''No Holds Barred'' is a 1989 American
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
produced by Michael Rachmil, directed by
Thomas J. Wright
Thomas J. Wright is an American television director, film director, artist, and set designer. Wright has directed episodes of ''Smallville'', ''One Tree Hill'', ''Firefly'', and many other programs. He also worked extensively on Chris Carter's ' ...
, written by Dennis Hackin and starring professional wrestler
Hulk Hogan
Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...
(who is billed as executive producer alongside
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
). It is owned by
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
under a "Shane Distribution Company" copyright and was released by
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
on June 2, 1989. Released seven years after his appearance in ''
Rocky III
''Rocky III'' is a 1982 American sports drama film written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to '' Rocky II'' (1979) and is the third installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. Along with Stallone reprising the title r ...
'', it was Hogan’s first starring role.
Plot
Rip Thomas is the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
Heavyweight Champion
At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, thou ...
, and his appearances on network television have been a thorn in the side of Mr. Brell, the head of the struggling World Television Network. Rip is a huge ratings draw while WTN is the lowest rated television network. The day after Rip's most recent title match against Jake Bullet, Brell attempts to entice Rip into joining his network, but he refuses. Angry at being stood up by a man he considers a “jock ass”, Brell tries to exact revenge by hiring his goons to jump Rip in the limo, but Rip successfully fights them off.
Later, Brell visits the No Count Bar, where he comes up with his own wrestling program called ''Battle of the Tough Guys''. The show is successful due to the introduction of Zeus, an ex-convict and former protege of Rip's trainer, Charlie. Zeus wins the $100,000 tournament and becomes Brell's prized fighter.
Samantha Moore, a corporate spy, is sent by Brell to seduce Rip. However, Rip's good nature and dedication to charity win her over, and she confesses her identity to the wrestler and turns to his side. Brell learns of Samantha's defection and, vowing revenge, sends his underlings to kidnap and rape her. Rip stops the would-be rapist, throwing one of the stooges into a tree trunk.
Later, Rip is at a charity event when Brell and Zeus arrive, demanding that Rip prove his honor by fighting Zeus on ''Battle of the Tough Guys.'' Rip declines, wanting to set a good example for the children around him. Meanwhile, Rip's younger brother Randy and his friend, Craig, decide to check out Zeus for themselves, attending an illegal fight being held in a warehouse. After watching Zeus defeat the monstrous Rebar Lawless, Craig identifies Randy as Rip's brother to Brell and his associates. Randy attempts to defend himself but Zeus brutally beats him, sending him to the hospital. Enraged, Rip accepts Zeus' challenge to avenge his brother.
On the night of the match, Brell has Samantha kidnapped and orders Rip to go ten minutes with Zeus before losing the fight to save her life. As the battle begins, Samantha escapes, but just as Brell's goons corner her, Charlie and Craig rescue her and defeat the bad guys. Back in the arena, Zeus has the upper hand at the start of the fight, ruthlessly pummeling Rip, even attempting to impale him through the chest with one of the steel ring posts. Randy urges his brother to fight back. Rip is re-energized by Randy's words and once he sees Samantha is safe, gains a second wind and starts to turn the tides on Zeus. The fight destroys the ring, with Rip and Zeus continuing the battle up the through the stands as Brell watches from the control room.
Rip finally puts an end to the match by knocking Zeus off a catwalk and through the ring far below. A frustrated Brell begins destroying electrical equipment, enraged over Zeus' loss. Rip angrily goes after Brell intending to repay him for his misdeeds. Brell retreats, but accidentally touches live wires he had exposed in his tantrum and is electrocuted. With their enemies vanquished, Rip and Randy celebrate with their friends.
Cast
*
Hulk Hogan
Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...
as Rip Thomas
*
Joan Severance
Joan Marie Severance (December 23, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model.
Early life
Severance was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Martha and John C. Severance. Her father was an IBM systems manager who had to move freq ...
as Samantha Moore
*
Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller (born September 16, 1953) is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He is best known for his roles in the films ''No Holds Barred'' and ''Ghostbusters II'' (both 1989), ''Way ...
as Tom Brell
*
Tiny Lister
Tommy Deebo "Tiny" Lister Jr. (born Thomas Duane Lister Jr.; June 24, 1958 – December 10, 2020) was an American character actor and occasional professional wrestler known for his roles as the neighborhood bully Deebo in the 1995 film ''Friday' ...
as Zeus
*
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino (born April 9, 1965) is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work as Lucifer in ''Supernatural'', Paul Bennett in '' Dexter'', Jacob in ''Lost'', James Bishop in '' Being Human'', Clayton Haas ...
as Randy Thomas
*
Bill Henderson as Charlie
*
Charles Levin as Ordway
*
David Paymer
David Emmanuel Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, and television director. He has been in films such as '' Mr. Saturday Night'', ''Quiz Show'', ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', '' City Slickers'', ''Crazy People'', '' ...
as Unger
* Patrick O'Bryan as Craig
*
Jeep Swenson
Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
as "Lugwrench" Perkins
*
Bill Eadie
William Reid "Bill" Eadie (born December 27, 1947) is an American retired professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar. He was a high school teacher and coach at Cambridge High Scho ...
as Jake Bullet
*
Stan Hansen
John Stanley Hansen II (born August 29, 1949) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler.
Hansen is known for his Glossary of professional wrestling terms#S, stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to his poor eyesigh ...
as Neanderthal
* Rebecca Wackler as Ms. Tidings
* Bruce Taylor as Mr. Johnson
*
Gene Okerlund
Eugene Arthur Okerlund (December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019), better known by his ring name "Mean Gene" Okerlund, was an American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and television host. He was best known for his work in the World Wres ...
as Himself
*
Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...
as Himself
*
Howard Finkel
Howard Finkel (June 7, 1950 – April 16, 2020) was an American professional wrestling ring announcer, best known for his appearances in WWE. He began working for Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1975, and was a Mad ...
as Himself
*
Joey Marella
Joseph Anthony Marella (February 28, 1963 – July 4, 1994) was an American professional wrestling referee for the World Wrestling Federation and the adopted son of former wrestler and then WWF announcer Gorilla Monsoon (Robert Marella) from Wil ...
as Himself
* Rick Allen as Unnamed Wrestler
*
Marcus Bagwell
Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fi ...
(Uncredited)
Release
Home media
The film was released on
VHS,
Betamax
Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...
, and
LaserDisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
in October 1989. It was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
with a digitally remastered transfer by WWE Home Video under the
WWE Studios
WWE Studios Inc. (formerly known as WWE Films) is an American film studio owned by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. WWE Studios movies frequently mix well-known actors and actresses in lead roles with WWE wrestlers, and teams with existi ...
banner on July 3, 2012.
A Blu-ray Disc release followed in April 2014.
Reception
Box office
The movie debuted at #2, behind ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action film, action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones, ''Indiana ...
'', with
$4,957,052 in ticket sales.
Hogan writes in his autobiography the budget was about eight million dollars.
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
, who financed the movie, more or less broke even because of distribution fees. The final tally was $16,093,651 in ticket sales.
During the October 13, 1997 episode of ''
Monday Night Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...
'', Vince McMahon joked, "Hogan promised me that if the movie lost money he was gonna return his salary. I guess the check is still in the mail." This was during the
Monday Night Wars
The Monday Night Wars or Monday Night War was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) ''Monday Night Raw'' (later ''Raw I ...
and was part of a number of digs at Hogan's then-new movie project ''Assault on Devil's Island''. ''Raw'' commentator
Jim Ross
James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career as ...
also joked during the late 90s; "No Holds Barred? More like No Profit Allowed."
Critical response
The film was panned by critics, with a 10% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 21 reviews.
Film critic Brian Orndorf described the film as "tremendously crude, unapologetically manipulative, and aimed directly at easily entertained 13-year-old boys."
Michael Wilmington of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' gave the film a positive review and wrote: "The movie never takes itself seriously and director Tom Wright (TV's '
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
') has fun with the wrestling montages. Hogan himself has an appealing screen presence—like a gallant teddy bear who goes berserk every 10 minutes or so."
''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
s Desmond Ryan remarked:
The ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
s
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...
remarked, simply, that ''No Holds Barred'' "is utterly lacking in the campy quality of the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
telecasts."
In his 1991 review of ''
Suburban Commando
''Suburban Commando'' is a 1991 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Burt Kennedy, produced by Howard Gottfried, and written by Frank Cappello. The film stars Hulk Hogan, Christopher Lloyd, Shelley Duvall, and Larry Miller. A ...
'',
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
recalled that "despite the fact that
ulk Hogan'spublic image is often aimed at children
..his first film, 'No Holds Barred' (1989) was surprisingly violent, sexist and blood-soaked."
Richard Harrington of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' said that "
ogan'sperformance is as dreadful as one might expect from a man with such limited skills outside the ring, made worse by a story that is at once more obvious and less inspired than your average Wrestlemania script.
..'No Holds Barred' makes '
Rocky
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...
' look like 'Citizen Pain.'"
Wrote
Stephen Holden of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'':
Reviewing the Blu-ray in 2014, Felix Vasquez Jr. of ''Cinema Crazed'' wrote: "Hogan as The Ripper is a force of nature here, and he makes "No Holds Barred" in to a fun action cartoon."
