LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man went from squaring off in a pro wrestling ring to going toe-to-toe with a Hollywood heavyweight on screen.
Mike "Cash Flo" Walden landed the role of Bigfoot on "Tulsa King," the bodyguard to mob boss Dwight Manfredi, played by Sylvester Stallone.
"There is nothing like seeing the fruits of your labor come true," Walden said. "I want to continue working, I want to continue learning and I want to stay on this journey."
For Walden, the journey started at the age of eight.
"Laying on the floor with my grandfather watching professional wrestling," Walden said. "My grandfather sitting in the chair behind me hooting and hollering. Me rubbing my hands together saying this is amazing."
Mike "Cash Flo" Walden, who became a fixture in Ohio Valley Wrestling, landed the role of Bigfoot on "Tulsa King," the bodyguard to mob boss Dwight Manfredi, played by Sylvester Stallone. (WDRB photo)
That early fascination for the young man from Hillview turned into a decades-long pursuit.
Known in the ring as Cash Flo, Walden spent more than 30 years wrestling across the Ohio Valley and beyond, becoming a fixture in Ohio Valley Wrestling and earning a reputation as a reliable journeyman.
“If I put my mind to it, I’m going to do it, and I’m going to do it all the way,” Walden said.
The dream came at a cost. To support his wrestling career, Walden worked a series of physically demanding jobs — in warehouses, factories and construction.
“You have to find a real job to fund your wrestling habit,” he said.
His wife, Angela, remembers those years vividly.
“Oh gosh, bricklaying. That was rough stuff,” she said. “Coming home covered in concrete — he was not a stranger to hard work.”
Money was often tight, for the couple who married in 2004 and the sacrifices went beyond finances.
“I’ve missed the birth of my children,” Walden said.
Angela said the family learned to live with those realities.
“This will pay off in the end,” she said. “If we’re all reaching for the same goal, we make it work.”
As Walden continued grinding in the ring, Angela faced a life-threatening health battle of her own.
"I started having symptoms probably before I was 20," she said. "So I spent most of my young life having different degrees of illness that were mystery illnesses, that they didn't put them all together."
In 2022, she was diagnosed with acromegaly, caused by a pituitary brain tumor.
“I was getting 10 times the normal amount of growth hormone,” she said, developing cardiac symptoms that left her fearing the worst.
Facing uncertainty, Angela urged her husband to finally pursue acting opportunities more seriously — including calling an agent, something Walden had resisted.
“I fought it tooth and nail for a year,” he said.
That decision proved pivotal. Casting directors for Paramount+’s "Tulsa King" discovered Walden through the Netflix docuseries "Wrestlers," which chronicled behind-the-scenes life at Louisville-based Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Walden was portrayed as the resilient veteran still chasing his dream.
Soon after, he landed the role of Bigfoot, a character with similarities to Walden.
On the show, Bigfoot's name is Michael, he's a native of Kentucky and in his first scene he delivers a heavy open-hand slap that's reminiscent of the chops that are signature of Cash Flo.
“There are some similarities to wrestling,” Walden said of acting. “But it is totally different, and it is extremely hard.”
Walden credits Stallone with helping him adjust to life on camera.
“He told me things I’d never heard before,” Walden said. “‘On camera, you’re so powerful. I need you on my team.’”
What began as a small role grew into a recurring role. Walden is now a series regular on Tulsa King, credited under both his real name and his wrestling persona.
For fellow wrestlers, his success represents possibility.
“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” said OVW United States Champion Cowann "Big Zo" Owens. “It shows this isn’t the end-all, be-all.”
Angela, now in remission, sees meaning in the timing.
“It all looked like the world was crumbling,” she said, “but it was really making room for something new.”
After 30 years in professional wrestling, Walden doesn’t view the role as a finish line.
“From the outside looking in, you can say that’s his break,” he said. “But for me, it’s just another step.”
Top Stories:
Grand jury chooses not to indict suspect in fatal Kentucky State University shooting
Woman wanted for robbery of Thorntons store turns herself in to Louisville police
Man missing 29 hours found in Oldham County by search teams with thermal camera
Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
