Some of professional wrestling’s greatest characters and stories have been influenced or inspired by horror cinema. The Undertaker borrowed mannerisms of his early Western mortician / zombie character from Jason Voorhees. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt borrowed from films such as Cape Fear and had gear created by the effects legend Tom Savini. Promotions in Japan have featured characters resembling (or sometimes, ripping off) Leatherface, Freddy Krueger, and more. A number of horror films have featured and starred wrestlers, from Kane starring in See No Evil, Diamond Dallas Page in The Devil’s Rejects, and Chris Jericho in Terrifier 2 and Terrifer 3.
Dark Match – Bring Horror and Satanism to the Squared Circle
Not content to leave his horror dance card empty, reigning Ring of Honor (ROH) World Champion Chris Jericho is bringing his talents and star power to Dark Match, a pro wrestling-themed horror film coming to Shudder later this month. A mixture of grappling and gore, the film’s synopsis reads:
“A group of wrestlers find out just how real wrestling can get when they become guests of honor at a match held by Satanists.”
Chris Jericho’s character Prophet speaks of five matches on the card, with five sacrifices to come based on the results of said showdowns. Matches shown appear to be inspired by the inferno matches, which guarantees one or more wrestlers being set ablaze before the final bell rings, of the late Nineties and the infamous Taipei Death Match, a hardcore stipulation which sees the combatants dip their glue-or-honey-covered hands in shards of broken glass for maximum bloodshed.
Wrestlers depicted in the trailer appear as homages to The Road Warriors, Right to Censor, and more recognizable gimmicks of old. From the aforementioned Bray Wyatt to his brother Uncle Howdy, cults are nothing new to wrestling, but while the groups on the television are aided by smoke and mirrors, this group of devil worshipers appear to be shooting (that is, being real, as opposed to a “work” or an act of fiction) as it pertains to their mission. Forget entertainment, forget championships, the wrestlers brought in for this supercard will be fighting for their very lives in the squared circle.
Stream the trailer for Dark Match, streaming on Shudder/AMC+ on January 31st, below: