Wrestling versus Theatre

Over the years we’ve seen the stars of SWA take interesting side projects or take new steps in their career outwith the ring. From SWA co-owner Peter Murphy’s stint on Iron Chef, sharing his passion of cooking, to his business partner Mike Connell’s revived passion for acting which has seen him perform in Coventry’s Priory theatre, to Adam Shame make appearances for SudoQ, things in the life of the SWA Stars are never quite conventional, and the latest to branch out have found themselves facing quite a challenge!
As mentioned in another article, the Arches Theatre is producing a play running for five days with a core feature we all know well; Wrestling. Playwrite Rob Drummond has spent the past few months training hard to learn what it’s like to be a pro wrestler to put together a piece of theatre to share his passions and there are SWA Stars helping out wth the project including his trainer, Damo O’Conor!
Working out of Area 52, Damo, a qualified and insured trainer, has been working hard to teach Rob what it’s like to wrestle instead of being an audience member and the transition has been a tough one!
O’Conor has spent the past five years working hard to become a pro wrestler and in recent years he made the huge leap to becoming one of the few full timers in the country. Being a trainer he has a hand in the talent rising out of Area 52 onto Source shows, talent such as Andy Anderson, Joe Coffey, Lewis and many more who have stunned the fans in the past year.
That aside, he’s also had more then a few successes in the ring, having held several championships including the SWA Tag Team and Laird of the Ring Championships and competed for the Scottish title. Now he’s going forward in the British title tournament and hopes to make it to the end after a huge win over Paul Tracey on January 29th that will lead him to the Gathering!
Damo has been training Rob Drummond at Area 52 and has guided him through the process. Since then Rob has been a guest ring announcer, mixed with the talent and even assisted Damo after being victim to Helo’s Heavens Gate in January.
The man behind Helo is one that Damo just doesn’t trust, or like in the slightest. Having put James Tyler through his paces, he found a new lease of life and violence, piled into his sinister alter ego. The darker side of Tyler has been drafted in as Rob’s training partner, a vicious and violent experience for Rob as he took the actor through his brutal brawler style, a heavy contrast to Damo’s technical approach to wrestling.
Also assisting Damo is the current Laird of the Ring Champion Joe Coffey. One of the strongest champions the company has ever seen, and a qualified personal trainer. Helping Rob to bulk up, Joe has shown that he’s all about the competition and, as his wrestling in SWA has proven, he just loves a challenge.
Two of the three above have had experience acting, but obviously chose a more physical career. Rob has trained with these men and pondered… why?
Rob Drummond is a playwright used to performing in theatres across the country. Damo, The Antagonist and The Mercenary are wrestlers used to being in the ring. On 9th February, the two sides will collide as Drummond is slammed into the world of Scottish professional wrestling. Having been a life-long fan of wrestling, Rob Drummond has spent the past few months training to learn what it’s like to be one in preparation for his performance later this month. He’s learned the hard way that it’s a painful journey and now wears an elbow support after dislocating his elbow.
Reflecting his childhood idols, Rob’s grown a beard and a full mane of hair and seems to be getting in pretty good shape for his opening performance – a specular show which fuses theatre, short film and pro wrestling. He’s had a few injuries so far as he’s learned the painful reality of wrestling, but with the voice of his ultimate idol Mick Foley in his head, he’s determined to be fighting fit for the opening night.
As revealed recently in the List, the three men listed above have been added to the cast of the play, although further details have not been given to us at SWA Online. Not even by our editor!
But we’ll see what happens when these four men come together in Rob’s natural habitat as Rob Drummond: Wrestling opens in the Arches Theatre, Wednesday, February 9th. The show will run Wednesday 9th-Friday 11th from 7:30, and Saturday 12th-Sunday 13th at the Arches Theatre in Glasgow.
Rob Drummond; Wrestling will run for five days from Wednesday February 9th in the Arches Theatre, Argyle Street, Glasgow.
SWA fans can see Joe Coffey, James Tyler and Damo O’Conor become a part of the theatre world over the five nights.
Wednesday-Friday: 7:30pm
Saturday & Sunday: 1:30pm
£13 / £9 conc / £7 child
For tickets and more info, go to Rob Drummond: Wrestling at the Arches website or RSVP at the Facebook event page which features regular updates from Rob as he takes the last few steps of his journey.

2 Comments

  1. [Site update] Wrestling versus Theatre – http://scottishwrestling.co.uk/community

    Reply

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