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5 Wrestlers Who Had Great Collegiate Careers

Originally posted on NY Fights | By Ishaan Sharma | Last updated Jan 12, 2026 12:21 PM ET

Unlike other sports, where players often have to train from a young age, wrestling is quite flexible in this regard. There have been numerous stars who weren’t even familiar with professional wrestling, but then one day, they decided to give wrestling a shot and eventually became household names in the business.

A lot of wrestlers today come from a variety of backgrounds. Some were into music, some were influencers, and others were into different sports. Stereotypes aside, some wrestlers come from academic backgrounds. While they excelled at their respective collegiate institutions, some of their peers may used a thesis writing service, for example. Today, we’ll take a look at those wrestlers who had great collegiate careers before they stepped foot into the squared circle.

Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle started his wrestling career with WWE in 1998. In just two years, he became the WWE Champion after defeating The Rock at No Mercy.

There’s no denying that Angle is an all-time great. Even before joining WWE, he had a great college record. Angle even won the Olympic Gold Medal with a broken neck. On top of that, he was a 2-time NCAA Division 1 National Champion, 3-time NCAA All-American, 3-time PSAC Champion, and a 2-time EWL Champion. His college record stood at 116-10-2.

Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar graduated from the University of Minnesota after transferring from Bismarck State College. He is a former NCAA Division I National Champion, a 2-time NCAA All-American, and has 2 Big Ten Conference titles under his belt, among other accolades.

Lesnar had a college record of 56-3 at Bismarck State and a 50-2 record at the University of Minnesota.

Bobby Lashley

“The All Mighty” Bobby Lashley also comes from an amateur wrestling background. Aside from being a 2-time WWE Champion, Lashley holds three NAIA National Titles and four NAIA All-Americans.

In addition to that, he was also inducted into the Missouri Valley College Athletic Hall of Fame. Lashley also wanted to participate in the 2004 Olympics, but an injury ended his amateur wrestling career.

Ron Simmons

A Florida State University graduate, Ron Simmons, was one of the popular wrestlers of the Attitude Era. He played football as a nose guard for the Florida State Seminoles from 1977-80.

He held a record for the most tackles for loss (44) and forced fumbles (17). His overall career tackles were 483, the second-highest at Florida State. Simmons would also go on to become the fourth FSU player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Needless to say, Simmons had an impressive college record.

Bianca Belair

Bianca Belair ran track for six years at three different universities (South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Tennessee). She also achieved All-SEC and All-American status in hurdles.

Belair has always been competitive, and after college, she wanted to keep pushing her limits, so she started competing in CrossFit, as she stated in an interview with Essence.

“After completing the track and field part of my career at Tennessee, I was missing that competitive atmosphere. But I found that in CrossFit. Through CrossFit I started making my own outfits, and I would compete in different ensembles and things like that.”

Eventually, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry found her and invited her to WWE Tryouts, and the rest is history.

This article first appeared on NY Fights and was syndicated with permission.

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