Well, this is certainly interesting.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced via his Facebook page that his company, Seven Bucks Productions, is partnering with WWE Studios for a movie based on Paige and her family, the Knights, many of whom are involved in the wrestling business in the United Kingdom and on the international independent scene.
It’s a cool idea for a flick, but it’s also noteworthy because of the tumultuous relationship Paige has had with WWE over the past year, which has included two Wellness Policy suspensions and rumors of the company - and her family - not approving of her romance with former Superstar Alberto El Patron/Del Rio.
Here’s the announcement from Rock:
BREAKING: Our Seven Bucks Productions is excited to announce production on a cool project we've been working on for years based on a very unique and gritty professional wrestling family and a their daughter's journey into the spotlight of the WWE.
Years ago (2012) while shooting Fast & Furious in London, I was up at 3am (too much caffeine) and stumbled upon a documentary on a UK station about a local wrestling family and their daughter's unlikely journey into the global spotlight. That daughter, is current WWE Women's Superstar, Paige. The family element I saw in the doc, is what grabbed my attention. That no matter how crazy life gets, no matter how dysfunctional our families can sometimes be and especially regardless of how much we fight - we're always there for each other when it counts. That's what families do.
My gut said there was a great movie to be made so I sent to my agent Brad Slater at WME who loved it. He sent it to my long time ace producer Kevin Misher, who immediately responded to the doc and he thought we should go after one of our favorite writer/directors for material like this, Stephen Merchant.
Merchant, being from the UK, locked in to a strong POV and vision of how gritty and heartfelt this film needs to be and the rest is history.
Pleasure to partner with WWE Studios and Film 4 to bring this great story to life.
I’ve been buds with Paige for years now and we're all excited to bring her and her family's story to life.
Cool casting announcements coming this week!
Paige has also been Tweeting about the news:
Exciting project just been announced. Thx to @TheRock and @StephenMerchant for giving my family a chance to shine! Forever thankful!
— PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) February 7, 2017
Should be interesting to see how this project develops. It’s also a sign that WWE remains very much in the Paige business, and changes the story about what her role might be when she’s cleared to return from her neck surgery.
Thoughts, Cagesiders?