The Snake Pit (Wigan)

This article is about the wrestling gym in Wigan, England. For the movie released in 1948, see The Snake Pit. For other uses, see Snake pit (disambiguation).

53°33′57″N 2°35′12″W / 53.5658°N 2.5866°W / 53.5658; -2.5866 (The Snake Pit)

The Snake Pit
Also known asRiley's
Riley's Gym
蛇の穴 / スネーク・ピット
Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club
Aspull Wrestling Club
Wigan
Date founded1948
Country of originEngland
FounderBilly Riley
Current headRoy Wood, Andrea Wood
Arts taughtCatch wrestling
Freestyle wrestling
Ancestor artsLancashire wrestling
PractitionersKarl Gotch
Billy Robinson
Bert Assirati
Jack Dempsey[a]
Billy Joyce [ja]
Les Thornton
Dynamite Kid
Maria Dunn
See more
Official websitesnakepitwigan.com

The Snake Pit, based in Aspull, Wigan Borough, England, is the gym and organisation regarded as the home of catch wrestling. It is co-located with the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club, which focuses on freestyle wrestling.[b] Founded in 1948 by Billy Riley in the town of Wigan, it was originally known as Riley's Gym. Riley was succeeded by Roy Wood, one of his last living students.[2][3] In December 2023, Wood was recognised on the 2024 New Year Honours and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) "for services to wrestling and young people" after coaching for almost 50 years.[4][5][6] An exhibition about Riley and the gym began at the Leigh Town Hall in April 2024.[7]

The gym has had a significant influence on the evolution of catch-as-catch-can (CACC), freestyle, and professional wrestling, as well as mixed martial arts (MMA), especially in Japan. Riley was the head coach for over 20 years, teaching Lancashire style catch wrestling, and the gym became known in Britain and internationally for producing skilled wrestlers. Riley closed the gym in the early 1970s due to theatrics overtaking legitimate skills in pro wrestling but it was soon revived through a community effort, with Roy Wood becoming head coach, assisted by Riley and other veteran wrestlers. The gym switched to freestyle wrestling, producing champions and international competitors, and hosting the Aspull Freestyle Wrestling International for over 35 years. The gym moved to Aspull during this time, establishing the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club.[2][3][8][9][10]

The gym continued to be one of the most essential sources for preserving catch wrestling and began to formally promote the style again in 2012 through competitions, training, and certification.[2][3][8] The Snake Pit has organized the Catch Wrestling World Championships since 2018.[11] The 2024 Catch Wrestling British Championships took place on August 10, followed by the World Championships on September 7.[12][13]

History

Riley's Gym

Billy Riley was a skilled professional wrestler in an era where bouts were still legitimate.[2][14][15][16] Riley trained in pubs like the Crispin Arms or at his home before he and a handful of other wrestlers, who were also tradesmen, combined their resources to purchase a plot of land and build a dedicated gym in the Whelley area of the town of Wigan.[3][17][18][19][20] The gym opened in 1948 to teach Lancashire style catch-as-catch-can (CACC), freestyle, and professional wrestling (termed "show wrestling").[2][20]

The original building was described as a shed or shack with a tin roof, bare bricks inside, a worn wrestling mat stuffed with horse hair, a coal stove for heat, no toilet, rusting weights, and a shower in the corner that only had cold water.[2][21][22]: 35:25 [23][24][25] Riley was an active coach, known for hard training and demanding every opponent be approached as world-class, even if they were only a novice.[3][26] He wanted to be confident in his students' skills and was known for phrases like “you can never train too hard” and "do it again."[22]: 48:00 [27][28] He also kept a room of books and reference materials for wrestling.[29] Billy Joyce [ja] and other veteran wrestlers would regularly coach alongside Riley. Many of the trainees were miners and hoped to boost their incomes by wrestling.[2][22]: 42:11 [30] There was a common saying that someone reaching into a local mine would grab either a wrestler or rugby player.[22]: 36:37 [25] The professionals usually trained in the morning and worked shows in the evening, then the wrestlers with day jobs trained after work.[24] Since there had been legitimate wrestlers in every family, it became impossible to hold theatrical-style pro wrestling in Wigan.[31][32] Riley did not make much money as a coach because he kept his member fees modest.[2] In 1964, they were only two shillings and six pence (2s. 6., a half crown, equivalent to £3.2 in 2023), despite a wrestler like Karl Gotch reportedly earning £30,000 (equivalent to £767,899.5 in 2023) annually.[31] Although the training was tough and many visitors were one-time-only, the gym had unwritten rules against breaking limbs, eye-poking, hair-pulling, and similar behaviour.[3][33][34]: 34ː43  Women and children were also disallowed in those days.[14][24][35]

