Her mum survived drugs and a suicide bid and her father is an ex-gangster ...so it’ll take more than an injury to knock out queen of wrestling Paige

said: “He’s like Bob Hoskins but he’s a bigger version.”

By then, Ricky had found a legitimate use for his fighting talents, forging a formidable wrestling double-act with Jimmy Ocean as The Superflys. They held the British Open Tag Team Championship four times. But Ricky and Julia quickly struck up their own special partnership. She said: “I didn’t need to show him my breasts. I just gave him an extra bit of chicken breast.” She quit her job to tour with Ricky, designing his costumes before fighting his corner as his manager, and finally stepping into the ring herself. But she almost had her own ring career cut by a freak injury in 2007. During a scuffle outside the ring, she fell on a drinks can. The jagged edge severed a knee tendon, sidelining her for eight months – though she fought her way back to win the Shimmer Championship five years later.

Ricky, now 64, and Julia also founded the World Association of Wrestling in

Norwich in 1994 along with the WAW

Academy, the longest-running wrestling school in Europe. They encouraged their four children to follow in their footsteps and three are now wrestlers.

Roy Knight and Zak Zodiac failed to make the grade in America as, by Zak’s admission, they “don’t have abs and their shoulders aren’t touching their ears”. They have now formed a tag team on the UK circuit. But Paige, who began wrestling at 13 and already held several European titles, was immediately signed up for WWE, as much for her striking looks as her skills. Soon afterwards, she was diagnosed with scoliosis after a trainer noticed her back “didn’t look right”.

Yet she quickly became a fan favourite, first as Britani, then as Paige on the NXT development circuit.

After becoming

NXT World Champion, she joined the main Divas circuit and was crowned

World Cham-