British wrestling’s biggest moment of 2009

FWA play-by-play commentator Dave “Stats” Bradshaw explains why he thinks the formation of the British Wrestling Council will eventually change everything...

When British wrestling historians look back at 2009 in years to come, there are several moments that will stand out as memorable or important in some way.  As you might expect me to say, the most obvious one happened in early August when the FWA was reborn – a night which I believe will prove to be a catalyst for great things in 2010 and beyond.  Alternatively, how about the night last month when the WWE’s singles titles were stormed by Sheamus and Drew McIntyre?  With Doug Williams and Nick Aldis also holding the TNA tag titles, 2009 was the year when guys who cut their teeth on the British wrestling circuit made it big across the pond.

These were both major developments for the UK scene, but my “Moment of the Year” is something quite different – in fact, it was nothing short of an industry-changing event, but only a few people were aware of its significance at the time.  Since its inception in August, the staff at the British Wrestling Council had been working tirelessly to get professional wrestling recognised as a martial art by insurance companies, thus making it far easier for wrestlers and trainees to be fully insured in case of injury.  The most significant part of this task was to introduce a standard “curriculum” or syllabus that was followed by independent training schools around the country.  In mid-October, having spent months developing a syllabus that was acceptable to the various schools who were initially involved in the project, BWC-affiliated training schools finally started grading students according to the Council’s standards.  This is huge – to my knowledge, it is the first time anywhere in the world that a pro wrestling syllabus has been followed by a large group of independent training schools.

The other long-term implications are even more positive.  By becoming fully insured and having a ruling body that can guarantee a minimum standard, professional wrestling has taken a huge step towards being viewed as a legitimate athletic activity in which parents can feel comfortable letting their kids participate.  By establishing an incremental set of goals at which kids can aim, it is providing much-needed motivation and focus which will increase their chances of sticking at it –karate would surely not be as popular as it is with youngsters without a series of coloured belts and a curriculum to work through.  The same is true for wrestling – but with these things in place, I honestly think wrestling could become bigger among young people than any other martial art.

Think about it: there are thousands of kids around the country whose parents desperately want them to get active and express themselves through a hobby that doesn’t involve pressing buttons while staring at a glowing box.  These are kids who lack either the body shape, social skills or enthusiasm to take up a team sport like football, and who do not have any interest in traditional theatre or dance.  But many of them, especially boys, are fans of John Cena, DX and Rey Mysterio.  Imagine their excitement if there was a weekly activity they could attend which taught them to safely do something resembling the moves they see their heroes performing every week on TV.  For these youngsters, wrestling is the best and possibly only way that they will be motivated to get fit and gain confidence.  It is a unique hybrid of theatre and physical education that teaches teamwork rather than aggression, and at its best it even has something relevant to say about right and wrong.  I know several current top British wrestlers who willingly admit they were not naturally athletic or sporty, and only became so when their love of wrestling motivated them to get fit.

Even setting aside these grand visions of the future, there are plenty of immediate and urgent reasons to support the introduction of the British Wrestling Council, many of which stretch far beyond its training syllabus.  In the short 18-month period since I started working in British wrestling I have heard of some truly ridiculous incidents that not only damage the industry’s reputation among fans but place unnecessary safety risks to both the wrestlers and the audience: trainees being put on shows after just a few weeks of training; entire shows being run without qualified First Aiders in the building; outdoor fireworks being used on an indoor show; the list goes on and on.  Most recently, many of you will have heard about a young wrestler called Nik Bali who was reportedly paralysed from the neck down after a botched move at a show in Cardiff.  I don’t know all of the facts about that tragic accident so it would be wrong to make too many judgements about it but suffice to say that having listened to the opinions of various people in the industry whom I trust, I am sure there are at least some serious questions about the whole episode that need to be addressed.  Add everything together and you are left with a very fragile-looking industry.  The bottom line is this: without some unified effort to self-regulate, British wrestling is a powder keg waiting to explode.

With all of this in mind, the BWC recently launched an outline of its aims for 2010 – I won’t repeat them here, but you can read about them in-depth at www.britishwrestlingcouncil.org.  I have been involved only at the periphery of this project, but I know from the people at its heart that these aims are just a start – for example, up to a dozen more backstage agents will become BWC-approved during 2010, and plans are afoot to include mandatory CRB checks on any trainers who will be working with children.  The plans will change and evolve as we learn together what we need as an industry, but I can tell you unreservedly that almost everyone I know who wrestles or promotes in the United Kingdom is broadly supportive of the idea.  As it develops, it will need to ensure it is transparent, democratic and does not exclude anyone – the structure and constitution of the Council are all important concepts that will have to be worked through, and these will be among its most important tasks in 2010.  If it is done right, I believe self-regulation is a much better option for everyone involved in wrestling than it would be to have new laws imposed by government bureaucrats with no grasp of the industry’s inner workings.

It is perhaps symptomatic of how small and niche the British wrestling industry has become that the only real forum for discussing these ideas since their publication in late December has been an internet message board where promoters and “smart fans” mix in almost equal numbers.  This has been a mixed blessing: on one hand, it has meant that the discussion has often been disproportionately dominated by snide comments from a small minority of faceless people who don’t want to offer a solution but are all too willing to pour scorn on the entire concept and everyone involved in it.  On the other hand, there have been some very thoughtful contributions from both fans and promoters who genuinely care about the industry and have legitimate questions or concerns.  I cannot address all of those in this space, but Alex Shane covered a lot of that ground when he sat down with me for a special interview on the subject last week – this will be available through the BWC website soon and I encourage anyone with a serious interest in the subject to listen to it.  Among other subjects, he will be talking about the controversies surrounding having BWC-approved agents at shows, the accusations that the BWC is nothing more than a money-making scheme, and the apparent concerns of Jim Cornette and others that having a single syllabus for wrestling training will stifle creativity and mean every new wrestler is “the same”.  Hopefully some of the myths about the Council will be dispelled and you will come away thinking that it was a balanced and rigorous interrogation, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with its plans.  I certainly walked away from it more convinced than ever that this is the right thing for British wrestling.

Given how much untapped potential we have in this country, it is absolutely criminal that British wrestling is in its current state.  There are brilliant performers who deserve to be household names but are currently unlikely to draw 100 fans to see them wrestle.  There are schoolchildren who could be the next big stars in the wrestling world but are currently unlikely to ever set foot in a training ring.  There are thousands (if not millions) of people who could get the same amount of joy from being a wrestling fan as you and I have over the years, but who are currently unlikely to even consider coming to a show.  And there is a young man lying in a hospital bed who could have become a world champion but is currently unlikely to ever wrestle again.

We can change all of this.  But first the industry needs to band together and ensure that every show that takes place on our shores reaches minimum standards of quality and safety.  In this decade, the BWC could be the catalyst that returns British wrestling to the mainstream of our national life.  Or it could be dead by the end of the year, leaving the industry to continue its decline into obscurity.  For everyone who has an interest in the success of British wrestling, 2010 is a moment to stand up and be counted.