The hard-nosed environment produced some of the most popular and skilled wrestlers of their time, such as Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, Bert Assirati, Jack Dempsey,[a] Les Thornton, and Billy Joyce (Bob Robinson). Other wrestlers from the gym included Ernie Riley (Billy Riley's son), Joe Robinson (Billy Joyce's brother), Melvyn Riss (Harold Winstanley), John Foley, Alan Latham (Francis Sullivan), Mick and Seamus Dunleavy, Billy Chambers, Len Wetherby, Jackie Cheers, Frank Riley, Jimmy Hart, Alan Hartwood, Harry Duvall, Ken Baldwin, John Naylor, Brian Burke, and Roy Wood.[2][3][35][36] As well as Bob Sherry (Jimmy Niblett),[37][38] El Diablo (Tony Francis),[39] George Gregory,[29] Count Bartelli (Geoff Condliffe),[40] Jack Mountford,[25] Johnny Eagle (Roy Boyd),[41] and Tommy Heyes.[14]

The gym became well-known internationally and hosted wrestlers from countries including France, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Spain, India, Pakistan, Turkey, the United States, and Canada.[42] Riley also encouraged his wrestlers to bring knowledge back from other gyms and styles. During Billy Robinson's eight years at Riley's, he was sent to Hungary to learn Greco-Roman wrestling, and to Sweden and Germany.[43]: 141  Gotch, Robinson, Joyce, Thornton, and other Riley's wrestlers toured Japan, where the wrestlers and their style developed an enduring popularity. Rumours of the gym's reputation inspired the "Tiger's Den" in Tiger Mask, a manga and anime series about pro wrestling, and Robinson inspired the manga/anime character Robin Mask.[44][45][46][47]

Although Riley's was the most well-known gym, it had several rivals such as the Belshaws, who were a family of undertakers that specialised in takedowns.[27] They had been trained by Billy Riley's coach Willie "Pop" Charnock, who also had his own gym.[2][10][48]

Riley's was featured in "The Wrestlers", a documentary by ITV Granada, which premiered on September 5, 1967. The documentary focused on the lives and personalities of popular pro wrestlers outside the ring, featuring Billy Robinson, Les Kellett, Johnny Eagle, Vic Faulkner, Abe Ginsberg, Jim Hussey, Alan Dennison, and Roy "Bull" Davis, along with Billy Riley. It was directed by Michael Elster, filmed by David Wood, produced by Denis Mitchell, edited by Leonard Trumm, with sound recording by John Muxworthy.[42][49][50][51][52]

Revival

By the 1970s, the theatrical elements of pro wrestling had completely overtaken legitimate wrestling ability and Riley closed his famous gym. However, the gym was revived when Roy Wood's son Darren and a friend wanted to wrestle, but it needed repairs first. Using materials donated by Bill Swiers, a group of locals rebuilt the gym to twice the original size. Wood then became the head coach and Riley returned to mentor from his chair, along with Tommy Heyes. Riley's converted to freestyle wrestling because there were no opportunities for catch wrestlers in Britain coupled with safety concerns for training youth. Riley's grandsons Mark and Paul, and nephew Patrick Burns also trained at the revived gym.[2][3][14][24][25][53] After a lifetime in wrestling, Billy Riley died on September 15, 1977.[54]

