Wrestling Isn't Wrestling
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''Wrestling Isn't Wrestling'' is a 2015 short film written and directed by
Max Landis Max Landis (born August 3, 1985) is an American filmmaker. He is the son of director John Landis. He wrote scripts for the films ''Chronicle'' (2012), '' American Ultra'' (2015), ''Victor Frankenstein'' (2015), and '' Bright'' (2017). He wrote ...
. Released for free on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, the film retells the story of
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
. Like Landis's 2012 short ''
The Death and Return of Superman ''The Death and Return of Superman'' is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Sunsoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES and Sega Genesis, Genesis. It is based on "The Death of Superman" comic book storyline by ...
'', it consists of a monologue by Landis on the subject matter, accompanied by sequences with actors performing the parts in the story.


Plot

In response to the common criticism that professional wrestling is "fake," Max Landis attempts to defend the sport as a legitimately compelling form of fiction. To make this point, he points out that modern professional wrestling contains multiple overtly unrealistic elements that hinge on
willing suspension of disbelief Suspension of disbelief is the avoidance—often described as willing—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe i ...
, and notes that the scripted nature of wrestling matches doesn't make their stunt-work and choreography any less spectacular. In an effort to prove that wrestling can be as entertaining as any other form of fiction, Landis recounts the story of his favorite wrestler Paul Levesque, better known by his ring name "Triple H". His retelling of Triple H's wrestling career starts with his early days as the wealthy and snobbish "Hunter Hearst Helmsley," continues with his friendship with
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
and his co-founding of the rebellious and rambunctious "
D-Generation X D-Generation X (DX), is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of various members mostly Generation X wrestlers, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Ch ...
," and ultimately recounts his reign as
World 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, tho ...
, his time as the brutal and paranoid leader of "
Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
," and his reinvention as a powerful corporate strongman. In recounting the evolution of Triple H's in-ring persona, Landis presents the interpretation that all of the wrestler's various
gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...
s are different facets of the same character: an arrogant but deeply insecure man with an
inferiority complex In psychology, an inferiority complex is a consistent feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others. According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought about by ...
, who never got over the pain of being overshadowed by better wrestlers. The retelling ends with Triple H's ascension to COO of the WWE following his marriage to
Stephanie McMahon Stephanie Marie McMahon Levesque ( ; ; born September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is known for her various roles within WWE between 1998 and 2023. The daughter of Vince McMahon, Vince and Lind ...
; Landis suggests that Triple H sought power behind the scenes of the company because he could never achieve the glory that he truly desired in the ring.


Cast


Main

* Max Landis as Himself *
Chloe Dykstra Chloe Frances Dykstra (born September 15, 1988) is an American cosplayer, model and actress. She produced and co-hosted the web series ''Just Cos'' for the Nerdist Industries' YouTube channel and is a cast member of the SYFY show '' Heroes of Cos ...
as
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
* Ana Walczak as
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
* Lola Blanc as
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
* Andi Layne as
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
* Lissy Smith,
Clare Kramer Clare Kramer is an American actress. Her credits include ''Bring It On (film), Bring It On'' (2000), ''The Rules of Attraction'' (2002), ''D.E.B.S. (2003 film), D.E.B.S.'' (2003), ''Tru Calling'' (2004), ''The Thirst (film), The Thirst'' (2006) ...
, and Chloe West as DX Army * Kandiss Lewis as
Stephanie McMahon Stephanie Marie McMahon Levesque ( ; ; born September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is known for her various roles within WWE between 1998 and 2023. The daughter of Vince McMahon, Vince and Lind ...
* Nicole Stark as
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
*
Anna Akana Anna Kay Napualani Akana (born August 18, 1989) is an American actress, comedian, filmmaker, musician, and YouTuber. She has appeared in TV series, web series, films, and music videos that include Ray William Johnson's ''Breaking Los Angeles'' ...
as
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...
* Sideara St. Claire as
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
* Anna Lore as
Daniel Bryan Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...


Cameos


Production

Funded entirely by Landis, the film was shot at thirty locations throughout Los Angeles over the course of three weeks. It features a cast of close to a hundred extras, with most people involved working for free.
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...
was intended to make a cameo appearance, as he did in ''
The Death and Return of Superman ''The Death and Return of Superman'' is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game released by Sunsoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES and Sega Genesis, Genesis. It is based on "The Death of Superman" comic book storyline by ...
'', but was unavailable for filming. In a
Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
"Ask Me Anything" Landis mentioned that his father
John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978), The Blues Brothers (f ...
was initially hesitant to appear in the short due to an aversion to being involved in his son's work, but ultimately agreed once he saw the finished product.


Reception

Writing for the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', Michael Calia said that Landis's characterization of wrestling as "packed with the stuff of fiction, both good and terrible" was "not exactly a new insight", but said that Landis "defends wrestling in a fun, inventive way". Writing for Progressive Boink, Bill Hanstock praised the short for not only serving as a comprehensive history of the Triple H character, but for delving into the "subtext, motive and narrative arc for a character that didn't really occur to me in precisely this way before." Users on
Letterboxd Letterboxd ( ) is an online social cataloging service for film founded (partially with investment company Tiny since 2023) and owned by Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow in 2011, and headquartered in New Zealand. Members can rate and review ...
currently rate the film 3.6 out of 5. Initially, it was reported by
Bryan Alvarez Bryan Alvarez (born June 12, 1975) is an American independent professional wrestler, martial artist, satellite radio host, podcaster, and journalist. Alvarez is the editor and publisher of ''Figure Four Weekly'', a fan run, online newsletter t ...
that employees of the WWE were told not to publicly comment on the video. Max Landis himself, however, responded to this on Twitter and clarified that this was simply due to the videos non family friendly content. The video was eventually praised by
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
and
Stephanie McMahon Stephanie Marie McMahon Levesque ( ; ; born September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is known for her various roles within WWE between 1998 and 2023. The daughter of Vince McMahon, Vince and Lind ...
, both of whom it depicts as characters. The short earned Landis a position as a
creative consultant Creative consultant is a credit that is given to people who have consulted on a film or television screenplay. They are involved in the writing process (proposing and editing story outlines/scripts). Sometimes they are given the credit of ''execu ...
on ''
WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...
''.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wrestling Isn't Wrestling 2015 films 2015 short films 2015 comedy films American comedy short films Films directed by Max Landis Films shot in Los Angeles Professional wrestling films Films with screenplays by Max Landis Viral videos 2015 YouTube videos 2010s English-language films 2010s American films American wrestling films Sports short films English-language short films