Category: Pictures

EDITOR’S NOTE: Queen of the Ring does not yet have a wide-release scheduled but has been making the rounds of film festivals. Jeremy Housewright got to check it out at the St. Louis International Film Festival 2024, and this review first ran on his hyper-specific website, reviewstl.com.

Director Ash Avildsen scores a pinfall victory with Queen of the Ring. The film, based off the book of the same name by Jeff Leen, tells the little-known story of Mildred Burke, the world’s first million-dollar female athlete and women’s wrestling’s longest-reigning world champion.

While pro wrestling has long been viewed as a sideshow or world filled with carnies, the sport has become mainstream over the last few years due to stars such as John Cena, The Rock and Becky Lynch. But for every Hulk Hogan or Sasha Banks, there are many grapplers who go unknown. One of the stories that has went largely unknown among wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans is Burke’s.

Emily Bett Rickards is Mildred Burke in Queen of the Ring

Emily Bett Rickards plays Burke and not only looks like the wrestler but is not afraid to take bumps. Her performance is up there among the year’s best by an actress.

Burke seems to realize her future in the ring before women’s wrestling was even recognized as a viable product by the men running the show. Throw in the fact that it was pretty much illegal for a woman to wrestle another woman during the early 1930s. But Burke was determined, so much so that she wrestled and pinned a man, catching the attention of wrestler/coach Billy Wolfe, played by Josh Lucas. Burke and Wolfe embark upon a journey across America, putting on shows pretty much wherever they could. Between the 1930s and 1950s, Burke becomes America’s top female wrestler.

Walton Goggins as Jack Pfeffer with, left to right, Kamille Brickhouse (Kailey Farmer) as June Byers, Josh Lucas as Billy Wolfe, Emily Bett Rickards as Mildred Burke and Gavin Casalegno as Billy Wolfe Jr.

Wolfe and Burke soon become romantically involved, marrying, as Wolfe promises to take care of Burke and her young son. Wolfe soon shows his true colors, romancing every female wrestler that comes his way. Burke must make her own way and fight for a spot in a male-dominated industry.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking Queen of the Ring is just a wrestling movie, because it’s so much more. It’s not only a period piece, but it also touches on sexism, racism, and spousal abuse. Burke fights for everything she has and earned throughout her life inside and outside of the squared circle.

Queen of the Ring will be welcomed by fans of Netflix’s GLOW and STARZ’s Heels, both of which were cancelled too soon. Rumors are Heels may make a return if things go well with the show’s run on Netflix. In the US, the company picked up the past seasons to see how fan response was to the show before greenlighting a new season.

Pro wrestling fans will recognize some of the names attached to the film. Jim Ross, well-known announcer, author, and podcaster, serves as a producer on the film. Toni Storm, who is credited in the film by her real name Toni Rossall, plays Clara Mortensen. Britt Baker has a small role in the film, playing Debbie Nichols. Kamille plays June Byers and is featured the most in the film out of the female pro wrestlers. Trinity Fatu also has a role in the film, playing Ethel Johnson, who became the African American women’s champion. Clint Eastwood’s daughter, Francesca Eastwood, was quite impressive playing Mae Young, one of the more well-known women’s wrestlers in pro wrestling history.

While Avildsen admits that the book featured so much more on Burke than he could include in the film, including a lot of the domestic abuse she suffered at the hands of Wolfe, he does a fine job showcasing the grit and glamour of women’s pro wrestling during that time period. He also shows what unfolds behind the scenes of pro wrestling when the crowd is not around, or the cameras are not on. This makes the film that much more captivating. The director’s love for pro wrestling is evident in the film, as he not only crafts a fine film, but gives Burke full credit for changing the landscape of women’s wrestling forever.

Welcome to another eWrestlingNews Question of the Day!

Two movie themed questions in a row? What’s happening?! It just seems to be one of those weeks, because while yesterday focused on Superman, today is going to focus on the trailer for the upcoming film Queen of the Ring, heading to theaters in March 2025.

For those unaware, this is based on a book and revolves around the life story of Mildred Burke, diving into the early days of women’s professional wrestling:

In a time when pro wrestling for women was illegal all over the country, a small town single mother embraces the danger to change culture as she dominates America’s most masculine sport to become the first million dollar female athlete in history.

The film stars some fairly notable names (Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Walton Goggins, Deborah Ann Woll, Josh Lucas, Martin Kove, Cara Buono, etc) and features guest appearances from wrestlers you of course know well, such as Jim Cornette, Britt Baker, Kamille, Naomi, Toni Storm, and Mickie James.

