No Holds Barred
Release: June 02, 1989

Barred is a 1989 film directed by Thomas J. Wright, produced by Vince McMahon and Michael Rachmil, written by Dennis Hackin, and starring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. The film is produced by WWE and was released by New Line Cinema on June 2, 1989. It is rated PG-13. It was launched as an attempt to boost Hulk Hogan's acting career several years after his appearance in Rocky III. Hulk Hogan plays Rip, a very popular professional wrestler. Although Rip looks and acts like a brute, he is actually a golden-hearted guy. He has a younger brother whose presence in the audience motivates him enough to win his matches. Some critics consider the movie as a B-movie at worst and camp at best and criticize the simplistic storyline and clichéd characters. Hulk Hogan is also criticized as an unexpressive dramatic actor. The movie's immature and vulgar dialogues and jokes are also pointed to. In addition, some wrestling fans see the movie as an obnoxious attempt to display kayfabe. No Holds Barred is available on VHS, and is yet to be released on DVD. Furthermore, given that (at various times) Hogan has wrestled for WWE, AWA, and WCW (in some cases, reportedly leaving said federations in acrimonious circumstances), it could be considered somewhat hypocritical that Hogan would star in a film extolling the virtues of remaining loyal to a single wrestling promotion. The movie debuted at #2, behind Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, with $5,000,000 in ticket sales. Hogan writes in his autobiography the budget was about eight million dollars. Vince McMahon, who financed the movie, more or less broke even because of distribution fees. The final tally was about $15,000,000 in ticket sales. No Holds Barred: The Movie/No Holds Barred: The Match, which is how the event was billed, was shown on pay-per-view, on December 27, 1989. The match itself was pre-recorded at a Wrestling Challenge taping on December 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake def. Randy Savage and Zeus in a Steel Cage Match

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