Pro Wrestling
What’s gay about wrestling?
For an activity largely practised by straight men, wrestling is inherently queer. Two competitors in colourful, over-the-top costumes stripping down to their underwear in order to get sweaty and grapple with each other? That’s gay culture, no matter what the cishets say, and we’re ready to celebrate it.
While the mainstream view of wrestling might be two angry guys on steroids getting mad at each other in a ring, we know how much more fun it can be when it’s camp, silly and - above all - queer. We want to get flamboyant with it, creating wild characters and combining wrestling with drag and gender-bending to create something that’s uniquely ours.
What you’ll learn
At Leeds Queer Wrestling, we teach regular classes on all the different aspects of performing in the ring, from taking bumps to character work. Here’s some of what you will learn:
Taking bumps: Perhaps the most important skill in wrestling, “bumping” is a method of landing safely on the ground in a wrestling match while making a large noise and impact. When you get slammed, you want to make your opponent look big and powerful, but you don’t want to actually get hurt!
Building characters: Who is your wrestler? Are they a “face” (hero) or “heel” (villain)? Why should the audience root for/against them? You’ll learn how to come up with a memorable character, and how to portray them in a performance.
Selling: When you take a move in wrestling, it shouldn’t hurt (much). However, it should look like it hurts! Selling moves is the art of taking a gimmicked move and making it look real, while also staying in character.
Technical wrestling: Not everything is about the big moves. A huge part of wrestling is in the smaller, more technical details. We’ll teach you to move between wristlocks and headlocks, reverse pin attempts and position yourself properly in the ring for the next move.
Big slams: Of course, we’ll also teach you the impressive moves that make wrestling so unique. From suplexes to Samoan drops, backbreakers to bodyslams, we’ll show you how to become a wrestling superstar with some amazing techniques.
Our coach
Leeds Queer Wrestling is taught by Ash, a pro wrestler, drag king and performance artist with seven years of in-ring experience. Their passion is all about making wrestling accessible to those who aren’t cis, straight men and providing an inclusive, welcoming environment in which to do so. Under Ash’s guidance, Leeds Queer Wrestling has become an amazing space that prioritises fun, community and confidence building rather than overcompensating and doing dangerous shit.
Ash has made sure that there is a place for everyone in Leeds Queer Wrestling, whether they want to wrestle, manage, referee or perform in some other way. They are part of the world’s only drag king tag team, Big Dick Energy, and have created and co-created several wrestling shows including NHSmackdown - a show based on their time as a nurse - and CAMP, our training show for wrestlers to have their first matches in front of a friendly, queer audience.
