The Main Event | 2020 | NR | – 2.4.5

Why is “The Main Event” rated NR? The MPAA has not rated this film. The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a man kissing a woman’s hand, a couple of flirting scenes, several scenes of men and women wearing tight-fitting wrestling garb, and discussions of divorce and infidelity; many scenes of preteen boys being bullied by other boys, an attempted robbery by a man with a gun ending in his arrest, and many wrestling match scenes with loud thuds and throws and punches landing, without injuries shown; and at least 1 F-word and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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A preteen wrestling fanboy (Seth Carr) is bullied at school, but when he finds a Lucha Libre mask that endows him with special powers, he uses it to enter a competition to become a pro with WWE NXT Superstars. Along with super strength, using the mask creates humorous situations and a chance to learn important lessons. Also with Tichina Arnold, Ken Marino, Keith Lee and Adam Pally; and featuring WWE Superstars Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Sheamus. Directed by Jay Karas. [Running Time: 1:41]

The Main Event SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A young girl is impressed by a boy with super strength derived from a special mask; they flirt, smiling at each other in a library and school lunchroom.
► We hear that a young boy’s parents are divorced and the boy overhears an argument between them including that his mom left with another man and his dad is in financial difficulty. A woman calls a TV wrestler sexy and says he can move his pecs up and down, making her wild. A man calls a woman beautiful and kisses her hand; as he walks away, she calls out, “I love you!”
► Several male wrestlers wear tight-fitting trunks and are shirtless and a few men wear vests without shirts (one man’s stomach and chest jiggle). Two female wrestlers wear tight-fitting biker shorts with crop-top spandex tops that reveal bare abdomens. A woman wears a series of tight spandex long pants that emphasize her hips and thighs, and she dances at home a few times, writhing and laughing. A preteen boy has a dozen posters of shirtless male wrestlers on his bedroom walls.

