8 Ups & 4 Downs From Beyond The Mat

4. A Tough Business

Beyond the Mat closes with an aftermath that sums up everything you need to know about the world of pro-wrestling.

Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes people don't fulfil their dreams. Sometimes it goes from bad to worse. In other cases, things only get better, or it's good enough just to hang in there and keep on ticking, such was the case of ECW at the time. These duelling emotions give the ultimate 3-dimensional portrayal of pro-wrestling and we the viewers obtain a clear understanding of its ups and downs.

It is even evoked in the final written message concerning Droz's tragic neck injury, whose rise in WWE was documented as being wholly positive even in the movie's closing montage. The following pre-credits message has its own flicker of optimism, as it declares Drozdov's hope to one day walk again after paralysis.

By the end of it all, Barry W. Blaustein declares that he is still just a fan. The viewer may not have been, but they felt all the blows regardless.