The worlds of wrestling and entertainment lost a special creative talent this week as Barry Blaustein passed away at the age of 72. Reports say he died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles after battling Parkinson’s disease for several years and was recently diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, the news of Blaustein’s passing was first shared by Chapman University Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where he worked for years as a professor and mentor for young filmmakers. While he had a long career in comedy, TV, and movies, wrestling fans mostly remember him for creating the famous 1999 wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat.
Barry Blaustein helped create one of wrestling’s most influential documentaries
The documentary is often regarded as one of the best wrestling documentaries. Blaustein wrote, directed, narrated, and produced the film. The documentary followed the real-life struggles of wrestlers like Mick Foley, Terry Funk, Jake Roberts, Tony Jones, and Michael Modest.
Blaustein was a lifelong wrestling fan and wanted to understand why wrestlers put their bodies and personal lives through so much. That idea helped create one of the most honest wrestling documentaries ever made.
The film got backstage access to the then-WWF and ECW, while WCW reportedly refused to take part. Although WWE first supported the project, Vince McMahon later regretted it. He reportedly pulled advertising for the movie from WWF television. That controversy only made the documentary even more famous. The tagline, “The Movie Vince McMahon Didn’t Want You to See,” became legendary among wrestling fans.
One of the documentary’s most emotional moments focused on Foley’s brutal “I Quit” match against The Rock at the 1999 Royal Rumble. The movie showed Foley taking repeated chair shots while his wife and children watched from the crowd. Later, Foley admitted he felt guilty putting his family through that experience. Scenes like that helped turn the documentary into a wrestling cult classic.
The film earned rave reviews from critics and wrestling legends. Legends like Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan praised the movie for showing the real human side of wrestling. It also became one of the finalists for the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Outside of wrestling, Blaustein had a successful Hollywood career. He worked with Eddie Murphy during Murphy’s rise to fame and helped create famous Saturday Night Live characters like Buckwheat, Gumby, and Mr. Robinson. He also co-wrote hit movies like Coming to America and The Nutty Professor.
May his soul rest in peace!
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