Fighting with My Family (2019)
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A sister and brother navigate the highs and lows of professional wrestling as they pursue a dream in the WWE.
The story
Wrestlers Ricky and Julia Knight raise their children, Saraya and Zak, to follow in their footsteps. As young adults, the siblings apply to join the WWE and are evaluated by veteran trainer Hutch Morgan. Before her tryout, Saraya adopts the stage name 'Paige'. Morgan chooses Paige to train for the WWE but rejects Zak, leading to a strained relationship between the siblings. As Paige begins her training in Florida, she faces challenges with her peers and the demands of the sport, while struggling to maintain her identity amidst the pressure of the professional wrestling world.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Wrestlers Ricky and Julia Knight raise their children, Saraya and Zak, to follow in their footsteps. As young adults, the siblings apply to join the WWE and are evaluated by veteran trainer Hutch Morgan. Morgan chooses Paige to train but rejects Zak, forcing him to return home. In Florida, Paige struggles with training, her peers' lack of experience, and the difficulty of performing choreographed promos. After a disastrous debut where she is heckled by the crowd, she faces a crisis of confidence. However, after a revelation from Morgan about why Zak was rejected and a confrontation with her brother, she decides to return to the WWE. She re-embraces her identity, improves her skills, and eventually makes her Raw debut. After a grueling match against the champion, AJ Lee, she wins the title and declares her victory to her family.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Stephen Merchant
- Writers
- Stephen Merchant · writer
- Cast and characters
- Florence Pugh · Saraya Knight / Paige; Lena Headey · Julia Knight / Sweet Saraya; Nick Frost · Ricky Knight; Jack Lowden · Zak Knight / Zak Zodiac; Vince Vaughn · Hutch Morgan; Dwayne Johnson · himself / The Rock
- Genres
- biographical; sports; comedy-drama
- Themes
- family; identity; perseverance
- Tone and mood
- inspiring; dramatic
- Setting
- The professional wrestling circuit, including locations in Florida and the UK, spanning the early 2010s.
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; sports; coming-of-age
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family
- Content notes
- alcohol
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, particularly for Merchant's directing and the performances of Pugh and Vaughn.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 68 · scale: 100 · review count: 38; PostTrak · score: 83 · scale: 100
- Production trivia
- The film was adapted into a stage musical announced in 2026.; Dwayne Johnson served as both an actor and a producer.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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