WWE’s Brawlers vs. the Game’s Superhuman Moves
The *Street Fighter* movie is casting real fighters to play its iconic characters—but those same fighters may struggle to pull off the game’s impossible moves. Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Oliver Richter bring wrestling and judo credentials to roles like Akuma, Guile, and Zangief, but the film’s fight choreography leans on CGI-enhanced spectacle, not realism. The question isn’t whether they can throw a punch; it’s whether their real-world skills will mesh with the games’ over-the-top combat.
Reigns, a WWE superstar and former Olympic-level wrestler, plays Akuma, a character defined by supernatural speed and brutal hand-to-hand strikes. Rhodes, another WWE wrestler with amateur wrestling and mixed martial arts experience, takes on Guile, whose moveset includes flash kicks and sonic booms. Richter, a former WWE wrestler and Olympic judoka, portrays Zangief, whose signature bear hug is a staple of sumo-inspired fighting. Their backgrounds suggest physicality, but the *Street Fighter* games thrive on exaggerated, digital enhancements—like Ryu’s fireball or Ken’s flying uppercut—that live-action actors can’t replicate without heavy CGI.
The cast’s mixed martial arts experience is uneven. Andrew Koji, who plays Ryu, is a trained martial artist with karate and kickboxing experience, having prepared for roles in *Bullet Train* and *Warrior*. Callina Liang, as Chun-Li, brings taekwondo and kickboxing to her fight scenes. Vidyut Jammwal, cast as Dhalsim, is trained in Kalaripayattu, one of the world’s oldest martial arts, lending authenticity to his yoga-based fighting style. But Noah Centineo, playing Ken, has no formal combat background, raising questions about how his performance will hold up against physically demanding roles.
The film’s fight choreography will blend practical stunts with CGI, including anime-style flashbacks and exaggerated moves like E. Honda’s hundred-hand slap. Previous *Street Fighter* adaptations struggled with this balance, with the 1994 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme criticized for its lack of authenticity. The 2026 reboot, directed by Kitao Sakurai—a comedian known for *Beef* and *Eric Andre Show*—faces similar challenges. The marketing emphasizes nostalgia, with references to 1990s pop culture and the original games’ iconic moves, suggesting the action will prioritize spectacle over realism.
How Many Fighters Actually Know How to Fight?
Out of the main cast, only a fraction have formal martial arts training. Reigns, Rhodes, and Richter bring wrestling and judo experience, but their skills are specialized for grappling, not the acrobatic strikes of *Street Fighter*. Koji, Liang, and Jammwal are the exceptions, with backgrounds in karate, taekwondo, and Kalaripayattu, respectively. Centineo, playing Ken, has no combat training, relying instead on stunt doubles and CGI to sell his moves.
The film’s action sequences will likely rely on a mix of practical stunts and digital enhancements. The 1994 *Street Fighter* film, starring Van Damme, failed to capture the games’ spirit, and the 2009 *Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li* was a box-office flop. This time, the producers are banking on nostalgia and star power—Reigns, Rhodes, and Centineo all have global followings—to carry the film. But if the fight scenes can’t bridge the gap between real-world combat and video game choreography, the movie may repeat past mistakes.
The Director’s Challenge: Comedy vs. Combat
Sakurai’s background in comedy—*Beef*, *Dave*, *Eric Andre Show*—raises doubts about how the cast’s skills will translate to screen. The film’s marketing leans into nostalgia, with references to 1990s pop culture and the original games’ iconic moves. But translating those moves into live-action requires precision, something past adaptations have struggled with. The 2026 film’s fight scenes will feature a mix of practical stunts and CGI enhancements, including anime-style flashbacks and exaggerated moves like Guile’s flash kick.
The cast’s real-world fighting experience may not be enough to sell the film’s action. WWE wrestlers like Reigns and Rhodes excel in staged combat, but their skills don’t always translate to the fluid, acrobatic fighting of *Street Fighter*. The film’s success hinges on whether the choreography can blend realism with the games’ over-the-top style. If it leans too hard on CGI, the result could be a hollow spectacle. If it tries to ground the action in realism, the fights may lack the games’ signature flair.
