Queen of the Ring
The story of pioneering women’s wrestler Mildred Burke is told in Queen of the Ring. Mildred Bliss (Emily Bett Rickards) is a Kansas single mother working in her mother’s diner. After attending a match, Mildred became enamoured by the world of professional wrestling. Despite it being illegal at the time for women to wrestle, Mildred convinces star wrestler Billy Wolfe (Josh Lucas) to train her, and as “The Kansas Cyclone” Mildred Burke, she gets her start wrestling men at carnivals.
The NWA starts authorizing women’s matches at the territories promoted by Al Haft (Martin Kove) and Jack Pfefer (Walton Goggins), with Mildred getting her big break beating Clara Mortenson (Toni Rossall) for the Women’s Wrestling World Champion. With Mildred at the top, Billy Wolfe forms a stable of women wrestlers that include Mae Young (Francesca Eastwood), Elvira Snodgrass (Marie Avgeropoulos), Gladys Gillem (Deborah Ann Woll), Nell Stewart (Kelli Berglund), Babs Wingo (Damaris Lewis), and “The Texas Tornado” June Byers (Kailey Farmer). However, the friction between Mildred and Billy in their personal life soon leaks into their professional relationship.
Queen of the Ring Synopis
Queen of the Ring is a biopic about professional wrestler Mildred Burke written and directed by Ash Avildsen, based on the 2010 book of the same name by Jeff Leen. Played by Emily Bett Rickards (Brooklyn), Queen of the Ring covers Mildred Burke’s career from her start wrestling men at carnivals in the 1930s to her big championship match against June Byers, played by real professional wrestler Kailey “Kamille” Farmer, on August 20, 1954. The film also details Mildred Burke’s tumultuous relationship with her manager/husband, Billy Wolfe, played by Josh Lucas (Ford v Ferrari), which eventually turns into a love triangle with Wolfe’s son G. Bill (Tyler Posey).
Queen of the Ring co-stars Francesca Eastwood (Juror #2) as fellow female wrestling icon Mae Young, who is joined by Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil) as Gladys Gillem and Damaris Lewis (BlacKkKlansman) as Battling Babs Wingo, one of the first black female wrestlers. Queen of the Ring also features appearances by real professional wrestling personalities, including Toni Rossall, aka AEW star Toni Storm, as Clara Mortenson, Trinity Fatu, aka WWE star Naomi, as Ethel Johnson, and legendary wrestling manager James E. Cornette as the commissioner of the National Wrestling Alliance. The ensemble of Queen of the Ring is rounded out by Martin Kove (Cobra Kai) and Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight) as wrestling promoters Al Haft and Jack Pfefer, respectively.
My Thoughts on Queen of the Ring
Queen of the Ring continues a recent trend of professional wrestling biographies that began with 2023’s The Iron Claw. Unlike that film, Queen of the Ring is set in a much earlier era of professional wrestling when it was still a territorial carnie attraction. The film gives even current wrestling fans a chance to learn about the career of Mildred Burke, who was the first million-dollar female athlete in history.
Writer/director Ash Avildsen, the son of Rocky and The Karate Kid director John G. Avildsen, seems intent on making Queen of the Ring a film that is accessible to people who know nothing at all about professional wrestling. This includes a lot of audience hand-holding in the dialogue, as characters explain insider wrestling terminology, such as heel/babyface, shoot, and kayfabe. Queen of the Ring also seems to suggest that this era of professional wrestling wasn’t as heavily scripted as the modern version, with the film suggesting that many of the rivalries, particularly the one between Mildred Bruke and June Byers, were based on a very real animosity.
Queen of the Ring is also a very feminist story, as Mildred Burke achieved her professional wrestling stardom while also being a single mother to her son Joe, who in the course of the film’s two-decade timespan grows from a baby to a young adult played by Gavin Casalegno. That said, Mildred Burke is also shown to be a victim of abuse by Billy Wolfe, who is depicted as routinely sleeping with the female wrestlers and on multiple occasions is shown getting physical with Mildred, including a very bad beating that leaves her with a black eye. I’m not sure how based in reality this depiction of Billy Wolfe is, though Queen of the Ring‘s postscript makes sure to emphasize his role in making female professional wrestling respectable.
As Queen of the Ring takes place decades before the World Wrestling Federation’s national expansion in the 1980s, even modern wrestling fans can find a lot to learn from this biography of Mildred Burke. Despite the film’s hand-holding towards non-wrestling fans, Queen of the Ring is still a quite solid film. While there are better films about professional wrestling, Queen of the Ring is still worth checking out.
Trailer for Queen of the Ring
