Hittin' The Ropes #8: Who's to Blame for the Tragedy of "The Wrestler"

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2009)

Hittin' The Ropes #8: Who's to Blame for the Tragedy of "The Wrestler" Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I truly feel this film is directed toward my demographic. Of course any wrestling, or more specifically "mark", should benefit from watching a film of this caliber and character. As a childhood wrestling fan, especially in the 80s, the men I saw on the screen were superheroes. They were 5 times larger than anyone I had seen in person. They wore clothes that were bright, flashy and cool. They exhibited incredible feats of strength and flew threw the air better than Michael Jordan ever could. When I was a child, wrestling was my cartoons. It was my comic books. It was my life. But I never gave these men a second thought after they walked off of my TV screen. I didn't know and want to know what they did in their hotel rooms or the local bars. I didn't care which top star was campaigning for himself over some other younger, more talented guys. It wouldn't even cross my mind that all these guys weren't just NATURALLY superhuman. They were my heroes and no one could convince me otherwise.
Fast-forward about 2 decades later and look where we stand. No longer is there the steel curtain between the audience and backstage. Most fans know the outcomes are predetermined. Most know there are writers, some directly from Hollywood. Most know there is more politicking backstage then all of D.C. And yet, we still defend what we love. I don't know how many times I had to explain to someone that the blood in the ring wasn't "fake." We're still fans. We still watch every week to escape from reality for a little while but now there's something else always in the back of our minds. When you see Triple H on screen, you know he's married to the boss' daughter. When you see Jeff Hardy, you know he's a rebel who is one strike away from fading into obscurity. And when you see Kurt Angle, you know a man with that many broken necks would never be able to survive a fight with someone like Samoa Joe. But who cares? We suspend that belief and that's all that matter. Too bad that belief is what might be killing these men.
"The Wrestler" is phenomenal. I had the great opportunity to watch this film with my girlfriend who knows enough about wrestling to understand what's going on but not really anything that happens behind the scenes. She cringed when Randy removed the razor to blade his own forehead and she almost had to leave the room during the hardcore/CZW match. What made it worse was when I told her these matches actually do exist. For me, this type of violence and sensationalism has been a part of the business since ECW and backyard wrestling. It was eye-opening to see someone experience this who had never heard of it before. I cannot say enough nice things about Mickey Rourke's performance in this role. Being around behind the scenes of the business for the little time I was, I saw too many men that mirrored Randy's dead-eyed look he had in between entertaining the masses. I can remember walking through the WWE TV studios and seeing an ECW "legend" talking on his phone and just staring off into space. He sat there for 3 straight hours. 2 days later was a television taping and he looked like a brand new man. Now I can't be sure he wasn't just having a bad day earlier in the week but it seemed like once he walked into that arena and heard a sea of people cheering for something he loved to do, he realized just why he lives this hell. He lives this hell for us. To entertain us and everything else takes a back seat. "The Wrestler" portrays this perfectly with Randy's desire for that one last match, his ability to turn a mundane meat cutting job into a show and his strained, failed relationship with his own daughter. Being a fan and student of wrestling, I knew how this story would end. But that didn't make the journey any less heart wrenching and poignant.
"The Wrestler" is sad. It's beautiful and it's hard to watch. But most of all, it's history. It might not be film history, although I will argue that it ranks up there with some of the best films in the last 20 years. No this film is wrestling history. It brings to life all of the biographies of the past few years. It brings to life all the whispers we've heard of old-timers looking for one more shot at stardom. It brings to life the good and bad of everything wrestling. Pro-wrestling gave Randy "The Ram" Robinson a life. It also slowly took it away. A story all too true and sad. But the one thing I was asking myself after watching this film was is Randy really to blame for his addiction to the sport he loves? Or was it my fault for expecting far too much of men who I wanted to be superhuman? So what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Let me know! I want to know you're reading and what your thoughts are on this as well as on the past "Hittin' The Ropes" articles. You can email me at hittintheropes@yahoo.com or head over to HittinTheRopes.paidtoblog.com and leave me comments after the articles as well as catch up on all my reviews of the shows.