Chris Jericho’s long-promised documentary on Vietnam’s wrestling scene finally has a release date. VIETSLAM: Squashing The Cultural Gap begins streaming everywhere on July 14, capping a project the AEW veteran first teased back in late 2023.
The film follows Vietnam Pro Wrestling, the country’s first professional wrestling promotion, from its scrappy origins to sold-out shows. According to VPW, the group started in 2015 as a handful of fans training in gyms and dance studios across Ho Chi Minh City, wrestling on mats before they ever had a ring.
Jericho’s involvement traces back to his Talk Is Jericho podcast. After interviewing VPW founders Rocky Huynh and Carey Wass, he decided their story was worth a film. He explained the decision during a 2023 interview with WFAA, saying his knowledge of Vietnam had previously been limited to the war and movies about it.
“After the podcast was over, [I was] kind of listening to what they went through to get it started, and the passion they had,” Jericho said. “They didn’t even have a wrestling ring at first, they wrestled on mats. I thought there was a very interesting documentary in there.”
He later made a surprise in-person appearance at a VPW show, cutting a promo for the crowd and inducting Viva Van and Sumie Sakai into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.
From Dusty Gyms To A Global Release
VPW now bills itself as the largest wrestling promotion in Southeast Asia. The roster leans into Vietnamese identity rather than copying Western templates, with characters like the dragon-masked luchador Xiumin Long and the venomous twin duo Venomshank.
The documentary had been in the works for well over a year, with earlier reporting pointing to a 2025 window before it landed on the July 14 date. For a grassroots promotion that began without so much as a ring, a worldwide streaming release with a recognizable name attached marks a significant jump in profile.