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Since its inception in 2002, WWE Studios has dished out several movies over the past two decades that have kept all types of viewers entertained.
From the action-packed The Marine franchise to the animated crossover Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery, and the comedy-drama Fighting with My Family, the company has tried to touch upon all topics through its production ventures.
The company that allowed Dwyane ‘The Rock’ Johnson, John Cena, and The Miz reach stardom in Hollywood is not slowing down and looking for new ways to entertain its fans.
Recently, the company has gotten into an agreement with Netflix, and the two companies released ‘The Big Show Show’ based on the fictitious family-life of The World’s Largest Athlete, Big Show himself.
Next up was The Main Event, a comedy film directed by Jay Karas released on the web-streaming service on April 10, 2020.
The movie is all about dreaming big and looking for ways to achieve your dreams while never losing hope.
Who stars in The Main Event?
Seth Carr as Leo Thompson: 11-year-old Carr plays the lead role in this film. As Leo Thompson, Carr, just like any other kid, dreams of becoming a professional wrestler while battling through bullies. Carr is not new to showbiz as he has starred in Black Panther and Brooklyn Nine Nine earlier.
Tichina Arnold as Denise Thompson: Tichina plays the role of Carr’s supportive grandmother who believes that Carr’s dreams are not too big to achieve and that the youngster can become a WWE Superstar one day.
Adam Pally as Steve Thompson: The role of Leo Thompson’s father is played by Adam Pally who is a car mechanic. He struggles with keeping things together in his life after his wife abandon’s him and their son.
Ken Marino as Frankie Albano: The villainous manager of the massive Samson who is the premier star in the NXT competition.
The movie also stars several current WWE Superstars who play prominent roles. Click here to see a full list of Superstars who appear in the movie.
What is the film about?
“No one cared who I was until I put on the mask.”
Remember the wise words from Bane in The Dark Knight Rises? Well, the same words apply perfectly to this comedy that is based on an 11-year-old who dreams of becoming a professional wrestler.
Leo Thompson is a boy who dreams of having huge crowds cheer for him while he climbs to the top of the ropes and delivers the perfect finisher. His walls are covered with posters of WWE Superstars, while his shelves are decked with the entire WWE Shop catalog.
The kid may be small in size but has a huge imagination and he allows that to flow out artistically onto his sketchbook.
Just like every other imaginative kid, Leo too is the victim of bullying in school, but his supportive grandmother is always there to help him out. His troubled father finds it hard to keep a grip on the family after his wife abandons him.
Leo’s life takes a massive turn when he finds an old stinky mask after entering a house for sale while trying to escape from the bullies. The mask provides him magical powers and makes him no less than a luchador who can perform any wrestling move to perfection.
Unlike Shazam, who used to transform into a superhero adult, Leo’s physical appearance does not change even though the mask provides him with super-strength, Spiderman like agility, a more manly voice, and an immense amount of confidence.
Under the name of Kid Chaos, Leo decides to enter a newly announced NXT competition, with former WWE Champion Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin taking the lead. The competition promises the winner an NXT contract and $50,000 prize, something Leo needs to help out his father and grandmother.
During the competition, Leo meets other competitors including Stinkface (played by Otis), Smooth Operator (Keith Lee), and Samson (Babatunde). Leo’s expeditions help him get more confidence and gives him a chance to become more popular among his friends.
The set and costume designers have done a great job with this one as the vibrant colors and aesthetics allow the film to appear larger than life.
The constant mention of famous WWE Superstars and factions keeps the fans in touch with what’s going on in the world of wrestling and provides the added touch it needs to appear as a WWE film.
What makes The Main Event interesting?
The Main Event is a pure film that follows the dreams of a young boy who wishes to do something greater than the limitations set for him. The film is fast-paced and builds on the story rather quickly rather than falling back and building a lot more connection between the main cast.
What truly makes this film interesting is the take on a broken family’s life, the imagination of a young child, and the diverse cast that makes the movie click with a larger audience.
Often we feel that films restrict their cast to one or two classes or races, but this film tries to include characters from many different backgrounds to make the overall product a hit, while the underlying themes appeal to a greater audience.
The comedic moments are restricted and usually come from Leo’s vintage store owning grandmother and a few of the other Superstars who appear in the film. Other than that, the story flows through well even though it’s very clichéd.
Is the film worth a watch?
To be honest, there are several other family-friend movies in the Netflix catalog that share a similar story and theme. We’ve seen the story of a young boy trying to reach for the stars while getting bullied in school all too many times.
With that said, this is a movie for wrestling fans in particular, and younger audiences in general, with a lot more mention of popular wrestling culture than we’ve ever seen before. The mix of newer and older WWE Superstars who appear throughout the movie makes it a fun watch for WWE fans.
If you don’t mind sitting through a clichéd story and some patchy CGI work, then this movie will not disappoint you. Steam it on Netflix during your free time and you won’t want to stop watching mid-way!
