ITV to resurrect World of Sport wrestling

Former hit TV show World of Sport (WOS) wrestling is set to return in a one-off event that will resurrect the once hugely popular Saturday afternoon programme.

The long-running rival to BBC Grandstand was scrapped in 1988 despite over 30 years of broadcasting, and a history of successful events that saw The Duke of Edinburgh attend a match at the Royal Albert Hall in 1963.

WOS wrestling will return with a comeback event at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls on 17 November, where new names to the sport will join veterans such as masked “samurai” warrior, Kendo Nagasaki, and the technically gifted Johnny Saint.

The event will be recorded for ITV, who formerly broadcasted World of Sport, although no commitment has been made to broadcast the show on television.

At its peak, WOS Wrestling audience figures reached 18 million when the 1981 match between Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks aired from Wembley Arena.

WOS Wrestling’s revival has been three years in the making, with John Chapman at the steering wheel.

Chapman said: “What's old is new again. The internet age has produced a whole new generation of wrestling fans who study the wrestling skills of British legends such as Johnny Saint, Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco, and Dynamite Kid. We've gone full circle.

“The public want this style of wrestling to come back; it's an alternative to the American style. World of Sport Wrestling goes right back to basics, putting a clear emphasis on the actual wrestling.“