Nearly every FA Cup final day between 1961 and 1987, when World of Sport’s Dickie Davies was the still the indisputable holder of ‘Broadcasting’s Best ‘Tache’ (before he would pass the comb to Des Lynam) and there were only four channels to choose from on telly, millions would tune in for a grunt ’n’ groan special before the big footy match.

It became as much a part of FA Cup final traditions as Bovril, ‘Abide With Me’, something to do with a police horse and other misremembered bits of romantic nostalgia that occlude the deeper problems facing footballing culture in the 1970s and 1980s. Easy, easy!

Indeed, the perception of Saturday afternoon wrestling being so popular on the box was so prevalent that notions of numerous matches featuring the likes of Jackie Pallo, Mick McManus, Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Kendo Nagasaki actually outstripping the viewing figures for the final have successfully passed from TV lore into hype-becomes-accepted-fact, in typical wrestling fashion. For a potted history of World of Sport wrestling on British TV, have a look about here.

Minor quibbles over the, erm, reality of the situation aside, there’s no pre-final squared circle action to be found on British terrestrial telly any more. World of Sport wrestling was finally canned from ITV in 1988 – and no UK promotion has commanded enough mainstream attention to warrant the front cover of the TV Times since. WWE presented Extreme Rules last night and commentator JBL probably crowbarred in a reference to Manchester United’s twelfth FA Cup crown (I haven’t watched the show yet), continuing the glorious relationship between wrestling and footy, most recently and prominently celebrated with Wayne Rooney dishing out a slap to Wade Barrett. So that and this column will have to do.

But should he be? Announced a year in advance, it has been clearly stated ICW’s hope is to pack out the 13,000 capacity venue. And there is no question ICW can sell tickets on a scale that no other UK independent can match.

However, WWE consider the Scottish market one of their most prized customer bases, with one of the densest congregation of wrestling fans within their touring operations. ICW is the most visible domestic outfit in Scotland – quite possible the UK – and although WWE’s reach and penetration across all fan demographics is far deeper, they remain the visitors rather than the home team. Dallas’ army are vital to ensuring that Scottish fanbase continues to be fervent as they are and turn up in greater numbers.

ICW’s immediate response to the show reveals was to stay cool and announce two guests with considerable WWE pedigree and resonance with fans – Kurt Angle and Hall of Famer Mick Foley. Bearing in mind how ICW has harnessed wrestling fans in Glasgow and beyond without bringing in such international firepower, it’d be inadvisable to bet against them exceeding their previous crowd record.

Realistically however, two WWE shows – and two TV tapings no less, the biggest draw available for UK fans – so close to ICW’s flagship event will mean some punters may have to make a difficult decision on who to shell out for. And while relations between the two companies have been cordial in public – the closest Dallas has come to criticising WWE was telling The Guardian last October he was ‘flattered’ to notice storyline and characterisation ideas being ‘borrowed’ – it has seemed strange that ICW were not named as a Global Cruiserweight Series/Cruiserweight Classic qualifier host.

With all three British promotion having contributed footage to excellent Finn Balor hype packages that referenced his pre-NXT work, ICW looked to be in the frame for further collaborations, similar to London-based promotions PROGRESS and Rev Pro – who did present preliminary ‘Euro’ stage matches. Indeed, NXT boss Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque confirmed ICW was on WWE’s radar when I asked him about British promotions during a conference call last December, before the CWC was rumoured to be planned.

Then again, as with nearly every aspect relating to wrestling, the fix could very well be in. Maybe WWE and ICW are already collaborating together to engineer a localised wrestling boom, with both profiting from increased interest as WWE returns to whopping crowds boosted by intrigue in the local market leader for the twice yearly main roster trips…?

Maybe that could even realise itself as an invasion storyline, the one storyline no wrestling promotion has ever managed to pull off satisfactorily… and maybe Irn Bru is made of girders and Roddy Piper was born in the Gorbals.

What do you reckon, Roman?

