The Return of World of Sport Wrestling: Good or Bad?

It was reported recently that WoS (World of Sport) Wrestling LTD have agreed a deal with ITV Broadcasting LTD and ITV Studios LTD to bring British wrestling back to TV audiences. LDN Wrestling were the chosen promotion for this venture and their show on Sunday 17th November will be filmed with a view to being broadcast on TV in the future. It should be noted that no commitment has been made to televise it as yet, and if it is shown it won't necessarily be on ITV. As ITV own several other channels, there's a good chance that it could be broadcast on a 'lesser' channel depending on how the event goes.

LDN Wrestling will host this event

When I initially heard this news I was thrilled - finally British wrestling will be on a platform where it can show what it is about. It can show that it has risen again and that there are several talented guys that can put on fantastic shows. When I read further into this I noticed that things were not as I first thought; for starters it would be almost like a World of Sport resurgence, meaning a different set of rules to what I, and many others, will be used to - Mountevan's rules.

Mountevan's rules consist of a round system (similar to Boxing) and instead of one-fall to decide the outcome, the victor is required to win two falls (best two of three falls). The only way to achieve a one-fall victory would be if you were awarded a disqualification decision. Finding out this information worried me hugely.

The legends of World of Sport; Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks

I can openly admit that I had no clue about Mountevan's rules and very little about the World of Sport era apart from Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy - when I was growing up, my dad would mention these names in the usual non-wrestling-fan mocking way. They would be names that I would never forget but also never look into. As a kid, I had larger-than-life characters in Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior; I had no need for British legends that were no longer on my TV screen.

Even today I go to shows that consist of the American style; one-fall match. This has become the norm. WoS wrestling ended in 1988 and in its absence the WWF(E) (and to a lesser degree, WCW) filled the void and wowed worldwide audiences ever since. A whole generation has passed since the 'golden age' of British wrestling. As a result of this I feel like this revival show might confuse, alienate and generate more mockery from non-wrestling fans and fence-sitters. People know the American-way, if you will, and people generally don't like change.

Recently, I have befriended a former referee and MC of the WoS era, Lee Bamber. He gave me his view of the possibility of a WoS wrestling return:

"God Yes, I would love to see more shows under the traditional Moutevan's rules banner and I think that the public would enjoy the "fair sport" style of wrestling that most have either forgotten or have never seen. There are a couple of promoters who still employ the old British way; John Freemantle's "Premier Promotions" is probably the best known for this, but even the mighty Brian Dixon still bills the odd "old school" or traditional contest to add light and shade to his very successful shows.

As someone who remembers the "golden days" of the 1970's and worked within the Moutevan's rules when I turned pro in 1985, I still regard this way as THE way to present a wrestling show. As in today's high flying, gimmick laden, rhetoric blasting USA style; which is fine; the referee is seemingly there just to count the falls and nothing else . He has no authority, no respect, no power; it's all show, spot, show, spot... anything goes.

When I referee now in a non-"old school" show I never enjoy it as much. The traditional way can tell a better story, build up a contest and have more legitimate credibility than the spot-fest of the US style. You can build up more tension if the referee has a part to play: He is in charge - will he disqualify the heel?

For me, the fundamental differences and the way I still like to work are: If a wrestler goes outside the ring he has until 10 to get back in. Here's the big one; once a hold or move is broken with a wrestler on the floor the referee starts the count; the opponent can't just grab him again if it's not part of the same move. You can build up tension by shouting "break the hold" when on the ropes not just launch into a 5 count... and best of all is the "Public Warning" system; two warnings issued by the referee for rule breaking, and a disqualification called on the third; this helped tell the story of the match, build up tension and make it something the fans could follow.

I think reinstating the Moutevan's rules would help create a different product from the USA style that everyone is familiar with and it could put British Wrestling back on the map, otherwise we are just copying our Trans-Atlantic cousins and that's not a good thing.

