No Holds Barred No Holds Barred is a 1989 film produced by Michael Rachmil , directed by Thomas J . Wright , written by Dennis Hackin , and starring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan ( who is billed as executive producer alongside Vince McMahon ) . The film is produced by World Wrestling Federation ( under a " Shane Distribution Company " copyright ) and was released by New Line Cinema on June 2 , 1989 . It is rated PG - 13 and was launched as an attempt to boost Hulk Hogan ' s acting career several years after his appearance in " Rocky III " . Plot . Hulk Hogan plays Rip , a very popular professional wrestler . Although Rip looks and acts like a brute , he is actually a golden - hearted guy . He has a younger brother , Randy , whose presence in the audience motivates him enough to win his matches . Rip appears on a television channel which screens all his matches . Thanks to Rip , the channel is highly popular . However , the evil , money - hungry and ruthless chairman of a rival channel , Brell ( Kurt Fuller , portraying a Vince McMahon - like character in the movie , several years before McMahon ' s development of the evil Mr . McMahon character ) , wants to convince Rip to join their network . Rip respectfully declines , though Brell has his gang of thugs attempt to beat Rip into submission during the limo ride home from the meeting . After visiting the No Count Bar , a rowdy establishment featuring a wrestling ring in the center and patronized by drunken , vicious fighters , Brell is inspired to create a new kind of wrestling program , focusing more on violence and sensationalism than Rip ' s more moralistic version of the sport . Brell ' s new program , Battle of the Tough Guys , is successful after the introduction of Zeus ( Tom " Tiny " Lister Jr ) , a violent , seemingly unfazable ex - con who sports a " Z " - shaped patch of hair on his skull . Zeus killed an opponent in the ring after the fight was over , and has been in prison until recently . Samantha , a beautiful corporate spy ( Joan Severance ) , is sent by Brell to seduce Rip . However , Rip ' s good nature and dedication to charity wins her over , and she confesses the truth to the wrestler and turns to his side . After this fails , Brell attempts to have Samantha raped ; as usual , Rip foils the plot and dispatches the would - be rapist into a tree trunk . Meanwhile , Brell and Zeus crash an outdoor charity event Rip is appearing at , demanding that Rip prove his honor by fighting Zeus live on Brell ' s new show . Once again , Rip avoids violent conflict and attempts to reason with Brell , who leaves in anger . Randy and a friend decide to check out Zeus for themselves , attending an illegal fight being held in a warehouse . After watching Zeus defeat the monstrous Lugwrench Perkins ( Jeep Swenson ) , Randy foolishly identifies himself as Rip ' s brother to Brell and his associates . Randy attempts to defend himself , but Zeus brutally beats him , sending him to the hospital . Finally , after this ultimate insult , a tearful Rip decides to accept Zeus ' challenge . Before the match , Brell abducts Rip ' s friends and threatens to kill them if Rip doesn ' t lose deliberately . With the odds against him , Rip wins the match after Zeus falls from a perch into the wrestling ring , collapsing it . Rip turns his attentions to Brell , who accidentally falls into an electrical panel to his demise . With his friends rescued and his brother recovering in the hospital , Rip celebrates his victory . " No Holds Barred " : The Movie / The Match . " No Holds Barred " was part of a pay - per - view program available to customers on December 27 , 1989 . The program consisted of previously released legit interviews with Hogan ' s co - stars ( with the exception of Lister , whose in - character interview as Zeus was used to play up his storyline " jealousy " of Hogan ) , reviews from various WWF co - stars , then the film in its entirety and then a pre - recorded steel cage match pitting Hogan and Zeus on opposing tag teams . Hogan teamed with longtime friend Brutus " the Barber " Beefcake , while Zeus was paired with fellow heel Randy " Macho Man " Savage . Match background . During the summer of 1989 , the four were involved in an intertwined feud . Lister had made several appearances at WWF events as Zeus and cut promos claiming that he , and not Hogan , should have received top billing in " No Holds Barred " ; several times , Zeus appeared at live events to confront Hogan and demand a match . At the same time , Hogan and Savage were feuding over the WWF World Championship ( which Hogan had reclaimed at WrestleMania V ) , and Beefcake began feuding with Savage . At the 1989 SummerSlam , Hogan and Beefcake teamed to defeat Savage and Zeus , after which the tag team feud was placed on hold as Zeus began appearing with " The Million Dollar Man " Ted DiBiase ( another longtime Hogan adversary ) in the lead - up to the 1989 Survivor Series . The Hogan - Beefcake vs . Savage - Zeus tag team rivalry resumed after the Survivor Series , in the lead - up to " No Holds Barred : The Movie / The Match . " The match was pre - recorded at a " WWF Wrestling Challenge " taping December 12 , 1989 , in Nashville , Tennessee . In that match , Hogan and Beefcake defeated Savage and Zeus in 9 : 32 . In a match that could be won either by pinning the opponent ( a rarity for the WWF at the time ) or having both wrestlers on a given team escape the cage , Beefcake first escaped the cage , followed closely by Savage . As Beefcake finished off a dazed Savage outside the ring , Hogan began battering the previously unfazable Zeus inside the cage before finishing him off with three legdrops and recording the pin . Shortly after the match was recorded , Lister departed the WWF . Hogan continued to battle Savage for another two months , while Beefcake began feuding with Curt Hennig . Criticism . Most critics considered the movie as a B - movie at best and camp at worst , criticizing the simplistic storyline and clichéd characters . Hulk Hogan received much of the criticism for his limited acting ability , but the film ' s frequent immaturity , designed to appeal to preteen boys , was also chastised . In one scene , Rip literally scares a limo driver to the point that the driver soils himself , complete with closeups of the unfortunate man ' s stained pants and his shameful admission that he smells like " dookie " . Box Office . The movie debuted at # 2 , behind " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade " , with $ 4 , 957 , 052 in ticket sales . Hogan writes in his autobiography the budget was about eight million dollars . Vince McMahon , who financed the movie , more or less broke even because of distribution fees . The final tally was $ 16 , 093 , 651 in ticket sales . During the October 13 , 1997 episode of " Monday Night Raw " Vince McMahon joked , " Hogan promised me that if the movie lost money he was gonna return his salary . I guess the check is still in the mail . " This was at the beginning stages of the Monday Night Wars and was part of a number of digs at Hogan ' s then - new movie project Assault on Devil ' s Island . Raw commentator Jim Ross also joked during the late 1990s ; " " No Holds Barred " ? More like No Profit Allowed . "