‘TNA Impact’ superstar Rockstar Spud was a fan of the ‘World of Sport Wrestling’ special and thinks ITV should make it a weekly show.
The 33-year-old British grappler may compete in the US for ‘Total Nonstop Action Wrestling’ but he, like fight fans across the UK, tuned in on New Year’s Eve (31.12.16) to watch the return of the programme, which made household names of the likes of Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki, for the first time in over 30 years.
Spud loved everything about the ‘WoS’ show, from seeing the references to the legends of the past such as ‘Rollerball’ Rocco, Johnny Saint and Klondyke Kate, to the participation of David Hart Smith – the son of late WWE icon The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith – in the battle royale match and the in-ring feats of competitors like Mastiff, El Ligero and Grado who was crowned WoS Champion and he wants it to return to terrestrial television permanently.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he said: "I thought that the ‘World of Sport’ show was brilliant, it was fantastic Saturday night entertainment. I loved the one night story, I loved the nods to the old ‘World of Sport’ and those great athletes from 30 years ago. I also loved that David Hart Smith was involved as a nod to the all the wrestlers my generation loved when we were kids, there were nods to so many things. Every match had a reason which was to qualify for the battle royale. It was like ‘Gladiators’ and it was just brilliant. I also really admired that they put credits on a wrestling show for the first time, thank you ITV for crediting the wrestlers, rather than go to the end of the show and give the illusion that the people playing the characters are real. Wrestlers are performers; we’re stunt men that can act."
Spud is a veteran of the UK independent wrestling scene and earned his place on the roster for ‘TNA Impact’ when he took part in reality show ‘TNA British Boot Camp’ in 2013 and was named the winner of the competition.
Spud is friends with many of the ‘World of Sport’ grapplers and when he caught up with some of them he took the opportunity to congratulate them on creating great television.
He said: "I saw Dave Mastiff and El Ligero at a show and I congratulated them on ‘World of Sport’ and on becoming household names that night on New Year’s Eve when they were watched in a million homes."
Spud can be seen on ‘TNA Impact’ every week with his partner Aron Rex – who formerly competed in WWE under the ring name Damien Sandow – and fans in the UK and Ireland can now watch new episodes and classic instalments of the show via The TNA Total Access app at http://www.impactwrestling.com/UK