My summer started this year by me quitting my job to become a
professional wrestler (erm again, in fact this is the third time in a year if
anyone’s counting). At least the last two times, it was in the same country and
they really were just emergency jobs whilst I try to find my way in wrestling.
Regardless, at least for 6 weeks this Summer I was doing what I set out to do
originally on this blog – I was a full time Professional Wrestler!
Flags in Filey
My first assignment was in Filey, North Yorkshire. On the way there
I am quietly growing quite insecure about my dated tights design - red with a
yellow hammer and sickle on and also the fact they don’t match my modern
Russian flag. The answer of course is the 9 year olds who will be watching me
wrestle are not that clued up about Russian history and the dissolution of the
Soviet Union. However, it bothers me, I should really get some new tights.
I arrive and meet the team. I am tagging with Liverpool’s Zac Gibson
(the Beatles are huge in Moscow I guess). We are against Dean Allmark and James
Mason in a tag match and will be for the 3 shows over the weekend. The matches
go well and I have my first experience of ‘camp’ shows. They are incredibly
pantomime esque and everything needs to be simple and easy to understand for
the kids who are watching. However, they are a lot of fun and I enjoy playing a
strong quite cartoon like character. I was also pleased to have tagged against
two of All Stars most experienced wrestlers. Both are very talented.
Cossack Leg Drops in
Scotland
After the weekend I am on the Scottish tour for 3 days. The tour
starts in Haggerstone Castle, which the geographically minded of you will know
is not actually in Scotland. However, there are a lot of Scottish wrestlers
there. The match this week will be Radik Anenco and CJ Banks vs. BT Gunn and El
Ligero.
We do finally reach Ayr (which is in Scotland). The matches all run
fine, but looking back I hadn’t quite found my inner Russian at this point.
However, they are all part of the learning curve and getting used to being a
wrestler again. Further to that I do re-introduce one of my signature moves on
this segment of the tour, the Cossack leg drop, which is a Russian dance turned
into a leg drop. A Summer of doing this has highlighted two things - you can do
the most complex moves in the world, but you add theatrics to a very basic move
and you are onto a winner, also I need to be able to squat much lower.
Bad guy good, good guy bad
The second week I just have just two holiday camp shows in Wales
(plus a non tour show for Grapple wrestling). The first match I face El Ligero
in Rhyll Town Hall and the second I am a good guy JC Thunder tagging with James
Mason against the US Dragongate tag champs, The Bravardo Brothers.
Those of you who follow my blog may remember my dislike for being a
happy clappy good guy. It is not me and I am not comfortable at it. However, it
is needed on shows like these and I do my best. The crowd was still hot into
the match though. The Bravardos are great at their arrogant American bad guy
roles. James Mason is excellent as usual. However smiley Thunder just feels odd,
especially afterwards when I stay behind and took photos and signed autographs
with all the fans. Strangely I am a lot more comfortable with the fans hating
me.
Showing Out Down South
The third week things picked up with 7 matches down in Weymouth and
Bognor Regis. For 6 of the matches I am against El Ligero (wow who would have
guessed) and one I tag with Doug Williams against Jay White and Warren Brady.
This week it does start to pick up. My confidence is growing and
just when I am thinking I am starting to do quite well, Ligero tells me
mid-match – ‘show out more!’. Little Mexican s#*t! In fairness though he was
right. In Layman’s terms, showing out is essentially showing off to the crowd.
What might seem like a lot on a normal show is very little on a camp show and
you really have to be as loud and in people’s faces as much as possible.
Looking back I am grateful for this advice as I got pretty good at it by the
end of the summer. Ligero also convinced me to sing the Russian National Anthem
at the beginning of my matches, which not being a singer or knowing any of the words
to the Russian National Anthem you can imagine my reluctance. However, whatever
it is that I do sing gets me booed me out of the building every time.
The camp shows are also different in that they have commentary from
the holiday camp staff (known as the ‘Fun-Stars’) whilst you are wrestling. Sometimes
they are very good and assist the match. Other times they are incredibly bad
and take away from it. Examples include, saying things like ‘oh look they are
hugging/dancing’ or they just spend the whole time trying to make themselves
the centre of attention. On one particular occasion in Weymouth we had one
Funstar (who was neither fun or star like in any way) shout ‘Oh I dunno know
what that Mexican fella is called, let’s just call him Bull – Bull, Bull, Bull,
come on everyone chant Bull’……..silence……..awkward wrestling……stupid Funstar!
Final Thoughts
So that was my first half of the All Star Tour this summer. I have
decided to split it into 3 parts as there is a lot to tell you people. Tune in
next time for more fun in Filey, Scotland and Wales, as well as an epic final
week in Cornwall.
Thanks for reading!
JCT
