MJF has spent the last few years adding movie credits to his résumé between AEW title runs (Happy Gilmore 2, the upcoming Violent Night sequel), and the first trailer for his latest one just dropped, with some familiar wrestling faces standing right next to him.
Collider exclusively debuted the trailer and poster for Stranglehold on September 17, the second directing effort from Clark Duke (The Office, and the director of the Vince Vaughn/Liam Hemsworth film Arkansas). It’s a dark comedy thriller, and MJF plays a Southern-accented supporting character named Daryl. In the trailer, the strip club where the lead works gets taken over by a pair of thieves, and MJF pops up from behind the bar with a shotgun, hollering like he’s just hit a move in the ring.
What Stranglehold Is Actually About
The official synopsis: “Obsessed with the glamorous influencers she follows on social media and fed up with her life of barely getting by, a small-town Arkansas stripper named Bailey (Ashley Benson) decides to rob the club she works at with the help of her ex-military husband, Tim (Jake Lacy), so they can give their infant daughter a decent Christmas and a better life.”
The cast goes deeper into wrestling territory than just MJF. Former WWE broadcast team member Kayla Becker (formerly Braxton) is in it, and so is David Arquette, the actor who’s held the WCW World Championship and has been a fixture at wrestling shows for years since. Rounding out the cast are Ashley Benson, Jake Lacy, Justin Long, Chandler Duke, Elle King, and Ron Perlman.
When You Can Watch It
Stranglehold hits digital platforms and VOD on Friday, October 2, courtesy of Quiver. It’s a quick turnaround from trailer to release, so wrestling fans curious about MJF‘s latest side gig won’t have to wait long to see how the shotgun scene plays out.
