Queen of the Ring: One Woman’s Rise to the Top
Josh B.
One of the hardest things to do in life is to leave your mark – a legacy, something that endures long after you are gone. It’s what so, so many of us strive for day after day. Finding something that will make us feel seen and remembered. Perhaps no one embodied that struggle more than Mildred Burke, the first true female professional wrestler. And, with the release of her biopic Queen of the Ring, I can think of no better time than to talk about this feminist icon.
Queen of the Ring, directed by Ash Avildsen, is a film that chronicles the life and times of Mildred Burke, from humble waitress to championship wrestler. From the very beginning, Mildred (played by Emily Bett Rickards) wants to do more than simply tend to customers in her family’s diner. One day, she sees a travelling wrestling performance by a man named Billy Wolfe (played by Josh Lucas) and realizes that’s what she wants to do. So, she asks Billy to train her. He refuses, but Mildred keeps trying until eventually, her own persistence and physical prowess convinces Billy to take her under his wing.
Mildred’s story was always that of an underdog, as back in the 1930s, it was illegal for women to wrestle other women. Instead, women were forced to wrestle men if they wanted to wrestle at all. And so, Mildred began her career as a carnival act, wrestling men for money – yet she never settled for that as enough. Throughout her life and this film, she campaigns for and eventually helps create the first female wrestling league and legitimizes it.
However, Mildred’s life was not without its own trials and tribulations. In time, Mildred pursued a relationship with Billy Wolfe, their shared love of wrestling sparking a romance. However, Wolfe was regularly unfaithful to Burke. Yet, instead of leaving him, Mildred married him. Not out of love, in fact, she openly says in the film that she does not love Wolfe. No, this marriage is one made specifically to prevent Billy Wolfe, Mildred’s manager, from absconding with the money that rightfully belongs to her. So long as the two are married, Mildred and Billy receive equal say in their business dealings. For the time, this was incredibly pragmatic, and a genius business move by Burke – weaponizing one of the institutions that had favored men to work for her benefit.
As Mildred continued to rise in popularity, other women followed her lead, joining up with her and Wolfe to create an entire division of female wrestling. They operated in select states at first, but as the all-female fighting grew in popularity, more and more states came to accept them – all because Mildred decided she wanted to fight all those years ago.
Eventually, Billy Wolfe’s unfaithfulness and physical abuse became too much for Mildred, and she finally, properly divorced him, even though it meant losing her own financial security. Still, it was worth it, as during their years of marriage, Wolfe had slept around with and abused other women in his female fighting league. This made it easy for them to quit when Mildred Burke offered them a chance to come and work for her instead of Billy. Once more, Mildred showed her brilliance by using her heartbreak to her advantage, presenting herself to the other female wrestlers as a welcome reprieve from Billy’s sexual advances, inattentive attitude, and dishonest way of doing business. And so, Mildred Burke went from prize fighter to manager of her own wrestling league, in direct competition with Billy Wolfe.
Eventually, the two women’s leagues sought to settle all their grievances out on the mat, creating the first female inter-league professional wrestling competition. Mildred herself stepped back into the ring to fight Billy Wolfe’s top fighter, and it all came down to one climactic bout. It would be her final match as champion, and one to remember.
I really appreciate Queen of the Ring for shining a light on an important figure in sports entertainment that otherwise could have been forgotten. Mildred Burke was an inspirational, entrepreneurial, and resourceful individual who never stopped working to secure a future, both for herself and for her son, who she raised all alone, even when she was “married.” Women like Mildred Burke should be remembered, so that the women of today can carry on her spirit.
Queen of the Ring and its hero, Mildred Burke, remain an inspiration to me as well. Despite all the hardships that Mildred faced, she never gave up, never compromised on what she wanted to do with her life. Even if it meant enduring a loveless marriage, Mildred would continue to fight on as a wrestler because it’s what she loved to do. When there was no path available to her, Mildred simply created one in front of her for others to follow. In pursuing her dream, Mildred allowed others to pursue theirs. It’s impossible not to be at least a little inspired by that, and I was – I have been, and continue to be pursuing my dream to be a successful novelist. It’s stories like Mildred’s that remind us just what it is to hold onto a dream, no matter what.
Queen of the Ring is a woefully underrated film about a lesser-known sports star that will go overlooked by most. For fans of wrestling and women’s rights alike, this is an important piece of cinema to watch, lest it be forgotten. Emily Bett Rickards’ performance as Mildred Burke is magnetic and unforgettable, with Josh Lucas and special supporting guest actor Walton Goggins turning in impressive performances of their own along the way. The film is inspirational, to both women and men, and deserves to be seen on the big screen. If it’s still playing by the time that you read this, you owe it to yourself to see it.
I give Queen of the Ring a strong five out of five stars.
