On today's episode, we visit Tunbridge Wells' brand new Wrestling school, set up by a former WWE Superstar. Also, Bartholomew speaks with David Garth from the Gillingham Supporters Club about who could be the club's next manager!
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00:00 Hello and welcome along to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:20 up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall and here's what to expect on this Friday
00:25 the 13th October. What are the odds? Gillingham owner says he's in no rush to find a new manager.
00:34 Plus we'll hear from David Garth from the Gillingham Supporters Club about how the fans
00:38 are feeling. And wrestling fever! We sent our reporter to test his luck at Tunbridge
00:43 Wells' new pro wrestling club.
00:47 First this evening, let's start with a round-up of the headlines. Daniel Beldrumman says it's
00:51 an absolute honour and privilege to be named as the new club captain of Kent Cricket. The
00:57 30-year-old batsman becomes the first cricketer of Caribbean descent to be appointed Kent
01:02 men's club captain. His captaincy comes after a very successful summer where he became Kent's
01:07 third triple centurion in the county championship. It also comes as wicketkeeper Sam Billings
01:13 stepped down from the role at the end of the season. However, Billings will remain as skipper
01:17 in the T20 Blast competition.
01:21 The Invicta Dynamos are looking to bounce back from defeat in the National Ice Hockey
01:25 League this Sunday. The South Division 1 team will return to the ice to face top of the
01:29 table Streatham, who slipped up against Oxford last time out. Head coach Carl Lennon says
01:35 his team can take some confidence in the fact that the Moes have already beat Streatham
01:39 from a 4-2 win in their pre-season friendly encounter. The Dynamos currently sit fourth
01:45 in the South Division 1 with six points.
01:49 Now a member of Ashford United's youth team has represented England as the country has
01:54 been officially named as co-host to the 2028 Euros. Under-13s footballer Callum Pollard
02:00 was pictured on stage alongside former Real Madrid and Wales superstar Gareth Bale. The
02:06 youngster was picked as England's youth ambassador in recognition of his work as an assistant
02:10 coach to Ashford's disability teams, where he helped the club's head coach on training
02:14 and match days. The UK and Ireland won the bid unopposed after Turkey pulled out of the
02:19 running.
02:21 Platseath racer Jake Hill is set to remain with West Surrey Racing next season, after
02:26 his best ever year in the British Touring Car Championship. The 29-year-old took his
02:30 sixth win of the 2023 season at Brands Hatch last weekend, thanks to a double overtake
02:36 in what was the final race of the year. He says nothing is signed for right now, but
02:40 that he plans to drive in a BMW 330e again after finishing third in the championship
02:45 standings, equalising his best ever spot. The BTTC returns to Kent with two rounds again
02:51 in 2024, one in May and the second in October.
02:56 Moving on to football now, and despite the international break halting the Premier League,
02:59 there are plenty of fixtures happening this weekend for our Kent side, so why not go out
03:03 and support your local? Here's what's on offer.
03:12 Ismian South East sides will be playing in the final round of the FA Cup qualifying.
03:21 Meanwhile Dover will visit Eastleigh. Ebbsfleet enter in the competition as they welcome Slough
03:26 and Maidstone will travel to Torquay.
03:28 Back in the Ismian Premier then, second place Chatham Town will host third sitters Carlshan
03:33 Athletic. Kevin Hakeside go into the match unbeaten in four games. He described the game
03:37 as a real test to see how far the side has come. Meanwhile Folkestone will welcome Chessunt
03:42 after being knocked out of the FA trophy at the third qualifying round last Saturday.
03:48 Next in the National League South, Hampton and Richmond will host Dartford this weekend.
03:52 The Darts come off the back of a very dominant 4-1 victory at Chippenham.
03:57 And the Tunbridge Angels will visit Weymouth, and of course in League Two. Kent's only EFL
04:01 side, Gillingham, will be travelling to the Poundland Stadium to take on Walsall. The
04:05 Gills haven't won against the Midlands since 2017 when both sides were in League One.
04:13 While sticking with Gillingham, it's been just over a week since the Medway club sacked
04:16 its manager Neil Harris. The club said in a statement that it wants to move in a new
04:20 direction, but seven days on, its owner Brad Gallinson says it's in no rush to find a replacement.
04:25 I was at Priestfield Stadium this week.
04:28 Neil Harris joined a struggling Gillingham FC in January 2022 and fought hard to keep
04:34 the club in League One, but ultimately succumbed to goal difference, taking the club into the
04:38 lowest rank of the football league.
