By Luke Voogt
Two of Geelong’s wrestling hopefuls will make their “main event” debut after months of gruelling training by local Australian champion Danny Gibbons.
The event will be the first of its kind in Geelong in five years, Danny said.
The 28-year-old, known in the ring as “Danny Psycho”, grew up in Lara and has wrestled in Australia’s top competition for 13 years.
“Me and my brother used to do it on the trampoline,” he said.
“Our parents signed us up. They thought it best we learnt how to do it properly because we were going to hurt each other.”
The local panel beater is an eight-time Professional Championship Wrestling (PCW) champion, and has played both “face” (hero) and “heel” (villain) in the ring.
“I enjoyed being a heel more because it’s easier,” he said.
“The face gets beaten up for most of the match. But the audience enjoys me as a face more because of the flashy moves I do.”
His flashiest move is the dangerous “Spanish Fly”, where he back-flips with his opponent into a slam.
The adrenaline rush got Danny into the business, but his five-year-old daughter keeps him competing.
“She loves it,” he said.
“She’ll come backstage every night to make sure I’m alright. On the night she will hate the person I’m wrestling.”
Last time Danny wrestled in Geelong he was up against Buddy Murphy, now in the world’s top competition – the WWE. But watching wrestling on TV “bores the hell out” of him.
This time, he and his opponent will smash each other tables, ladders and chairs (TLC) as he defends his title on 4 March.
“When you get thrown onto aluminium ladders there’s no way to fake that. Your pain threshold’s got to be a little bit higher than a normal human being.”
Danny has been training young Geelong wrestlers Brodie Wickenden and Jake Campana, along with five others, since opening his wrestling school last August.
Plenty more have tried but left when they realised how tough it was, Danny said.
“They go through one lesson but don’t come back because they go home too sore.”
When 21-year-old Brodie takes to the ring in Geelong, it will be a dream come true.
The Geelong East sign writer competed as heel Edward Dusk in a “minor“ event a few months ago.
“It was the greatest moment of my life to be honest,” he said.
“I have to make them boo me and I love it. It’s indescribably rewarding … bringing a reaction out of a person.”
Learning to wrestle with “Danny Psycho” is not for the faint-hearted, Brodie said.
“The first month is very rough,” he said. “It hurts a lot more than a lot of people think it will.”
“We’ve had a few people come in who think ‘I’ve watched wrestling – I know what I’m doing’ but it’s a different once you’re in there.”