The gym consistently produced British champions and top competitors.[22]: 35ː19, 43ː35  In 1986, Darren Wood won gold in freestyle wrestling at the European Cadets Championship followed by gold at the 1987 Cadet World Championships and the 1987 British Senior Championships.[55][56]

On February 7, 1989, the documentary series First Tuesday premiered "The Wigan Hold", produced by Roger Finnegan, focusing on Riley's gym.[57][58] The piece focused on the lives of Ernie Riley and Tommy Moore (Jack Dempsey); Riley, Moore, and Roy Wood coaching youth; retrospectives on wrestling history in Wigan, Billy Riley, the gym, and theatrical pro wrestling. It also included archival footage from "The Wrestlers" documentary of Riley coaching a young Wood.[22] The deteriorating state of the facility and lack of resources shown on the programme prompted a government offer to renovate the gym. Instead, the decision was made to relocate, establishing the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club (AOWC).[8][25][35][59] The original gym was later demolished after a fire and houses were built on the land.[3][60]

The Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club

In 1990, Japanese pro wrestlers Kazuo Sakurada and KY Wakamatsu approached Billy Joyce, who directed them to Wood, with an offer to coach in Japan for Super World of Sports (SWS). After a training session, Wood and Joyce took them to the ruins of Riley's, where the visitors looked noticeably upset by the famed gym's condition and offered financial assistance to rebuild it. Wood then travelled to Japan and coached the SWS roster in Lancashire-style catch wrestling. He ended his tour with an exhibition match in front of 17,000 spectators at Yokohama Arena.[2][20][19][61] During this trip, Wood broke the leg of a Japanese wrestler who challenged him, which convinced the others of his ability.[53]

In 1993, the club had another visitor from Japan, Osamu Matsunami. An 18-year-old Matsunami had learned about the club from an article about Dynamite Kid in Weekly Gong magazine (No. 257, May 25, 1989). A quote by Joyce in the article inspired Matsunami's interest in Lancashire wrestling, which grew when Wood coached for SWS in 1990. In May 1993, Matsunami made his first trip to the club, despite knowing little English or the location.[62][63][64] After an extended journey and the assistance of several people, Matsunami met Wood, who introduced Matsunami to his family and the community. Matsunami accompanied Wood for several days, including wrestling practices, meeting Riley's wrestlers, and visiting the ruins of Riley's. His visit was covered by the Wigan Post.[60][62] Matsunami made several more journeys to Wigan, staying for several months at a time. He trained with Wood, Ernie Riley, Billy Joyce, and several other wrestlers, and helped Wood coach kids classes. Matsunami also competed, including a trip to France early-on and placing fifth at the 1995 British Freestyle Wrestling Championships.[62][65][66]

In 1995, Osamu Nishimura visited and trained at the gym. Soon after, Wood was recruited by Nishimura's mentor Tatsumi Fujinami, a popular pro wrestler and then-president of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), to train NJPW's roster.[35][64][67][68] In Japan, Wigan and Riley's were regarded as the spiritual home of wrestling, and Fujinami viewed CACC as the foundation of pro wrestling and wanted it to be preserved.[69][70] Wood was accompanied by five wrestlers including Shane Rigby, a three-time Commonwealth silver medallist from Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club, who learned catch wrestling under Wood.[71][72][73] After the success of the first tour, Wood coached in Japan several more times and NJPW held several Lancashire wrestling-style shows featuring Wood's wrestlers under the brand "Muga" (無我, selflessness).[64][67][74][75]

Other visitors from Japan included Shigeo Miyato, Yoji Anjo, and UWF booker Shinji Sasazaki. In 1999, Miyato founded a gym based on Riley's, the UWF Snake Pit Japan (now CACC Snake Pit Japan [ja]), with Billy Robinson and Lou Thesz as the first head coaches.[45][64][76]

