as a life long wrestling fan...I love the movie...the mick foley stuff with his kids watching him get his brains bashed in with a chair..its so sad..and new jack and jake the snake moments are both sad and funny...this movie is a must see for any wrestling fan...

Its visceral, gritty depiction of the tremendous damage these guys do to themselves was unmatched until "The Wrestler", which drew heavy inspiration from this. Also does a good job showing the crumminess of the small-time most of these guys face. Still, neither is ground-breaking material, and some segments seem silly or unnecessary.

Considering the subject matter, almost shockingly well made. A bit depressing, but transfixing none the less.

I used to be a huge wrestling fan, and though I don't keep up with it anymore I still have respect for it. I understand why people enjoy it (it's basically cheap exploitation theater), and I think those people should see this documentary. It's not particularly well-made and the narrator is a dweeb, but it makes a decent case for wrestling and presents an interesting contrast in Mick Foley and Jake Roberts.

A very good documentary on "fake" wrestling, and a wonderful companion piece to Aranofksy's film "The Wrestler."

The directing can be cheesy at times, but this is a documentary that's as down to earth and real as you could get. The moment you see Jake The Snake and his father raking leaves together is a moment that really shines through in this movie, as you can really sense the bitterness between the two and the sight of what Jake went through all of his life is something to behold.

Jake the Snake :( the good thing about this is you'll end up liking Mick Foley even more!

As someone who grew up watching wrestling, there are some very poignant, interesting and even sad parts of this documentary which are much more significant now I am an adult. Its a shame however that the director made around these parts a quite inept work that makes some of the worst mistakes a documentary could do.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if I learned that Darren Aronofsky watched this before he made The Wrestler and modeled Rourke's character after Jake "The Snake" Roberts. I actually found the substance of this doc to be quite touching and at times very nostalgic, but in the end it can't escape the dorkiness of Blaustein.

WRESTLING IS AWESOME. Unfortunately it does some damage, whether it be physical (like in the case of Foley or Funk) or mental (Jake). This is nothing I didn't know, and wrestling fans probably had an idea of a lot of this anyway... but to those haters of pro-wrestling, who only dismiss it as fake and don't see how it's theatre, they should watch it. It's put together well, it tells a good narrative, it's touching in places. It's pro-wraaaaaaasslin.

Anyone who ever enjoyed pro wrestling should take a look at this film. It definitely paints a picture of the lives these guys lead, from Superstar all the way down to indie wrestler. It focuses mostly on Vince McMahon, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Terry Funk, and Mick Foley. Their stories weave an interesting tapestry of what wrestling was (and probably still is). It can be quite sad, as all the wrestlers seem to be battling something, but in the end is quite rewarding.

A fantastic documentary that's a must-watch for anyone who was ever a fan of wrestling. The choice to profile wrestlers of different levels of popularity - from the unknowns to the six-figure superstars (both present and former) - and was a great choice and gives a varied look into the lives of the wrestlers both in and outside of the ring. Jake the Snake and Mick Foley steal the show, but for entirely different reasons.

An excellent documentary. Nevermind if you're not into wrestling, it's still very well done. Some of the characters are very sad (like Jake Roberts). If you ever want to see what it's like to hit rock bottom after being on the top, see this.

Boy, if this doesn't fill your suffering voyeur fetish nothing will. I know next to nothing about wrestling, & now i know more about what it looks like behind the curtain than i might like. A very interesting & scary-real confrontation with many things i would prefer not to think about about.

Really revealing look at wrestling. Provides an insight into something most people wouldn't give one second of their lives to and some people put their lives on the line for.

A really damn cool movie with a great behind the scenes look at professional wrestling.

An excellent look into the parts of thw wrestling business you'll never know outside of watchign it on television. At times, Blaustein finds simply awesome ways to move the viewer and make anyone care about the topic, even the most vehement anti-wrestling individuals.

What can I say it's wrestling so duh I'm gonna like it & it's refreshing to see the wrestlers being themself rather then they're t/v charactor

A very focused and concentrated wrestling documentary about a handful of past-their-prime entertainers. Poignant, gentle, sturdy and very refreshing, Beyond the Mat is one that most not be missed. FOLEY!

I don't like wrestling but that did prevent me from enjoying this documentary. Yes it's biased and the director plainly states his view that he really enjoys wrestling despite knowing it's fake, to be fair I don't know you could have a good wrestling documentary if the director didn't like it. The polar-opposite stories of Jake the Snake and Mankind really display both roads a wrestler can go down. Beyond the Mat isn't perfect but it's certainly a well made and interesting documentary.

Fascinating look at the people whose scripts you can download from the WWF website. Particularly poignant for me were the guys who are past their prime doing the sport 'cos they don't know anything else. And this from me, a guy who finds ALL sport boring

Interesting look into the world of pro-wrestling, released during the height of its late '90s popularity boon. There are some genuinely interesting characters and emotional scenes in here, mostly centered around Jake "The Snake" Roberts and his struggles with drug addiction.

I haven't given a crap about wrestling for a long while but I remember this being a pretty good film. The parts dealing with Jake "The Snake" Roberts are quite sad.