04:41 But over a year and a half later, and it's quite a different picture for the Gills, with
04:45 Harris out the door, but the club tipped for a promotion charge this time around.
04:49 Interim manager Keith Millen has today doubled down on ruling himself out of the running
04:54 to replace Harris, but says the club is in an attractive position for any prospective
04:59 manager.
05:00 You read in the press all the names linked with it and all of that, but I'm not privy
05:04 to what's going on. I haven't got time, if I'm honest, to worry about that. Whoever comes
05:10 in is coming into a good dressing room with a good group of players, so it's an attractive
05:16 job for someone. The club's definitely in a really good, positive mindset generally,
05:23 I feel, so it's a good job for somebody. Obviously the club want to be successful and
05:31 get promoted, so you've got that pressure, and whoever comes in, you have to deal with
05:36 that.
05:37 The club's shift in recent success has come after new chairman Brad Gallanton has been
05:41 able to free up cash to bring in new signings since January of this year. Speaking on Twitter,
05:46 the chairman updated fans almost a week on, saying "process going well", being methodical
05:52 and vetting candidates from around the world. "I am not rushing. This is an important long-term
05:58 decision but we are confident Keith will keep us on track whilst I make the decision on
06:02 who is the right person to take us forward."
06:06 But who could the next manager be? Well, here's who the bookies think could take up the job.
06:11 At the top and the most recent addition is former Newcastle and Sunderland manager Steve
06:16 Bruce, who made his professional debut as a player at Gillingham, before going on to
06:20 become a Manchester United legend.
06:23 Others include current Crawley manager Scott Lindsay, who recently told the media he's
06:27 not so interested in outside speculation.
06:30 Karl Robinson is another name, although has fallen down the order in recent days. The
06:34 former NK Dons manager brought that team to a championship promotion.
06:38 Alternatively, there's Andy Woodman, who's currently at Bromley Football Club, although
06:42 despite denying interest in previous managerless windows for the Gills, perhaps new circumstances
06:48 for the team could change his mind.
06:50 But despite what the bookies may think, odds are that whoever takes over as boss at Gillingham
06:55 FC will have some big shoes to fill and some high expectations of success on them.
07:01 Bartholomew Hall for KMTV at Priestfield Stadium.
07:05 But what do the fans think about all this? Earlier today I spoke to David Garth from
07:09 the Gillingham Supporters Club. This is what he had to say.
07:12 So David, thank you very much for joining us. Welcome back onto Invictus Sport. First
07:16 of all, what's the last week been like for you? Obviously, we had the sacking of Neil
07:20 Harris. We had that brilliant MK Dons win at home and then the sort of heartache at
07:25 Pompey midweek, but lots of positives to take away from that game as well. What's it been
07:29 like?
07:30 It's been an interesting week. I think that's an understatement. And I think we're still
07:35 a lot of us are still very surprised by the way that things have gone with Neil Harris
07:40 no longer being at the club because he had done an awful lot of good. The result in midweek,
07:46 it was the, you know, the footballing trophy. And I don't think it really mattered too much
07:51 because they were trying out a few young lads. But we're all sort of looking and wondering
07:55 who is going to be the next manager, of course.
07:57 Yeah, absolutely. And before we get into sort of potential candidates, how do you think
08:01 Keith Millen's doing as interim boss?
08:03 Well, he's got a lot of experience anyway. I mean, he knows the job and I think he's
08:09 doing the right sort of thing at the moment and holding it together really well.
08:13 And he's ruled himself out of taking the job, but he has said that if things change and
08:17 the board come to him, he might re-evaluate his stance on that. But of course, the name
08:20 that's been thrown around all week is Steve Bruce. What do you think of the Manchester
08:24 United legend coming back to where it all started at Gillingham?
08:28 Well, it would be very interesting. And I can remember all those years ago seeing Steve
08:33 very regularly in the local area. He literally used to go around to Buster Collins' house,
08:39 who was the coach, and you used to see him very regularly. Saw his debut, saw his first
08:44 goal. Yeah, he's become a legend and possibly the best defender never to make an England
08:49 appearance. And there is a lot of speculation for sure.
08:53 And what do you think about him as a manager as well then? Obviously, he's spent some time
08:57 at Newcastle, recently left West Bromwich Albion. He did say that he was retiring after
09:02 those two times, but if he said it before and then come back, he could come back again.
