ITV brings wrestling back with rebooted World Of Sport Greetings, grapple fans – professional wrestling will finally return to ITV in a revived World Of Sport. A new generation […]

Greetings, grapple fans – professional wrestling will finally return to ITV in a revived World Of Sport.

A new generation of British wrestlers is being lined up to emulate Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, titans of the ring whose epic battles entertained millions of viewers.

A Saturday afternoon fixture within World Of Sport, the ITV rival to BBC’s Grandstand, which ran from 1965 to 1985, the British spit-and-sawdust version of professional wrestling was played out in front of crowds of screaming grannies at local town halls.

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By the late 80s, the likes of the 40-stone Haystacks and the masked Kendo Nagasaki were displaced by the glossy attractions of the US World Wrestling Federation circus, which staged spectacular bouts in huge arenas.

The rebooted ITV World Of Sport Wrestling will feature grapplers including “Viper” Kimberly Benson, the Scottish fighter and graduate of Insane Championship Wrestling: Fierce Females and the Mexican-styled El Ligero, a staple of the British independent wrestling scene.

Wrestling will return in a one-off special, filmed in Manchester next month, although the sport’s advocates hope more will follow.

ITV said: “WOS Wrestling will see some of the UK’s top names in the sport compete in a fun-filled afternoon of family sports entertainment.”

The event, made by ITV’s entertainment division, will feature “some of the UK’s finest pro wrestlers” competing in front of a live audience across a “series of fights; from singles to tag team and eliminations.”

“Backstage, viewers will catch up with the wrestlers between fights and at the end of the show one fighter will take home the WoS Wrestling belt.”

Tom McLennan, Creative Director, ITV Studios Entertainment said: “World of Sport Wrestling was a major event for millions of families every Saturday afternoon for over 20 years.

“I’m excited about bringing back this iconic brand and celebrating the best British wrestlers in the country.”

The ITV stable includes the “East End Butcher” Sha Samuels, who pounds opponents into the mat inbetween carving up meat at his butchers shop in Newham.

The show’s presenting team will also include the most famous commentator in American wrestling, Jim Ross.

The latest nostalgic television reboot following The Crystal Maze and Robot Wars, wrestling could fight its way onto prime-time as an alternative to The X Factor.

@adamsherwin10