In 2000, Roy Wood and his daughter Andrea helped establish freestyle wrestling programs at several schools in Greater Manchester, one of which quickly won back-to-back British championships for boys and girls.[77][78] Wood had pushed for more female participation in wrestling since the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club's opening.[3] He also worked with the St Helens and Wigan Warriors rugby clubs to introduce wrestling into professional rugby, with St Helens quickly going on to win the Challenge Cup several times.[2][6] Wood coached St Helens for six years.[79] Paul Stridgeon, a student of Wood and a British freestyle champion, transitioned to professional rugby, coaching for clubs including the England national team and Wales national team.[56][80][81]

In 2008, Wood coached the British wrestling team for the Commonwealth Youth Games in India.[82] In April 2009, Wood was voted as the England-Northern representative for British Wrestling's then-newly established Nations & Regions Committee.[83] In May 2010, AOWC was among the first clubs to receive British Wrestling's Clubmark certification.[84][85]

Wood coached Maria Dunn, a freestyle wrestler from Guam, for the 2012 Olympics.[3][86] Wood and Ben Johnson also served as torchbearers for the Olympic flame.[87] Dunn later married Bolton wrestling coach Nathan Tully and they founded the Snakepit Wrestling Academy in Guam. Tully died in 2020 after a battle with cancer.[88][89] The Nathan Tully award "for dedication to grassroots/paying it forward" is presented in his memory at the Catch Wrestling World Championships.[90]

The club hosted the Aspull Freestyle Wrestling International for 35 years as of 2012.[3][91]

Recognitions

In February 2009, Wood was named "coach of the year" at the ninth annual Wigan and Leigh Borough Sports Awards for mentoring coaches, coaching British wrestlers at the Commonwealth Youth Games, and preparing 2012 Olympic hopefuls. Nicky Slack, also from AOWC, was named "volunteer of the year."[82]

In 2011, Wood was the North West regional winner of the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award, recognising "outstanding contribution by individuals at the grassroots level of sport."[92] In November 2012, Wood received the "coach of the year" and the "be inspired" awards at the Greater Manchester Sports Awards,[93] and AOWC was named "club of the year" at the Borough Sports Awards.[94]

In December 2023, after almost 50 years of coaching, Wood was recognised on the 2024 New Year Honours and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) "for services to wrestling and young people."[4][5][6] The medal was presented to Wood in a ceremony at Gorton Monastery by Diane Hawkins, the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, in October 2024.[79]

The Snake Pit

The often-anachronistic "Snake Pit" (蛇の穴 / スネーク・ピット) name was popularised in Japan. In Britain, the gym was only known as "Riley's."[3][53] Wood was unaware of the "Snake Pit" moniker until his trip to coach in Japan for SWS.[34]: 12ː00 

The Snake Pit took its current form around 2011. Due to prior frustrations, Wood maintained his focus on freestyle wrestling until his daughter, Andrea, convinced her father to help preserve the sport of catch wrestling by coaching again.[2][3] Alongside the 35th Aspull Freestyle Wrestling International in November 2012,[91] The Snake Pit held the first catch wrestling matches to take place in Wigan in fifty years, with participants from Britain and Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan.[95][96][97][98] The Snake Pit also held its first certification that month. Osamu Matsunami and Ian Bromley became the first certified coaches and Riley's Gym Kyoto became the first certified affiliate gym.[95] Since then, The Snake Pit has held regular workshops, interclub competitions, and annual "international weeks" for foreign visitors.[2][99][100]

The Snake Pit marked its 70th anniversary with the first annual Catch Wrestling World Championships on November 2, 2018. The event was held at the University of Bolton Stadium and featured competitors from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, South Africa, Sweden, Lithuania and New Zealand.[11][101]

