The Ringer is a 2005 American slapstick sports comedy starring Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl, and Brian Cox with cameos by Terry Funk and Jesse Ventura.

The plot centers around a young man (Knoxville) who, as part of a scheme to pay off his debts, poses as being developmentally disabled to compete in the Special Olympics.

Steve Barker suddenly receives a promotion at work and is forced to fire his friend Stavi, a hard-working immigrant janitor at the company.

His uncle Gary owes $40,000 in gambling debts and suggests that they fix the Special Olympics in San Marcos, Texas to solve both of their financial problems.

Assuming that Steve will easily defeat the legitimate contenders, Gary bets $100,000 that reigning champion Jimmy Washington won't win the gold medal.

6 months later, Steve quit his job and started working in theater, producing a play with the friends he made during the Special Olympics and Stavi, who got his fingers reattached.

Professional wrestlers Terry Funk and Jesse Ventura's cameo appearances came about due to their friendship with director Barry Blaustein, who met the pair whilst filming the wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat in the late 1990s.

"[7] Spinal Cord Injury Zone stated: "Instead of tugging at the heartstrings, The Ringer uses the typical outrageous Farrelly Brothers humor (There's Something About Mary, Stuck on You, Shallow Hal) to promote the message that just like everyone else, individuals with intellectual disabilities are people first, each with their own interests, talents, abilities and personalities.