Review of Beyond the Mat (1999) by Andrew B — 03 Dec 2015
Being a wrestling fan my entire life as you get older and realize there is more that meets the eye you become interested in the behind the scenes stuff than you do the actual action in the ring. So needless to say when Beyond the Mat came out in theatres, I was there the first day.
This documentary really takes you behind the scenes of the wrestling business and how it effects the people involved. Not just the wrestlers, but their families as well. The one story that obviously sticks out to everyone who has seen this movie is Jake the Snake Roberts.
His battle with addiction is documented here and his fall from grace to where he is in this film, actually makes me who is a fan of Jake, very sad. It was actually heart wrenching to see him like this.
Since this movie he has cleaned up and stayed sober, but wow. This is a really close and personal devastating look at a former superstar that has just lost everything but still trying to retain some of that old glory wrestling in front of 30 people in a bingo hall.
Taking his earnings from the nights match and spending it on crack in a motel room. Very sad. But a very true look at what a lot of these former wrestlers end up like and deal with after their time in the spotlight is over and done with.
This review of Beyond the Mat (1999) was written by Andrew B on 03 Dec 2015.
Beyond the Mat has generally received very positive reviews.
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