Council
delivers knockout blow to Burgess Hill Wrestling
show
15th June 2009
By Scott McCarthy
Disappointing
news for all wrestling fans has reached the
Burgess Hill Uncovered offices in the last
24 hours, with the announcement that the Extreme
World Wrestling show scheduled to take
place at The Triangle on July 18th has been
cancelled.
The event, which was due to be taped for broadcast
on Life Television as part of a new wrestling
broadcast on Sky channel 186, was listed as
featuring former World Wrestling Entertainment
superstar Marty
Wright, better known to WWE fans as The
Boogeyman.
However, EWW managing director Billy Wood
revealed on internet radio station Play Talk
UK's Wrestling Show on Sunday evening that
the event has now been moved to Croydon, citing
the fact that, "they (Mid Sussex District
Council) do not want wrestling at the venue
anymore as it doesn't fit in with the image."
Wood refused to expand on the reasons behind
the decision due to an apparent impending
legal battle, but his alleged reasoning for
the District Council's cancelation of the
show is baffling when you consider the popularity
of former wrestling events in the town in
the past and the apparent image that they
are trying to give their flagship leisure
centre.
 If there are concerns among
members of the council that The Triangle could
become associated with violent sports, then
their previous decisions to hold male and
female kick boxing events at the arena seem
particularly bizarre - especially as that
is a sport that involves actual blows to the
head and uncontrolled, physical violence as
opposed to wrestling, which is performed largely
in a safe manner due to the scripted element
that comes with it.
Maybe , however, they are not
keen to have a leisure centre that was built
to allow the community to partake in sport
to be associated with an event that in the
modern world bills itself as 'sports entertainment',
and as stated previously, is largely scripted?
If this was the reasoning, then it has to
be considered odd that Robot Wars events have
also taken place in the main hall, as men
building mechanical objects that they then
operate with the sheer purpose of destroying
other robots would seem to be an unusual definition
of sport.
 It
is widely regarded in the local community
that there a distinct lack of facilities and
events going on for young people in the town,
and so when a wrestling promotion that features
a number of prominent ex-WWE stars as well
as some well-known British performers decides
to set up an show in Burgess Hill, the District
Council take the decision to veto an event
that would be marketed mainly at a teenage
and young adult audience. Obviously they would
much rather have a mass-gathering of these
potential wrestling fans drinking White Lightning
in St Johns Park than actually host an event
that would hold their interest.
While the District Council continues to host
events at its facilities for older generations
with the bookings of 60's and 70's bands for
concerts to great effect, it is just a shame
that they appear to be ignoring shows that
people of a younger generation would hold
an interest in seeing. When you consider the
wash out that was the Big Culture Show though,
maybe it is not so surprising that they appear
to have got yet another event decision totally
wrong as well...
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