Hollywood productions are filled with happy endings. Even the new biopic Queen of the Ring ends on a triumphant note with Emily Bett Rickards’ Mildred Burke standing tall in the center of the ring with her championship. However, that wasn’t the case for every character in filmmaker Ash Avildsen’s acclaimed sports drama about the small-town single mother who became a trailblazer in professional wrestling. For example, as much as George William “G. Bill” Wolfe was a supporting character in this fictional account of Burke’s life, there were points in his real life where he would have been right at home as the lead of a Shakespearean tragedy. And that’s part of what drew Tyler Posey to the role. 

Best known for his work as Scott McCall in MTV’s teen drama reimagining of Teen Wolf, Posey joined the cast of Queen of the Ring as the son of womanizing wrestling promoter Billy Wolfe (played by Josh Lucas), the stepson/driver/lover of Burke, and husband to one of Burke’s biggest in-ring rivals, June Byers (played by former NWA Women’s Champion Kamille). That Hashtag Show had the opportunity to speak to Posey about the complexities of his character G. Bill Wolfe, what could’ve happened if things played out differently for the second-generation wrestling promoter, and his connection to professional wrestling.   

“Everybody needs to know who Mildred Burke is…”

THS: Why is it important to tell Mildred Burke’s story right now?

Tyler Posey: I think it’s mostly because nobody knows her story and it’s a story that everybody needs to hear. I didn’t know who Mildred Burke was before this movie… I think it fits every single era. [But] why is it important right now? I think women’s empowerment is something that needs to be screamed from every rooftop in the world… Everybody needs to know who Mildred Burke is because her story is one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever witnessed, let alone be a part of.

THS: How did you first get involved in Queen of the Ring? Was this something that you pursued because you’re a wrestling fan or was it presented to you?

Posey: Yeah, it’s kind of all of the above. As a kid in the 90s, wrestling was huge and so I had favorites. I played the video games, I played with the action figures, and [I] would probably dress up [in the] little underwear and wrestle my friends. My dad is a wrestling fan also. He grew up in high school and college doing Roman Greco wrestling. [Then,] he wrote a movie over ten years ago, and I played a wrestler in the movie. He also wrote a movie about Gorgeous George, so I’m very familiar with the Gorgeous George era, but didn’t know about Mildred Burke. Everyone knows about the Mae Youngs and the Gorgeous Georges, but Mildred Burke is a forgotten piece of history.

So when the script landed on my lap, I think I went to a cigar lounge, read the whole script, and thought it was amazing. I thought the story was super empowering and it has a lot of layers to it, emotional layers. G. Bill was somebody I really wanted to have the honor to portray and show the different layers of him… As an actor, that dynamic, layered character is somebody that you want to play. A tragic character is something you look forward to and it’s rewarding. 

The Life and Times of G. Bill Wolfe 

THS: Tragedy is something that G. Bill definitely had to deal with throughout his life. If you could speak to the character of G. Bill, what advice would you give him?

Posey: Oh man. It’s a tough one because [of] his dad. He lives under his thumb and if he crosses his dad, his world is over basically. Telling him to follow his heart would get him in trouble with his dad. And so I think it would be, “Look, you know enough about this wrestling world. Go start your own business where you don’t need to be under your dad’s thumb and you can figure it out on your own. You can be an agent to your own wrestlers and start your own sort of community there.” That’s what I would tell him. 

THS: What do you think the landscape of pro wrestling would look like today if G. Bill took the Vince K. McMahon route and did get out from under his father’s thumb?

Posey: I think G. Bill has an incredible heart and he’s a really reliable person. Maybe we’d be able to speed history up a little bit quicker and have women more implemented into the world of wrestling in a favorable way. Yeah, if G. Bill were to take [over his dad’s promotion], I think he would know how to speed things up a little bit in terms of progression. 

THS: In your preparation for the role, was there anything that stood out to you about the real G. Bill’s life that didn’t make it into the movie, but informed your decisions during your performance? 

Posey: Actually, there was one element that did end up in the credits of the movie. It was how he died. His dad died of a heart attack, and then a year later, G. Bill died. It really shows how much he relied on his father for his entire livelihood. And it really shows the deep connection that, as unhealthy as it was, he had with his father. It makes it so much more of a sad story that he really didn’t agree with anything that his father did or said or how he treated people, but he relied on him so much that after he died, there was almost nothing left to live for. And that to me really spells out who G. Bill is. He’s loyal. Loyal to the end, whether it’s healthy or not. He’s a really complex character. I wish that he was able to step away and find his own value in himself, then maybe he’d be able to do things differently. 

Step Into The Ring

THS: As we saw in the movie, G. Bill stood in the corner for two of the most prominent lady wrestlers of his time. If you were to manage a wrestler today, who would you want it to be? 

Posey: Oh, man! Probably a lucha libre wrestler. I’m half Mexican, [so] I want to pay homage to my heritage. I’m [also] a big fan of John Cena, too. I just heard that he became a heel, which is insane! I think it’d be fun. Arcs in any art form, whether it’s wrestling, acting, or whatever are cool. Somebody who was a face becoming a heel, I think is so fun. I’d like to be on that side and creatively plan out how we’re going to approach that. I think I’d have a lot of fun in the creative element of it all, you know?

THS: After seeing what your co-stars went through in preparation for the film, do you have any aspirations to get in the ring even though G. Bill didn’t? 

Posey: Get in the ring? Yeah! You know, I love stunt work, especially choreographed stunt work. It’s like a dance, you know? And it really is something that you need to have passion in to do correctly. And I’m up for learning anything. I really want to expand my capabilities, [so] I think I would love to learn how to how to wrestle. [Wrestlers are] athletes. They’re full-on committed athletes who abuse their bodies and I think it’s commendable. I would like to get in the ring one day. I got a bad back right now, so maybe once that’s healed.

THS: Finally, who do you think is the more rabid fan base, pro wrestling or Teen Wolf? 

Posey: We should put them in a ring with each other and see who wins! I don’t know. They’re different. They’re both rabid and beautiful and wonderful and I love them all! [Although] I think the Teen Wolf fans might have one up on them. Maybe! We’ll see. 

THS: They might be a little bit more feral.

Posey: Yeah! They got the wolf in them.

Queen of the Ring starring Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, Tyler Posey, Walton Goggins, Francesca Eastwood, Damaris Lewis, Deborah Ann Woll, Kelli Berglund, Marie Avgeropoulos, “Timeless” Toni Storm, and Kamille is currently in US theaters right now, but it debuts in Canada on April 4, 2025.  

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