Zack will be back

Best wishes for a speedy return to top form for Zack Sabre Jr, who suffered a serious cut to his arm earlier this month during a wXw match in Germany that required a trip to hospital.

Although ZSJ has had to cancel appearances for the first time in his 12-year career – including a PWG title defence in California, a slot in PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16 tournament, his debut in Dublin for OTT, and dates for CHIKARA UK in Birmingham, Attack! in Wales and Rev Pro in London – he has reassured fans he will able to take on Kurt Angle next month at London’s York Hall.

Hopefully that also means he on track to be a part of WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series (as noted, recently renamed the Cruiserweight Classic – links and tags in my previous talkSPORT articles have been updated to reflect that), now due to tape over four dates in late June, July, August and September.

Taking a #Massivepunt on how I expect that 32 (does that include those that took part in the qualifiers? It hasn’t been clarified) man tournament to play out, I would not be surprised for Zack to steal the shows and make the final, possibly matching up against Akira Tozawa and PROGRESS rival Tommaso Ciampa before falling to TAFKA Manny Andrade and La Sombre, Andrade Almas.

His involvement in the CWC – also his WWE debut – has been key to the appeal of the entire WWE Network show concept and for him to miss out would be an awful disappointment both to his fans and fans who don’t know they are set to become admirers of his silky but lethal ring style yet.

Most likely it would also be an awful disappointment to Triple H who – in another conference call – seemingly couldn’t contain himself as he revealed Zack and Noam Dar’s names to be among the first participants confirmed… ahead of their qualifying matches against Flash Morgan Webster and Josh Bodom respectively.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde (and I can’t guarantee that won’t happen all that often on this page): “To announce one participant for the Cruiserweight Classic may be regarded as a misfortune; to announce two looks like carelessness.”

Not that Webster or Bodom allowed it to appear to be a cakewalk for their opponents.

All three qualifiers were superb, full-blooded affairs with Dar dedicating his win to late star Kris Travis. Huge kudos to Webster for giving it lots of welly, even after dislocating his right shoulder and tearing ligaments in his left ankle during ZSJ’s terrific onslaught.

Congratulations also to Jack Gallagher, another technical marvel, who toppled ‘Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne who must be considered a shoo-in for next year’s CWC, if it is confirmed as an annual happening. Make sure you listen to this ace chat between Gallagher and PROGRESS co-founder Jim Smallman on the Tuesday Night Jaw podcast.

Technically speaking, Dar should’ve been DQ’d after outside interference from… me. Honestly, it wasn’t my fault. I mistimed some pre-show pints with friends who weren’t coming along to Live at the Cockpit and, having missed the first bout of the afternoon, was plonked in a first row seat by one of the corner posts. The moment of me being called upon to hold Bodom’s foot outside the ring as he was down on the mat with his legs wrapped around the post to allow Dar enough time to take a run up for a dropkick hasn’t made WWE’s YouTube edit, but my fist can be seen on WWE.com. And that’s the most anyone can ever dream of, isn’t it?

Honored to read some incredibly kind words from a childhood idol, now a good friend, @BretHart. Thanks Hitman. https://t.co/EKLnr9pBHc — Stu Bennett (@StuBennett) May 11, 2016

And while the former King has not ruled out a future return to wrestling, I believe he is more likely to be spotted on the cinema screen than in the ring after securing an early end to his expiring contract.

What price for him to turn up in a new instalment of the Carry On series, reported to be ready for revival by Jonathan Sothcott – himself a WWE fan who was involved with Eliminators, the film Barrett took time off for last year to film? Barrett would certainly be able to escape an airplane spin without being hurled through a window, that’s for sure.

There were few real surprises with the other releases. Damien Sandow, adored as he is for his invention and effort, looked to have been pegged as a spare body and tackle bag ever since his on-off program with the Miz ground to a halt at Wrestlemania 31 – going by what he told Rolling Stone, he seems to feel the same way.

