10 Wrestling-Inspired Movies That Would Be Better Ideas Than 'Crossface'
The weird and wonderful world of pro wrestling has plenty of great stories to tell.
Professional wrestling and the movie industry rarely mix to any degree of success. When it works, we get modern classics like Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. When it doesn't, we get travesties like No Holds Barred and Ready to Rumble. As you can guess, the sub-genre is not exactly flush with quality.
Which actually comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the larger-than-life world of pro wrestling with its frequent tales of debauchery, excess, substance abuse, politicking and backstage machinations is often more interesting than the in-ring action itself.
The news recently broke that Lexi Alexander had officially signed on to direct 'Crossface', the big screen adaptation of the Chris Benoit tragedy. Given the previous track record of those involved with the project (and no involvement from WWE in any capacity), it seems unlikely that the subject matter is going to be handled with any degree of nuance or subtlety.
Instead, this article will look at ten other famous WWE stories that would be ideal for the cinematic treatment in the right hands, and would certainly be a lot more interesting and a lot less controversial than a mediocre filmmaker taking on the story of one of pro wrestling's darkest moments.
And since Hollywood likes nothing better than a bit of self-congratulatory back-slapping, what better place to start our countdown of potential WWE movie projects than with a biopic of its highest-paid star?
10. Seven Bucks: The Dwayne Johnson Story
The story of Dwayne Johnson's rise to the very top of both the pro wrestling and movie industries is nothing if not an interesting one. His formative years spent constantly moving home around the country brought both resentment towards his father and brushes with the law, before a series of injuries killed his dreams of making it as a footballer, leading to a deep depression and a realisation that he had seven bucks to his name and very little in the way of career prospects.
Deciding to follow in the footsteps of his famous father, Johnson's wrestling career couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. Heavily pushed despite his limited experience, the fans vociferously rejected the clean-cut Rocky Maivia and it seemed as though the man dubbed 'The Blue Chipper' was doomed to fail until he reinvented himself as 'The Rock'.
Little over a decade later, he had outgrown the wrestling business having become one of the most decorated and popular stars in WWE history, and was now a legitimately bankable name in Hollywood.
Dwayne Johnson's rise from failed collegiate athlete to A-list movie star is full of subject matter that makes up the bread-and-butter narratives of most biopics, making it ripe with big screen potential. The obvious difficulty would be finding someone to play the lead role, given Johnson's larger-than-life personality and physique.