My kids used to watch WWE, and I get what you mean. The whole thing about 'babyfaces' and 'heels', all the manufactured feuds and larger-than-life characters. Just like modern American politics.

Of course, not one of them would have lasted five minutes in a British wrestling ring! Bakc when I was a kid, I used to have Saturday tea at my grandparents', and my Gran, like a lot of elderly ladies at the time, loved watching the wrestling that came on just before the football results. The rules were much stricter - no use of the fist, immediate follow-down, stay off the ropes, etc. Of course, you had the rule-benders, like Jacky Pallo and Mick McManus. But you also had skilled, strategic wrestlers like Dalbir Singh, Bert Royal, Mick McMichael and 'Kid Chocolate'. We too, had our showmen, in later years: Kendo Nagasaki, 'Iron Fist' Myers, Giant Haystacks and, of course, Big Daddy. But these were people who still knew their craft, and only a very few, if any, matches were 'scripted'.

Most American wrestlers would've had their three Public Warnings and been disqualified within the first round! Any of them who managed to stay within British rules would have been bewildered by the variety of holds, locks and throws used by the average British wrestler. I couldn't see Hulk Hogan or the Undertaker going the full six rounds with the likes of Big Pat Roach or Johnny Kwango!

Sadly, those day are gone, and pro wrestling in the UK has gone the way of American, except that it's no longer on TV and is dying out as a sport. Perhaps politics might do the same? A person can hope!