Get to grips with today's wrestling (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Get to grips with today's wrestling

11:29am Thursday 2nd December 2004 in Features By Doreen Friend

WRESTLING, a regular Saturday afternoon delight for sports fans and middle-aged women, is enjoying a renaissance.

The grunt, groan sport, which saw grown men trying to tie each other into knots in the ring, disappeared from television screens some 18 years ago.

And declining audience numbers put an end to the regular Wednesday night contests at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, around 15 years ago.

Now most wrestling is seen by a dedicated few in halls around the country and cable TV viewers who enjoy the bump and grind of American wrestling.

But Chingford-based tag team New Breed and promoter Adam Munford are heading a wrestling revolution.

New Breed's Ashe and Curve, who have been wrestling for seven years, are part of the move to make British wrestling as popular as it was decades ago.

Ashe, 27, said: "Wrestling goes in peaks and valleys and it is due for a revival."

Ashe and Curve, 28, a window cleaner from Chingford, have had a very busy wrestling year and have even more contests lined up for 2005.

The gentle art of throwing your opponent out of the ring has changed considerably since the advent of American wrestling.

Adam Munford of Revolution British Wrestling (RBW) said: "American-style wrestling has taken over and the RBW is trying to introduce British style wrestling as it was years ago.

"British wrestling is more technical with more moves and holds while the American style is more spectacular."

Mr Munford, who has been staging wrestling at Ryan Hall, Chingford, for some time, claims audience numbers are growing.

Mr Mumford said: "It is great family entertainment, and attracts parents, their children, and grandparents."

Johnny Kidd, a professional wrestler for 27 years, fought alongside Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Mick McManus, at regular Wednesday evening contests at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, around 15 years ago.

Johnny said: "Young wrestlers like Ash and Curve bring a lot of technical skill to the job, their moves are complicated and artistic. Wrestlers learn how to work the crowd, to make them yell and shout and feel involved, and ensure they get their money's worth."

Johnny fought amid yells of kill him' and rip him to pieces' from the middle-aged women in the audience. "People used to ask if the contests were fixed, but they were not. Wrestling was shown on TV's World of Sport at 4pm every Saturday for 33 years, before they pulled the plug on it in 1988."

Ashe and Johnny agree that today's style of wrestling is more showmanship than sport.

Ashe, who works in sales, added: "It is more a family event than it was ten or 15 years ago. Lots of youngsters go because they enjoy the razzmatazz.

"The audience know it is not fully legit. They see wrestling as an art form and enjoy its athleticism. Contests have good guys and bad guys and we work with a storyline.

"Of course we get hurt, after all there are only so many ways you can get dropped on your head. And there are still lots of women around who want to hit you with their brollyies."

Both wrestlers deplore the Americanisation of the sport. Ashe said: "British wrestling is technical and artistic but American wrestling is just punching and kicking."

Johnny agreed saying: "Hard core wrestling where people are hit over the head with tables and chairs is not real wrestling. There is no skill in it and it is not family entertainment."

Female wrestling is attracting large crowds and, says Ashe, it is the strongest it has been for decades.

"My girlfriend Jade, who is 18, has been wrestling for two years. Women wrestlers have to work hard to prove they are as good as the guys if not better. I worry when she is in the ring as she is very petite, but I'm confident she knows what she is doing," he said.

The Wresting Channel is showing repeats of matches but Ashe and Johnny hope to see wrestling back on mainstream TV.

Johnny said: "I would like to see a wrestling revival. It would mean younger wrestlers like New Breed get the recognition they deserve."