Though The Iron Claw hasn't even been in theaters for a month, the story of the Von Erich Family has already taken on a surprising second life on the internet for its portrayal of Ric Flair, the “Nature Boy” who went from limousine ridin' to Woooo! Energy drink hawking as a semi-regular member of AEW television.
Granted, the appearance is more of a cameo, as the portrayal by 40-year-old actor Aaron Dean Eisenberg takes up mere moments of the film's 132-minute run time, but still, the sheer non-Ric Flairness of the presentation has left more than a few fans either confused or downright amused in the worst way possible, turning what should be an important bit of character development into a certified meme.
Discussing the scene in question and the film as a whole on Drop The Mic with Daron Jenkins, AEW's Ryan Nemeth, who portrays Gino Hernandez in the film, came to the defense of his fellow actor, suggesting that any representation of Flair would have been unpopular among fans because it wasn't the genuine article.
“I told this to Sean [Sean Durkin], the director, this, in my opinion, from anything I've seen, is the greatest depiction of pro wrestling ever on film. People can have opinions whether they like the movie or not, but wrestling has never been this perfectly depicted in a movie, and I stand by that. Maybe someday that'll change and something will come along and do it better, but so far, this is the one. People like Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, more Ric Flair because he's still around and is still everywhere in pop culture. They have iconic personalities and they kind of transcend wrestling. I imagine a lot of people don't know Ric Flair is a wrestler, they just know him from popping up everywhere and pop culture,” Ryan Nemeth told Daron Jenkins via Fightful.
“A few people I've talked to have said the actor portraying Ric Flair in the movie, ‘Well, you know, it's not exactly Ric Flair.' I think, yeah, it's a movie. He's around; you see him on Instagram and posting. I think the actor did a brilliant job portraying and capturing the character at the moment he was NWA Champion. Every one of these actors have taken a person, who for the most part isn't around anymore, and captured and embodied them and they all did brilliant work. Someone gave me a hard time, ‘That's not really like Ric Flair.' I just thought, you're not going to be happy unless it's literally Ric Flair. It's your mind doing that to you. He did a great job.”
On one hand, good on Nemeth for defending his fellow actor, as the job of filling shoes as iconic as Ric Flair's can't be easy at all. Still, the performance, which sees Eisenberg matching Flair's words but all but bypassing all of his very famous physicality and even vocal delivery, does leave something to be desired, as it just doesn't read like the most swaggering man of the 1980s.
Iron Claw RIC FLAIR SCENE #wrestling #ironclaw #ricflair pic.twitter.com/qJNVjdeJtI
— Bicks Flicks (@bicksflix) December 22, 2023
Chavo Guerrero reveals the importance of The Iron Claw.
Speaking of actual wrestling stars who played a role in bringing The Iron Claw to life, Chavo Guerrero, who filled both the role of The Sheik on the screen and wrestling choreographer behind it, stopped by Wrestling Inc. to discuss just how important it was to him to ensure that the Von Erich's story was told correctly on screen, as it was his family's story too.
“I always give them 100% every time I'm coordinating a show or a movie,” he says. “But yes, this absolutely did because nobody understands what a wrestling family goes through being in that business, except for another wrestling family,” Chavo Gurrero told Wrestling Inc.
“Being able to help tell the Von Erich story — it's the Guerrero story as well. It's the Orton story, it's the McMahon story, it's a wrestling family story. So definitely, I wanted to make sure that it was very, very accurate, at least on my part, as much as I could. And I did tell the Von Erichs when I first started doing this, ‘Guys, thank you for putting your trust in me. I will help make this story as if I'm making it about my own family.'”
Say what you will about The Iron Claw, about Ric Flair, about the absence of Chris Von Erich, and about not making Fritz Von Erich out to be a Darth Sidious-level arch-villain who destroyed his own family due to his domineering ways, but one thing fans cannot say is that the family wasn't respected in the film making process, even if, in doing so, it negatively affected the ultimate power of the film as a whole. Considering Ross, Marshall, and Kevin Von Erich all approve of the film, it's safe to say Gurrerro's goal was met.
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