Ryan Nemeth defends Aaron Dean Eisenberg.
"The Iron Claw" opened to strong reviews from critics and fans, both who knew the story going in and those who didn't. However, if there's been criticism about the movie from wrestling fans, it's been Aaron Dean Eisenberg's portrayal of Ric Flair.
Appearing on Drop The Mic with Daron Jenkins, Ryan Nemeth, who portrayed Gino Hernandez in the movie, defended Eisenberg.
"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. 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," stated Nemeth.
Iron Claw RIC FLAIR SCENE #wrestling #ironclaw #ricflair pic.twitter.com/qJNVjdeJtI
— Bicks Flicks (@bicksflix) December 22, 2023
"The Iron Claw" opened in theaters on December 22 and has grossed nearly $7 million at the box office.
Nemeth is currently signed to AEW.
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