10 Wrestling Documentaries You Need To See Before You Die

8. The Sickness

Roddy Piper A great example of how interviews can be twisted by the media to suit a pre-determined agenda, 'The Sickness' is hard to find, but more resourceful wrestling fans will be able to find it online. The short film explores what the legendary Roddy Piper once described as 'The Sickness', which basically involves wrestlers living up to their in-ring persona, masking pain with alcohol, painkillers and other drugs, and not functioning as normal people. In essence, it's almost like the producers latched onto Piper's words and decided to run with it, crafting a piece which paints professional wrestling as Satan's favourite creation. It's doubtful that any avid follower of wrestling won't turn their nose up at some of the content featured, but it's essential viewing to find out just how the media think when imagining wrestling. Piper has claimed that words were twisted throughout the documentary, and has been nothing but critical of the film when questioned.
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.