Saraya's (fka Paige) father has a message for WWE icon The Rock (Exclusive)
Ricky Knight, the father of AEW's Saraya, has nothing but good things to say about The Rock's involvement in the Fighting with My Family movie.
Saraya, formerly known as Paige in WWE, starred in a Channel 4 documentary in the United Kingdom about her family in 2012. The Rock watched the show late at night while he was filming in the UK and decided to turn the story into a movie script.
In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, Knight revealed that he has never met The Rock in person. He also delivered the following message to the Hollywood star:
"I'd just like to say the man's an icon and thank him for having faith in my family and getting that movie made," Knight said. "That was his push, his foresight, believed in that movie. It changed our lives, not in a way financially so much, but elevated our company to where we are now. We've got our own arena. All these people joined us. We even get American tourists coming to see our facility because Paige was trained here." [5:20 - 5:51]
Watch the video above to hear Ricky Knight and Saraya's mother, Sweet Saraya, discuss Vince McMahon's retirement. Sweet Saraya also spoke about a possible future match between her daughter and Becky Lynch.
How The Rock's Fighting with My Family idea began
As a third-generation wrestler himself, The Rock's family history in the wrestling business goes back to the 1960s.
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According to Ricky Knight, the eight-time WWE Champion decided to make the movie because he felt he could relate to the family's trials and tribulations:
"The night that he couldn't sleep, it was repeated on TV, and it just got to him. He said it reminded him of his family because he came from a wrestling family himself and he started out very poor. That's why his company is called Seven Bucks [Productions], and that's what he left home with." [3:59 - 4:13]
WWE Studios helped with the production of Fighting with My Family. The Rock also asked English actor Stephen Merchant to direct and write the movie, which was released in 2019.
"I bet he could see himself in our family," Knight added. "He took it home, showed his mum, showed all his family, watched it about 20 times, and then he had the idea, 'I need to make a movie of this,' and he wouldn't leave it alone. He then got hold of Stephen Merchant, who was a good friend of his, to direct it and he got WWE to put some money in it." [4:14 - 4:36]
The Knight family continues to host wrestling shows to this day. Their World Association of Wrestling (WAW) promotion will stage the Fightmare IV show on October 15. Chelsea Green, Matt Cardona, and Saraya are among the high-profile names due to appear at the Norfolk Showground event.
What do you expect to see from Saraya in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below.
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