BCW's Top 5 Wrestling Movies

It's been a while since Professional Wrestling fans have had the chance to get excited about the release of a movie based on the thing we love the most (wrestling).  Well that is until now, as Fighting With My Family hit the theatres in the US, although as we're based in the UK we have another few painstaking days to endure until we can catch it in the local cinema!

Fighting With My Family is the knockout comedy based on the incredible true life story of WWE Superstar & former WWE Diva's Champion Paige.  The comedy biopic is written and directed by Stephen Merchant (The Office), produced by The Rock and has already been gaining great success at the box office along with critical acclaim in the US, with the UK release set for February 27th where you can be guaranteed it will be a big hit also (as it is the story of a British Icon, written by a British Comic)!

Anyway while we wait for the release in UK we will have to make do with some of our old favourites, therefor BCW have compiled a list of our Top 5 Wrestling Movies.    

*We have not included any documentaries in this list, thus the omission of Beyond The Mat & Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows etc. but I'm sure we'll cover them at a later date.

#5 No Holds Barred (1989)

Photo: reelgood.com

A movie so bad that it is actually brilliant!  Packed full of action from the outset & starring none other than The Immortal Hulk Hogan as WWF Champion, Rip!
The story has the new head of World Television Network (Brell) trying to persuade Rip to wrestle on his network, however Rip stays loyal to his fans and current network.  This causes Brell to launch a new series "The Battle of The Tough Guys" where he discovers a new villainous star, Zeus, that ultimately sets up an action packed showdown between Rip & Zeus!  

No Holds Barred is  a treat for a wrestling die hard, as you can literally play a game of spot the wrestler as it is full of cameos from the likes of;  Demolition Ax/The Masked Superstar, Stan Hansen, Jesse Ventura, Gene Oakerlund & Howard Finkel to name only a few.

Expect plenty of action, laughs & enough cringe-worthy moments to make you "Dookie" yourself!

BCW Rating: 5.5/10

#4 Body Slam (1987)

Action comedy starring Dirk Benedict (The A Team) and Rowdy Roddy Piper.  Benedict plays M. Harry Smilac a failing music promoter/manager who comes up with a scheme to become a wrestling manager.  He ends up promoting successful Rock & Wrestling events across the country whilst representing wrestler Rick Roberts (Piper) with lots of shenanigans along the way. 

The cast also boasts a host of other wrestling legends including Captain Lou Albano, The Barbarian, The Tonga Kid & The Wild Samoans (Afa & Sika)

BCW Rating: 6/10

#3 Nacho Libre (2006)

Cult comedy starring Jack Black as Nacho, a monastery cook, who's life consists of working all day to feed orphans only to be overlooked by the monastery hierarchy.  Nacho soon comes to realise that the only way to save the children and to gain the affection of Sister Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera), is to become a Luchador (Mexican Wrestler).

The best thing about this movie is you don't really need to be a Wrestling fan to enjoy it, so you can watch this one with friends who aren't fans.  Keep an eye out for cameos from El Torito, Silver King & Human Tornado.

BCW Rating: 7/10

#2 Ready to Rumble (2000)

David Arquette & Scott Caan star as 2 wrestling fans who try help their hero Jimmy King (Oliver Platt) to regain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Diamond Dallas Page, after King was screwed out of the title by Evil WCW Promoter Titus Sinclair.  When the 2 fans get to know King as a real person they soon discover he is maybe not as almighty as they first thought, thus they embark on a scheme to help King get his title & his honour back!

This movie is never going to win any Oscar's and is much better to a wrestling fan than a non-wrestling fan.  But if you are a wrestling fan (which I assume you are because you are reading a wrestling blog) this is a great watch with lots of laughs along the way.

Just like the other movies on this list there are a plethora of cameos, actually it has pretty much the entire WCW roster from 1999/2000 so no point in listing them.  On an interesting note, this movie is pretty much the reason behind David Arquette's controversial WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign!

BCW Rating: 7.5/10 

#1 The Wrestler (2008)

Gripping drama starring Mickey Rourke as an ageing wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson seeking for a new life after wrestling.  (Rourke's performance in this role was so good he won the Golden Globe & BAFTA awards for Best Actor!)  The Ram tries to give up the wrestling business due to health issues, and gets a full time position in a grocery store.  He is desperate to get his life back on track and tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter & forms a romantic bond with a stripper.  However, struggling with his new life, he is offered a high profile rematch against his arch nemesis from the 1980s, The Ayatollah (Ernest Miller, remember him from WCW?) which could be his ticket back to the big time.

Keep a close eye out and you may spot a few familiar faces such as; Austin Aries, The Blue Meanie, R-Truth, Johnny Valient, Kevin Kelly & more...

BCW Rating: 9/10

***DID I LEAVE ANYTHING OUT? IF SO, FEEL FREE TO DISCUSS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION!***


Credit: IMDb (All photos unless specified)