The Pleasance
****
They say that sequels are never as good as the originals. I guess they hadn't seen The Wrestling II...
I'm not sure what the link is between wrestling and comedy, but it seems to work. Two years ago the one-off gig The Wrestling won the Foster's Panel Prize for summing up the spirit of the Fringe. Two years on the sequel took place last night and, well, I'm no grapple-and-groan expert, but it was a hit again, as teams representing Good and Evil featuring both comedians and real wrestlers fought for a rather ugly but definitely enormous gold trophy (pic © Niki di Palma).
I guess there are connections when you think about it. Both activities are shameless forms of showing off. There are also the famous Andy Kaufman fights from yonks ago. And if you look on YouTube you can even see a young Woody Allen boxing a kangaroo (I've done the hard work for you, it's here). The version in Edinburgh is organised by duo Max and Ivan – Max is an ex-pro wrestler and last time round he broke his ankle and had to do the rest of his Fringe run in plaster. Is that enough of a link for you?
Anyway, the late night show in front of a packed, bloodthirsty, hyped-up Pleasance Grand crowd of 800 was simply too stuffed with highlights to write a formal review. Plus the fact that I don't know my piledrive from my full body slam. So instead here are just some of the things you missed. As they say about all the best shows on the Edinburgh Fringe, you really should have been there.
*Nick Helm as the besuited MC putting a new spin on one of his many catchphrases, bellowing "Do you like fights? Do you like fights? Do you like fights?" before being knocked to the ground and stretchered off. I hope he likes fights.
*Joe Lycett being selected to stand in for Helm, the campest wrestling MC on the planet, nearly getting floored for criticising one of the pro-wrestlers' hairstyles. Full marks to Lycett for resisting the urge to dredge up the old "getting licked in the ring" line too.
*Matthew Crosby trying to muscle in on the Edinburgh vibe even though he doesn't have a show up here, turning up as the roving reporter. I'm not saying Crosby lacked match fitness but he nearly broke a bone just climbing into the ring.
*Thom "Powerplay" Tuck turning up in full cricketing whites, but ripping off his shirt sleeves and enjoying giving Dan "Administrator" Cook a damn good thumping.
*Brendon Burns and Andrew Maxwell as ringside commentators – their pithy banter probably owed more to Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets than ITV on Saturday afternoons, but it seemed to work.
*Coaches Ardal O'Hanlon and Tim – "Dr Pun-ishment" – Vine, motivating their teams. Mainly by standing at the side of the ring telling bad one-liners in the case of Vine – "I read a bible in a hotel once. It made me Gideon."
* The Boy with Tape on His Face using tape to win his special guest grudge match against wrestler Rishi Gosh.
*Getting a fountain of water sprayed on me by a scary face-painted Tom Rosenthal as he strode down the stairs and through the crowd into the ring. Not really a highlight, but it did cool me off.
*Max from Max and Ivan nearly leaping off the ropes and breaking his ankle again but sensibly choosing to beat up his comedy partner Ivan instead,
The last of three bouts featured all the wrestlers – pros and amateurs – in a last-man-standing punch-off. i guess like a good Edinburgh comedy show wrestling has to have a narrative arc and this certainly had four or five. First Matthew Crosby heroically donned his lycra pants to take part, losing his glasses in the process. Then Angelos Epithemiou was penalised for hitting the opposition with his Sainsburys bag. Presumably this was a post-modern homage to the grannies who used to hit Mick McManus with their handbags. Then finally Nick Helm rose from his hospital bed and arrived in his beige Y-fronts and in the nick of time, as it were, to finish the opposition off. No broken bones this year, despite a lot of noisy slamming and crunchy falls. Just a broken commentators' table – it ended up in the ring and Nick Helm threw a real fighter into it to seal the victory. These things aren't scripted, oh no, surely not.
Good – at least I think it was Good, but don't quote me – had triumphed over Evil.
I don't think this could be a nightly show. There are already enough battered and bruised comedians in Edinburgh this year. And in fact maybe it takes two years for the comedians involved to recover. See you all in 2015. How about The Chess for next year?
