Families watch blood-soaked Tory club wrestlers smash glass over each other
A WRESTLING “death match” held at a Conservative club is under investigation by police after two blood-soaked contestants appeared to attack each other with garden strimmers and glass.
Footage shows the wrestlers, billed as Ronnie Thatcher and Blizzard, smashing glass tubes on to each other while young children and their parents watched in the audience metres away.
One of the wrestlers can be seen launching an attack on his opponent whose bald head was already dripping with blood. In another scene one of the men can be seen using a garden strimmer on the other’s skin and standing on his arm to hold him down.
Audience members can be heard saying “this is very difficult to watch” with some covering their eyes. The match, which advertised discounted tickets for families with children, was organised by Colliery Championship Wrestling and took place at Seaham Conservative Club in Durham on April 29.
A “death match” is a form of hardcore wrestling that was popularised in the 1990s, where participants use weapons and objects during the fight.
James Barrass, a promoter for Colliery Championship Wrestling, which advertised the event, said that the proceedings had “escalated” and the use of weapons was not planned. He said that the match “wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea”, telling the BBC that, “We have apologised, but how many times do you say sorry?”
“Blizzard was out having breakfast with his girlfriend the very next day.
“He said getting a new tattoo hurt him more,” he added.
Benji, a wrestler and video streamer based in the North East, posted footage of the event on Twitter.
He wrote: “Please don’t do death matches on a family-friendly show.
There’s a time and place and this is definitely not it.”
A spokesman for the wrestling company said that both participants were checked out and looked after following the event.
A Durham Constabulary spokesman told the BBC: “We are working with Durham county council’s licensing team after a number of complaints were received in relation to an event at Seaham Conservative Club on April 29.”
Seaham Conservative Club declined to comment.