Quote:
Originally Posted by kane
I loved it. I'm fascinated with what happens to a lot of those pro wrestlers and people like that when they leave the limelight and have to return to a normal life.
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The thing that really amazed me about The Wrestler is the accuracy in which they portrayed the industry. My old roommate was a wrestler for the original ECW, and I used to travel with him to shows a lot on weekends when I wasn't working (this was late '90's up to early 2000). ECW used to bring in a lot of the old WWE and WCW names to put over their talent, and it was really sad at times to see guys that I idolized as a kid basically penniless. These were guys that were making millions in the '80's, and they never saved a penny of it.
Pro wrestlers are paid as independent contractors, and more often than not the older names ran afoul of the IRS. That doesn't even take into the account the massive amount of money these guys spend on Vicodin, Soma, and other painkillers and muscle relaxers, on top of living a rockstar lifestyle.
Speaking of my old roommate, Big Vision Entertainment, who produce a lot of pro wrestling DVD's, are shopping around a reality show of his life after pro wrestling in which he goes back to his original profession, bail enforcement/bounty hunting. I really hope some network picks it up...