Appreciate everyone’s memories on this thread from the start. I grew up in another territory and only read about the VE’s in the wrestling magazines at the time.
Saw the movie and loved it. If you know all the details of the timeline and especially if you saw them all growing up, you’ll notice the discrepancies and omissions, but they didn't bother me and won’t for viewers who come in with no knowledge of the source material. It’s a lot to pack into 2:15 of run time and they needed to blend some events for narrative purposes if they want to broaden the appeal beyond smarks and GenX men who grew up in DFW. If it was done over an 8 or 10 episode limited series I’d be less understanding.
My biggest quibble was probably JAW as Kerry, he’s a fine actor but physically and facially just didn’t look much like Kerry. I liked the Flair actor better than some here, it’s hard to be a one of a kind character like the Nature Boy but I thought his promo was pretty good. The writers perfectly captured him in the post-match scene in the dressing room where the VE’s are working through their emotional trauma and Flair just saunters in asking where the best place to start drinking is. The Harley Race and Fritz actors may have been the best true doppelgängers for their real-life counterparts.
Overall it is on a very short list with The Wrestler as the best movie about pro wrestling ever made. It has a clear love for the subject material and never demonizes anyone for cheap heat. Even the Fritz character is nuanced when it would have been the easiest thing in the world to make him a caricature villain. I’d love to see what @michaelpshayes thought about the film.