Questioning the Story:Did Paige's family really run their own wrestling organization?Yes. The Fighting with My Family true story confirms that her family ran the World Association of Wrestling (headed by her father 'Rowdy' Ricky Knight) and had become the biggest names in UK professional wrestling. Paige was the star attraction, then wrestling under the name Britani Knight. Her brother Zak was 6'4" and was known as Zak Zodiac. Zak's half-brother, Roy, wrestled under the name the Zebra Kid. The matriarch of the family, Julia Knight, stepped into the ring as Sweet Saraya. Wrestling was the family's passion and its only source of income.
The Knight family (from left to right): Brothers Roy (aka Zebra Kid) and Zak (aka Zak Zodiac), father Ricky, mother Julia, and daughter Saraya (aka Paige).
Source: Channel 4Yes. "I'd like my kids to go to the very top," father Ricky Knight said in the 2012 documentary about his family. "That's what I started the wrestling dynasty for. ... Makin' it big is in America at the moment. That's where the money is. That's where the stardom is. That's where they get to be known. Best case is they actually both get there and be big stars."
Paige (left) during her days before the WWE when she wrestled under the name Britani Knight. Actress Florence Pugh (right) in the movie.
The Rock, actress Florence Pugh, and Paige at a Q&A for
Fighting with My Family at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Yes. A WWE talent scout invited Saraya and Zak to attend WWE trials in Great Britain. In April 2011, they tried out before a SmackDown taping at The O2 arena in London. Saraya made the cut but Zak didn't. She was sent to the WWE's then-farm system, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), which was rebranded as NXT the following year. She first wrestled for FCW under the ring name Saraya, but her wrestling name was changed to Paige before she made her television debut in February 2012.
Left: Saraya Knight (aka Paige) and her brother Zak Knight (aka Zak Zodiac).
Right: Actors Jack Lowden and Florence Pugh portray the siblings in the movie.
Did Paige's brother Zak really teach a blind teenage boy how to wrestle?Yes. Impressively, Zak did come up with a method to teach a blind kid how to wrestle. He taught the boy how to react using only touch and sound. That boy went on to become a professional wrestler.Is Vince Vaughn's character, NXT head coach Hutch Morgan, based on a real person?No. The Fighting with My Family true story reveals that Vince Vaughn's character is fictional. Director Stephen Merchant said that the character is a combination of the four or five different WWE trainers that Paige had. In the movie, Vaughn portrays a pro-wrestling veteran named Hutch Morgan, who is the head coach/trainer of the next generation ("NXT") of WWE stars. Initially, NXT was created in 2010 to be the WWE's farm system for its main brands, Raw and SmackDown. Though in later years, it evolved into its own brand. -The Sports Daily
Vince Vaughn portrays fictional WWE recruiter/coach Hutch Morgan in
Fighting with My Family.
At his second WWE tryout, he got further and was given the opportunity to wrestle in a televised WWE SmackDown match during which he was pummeled by WWE star Big Show. He believed that the tryout and match went as well as they could have, but again he was told that he didn't have enough muscle. Others have cited his diet being an issue as well. He's shown drinking beer in the Knight family documentary at a time when he was supposed to be bulking up. -The Wrestlers Documentary
The real Zak Knight (left) and Jack Lowden (right) as Zak in the
Fighting with My Family movie.
Yes. At Wrestlemania in 2014, The Rock told Paige that she would be debuting on WWE's main roster the following day and that she was going to be the Divas Champion. She immediately broke down in tears of joy. During that same conversation, he informed her a movie was going to be made about her family. Paige had first signed a contract with the WWE in 2011 but had only wrestled within its developmental systems. She was 21 when she wrestled in her debut WWE match in April of 2014. -Norwich Evening News
At Wrestlemania 30, The Rock broke the news to Paige that she would be making her debut on the WWE's main roster the following day.
The real Paige (left) says that the film completely captured her family. Actress Florence Pugh (right) portrays Paige in the
Fighting with My Family movie.
Director Stephen Merchant encouraged the stars to perform as many of the wrestling maneuvers as they could. Florence was coached by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and others. For the more complicated and dangerous in-ring maneuvers, professional wrestler Tessa Blanchard stepped in as Florence's stunt double.
Does Paige have a cameo in Fighting with My Family?No, but she says that members of her family did get to be extras in the movie. "[The filmmakers] all started coming over to England to film and [my family members] all have extra parts in it,” she said (Lilian Garcia Podcast). Paige's brother Zak has a cameo as a drug dealer.How successful did Paige become as a WWE wrestler?After debuting on the WWE's main roster in April 2014, Paige became a bonafide WWE Superstar with a prominent storyline. She won the Divas Championship twice and went on to become the general manager of the SmackDown brand following her retirement from in-ring competition in April 2018 due to a neck injury.
A 21-year-old Paige (left) becomes the Divas Champion at Wrestlemania 30 in 2014. Florence Pugh's character (right) dreams of being a WWE Champion in the movie.
Go deeper into the true story behind Fighting with My Family by watching the documentary and interviews below.