wrestled with the WWE until 2000 but continued to wrestle in the independent circuit until 2002, when both ultimately retired.

During his career he was awarded the WWF World Tag Team

Championship and Hardcore Championship.

That was until 2011, when both came out of retirement to do one more fight called ; they called themselves The

Guardians of Truth and is continuing to do independent circuit.

Since then Thrasher makes appearances but spends most of his time managing his own five Domino’s stores in Maryland.

6. Ivory

Ivory, real name Lisa Mary Moretti started wrestling for the

WWE in 1999 and wrestled with them till 2005; she moved to Woman

Superstars in 2005, but that only last a year.

During her career as a wrestler, she won WWE Woman’s

Championship three times.

Moretti worked in an animal shelter for many years in northwestern Washington, this is where she meet Jessica Ray, her now business partner. The opened an animal daycare in 2007 called Downtown Dog, they offer grooming, training, and cat boarding to their customers. She took classes to learn how to groom the animals as part of her business.

5.

Barry Horowitz started his WWE career in 1987, when it was still the WWF. Before Horowitz even became a wrestler he earned his degree in sports nutrition from State University, it wasn’t until 1979 he made his debut on the Floridian Independent circuit.

He wrestled with the WWE till 1997 because they didn’t want to renew his contract, so Horowitz moved to the World

Championship Wrestling for a couple years before retiring. He still makes promotional appearances every once in a while but spends most of his time at his nutritionist business.

4. Victoria

Lisa Marie Varon aka Victoria wrestled for the WWE/WWF from

2001 till 2009. During her career, she won the WWE Women’s

Championship twice and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship.

Before wresting she was a personal trainer and competed in bodybuilding and fitness competitions.

In 1997 and 1998 she won the Fitness America Series and in

1998 won Miss Galaxy. During the event, she met , who introduced her to professional wrestling. Since leaving the WWE in 2009, Varon has gone on to open The Squared Circle in Chicago. It is a sport themed restaurant that she owns and runs.

3.

Dennis Knight was one of ’s satanic disciples called Mideon during his time in the WWE. He first entered the

WWF as Phineas I. Godwinn in 1996 but only wrestled for a year because he sustained a neck injuring in 1997 and retired. Then in late 1998 he came back with the Undertake in his Ministry of

Darkness.

He stayed with the Undertaker until the Undertaker was injured in 1999; he did come back a few times the next year but ultimately retired in 2001. After retiring, he worked as a chef but then opened his own catering company and is hoping to land a spot on Food Network’s “Food Network Star.”

2. Shawn Stasiak

Shawn Emile Stipich also known as Shawn Stasiak wrestled in the WWF/WWE from 1999 till 2002. During his career, he won the

Hardcore Champion and World Championship Wrestling titles fifteen times and the World Tag Team Championship three times.

And came from a wresting family, his dad is WWWF Champion Stan

“The Man” Stasiak. Since his retirement in 2002, Stasiak became a chiropractor in Texas, where he runs Advanced Comprehensive Medical. A few years later he got his certification in Manipulation under

Anesthesia in New Your at the Academy of Physical and Manual

Medicine. When he is not working as a chiropractor he is doing motivational speaking.

1. Undertaker

The Undertaker’s real name is Mark William Callaway and still does promotions for WWE, which he has been with since

1990. Over the years the Undertaker has had many personas and gimmicks including the deadman, Ministry of Darkness, and tried doing a biker and called himself “The American Bad-Ass.”

Since his semi retirement, he has set up a fund for lifesaving treatment for larger dogs called The Zeus Compton

Callaway Save the Animals for Texas A&M College of Veterinary

Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He also owns an investment firm in real estate that is called The Calahart, named after him and his partner Scott Everhart.