Fighting With My Family, the comedy biopic about WWE Superstar Paige, produced by and co-starring the Rock and directed by Stephen Merchant, officially comes to theaters on February 14. However, there have already been screenings elsewhere and buzz is building. After the screening at the Sundance Film Festival, Zelina Vega, who plays former WWE Superstar AJ Lee in the film, tweeted a note about how much it meant to her to be in the movie and have the Rock’s support:
https://twitter.com/Zelina_VegaWWE/status/1090414283400261632
Then she went on to express hope that AJ would enjoy her portrayal as well.
https://twitter.com/Zelina_VegaWWE/status/1090414535570206720
Which AJ responded to in a tweet that came off as very sincere:
Girl I could never even watch my actual self on TV without breaking out in hives haha, but I’m sure you were a great me! More importantly, you’re the first and only you. And I believe in you and Saraya wholeheartedly. Go kill it, ladies! https://t.co/SZYe54BI99
— AJ Mendez (@TheAJMendez) January 30, 2019
I say that because AJ makes clear that she’s not going to watch the movie, without making it about WWE and any conflict between herself and them (and her husband CM Punk), but she still makes a point of supporting not just Zelina, but Paige as well (who she tellingly calls by her real non-WWE name, Saraya).
As for Fighting With My Family, the reviews are mostly good. Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com said that “even though Fighting with My Family is undoubtedly about branding the WWE as a fantasy factory, its biggest strengths are in its wit and surprisingly big heart.” Yolanda Machado at The Wrap was particularly enthusiastic about the film’s fleshed-out portrayal of Paige as a character. It will be interesting to see how people audiences react to the film when it arrives in regular theaters.
