Joe King
Lights, Cameras, Traction are a group of articles that looks at professional wrestlers that have exchanged gold in the squared circle to the silver screen of Hollywood. Wrestlers who have dabbled or completely transitioned into acting.
WWE Alumni Vladimir Kozlov, born Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius in Ukrainian SSR, of the USSR(now Ukraine) was a star rugby player and played American football for the Ukraine National team. He was noticed for his dominance on the field and was recruited by American scouts and offered scholarships, eventually playing for Santa Barbara Community College. After college, he chose to play professionally in the European Football League (EFL) in Germany where he was named MVP to the EuroBowl after helping his team win the Cup. He was also trained in mixed martial arts and became the 2005 USA Open Heavyweight Sambo Champion.
After winning the US Open Sambo World Cup is when he was noticed by legendary wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett, who took him to WWE Headquarters to meet Vince McMahon. He was quickly signed to a Developmental Contract with the WWE and sent down to Deep South Wrestling before transferring to Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he became the Ohio Valley Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion. After developmental, he was assigned to Smackdown, where he showed promise rather quickly and at 6’8″ and 300 pounds, looked to be the next breakout star. Also known as “The Moscow Mauler”, he feuded with The Undertaker, Triple H, and William Regal. He is a former WWE World Tag Team Champion. Prudius was the first ever Ukrainian to wrestle for the WWE.
Years before getting into professional wrestling, he appeared on the second season of HBO’s The Wire and Spike Lee’s 25th Hour. Spike Lee discovered him in a US Kickboxing Association(USKBA) match in New York City. He also appeared in Roksalana & It’s Not Too Easy on Ukraine TV. Since leaving WWE in 2011, he has appeared on the USA Network’s TV series Burn Notice and Marvel’s series The Punisher. Oleg has also appeared in Hollywood blockbusters such as Fast & Furious 6 and John Wick 2. He also appeared in the Chinese blockbuster film Wolf Warrior 2, which broke numerous box-office records and was the highest grossing non-English film in history until 2021.
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