Queen Of The Ring Director Credits AEW's Jim Ross For Sharing Mildred Burke's Story

Director Ash Avildsen worked hard alongside many insiders within the wrestling business to make "Queen of the Ring," a film about the life of the revolutionary wrestler Mildred Burke based on the book "The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend." Avildsen is making the media rounds to discuss the film before its theatrical release in March, and he spoke on "Busted Open Radio" about who helped him the most. He said legend Jim Ross told him about the book when he called him up about doing an "80s fictional love letter" to professional wrestling.

"When I called JR to work with him, I asked him to be involved to make it as authentic as possible. He said, 'Hey, do you know who Mildred Burke is?' I said, 'No, I never heard of her,'" Avildsen explained. "He said, 'You should read this book, 'Queen of the Ring,' it really feels like a movie.' I read it that weekend. I was completely enchanted by the story. I called him back on Monday and said, 'Forget about the 80s fictional thing, we gotta tell this woman's story.' None of my die-hard friends, I'm sure we all have our group chats with our pro wrestling buddies, no one knew about her."

Avildsen said at that point, he was upset that no one knew about Burke. He said he fell in love with the story and was blown away by all of it, including the history. He said he feels like if there's a movie about Burke that has a real shot in theaters, people will know about her at the level Avildsen thinks they should. The film hits theaters on March 7.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.