Professional wrestler Jake “The Snake” Roberts really wanted to be an architect, but it wasn’t until his dad called him a complete failure that he climbed into the wrestling ring to prove him wrong. That decision cost him a dream, but ended up giving him a career that he ached to walk away from years later.
“At What Cost?: An Anatomy of Professional Wresting” is a 95-minute documentary from director/producer Mark Chervinsky that explores the nation’s obsession with professional wrestling, from the champions of WWE to the independent warriors, and the fans that worship these testosterone-fueled, cartoon- like characters. The film also includes interviews with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and “Diamond” Dallas Page.
Many professional wrestling fans only see one side of industry — the WWE — but this film opens the doors to other ranks in the industry. You’ll see young wrestlers who pack up their cars and go from city to city wrestling for only a few dollars a night (one guy was handed $15 after his match which couldn’t even get him a few beers afterward), because they either love the industry that much or because they hope one day to make it to the big leagues.
The film also shows fans why wrestlers enjoy being the bad guy and what it takes to be a good heel. It also shows the dark side of the industry with those who have died way too early. The film tells the tales of men, young and old, who are trying to make it big by risking life and limb in small-town wrestling matches across the nation, and the family men with day jobs who spend their weekends clad in Spandex, chasing glory in the ring. All it takes is one really bad persona to cost the guys time in the ring because the fans just didn’t catch on, and all it takes is one wrong move to cost them their career.
I’ve been watching professional wrestling since I was a little girl many moons ago. When I started, the WWE was the WWF and I stayed up to watch them on Saturday night at 11:30 pm. Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Superstar Billy Graham, and George “The Animal” Steele were headliners. I remember when Hulk Hogan entered the ring for the first time and have watched the WWE grow into what it is today. I’ve also followed the indie circuit with Northeast Wrestling and saw Kevin Owens right before he hit the big times, wrestling at an indie event at a local baseball stadium.
At What Cost? is a great documentary that really showcased what the young up-and-comers go through and, on the other side, what happens once the veterans retire. If you’re a professional wrestling fan, you don’t want to miss this.
Director / Producer Mark Chervinsky lives in Los Angeles and works as an editor on reality television shows such as “The Biggest Loser,” “The Apprentice” and “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.” His inspiration for the film came from working on shows such as MTV’s“Wrestling Society X” and “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling” for CMT. Chervinsky’s last film, a documentary about a tiki artist called “The Sophisticated Misfit,” premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival, where he won the Maverick Filmmaker Award.
“At What Cost?: An Anatomy of Professional Wresting,” is now available to rent ($3.99 / 72-hour streaming period) or purchase ($9.99 to stream and download anytime) at: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/atwhatcost ? You can also hear an interview that Ej the Rainmaker and I did with Chervinsky on our Sports Palooza Radio Show here.
If you can’t get enough of wrestling documentaries, another one debuted — Nine Legends features interviews with Bill Goldberg, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Dynamite Kid, Amy Dumas, Rob Van Dam, Ted DiBiase, Randy Couture, and more, each talking about the sport of wrestling. This one starts off more like a feature film with a backstory. A young boy – who is playing with wrestling action figures — hesitatingly spends the day with his grandpa only to find out that he had a chance to interview all of these great wrestlers.
You might remember Nine Legends’ producer David Sinnott from Bloodstained Memoirs, a professional wrestling documentary released online via an official stream in 2009 that interviewers wrestlers from different eras in wrestling (1970s to 2000s) and different wrestling regions (United States, Canada, Japan and Mexico).
I really liked this one too, but I have to admit that my favorite part was listening to Bill Goldberg talk about his career. I was a Goldberg fan, but hearing him talk about how he’s using his fame to help others really impressed me.
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