I was originally going to write about two movies that star Robbie E. in anticipation of Quaker City Wrestling‘s Gym. Tan. Wrestle which features him this Sunday in Salem, Ohio.  However it turns out Robbie isn’t actually in The Wrestler from 2008 which stars Mickey Rourke as Randy “The Ram”. He is mentioned in an early scene where it is announced Rob Eckos is scheduled to wrestle but upon contacting Robbie via twitter it turns out he wasn’t actually there. He was in 2017’s Blood Circus though.

 From Left to right “Warmaster” Max Alexander, Mambo Italiano, Lee Moriarty, Robbie E, Joey Vincent Martini, and “Five Star” Thomas Adams

Before I get into Blood Circus I would like to encourage anyone near Salem, Ohio or anyone just willing to travel to hit up this show. Not only will Robbie. E. be there but some of my favorite wrestlers will be there as well. “Five Star” Thomas Adams is always a pleasure to see wrestle and I have always enjoyed my conversations with him. I hope to have him on the site in the near future to talk about movies. The Bouncer is also scheduled to wrestle. The Bouncer is no stranger to the acting scene as he was in the film The Zombinator from 2012 and more recently The Refractor. Joey Vincent Martini is also on the card, he was in The Refractor too. Last but certainly not least is Beastman. Beastman is the reason I am such a fan of independent wrestling and I’m so glad to be a fan. He has a cameo in Pro Wrestlers Vs. Zombies. If you can make it to the show, I’m sure you will have a blast. Doors open at 5:30 with a special preshow match at Salem Memorial building located at 785 E State St. Salem, Ohio.

Blood Circus is about an ex MMA fighter named Sean Dillion who is roped into a fight to the death tournament called Blood Circus. Bodies start popping up and the cops are investigating whether or not Blood Circus is happening in their town. It stars Kevin Nash (WCW, WWE), Tommy Dreamer (ECW, WWE, Impact Wrestling), Robbie E (Impact Wrestling), Josef Von Schmidt (various independents), Zane Bernardo (Independents), and DG Haven (actor/producer turned wrestling manager).

I enjoyed this movie. I thought the actors did a good job and it’s production values were excellent. If you are a fan of Cop dramas or MMA you should be able to have a fun time with it. Kevin Nash plays Santos the mysterious man behind the underground fighting and internet phenomenon known as Blood Circus. He has the most screen time of the wrestlers in this film. Robbie E plays a bar patron who has a close encounter with the retired MMA fighter Sean Dillon who gets involved in the Blood Circus, as does DG Haven a manager who got his start in wrestling because of Tommy Dreamer who he worked with on a previous film. Tommy plays the bar’s bouncer. Josef Von Schmidt plays one of Santos’ thugs and if I’m not mistaken Zane Bernardo does as well. Also the MMA and street fight legend Dada 5000 stars in this. If you like action films give this one a shot.

Robbie E

Tommy Dreamer as the bouncer

Robbie, left and DG Haven, right

Josef Von Schmidt as a thug

Nash as Santos

I’d definitely recommend this film to fans of B movies who are fans of professional wrestling and folks who are keen on cop dramas. This movie also stars Tom Sizemore and a couple other names. All in all this was an enjoyable film and one I wouldn’t mind watching again. I’d say this one is worth picking up.

The Junk Files are premiering a little bit earlier than I expected. While I was watching Almighty Thor the other day for my first post of Myths & May, I remembered that the Marvel movie Thor also starred a professional wrestler.

Since it was only a cameo, it is perfect for this post. Jesse “Justice” Smith appears as the Frost Giant Brute in Thor. Justice Smith was trained by Ultimate Pro Wrestling in California at their Ultimate University. He later appeared in the 2004 edition of WWE’s Tough Enough along side a favorite of mine Mike Mizanin more commonly known as The Miz. Justice would wrestle briefly on the independent scene before retiring and competing on the American Gladiator reboot in 2008. He is also a mixed martial artist.

