With a new Colston Hall exhibition recalling the golden days of this historic sport in Bristol, Tim Davey sets out to meet the man who often took centre stage

John Short is a useful bloke to know.

For starters, he can always lend you a bow tie.

He’s never without one, you see, the result of many years being the occasional man in the middle of the city’s professional wrestling bouts.

He has been Master of Ceremonies and time-keeper at numerous Bristol grunt-and-grapple matches.

“I saw my first wrestling match in 1959 when I was 16 years old,” John recalls.

Back then there were 1500 seats permanently block-booked from one fight night to the next at the Colston Hall, such was demand.

“”I went out of curiosity because one of the teachers at my school, Bristol Cathedral School, was nick-named after one of the popular wrestlers.”

John just never stopped going from that point on.

“It was always a big social occasion, always was, right up to the bitter end.

“People met future partners there, people even died there during the shows.

“Of the wrestlers who appeared, several went on to much, much bigger things in the States, people like Steve Regal, Dave Taylor and Dave ‘Fit’ Finlay.”

The sport’s truly golden era, when Sixties TV made it essential Saturday afternoon viewing for millions, had become a distant memory along with its host, Kent Walton.

In those Swinging Sixties days the likes of Jackie Pallo were household names.

John remembers others who fought in Bristol with affection.

“There was Golden Ray Appollonia, who spoke five languages and was a graduate from the Sorbonne. Prince Masimbula, was an African witch doctor.

“Then there was the Japanese Olympic wrestler who became better known as Odd-Job in the James Bond films.

“The Russian wrestler, Yuri Borienko, was another who starred in Bond movies.

“While Dazzler Joe Cornelius appeared in a film with Joan Crawford and on stage with Harry Secombe at the London Palladium and at the Bristol Hippodrome.”

Bristol has its own homegrown wrestlers, too. Pete and Danny Collins, for example.

One interesting statistic John cites is the fact that since 1960 there have been 15 other venues in Bristol that have hosted wrestling bouts.

Pre-war it was staged at the Victoria Rooms in Clifton, the Drill Hall in Old Market and the Knowle speedway stadium.

“Wrestling has never gone away and any of the current venues all do well.

“It has never really petered out though it did go into a dip when it came off TV.”

The Colston Hall staged its last wrestling night back in 2004, though John says the sport was still extremely popular in the city.

The official reason why it finished was never really given, it seems, but the feeling is that some believed it was not the right image for the Colston Hall to portray.

“I drifted into time-keeping for the bouts in the early 1970s at the Colston Hall and did some MC work from ‘74 onwards but always on a voluntary basis.”

Wrestling has undergone a startling transformation in recent years.

It has re-shaped, re-modelled and revived itself, courtesy of some American-influenced guile, and it’s fair to say the sport is now well and truly back in the big time.

It won’t be coming back to the Colston Hall, of course.

However, what will be coming there, is an intriguing new exhibition, courtesy of some serious artistic effort from Rhiannon Chaloner.

Her show, assembled in the foyer of the concert hall, ties in with an art project about the sport which is also being staged at the Arnolfini just across the city centre.

It draws heavily on the amazing wrestling memorabilia amassed by Bath’s wrestling guru “Mad Eli” as well as input from John Short, former referee Joe D’Orazio, some wrestlers and some fans.

John Short is adamant, though, when he says, “Wrestling should still be staged there.

“I live in Bristol and pay my council tax.

“I’d like to see it and thousands of others would too, I’m sure.

“Rhiannon’s exhibition won’t do any harm and may do a bit of good.”

Do you have memories of wrestling nights at the Colston Hall that you’d like to share with Bristol Times readers?

Please send them Gerry Brooke, Bristol Times Editor, Bristol Evening Post, Temple Way, Bristol, BS99 7HD or e-mail them to: g.brooke@bepp.co.uk