As a fan of professional wrestling myself, I've always had very little patience for the people who deride so-called "sports-entertainment" as being "fake." Scripted, or pre-determined? Absolutely. Cartoonish and over-the-top at times? Without a doubt. But fake? Not a chance.
Although I've never been in the ring myself, I know enough about what goes on behind the scenes, to know that not only is the year-long "season" in pro-wrestling one where even the top guys work more than 300 days a year, but that they also get legitimately hurt doing what they do.
The scars are not just physical, but emotional as well. The moves may be choreographed, but those chair shots to the head, and bumps through tables and worse are real — as are the broken bones, spilled blood, and often permanently damaged lives. The high mortality rate within the "sport" confirms, at least in part, that life isn't always a cakewalk for these guys — especially once the lights have dimmed for good.
Take the art of blading or "gigging," for example. This is where a wrestler will produce real blood — or "color" as it's sometimes called in the wrestling business — by cutting into his forehead with a carefully concealed razor blade, when its called for following one of his bumps during a particularly crazy looking spot in the ring.
Fifteen minutes into The Wrestler, director Darren Aronofsky's remarkable new film about a down-on-his-luck wrestler, Mickey Rourke's Randy "The Ram" Robinson "gigs" himself pretty good following a hard bump off the turnbuckle. The fact that Rourke does the stunt for real, without any Hollywood trickery involved, tells you right there that Aronofsky is aiming for a gritty, realistic feel with this movie.
To further make this point, Aronofsky uses several real-life wrestlers in the film, including names like Ron "The Truth" Killings and Ernest "The Cat" Miller — who does a great job as "The Ram's" favorite opponent, The Ayatollah. Rourke was also trained for his pro-wrestling stunts in the film by Afa, one-half of the legendary Wild Samoans tag team.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Mickey cut himself? He did give it all for this role. Hope he sticks around because he was great in it.
2 - Glen Boyd
Mickey did gig himself. I'm not quite as sure if the staple gun deal was him or a stunt double, but the blading was 100% for real.
Realism aside though, the Wrestler is a just a beautiful, bittersweet MFer of a film. When you watch it, it's hard to imagine anyone but Rourke playing the leading role -- and I heard that at one point they considered Nicholas Cage because of Mickey's perceived baggage.
I just hope that come Oscar time, Rourke gets the Oscar he deserves. It's just an amazing performance.
Thanx for commenting.
-Glen
3 - Glen Boyd
Wrestling Observer Online is reporting that Paul E. Normous, an indie wrestler who had a brief appearance in the movie, was found dead today. He was 33.
-Glen