The Wrestler

Quite simply, this movie should be remembered as a pure piece of Americana at its finest. In 1973 wrestling promoter Verne Gagne took some of the best wrestlers in the pro wrestling world and got them to make a movie about pro wrestling. The movie, 30 years in retrospect, looks more like a cheeky documentary produced in the classic "kayfabe" style (the traditional promotion of wrestling as a sport, cloaked in mystique and tradition).

The wrestling talent is pure, raw and unadulterated - featuring stars such as Dick the Bruiser, the Crusher, Nick Bockwinkle, Ric Flair, Dory Funk Jr, and "Dirty" Dick Murdoch, Dusty Rhodes and many others - all young and in just starting to hit their peaks. And in a rare appearance, Vincent J. McMahon, the progenitor of the now popular WWF/WWE - promoting pro wrestling in the old style, before the glitz, glamor and entertainment hoopla surrounding it. Verne Gagne himself also appears in this movie as one of its main stars, putting himself over the competition in his typical egotistical, yet entertaining, style.

But this movie isn't all wrestling. There's a good story to be told here, essentially giving the viewer the feel as if they've cut right into the middle of a traditional wrestling program. There is no real start or ending to this story, but it is another chapter in the daily struggle of faces and heels.

Ed Asner is the main star here, his acting ability along with his middle-age looks are a perfect fit for the character, he really does look like a wrestling promoter trying to keep his business together and defending it from the outside corrupting influences of a local mobster (played by legendary wrestler & commentator "Slammin'" Sam Menacker).

There is no comparison to any other wrestling movie made, this one is definitely the undisputed heavyweight champion!

I wouldn't say this movie is great, nor the cinematography is good, but to see those wrestling legends of the former AWA at a time where wrestling was purely less artificial as it is today (even WWE's Vince McMahon late dad is there) is a treat. And Ed Asner really shooting in Minneapolis (instead of some Hollywood studio passing for this city's TV station...) is a change.

Most of the wrestling demonstrations here are interesting, reminescent of the old-style wrestling that most of us real wrestling fans miss today. Sad that the dramatic part and the script is poor, but the wrestling moves and seeing those old pros (majority is still alive today) are the only things saving this movie for being a total bore.

See it to realize that wrestling was even more fun on these days than all the superficial shows that are shown today. When Pro Wrestling was pro wrestling at its best !

...first off, if you were hoping for a RAGING BULL or REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT about pro wrestling, this picture doesn't even step towards the goal, let alone come close. Ed Asner and Elaine Giftos are fine comic actors, but they're better sampled respectively on any given "Mary Tyler Moore" episode or in GAS-S-S-S. No, this picture is strictly for fans of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association of the late '60s and early '70s. That promotion was owned and largely starred Verne Gagne, who was one of the greatest ring acrobats of all time. Gagne apparently had a commitment in the 1960s from Minneapolis theater owner W.R. Frank to make a theatrical film, essentially using the wrestlers in the AWA (as well as announcers Marty O'Neill and Rod Tronguard) as the main cast. The thing wasn't pulled together until several years after Frank died, even though his name appears on the credits; it's likely that Gagne himself also produced and wrote this movie while only taking the screen credits as executive producer and actor...

...after the movie made the circuit of drive-ins and four-wall theaters in the Upper Midwest towns where the AWA held their house shows, Gagne started claiming he made this movie to prove that wrestlers couldn't act. That was strictly a kayfabe bit to try to keep the marks in the fold, as latter-day wrestlers like Roddy Piper and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have proved some of them can act up a storm on a movie set. But THE WRESTLER doesn't even give Asner a whole lot to work with, let alone Billy Robinson or Superstar Billy Graham, just to mention two of the top wrestlers in the AWA at the time. But if, like me, you were a fan of the Saturday night mayhem Gagne committed to video screens in '74, all the old ring faces are themselves worth the hour and a half it takes to watch this one...

This is a really strange movie. As an old-school pro wrestling fan who grew up in AWA territory, I'd heard of this movie, but never seen it. Now there's a poor copy at http://www.matineeclassics.com/movies/1974/the_wrestler/.

Imagine you're Verne Gagne:

It's 1974. It's the height of the pro wrestling territories. It's all kayfabe: everyone pretends that the match outcomes aren't worked.

You're part owner of the AWA, one of the largest, most successful territories. You're the heavyweight champion basically any time you want to be.

There's some back story here, too: Gagne's split from the NWA and formation of the AWA was because the NWA didn't want Gagne as their champion. The NWA champion went all over the US, defending the title against the most popular local wrestler in a given territory. The NWA thought Gagne wasn't appropriate as that kind of champion. Gagne disagreed and formed the AWA, with himself as champion.

Now it's 1974 and you make a movie in which you co-star as a pro wrestler. It's the story of how one might imagine a promoter operating in 1974 -- if pro wrestling was really a sport.

You get Ed Asner to star. He was doing Mary Tyler Moore at the time, and was a good pick for the role. He's entirely believable as sort of a Wally Karbo-style promoter. But it's very strange seeing a guy with Asner's credentials in a movie like this.

So it's weird on that level. Then there are all the cameos from famous pro wrestlers: the Crusher, the Bruiser, Dusty Rhodes, Dick Murdock, even Ric Flair, albeit briefly. I was a bit surprised that Verne's son Greg wasn't in the film.

Beyond that weirdness, there's the soundtrack. It's really ... 1970s. I can't figure out what was going through the composer's mind during the big bar fight. It's almost like watching a fight while listening to the Benny Hill theme.

Unfortunately, it's also an unsatisfying movie. Rather astonishingly, they build up to a match between Gagne and Billy Robinson -- and then end the film mid-kick, before the match even ends. There's no payoff whatsoever: did Billy or Verne win? Which of them gets to go to the super bowl of wrestling? Did Verne win, forcing the other promoters to allow him? Did Billy, and Verne learns that it's time to ride off into the sunset?

I have no idea what they were trying to do, but the result is very surreal.

The unfortunate thing is that with a little better script, it could have been a decent movie. Gagne is entirely believable as an aging champion, and there would've been a neat story if the writers had simply chosen a direction. Either Gagne learns that it's time to hang up his hat or that Robinson beats the "unbeatable" champion. The gangsters looking for a win by betting on the matches seems out of place -- particularly now that we know that the matches were worked.

It should have been a character piece. It tried to be, but just never got there.

Definitely worth a watch, but don't expect Rocky.

What does my summary say -- the best wrestling movie ever period. I tried for thirteen years to finally see the ending (you can't find it anywhere), and it was extrodinary. I must admit, this seems like what they got Ready To Rumble from, but I have to give this a beautiful

10/10