Yes, wrestling has become cinema. Increasingly over the past few decades, biopics, documentaries, and fictional depictions of wrestling have entertained and captured the imaginations of fans and non-fans alike. On the big screen, silver screen, and streaming, we’ve had wrestling films covering a range of diverse personal stories and niches. Spotlighting the boundary breakers, like American African trailblazer Sweet Daddy Siki or Mexican exotico Cassandro.
Explorations of wrestling history, like 2024’s The Iron Claw, highlighted the tragic history of The Von Erichs.
You can learn more about the current generation of Von Erichs, Marshall, and Ross here. March 7th, we will see the premiere of Queen of the Ring, the story of Mildred Burke. It will feature wrestlers in supporting roles like AEW’s Toni Storm and Kamille and WWE’s Naomi.
We’ve seen depictions showcasing backstage and in-ring drama. Lots of fans have shared their wish lists for what moments or careers they would like to see dramatized next. However, I want to put a spin on things.
I love biopics, and I’m a huge fan of creative innovation and storytelling. Straightforward narratives are fine. Bohemian Rhapsody was good, but imaginative boundary pushers like Better Man are more to my taste.
To be clear, it’s not about reinventing the wheel. Three of my five wrestling films ideas are biopics at their core. However, thanks to a random generator, they each have a distinct subgenre.
Let’s see how far we can say wrestling is cinema.
Adventure – A Quest Through the Territories
Classic adventure movies see protagonists traveling, fighting bad guys in pursuit of a quest to find a McGuffin. Filled with escapism, drama, and mystery. We’re describing wrestling’s core elements. Often homages to childhood heroes. Indiana Jones paid tribute to the action series of the 1930s. Usually heightened and unrealistic, but pure fun.
Wrestling has an inherent quest. So, what about a movie where an everyman rookie works his way through a fictionalized version of the territories? He finds stardom and becomes the world champion. A homage to the glory days of the territories where wrestling is real.
No kayfabe; everything is real. A loving tribute to that wrestling era that could indulge in being over the top or even push into magical realism. As the hero progresses, he completes a quest in each territory. Each place has its distinct flavors and characters.
There’s plenty of room for classic tropes to be used. A fight in the bad guy bar. A chase scene escaping a rioting crowd. A showdown with the evil Russian big bad who holds the world title hostage. His faction of foreigners was neutralized by an avenger’s assembly moment when all the friends made it to storm the ringside area. Pure spectacle, like wrestling at its best.
Romance – Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth
In kayfabe, no other romance compares with that of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. Through all their ups and downs on screen throughout the 1980s, Randy and Elizabeth, whether together or apart, seemed met to be.
A film exploring their romance is complicated. More 500 Days of Summer, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind than The Notebook. This isn’t the tumultuous relationship between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. As Dark Side of the Ring covered and as various stories from different perspectives highlight, Savage was controlling, paranoid, and domineering. Elizabeth experienced abuse.
Both sides could be shown. Balancing their on and off-camera dynamic. Also, Giving Elizabeth Hulette’s perspective and experience time would be an exploration of the complex issues of love, an abusive relationship, and deconstruction of kayfabe.
It’s a tragic story at heart. Their entire history, from the meeting to real and on-screen marriage, struggles, divorce, friendship, and their deaths. All tear-jerking.
Comedy – The Fix (The Origin of Pro Wrestling)
Wrestling and comedy invite discord. It raises laughs and blood pressure. If you’re an “old school” thinker, maybe skip this entry. My pitch for a wrestling comedy is about the origins of pro wrestling and how wrestling became a performance.
Wrestling’s “fake” nature remains a joke to uneducated non-fans. Why not address and unpack what kayfabe and layers?
Comedy as a vehicle is a great means of teaching. Why not embrace the joke? Give casual or non-fans a history lesson of wrestling’s origins from when it became a work with a fourth-wall-breaking exploration. Think The Big Short but unpacking the mad genius of kayfabe.
Take the legendary story and mythological figures like George Hackenschimdt and make them more than legitimate tough guys. Make them actualized dimensional characters with intelligence and muscle. Flesh out the complexities and ironies of kayfabe. Point out how, from the 1920s, newspapers reported wrestling was fake, and it didn’t matter. Make light of how, by trying to protect opponents and not legitimately hurt each other, wrestling drew huge crowds with lower risks. Celebrate how wrestling changed sports to entertainment.
Animation – Supernatural Wizardry
In Japan, the connection between anime and wrestling runs deep. Tiger Mask was a manga and anime character before Satoru Sayama donned the mask in 1981. Don’t forget about Jushin “Thunder” Liger. Various NJPW wrestlers have been featured in anime. The medium would be perfect for a fictionalized lore-driven film about one of wrestling’s bizarre supernatural characters. But I’m not thinking about The Undertaker, Kane, or Bray Wyatt.
There’s another supernatural (shining) wizard who would make a better fit. The Great Muta as a character isn’t restrained like those other supernatural characters with backstory or lore. Therefore, there’s freedom from fan expectations. Freedom to take the character in a unique, non-canonical, and genre-bending direction. Dark horror or superhero-like story. A serious look at the dichotomy of Kenji Mutoh and his alter ego, or something else. Wrestling adjacent or not.
There are various ways to play with Muta’s supernatural elements through animation. Multiple effects and possibilities for say, Muta’s different colour mists and their powers. It could be visually stunning, wild, or both.
Musical- The Beautifully Exotic
One Welsh legend’s life story could be told through musical story beats that would fit his flamboyant character. “The Exotic” Andrian Street was a British phenomenon with an amazing story that could be wrestling’s Rocket Man.
At 16, Street left the South Wales coal mining community to become a wrestler. This is something that would be contrasted with an iconic image where he posted next to his coal miner dad in this iconic image. Embracing/exploiting homophobic attitudes of the time, Street transformed into glam rock androgyny. Part David Bowie and part proto-Goldust. As a heel, “The Sadist of Sequins” Street performed around the world. Before Jerry Lawler worked with Andy Kauffman, Street beat up British celebrity and now reviled British radio DJ Jimmy Saville.
After wrestling, Street owned his wrestling school and made gear for Dude Love and Steve Austin. Then, he married his long-time manager, Miss Linda. Street also recorded songs that you can find on YouTube. Just to let you know, they are not classics, but Street was ahead of his time.
A story like Street getting a musical biopic, even if it’s cheesy, would be fitting for one of wrestling’s revolutionary characters. A fitting entry into the library of wrestling films.
Which one of these potential wrestling films would you want to see?
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