On Saturday 11th August, I went to Hurworth Grange along with some other young people to watch some wrestling.
Before I got there I didnt't really know what to expect. The only wrestling I'd seen before was the WWE on T.V and I didn't think it was going to be anything like that...
The night started at 6.30pm, but we arrived really early (even after we had gone to the wrong venue first!) We were hoping to get a few interviews with some of the wrestlers. However there were a couple of problems with the ring, and to be honest it didn't look too promising but we were still looking forward to the wrestling starting.
Even though we didn't have chance to catch any wrestlers before the matches, we managed to grab the event organiser- a young person called Martin Bean. Martin, along with a group of his friends set up the wrestling company "A New Era". The group were hosting the first even Duel Nationals Championship and tonight it was between England and Scotland.
In Martins interview, he told us he had been training for 5 years and had been given different roles thoughout the years in wrestling events. These roles had then escalated and took him to the position he is in today.
Martin is also involved in a webite development company therefore has a lot to do. When I asked him what advice he had for any young people who were wanting to go into the wrestling industry he said that you should find a good training school to attend, then if you want to turn your hobby into a career as he has, develop your role and hopefully this will take you further and further. Eventually to where you want to be.
Finally the wrestling began and the night was started off by a tag match to warm up the crowd.The match was between: Lance Thunder and Anthony Macintyre Vs Dale Kid' Richie and Chris Witton Lance Thunder and Anthony Macintyre were from Redcar and had a combined weight of 410lbs.
Dale Kid' Richie and Chris Witton were from Middlesbrough and had a combined weight of 320lbs, and despite 90lbs difference, these two still managed to win!
After the tag match there were two singles matches, the first was: Grimsby Sykes Vs The Ice man Grimsby Sykes was from Skegness and weighed 220lbs! The Ice Man was from Bishop Auckland and weighed 295lbs, and The Ice Man won!
The second match was: Bad News Anderson Vs Max Feet Bad News Anderson was from South Shields and weighed 220lbs, Max Feet was from Tyne n' Wear and weighed 160lbs and despite how tiny he was he managed to defeat his apponent!
The next match was the first round of the Duel Nations Championship: James Wallace- Scotland Vs Sam Slam-England James Wallace weighed 225lbs was a cheating chicken who tried to worm his way out of everything he could. Sam Slam, was the under 23 Champion for all of England wrestled well and fair. However he was cheated out his title- James Wallace cheated very badly by knocking him out with his huge belt! The audience witnessed this, but the ref was extremely slow and didn't notice and pronounced James Wallace as the winner.
The Final of the Duel Nations Championship was: James Wallace-Scotland Vs The Ice Man-England The match was once again refereed by the slow man, Gary Miller a referee from Holland. This match was very important to people, some had even travelled from Scotland to watch it! Obviously the high majority of people in the room were rooting for The Ice Man to win! The match was exciting, with many different twists and turns going on and obviously James Wallace was acting like the cheating little scum bag he is (or so I discovered from the audience around me) Then all of a sudden Sam Slam appeared from nowhere! He joined in and took out three people in an angry rage- The ref, The Ice Man and James Wallace! However through some strange twist of events James Wallace won, and Scotland were crowned with Duel Nations Champions.
During all the matches the atmosphere in the room was fantastic and the wrestlers really got the audience going going and got them involved which I loved. Everyone around me was taking it so seriously getting angry at things I didn't notice and also shouting at the ref. It was so obvious I was a first timer as I just thought the whole thing was absolutely hilarious!
I must admit I think wrestling is very mean! It looks so painful, the wrestlers were covered in cuts and bruises instantly from the wooden floor. They were literally throwing themselves and each other all over the ring, which was ridiculously unsteady and broke three times, obviously all of this added to the excitement!
I really enjoyed the whole evening, I never thought that I could enjoy wrestling but it was one of the most exciting things I have ever been to, and it was really enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the next one and hope that many other people come along as well!
After the night finished I managed to get some quick interviews with the Wrestlers.
Sam Slam Age: 22 How Long have you been wrestling?:6 years What got you into wrestling?: Martial arts, watching wrestling on television and thinking that it looked like fun Experience: Sam has wreslted with many different companies, including one in Africa. He was also the National martial arts champion.
Any Advice?: Wrestling is really hard and very much like a sport, it is very tough and if you want to do it you must be extremely passionate and commited.
James Wallace Age: 20 How Long have you been wrestling? 7 years What got you into wrestling? Being mentally tough Experience: James Wallace has a Tv contract and is the only Scottish wrestler on television. He hopes that events like these will revive British wrestling.
Any advice?: To achieve and have a wrestling career you must persevere as it is a difficult business which is very political. You must also learn to absorb pain and also what you expect is nothing compared to what it will be like, so prepare youself. You need a high level of fitness.
The Ice Man Age: 32 How long have you been wrestling? 8 Years What got you into wrestling? He had always loved wrestling from being small. Every Sunday he would travel to Stoke to a training school, he was extremely commited.
Experience: The Ice Man also has a TV contract like James Wallace and as well hopes events like this revive British Wrestling.
Any advice?:Don't do it-Its hard!
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