The week before Wrestlemania is always an eventful time for the WWE, but the news cycle on the brand has been on overload as of late it seems. Now, the company is back in the news as it's been announced it will team up with A&E Network's Biography series to highlight some of its wrestling legends. Macho Man, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and many more will get their stories told in documentaries that could paint their careers in a new light.
In total, the WWE and A&E will co-produce two-hour documentaries on five of its wrestling superstars of the past. Beyond the aforementioned Macho Man and Roddy Piper, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, and Stone Cold Steve Austin will also receive documentaries. Using award-winning directors, interviews, and never-before-seen footage, the documentaries will highlight the early lives, rise to stardom, and careers of these superstars. The first three documentaries are in pre-production and are set to arrive in Spring 2020.
At the moment, those documentaries in production are Biography: "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Biography: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and Biography: Booker T. The remaining documentaries on Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin will come at a later date, with the current timeline on their airing happening sometime in 2021.
Biography: "Macho Man" Randy Savage is directed by Cocaine Cowboys director Billy Corben. The documentary will detail the accolades of Macho Man's career, including his 14-month title reign as Intercontinental Champion. It will also detail his larger-than-life personality, and the flashy wardrobe that made him an iconic character still mentioned in pop culture today.
Biography: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper is directed by Emmy and Peabody award winner Joe Lavine, whose directing credits include HBO's Namath. A career villain in the WWE, Roddy Piper relished the opportunity to play the bad guy, and was on the opposite end of many iconic matches in the WWE. His legacy lives on today in the form of current WWE superstar Ronda Rousey, who has paid homage to him by wearing a take on his gear from time to time.
Biography: Booker T is directed by another Emmy and Peabody award winner by the name of George Roy, who has made such documentaries as The Curse Of The Bambino and Mayweather. The documentary will highlight Booker T's phenomenal run in the WCW, as well as his transition over to the WWE. It will also highlight his time as a color-commentator for the brand, an honor few former wrestlers are given.
The announcement of the documentaries come right as the WWE is under fire, thanks to a segment done by Last Week Tonight. There's also a documentary series coming to Vice that will highlight the darker side of wrestling, so this partnership with A&E will give the WWE a chance to put more information out there about its superstars with some say in how it's handled creatively.
It will be a while before A&E Network's Biography segments come to air, so stick with CinemaBlend for the latest entertainment news and a heads up on what shows to be watching in the coming months. For more on pro-wrestling, read our list of wrestlers whose lives would make for some insane biopics.
