Where to watch No Holds Barred
1 1/2 Stars
Rip is the World Wrestling Federation champion who is faithful to his fans and the network he wrestles for. Brell, the new head of the World Television Network, wants Rip to wrestle for his network. Rip refuses and goes back to his normal life. Still looking for a way to raise ratings, Brell initiates a show called “The Battle of the Tough Guys”, a violent brawling competition. A mysterious man, Zeus, wins the competition. This gets Brell to use him as an angle to get at Rip.
I first saw No Hold Barred in theaters when I was ten. My friends and I couldn’t get tickets to a sold-out showing of Batman (1989). So, we picked the Hulk Hogan movie as a second choice. Even at a relatively young age and as a fan of WWE (or WWF as it was known then), I found No Holds Barred boring. I may have even fallen asleep during the screening for a bit. It’s been over 35 years since that day, and I finally decided to revisit this relic of the 1980s.
No Holds Barred is a rudimentary tale that merges Rocky 3 and aspects of Rollerball into a concoction that manages to disappoint fans of Hogan, wrestling, and film in general. The ‘Hulkster’ headlines this movie, and his limitations as a screen presence are almost immediately apparent; this bad performance coupled with overacting from Kurt Fuller, whose character loves uttering the pejorative ‘Jock-Ass.’ Body Slam is a better movie featuring the world of professional wrestling and iconic wrestlers of the era.
Directed by: Thomas J. Wright
Written by: Dennis Hackin
Starring: Hulk Hogan, Joan Severance, Kurt Fuller