What Comes Next: Spectacle or Realism?
The *Street Fighter* movie’s fight scenes will likely prioritize spectacle over realism. The marketing emphasizes nostalgia, with references to 1990s pop culture and the original games’ iconic moves. But the cast’s mixed martial arts backgrounds may not be enough to pull off the film’s most exaggerated moments. The 1994 film, starring Van Damme, failed to capture the games’ spirit, and the 2009 reboot was a flop. This time, the producers are betting on star power and CGI to carry the action.
Previous video game adaptations like *Mortal Kombat* and *Resident Evil* have shown that blending real actors with CGI-heavy fight scenes can be hit or miss. The *Street Fighter* film’s success depends on whether it can strike the right balance between realism and spectacle. If the fight choreography leans too hard on CGI, the result could be a hollow spectacle. If it tries to ground the action in realism, the fights may lack the games’ signature flair.
The film’s cast includes actors with no martial arts background, raising questions about how their performances will hold up against physically demanding roles. But the marketing suggests the action will prioritize nostalgia and spectacle over realism. Whether that approach works remains to be seen.
The Tournament’s 1990s Setting: How the Cast’s Real-Life Eras Could Clash with the Movie’s Aesthetic
The *Street Fighter* movie is explicitly set in the 1990s, a deliberate choice to evoke the arcade-era nostalgia that defined the original games. However, the cast’s real-world timelines—particularly those of the WWE wrestlers—pose a potential disconnect. Roman Reigns, born in 1985, and Cody Rhodes, born in 1989, were teenagers when the first *Street Fighter* games debuted in 1987, but their wrestling careers didn’t take off until the 2010s. Oliver Richter, cast as Zangief, was born in 1986 and similarly rose to prominence in WWE much later. While their physicality aligns with the era’s hyper-masculine action-hero archetype, their lack of lived experience in the 1990s—especially in the hyper-specific subcultures of arcade culture, MTV, and early-’90s pop—could dilute the film’s authenticity.
The movie’s marketing leans heavily on 1990s nostalgia, from Ken’s (Noah Centineo) portrayal as a washed-up New Kids on the Block-esque celebrity to Guile’s (Cody Rhodes) military-bro aesthetic, complete with a trapezoid blond wig. Yet Centineo, born in 1996, and Andrew Koji (Ryu), born in 1991, were children during the era’s peak. Their performances will rely on research and direction rather than personal memory. The film’s anime flashbacks and references to MTV’s *Yo! MTV Raps* or MC Hammer’s *2 Legit 2 Quit* further emphasize the disconnect: while the cast can mimic the era’s fashion and slang, their inability to embody the cultural context—like the arcade’s competitive scene or the era’s racial dynamics—could undermine the movie’s immersion.
Director Kitao Sakurai, known for his comedic timing in *Beef* and *Eric Andre Show*, may mitigate this with humor, but the film’s action sequences demand more than just period-accurate wigs and soundtracks. The 1994 *Street Fighter* film, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, struggled with this same issue: while Van Damme’s Guile was a cultural icon, his portrayal lacked the gritty, underground tournament vibe of the games. The 2026 reboot risks repeating this if the cast’s lack of firsthand 1990s experience translates to hollow performances. Even Callina Liang’s (Chun-Li) taekwondo training and Vidyut Jammwal’s (Dhalsim) Kalaripayattu expertise can’t compensate for the era’s missing cultural texture—unless the film leans into irony, treating the 1990s as a satirical backdrop rather than a lived-in setting.
Sources
- ‘Street Fighter’ Cast Guide: All the WWE Stars, UFC Champs and Celebs Playing Video Game Fighters in the Live-Action Movie
- Street Fighter (disambiguation)
- Street Fighter review – nostalgia only goes so far in junky fighting game movie
Photo: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Washington D.C, United States (CC BY 2.0)