After the death of coach Ian Bromley in February 2019, The Snake Pit partnered with the charity Andy's Man Club (AMC) to raise awareness and combat stigma around mental health. The 2019 Catch Wrestling World Championships in November were held in tribute to Bromley. A message from the charity's founder and footage of Bromley's final interview were played between matches. A voluntary group was also set up, promoting the hashtag #17:17.[c] AMC donated wristbands, flyers and other items to be given out at the event.[102][103][104] The award for best/outstanding wrestler at the World Championships was named in Bromley's honour.[105] The number of entrants for the event doubled from the previous year, including accomplished grapplers and mixed martial artists such as Olga McGlinchey (2012 world championships bronze medallist and Olympian), UFC fighters John Hathaway and Tom Watson, and Nathaniel Brown, a 2019 British freestyle silver medallist.[103][106]

In January 2022, documents found in the Snake Pit's archives helped reveal Britain's first black Olympian - Louis Bruce, a biracial wrestler and tram driver from Edinburgh, Scotland. It was previously thought that Harry Edward was Britain's first black Olympian.[107]

After a two-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on June 4, 2022 at the University of Bolton Stadium.[90][108] The event featured 33 competitors wrestling in a total of 29 matches.[19]

The Snake Pit held the 2023 Catch Wrestling British Championships on August 5 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, England. The tournament was open to competitors residing in the British Isles.[109][110]

The 2023 Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on October 28 at the University of Bolton Stadium.[111] Previous champions Josh Barnett and Owen Livesey faced each-other in the headline bout.[112][113] This event had the most international competitors to date, including an American team assembled by Barnett - the ACWA Warbringers, all of whom reached the finals in their divisions.[114]

In April 2024, Leigh Town Hall began hosting an exhibition about Billy Riley, catch wrestling, and the gym. Supported by funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, it preserves and displays memorabilia contributed to the collection by The Snake Pit and others.[7]

The Snake Pit held the 2024 Catch Wrestling British Championships on August 10 at Robin Leisure Park in Wigan, England.[12] They were followed by the 2024 Catch Wrestling World Championships on September 7 at The Edge in Wigan. The two-day event was supported by the local government and was the first time that the town of Wigan hosted the World Championships. Over fourteen nations were represented, including the USA, Australia, Japan, Georgia, Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Netherlands.[115][116][117][118] Along with the World Championships, there was a competition for children called Catch For Kids.[119]

Notable people

Head coaches

  • Billy Riley (1948–1970s) - founder of the gym, wrestler, coach, and promoter[14]
  • Roy Wood BEM (1970s–present) - born in 1943 to a family of boxers, Wood joined Riley's when he was fifteen; he was a molder by trade and began "show" wrestling after Riley told him "you can't eat medals, turn professional and earn some money", and boxing for Matt Moran's fairgrounds boxing booth.[2][3][53][120] In December 2023, after coaching for almost 50 years, Wood was recognised on the 2024 New Year Honours and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) "for services to wrestling and young people"[4][5][6]

Original gym

Under head coach Billy Riley:

Revived gym

Under head coach Roy Wood:

Certified coaches and affiliates

The Snake Pit's certified coaches are Greg Crompton and Chris Lomas, along with level 2 coaches Kevin Lloyd, Wei Tran, Mark Ganaden, Rikk Georgiades, and level 1 coach Jimmy Kelly.[131][132]

At present, Riley's Gym Kyoto is the only Snake Pit certified affiliate club in the world.[131] Its head coach, Osamu Matsunami, made several extended trips to Wigan to train with Wood and other Riley's wrestlers, and trained in Tokyo with Billy Robinson and Shigeo Miyato. The gym was named in Riley's honour by Wood.[62][133] Matsunami and Ian Bromley were the first two coaches to be certified in 2012.[95]

Legacy and influence

The gym has been well-known in Britain[42][49][134][135] and internationally for decades,[42][73] being regarded as a home[69][115][116] and mecca[22]: 35:19  for wrestling due to its influence on catch-as-catch-can, professional, and freestyle wrestling, as well as mixed martial arts (MMA).[3][25] The gym's Lancashire catch wrestling style produced some of the most popular and skilled professionals of their time (see above) before transitioning to freestyle wrestling and consistently developing top wrestlers and British champions, with pro wrestlers occasionally training there as well.[22]: 43:35 [25] The gym became one of the most essential sources to preserve catch wrestling as the style struggled to survive.[3][19]

