World of Sport Wrestling returning to ITV

ITV has announced it is bringing British wrestling back to TV with a ‘World of Sport’ special.
The two-hour programme will see some of the UK’s top grapplers, including ‘The East End Butcher’ Sha Samuels, Dave Mastiff and ‘Viper’ Kimberly Benson, compete in a fun-filled afternoon of family sports entertainment.
Commissioned by Helen Warner for ITV and produced by ITV Studios Entertainment ‘World of Sport Wrestling’ – or ‘WOS Wrestling’ – will be filmed in front of a live audience in November and will feature a variety of matches such as singles bouts, tag team battles and eliminations.
Former WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) commentator Jim Ross – a Hall of Fame star – will be calling the action as part of the ring-side broadcast team.
Backstage, viewers will catch up with the wrestlers between fights and at the end of the show one star will take home the WoS Wrestling belt.
‘World of Sport’ was a sporting compilation show that was broadcast by ITV from January 1965 until September 1985 in competition with the BBC’s ‘Grandstand’ programme.
It featured a variety of sports with wrestling prominently every week.
The British public fell in love with the larger than life characters such as Rollerball Rocco, Mick McManus and Kendo Nagasaki and the long-running feud between fan favourite Big Daddy and the villainous Giant Haystacks made the pair household names.
Tom McLennan, Creative Director for ITV Studios Entertainment, is very "excited" the beloved ‘World of Sport Wrestling’ show is coming back to the small screen for young and old to enjoy.
McLennan – who is executive producing with Simon Marsh – said: "’World of Sport Wrestling’ was a major event for millions of families every Saturday afternoon for over 20 years. I’m excited about bringing back this iconic brand and celebrating the best British wrestlers in the country."
‘World of Sport’ has plenty of famous fans such as Kasabian rockers Tom Meighan and Serge Pizzorno and ‘X Factor’ boss Simon Cowell who has previously declared his love of British wrestling.
Simon said: "I used to watch it as a kid … Now American wrestling’s big, I think it’s a good idea to bring it back. But you have to bring back really big people."