Other media
No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie
No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie, as the event was billed, was shown on
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
on December 27, 1989. The program consisted of the film in its entirety, followed by a match previously recorded at a ''
Wrestling Challenge
''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...
'' taping on December 12 in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. It is currently one of the few WWE pay-per-views not yet available on the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
.
Background
The main event pitted Hogan and Lister — appearing in character as "Zeus" — on opposing tag teams. Hogan teamed with longtime friend
Brutus Beefcake
Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship ...
, while the
heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive for ...
Zeus teamed with
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...
. The four had been involved in an intertwined feud since the summer. Zeus had made several appearances at WWF events and cut promos stating that he, and not Hogan, should have received top billing in ''No Holds Barred''. Meanwhile, as Hogan and Savage were feuding over the
WWF World Heavyweight Championship
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown ...
, Beefcake began feuding with Savage after Beefcake insulted Savage's manager
Sensational Sherri
Sherry Schrull ( née Russell; born February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri.
Martel began her professional wrestling career in t ...
during a TV taping. At the
1989 SummerSlam, Hogan and Beefcake teamed to defeat Savage and Zeus, after which the tag team feud simmered for several months as Zeus began appearing with
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...
in the lead-up to
the 1989 Survivor Series. Unlike
1989 SummerSlam,
Miss Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling TV announcer. S ...
did not make an appearance at this event.
The Hogan-Beefcake vs. Savage-Zeus tag team rivalry resumed after the Survivor Series, in the lead-up to "No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie."
Results
The Hogan-Beefcake vs. Savage-Zeus steel-cage match was part of a ''
WWF Wrestling Challenge
''WWF Wrestling Challenge'' is a professional wrestling television show that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1995. The show became simply known as ''WWF Cha ...
'' taping. In addition to matches pitting mid- and lower-card wrestlers against jobbers, other contests (which were not televised) saw "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes defeat
Big Boss Man, WWF Intercontinental Champion
The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. Best known by his ring name The Ultimate Warrior, he wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 198 ...
defeat
Dino Bravo
Adolfo Bresciano (; August 6, 1948 – March 10, 1993) was an Italian-Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Dino Bravo ().
After training under Gino Brito, he started his career in Montreal in the 1970s, wo ...
,
The Colossal Connection (André the Giant and Haku) defeat WWF Tag Team Champions
Demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
by countout, and
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He performed under his real name for promotions including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE) ...
defeat
Ron Garvin
Roger Barnes (born March 30, 1945) is a Canadian former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. He is best known for his appearances with Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federatio ...
.
Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake defeated Randy Savage and Zeus in the 09:27-long
steel-cage match. The match could be won either by pinfall/submission or by having both members of a team escape the cage.
After a back-and-forth match early on, all four competitors were knocked out after Hogan hit a suplex on Zeus, and Beefcake and Savage hit each other's heads into the cage structure. Sensational Sherri (the manager of the Savage-Zeus team) handed a chain to Savage, who attempted to strike Beefcake with a fist drop off the top of the cage, but Beefcake recovered and caught Savage coming off. Eventually, Beefcake knocked Savage to the mat and escaped the cage; Savage—with some eventual help from Beefcake—crawled outside, tying the match at 1-apiece.
Meanwhile, Hogan rallied against Zeus, battering him before dropping three leg drops to score the pin and the win for the Hogan-Beefcake team.
Aftermath
This was Zeus' last match in the WWF, as Lister left shortly afterward; meanwhile, Savage continued to target Hogan, and later,
The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. Best known by his ring name The Ultimate Warrior, he wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 198 ...
, over the WWF Championship. Zeus (as Z-Gangsta) and Hogan would eventually face each other again in the main event at
WCW
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...
's
Uncensored (1996)
Uncensored (1996) was the second WCW Uncensored, Uncensored professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on M ...
with Savage this time partnering Hogan, in a two-versus-eight
Doomsday Cage match.
Among the dark matches, the Demolition-Colossal Connection match was contested one day prior to the match where the Colossal Connection won the WWF Tag Team Championship, while Dino Bravo continued to be the Ultimate Warrior's top foe for the Intercontinental Championship.
Notes
External links
*
* {{rotten-tomatoes, no_holds_barred, No Holds Barred
Cinema Connoisseur reviewReview of ''No Holds Barred'' with animated screenshotsat I-Mockery
1989 action films
1989 films
1989 in professional wrestling
American action films
Films shot in Atlanta
Films shot in Kansas
New Line Cinema films
Professional wrestling films
1980s English-language films
1980s American films