Outside of Britain, the gym's influence has been felt most in Japan, where Riley's wrestlers including Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, Billy Joyce, Les Thornton, Dynamite Kid, and others regularly toured, with Gotch and Robinson in particular becoming very popular in the country.[19][44][46][47] The gym's reputation was an inspiration for the "Tiger's Den" in Tiger Mask, a manga and anime series about pro wrestling, and Robinson inspired the character Robin Mask in the Kinnikuman manga/anime series.[44][45][46]

Along with their in-ring careers, Gotch and Robinson became prolific coaches and trained students in the Riley's style for decades. Gotch was a trainer at the JWA and NJPW dojos, and a booker for NJPW. His students included Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Satoru Sayama (the first Tiger Mask), Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, Minoru Suzuki, and Masakatsu Funaki.[9][19] Robinson's students included Kazushi Sakuraba, Kiyoshi Tamura, Shigeo Miyato, and Hideki Suzuki. Gotch, Robinson, and their students innovated a realistic pro wrestling style, leading to Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki, the UWF and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi, and setting a foundation for modern MMA. Sayama founded Super Tiger Gym [ja] followed by Shooto in 1985, to combine catch wrestling with striking for legitimate competition. Shooto held its first professional event in 1989, several years before the UFC was established.[9][136] In 1993, Suzuki and Funaki co-founded and competed in Pancrase, a shootfighting promotion which held its first event a month before UFC 1. Gotch suggested the name as a reference to the ancient Olympic sport of pankration.[137][138] Maeda founded RINGS, a shoot-style pro wrestling promotion that transitioned to MMA. And Takada co-founded PRIDE, one of the most popular MMA promotions in history. These promotions and their associated training facilities produced many of the top Japanese and international MMA fighters of their time.[9][139] Among them were Sakuraba and Tamura. Sakuraba utilised catch wrestling to regularly defeat the best fighters of his time despite often being much smaller, and was nicknamed "The Gracie Hunter" for his victories over four members of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family including Royce, Royler, and Renzo.[121][140] Tamura performed well at the top levels of MMA, later founding the gym U-FILE CAMP [ja] and the promotion U-STYLE.[141][142] Other notable gyms include Kiguchi Dojo [ja], founded by Sayama's associate Noriaki Kiguchi, who also founded combat wrestling [ja];[143][144] Paraestra [ja], founded by Sayama's student Yuki Nakai;[145] and CACC Snake Pit Japan [ja], founded by Miyato as UWF Snake Pit Japan, with Robinson and Lou Thesz as the first head coaches.[45][64][76]

After establishing itself in Japan, the style expanded abroad. In 1989, Shooto instructor Yorinaga Nakamura immigrated to the United States. He became training partners with Dan Inosanto and they established the first Shooto school outside of Japan.[146] In 1993, Ken Shamrock brought the style from Pancrase to the UFC, became the inaugural Pancrase Champion and UFC Superfight Champion, and founded the first MMA team, the Lion's Den.[147] Americans Maurice Smith[148][149] and Frank Shamrock,[150][151] and the Dutch Bas Rutten[152] also trained in the catch-based Pancrase style and went on to become UFC champions.[139] Erik Paulson trained under Nakamura and Inosanto, becoming a Shooto champion and coach. According to Paulson, the Shooto submission lock-flows are all based on the Riley's style.[153] Paulson coached notable fighters including Brock Lesnar, Sean Sherk, Renato Sobral, Cub Swanson, and Lesnar's team on The Ultimate Fighter 13, which included winner Tony Ferguson.[154][155] In 1994, Matt Hume began his MMA career fighting in Pancrase. Hume was a pioneer of American MMA, having co-founded the AMC Pankration gym several years prior to combine grappling and striking. He cited Suzuki, Funaki, and Ken Shamrock as significant influences on his career.[153][156] Hume was a primary coach for world champions Josh Barnett,[157][158] Demetrious Johnson,[159] Jeff Monson,[157] and Rich Franklin.[160][161] Barnett became one of the most prominent modern catch wrestlers, also trained under Robinson and Paulson, and coached Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir, and Victor Henry.[158][162][163] He founded the American Catch Wrestling Association (ACWA), which assembled a dominant team for the 2023 Catch Wrestling World Championships.[114] The ACWA then held the first modern US National Championships for catch wrestling in December 2023, with over 90 wrestlers competing across 10 weight classes.[164][165]

