Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies

In 2013, Cody Knotts directed *Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies*, a sports action horror film also known as *Cody Knotts' Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies*. The movie was funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign and private money from three investors. It stars former WWE and TNA wrestlers playing themselves as they battle a zombie horde. An early version screened at an international horror festival in Whitby, England in October 2013, and the film was released to DVD on March 28, 2014, alongside a limited theatrical run.

The story begins when pro wrestler "The Franchise" Shane Douglas catches his girlfriend Taya Parker cheating with his friend Brutaliser Billy. Later that night, Shane performs a piledriver on Billy during a match, killing him. Billy’s brother Angus swears revenge and summons an ancient demon, gaining the power to create zombies in exchange for eating the heart of a kidnapped nurse. Six weeks later, Shane accepts a large payment to appear at a wrestling show in an abandoned prison. He travels there with friends "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Matt Hardy, and others. Angus has already lured wrestlers, including Kurt Angle, to the prison and turned them into zombies that retain their wrestling skills. The group is ambushed and trapped in a ring. Shane, Piper, and Duggan unite with Taya, indy wrestler Facade, and porn actor Matthew Rush, taking cover in a locker room. Piper assures Shane that Billy’s death was an accident caused by inexperience. The group tries to escape, but Rush is killed. Matt is separated, disemboweled, and turns into a zombie, biting his girlfriend Reby Sky. Shane betrays Duggan and Facade, locking them out to die, and later confesses to Taya that he meant to kill Billy. Taya abandons him and is killed by zombies. Piper and Sarah find an exit, but choose to stay and fight to prevent an outbreak. Angus gains more power from the demon and summons Shane’s family as zombies. Shane tearfully kills them and is then overpowered and killed. Piper and Sarah realize the original zombie nurse is the key: when she is hit, the others suffer damage. They kill her, breaking the spell and destroying all zombies. Angus attacks Piper but is killed, and Piper and Sarah survive.

The cast includes Roddy Piper, Shane Douglas, Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, Jim Duggan, Taya Parker, Reby Sky, Adrienne Fischer, Richard John Walters, Shannon M.