In the latter days of Joint Promotions, referees were known to the fans as well as the wrestlers; third men such as Max Ward, Brian Crabtree, Dave Rees, Joe D'Orazio and Peter Szackacs were known and respected because they had a part to play in the bouts unlike today when the referee seems to be there just to look like a ref. The old timers would return and the current fans would be curious if we had a new "old" show. I'm all for it and if it does happen, can I referee please?"

After getting Lee's views, it gave me fresh insight and made me reconsider my worries. Maybe I have a little tunnel vision on the subject. Maybe all these years of watching WWE has made me think that there is no other way of conducting a match. Lee might be right, though - maybe our own, traditional way of doing things is a way forward and a nice alternative. After all, we did influence the way in which some of the other wrestling cultures developed so why not go back to what brought us to the table?

Doug Williams and Magnus (Nick Aldis) have made great strides in the USA

In between correspondence with Lee, another problem cropped up for me. The majority of the UK scene is of the American style of wrestling; I was still troubled that despite the November 17th presentation bringing a new 'old' approach, it still wasn't a true reflection of the current UK wrestling scene. I went back to Lee for more opinion:

"Watching "the game" evolve over the years I would say that it was Mountevan's rules everywhere until domestic wrestling came off our screens in 1988 and as the American presentations took over, UK promoters started dabbling with the odd "American Rules" or "American style"contests from about 1989 with the Stateside way becoming the norm from around 1995 (these dates are very approximate).

I would guess that any promoter setting up from about the year 2000 has run with almost exclusively the US style. As mentioned before, "Premier Promotions" are 100% old school, Brian Dixon's "All Star" sometimes presents a traditional contest, and Sanjay Bagga's LDN has some World of Sport matches and "legends" evening. Most of the other smaller, newer outfits may not even have a clue about pre-1988 televised wrestling.

To today's wrestling audience, and especially the kids, a traditional style bill would seem alien BUT if you promote it as such and get a good MC to explain on the night that it's an evening of traditional rules British wrestling - the style that impressed and influenced the rest of the world - you would be on to a winner with its USP (unique selling point).

Yes for many it would be alien, and it has to be said that in 2013, Mountevan's rules is NOT a true reflection of the UK scene today, but it's good to be different. Take a mix of the historic and traditional and give it a lick of paint; "tart it up" for 2013 and you could be onto something big. I think you will be surprised at the amount of support you will get for it."

My talks with Lee really opened my eyes to different possibilities and that this might be a positive way to go. I also approached a friend of mine from Pro Evolution Wrestling (Pro EVW), Karl Timmis, about his views on the matter:

"A one-off show is great for nostalgia purposes. Personally, I can see it doing the current business good and bad in equal portions. It may deter people away from current British promotions as they'll see it as the same as they just saw on TV. It could equally encourage people to local shows, again expecting to see what they saw on TV. This is great because although they may not get what they expected, it gives the promotion the opportunity to get their brand of entertainment across; this can only be a good thing for those involved. If the fans don't return in the future, then that company has not entertained them well enough."

Karl's view really made sense to me. From a wrestling promotion's point of view, all publicity is good publicity - it will put extra bums in seats - if only for the short term - and if that promotion entertains well enough then people will return. As Karl points out, though, it could have a negative effect if people are expecting the Mountevan's rules style.

If this is going to be a one-off show, then I suppose we, as wrestling fans, should take the win. With the dominance and influence of the American promotions over the last twenty-five years it was always going to be difficult to compete. This potential return to terrestrial TV is a massive step in the right direction for British wrestling and who knows, maybe it could be the start of changing peoples views and preconceptions about wrestling with more and more new fans getting along to their local (and not-so-local) shows and igniting British wrestling into a new 'golden age'.

One of the UK's best: El Ligero

I'm still not completely sold on the Mountevan's rules style but I'm willing to see how it goes. Whether it be these rules or the 'American' rules that we're all used to, as long as the drama and storytelling is present then that's surely what we crave and continue to go back for? It's also mainstream publicity for British wrestling which could get new fans turning up to shows - fans that weren't even aware that wrestling was still around in the UK.

One step at a time, eh? Progress will happen - there's too much talent in the UK for people NOT to take notice of the thing we love.

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