After Wood coached her for the 2012 Olympics, Maria Dunn and her husband Nathan Tully, a Bolton wrestling coach, established the Snakepit Wrestling Academy in Guam.[89][166]

Wood also worked with the St Helens and Wigan Warriors rugby clubs to introduce wrestling into professional rugby, with St Helens winning the Challenge Cup soon after. He coached the club for six years.[2][6][79] Paul Stridgeon, a student of Wood and a British freestyle champion, transitioned to professional rugby, coaching with the Wasps, Toulon, Broncos, England national team, and Wales national team.[56][80][81]

Snake Pit Championships

2018 World Championships

The Snake Pit held its first Catch Wrestling World Championships on November 2, 2018 at the University of Bolton Stadium, featuring competitors from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, South Africa, Sweden, Lithuania and New Zealand. Results:[11][101]

Champions
100+ kg

Super heavyweight

100 kg

Heavyweight

90 kg

Light heavyweight

82 kg

Middleweight

Josh Barnett

 USA

Wade Barrick

 GBR  ENG

John Hathaway

 GBR  ENG

Greg Crompton

 GBR  ENG

74 kg

Welterweight

68 kg

Lightweight

74 kg

Female

63 kg

Female

Dominic Dillon

 GBR  ENG

John Byrne

 IRE

Sami Fletcher

 GBR  ENG

Chareen Millward

 GBR  ENG

Challenge matchː Josh Barnett and heavyweight runner-up Ian Jones wrestled to a draw

Heavyweight champion Wade Barrick received the "best wrestler" award, Ian Bromley, Ian Jones, and Greg Crompton were recognised for coaching, and Roy Wood received a lifetime achievement award for sixty years of service.[11][101]

2019 World Championships

The 2019 Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on November 1 at the University of Bolton Stadium. The event was held in memory of coach Ian Bromley.[103] Results:[105]

Champions
100+ kg

Super heavyweight

100 kg

Heavyweight

82 kg

Middleweight

74 kg

Welterweight

68 kg

Lightweight

63 kg

Female

Featherweight

Chris Lomas

 GBR  ENG

Ian Jones

 GBR  ENG

John Hathaway (2)

 GBR  ENG

Dinu Bucalet

 ROM

Brett Hawthorn

 GBR  WAL

Olga McGlinchey

 GBR  UKR

Challenge matchː John Hathaway def. Nathaniel Brown

Hathaway received the Ian Bromley trophy as "best male wrestler of the night" and Olga McGlinchey received the Arthur Silcock trophy as "best female wrestler of the night."[105]

2022 World Championships

After a two-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on June 4, 2022 at the University of Bolton Stadium.[108] The event featured 33 competitors wrestling in a total of 29 matches.[19] Results:[90]

Champions
100+ kg

Super heavyweight

100 kg

Heavyweight

90 kg

Light heavyweight

82 kg

Middleweight

74 kg

Welterweight

68 kg

Lightweight

Chris Lomas (2)

 GBR  ENG

Owen Livesey

 GBR  ENG

Bobby Warde

 GBR  ENG

John Hathaway (3)

 GBR  ENG

Tommy Hawthorn

 GBR  WAL

Brett Hawthorn (2)

 GBR  WAL

Additionally, Tommy Hawthorn was awarded the Ian Bromley Cup as "best wrestler of the night", Greg Crompton received the Nathan Tully Award for "dedication to grassroots/paying it forward", and John Hathaway received the Jack Carroll award for fastest win (pin or submission).[90]

