DALLAS — The world premiere of "The Iron Claw" – telling the story of the tragic rise and fall of the legendary North Texas wrestling family, the Von Erichs – held its world premiere Wednesday evening, appropriately, in Dallas at the historic Texas Theatre.
But before the movie itself started, the stars walked down the red, or, actually, green carpet – matching the color of the grass around the Von Erichs' home much of the movie is centered around.
This wasn't a standard Hollywood movie premiere though. Aside from just the stars of the movie and its crew, a number of pro wrestlers were in attendance as well. From WWE legends such as Trish Stratus -- who wasn't even involved in the movie, she just wanted to go -- to the numerous pro wrestlers in attendance itself. It was really easy to tell who at the premiere was involved with wrestling, given many of them stood about a foot higher than everyone else there.
There were even a couple of champions at the premiere, including NWA National Heavyweight Champion "Thrillbilly" Silas Mason and Luke Hawx, who is a champion for WildKat Pro Wrestling, an independent Louisiana-based wrestling promotion. Mason and Hawx -- who play two of the Von Erichs' arch-nemeses, Freebirds Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy respectively -- even wore their title belts to the premiere.
Aside from the stars, the streets around the theater were packed with fans, either of the Von Erichs, or of the big name actors in attendance like Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White. Many of them were there screaming for attention from the stars. It fittingly brought back memories associated with the Von Erichs' prime, when their appearances were accompanied by the screams of teenage girls trying to get near them everywhere they went.
The studio also gave out some pretty cool merch at the premiere -- foam fingers in the shape or the eponymous iron claw the Von Erichs were famous for applying to their opponents. It's a great little item that would surely pop fans at any Dallas wrestling show.
Having a premiere in North Texas was a novelty itself, especially for a theatre so closely tied to history as the Texas Theatre, where Lee Harvey Oswald had hid out watching movies after reportedly assassinating President John F. Kennedy.
According to Barak Epstein, the owner of the Texas Theatre, this is just the fourth movie premiere in North Texas in the past 50 years -- the previous premieres being "13 Hours" at AT&T Stadium in 2016, Peter Bogdanovich's "Texasville" at Glen Lakes in 1990 and The Who's "Tommy" in 1975 at Inwood Theatre.
To see "The Iron Claw" for yourself, you'll have to wait a little longer, as it doesn't have its wide release until Dec. 22.