Recently, fans have been clamoring for the ESPN “30 for 30” biographical documentary about Ric Flair, set to air later this year. With Flair widely regarded as perhaps the greatest performer in professional wrestling history, he certainly makes a great subject for such a film.
But pro wrestling history is filled with plenty of other men and women with stories to tell, and fans would certainly love to hear those stories. So here are five other talents from wrestling’s past and even present that would make for great films, if they haven’t already.
The Undertaker
The Undertaker is intimidation personified when he enters a WWE arena. The lights, the music, the special effects and the aura that surround the “Deadman” add up for quite an experience for fans both at home and in the arena.
But what about the story behind that man? The WWE has released at least one documentary about The Undertaker, but that was released in 2005, before some of his more famous latter-year matches. His reaction to the ending of the Streak would be worth the effort alone.
Kane
Within the WWE canon, Kane started off as a mysterious masked man with a dark back story. He was big and intimidating, and he usually managed that effect with few, if any words on the microphone.
But the man behind the mask, Glenn Jacobs, is a politically savvy individual with aspirations of holding public office, and Jacobs also owns an insurance agency. That dichotomy between dominant in-ring performer with a dark side and intellectual real-life personality would be incredibly interesting.
AJ Styles
There may be documentaries out there about AJ Styles, but none have told his complete story since he just got to the WWE. Styles was a star in TNA and New Japan for years before making his debut at the Royal Rumble this year.
Hearing about that journey from Styles would be intriguing. He started in WCW and even WWE for a very brief stint before landing elsewhere, so fans might be interested to hear about his experiences and how thy’ve molded him into the “Phenomenal” performer we see today.
Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers have an interesting niche in pro wrestling history. As an All-American tag team in the early 1990s, they were wildly popular as a fundamentally sound yet exciting team during a simpler era of the sport. Then, Scott became part of the NWO and edgier angles as Rick somewhat faded from the picture.
Since then, both men have gone on to live regular lives, with Scott owning a restaurant and Rick serving on a local school board. To hear their journeys through multiple major promotions would be an interesting angle though.
Anoa’i Family
By now, wrestling fans know that the Usos are the sons of WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi and first cousins of Roman Reigns. But many might not realize just how many superstars from the past are also part of the Anoa’i family as well.
In addition to Rikishi’s line, which also includes Naomi by marriage, the family also includes Reigns, the Wild Samoans, Umaga, Rosey, Yokozuna and others. When you include Peter Maivia’s line because he was a “blood brother” to Rikishi’s grandfather, that brings in the Rock and Rocky Johnson as well, just adding to the stories to be told from that family.
