There may be two roads a child will face at some point: become a fan of wrestling, or forget about it. I can recall that there were signposts to the first path, like spotting the brutish WWE action figures in the toy aisle or pretending to know why my 7th grade science teacher was telling me that I was imitating The Rock (I guess books made it seem like raising your eyebrow was normal). Even if I had somehow made a deliberate decision, I admire how strong the love for professional wrestling can be — and where it shows up. When I was at last year’s Fan Expo (previously known as Boston’s Comic Con), I was shocked to see that the most common denominator between attendees were those carrying WWE championship belt replicas. This was of course for John Cena: not for his recent role as DC’s Peacemaker, but one of the famous wrestlers of all time.
Hearing that Cena turned heel last year is not something I would have ever expected to share with you on the basis of knowing what that means, but this news pushing through my alert feed speaks to how there is a thriving culture out there. Adam J. Wilde, director of the documentary Slowburn Shoot, doesn’t try to take up the time on why wrestling is worth everyone’s time. Instead, he gathers the repertoire working for Absolute Indie Wrestling, a Cleveland-based independent company, to showcase the grind.
AIW is part of the “feeder system”, where independent, free agent wrestlers are scouted from before signing into the big leagues, notably AEW and WWE. This system is not as different than other forms of major league recruitment, but indie wrestling doesn’t have the same financial foothold as college football or basketball has. For AIW, wrestlers may either be those who seek to get signed to the bigger management companies or those that had been in the WWE circuit and return into the fold.
A lot of cinematic grind depictions take place in restaurants, sales, and the arts. Slowburn Shoot really clicks with me in the way that I see indie bands take matters into their own hands, whether it’s promotion, tour booking, or finding a place to stay. The everyman’s grind to make something out of their passion is the documentary’s allure, led by AIW owner Jon Thorne’s efforts running this company day in and out. Thorne admits the financial and romantic impacts that AIW takes on his life, which adds to the current of the wrestlers’ struggles with physical maintenance. Joshua Bishop, one of AIW’s promising prospects, seem to teeter between burgeoning stardom and bodily deterioration (an injury severe enough can deter from a big entertainment contract).
Wilde’s proximity to this world can be detected, as the documentary seamlessly captures the birth of AIW through the involvement of Thorne and his co-owner, Chandler Biggins. Like the aforementioned fork in the road, Slowburn Shoot would have been interesting to watch from a filmmaking perspective that wants to understand this world, the fans, or to see what indie wrestling means years from now. But one thing seems certain: the glory of wrestling will live on by and for real people.
Slowburn Shoot: An Indie Wrestling Story
2026
dir. Adam J. Wilde
82 mins
Screens Friday, 5/15, 11:30pm @ Coolidge Corner Theatre
Featuring a post-screening Q&A with the filmmakers and local wrestlers!
