RE-POST: Aspects of Professional Wrestling Part 2: The Holiday Camp (Originally Written in 2002)

A day after the searing heat of the car park in Sheringham, I find myself in a slightly different environment. The temperature is still high, but the weather is inclement. The heavens threaten to open on many occasions.

I am now seated in a dilapidated white van, perched on pieces of metal which normally make a wrestling ring. Seated next to me, in the driver's seat, is Julia, otherwise known as the Sweet Saraya. Today, she is in her "civilian" role, as we drive towards the Norfolk coastal town of Great Yarmouth, and the Haven Seashore holiday camp. Julia is not wrestling or acting as manageress today, and that is perhaps a good thing. Her broken left thumb is causing her some discomfort, and her right shoulder is also injured, thanks to some rough manhandling by the U.K. Pitbulls at yesterday's carnival show.

Sprawled upon some ring mats in the back is young Saraya, Julia's daughter. She hurls insults at me, but I know she really doesn't mean them.

We arrive at the holiday camp as the heavens make their biggest threat. The camp resembles a sort of high-class trailer park but fortunately, Jamie Knoble and Nidia are nowhere to be seen. We enter through the back door to see the ring being constructed. Construction is almost complete.

The script is similar to that of the previous day, but some of the cast are different. Charlie is not our referee today. Joe Williams, jack of all trades, is keeping order today. Ricky and Bruce are here, but today their opponents will be more their size. Flacky, a former cruiserweight champion, shows little resemblance to a professional wrestler. His tag-team partner for the day, Patrick, is a Canadian, and a graduate of Stu Hart's infamous Dungeon. Patrick is on his third wrestling tour of Britain, and, like yours truly, is a Batman fan. How do I know this? You'll have to read on.


As Bruce, Flacky and Patrick construct the ring, Julia writes the script that is to be read out by one of the holiday camp staff, a young fellow, whose name I forget, who will sit at ringside and call the action, while another member of staff will position himself in the audience and offer his own opinions of the match.

With the script written, I observe as the campers begin to make their way into the small arena. The bar opens, and a few of them begin to seek refreshment. I make my way to the dressing room backstage, and I find the wrestlers preparing themselves for the lunchtime entertainment. Bruce is applying his warpaint, becoming the baseball bat wielding maniac that is Bash, while Ricky, Julia, Patrick and Flacky are discussing the day's previous events in Sheringham and Hopton. The Hopton show, similar in style to that of Sheringham, had an unfortunate incident. Marty Reid, the American wrestler known as Detroit, suffered a bad knee injury, that will keep him out of the ring for some time. A shame, as Detroit was one of the most promising young stars in WAW.

The holiday camp worker seats himself at ringside, and we are ready to go. The ring lights make things very hot, almost as hot as the outdoor setting in Sheringham. The announcer works the crowd, and then introduces the combatants. First out is Ricky, now totally submerged in his heel persona. The Rowdy One is there to cause trouble.

His opponent today is Patrick, now known as Robin Nightwing, although our announcer calls him Robin Lightwing. Robin is announced as coming from the stable that brought us Chris Benoit, Edge and Christian. He is wearing a sort of small umbrella on his head. He jumps up and down on the stage, clapping his hands high above his head. Almost immediately, the crowd love him.

I perch myself on the edge of the stage, camera in hand, as the action begins. As the announcer calls the shorts, I remember from the last holiday camp show I watched that I didn't really enjoy the announcing, so I manage to blank that from my mind as I prepare to observe the action, and to take a few photos for the WAW website.

The match itself is your typical hero v villain encounter. Ricky, as he always does, works the crowd well. When he has the upper hand, and the ringside crowd barks insults at him, Ricky bites back. In the holiday camp environment, he has to watch his tongue. Young, impressionable children are present, so he resorts to calling the children snot-nosed brats, and the old women silly old moos.

Even though he controls the vast majority of the match, Ricky cannot defeat the heroic Robin. Robin fights back well, and looks like he is about to gain the victory, when Ricky's partner in crime comes rushing across the stage and into the ring. With the referee's back turned, Bash clobbers Robin, and Ricky gets the cover. The referee is oblivious to what has happened, and counts to three. Once again, the cowardly heel has the victory.

As with the previous day, the heroes are outraged, as Flacky, now garbed in wrestling attire and calling himself Jamie Lee, comes to the ring to remonstrate with the referee. Enraged, Robin issues a challenge to Ricky and Bash, which the cowardly heels accept. The match is made, and the interval begins.

During this time, Julia and Saraya climb into the ring, and begin to ply their trade as souvenir sellers today. They do a roaring trade as the eager fans on holidays away from home seek to take home momentos of the day's event.

The crowd, refreshed somewhat, take their seats again as the second part of the show begins. The cowardly heels come out first, followed by Robin and Jamie Lee, and chapter two of our story begins. Ricky and Bash take turns to wear down Jamie Lee, but every time the gallant Canadian comes into the ring, the cowardly heels dive over the top rope and run for cover. It seems that they are deftly afraid of the visitor from overseas.

The battle stays in favour of the bad guys for a number of minutes. Nightwing tags in twice, but for some unexplained reason, the referee does not allow the tag. When he finally does make it, he cleans house. With the roar of the crowd in his ears, he secures the victory for the heroes.

Moments later, after our heroes have celebrated their victory, Julia and Saraya return to the ring to earn a little more money. This time they are joined by Bash. Despite the fact that he has insulted and lambasted them, many of the youngsters seek him out, wanting an autograph.

The crowd soon disperses, but a few stay around, wanting to catch a glimpse of their heroes. As I help dismantle the ring, I notice that many of the youngsters seek out the cowardly heels rather than the gallant heroes. Bash and the Rowdy One seem to do a roaring trade in autographs.

One youngster, brought up on a staple diet of good old American wrasslin', approaches Ricky and asks "are you a real wrestler?" It makes me wonder if he would have asked this question if WAW had managed to get that much sought after television deal last year.

The heavens open as we load the ring into the van, and open even further as we make our way back to Norwich. I am deep in thought as we make our return journey. Before I began my work with WAW, I had always thought that the world of professional wrestling was one of glitz and glamour, of bright lights and sparkling pyros, lighting the entrance way as the gallant heroes and cowardly heels make their way to the ring. It's much more than that.