Beyond the Mat
Encyclopedia
Beyond the Mat is a 1999 documentary
directed
by Barry W. Blaustein. The movie focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers
outside of the ring, primarily Mick Foley
, Terry Funk
, and Jake Roberts
, as well as some aspiring wrestlers. It focuses on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and follows Extreme Championship Wrestling
during its rise in popularity and many other independent wrestlers and organizations. The film was originally released in American theaters in March 2000 and later released on DVD.
. He then decides to travel the United States
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 Foley, aka "Mankind"
), one contemplating retirement (Terry Funk
) and one at a career low (Jake "The Snake" Roberts
). 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 wrestling
promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling
's first pay-per-view event Barely Legal
.
Funk's sometimes in-ring rival, Foley is profiled next. He has been taking increasingly risky falls (or "bumps") 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 Ring 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's climax, his wife and young children watch in horror from the front of the audience during Foley's "I Quit" match at the 1999 Royal Rumble
, wherein he takes multiple unprotected shots to the head by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson with a steel folding chair.
Lastly, Roberts is a wrestler whose height of popularity was in the 1980s and is a crack cocaine
addict
, estranged from his daughter. Although he was once one of the more famous wrestlers in America, performing in front of tens of thousands of fans, he is now wrestling in small-town venues. In the course of the film, Roberts is shown smoking crack cocaine
in a hotel room and attempting to reconcile with his daughter, as well as musing aloud about his increasingly illicit sexual dalliances while traveling.
The careers of the three successful wrestlers are contrasted with those of wrestlers who have not yet achieved comparable success, such as two men getting started in the sport of wrestling, Tony Jones
and Michael Modest
, who are granted a tryout match for the WWF. In addition, Darren Drozdov
is a former NFL
football
player who is shown in an interview with Vince McMahon
. Drozdov, who can vomit at will, is called on by McMahon to vomit in a bucket as a demonstration of his ability—an ability which earned him the ring name "Puke"—which McMahon plans to use as part of Drozdov's new in-ring persona. Drozdov becomes a WWF wrestler, but at the end of the film, it is revealed that Droz was paralyzed in an in-ring accident from a botched maneuver several months later.
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 Wrestling
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 McMahon
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 Ventura
.
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 CNN
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 Festival
and was also nominated by the Director's Guild Association
for best documentary and best director
. 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."
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 Live
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 Piper
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 Hogan
expressed an interest in being in the next wrestling documentary should Blaustein make one.
In June of 2011 Barry Blaustein did an extensive one-hour interview on 'Review a Wai' with John Pollock discussing the problems of putting the documentary together with Vince McMahon's blessing. In the interview Blaustein revealed that after the first viewing it was Linda McMahon who was more upset than Vince due to the portrayal of the company in the documentary and not emphasizing the 'fun' in professional wrestling. Blaustein also mentioned problems with certain talent such as Steve Austin refusing to appear on camera and Pitbull #2 once throwing a garbage can at the crew, and then suggesting the incident to be used in the film.
On Episode 61 of Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast, wrestler Bison Smith
, who appears as a body guard in the film, makes mention that he and a number of other wrestlers had deceived Blaustein a number of times, despite the director's insistence that he could not be "worked". It is also noted in this interview that Blaustein's crew would walk into the bedrooms of the wrestler's, while they were sleeping, and that it is likely that Jake Roberts
also may have deceived Blaustein.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Barry W. Blaustein. The movie focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
outside of the ring, primarily Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
, Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
, and Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
, as well as some aspiring wrestlers. It focuses on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and follows Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme 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...
during its rise in popularity and many other independent wrestlers and organizations. The film was originally released in American theaters in March 2000 and later released on DVD.
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 and Extreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme 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...
. He then decides to travel the United States
United States
The 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 Foley, aka "Mankind"
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
), one contemplating retirement (Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
) and one at a career low (Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, 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 wrestling
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore 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 Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme 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 Legal
ECW Barely Legal
Barely Legal was the first professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced 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 "bumps") 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 Ring 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's climax, his wife and young children watch in horror from the front of the audience during Foley's "I Quit" match at the 1999 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1999)
Royal 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...
, wherein he takes multiple unprotected shots to the head by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson with a steel folding chair.
Lastly, Roberts is a wrestler whose height of popularity was in the 1980s and is a crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
addict
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
, estranged from his daughter. Although he was once one of the more famous wrestlers in America, performing in front of tens of thousands of fans, he is now wrestling in small-town venues. In the course of the film, Roberts is shown smoking crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
in a hotel room and attempting to reconcile with his daughter, as well as musing aloud about his increasingly illicit sexual dalliances while traveling.
The careers of the three successful wrestlers are contrasted with those of wrestlers who have not yet achieved comparable success, such as two men getting started in the sport of wrestling, Tony Jones
Tony Jones (wrestler)
Anthony "Tony" 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 Modest
Michael Modest
Michael K. 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...
, who are granted a tryout match for the WWF. In addition, Darren Drozdov
Darren Drozdov
Darren 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 NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top 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...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who is shown in an interview with Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
. Drozdov, who can vomit at will, is called on by McMahon to vomit in a bucket as a demonstration of his ability—an ability which earned him the ring name "Puke"—which McMahon plans to use as part of Drozdov's new in-ring persona. Drozdov becomes a WWF wrestler, but at the end of the film, it is revealed that Droz was paralyzed in an in-ring accident from a botched maneuver several months later.
Production and release
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. 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...
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 McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
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 Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
.
Critics
In 2000, Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
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 CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel 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 Festival
Cinequest Film Festival
The Cinequest Film Festival is an annual independent film festival held in San Jose, California. The festival highlights the work of new film makers....
and was also nominated by the Director's Guild Association
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
for best documentary and best director
Directors Guild of America Awards 1999
The 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:...
. 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 lawsuitLawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands 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 Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
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 Piper
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
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 Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
expressed an interest in being in the next wrestling documentary should Blaustein make one.
In June of 2011 Barry Blaustein did an extensive one-hour interview on 'Review a Wai' with John Pollock discussing the problems of putting the documentary together with Vince McMahon's blessing. In the interview Blaustein revealed that after the first viewing it was Linda McMahon who was more upset than Vince due to the portrayal of the company in the documentary and not emphasizing the 'fun' in professional wrestling. Blaustein also mentioned problems with certain talent such as Steve Austin refusing to appear on camera and Pitbull #2 once throwing a garbage can at the crew, and then suggesting the incident to be used in the film.
On Episode 61 of Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast, wrestler Bison Smith
Bison Smith
Mark Smith was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bison Smith. He best known for his appearances with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan and International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico...
, who appears as a body guard in the film, makes mention that he and a number of other wrestlers had deceived Blaustein a number of times, despite the director's insistence that he could not be "worked". It is also noted in this interview that Blaustein's crew would walk into the bedrooms of the wrestler's, while they were sleeping, and that it is likely that Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
also may have deceived Blaustein.
See also
- 1999 in film1999 in filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
- Bloodstained MemoirsBloodstained MemoirsBloodstained Memoirs is a professional wrestling documentary released online via an official stream in 2009. It is compiled by interviews featuring wrestlers synonymous with different eras in wrestling and different wrestling regions . Production was filmed in the UK, USA, France, Japan, and Italy...
, a 2009 professional wrestling documentary.