Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Blistering performances.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Adult professional wrestling fans aren't stupid, we know wrestling is fake and the outcomes are pre-determined. What none fans don't realize is why we like it. It's the drama, the pageantry, the cheesy stories, the costumes, and most of all the action. Yes, it's pre-determined and choreographed, but you still need to be charismatic and athletic, and night after night these guys put their bodies on the line just for our entertainment. People have been killed and paralyzed doing this, so to anyone who says it's not real and takes no skill, I point to this documentary. Beyond The Mat looks into the lives of these guys outside the ring and show the ancient Terry Funk, whose body has been ravaged from years in the ring. He can barely walk anymore, but still has to get in there and has to do this because it's all he knows and what he loves. Jake "The Snake" Roberts is also featured and he talks about how eight years on the road with WWE and how it made him a neglectful father, a bad husband, and a drug addict. Roberts says between the pain and the constant moving around he could never have done it without drugs! Finally, they look at Mick Foley AKA Mankind, Dude Love, Cactus Jack and show how he's this normal family man and while his family knows it's for show, how much they worry. In the last 30 years, hundreds of pro-wrestlers have died under the age of 45, most of them due to the physical trauma they've put their bodies through or the dependence on drugs that has resulted from it. If those were NFL or MLB stars instead, there would be massive reform and congressional intervention, but the truth is no one cares about these guys, except of course their families, friends, and fans. Beyond The Mat is important because it shows just what these guys put on the line and just how little the people at the top care.

One of the oldest filmic clichés is that there's nothing sadder than an old boxer, a washed up pug. To that I might state that only an old wrestler is sadder. After all, wrestling is not a true sport- it's a violent theatrical production, and there is not much at stake for the viewers. As for the wrestlers, themselves….that's where this documentary from 2000 comes in. Directed by first time auteur Barry Blaustein it chronicles the re-rise of pro wrestling to prominence in the late 1990s- the era that saw Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Cactus Jack become celebrities of a greater nature than any of their forebears, like Killer Kowalski, Dusty Rhodes, Bruno Sammartino, or Hulk Hogan. The film starts off as an exploration of the men behind the 'names', yet it makes a mistake right off the bat, by billing itself as an exposé of the sport, a film that 'Vince McMahon doesn't want you to see'. McMahon, to those in the know, is the owner of the largest wrestling league in the nation- the WWE, then the WWF, but there's little in the film to suggest that this is a tell-all. There are some wrestlers with gripes, and we see tales of failed lives, and failed wrestling circuits, like the ECW and WCW (long since bought out by the WWE), and McMahon's league certainly has a history of dealing in drugs (steroids, etc.- as the aforementioned Hogan testified against him in a highly publicized trial in the early 90s), as well as being shamefully anti-union, and not caring of its performers (not long after the film's release one of its wrestlers- Owen Hart, of a well-known wrestling clan- was killed in a spectacular fashion while performing, and the film acknowledges that one of its minor characters, Droz, was paralyzed not long after the film was completed), but all of this is public knowledge, and old news.What works, though is the portrait of the biz the film portrays, and the three main wrestlers whose lives it follows…. The film has its moments of poignancy and insight, but they are too few and far between. A more pristine and jaded eye would have been necessary, and a more ballsy approach to the subject matter, to gain a following outside the 'choir' of pro wrestling. Still, since I go to those pews, every few years, I think it's a must see for any wrestling fan. The game has changed much during the decades, yet, in a sense, it hasn't changed at all. Whether good or bad is the crux, and what this film passes on.

I first viewed this film on DVD and having scanned some of the reviews here on the site I can see that some people feel that there should have been more in the movie. Yes I can see that argument but to talk about drug deaths and those who have left the buissness not really able to cope with life outside of the wrestling is a movie that needs to be done with a script and actors. Wrestlers even Mick Foley who has been fairly honest in breaking character still protects the business even Jesse Ventura didn't break any new ground. Ventura could have said a lot about McMahon that was negative after all he sued McMahon over royalties and Venture was never known for keeping his mouth shut he was the wrestler who wanted to start a union in wrestling until Hulk Hogan ratted him out to Vince McMahonHad Blaustein gone in with the attitude that he was going to expose all of the underbelly of pro wrestling both Vince McMahon and the wrestlers would have handed this guy his butt. Most of the important issues in pro wrestling today like drug related deaths, the need for a union in the business. Both industry and the wrestlers are in denial about and will not address those issues in a serious way. Also Blaustein is an admitted fan and just wants to show wrestlers as being human rather then the characters we see on TV each week. Blaustein's choices are interesting Terry Funk is the old guy who just can't give it up Funk in many ways is a sad case heres a guy that can't stay away from the roar of the crowd. No matter how broken down he is as long as he can still get in the ring he will be thereJake The Snake Roberts is an interesting study and most likely could have been a movie itself. Roberts comes off as a needy self serving person who tries to use emotion to try and gain whatever he thinks can be gained from his daughter. But it is a work after seeing her he goes out and does Crack Cocaine. Roberts is the poster child for someone who got lost in the business.Mick Foley like Terry Funk needs the rush from the crowd when the interview section of the DVD was shot Foley was supposedly retired though has been back a number of times since and may always be back until the WWE decides it no longer needs to bring him back. Many have mentioned the scenes of his kids crying as he was being hit in the head with a chair by the Rock. It is my impression that his wife could have handle the situation better but I do agree with many who asked the question why were the kids there in first place.All in all I thought this movie gave as good as it could given the limitations that were placed on it. Ultimately Blaustein is a fan and yes he wants us to be too by giving us a human understanding of the wrestler

This documentary focus' on the world of Pro Wrestling and the world behind it. Wrestling legends appear on the movie including Mick Foley (with his saga of his children watching him go to work) and Jake 'the Snake' Roberts (with his saga of a tragic life and depression).The documentary very well may be the movie that Vince McMahon doesn't want you to see. why? because it's the truth. There are no trick camera angles, no fake blood, no gimmicks and no script. There is only the truth of what pro wrestling is really like, and the characters that populate it.Wrestling fans, prepare to face reality of your favorite sport. Non wrestling fans, prepare to see what the "sport" is all about. No gimmicks, no fake blood, no script, and no trick camera angles.