2023 British Championships

The 2023 Catch Wrestling British Championships took place on August 5 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, England. Entries were open to competitors residing in the British Isles.[110] Results:[109]

Champions
100+ kg

Super heavyweight

100 kg

Heavyweight

90 kg

Light heavyweight

82 kg

Middleweight

74 kg

Welterweight

68 kg

Lightweight

59 kg

Bantamweight

Khizar Rehman Wade Barrick Adam Berry Johnny White Ben Robson Alex King-Zhang Gareth Melia

2023 World Championships

The 2023 Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on October 28 at the University of Bolton Stadium. Previous champions Josh Barnett and Owen Livesey faced each-other in the headline bout.[112][113] Results:[111]

Champions
100+ kg

Super heavyweight

100 kg

Heavyweight

90 kg

Light heavyweight

82 kg

Middleweight

John Olivieri

 USA

Angel Verduzco

 USA

Brett Pfarr

 USA

Thomas Higgins

 USA

74 kg

Welterweight

68 kg

Lightweight

63 kg

Featherweight

59 kg

Female

Bantamweight

Finlay Marshall

 GBR  SCO

Jonathan Powell

 USA

Ewan Lister

 GBR  ENG

Nikki Hilton

 GBR  ENG

Superfightː Owen Livesey (2022 heavyweight champion) defeated Josh Barnett (2018 super heavyweight champion)

Angel Verduzco was named the Ian Bromley Cup "outstanding wrestler", Brett Pfarr was named "best male wrestler of the night", Nikki Hilton was named "best female wrestler of the night", Jordan Stott received the Nathan Tully award for "dedication to grassroots/paying it forward", and Mike Clark received the Jack Carroll award for fastest win (pin or submission).[111]

2024 British Championships

The 2024 Catch Wrestling British Championships took place on August 10 at Robin Leisure Park in Wigan, England. Resultsː[12]

Champions
100+ kg

Super heavyweight

100 kg

Heavyweight

90 kg

Light heavyweight

82 kg

Middleweight

74 kg

Welterweight

Adam Khawaja Ian Jones John Hathaway Ben Robson (2) Connor Bishop
68 kg

Lightweight

63 kg

Featherweight

59 kg

Men's Bantamweight

59 kg

Women's Bantamweight

Joshua Clossick Giovanni Di Clemente Harry Meadows Freya See

2024 World Championships

The 2024 Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on September 7 at The Edge in Wigan, England as part of a two-day event. It was the first time that the town of Wigan hosted the World Championships. Wrestlers from fourteen nations competed, including the USA, Australia, Japan, Georgia, Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Netherlands.[115][116] Resultsː[117][118]

Male champions
100+ kg

Super heavyweight

100 kg

Heavyweight

90 kg

Light heavyweight

82 kg

Middleweight

Michael Kroells

 USA

Angel Verduzco (2)

 USA

Brett Pfarr (2)

 USA

Thomas Higgins (2)

 USA

74 kg

Welterweight

68 kg

Lightweight

63 kg

Featherweight

59 kg

Bantamweight

Finlay Marshall (2)

 GBR  SCO

Connor Bishop

 GBR  ENG

Giovanni De Clemente

 ITA

Harry Meadows

 GBR  ENG

Female champions
74 kg 68 kg 55 kg
Bo Geibe

 USA

Briana Kellin

 USA

Bryony Tyrell

 GBR  ENG

Additionally, Connor Bishop received the Ian Bromley Cup "outstanding wrestler" award, Thomas Higgins received the "best male wrestler" award, Bo Geibe received the "best female wrestler award", and Leo Hawthorn received the Jack Carroll award for fastest win (pin or submission).[13]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Ring name of professional wrestler Tommy Moore. Not to be confused with the world heavyweight boxing champion of the same name.
  2. ^ Not to be confused with the Aspull Warriors Wrestling Club.[1]
  3. ^ Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

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Bennett, Ian; Todd, Mike (2004). Catch: The Hold Not Taken. Riverhorse – via YouTube.

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