Card Subject To Change (2010)

Directed by Tim Disbrow 
Starring Kevin Sullivan, Johnny Falco, and Trent Acid  
Runtime 87min. - Not Rated

2 Stars (out of 4)

"Card Subject To Change" is part of my Quirky Documentary series and is available on Netflix Instant. 

(A former WWE wrestler and bona fide legend featured in this film, Kamala, has had both legs amputated since this appearance due to complications with diabetes. When not wrestling he drove a tractor-trailer for a living. You can donate to him via paypal. Learn more here.)

I need to make a confession. I watch professional wrestling. I've watched it since I was a young kid. I remember watching Hulk Hogan wrestle live back when he still had hair. By the time I got to high-school, Hulkamania had died down and been replaced by the "Monday Night Wars". I knew it wasn't "real", but it sure as hell was entertaining.


In 2001, I met a man named Roy Bradbury. He went to the same church back before I was an atheist. Roy wasn't exactly famous. He lived in a small home in a small town and worked for an oil change shop. He was Clark Kent. When he ran inside a phone-booth he exited as Major Joe Powers. It's that character who is remembered by fans around the world. Roy always had big stories about Joe Powers. Most of them I didn't believe, or thought were exaggerated. He told me about visiting bars with The Iron Sheik and wrestling against Wahoo McDaniel. He said that WWE legend Mick Foley slept on his couch whenever he was in town. I thought it was all made up. It was hard for me to accept when the Roy I knew was just a humble fishing buddy. The first time I visited his home that all changed. He didn't just tell the stories, he had them all on video. Iron Sheik, Mick Foley, Jimmy Valiant, Wahoo McDaniel, Ric Flair, Ivan Koloff; the list went on and on, he had worked with all of them.When he was younger, Joe Powers was a high-flyer who worked all over the world. When I knew him he was a bit heavier and working local shows, but he could still fire up a crowd.

I was in my element with "Card Subject To Change". It follows up-and-comers and past-their-primers on the independent wrestling circuit. There are a number of faces that long-time fans will recognize; Kevin Sullivan, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, Kamala, Paul Bearer, Billy Kidman. I believe, however, the real interest lies in the names you've never heard of. There's so many indy wrestlers who never have a shot at making it a career, yet they put their bodies on the line constantly. The least of these make as a little as $25 a show. In smaller promotions they may not get paid at all if the crowd is small. What makes these guys tick? You won't really find out in this documentary.

The film doesn't focus on any individual for long. It's almost like a series of short films that are shown 2 minutes at a time and edited together randomly. It takes place over several years, but there's no coherent story being told. We might see a promoter hanging flyers and then cut to a guy lacing up his boots. They are both in the same building but we never see them interact. It's lazy film-making. I got the sense that the filmmakers wanted to film as many people as possible and just hoped that something important would happen to one of them. That wish is fulfilled by tragedy, without which there probably wouldn't have been a film at all.

In august of 2002 I went to see my friend Joe Powers at a local show. He was in the main event and seemingly in top form. It was ironic how good he was at being a bad guy given that he was one of the warmest individuals I've ever met. That same night I ran into a girl I used to work with years earlier. She slipped me her phone number on a piece of scrap paper. We've been married for ten years now. That night should have been a treasured memory. Unfortunately, it happened to be the last time I saw Joe Powers alive.

Like many wrestlers, Joe was an addict. The number of professional wrestlers who die young is alarming. We had discussed his past occasionally. He told me that it wasn't uncommon for he and his friends to travel to Mexico and pick up bucket loads of prescription painkillers. It sounds awful, but these guys are honestly in pain. A boxer or MMA fighter is usually forced to take time off after a fight so that their body heals. Wrestlers, on the other hand, put their bodies through the wringer several times a week. They almost never have health insurance and don't get paid enough to take time off. The introduction of steroids and painkillers into that sort of environment shouldn't be surprising.

My friend had been clean for many years. Just before he died he did have a relapse, but he cleaned up again before wrestling his final event. What I didn't notice that night was his yellowing skin and eyes. His liver had began to fail. Only a few days later I got word that he had died in a hospital while waiting on a transplant; which they may have never given to a former addict in his 50's.

After that incident I stopped watching wrestling. Something about it didn't feel right anymore. I had reached the upper limit of wrestling fandom. I went to Summerslam and numerous TV tapings and befriended a local legend who introduced me to a former WWE champion. There wasn't much else to do. Ten years have passed and I've just became a fan again. Something new has came along and I can't stand to miss it. His name is Elijah and he's my 7 year-old son. Elijah is consumed with joy when wrestling is on TV and it has rubbed off on me. I still think of Roy "Joe Powers" Bradbury every time I see a ring, but I can't say that's a bad thing.

"Card Subject To Change" covers familiar territory for me and wrestling fans should find the material pretty interesting. I can't recommend it to my non-wrestling cinephile friends though. There are much better documentaries out there on the same subject. Seeking out those films should allow for a new level of appreciation of wrestling, even among those who aren't friends. The other obvious recommendation is "The Wrestler" starring Mickey Rourke. You won't find a better portrayal of the profession than that fine film.