Fight star Bungard is aiming for WWE glory
Chris Bungard was taunted by red, white and blue streamers – but the MMA star says he’s hungry for more wrestling opportunities after a successful debut in the sport.
Celtic and Rangers football banter led to Hoops supporter Bungard being paired up with Rangers fan Jason Reed at the Barrowlands’ Insane Championship Wrestling event over the weekend.
The Holytown fighter won his bout, on the same weekend Celtic progressed to the Premier Sports Cup final with victor y over St Johnstone.
Bungard enjoyed the footballbased banter and says his wrestling debut was everything he’d hoped for.
He said: “It was a pretty successful weekend all round.
“My team won and I won, it was a great weekend for me to be a sport fan!
“There was always going to be doubts over how I’d perform. But I trained hard for it. There were a few tweaks which could have made it better but it pretty much went like a dream.
“I was up all night and full of adrenaline thinking about.
“In my mind I wanted it to all go perfectly and the crowd to love it. I wanted to show I belonged there.
“The atmosphere was building when we were in the ring and Jason’s fans threw loads of red, white and blue streamers into the ring – which I didn’t see coming.
“I was trying to throw it all back at them but they were so invested in it. The full thing was electric. It was perfection, really.”
While keen to continue his work in MMA, Bungard says he’s open to exploring more opportunities within wrestling.
He’s held talks with figures in the industry powerhouse WWE to gain advice on how he could pursue those avenues.
The 32-year-old added: “I’ve been doing a bit of acting recently. You could see me in the ring again for sure.
“It’s something I enjoyed. I want to get better at it.
“There’s 100% more showmanship involved in this. You are out there telling a story.
“You all need to be singing from the same sheet You need to form part of a well-oiled machine.
“If one cog fails then the full thing ends up breaking down.
“You need to be more switched on but it’s all about putting the work in to it. You will get what you put into it.
“We worked hard and the match was fantastic.
“There was lots of praise for me from both sides – even the fans who didn’t want me to win.
“My peers in the wrestling gave me good feedback so I was really happy with it.
“The matches have an unbelievable energy.
“Then there is the WWE network which ICW is on – so there’s a massive audience.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of the guys in WWE who have come up through ICW.
“They have put their life into it and you can learn a lot from them.
“They have got knowledge for full careers, and I’m very new to this.
“I’m learning and enjoying it.”