Professional wrestling mirroring soap operas is something that’s happened for decades now, with the storylines that unfold on-screen being told in a way that captivates fans all around the world. Sometimes, however, the dramatic tales aren’t fictional and have actually taken place in real life – and some of them are more shocking than others.
Now a number of the stories we’re about to list were in fact arranged as “storylines”, but each one had a back story to them that goes way beyond the squared circle. Some tales are controversial and others just make people feel uncomfortable, but sometimes that’s exactly what turns a good documentary into a great one.
We wouldn’t want to glamorise some of the horrific things we’re about to list, but giving fans an insight as told by the people involved may give them some closure. There have been too many instances over the years in which the curtain hasn’t been pulled back in order to allow the WWE Universe to see what’s going on inside, and this would the company a chance to rectify that.
So with all of that being said, here are five big pro wrestling stories that deserve documentaries.
#1 Chris Benoit
What Chris Benoit did 10 years ago will forever hang over the professional wrestling industry, and there’s no two ways about that. The Rabid Wolverine was once the greatest wrestler on the planet, even capturing the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 20. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.
We've never really had a full recounting of the events, as you can imagine, but hearing from the friends and family of Benoit would give an interesting insight into his mindset prior to that weekend.
It would certainly be difficult to listen to, but it would also allow a lot of Benoit fans to move on from the issue once and for all.
#2 The Reigns struggle
Ever since winning the Royal Rumble back in 2015, Roman Reigns has been destined for failure in the WWE. There have been a few positive moments here and there in terms of him being over as a babyface, but for the most part, audiences around the world have rained down on him with great vengeance and furious anger.
We’d like to see an honest telling of how the negative crowd reactions have affected not only Roman, but also his family.
We all know Reigns has been through some tough times as of late, so it would also be interesting to re-visit the days of his suspension back in 2016. It’s risky, but it could do wonders for his character development.
#3 End of the Streak
In April 2014, the unthinkable happened. 70,000+ were sent into a state of utter shock when Brock Lesnar hoisted The Undertaker up, delivered a third F5 and secured the pinfall to break the legendary streak.
It’s no exaggeration to suggest that this was one of the most unbelievable moments in wrestling history, and that’ll probably always be the case.
In terms of a documentary, we want to see what the decision-making process was like in addition to asking Taker the age old question: do you think it was a good idea in hindsight? They could turn this into a 60-minute interview with the man himself (and potentially Brock) and it’d still be utterly riveting.
#4 HBK’s retirement
Shawn Michaels had a lot of demons back in the day, and that’s something that we can’t criticise him for – because when the dust settles we’re all human beings. In regards to an HBK documentary, we want to know when he finally decided that it was time to hang up his boots and ride off into the sunset.
Did he know when he wanted to go out for years, or was it an impulsive decision? We would perhaps also enjoy seeing HBK go on the road for the last few weeks of his career, soaking in every venue and every single fan reaction that he got.
It seems like a lot to ask for, but his journey has been unlike any other and deserves a documentary.
#5 Goldberg’s last run
A lot of people were sceptical when it came to Bill Goldberg’s return to WWE, but it’s safe to say that things ended up working out pretty well. The former WCW legend came in and decimated the likes of Brock Lesnar and Kevin Owens, capturing the newly formed Universal Championship in the process.
What doesn’t get covered all too often, however, is the physical and mental torment that Goldberg went through in order to be ready for his comeback. The man himself has recently spoken about how miserable his life was in terms of the workouts he was doing, how nervous he was at the majority of events, and how hurt he was by some of the crowd reactions he was getting.
We still love you, Bill.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
