- Network: Netflix
- Series Premiere Date: Sep 13, 2023
Critic Reviews
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In contrast to the cartoon machismo of the world it’s set within, Wrestlers teems with authentic emotion and introspection.
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Wrestling might be choreographed, but in his latest docuseries, Cheer and Last Chance U director Greg Whiteley proves just how real the emotions that form its foundation really are.
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For all its manufactured conflict — the schism between Snow and Jones, the unprecedented summer tour — it’s still a largely unvarnished glimpse into a place both wonderful and strange.
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While its namesake performers are technically professionals, “Wrestlers” retains the DNA of what made Whiteley’s prior portraits of amateurs so compelling.
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"Wrestlers" probably didn't need to be seven episodes long, although what we ultimately feel about certain characters—Mr. Jones, for instance—requires enough narrative content to make a journey from enmity to empathy. And whereas the technical aspects of an OVW production—and the glitches—are all reflective of contemporary pop culture, the not-quite-bigtime wrestling we see is also evocative of a bygone era in which Americans took their entertainment where they found it.