Source: The Big Issue
For years, the undisputed top dog in the world of professional wrestling has been World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation) and its head honcho Vince McMahon. The outfit, whose superstars include the Undertaker and John Cena, enjoyed a near monopoly in the £550m marketplace.
But all that may be about to change thanks to a little Southern dame and her increasingly high-profile stable of muscle-bound talent. Earlier this month Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling and its bullish boss Dixie Carter took on WWE’s major Monday night pay per view with a jaw-dropping show of their own – featuring Hulk Hogan and Jeff Hardy, big names poached from their competitor. It was the first time in almost a decade that McMahon had been challenged by a rival wrestling promotion and he was sufficiently rattled to pull back long-time WWE hero Bret ‘the Hitman’ Hart to shore up ratings.
TNA, meanwhile, saw unprecedented viewing figures and found a new swagger. Speaking to The Big Issue as the upstarts prepare to hit Scotland for a major live show, bad boy British star Desmond Wolfe says that McMahon had better watch his back.
“Dixie is lovely and wonderful and has created this kind of family in TNA,” he explains. “But when it comes to business, she doesn’t pull any punches. She gets the job done and she’s really gung-ho about this [taking on WWE]. She’s going all out. She’s got Hogan on board now, she’s got all the ducks in the line – everything she thinks she needs to do it. I wouldn’t want to be against her.”
After upping sticks and leaving his native London for the States to follow a childhood dream of being a pro-wrestler, 31-year-old Wolfe – real name Steven Haworth – spent a decade in independent wrestling associations, building his talents and his name.
It was tough, he says, and for the first five years he didn’t make enough to pay the bills. “I had to work a full-time job and then every weekend I was wrestling as well,” he says. “Trying to maintain a normal life in that sort of situation isn’t easy. But that’s part of the deal.”
Despite perennial cynics’ accusations that wrestling is rigged, Wolfe says it’s all very real – and very risky – when you’re in the ring. “It is extremely, extremely dangerous,” he emphasises. “You can talk all you want about the outcomes of the matches or anything else but the violence is very real. I’ve had herniated discs in my back, I’ve had torn biceps, I have had a lot of concussions as well.
“You fall on your back in professional wrestling. It’s like being in a car wreck at 25 miles an hour. You do that five or six times a day for five days a week and it adds up.”
Last year, Wolfe thought that all the bruises and the hard work had paid off when he was signed ‘in principle’ for WWE but the deal fell through on one of the physicals. Wolfe was delighted when TNA came forward with an offer and he got the kind of intro that any pro would dream of. On his first day he signalled his intentions by picking a fight with TNA’s biggest name, wrestling icon and Olympic gold medallist Kurt Angle, hitting him over the head with a metal chair and giving the crowd the fingers for good measure.
Being the bad guy, Wolfe says, comes naturally. “They do say when you start out in the business that everybody has a natural propensity to be liked or disliked in life. Growing up, people never seemed to like me very much. That being the case, I always thought I’d be a good bad guy as a professional wrestler.”
Like any “good bad guy”, Wolfe can’t resist noising up the crowds – even before he arrives in town. “I’m excited to be coming back to the UK,” he says. “The fans in England are some of the best in the world – it’s just a shame that we have to go to Scotland as well.
“I’ve watched Braveheart,” he adds, laughing, “so I’ve been doing some research.”
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