That wasn’t the first time Ms. Fey had worked with a professional wrestler. She was the head writer on “Saturday Night Live” when Mr. Johnson, then still using his wrestling moniker, the Rock, first hosted the program, in 2000. Mr. Johnson is now a bona fide star, equally adroit in action and comedy with a strong presence in movies, television (“Ballers” on HBO) and social media (over 53 million Facebook fans and 9.6 million Twitter followers). “Another great guy with a great sense of humor,” Ms. Fey said. “Wrestling was always campy, but I definitely think that Dwayne Johnson broke out of that, and no one really thinks of him as just a wrestler anymore. John is on the same path if he wants to be.”

It’s not a path Mr. Cena said he wants to take. Though he has been away from WWE in recent weeks filming “American Grit,” a reality competition show for Fox, Mr. Cena does not plan to become a full-time actor. “I have a very good mutual understanding with my boss that I don’t ever want to leave; I really like it in the ring,” Mr. Cena said. “I try to pick opportunities that don’t take me away from WWE for too long. I try to do opportunities that can really help expand our audience and bring new eyes to our product.”

For retired wrestlers though, acting can help fill a creative void. Adam Copeland, who wrestled in WWE as Edge starting in 1998, was forced to retire in 2011 because of neck injuries. A producer from “Haven” happened to be watching Mr. Copeland’s retirement speech on “Raw” and soon cast him on the series.

At first, Mr. Copeland was indifferent about the career change. “From the time I can remember, I wanted to be a wrestler,” he said in a telephone interview. “Acting was never an aspiration of mine.” About halfway through filming his first “Haven” episode, he realized he was having fun. Later that year, Mr. Copeland took his first acting class. He misses wrestling, he said, but acknowledges that the new gig has its perks.

“I’m still laughing at the end of a 14-hour day,” Mr. Copeland said. “Before, at the end of a 14-hour day, I’m driving to the next town after having just fallen off a ladder. Now I get to go back to a trailer where there’s a meal waiting for me? Yeah, I can handle that.”