Local wrestler makes national debut

Friday 28 June 2019

A local wrestler has made his debut with one of the largest wrestling promotions in the UK.

Ben Wadley started training at the Revolution Prowrestling Portsmouth School of Wrestling in October last year and is already beginning to make a name for himself.

"When I was about ten my brother and I would watch the WWF on TV and be in awe of the larger than life characters like The Rock, Steve Austin and Savio Vega," he said. "Like most youths that watched wrestling we would inevitably act out the moves we saw on television on each other.

"Being a wrestler was something I had dreamed about doing since I was a kid - to a child they are probably the closes thing to being real life superheroes. Wrestlers are these larger-than-life athletes and that is what I wanted to be."

For the past eight months, Ben has been flying to Southampton and getting a train to Portsmouth once a week for a three hour session at the school before heading back to Guernsey on the last flight of the day.

Pictured: Image of Ben Wadley courtesy of James Musselwhite.

Finally, after a lot of hard work Ben was able to make his debut with RevPro at the Bucklands Community Centre in Portsmouth as part of a six-man tag team match.

"I had some nerves going in but I was in there against really talented guys that I knew would take care of me," he added. "Hitting my big moves on opponents and feeling the crowd react was incredible. I can totally understand how wrestlers get addicted to that rush of performing.

"The best part actually came after the match was over. A little kid ran over and gave me a fist bump. It was just a small thing but it made me realise I was entertaining him like the wrestlers on TV had entertained me all those years ago."

RevPro runs a number of events throughout the year featuring British wrestlers as well as stars from America and Japan.

"I'm still a rookie with a lot to learn but everyone at the school has been infinitely patient with me, helping me get a little better each time," Ben continued. "The young wrestlers who train there - Curtis Chapman, Dan Magee, Kenneth Halfpenny, Shaun Jackson - you can tell are going to be huge stars within a few years. But they are always willing to take the time to let you pick their brains and give advice. It's a kind of comrade I don't think I have experienced anywhere else."

Pictured top: Ben Wadley following his RevPro debut.