6/11 heats up as GFW and @WeAreWrestlePro present an absolutely stacked lineup! Welcome @TheDamienSandow! pic.twitter.com/4hftCxfGNy — GFW (@GFWWrestling) May 10, 2016

Santino Marella and Christian both retired due to injuries two years ago and Zeb Colter, Hornswoggle and El Torito had also been absent from television due to associated acts being repackaged, with Colter and ’Swoggle also taking time off to recover from medical procedures.

Alex Riley should curse Byron Saxton for being the latest commentary target of Kevin Owens’ attention because that period in NXT where he was taunted and shown up by Owens was perhaps the most memorable of his WWE run.

Cameron enjoyed most of her air time on Total Divas and had pinged between developmental, the main roster and NXT without ever really managing to distance herself from being the person who tried to pin someone while they were belly down or told Steve Austin her favourite match ever was Melina vs Alicia Fox.

A few days later it was revealed the Brooklyn Brawler, one of WWE’s longest-serving employees with over three decades of service but had been mostly occupied with producing duties for several years, had also been binned.

What made this bout of bloodletting so peculiar is the way it was executed from a public relations standpoint, with termination of employment apparently grist for WWE’s social media and digital mill.

Those released were announced one at a time, at irregular intervals, with one – rather than several – article on WWE.com that was overwritten and updated with each name in the headline (and consequently URL). As any SEO practitioner or digital journalist will testify, that’s a nonsensical way of going about trying to generate traffic.

Could it be that those being released were receiving calls about their future as the process was being covered by WWE.com?

Were the unusual article updates and decision to reveal names one-by-one happening in real time, and therefore had to be presented in such an inefficient way to avoid the possibility of one of the unfortunates getting word out first? I can’t think of any other reason to go about coverage in such a disjointed way.

Initially, WWE digital head Joey Style tweeted the names out himself, simultaneously or maybe slightly ahead of the WWE account, but that soon stopped and the tweets were soon deleted. Probably best, it may have been interpreted as an unpalatable way to drive engagement with his own profile.

In a very real way the departures of TAFKA Kyle Edwards, Rich Brennan and Alex Reyes, three non-senior members of the broadcast team who were passionate and informed fans as well as polished media professionals, in the days before and after the May 6 cull were more shocking losses than anyone let go on ‘Black Friday’.

Edwards had been an engaging host of the ‘5 Things…’ historical YouTube short series. Brennan was the best voice for play-by-play and storytelling on WWE’s best show of 2015, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, before floating around as on/off lead commentator for SmackDown and a cracking chat jockey. Reyes displayed great chemistry and empathy with his interview subjects and reportedly believes a shared ‘die-hard’ enthusiasm for the company they worked for may have been considered an undesirable quality. All three have been very gracious about their departures, but going by talent alone they should still be there – and in better standing.

Andrea D’Marco, Cathey Kelley and Mike Rome have recently been hired for similar hosting and backstage interview roles. Love your jobs, guys… but maybe don’t let on too much.

Cody takes the Rhodes less travelled

An extraordinary statement posted on Twitter last night from Cody Rhodes in which he expressed frustration at being unable to convince Vince McMahon and Triple H he could be their “star-player” and “it seems we have reached the point where neither saw that in me”.

The 30-year-old was granted an exit from WWE after tweeting on Saturday night he himself had requested a release earlier that day – but WWE did not confirm whether it was legitimate or not before Sunday evening when Rhodes was given the ‘future endeavours’ treatment by company social media.

My one&only statement on the matter. No podcasts or tell-all nonsense. Thank you friends. pic.twitter.com/c5MNKw6spH — Hyrule Husky (@PrinceCGR) May 22, 2016

Hailing Triple H’s role as “as custodian of history in honoring [his late father Dusty Rhodes] since his passing”, the note’s tone became angrier as he detailed how he had “pleaded” with creative to position him as Cody Rhodes once again, rather than Stardust. It had been believed he was keen to retain the supervillain character as fans on social media clamoured for it to be shelved.

