Once a wrestling icon in the 80's, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is well past his prime. Living in New Jersey and wrestling among semi-pro youngsters to keep himself afloat, he is approached by a promoter and is offered one last shot at getting back on top. Dealing with debts and estrangement between himself and his own daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), Randy begins training to get back into top shape. But after a particularly brutal match involving many dangerous props, he suffers a heart attack and is told he can no longer wrestle. With the help of a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), Randy finds a way back into the ring against his former nemesis, The Ayatollah (Ernest Miller), and back to the family that really cares about him: his fans.