A Night at the Wrestling

Look away now if you're offended by violence and spandex! 

A little while ago, Mr Needles started working with Lucha Britannia, a Mexican wrestling troupe based in East London. And no, he's not a wrestler, even though I do see him eyeing up the spandex every now and then - he did work on graphics and animations for the shows. Until he got involved with this crazy bunch of freaks, I had no interest in wrestling; after going to a few shows, I'm hardly going to start subscribing to WWE Smackdown magazine or start pumping iron. But the Lucha Britannia shows are hugely entertaining, like a cross between a circus freak show and a really big fight, but where all the scrappers are cartoon characters and superheroes.

So a couple of weekends ago, I found my way to a railway arch down a little back alley in Bethnal Green, to enjoy a night of burly men in tight pants throwing each other around a ring.

Once past the unassuming blue door, you're met by a hall draped in flags, full of punters baying for blood:

Everyone was really dressed up, like the gorgeous Honey Manko in a fab Ziggy Stardust leotard by Charles of London:

As I was looking around the room, I spied a familiar banner:

My Voodoo Banner!

The skull and snake banner was made by yours truly a few years ago, for a number involving raising a wrestler from the dead, and I'd completely forgotten about it! I felt quite pleased with my handy work!

Of course, the only outfit to wear was my recently finished Mexican dress:

 

And on to the wrestling, which basically involves muscly masked men skillfully beating each other to a pulp, while in character. These are the truly hilarious bits. Take Transexico, a wrestler in a skimpy pink dress, or Stakely Bakewell, a 'northern' wrestler with a tweed mask and braces and the catchphrase 'Ow do!'. Or Hooligan No. 1, whose outfit was an England shirt and  bank robbers' stocking facemask. The hero of the show is Leon Britannico, who always manages to win the day with his leaps from the top rope. 

Here are some photos I managed to take when I wasn't baying for blood/laughing:

Steakly Bakewell manages to get the better of his opponent

Transexico (right) prepares for battle

Mr Needles graphics handiwork

The action spills out into the crowd!

The beautiful ring girl, Mamzelle Maz

Leon Britannico prepares for one of his impressive jumps

El Perversio whips the crowd into a frenzy

And half time entertainment was provided by the very talented Kate Lomax

Thongs and tattoos!

The next show is on May the 18th - I'm off to get a cape and mask together!