However, his strongest ire was directed at WWE’s flagship programming’s head writers for being “barely willing to listen to an idea I considered beneficial to more than one talent” and who he came to eventually believe are “two writers captaining a broken unrecognizable system”.

So many of my fave times in WWE were with Cody Rhodes, both in front of & behind the camera. It takes balls to walk away, hats off. — Stu Bennett (@StuBennett) May 22, 2016

Crikey. After Ryback’s unprecedented tirade about conditions and pay at the start of May and Adam Rose’s astonishing tweet-delete-tweet again approach to his sixty day suspension for a second violation of the Talent Wellness Program (he was released too, this evening – the bloom is definitely off the Rose), it seems the most caustic criticism currently aimed at WWE is coming from their own on-air TV talent rather than mainstream media.

Now seems a good time to pull a 20 minute chat I had with Rhodes backstage at Raw in London in April 2013 out of the archives, doesn’t it?

And while I’m plugging away like a spunky TL Hopper in an Iron Man match, hit ‘Subscribe’ on my youtube.com/RobLeighWrestling account which contains (or will contain in the future ) audio from my interviews with the WWE likes of… The Rock, John Cena, Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Daniel Bryan, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, William Regal, Jim Ross, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Nikki and Brie Bella, Stephanie McMahon, Eva Marie, Paige, Emma, Nattie, Charlotte, Big E, Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Paul Heyman, Cesaro, Mick Foley, Big Show, Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston, Kane, Michelle McCool, Layla, Rey Mysterio, MVP, Damien Sandow, Drew McIntyre and Drew Galloway, Fandango, Tommy Dreamer, Mr Kennedy, Bob Holly, Titus O’Neil, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode!

There’s slow journalism and then there are takes so cold they could ice the injuries and aches of every wrestler in WWE’s locker room.

You’ll notice a lot of the aspects looked at in this column so far are a bit… previous. That’s because i’ve taken a month off from WWE after departing talkSPORT’s Gorilla Position podcast – which you must definitely subscribe to, if you don’t already.

The Wrestlemania hangover was mighty this year, more exhausting and headache-inducing than at any point in my ten years of reporting on WWE for national newspapers, magazine and their digital titles and . And like most hangovers, when your head is left swimming after consuming too much, the best remedy is often an industrial quantity of bacon and a big kip. So I’ve been kipping on WWE.

There’s a lot made of ‘co-opted media’ – or ‘WWE mark media’ – by the Wrestling Twitterarti, but that is a discussion for another column. But in regards to Saturday Afternoon Wrestling, there is no requirement to be on message with WWE or any other promotion, there will be no unsubstantiated rumours presented as fact or truisms presented as news… and definitely no received opinions. The agenda is not about breaking scoops or chasing interviews or statements from press officers. But as WWE’s press and publicity operation – and wrestling on a wider level, as fringe culture enterprise – focuses ever more on the company’s own self-contained social media sphere rather than traditional media to drive awareness, I’ll be looking at how wrestling is presented and received outside of the newzsite and wrestling fandom circles.

Plus, there will be GIFs.

CHIKARA Chicka Boom Boom

Over the 12 month period between last November and next November, WWE (and NXT) crews will have travelled to these shores SIX times for tours and live events. And the blooming British scene hasn’t gone unnoticed by other US outfits, either.

CHIKARA are currently embarking on a seven-date tour of England, Scotland and Wales, following up the success of last year’s first four-show trip over here.

That 2015 tour was such a success for touring partners Fight Club: PRO that headliners Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and Dan Moloney (as well as FC: P regulars Mark Andrews and Pete Dunne, representing Attack!) were invited to get involved in CHIKARA’s standout King of Trios tournament, winning over US audiences to become the smash hit package of the series and making all the way to the semi-finals against AJ Styles and the Young Bucks.

Having been embraced by CHIKARA’s home fans, Wolverhampton-based FC: P stars are key to attraction matches all over the bill – and there’s also a World of Sport legend in the mix for this 2016 Aniversario jaunt.

