Parker Cars Magazine: Issue 4

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professional wrestling Below: Wrestlers from Insane Championship Wrestling regularly appear in London. Right: Lucha Britannia stage shows in Bethnal Green. duo in skintight plastic body suits. Cassius is all tassles and camp demeanour. Professional wrestling is enjoying a comeback in London. Not since the heyday of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks back in the 1970s have we seen so many grown men thrashing one another around in the ring. While Lucha Britannia may favour the lucha libre style, there are plenty of other types of grappling across the capital. Based in Camberwell is Progress Wrestling which, in December, is staging a show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom. Out in the suburbs, in Purley, is the Al Snow Wrestling Academy where budding pros are trained up for the American wrestling scene. One of the highest profile wrestling promotions to visit London is Scottish outfit Insane Championship Wrestling, or ICW. Based in Glasgow, It’s an art form. But an art form where any move done wrong can paralyse you. If I roll you over my shoulder and put the wrong knee down, your spine lands on my knee and you’re f***ing paralysed.” and mixing WWE-style combat with what’s known as hardcore wrestling (weapons, furniture and extreme violence feature prominently!), they tour the UK and have previously staged shows at the 26 where to, parker?
O2 Academy in Islington and Koko in Camden. This November they’re at Brooklyn Bowl, at The O2. ICW boss Mark Dallas says his style of combat is very much aimed at adults unlike American WWE “which is aimed at kids”. “Our shows have elements of all different styles of professional wrestling but at the same time you get a lot of stunts, and bumps and comedy,” he adds. “There’s a bit of something for everybody. If you don’t like the blood, then you’ll like the jokes. There’s stuff you’d see on Jackass. There’s car crash TV you’d see on Jerry Springer. There are shocking twists and turns in the storylines. Imagine EastEnders where every episode ends up in a massive fight.” Despite the theatricality, Dallas stresses how dangerous professional wrestling can be if executed incorrectly. “It’s an art form. But an art form where any move done wrong can paralyse you. If I roll you over my shoulder and put the wrong knee down, your spine lands on my knee and you’re f***ing paralysed. There’s a million moves, and there’s a million ways to get hurt. Wrestlers get injuries on a nightly basis; injuries that if you went to your doctor you could probably get signed off sick from work for the rest of your days. People don’t understand the heartbreak and the pain these performers go through for their art form.” Back in Bethnal Green, Dawkins is feeling both heartbreak and pain as he looks close-up in the mirror and sees the damage inflicted on his face. The split lip is bigger than it first seemed. But this guy is tough. “I think Steri-Strips will do the job,” he says with a certain bravado. where to, parker? 27
Page 1 and 2: Where to, Parker? The in-car magazi
Page 3 and 4: welcome On the cover: Noel Fielding
Page 5 and 6: Contents “It’s an art form wher
Page 7 and 8: london daylife The City The Lord Ma
Page 9 and 10: london nightlife WC2R 1LA There’s
Page 11 and 12: topical london My feet hardly touch
Page 13 and 14: topical london The parties were alw
Page 15 and 16: Gangnam style? Not quite. London’
Page 17 and 18: feature Some of London’s most int
Page 19 and 20: They’re calling it “his most co
Page 21 and 22: feature ailing friend made me see t
Page 23 and 24: professional wrestling where to, pa
Page 25: professional wrestling where to, pa
Page 29 and 30: feature Model Sue Cornwallis kicks
Page 31 and 32: where to, parker? 31
Page 33 and 34: where to, parker? 33
Page 35 and 36: Now you can start booking. Follow t
Page 37 and 38: It all started when Rich McCor post
Page 39 and 40: quentin blake his nibs Sir Quentin
Page 41 and 42: quentin blake Blake considers his f
Page 43 and 44: jork exhibition bjork in a headset
Page 45 and 46: jork exhibition where to, parker? 4
Page 47 and 48: london villages Top left: Mural in
Page 49 and 50: LONDONERS QUOTED The world accordin
Page 51 and 52: parker cars airport meet and greet

Parker Cars Magazine: Issue 4

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