Beyond the Mat is a 1999
professional wrestlingProfessional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is an athletic performing art where matches are prearranged by the promotion's booking staff. It is a non-competitive sport which contains strong elements of theatre, mock combat, and catch wrestling. Wrestling's origins date to 19th-century carnival...
documentaryDocumentary film is a broad category of visual expressions that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can...
,
directedA film director, or filmmaker is a person who directs the making or production of a film. Some also consider a film producer to be a filmmaker....
by Barry W. Blaustein. The movie focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers outside of the ring, especially
Mick FoleyMichael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American actor, author, comedian, voice over, and professional wrestler, currently signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is the storyline "Executive Shareholder"...
,
Terry FunkTerrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the later part of his career that inspired many later wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
, and
Jake RobertsAurelian Smith, Jr. , is a second-generation American professional wrestler and the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
. The film heavily focuses on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), often criticizing it and its chairman
Vince McMahonVincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestler, promoter, in-ring announcer, play-by-play commentator and film producer. He currently serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment and is the majority shareholder of WWE. He is the creator...
. The film was originally released in American theaters in March 2000 and was later released on DVD. The film was one of the 12 finalists for the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Synopsis
The film begins with director Barry Blaustein discussing his love for professional wrestling and clips of him viewing employees of the World Wrestling Federation. He then decides to travel the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
over a three year period, endeavoring to understand the mindset of someone who would voluntarily choose to become a professional wrestler. Blaustein interviews a wide variety of wrestling personalities and ascertains their motivations.
Blaustein focuses on three famous wrestlers, one at the height of his career (
Mick "Mankind" FoleyMichael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American actor, author, comedian, voice over, and professional wrestler, currently signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is the storyline "Executive Shareholder"...
) and two contemplating retirement (
Terry FunkTerrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the later part of his career that inspired many later wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
and
Jake "The Snake" RobertsAurelian Smith, Jr. , is a second-generation American professional wrestler and the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
). He begins by following Funk, a 53-year-old man in need of knee surgery who appears unable to retire, despite the mounting toll wrestling is taking on his body. Blaustein follows him as he competes at
hardcore wrestlingHardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
promotion
Extreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
's first pay-per-view event
Barely LegalBarely Legal was the first professional wrestling pay-per-view event held by Extreme Championship Wrestling. It took place on April 13, 1997 from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Production:...
.
Funk's sometimes in-ring rival, Foley is profiled next. He has been taking increasingly risky falls (or "
bumpsIn professional wrestling, a bump occurs whenever a wrestler hits the mat or the arena floor after receiving a move from his/her opponent. It can also refer to hitting the floor as a result of a missed aerial move. Every wrestler is trained to take bumps while avoiding injury, though they are not...
") and blows to the head, and at one point is heard talking incoherently as the result of a fall (from his Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker at
King of the RingKing of the Ring was the sixth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on June 28, 1998 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
in 1998) which briefly rendered him unconscious. Clips of Foley with his wife and children are spliced with the clips of him risking his body for the sport. Later in the film, in a scene from an "I Quit" match at the
1999 Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble was the twelfth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 24, 1999 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The title of the event was taken from a promise by Mr...
, he is shown taking multiple shots to the head by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson with a steel folding chair, while his wife and young children watch in horror from the audience.
Lastly, Roberts is a wrestler whose height of popularity was in the 1980s and is a
crack cocaineCrack cocaine, crack or rock is a solid, smokable form of cocaine. It is a freebase form of cocaine that can be made using baking soda or sodium hydroxide, in a process to convert cocaine hydrochloride into methylbenzoylecgonine .-Appearance and characteristics:Crack cocaine as sold on the...
addictThe term "addiction" is used in many contexts to describe an obsession, compulsion, or excessive psychological dependence, such as: drug addiction The term "addiction" is used in many contexts to describe an obsession, compulsion, or excessive psychological dependence, such as: drug addiction The...
, estranged from his daughter. Although he once performed in front of tens-of-thousands of fans, he is now wrestling in small-time venues. In the course of the film, Roberts is shown smoking crack in a hotel room and reuniting with his daughter.
The careers of the three successful wrestlers are contrasted with those of wrestlers who have not yet achieved comparable success, such as two men trying to get into the sport of wrestling,
Tony JonesTony Jones is an American professional wrestler who competes in North American independent promotions, specifically California-based All-Pro Wrestling, Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Xtreme Pro Wrestling....
and
Michael ModestMichael Cariglio is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Michael Modest . A Bay Area legend on the independent circuit scene, Modest ran the promotion Pro Wrestling IRON with tag partner Donovan Morgan and Frank Murdoch until its closure in 2005...
