Documentaries on professional wrestling have become a dime a dozen over the past decade or so, but Stephen Gillis’ “This Wrestling Life†separates itself from the pack with an honest and heart-felt take on the inner workings of an independent promotion in Canada.
Spending a year with former NWA Canadian Heavyweight champion Scotty Mac and three hopefuls in his promotion, Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling, viewers learn the harsh realities of what it takes to graduate from a professional wrestling school and later succeed in an independent promotion.
Simply put, for anyone interested in entering this career field, this documentary is a must see. Reading about many of the things seen in this film, such as the physical challenges one must go through in order to take simple bumps and the inner-politics of the sports such as ribbing is one thing, but to see it for yourself is a whole other story.
Damn near brutal at times, the emotional and physical dangers these athletes go through are real. One hopeful, Bill Taylor, who trains to become a referee in the film, is belittled constantly because he is a homosexual and a rookie. One situation has him beg the wrestlers in ECCW to stop performing moves and holds on him.
A scary scene, it’s obvious that this is one way the sport weeds out the weak.
While it appears at first that Taylor is too weak to breathe the same air as his comrades, he proves himself when it counts. These episodes of self-doubt are easily some of the most vibrant of the documentary and do a great job of portraying Taylor in a way where people can grow to love him.
Rookie wrestler Travis Nieken has problems to deal with as well. Forced to curtail his attitude and mouth and devote the necessary time to the craft, he goes from a pudgy wannabe with family problems, to a capable hardcore performer with potential. Cocky and arrogant at times, it’s not apparent that Nieken’s personality changes much during the film, but it is obvious that he’s a lifer and that he loves the business.
Cute and spunky Natalie Harrison does change however. Going from working behind the scenes and being sent home for her attitude, she manages to rise above her nearly impossible attitude problems and get booked in a match.
Through all of the challenges these characters are forced to deal with, it feels good to see them all accomplish something positive in one way or another.
However, while all of them achieve some sort of success in the film, the documentary is far from delusional. Mac never makes any promises that their dreams will come true. All he can promise is that they’ll get an opportunity. While he’s had tryouts in bigger companies, he, too, is waiting for his big day to come.
A solid performer, his confidence inside the ring is astounding, [listening to fans say how much they hate him is one of the best moments of the film and proves he’s a capable heel] but outside, he’s much more realistic and like the film, pulls no punches with the audience.
As a matter of fact, Mac does everything from changing toilet paper, to training his students, in addition to being the company’s biggest star. From this, it’s obvious Mac isn’t a slime ball promoter and that his attempt at showing this trio how the business works is a candid one.
As a result, after watching, you’ll see the sport isn’t nearly as glamorous as it’s portrayed on television. At the same time, it’s a beautiful thing to see so many people invest so much of their time and energy into something as simple as the entertainment of others.
For that, “This Wrestling Life†is one of the most honest documentaries ever produced about professional grappling.
In the end, it presents ever character in a real way, with no melodrama and is able to make a niche sport like professional wrestling easily accessible to the masses.
Because of this, anyone interested in the sport or quality cinema will find something to enjoy from this film.
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