A wrestling movie based on a documentary watched by Dwayne Johnson whilst filming Fast & Furious 6 in London, telling the story of a British girl brought up in a family of working-class wrestlers, whose father had done time for gang-related crimes, and who became a fully fledged member of WWE?
That would be Fighting With My Family.
But we’re not here for the 2019 film (although I imagine it will get mentioned). We are here for Norwich-born Saraya “Paige” Bevis — and that is an entirely different matter once you strip away the artistic licence.
Born in 1992, she became the youngest female WWE champion in history, a two-time WWE Divas Champion, and the inaugural NXT Women’s Champion — meaning she was the first female to hold both titles simultaneously.
As a side note, the WWE Divas Championship was replaced by the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 32, due to the connotations the word diva inspired; no longer would women be ‘eye candy’, but Superstars in their own right.
She began at the tender age of 13 under the name Brittani Knight in the World Association of Wrestling — a family venture in England. A no-show forced her father to ask her to step into the ring, and she went on to feature in the European circuits after sending off her résumé, holding several championships and travelling to these events by herself (the number of these is vast and varied).
She had actually entered the ring from the age of 10, fighting with her brothers whilst her father, Patrick Bevis, taught her moves. Initially, she was scared of wrestling after seeing the injuries sustained by her family, and had her heart set on being a zoologist. But life has a way of knowing what you really want, and so her path was already set.
It wasn’t until 2011 that she was discovered by WWE, signed her contract, and made her debut in Florida at the beginning of the following year, initially under the name Saraya, then as Paige. She felt she didn’t fit in at first, as the other women seemed more concerned with how they looked than with what they could do in the ring.
She had attempted to join WWE in 2010 but was unsuccessful on her first try. On her second attempt, however, she went on to success after success, winning title after title. The entire world was at her feet — even ranking in 2014 as #1 in the top 50 female wrestlers, and Rolling Stone’s Diva of the Year.
But then it all collapsed.
She spiralled into an extreme drug and alcohol problem, got married then divorced, and was caught up in a leaked sex tape scandal. She had gone from council estate rags to fame and riches, and the sexual abuse of her and her older brother as children by a family friend came to light. Homesick, vulnerable, partying too hard, injury after injury … it was all falling down. The feel-good Hollywood movie this was not.
But her family stood firmly behind her, and with her own determination and their support, she got sober, took a break, and got back on her feet.
Then she suffered a severe neck injury, forcing her into a five-year hiatus. She despises the cries of “it’s all fake”, because she knows the effort she and others put into it — and unlike in films, there are no stunt doubles to make you look good. It is all you in there, and you must perform to your absolute best.
Her WWE contract ended in the summer of 2022, with the previous year seeing her recognised as #17 in WWE’s all-time greatest Women Superstars. She then entered into a three-year contract with All Elite Wrestling, and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Her autobiography, Hell in Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives, was released earlier this year.
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