Johnny Kidd, now 60, will battle CHIKARA founder Mike Quackenbush under WoS rules for one last time at the Manchester show in what is promoted as his final singles bout, with Director of Fun Quack making his own return to the ring after retiring three years ago. For full match listings and venues, click here.

Give Botchamania Matthew Gregg’s Chikaramania 2015 video a squiz by clicking on the player below, especially if you’re not all that familiar with CHIKARA’s unique, child-friendly blend of cartoonish Lucha Libre, Japanese wrestling and vaudeville and – on this loop at least – Fight Club: PRO’s British strong style.

Good news for Stephanie McMahon – the Times Literary Supplement is keen to review her upcoming book!

Prediction: **1/2.

As an aside, check out this spot of passive agg on the sosh from Dave ‘Bats’ Bautista in reaction to some #hashtaghype for the announcement.

Having spoken before to me about his love for Shakespeare, maybe the TLS should sign him up on the basis of his own literary credentials and have Dave as a guest reviewer?

Plus it helps to get guys over!😐And it builds a great angle for when you get your receipt😳 it looks good😖 I tried! 🙁 https://t.co/m4zlY9BzeJ — Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) May 18, 2016

The Cruiserweight Classic is far from the only showcase for wrestlers with lighter frames on the horizon: New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors kicked off this past weekend and the Super J Cup is scheduled for a comeback in August after a seven-year break.

Cannot wait for Will Ospreay’s clash with Jushin Liger.

Here’s the schedule.

New Japan Best of the Super Juniors 2016 full preview & analysis https://t.co/hXrI5Jwose pic.twitter.com/9NEE0DWOww — Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) May 18, 2016

At last years NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, Kevin Owen’s son and parents were ringside, with his little boy wearing opponent Finn Balor’s merchandise but cheering – possibly with more fervour than anybody else in Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre – for his dad.

Following a bruising ladder match loss, Owens was down on the mat recovering from the punishment he had endured for a good whack of time, certainly until after the show had gone off the air. And in one of the most touching, genuine moments I’ve ever seen in a ring, Owens looked directly at his son without making any facial reaction as he was sprawled out – seemingly beaten to a pulp – but with one already outstretched hand gave the slightest flick of his thumb to let his boy know he would be okay. Just tremendous.

Goes to show there’s a way of clueing in kids without spoiling the magic of wrestling… or taking a barrage of chair shots to the nut.

Heading to the back…

Are you an awesome illustrator that knows their Max Moon from their Mascarita Sagrada from their Mitsuharu Misawa? Talk to me @ThatRobLeigh.

And while you’re on the sosh, feel free to let me know your #Massivepunt predictions off the back of Extreme Rules and Raw tonight. This was a callout I used on GP to find out what big happenings listeners reckon may go down at an undetermined point in the future. But they must be BIG ideas – not ‘Finn Balor will link up with The Club’. Brass tacks: fantasy booking but without too much of a predictable element. And possibly daft as.

So send me your #Massivepunt predictions (also using #SAW or #SaturdayAfternoonWrestling), I’ll find ‘em out then – as on GP – will summarily dismiss them.

For instance:

“Please, God, no. No one wants to see that. Not even Vince Russo.” See?

THIS SATURDAY on #SaturdayAfternoonWrestling >>>> A chat with World of Sport veteran Johnny Kidd… Extreme Rules cold takes…. Super Strong Style 16 hype… Why Brits are best when it comes to audiences…late, late thoughts on Chyna, media coverage of WWE’s April UK tour and, at this rate, SummerSlam 1992…

2 Big Daddy and Kwik-kik Lee (later and better known as Akira Maeda) teamed to face Crusher Brannigan and Tony Walsh on FA Cup final day in 1982 [Grab: YouTube] – Big Daddy and Kwik-kik Lee (later and better known as Akira Maeda) teamed to face Crusher Brannigan and Tony Walsh on FA Cup final day in 1982 [Grab: YouTube]