WWE Studios have been responsible for some reasonable hits, mostly thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. 3 of their top 5 grossing films made starred the box office blockbuster actor so it was a good call to get him involved as Executive Producer of Fighting With My Family. He should know; he’s a part of arguably the biggest wrestling family in the history of the industry. This movie isn’t about The Rock though. Perhaps that story is to be told another day.
Paige is an enigmatic entity for the WWE. The controversies and misconceptions about the superstar had begun to weigh too heavy on her reputation. Those burdens were undeserved, however, and what should be brought up when you mention her name is what she has done for the industry and the “Women’s Revolution”. Before Paige, women wrestlers were called Divas and weren’t known for their wrestling prowess. They were models and cheerleaders who strapped on the boots and paraded around in skimpy clothes for more sex value than being viewed as athletes.
Paige, real name Saraya-Jade Bevis, was born into wrestling. It’s been said her mother wrestled with Paige in her belly before she knew she was pregnant with her. The whole family was involved as the Knight family as they were known in the ring locally in their hometown of Norwich, England. I was a little disappointed they didn’t mention the fable I told, because I always thought that was a fun rumor.
FWMF shows what she and the rest of the family had to go through to make it in the biz. Her brother, Zak, had big dreams to one day hoist up the championship belt int he WWE. Unfortunately, the worldwide wrestling powerhouse never saw it as a fit for their promotion. They did, however, see a future star in Paige. She just had to work to find it deep within her to push past her comfort zone.
There’s a small who’s who of British actors for a little star power in Lena Headey and Nick Frost, who play’s Paige and Zak’s parents. It’s great to see Headey (more popularly known as the heinous Cersei in Game of Thrones) play a comedic role and not steal the spotlight. This movie is a comedy above all else and succeeds wonderfully in that light. Vince Vaughn rounds out the cast and does what he does best puncturing people’s egos with quippy one-liners as the NXT coach, Hutch Morgan. The Rock makes a couple of cameos and steals the scene showing his love for the business that made him famous.
The presence of WWE in the film was nice. It had its ups and downs though. There were real clips of some of the most classic moments in WWE history and fans are able to see some of the inner-workings of NXT. The process of making it to he main roster is no easy feat. Paige almost quits a few times and we get a couple of old school montages in true sports movie fashion. The downs of the movie was that there should have been way more wrestlers who went through the NXT process alongside Paige. There weren’t any recognizable faces from superstars who deserved to be there.
My biggest qualm was the final match, which famously saw Paige win the Divas championship from AJ Lee. It was a torch-handing monumental moment in women’s wrestling history as the switch from Divas to Women’s Championship wrestling happened that very night. AJ Lee’s legacy has been tarnished by the WWE since she decided to leave. Her role was played by WWE newcomer Zelina Vega. Don’t get me wrong, Vega got the job done, but no fan is fooled and Lee is more than capable of playing herself. It’s just wrong and rests purely on the shoulders of the WWE.
I could go on and on about wrestling and Paige. She has done so much for the industry and deserves to have her story told. They got it right with this film. With that being said, it’s definitely not for everyone. If you’re a wrestling fan, you will absolutely love this movie. I really don’t think there’s been a bad wrestling movie yet, at least when it comes to the behind the scenes of the industry (NOT Nacho Libre.) If you’re a fan, it’s at least an 8. If not, it’s probably more of a 6. That’s why I’m going to give it a 7 overall. Take your kids to go see it or go alone if you think you’ll enjoy it. It displays exactly what every fan knows about wrestling; it’s so successful as an industry because it works on every scale. From the smallest promotions to the grand stage of Wrestlemania.