My question for you today is “What do you think of this trailer, and do you plan on watching this film?”

Remember to answer with your response in the comments below.

As far as my answer…

Admittedly, the trailer itself doesn’t do too much for me in the sense that if I wasn’t already a pro wrestling fan, it wouldn’t stand out as something I’d go out of my way to watch. Effectively, if you told the exact same tale of a period piece historical narrative “based on a true story” of someone’s quest to become respected in a sport that they aren’t considered a part of…well, I’ve seen that story a thousand times already. They’re mostly all produced with the same narrative structures, and I don’t get much out of any kind of period piece wow factor from any time frame of any story (even the 80s/90s of my youth). I’m weird like that, I’ll admit that I’m an outlier and not at all the target audience on that front.

But since I am a pro wrestling fan, this already inherently had a major boost to it. If this were about soccer, adios. Wrestling? You’ve got my attention.

Seeing the amount of name talent associated with the movie also gives me some motivation to see it. If this were a direct-to-VOD film starring a bunch of washed up nobodies, I could write it off. But even someone like Kelli Berglund was pretty great in Heels, and I’m curious to see how she fares in another wrestling project.

I’m also very curious how the wrestlers we watch all the time in WWE and AEW are going to perform. “Timeless” Toni Storm doesn’t quite do it for me, but it seems Toni Storm has a rather sizable enough role in this that I hope she pulls that off.

For context of the movie, I honestly have no attachment to Mildred Burke or anyone from that era, even in the men’s division. It’s not my style. I fully expect them to dramatize the action in a way that makes it more thrilling than if I watched the actual matches that Mae Young, June Byers, and so on had. But the same could have been applied to the style The Von Erichs wrestled, and I enjoyed The Iron Claw a lot.

I’ll be going into this movie cautious that I probably won’t enjoy it as much as that film, but I’ll be going into it regardless. This seems like a watch on my end. What about you?

A new trailer for “Queen of the Ring,” from writer-director Ash Avildsen, gives a first look at “Arrow” star Emily Bett Rickards as legendary professional wrestler Mildred Burke.

The true-life tale follows Burke as she defies incredible odds to become the first million-dollar female athlete and longest reigning champion at a time when wrestling was banned across most of America.

Despite her success throughout the ’40s and ’50s, Burke’s journey is marked by personal struggles, including raising her son on the road, the tragic death of her wrestling protégé in the ring and a tumultuous relationship with her manager and ex-husband, Billy Wolfe (Lucas).

Avildsen, Aimee Schoof, Isen Robbins and B.D. Gunnel are producers, while Kelly Koep, Jeff Leen, Jim Ross and Anthony Mastromauro executive produce.

“Storytelling has always been my greatest passion, and ‘Queen of the Ring’ represents a culmination of my journey both personally and professionally,” Avildsen said of the film. “At the age of 34, I finally met my father, acclaimed director John G. Avildsen, known for iconic films such as ‘Rocky’ and ‘The Karate Kid.’ Building a beautiful bond with my father as an adult was life-changing, deeply influencing my approach to storytelling and imbuing my work with a profound sense of purpose and authenticity. Growing up without a father defined me in my youth, but becoming best friends with him later in life has been transformative.”

“Queen of the Ring” made its world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Oct. 19. CAA Media Finance represents the film’s distribution rights.

The film will be released theatrically in the U.S. on March 7, 2025. Watch the “Queen of the Ring” trailer:

AEW star, Toni Storm, has revealed a first look at her Clara Mortensen character in Queen of the Ring.

Storm collaborated with the movie and film company, Sumerian Pictures, for a special Instagram post that showcased her in a film that is set to hit theaters on March 7.

Check out all the pictures right here.

Queen of the Ring is a biopic on Mildred Burke. The movie is directed by Ash Avildsen and features multiple pro wrestlers including Storm, Naomi, Kamille, Britt Baker, and Jim Cornette as Sam Muchnick.

MORE: Toni Storm Reveals New Venture In The Works Instead Of AEW Return

Storm is in the middle of a major feud with Mariah May in AEW. She’s set to headline the first-ever AEW Grand Slam event in Australia on February 15. On that show, she’ll square off with May for the AEW Women’s World Championship. https://www.youtube.com/embed/jXBbdsWsJM0?feature=oembed

Storm is a multiple-time world champion in AEW and has arguably been the company’s best character worker. She’s currently back into her “Timeless” gimmick that was scorching hot for the company throughout most of 2024.

Other announced matches on the AEW Grand Slam: Australia card include Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega vs. Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita, Cope and Jay White vs. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli, and Buddy Matthews vs. Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship.