WWE Superstars Zack Ryder, Daniel Bryan, and Curt Hawkins Auditioned For ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Rocksteady Role

A WWE superstar ended up winning the role of Rocksteady for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, but Zack Ryder recently revealed several other names auditioned for the part.

On the latest episode of Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins’ The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, the topic of auditioning for roles in movies came up. They both ended up trying out for The Marine 2 (which ended up going to Ted DiBiase Jr.), but Ryder also recalled when he tried out for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel Out of the Shadows, going out for the role of Rocksteady.

It turns out Daniel Bryan and Hawkins also went out for the role, but as Ryder explains, Sheamus was bound to get the part.

“I remember I also had to audition for, is it Bebop or Rocksteady for Ninja Turtles, and I knew right away…I’m like, it was me, Daniel Bryan, I want to say somebody else, and Sheamus, and I’m like duh it’s going to Sheamus. Sheamus did great,” Ryder said.

Hawkins added “I read for that too when I was on the indies, because I guess they were just looking for a wrestler.”

Sheamus ultimately won the part, and previously spoke to PopCulture.com about working with his Turtles co-star Gary Anthony Williams, and both were thrilled to be playing the real versions of their characters, unlike the ones that showed up in Secret of the Ooze.

“I remember being so disappointed,” Sheamus said “It’s like Christmas and instead of Santa Claus some guy named Jerry shows up,” Williams chimed in.

“One Brogue kick can take the two of them,” Sheamus said.

To also balance it with his continued success in WWE is really the best of both worlds, and he’d love to do it again.

“I love WWE, it’s my passion, it’s all I ever wanted to do,” Sheamus said. “To do that, and squeeze something like this in again when I have time, I’d love it.”

It was previously revealed that a new film will reboot the franchise, and for now is simply being called Ninja Turtles, though no official announcement has been made concerning the project. The last reboot was quite successful, garnering a domestic take of $191 million and a worldwide total of $493 million, but Out of the Shadows didn’t end up meeting those numbers, taking in only $82 million domestically and $245 million worldwide.

Now it’s time to reboot the franchise once more, and it will be interesting to see which direction the franchise goes. A new cartoon also recently debuted on Cartoon Network with Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, giving a fresh new take on the beloved characters.