. In addition,
Darren DrozdovDarren Drozdov, is an essayist, former NFL player and retired professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation in 1998 and 1999 under the ring names Puke and Droz....
is a former
NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
player who is shown in an interview with
Vince McMahonVincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestler, promoter, in-ring announcer, play-by-play commentator and film producer. He currently serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment and is the majority shareholder of WWE. He is the creator...
. Drozdov, who can vomit at will, is called on by McMahon to vomit in a bucket as a demonstration of his ability—an ability that earned him the nickname "Puke", which McMahon reveals to be part of his new in-ring persona. Drozdov becomes a WWF wrestler, but at the end of the film, Blaustein reveals that Droz was paralyzed in an in-ring accident from a botched move, several months later.
Production and release
Blaustein decided to do a documentary about professional wrestling after being outed as a closet professional wrestling fan. His original budget was $500,000, which was funded by the company Imagine. He shot footage for the film over a span of three to five years.
World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and his...
refused to participate in the film. Blaustein approached the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) about involving the company in the film in 1997. WWF chairman
Vince McMahonVincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestler, promoter, in-ring announcer, play-by-play commentator and film producer. He currently serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment and is the majority shareholder of WWE. He is the creator...
originally allowed Blaustein full access to behind-the-scenes aspects of his company, but later tried to pull out of their deal.
Jake Roberts claims that he was told the film was going to be used to help children, but that never transpired. Blaustein claims the opposite. In response to why he thought Roberts made the allegations, Blaustein responded, "I don't know why. Jake's looking for publicity for himself, maybe. I don't know. He has problems with reality. I wish Jake all the best."
Beyond the Mat was released in theaters in the United States in March 2000. The film was later released on DVD, including extra footage and cast interviews. An unrated director's cut edition dubbed
Special Ringside Edition was released on DVD in March 2004. This version featured a new introduction and additional footage, as well as an interview with Foley and
Jesse VenturaJesse Ventura , also known as "The Body", "The Great", "The Star", "The Mind", and "The Governing Body", is an American politician, retired professional wrestler and color commentator, Navy UDT veteran, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
.
Critics
In 2000, Lisa Schwarzbaum of
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books and popular culture. Unlike celebrity-focused publications US Weekly, People, and In Touch Weekly, EWs primary concentration is on entertainment...
rated the film a B-, but states that "
Beyond the Mat is entirely dependent on, and shaped by, the
good stuff the director happens to get, rather than driven by hard questions a journalist might want answered."
Paul Tatara of
CNNCable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is an U.S. cable news network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first network to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television network in the United States...
declared that "Blaustein seems to think that he's humanizing these guys by showing how "normal" they are out of the ring, but he unintentionally makes their penchant for self mutilation all the more inexplicable. There are a couple of laughs in the movie, but the overall effect is much more depressing than it is humorous."
Beyond the Mat also received some critical acclaim. It was named Best Documentary at the
Cinequest Film FestivalThe Cinequest Film Festival is the first major annual independent film festival held after the Academy Awards. Located in San Jose, California, Cinequest has grown to be one of the largest and most influential film festivals featuring new film makers....
and was also nominated by the
Director's Guild AssociationDirectors Guild of America is the labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
for best documentary and
best directorThe 52nd Directors Guild of America Awards, given on 11 March, 2000, honored the best film and television directors in 1999.-Film:*Best Director - Motion Picture:**Sam Mendes - American Beauty*Best Director - Documentary:...
. In addition, it was among the final 12 nominations for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. The book
The 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen includes
Beyond the Mat in its list, claiming that "the film works on an almost Shakespearean level."
Wrestling industry
After viewing the film, McMahon removed all advertising for it from WWF broadcasts. As a result, Lions Gate Films, the film's distributor, considered filing a
lawsuitA lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have received damages from a defendant's actions, seeks a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
for restraint of trade. Spokespeople for the WWF, however, claimed that advertising was pulled because of a policy against advertising for other wrestling companies or ventures. Blaustein also claimed that McMahon ordered his wrestlers, including Mick Foley, not to speak about the film publicly. Foley, however, did appear on
Larry King LiveLarry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN. The show debuted in 1985, and is CNN's most watched program, with over one million viewers nightly.The show broadcasts from CNN's Los Angeles studios...
with Blaustein to help promote the film. As a result, the tag line of the movie became
"The Movie Vince McMahon Didn't Want You to See!".
Roddy PiperRoderick George Toombs ), better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler and film actor currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment...
also appeared with Blaustein on
Larry King Live to discuss the professional wrestling business. He called the movie, "the best documentary ever made on professional wrestling." Likewise,
Hulk HoganTerry Gene Bollea better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler....
expressed an interest in being in the next wrestling documentary should Blaustein make one.