I saw it yesterday. I'm a wrestling fan and I really liked it. I've always thought Mickey Rourke was great when he had the right director. Francis Ford Coppola directed him in Rumblefish and The Rainmaker - I think that was the name of it. Both were about his best performances ever, in my opinion, and this one is in that same vein.
Marisa Tomei was great also. If I went into a strip club and saw her with that nice bod - great natural boobs and really nice ass - I'd be happy to get dances from her.
It was also cool to see Ernie "The Cat" Miller as Mickey Rourke's main wrestling rival. I didn't think the movie trivialized wrestling. It showed a lot of camaraderie among the wrestlers. It certainly painted a bleak picture of someone that's sacrificed absolutely every other relationship in his life in his chase for the adoration of his fans, but that can be said about people in lots of professions - and has been. It's a unique take to put it in the wrestling world. In interviews, Mickey Rourke talked about being at screenings where the film was shown for current and retired wrestlers and for Vince McMahon and they all liked it.
Ron Killings and Austin Aries are in it also - I don't think either one would be happy to be in a movie that treated wrestling poorly. I highly recommend the movie. As to whether it's a movie that "needs" to be seen on the big screen, I wouldn't make that claim so much - but see it somewhere.
