Community / Wrestlers ‘buzzing’ to bring the smackdown to UnstFest
FOR A generation of children, teenagers and even adults, wrestling was everything – with WWE dominating TV sets, school playgrounds and bedrooms.
And despite the repeated warnings about not trying the moves out at home, many a big brother tested out their ability to become a wrestler on their younger siblings.
Now people attending next month’s UnstFest are going to be given the chance to get in the ring for themselves and try everything they have grown up dreaming of.
Premier British Wrestling (PBW) will bring their all-action wrestling roster to Unst next month, with a string of live shows and workshops for all ages.
As well as three live shows – two at night and one matinee – fans of everyone from John Cena to Big Daddy will be able to get in the ring at four workshops on offer.
PBW are delivering two sessions for under-12 year olds, one for 12-16 year olds and one for the big kids – adults aged 16 and over.
Scottish wrestler Xander is one of those making the long trip north for the event, and he says he is “absolutely buzzing” about coming to UnstFest.
“We’ve done shows in the Western Isles, and at things like Belladrum festival, but this is by far the farthest north we’ve ever been,” he told Shetland News.
“We’re all buzzing. I’ve done a wee bit of travelling to the islands but never been to Shetland, so I’m excited to see it for the first time.”
Whether you were a fan of Rey Mysterio or Haystack, Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan, wrestling has always gripped, fascinated and inspired generations of young people.
For Xander, it was the ghoulish and macabre Undertaker – considered one of the best wrestlers of all time – who sparked a love of wrestling from an early age.
“I watched the Undertaker on the TV, and I just thought ‘this is cool’,” he said.
“I watched it a lot as a kid then kinda fell out of it when I started getting older, but then I came back to it years later.
“I moved to Glasgow in 2020 and saw an advert for PBW and thought, ‘okay I’ll give it a go’.”
While people at UnstFest will be able to get into the ring and try out some of their favourite moves, the wrestlers on the PBW circuit must go through a rigorous training programme to ensure they are ready for real fights.
“It takes between 12-18 months usually to get trained up, there is a lot of training that goes into it,” Xander said.
“If you take to it well you can do it in a bit less – I did it in 10 months.
“I debuted in October 2022, so I’m relatively a newcomer still. We’ve got everything from up-and-coming stars to well-established British wrestlers, some of them have been doing this for years.”
Xander said the UnstFest shows are “family friendly” – so spectators in the front row should not fear being soaked in blood.
He said they attract “quite a broad range” of ages in their audiences, and can expect to be signing pictures for children and taking photos with grannies on the same night.
But sometimes bairns do not want to approach Xander after the show – because he is a self-proclaimed “villain” in the shows.
“I enjoy winding up as many kids as I possibly can,” he laughed.
“I’ll do things like offer up my hand to them for a high five and then take it away from them, stuff like that. I have a whole list of things I like to do.
“The kids probably hate me when it’s over!”
PBW will put on two evening shows at UnstFest, on Tuesday 8 July at 6.30pm-8pm and the following day at the same time.
They will also put on an afternoon show on Wednesday 9 July, between 2pm-3.30pm.
All of the wrestling events are at the Unst show shed.
Xander said there would be “different match-ups” between the wrestlers on the days, and he encouraged people to come back and cheer for their favourite – or boo the villains.
The full UnstFest schedule can be viewed on the UnstFest Facebook page, and people can find links to book available spaces for the shows and workshops.
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