Jesse “Justice” Smith

There are so many frost giants in Thor that it is hard to see which giant Justice actually portrayed. Since they appear in a hyper kinetic fight scene on the mythical plane of Jotunheim it is almost impossible to take note of each one as they are being destroyed left and right by Thor and his compatriots. I think the giant that charges into battle when Thor demands a larger challenge is portrayed by Justice but I could be wrong. I’m going to include a capture of who I think is Justice as the Frost Giant Brute but I could be mistaken. Perhaps if I can find Justice on social media I will be able to ask if it is him.

My guess as to which frost giant is the Brute played by Justice Smith

I’ve been missing in action for months.  However, my love for wrestlers and their foray into the acting scene never wavered. I’ve been on somewhat of a personal growth journey lately but feel I can finally give my blog the attention it deserves.

Although we are almost through the month of May, I’m going to do some articles on movies that are inspired by ancient mythology that star pro wrestlers. My first one for the month is from The Asylum and is titled Almighty Thor. Almighty Thor is a mock-buster of the Marvel Studios film Thor. It was made for the Syfy channel and premiered May 7th 2011. It stars Kevin Nash (WCW, WWE)  as Odin, Richard Grieco of 21 Jump Street fame as Loki, Cody Deal as Thor, and Jess Allen as Baldir.

The plot centers around Loki and his quest for the hammer of invincibility. This movie is loosely based on Norse mythology. I was hoping Nash would have a much larger part to play in this movie, however, despite such high billing he is only prominent in the first twenty minutes of the film. Nash chews scenery and delivers a few lines, he is given a small fight scene as well. He looks the part of Odin and given what he was handed to work with does a decent job in his portrayal. His fight scene is not the greatest but he does get to deliver a signature big boot to the baddie Loki.

Cody Deal who plays Thor seems more suited to play Thor’s brother Baldir (more commonly spelled as Baldur) as he is far more fair looking like Baldir is described in the myths. Jess Allen who plays Baldir looks like he not only would have suited the role of Thor but looks like he could have had a small stint in the squared circle. He had such a prototypical McMahon favorite look that I immediately searched if he did indeed have a career as a professional wrestler.

Left to right; Deal as Thor, Nash as Odi, Jess Allen as Baldir

The movie takes place both in the dwelling of the demi gods and the modern day real world, a plot similarity that it shares with the blockbuster it tends to ape. However, instead of landing in New Mexico, Thor and a demi goddess Jarnsaxa (played by Patricia Velasquez who genre fans will recognize as Anck-Su-Namun from The Mummy)  sent by Odin to help him land in a grungy nondescript cityscape. Thor and Jarnsaxa dress as humans but Loki decides to strut around the city dressed in his Midgardian garb. It suits Greico as he was a fashion model as well at one point in his career.

Velasquez as Jarnsaxa

Loki portrayed by Greico arrives at the human realm

This film as a whole was a hard watch. I have never seen Thor portrayed like he is in this movie, he lacks confidence and his constant whining is more fitting of an adolescent than a god. Almighty Thor doesn’t seem like it knows what exactly it wants to be. It aims to be much bigger than it actually ends up being. The destruction of the city is Loki pointing at things with a bone scepter and screaming Ragnarok while people skitter here and there amidst the CGI explosions At a length of about 92 minutes it should be an easy watch but it drags on incessantly.  I wouldn’t really recommend this film unless like me you feel that you have to watch as many movies starring wrestlers that you possibly can. However, if you enjoy alcohol, with a few beers or shots you and your friends could possibly enjoy it. I’ll probably end up picking this up if I can find it used extremely cheap just for completion sake.

On a side note; I have been thinking about what to do features on this month and the many months going forward. I have decided to start a little odd column that will pop up once in a while called The Junk Files. The Junk Files will be little blurbs and summaries of movies that wrestlers appear in only as very small cameos, stunt workers, or behind the scene personnel. I may also cover whatever I watch that doesn’t star professional wrestlers. I’m not quite sure yet.