Queen of the Ring, a movie review – Brendan Higgins

March 10, 2025/Brendan Higgins

Queen of the Ring, a movie review by Brendan Higgins, contributing writer

As a former professional wrestler, I was looking forward to the release of the new movie, Queen of the Ring. This film is terrific. It is the true story of Mildred “Millie” Burke and her incredible life and career. She was a true pioneer in women’s professional wrestling.

The movie covers a lot of territory and subject matter. Most notably, the fact that women’s wrestling was illegal throughout most of the United States until the 1960s. In fact, it wasn’t until 1972 that The Fabulous Moolah was allowed to wrestle in Madison Square Garden. To think that men were preventing female athletes from in ring competition is embarrassing and despicable.

The role of Burke is played brilliantly by Emily Bett Rickards. In fact, the entire cast features an outstanding mix of past and current professional wrestlers and top notch Hollywood actors. The movie is fast paced and exciting but also slows down when it needs to get a specific point across. And let me tell you, they make some necessary points in this film.

Although the story revolves around women’s wrestling champion, Burke, the movie is also about a group of ass-kicking female athletes way ahead of their time. They simply would not be denied a chance to perform in the squared circle. With each step they took they were breaking down walls and barriers paving the way for today’s female athletes making millions of dollars. What started in carnivals in the early 1900s has evolved into what you see on television today.

This movie includes breakout performances from former NWA women’s world champion Kailey “Kamille” Latimer as June Byers and current AEW women’s world champion Toni “Storm” Rossall as Clara Mortensen. It also features NWA legend Jim Cornette.

The story begins with Burke working for her mother in a diner. She is also a single parent of a young son. She attends a live wrestling event and becomes mesmerized by what she is seeing. From that point on she will not take no for an answer and ultimately breaks into the wrestling business. The movie does a good job explaining to the audience just how unheard of it was to attempt this in the 1930s. The movie broaches topics like discrimination, racism, sexual abuse, physical abuse along with camaraderie, courage and perseverance.

Some people become professional wrestlers for a period of time in their life and move on to other things. Others, like Burke, live, breathe, eat and sleep wrestling for their entire life. It is a hard way to make a living in any era, but back in the mid-1900s the grind was unthinkable. Women like Burke and her fellow wrestlers paid their dues to make a name for themselves. Dealing with low life promoters like Billy Wolfe, played by Josh Lucas, meant small payoffs and being subjected to sexual advances by men they were working for, but couldn’t trust. The women feared for their jobs and livelihood if they did not comply. The women in the ring were also lied to constantly about the outcome of matches and the direction of their careers.

The movie also gives a good description of a match where the two competitors are on the same page working together. This is known as a work. In sharp contrast, at times, things turn very real in the ring. This is known as a shoot. Burke was not afraid to shoot with anyone if she had to. One notable scene has Burke standing in the ring giving a double bicep pose in front of a cheering crowd. The camera then shows a young girl in the front row mimicking Burke. It must have been a breath of fresh air for young girls to witness Burke in action.

They also did a nice job with the in ring wrestling. The sport has evolved to a point where it was necessary to have a more modern style of wrestling compared to what was the norm nearly 100 years ago. I loved this movie. I give it a big thumbs up.

I think it’s important to point out how long it took for women to be given opportunities with all the other jobs in the wrestling world. It wasn’t that long ago that all referees were men. All ring announcers were men. All play by play and color commentary was done by men. Once women were finally given the chance, they are just as good and in most cases way better at the job than men. That is just my opinion. Queen of the Ring is now playing in theatres.

___

To read all stories by Brendan, here, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/brendan-higgins