PWE event to have 25 foreign wrestlers

KARACHI: As many as 25 wrestlers from around 20 countries will compete in the first-ever pro wrestling event which will be held in three major cities of Pakistan in May.

The Pro Wrestling Entertainment (PWE) stated this during a pre-launch ceremony here on Tuesday.

Flash Gordon of France, a former world champion, England’s Tiny Iron, of African descent, France-based Pakistani pro wrestler Badshsh Khan, and Algeria’s Yacine Osmani dazzled the stage at the crowded ceremony.

Also present were PWE CEO Pir Syed Asim Ali Shah, Project Director PWE Shahid-ul-Haq, Director Marketing Raja Ayaz, Director Mid-East Riaz Bashir and Test cricketer Saeed Ajmal.

The competitions will be staged in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.

“The aim of this wrestling promotion is to allow wrestlers new to the industry to gain exposure, full-time employment within the next five years,” the PWE said in a written statement.

“The industry is often plagued by horror stories of promoters who don’t pay their talent . . . We bring credible and professional wrestling to the local people,” the PWE said.

Badshah Khan said that they would tell the world that Pakistan is a peaceful country. “We want to tell the whole world that Pakistan is a peaceful country. There are a lot of fans of wrestling in Pakistan. We are bringing around 25 wrestlers from 20 countries,” Badshah said.

He said that they would open an academy in Pakistan to train wrestlers. “We will also try to take some wrestlers to Europe,” Badshah said.

He said that 10 percent of the seats would be available to poor people for free.

Tiny Iron said that media was projecting a wrong image of Pakistan. “There is nothing in Pakistan which is being projected by media. I have always been part of the Pakistani family and would love to come here again. This is the start of the legacy which we will leave here,” said Iron, whose real name is Andrew Harrison.

Gordon said that he did not feel any security problem in Pakistan. He said that he had been playing for the last few decades and that they were bringing a new art to Pakistan.  Wade Barrette, Chris Master and Matt Striker will also be part of the competitions.