The Wrestler (1974)

Promoting the world of professional wrestling at the expense of the plot itself, Frank Bass (Ed Asner) takes a stand and defends what he thinks is right. Gamblers, mobsters, unscrupulous ... See full summary »

Director:

James A. Westman

Writer:

Eugene Gump

Stars:

Edward Asner, Elaine Giftos, Verne Gagne

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edward Asner	...	Frank Bass
Elaine Giftos	...	Debbie
Verne Gagne	...	Mike Bullard
Billy Robinson	...	Billy Taylor
Jerry Wade	...	Himself
Don Muraco	...	Himself (as Don Moraco)
Lord 'Tally Ho' Blears	...	Himself (as Lord James Blears)
Danny Hodge	...	Himself (as Dan Hodge)
Joe Scarpello	...	Himself
Dick Afflis	...	Himself (as The Bruiser)
Dan Gable	...	Himself
Vincent McMahon	...	Himself
Reginald Lisowski	...	The Crusher (as The Crusher)
Dusty Rhodes	...	Himself
Ed McDaniel	...	Himself (as Wahoo McDaniels)

Storyline

Promoting the world of professional wrestling at the expense of the plot itself, Frank Bass (Ed Asner) takes a stand and defends what he thinks is right. Gamblers, mobsters, unscrupulous wrestlers, money-grubbing promoters, and fixers conspire to corrupt the industry, but Frank tries to make the game as honest and fair as it is his idealized vision. Frank's efforts climax as he promotes an over-the-hill champion in the final matches of his career.

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Plot Keywords:

wrestling | pro wrestling | independent film

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Taglines:

Athletes...? Actors...? Assassins...?

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bestione superstar

Filming Locations:

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The list of wrestlers Frank gives who have died in the ring are all real, and they all did die either while wrestling or from injuries sustained in a match.

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Crazy Credits

Professional wrestling legend Ric Flair is listed in the credits as "Rick Flair." This was made during the beginning years of Flair's career and he was trained by executive producer/star Verne Gagne.

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Soundtracks

"I See Them"
Written by Howard Arthur
Sung by Mona Brandt, Pat McKee

User Reviews

Wrestling fans....

...do NOT miss this.

You're basic 'get rid of he bad guys' plot built around a wrestling promotion. But that was just an excuse to fit in as many cameos as possible.

Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch beating up a bar full of martial arts men while boozing.

Crusher and Bruiser saving the day by beating up the gangsters.

Billy Robinson as a nice guy. (I heard he was a #$%& in real life.) And a young (Brown haired) Ric Flair in a 'blink and miss it' scene at a dinner table.

Verne Gagne looked OK in the lead. And Ed Asner did a great job in the main lead.

But the cameos make it.

Superstar Graham, Larry Henning, Jim Brunzell, Eddie Graham, Wilbur Snyder, Ray 'Crippler' Stevens...

...you got it.