Wrestling documentaries are a dime a dozen. As a close follower of the sport, I’ve seen my fair share of films documenting wrestlers and what goes on behind-the-curtain, but nothing like Panu Suuronen’s Regina kuningattaren kehä. 

Regina – Queen of the Ring provides an fascinating outsider’s perspective on wrestling promotions outside of North America and Japan, and follows female wrestler Regina Rosendahl as she pushes to earn the 2023 FCF Finnish Heavyweight Championship title.

Regina gives viewers a new angle on multinational and national wrestling promotions within Europe, outside of the dominant entertainment industry of American professional wrestling. While influenced by Americanized sentimentalities, what sets Regina apart is its footing in both the realism of the sport and the lack of staging around organizing and planning the minutiae around wrestling spectacle.

Regina frequently deals with misogyny from fellow wrestlers and management from within the promotion in the film, especially when talking about doing all-female promotions and events, where she is met with accusations of “discrimination against men” from board members within the FCF. 

“The same discussion, again and again,” Regina groans to her colleague after a key talk with the FCF board about hosting an all-female tournament. Throughout the documentary, we see the machismo endemic to Finnish wrestling through Regina’s eyes, seeing the misogyny inside of logistical meetings, arguments at practices, and even in casual conversation with other wrestlers. 

The film holds nothing back as Regina and her cohort struggle to convince senior management at FCF to give the FCF Heavyweight Champion title to a woman, citing how events with women performers are more lucrative for the promotion. While FCF promotes itself as an “inclusive promoter,” all of the initiatives that FCF takes on are all lip-service when the viewer also has access to what happens outside of the ring, in fast-paced board meetings dominated by masculine sentiment. 

“No wonder women lose interest,” Rosendahl quips as she discusses her debut ten years prior to the events of the film. Regina is frank in her discussion of starting out in the promotion as a pioneering woman, and the anxiety around being such an outspoken woman in a male-dominated league. Regina is also incredibly open about the sex work she does in order to pursue wrestling as her sole career, and we even see her apply to wrestle in a Japanese all-women’s league. 

In its realism, Regina is extremely human and vulnerable for all involved, where we see Regina frankly discussing insecurities, bodily shame she feels as a result of an eating disorder and the anxiety and uncertainty around her profession. Despite this, she has a natural and infectious passion for wrestling that touches everyone in her life, especially her friends and allies in the FCF promotion. 

Regina frequently wrestles men as well as women in the film, which makes her radically different from what we see in North America. Her ringwork is pretty exceptional as well, which is a great treat for wrestling fans grown tired of women’s treatment in other larger promotions. The film also notes that the feminist veer in the development of storylines in the FCF promotion proved to be far more popular and relatable with their core fanbase, and Regina’s work inside and outside of the ring have contributed to the FCF’s popularity in Finnish wrestling. 

When I watched this film, I had just watched WWE’s Monday Night Raw the night before, and I couldn’t help but compare Regina to what I know about the WWE’s culture of contempt for women in its rank. Regina bites back against misogyny at its every appearance, and it is my wish that we see something similar come from the American wrestling entertainment industry. 

ReFrame Film Festival will screen Regina – Queen of the Ring on January 25th 2025 at 5:00pm at Market Hall. Tickets can be found here for the in-person screening, with virtual passes for the film available here from January 27th to February 2nd. 

‍Reframe is asking film-goers to show up in their best wrestler costume for the screening of Regina – Queen of the Ring at Market Hall. The best costume will receive a free pass for next year’s ReFrame Festival.