WWE: 15 Greatest Wrestling Documentaries Of All Time

By Izzy Scrimshire /

1. Beyond The Mat

Admit it. You saw this coming, right? Beyond the Mat is widely regarded as the most in-depth, personal and revealing wrestling documentary of all time. For the purposes of the film, director Barry W. Blaustein was granted exclusive access to WWE HQ in Stamford, Connecticut and even sat in on contract negotiations with would be wrestlers, like Darren €œPuke€ Drozdov.Beyond the Mat also follows the post-WWE career of Jake €œThe Snake€ Roberts as he wrestles small venues around the United States. Mick Foley€™s rise to fame in the WWE is also highlighted €“ culminating in an unforgettable sequence at the Royal Rumble 1999. A brutal €œI Quit€ match against Dwayne €œThe Rock€ Johnson is intercut with shots of Foley€™s children watching in horror from the front row. Unsurprisingly, Vince McMahon hated the film and removed all advertising for it from WWE broadcasts. Blaustein attempted to capitalize on this notoriety by adopting the tagline, €œThe Movie Vince McMahon Didn€™t Want You to See!€ However the damage was still done. McMahon used his connections to block distribution of the film and it grossed a disappointing £2m in the box office.