10 Non-Wrestlers Who Completely Changed Wrestling History
2. Paul Jay
These next few are going to be a little outside the box, but there can be no denying their involvement fundamentally altered the face of wrestling. When director Paul Jay linked up with Bret Hart about filming a documentary focusing on the end of his WWE career, neither he, nor Hart nor the wrestling fans had any idea what kind of blistering expose it would turn into. Jay was granted an unprecedented amount of access and even had The Hitman bugged for some of his closed-door negotiations with Vince McMahon. What started out as a simple wrestling documentary ended up being a story of the cutthroat business behind the performances. It was fascinating and at times ugly, but true fans sat riveted throughout the entire film, shocked at the inner workings of WWE. To todays audience, this might not seem as big of a deal because WWE has chosen to pull back the curtain much further with their own documentaries and Network specials. But in 1997 such access was unthinkable. Mainly, it fed the publics increasing appetite for wrestling related content, especially of a behind-the-scenes nature. The movie was like an issue of Dave Meltzers Wrestling Observer newsletter come to life, and it was enthralling. Wrestling With Shadows gave wrestling fans an intimate view of the entire dispute between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon that led to the events of known as the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997. While on first glance that might not seem like that big of a deal, but consider for a moment the impact of the doc itself: Wrestling With Shadows helped Shawn Michaels perpetuate the lie that he wasnt in on the screwjob, and it gave fans the story behind Bret slugging his soon-to-be former boss. It also helped make Hart a bit of a sympathetic character through the ordeal a line of thinking most fans have shifted on and increasing his profile for WCW, which, of course they fumbled. But most importantly by showing us the ruthless business acumen of McMahon, it allowed him to parlay that persona into becoming the most successful heel in the history of the business.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
