Women's wrestling holds a strong position in the industry today. Performers like Mercedes Mone, Rhea Ripley, Mina Shirakawa, Toni Storm, and others have fanbases that dwarf their male colleagues and draw attention whenever they are on the screen. But none of their allocaldes would be possible if it wasn't for Mildred Burke, whose story has been told, but not quite in the way as it is in the feature film, Queen of the Ring. This is a must-see movie for anyone who loves to look at wrestling from a historic point of view.
Based on the true story about Mildred Burke. In a time when pro wrestling for women was illegal all over the country, a small-town single mother embraces the danger of changing culture as she dominates America's most masculine sport to become the first million-dollar female athlete in history.
The movie stars several popular names in film and professional wrestling including the following: Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Tyler Posey, Kelli Berglund, Walton Goggins, Marie Avgeropoulous, Gavin Casalegno, Damaris Lewis, Francesca Eastwood, Deborah Ann Woll, Kamille, Toni Storm, Trinity Fatu, Cara Buono, Adam Demos and James Cornette.
I was invited by Ash Avildsen and Sumerian Films to the NYC premiere of Queen of the Ring over at AMC at Lincoln Square. Queen of the Ring is an indie biopic featuring Mildred Burke, one of the pioneers of women’s wrestling. But before I get to my review, let’s go into some history about Millie Muscles.
Mildred Burke's background in professional wrestling
Mildred Bliss known to fans as Mildred Burke was born on August 5, 1915, in Kansas. She was a single mother and grew up in a time when women were rarely involved in the professional wrestling industry.
Mildred started wrestling in the late 1930s and gained recognition for her determination and athleticism. She was an amateur at first and moved swiftly into the professional aspect. Mildred was the first woman recognized by the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) as the World Women’s Champion.
In 1937, she beat Clara Mortenson and would hold the title for almost 20 years. She dropped the title in 1956. Thus cementing her legacy and place in wrestling history. Though it could be said there was a lot of drama behind the title with Mildred and June Byers
She would be instrumental in inspiring other women to get involved in wrestling by working in various promotions all over the country, and by being a top draw. Millie was tough, determined, and dedicated and had many rivalries including with the iconic Mae Young.
In the business aspect, while married to Billy Wolfe, she would negotiate her contracts and did whatever she could to make herself a star. When Mildred left wrestling in the late 1950s, she continued to be involved in wrestling in different capacities. She passed away at the age of 68 years old in February 1989.
Wrestling 101 and Family
Queen of the Ring starts in Kansas during the 1930's. Mildred Bliss/Burke is played by Emily Bett Rickards. She is a single mother working at her mother Bertha's diner. Bertha is played by Cara Buono. She does seem stressed and overwhelmed which is to be expected from a full-time working mother.
Eventually, she is at a wrestling show where she sees Billy Wolfe (played by Josh Lucas).
Mildred would get Billy to train her and he does after realizing how good she is in the ring. She would wrestle at carnivals as Mildred Burke wrestling men in matches. During this we see Mildred working her way up in women’s wrestling. We get all the wrestling terms, such as kayfabe, heels, and faces and as a wrestling fan, of course, I popped.
Now what is a good story without some romance? As a romance writer, I tend to like romance in my stories. With that being said, Mildred would fall for Billy and they would get together even though he was much older. Billy shows many times his jealousy over Mildred’s success. He cheated and was abusive as well. Things that did upset me as I watched the movie. Things would get to a point where they would get married for business purposes even though Billy’s respect for the marriage was null and void. He would even go as far as to do whatever he could to stop Mildred from succeeding once they publically broke up.
The matches and theatrics of the movie were great and I for one found myself just as emotionally invested as when I was watching WWE or NJPW. Even though I knew the outcome of some of these matches, I was so excited to feel like a fan watching wrestling during the matches. The training women, women be inspired to wrestle because of Mildred and seeing her make a name for herself in a business that even in 2025 still has a long way to go when it comes to the women in the business.
Personally, one of the things I enjoyed about the movie is how Emily made Mildred seem relatable. I’m a single mother to three children and when you’re a mom you can find yourself at times losing parts of yourself because you’re just a mom. As the saying goes you can’t pour from an empty cup. A happy mom is a mom who will be even better for her children. And before anyone gets confused, I love being a mom, but being a mom can be a hard job. It’s a never-ending job trying to do your best and make sure your children have what you didn’t have. For me, that theme in the movie resonated with me.
I enjoyed the dynamic she had with her son Joe (Gavin Casalegno) and how much passion and love she had for the wrestling business even when the wrestling business wasn’t always kind to her.
Emily’s portrayal showed strength, poise, but most of all love and passion. She loved her mom and son dearly. At the end of the movie, there is a scene where Joe is coaching her in her match against June Byer and it had me in tears. I loved the bond they had. It was such an important moment in the movie to me.
Friendships Mildred made along the way
Another component to me was the comradery and friendship between Mildred, Elvira Snodgrass (Marie Avgeropoulos), Mae Young (Francesca Eastwood), Gladys Gillem (Deborah Ann Woll), and Babs Wingo (Damaris Lewis). They had each other’s backs. They rode for each other, and I loved that.
Kamille as June Byer and Francesca as Mae Young
Kamille who I was fortunate to meet some years ago and she killed it as June. June was portrayed as a bit of a mean girl and a woman who wrestled stiffly. She was a bit of a brute in how she wrestled, Kamille made me want to root against her with how well her portrayal was. As a good heel in wrestling would do.
Francesca played Mae Young and every single time she appeared on the screen I was happy. She was a bad a** wrestler and showed how good she was in the ring. She was also such a good character that if I didn’t know as much as I did about Mae Young, I’d love her from watching this.
While I didn’t particularly care for the subplot of Mildred falling for Billy’s son G. Bill (Tyler Posey). With how Billy treated Mildred, I could understand why that was the case.
Overall this movie showcased women's empowerment, going the distance, love, friendship, and of course, this crazy business we call wrestling.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. Absolutely well done to Ash Avildsen and the rest of the team who made this film possible. This movie showed Mildred Burke's legacy well and how she laid the groundwork for the current generation of women wrestlers.