Beyond the Mat

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Beyond the Mat

R

2000

1h 42m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

66 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

"Beyond the Mat," Barry Blaustein's honest, intimate, revealing, highly entertaining, and critically acclaimed behind-the-scenes look at wrestling, takes viewers beyond the ring and into the lives of the men and women who inhabit this colorful, competitive, and surprisingly complex world.

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Critics Consensus

Even if you aren't a fan, Beyond the Mat provides a riveting, perceptive look into the world of professional wrestling by taking a closer look at the people beneath the personas.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Oct 14, 2010

4/5

WWF documentary is OK for older teens.

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Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

Mar 23, 2007

Documentaries are almost always more interesting if the filmmakers fess up about their relationship to the subject, as unabashed pro-wrestling fan Barry Blaustein does in this naively made, compelling homage to the sport.

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Robert Koehler

Variety

Mar 23, 2007

A gently and genuinely observed film whose subject is a garish, artificial display of mayhem.

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Kaleem Aftab

The List

Apr 13, 2019

3/5

There's no need to be a fan of American wrestling to enjoy Beyond the Mat. Blaustein concentrates on the idea of people living out dreams rather than the life of a wrestler, and in doing so succeeds in showing the brutal reality behind the pantomime.

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Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

Jan 3, 2010

3/4

Am engrossing watch, but it's far from the most fascinating and incisive look at its subject.

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Richard Luck

Film4

Jul 31, 2008

Blaustein, Foley and Funk layeth the smack well and truly down.

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Nicholas T

@nicktalbert2025 Jun 20, 2026

beyond the mat is best movie ever wwf wwe ecw the matches are good greatest great movie 1999 the rock jake the snake roberts terry funk

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jun 25, 2025

Real footage in 1 hour and 42 minutes. Ages 17 and older, due to offensive language and violence.

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Oct 6, 2020

The access and footage Blaustein gained here was extraordinary. There’ll never be another wrestling documentary like it.

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russell h

@RT85733992 Sep 24, 2020

I loved this documentary. A real story of the professional wrestling business that is very eye-opening.

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Ted W

@RT84494621 Aug 30, 2020

Great interesting fantastic phenomenal documentary that I learned a lot from. Yes, I already knew about 90 percent of the stuff they talked about but I did learn a couple new things. The Mick Foley parts were the best because they showed his family side and how they're effected by this buisness and it's so sad but that's what you have to do in this type of business.

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Rich S

@RPS1963 Aug 10, 2020

Wrestling legend Rowdy Roddy Piper described this film as "the best documentary ever made on professional wrestling." That's all I need to hear. Beyond the Mat is a must-see for anyone who was ever a wrestling fan. It won't turn many viewers into new fans of the sport. It might leave those of us to wonder, who liked it growing up, what we ever saw in this sport that has hypnotized millions of fans.

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Synopsis

"Beyond the Mat," Barry Blaustein's honest, intimate, revealing, highly entertaining, and critically acclaimed behind-the-scenes look at wrestling, takes viewers beyond the ring and into the lives of the men and women who inhabit this colorful, competitive, and surprisingly complex world.

Director: Barry W. Blaustein
Producer: Barry W. Blaustein, Barry Bloom, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Michael Rosenberg
Screenwriter: Barry W. Blaustein
Distributor: Image Entertainment Inc., Universal Pictures, Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Imagine Entertainment, Lions Gate Entertainment
Rating: R (Violent Content|Language)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 17, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.0M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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