Fighting with My Family

To summarise it briefly, yes (mostly).

Fighting with My Family is based on a 2012 documentary commissioned for Channel 4 and directed by Max Fisher, The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family. The film is a dramatisation of the events covered by the documentary. The documentary follows the Knight Family as both Zak and Saraya undertake trials in their pursuit of signing with WWE, and the impact of Saraya’s departure on both the family, as well as WAW itself. Saraya herself confirmed that the film adaptation of Fighting with My Family was “like 95 percent accurate, although there were little twists for Hollywood”.

Dwayne Johnson, producer of Fighting with My Family, first stumbled across the documentary while filming Fast & Furious 6 in London. Johnson returned to his hotel room after a filming session and saw the documentary as it aired on Channel 4. He was apparently drawn to the family element of the documentary, which “grabbed his attention” and fuelled the idea of producing a movie about Saraya’s journey.

The film also depicts several real-life events in Zak’s life following the conclusion of the documentary it was based on. After failing to reach WWE alongside his sister, Zak suffered with mental health issues for many years before turning his life around by dedicating his time to developing the WAW Academy, WAW’s wrestling training school. It was through this role that Zak first met James Chilvers, the blind wrestling trainee whose story inspired a similar character in the film itself. Chilvers is achieved his goal of becoming a wrestler with Zak’s support, a story that BBC documentary series Step Into The Ring delves deeper into.

Some scenes were created solely for the film’s narrative, such as Paige and Zak’s encounter with Dwayne Johnson prior to their WWE trial, as well as Paige’s return to WAW after experiencing difficulties adapting to her new life in the US.

Fighting with my Family features a predominantly British cast, reflecting the fact that many scenes were filmed in the United Kingdom. Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden star as Saraya Knight (aka Paige) and Zak “Zodiac” Knight, while Lena Headey and Nick Frost support as Julia Knight (aka Sweet Saraya) and “Rowdy” Ricky Knight, respectively. Vince Vaughn plays the role of fictional WWE head trainer Hutch Morgan, the man responsible for signing Paige in Fighting With My Family.

Several current and former WWE Superstars make cameo appearances, John Cena, The Miz, Sheamus, and Big Show (Paul Wight) briefly appear as themselves, while Zelina Vega plays AJ Lee – the wrestler Paige beat to win the WWE Divas Championship.

Producer Dwayne Johnson and director Stephen Merchant also appear in cameo roles, with Johnson playing himself and Merchant portraying Hugh, Zak’s father-in-law.

Many WAW wrestlers and staff, as well as British wrestlers from throughout the industry, appear as background characters. The real Zak Knight appears as a gang leader who has a dispute with his film counterpart. Roy Knight cameos as a cage fighter competing against the film version of Zak. Their sister, Nikki Knight, briefly appears as the midwife helping Zak’s partner Courtney give birth.

Despite inspiring major characters, the real-life Ricky and Saraya Knight do not make appearances in the film in any capacity. Similarly, the real Paige is not seen until clips from the original documentary are played during the credits.

Here’s a list of cameos to look out for, can you spot them all?