The grandest spectacle in the comedy universe, Clash of the Comics, is coming to the Eventim Apollo on 8th October 2025, all in aid of Comic Relief. Tickets are available now here. This showdown sees some of the UK’s biggest comedy stars step into the wrestling ring – not just to tell jokes, but to fight.
Past events have seen Nish Kumar crashing through a table, Rosie Jones stunning fans by defeating Greg Davies, and Richard Gadd somersaulting into the ring to compete in a full-blown ladder match.
In a night where comedy heavyweights clash with each other and some of the UK’s top professional wrestlers, expect chaos, carnage, and a collision of punchlines and piledrivers in this unmissable live showdown.
Comedian James Acaster, who has a years-long track record of attempting to wrestle and never delivering a single offensive manoeuvre, today throws down the gauntlet, vowing to put an end to “years of humiliation” and issuing the James Acaster Open Challenge. In the powerful video below, Acaster has vowed to take “on absolutely anyone in the world of comedy or wrestling”, and vowing to make “the greatest entrance you’ve ever seen”.
Joe Lycett will be CEO: “I was enjoying a crisp Riesling on a summer’s eve, and awoke the next day to discover that I had purchased, amongst other things (condoms, eggs, etc), the world’s leading comedy-and-wrestling promotion,” says Lycett. “I take my newfound role of CEO incredibly seriously - the world of Clash of the Comics is about to discover that with great power comes great irresponsibility.” Lycett will be there on the night, and what he says goes… until he changes his mind.
Rose Matafeo - formerly a commentator cheering on the rulebreakers - will be stepping into the ring and wrestling, as the heroic Rose Mata-slay-o. “After a walk on the dark side, I have since seen the light,” says Matafeo. “I now fight to rid the world of evil through low impact wrestling and high impact attitude.” Kiell Smith-Bynoe is also to debut as The King of Barbados, announcing “I’m the man of steel (drums), and much like the drums, my opponent is going to get beat. Potentially tunefully, if I can work out how.”
They are joining an already stacked card: comedian and YouTube superstar Max Fosh will be debuting as Max ‘The Dosh’ Fosh - “the perfect combo of old money and new media”, and Maisie Adam, aka ‘The Queen of The North (Based in Brighton)’ will be stepping into the ring for the first time, promising an intimidating combination of Yorkshire grit and South Coast whimsy.
Commentary will be handled by Greg James and Nish Kumar - now joined by the formidable Sara Pascoe, who’ll be cheering on the babyfaces in their fight for all that is good. Says Pascoe; “Super thrilled to be cheering on these terrific wrestlers and coming head to head with everyone’s favourite enemy, Nish Kumar.”
Also announced are: champion Phil ‘Kill’ Wang, his nemesis Ed ‘The Gambler’ Gamble, Rosie ‘Daddy’ Jones, Max & Ivan, ‘The RIngfluencer’ Abi Clarke, Olga ‘Rock Hard’ Koch, Matthew ‘The Pacifist’ Crosby, Jazz Emu, and Flo & Joan -
They’ll be joined by a roster of elite professional wrestlers, including former WWE superstar ‘The Beast of Belfast’ Big Damo, Nina Samuels, Simon Miller, Cara Noir, British wrestling legend ‘The Phoenix’ Jody Fleisch, Bullit, La Cyclonica, Adam Maxted, and the ‘Prince of Mumbai’ Rishi Ghosh, ready to throw down in front of a roaring crowd.
Matches will include:
Comedian vs Wrestler
Maisie Adam, ‘The Queen of the North (Based in Brighton)’ vs ‘The Comedian-Slayer’ Nina Samuels
The James Acaster Open Challenge
James Acaster versus “any comedian or wrestler in the country”
Main Event Grudge Match: The Battle For The Belt
Phil ‘Kill’ Wang (COTC Champion) vs Ed ‘The Gambler’ Gamble - who has stolen Phil’s championship belt
More matches to be announced
‘The Wrestling’, Clash of the Comics has sold out numerous shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and at JFL London, and now returns to London for one night only, in the legendary Eventim Apollo. Max Olesker was formerly the UK’s youngest professional wrestler, wrestling across the UK and Europe as the high-flying ‘Max Voltage’. Max & Ivan are a multi award-winning comedy double-act, who have created critically-acclaimed work for the TV, radio, stage…and wrestling ring.
Watch James Acaster's challenge below
Picture credit: Ash Jaycock and GrapsOnFilm
