In the film industry, trends seem to come and go. There was the zombie film frenzy, the western film craze, and currently, we have superhero movies.
One trend I believe will be added to that list very soon is professional wrestling.
Wrestling has not had much popularity in the mainstream media for a long time, outside of a few internet memes like "And his name is John Cena" and "RKO out of nowhere." Despite this, wrestling has managed to gain some sort of spotlight thanks to the acting careers of John Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. John Cena has been in many movies, with his most recent being the latest Transformers film "Bumblebee," which grossed over $400 million worldwide.
Dwayne Johnson recently starred in "Fighting With My Family," a film he also executive produced. The film has so far grossed over $17 million at the box office and has received high praise from critics. Unlike Cena's last movie, it focuses on professional wrestling. The film is a biopic following the life and beginning of now-retired female wrestler Paige's career.
I believe that the film's success will encourage other studios to make their own wrestling biopic films, or at the very least speed up production on films already in development. Upcoming wrestling films include "Pandemonium," about WWE owner Vince Mcmahon and "Crossface," about deceased wrestler Chris Benoit. There is also supposed to be a film about Hulk Hogan, played by Chris Hemsworth.
If these movies wish to be as successful as "Fighting With My Family," then they should let the wrestlers or their family members produce the film. It will help the movie feel authentic.
Regardless of whether or not the films are good, the fact that they are even being made is good for the pro wrestling industry and especially WWE. For over a decade now, wrestling has had a bad reputation among mainstream audiences. There are many reasons why, but one major reason, in my opinion, is because of the storylines that take place on the shows, specifically in WWE. WWE is and will always be seen as wrestling due to its monopoly on the industry and relevance.
There have been so many bad storylines or segments on WWE shows that I sometimes feel embarrassed to even be a fan. Who wants to say they're a fan of wrestling when you have a guy humping a pile of meat in a coffin or a storyline where a woman has a miscarriage during a match? Since WWE is just wrestling to most people, they see things like this and end up writing off wrestling as a whole. They stop being fans.
With these movies coming out, I believe people will become fans of wrestling in the same way people become comic book fans from watching superhero movies.
This trend may not end up replacing superhero movies, but it will give moviegoers a glimpse into an industry they may not be too familiar with.
