The Wrestler 2008
Darren Aronofsky's film, David's pick for the best wrestling movie ever made. Not to be confused with the 1974 movie of the same name starring Verne Gagne, which comes up only in passing.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Interview
Pro Wrestling Goes to the Movies, Plus Stephen Merchant on ‘Fighting With My Family’ | Interview (Ep. 130)
February 22, 2019/ 54 min/ Sean Fennessey
Sean and David Shoemaker survey wrestling movies good and bad, then Stephen Merchant explains how he turned a WWE documentary into 'Fighting With My Family.'
31 films across 3 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The best (and weirdest) wrestling movieswith David Shoemaker
Nacho Libre 2006
What David would actually show his kids to explain wrestling, even though it wouldn't crack his list.
No Holds Barred 1989
Hulk Hogan; David calls it "cocaine riddled and insane" in the best way.
Rocky III 1982
Debated as a wrestling movie on the strength of Hogan's Thunderlips cameo.
Ready to Rumble 2000
The cautionary example for what happens when a movie tries to partner with a real promotion, also tangled up with David Arquette's actual WCW title reign.
Body Slam 1986
Roddy Piper and Dirk Benedict; "the classic of the genre" to David, playing it dumb but unimpeachably sincere.
Paradise Alley 1978
Stallone's directorial debut, made right after Rocky, set in a fictionalized 1940s Lower East Side wrestling scene. Terry Funk appears.
The Foul King 2000
A South Korean film David says nails the fantasy of becoming a wrestler and then having to actually wrestle for real.
Goldface, the Fantastic Superman 1967
One of the odder finds David dug up researching wrestling movies.
The Big Show-Off 1945
Arthur Lake and Dale Evans; a curiosity from the era.
Night and the City 1950
Jules Dassin's noir, made between The Naked City and Rififi, built around one of the best wrestling scenes in any movie, with Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, and Stanislaus Zbyszko.
The best wrestling documentarieswith David Shoemaker
Beyond the Mat 1999
The one that hit David hardest as a young hardcore WWE fan, nearing its 20th anniversary.
Fake It So Real 2012
Robert Greene's documentary about a tiny wrestling promotion in North Carolina; David is friends with the director.
I'm from Hollywood 1989
The Andy Kaufman documentary about his pro-wrestling feud with Jerry Lawler.
My Breakfast with Blassie 1983
Andy Kaufman and Freddie Blassie's parody of My Dinner With Andre.
La Lutte 1961
A Quebecois art film about the Canadian wrestling scene, made for the National Film Board and shaped by Roland Barthes's writing on wrestling.
Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling 2004
On the early days of women's wrestling; David says it's never felt more relevant than now.
In conversation
Stephen Merchant on
Fighting With My Family 2019
Merchant's film, adapted from a British TV documentary Dwayne Johnson sent him, about WWE wrestler Paige (born Saraya-Jade Bevis) and her family.
Stephen Merchant on
Tooth Fairy 2010
The film Merchant made with Dwayne Johnson years earlier. It's how the two stayed in touch, leading Johnson to send him the documentary.
Stephen Merchant on
Lady Macbeth 2016
The only performance of Florence Pugh's Merchant had seen before casting her: "a much more contained, controlled performance" than what he needed from her here.
Stephen Merchant on
Billy Elliot 2000
Merchant's touchstone for a movie that makes you root for a kid chasing a niche dream you don't personally care about.
Stephen Merchant on
The Fighter 2010
Merchant borrowed its trick of shooting fight scenes with real HBO boxing cameramen for his Staples Center sequence.
Stephen Merchant on
Rocky 1976
Merchant's baseline for a sports movie that works on people who don't care about the sport: there's barely any fighting until the end.
Stephen Merchant on
Creed 2015
Cited as the reboot that got the character-first approach right again.
Stephen Merchant on
Saturday Night Fever 1977
Merchant's point: it's remembered as a musical but is actually a tough, dark, working-class drama that just happens to have joyous dance numbers, the same tonal mix he wanted.
Stephen Merchant on
Batman 1989
Tim Burton's film, brought up over the choice to make the Joker Bruce Wayne's parents' killer, a young Merchant's version of getting mad online.
Stephen Merchant on
A Star Is Born 2018
Merchant's reference for staging a huge, emotional live-performance set piece, like his own one-hour shoot at a real WWE taping in the Staples Center.
Stephen Merchant on
Jojo Rabbit 2019
Merchant has a small part in Taika Waititi's then-upcoming film, alongside Thomasin McKenzie.
Stephen Merchant on
Leave No Trace 2018
Merchant's pick for the last great thing he's seen: Debra Granik's film with Thomasin McKenzie, whom he'd just worked with on Jojo Rabbit.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In passing TrainwreckGuardians of the GalaxyThe Naked CityRififiMy Dinner with AndreActressBisbee '17Winter's Bone
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV True DetectiveGLOWUmbrella AcademyThe OfficeHello Ladies