The Main Event VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A man in a diner shouts as he enters and slams a bag on the counter demanding money (he has a gun in his hand that we do not see until the end of the scene when it is thrown from his hand); a preteen boy stands on the end of the counter, throws melted ice cream into the robber’s face, pummels him with many balls of ice cream, drags him and slides him along the counter, and picks him up and throws him out the door and over a railing, where two police officers arrest him.
► A man in cage match wrestles with a young boy, kicking him several times and kicking him out of a wrestling ring, and picking him up and throwing him down on the floor of the ring (the boy is not hurt, but we hear many slaps and thuds); the boy bounces off the man as he tries to kick him and falls, he is thrown against the cage where he clings and climbs toward a mask stuck at the top, he taunts and dares the man to climb up to get it, and the man passes out from fear of heights and hits the ring floor with a loud thud; the boy backflips and lands on the man punching an elbow hard into his chest (we see no injury and the match ends) as another man rushes forward and tries to climb into the cage until two security men pull him away and a different man climbs into the ring as the crowd boos him and he falls without injury; a woman then enters the ring and kicks him twice launching him out into the arena and onto the floor with a loud thud (no injuries are visible).
► A wrestling match between a man and a woman shows slaps, kicks, flips, grabs, and throws, with the woman winning. A man vs. woman match shows slaps, kicks, flips, grabs, and throws and the man throws the woman hard to the mat and pushes her down to win. Two wrestling matches between different male pairs feature punches, kicks, throws, chokes, and rolling; each match ends as a man jumps and slams an elbow into the opponent’s chest (no injuries are seen). A match includes a man wearing torn clothing holding a lasso as he fights a preteen boy: both wrestlers are kicked, slapped, and thrown, the boy dodges several times before being lassoed, he removes the rope and whips the man with it, runs along the top ropes several times at lightning speed to tie up the man and slam him to the floor, and the boy slams an elbow into the man’s chest to win the match. A preteen boy in a wrestling match with a man finds oil on the bottom of his shoes, making him skid, slide, and fall during the bout; there are slaps, grabs, slams, and kicks back and forth, before the boy is able to pick up the man, slam him to the mat, and strike an elbow into his chest to win.
► Three middle school boys are bullied by a larger boy who pushes them in several scenes at school; in one scene, the bully threatens a boy and the lights go out, we hear some whooshing sounds and when the lights come up on we see three bullies hanging by the pulled-up back waistbands of their underwear on locker doors; a teacher sends the three bullies to the principal’s office (we do not see them there) and the smaller boy is punished by being sent home and his father briefly berates him on the ride home. A bully pushes a preteen boy outside a school at night and the scene cuts to the boy slightly limping for a few steps and his forehead looks a little scuffed. Three middle school bullies confront a preteen boy on their bikes, chase him, and swerve around a car backing out of a driveway; the boy hides in a cobweb covered old house during an estate sale and finds a wrestling mask (he takes it with the auctioneer’s permission), and an internet search shows the mask is famous and only a real champion can activate its powers.
► A preteen boy dreams that he is standing up on a turnbuckle in a ring as a large wrestler charges at him, roaring; the boy jumps down onto the man with an elbow slammed into the man’s chest to end the dream. A middle school boy joins his school wrestling team and takes on a long-time bully who had been browbeating him; the scene ends before wrestling action begins.
► A man in a wrestling ring yells at a preteen boy, “I’m gonna break your face!” before facing away from the camera, bending over the ropes and flatulating for over 20 seconds; we see a huge gas wave blow people’s hair back and knock small people and children down and the preteen boy is blown out of the ring and onto the floor (he is unharmed) as dozens of people hold their noses; the boy re-enters the ring and the man sweats and rubs his dirty hair and face across the boy’s face and hair. A preteen boy puts on a smelly Lucha Libre mask and begins to talk with a deeper voice and in rhyme, like Muhammad Ali; he does a quadruple backflip high in the air, lifts the back end of a large car, kicks a large oak tree down, and bends a lug wrench into a circle. Two men toss one beer keg each along a floor in a beer keg tossing test, another man tosses two kegs at once, a preteen boy tosses one keg along the floor, out the door and into a parked car sounding an alarm. Two men punch a human dummy in a wrestling ring and a preteen boy punches it out of the ring and across the arena. A couple of men jump off the top of a turnbuckle and land on their faces, while a preteen boy jumps and lands on his feet. A very tall man walks into an arena and the floor shakes, making earthquake sounds and he later snatches a sandwich from another man, nearly knocking the other man down. A man punches a flat screen TV off a table, but it does not look broken. A man slams his fist through a table, breaking it in half with a loud bang.
► A man and a preteen boy argue twice. A preteen boy argues briefly with three schoolmates. A man, a woman, and a preteen boy argue briefly. A man and an older woman argue for several seconds. A woman shouts loudly at a TV showing wrestling matches. In a dozen wrestling arena scenes, a crowd of men, women, and children shouts, stomps, cheers, boos, and waves signs. A woman practices punches in the air and grunts several times on her front porch. A woman sits in the dark as a preteen boy enters the room at night through the window; she speaks and he screams in fear and she then tells him if he gets hurt in a wrestling match she will kill him. A preteen boy and a few other people in several scenes wince and say “Eeww” at the bad odor emanating from an old full-head mask; a woman says it smells like dead people’s clothing she has smelled in the past and a man says it smells like old bus seats.
► A boy brushes his teeth and foam covers his mouth and drips onto his T-shirt. A boy spills spaghetti into his lap. A woman eats salad out of a serving bowl with her hands.

The Main Event LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 1 F-word, 1 scatological reference, 2 anatomical terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (weird, weirdos, stupid, jerk, loser, motley crew, sorry sight, nerd, fat-tard, little worm, cocky, TMZ, Kid Ego), exclamations (jeez, jeezy, what the …., whoa, oh my gosh), 7 religious exclamation (e.g. Oh My God, My God, God Forbid). | profanity glossary |

The Main Event SUBSTANCE USE

 – None.

The Main Event DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Brains vs. brawn, self-confidence, fame, authenticity, fantasy, truth, interracial families, secrets, professional wrestling, idol worship, bullying, revenge, doing the right thing, friendship, growing up.

The Main Event MESSAGE

 – Children of divorced parents need encouragement and bullies must be stopped.