'Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies' To Debut on Big Screen in England

More like "Zombieland" than "Shaun of the Dead," newspaper editor-turned movie producer Cody Knotts said his film, "Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies" will premier on the big screen this fall.

In England.

Knotts, formerly a North Strabane newspaper publisher, said the film will debut at the Bram Stoker International Film Festival in Whitby come October.

But the two-time Republican state House candidate who now lives in Charleroi said that viewing won't be the only showing of the film, which features wrestling mainstays such as Shane Douglas, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Kurt Angle.

The film was completed through the help of a successful online fundraising campaign—one that garnered more than $30,000.

Knotts said premiers will also be planned in places such as Brazil and Italy, where there are more wrestling fans than anywhere in the world.

And as a thank you to the residents of Parkersburg, W.Va.—where much of the movie was filmed—a screening will take place there, as well.

Not familiar with the film concept? 

The premise of the film is like any other zombie film with relatively ordinary folks fending off the zombie horde—they just happen to be pro wrestlers who are believably all in one place when the epidemic breaks, Knotts said.

The movie has already received some buzz on national websites such as the Bleacher Report.

"Instead of asking wrestlers to be Oscar-winning actors (which a few are, but only a handful), a movie like this plays to their strengths, clobbering things and shouting," Richard Warrell wrote on the website. "An awful lot of movies featuring wrestlers as action stars see them in gunfights when hand-to-hand combat really makes far better use of their talents, something Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies seems to have gotten right."

When can local folks see the movie, which Knotts has long said is filled with "good old American violence?"

He said he's been approached by numerous distributors and that a limited theater release was in the works.

Stay tuned! And in the meantime, check out the trailer, which has been viewed more than 55,000 times, by clicking the attached video.

Editor's Note: This isn't Knotts' first movie. To read about his first venture, click here.