09:07 Yeah, I think he's had, is it 10, 11 clubs and he did have a lot of success. Birmingham,
09:15 he took them up twice to the Premier League. Hull City twice, he went to the FA Cup final
09:20 with Hull. But in the last few years, of course, it hasn't been so good for him. I think he
09:25 got sacked from West Bromwich, his last job. But there are a lot of connections here. He
09:30 used to live in the area, he used to live in Raynham. So I think it would be a very
09:35 popular move with an awful lot of Gillingham supporters.
09:40 As well, we heard from the board last week, or at least from the club in their statement,
09:44 that they want to go in a new direction. Does it count as going in a new direction if you
09:49 have someone who's had that link with the club before?
09:52 I think we're all wondering exactly what they mean by that. There's never been any qualification
09:56 of exactly what the club's new direction would be. The only thing that a lot of us can think
10:02 about is maybe what they're trying to say is more attractive football. Because under
10:06 Neil, we were winning 1-0 almost every week was the win that we used to have. And we weren't
10:12 scoring the goals that maybe we should be. And of course, at the end of the day, football
10:16 is an entertainment and we need to see more goals is what I think is what they're perhaps
10:21 alluding to.
10:22 Yeah, and of course, we heard from Brad Gallinson in The Week on social media saying that he's
10:27 vetting candidates from around the world. That obviously opens up the potential pool
10:32 of candidates. Comparing Brad Gallinson to previous owners and the sort of transparency,
10:38 is it kind of welcome to have the owner going on Twitter and just updating fans as the process
10:44 is happening?
10:45 Yes, without a doubt. I think that's something that we have missed over the last few years.
10:50 And it's nice to at least have him coming out with a bit of information. I mean, clearly,
10:55 he can't put all his cards on the table, but at least we know that something is going on
10:59 and that it is happening and they are making the right sort of moves to get the new manager
11:03 in place as quickly as possible.
11:05 Just quickly before we go, Walsall away this weekend. The club hasn't had the best record
11:10 there. I think the last win was in 2017, but completely new look club since 2017. Now,
11:15 how do you rate Gillingham's chances?
11:19 I think it's going to be a tough one. We've got quite a few players out with injuries
11:22 and Alexander's also away on international duty. So it's going to be a tough game. But
11:30 I would think maybe a 2-2 draw would be quite an ideal result given the circumstances at
11:34 the moment.
11:35 2-2 draw. All right, then, David, we'll see how it plays out. Thank you very much for
11:38 joining us.
11:39 Thank you.
11:40 Well, we'll have to wait and see there. Now, we've reached half time, which means it's
11:44 time for a break. But coming up after the break, we visited Tunbridge Wells' new Pro
11:49 Wrestling Academy. We can see how our reporter Sheldon got on in just a few minutes. See
11:54 you then.
11:54 Thanks for watching.
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15:09 Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV. Next tonight, a professional wrestling
15:16 school has opened its doors in Tunbridge Wells. Pro Wrestling Royal Academy was started
15:21 by former WWE superstar Ayesha Raymond and veteran wrestler Boo Lamont. Classes run every
15:28 Thursday at the Camden Centre where they teach students the art of professional wrestling.
15:33 We sent our reporter and wrestling fan Sheldon Dragwrig to try it out.
15:42 Professional wrestling is a sport that has seen a massive surge in popularity over the
15:46 last few years and the sport is now also making waves in Kent. Tunbridge Wells recently saw
15:52 its first ever Pro Wrestling Academy being opened in the area. The academy is run by
15:57 ex-WWE star Ayesha Raymond and veteran wrestler Boo Lamont. The pair run Pro Wrestling Royal
16:03 Academy together and have classes every Thursday at the Camden Centre. Ayesha says she hopes
16:09 the academy can revive the local wrestling scene.
16:11 "When I first started, Tunbridge, an area, most of the coastal areas were where wrestling
16:18 was because it's from the camp halls, it's what wrestling is. And it kind of sort of
16:22 fiddles out after a while when wrestling kind of moved into nightclubs and stuff. So there
16:27 hasn't actually been wrestling at Tunbridge Wells for about, I'd say about 10, maybe 8,
16:31 10 years. Tunbridge yes, but not Tunbridge Wells. So for me, I just want people to be
16:36 aware that, you know, wrestling is still alive."
16:38 And Boo Lamont says he hopes to give back to the sport through the school.
16:42 "I want a legacy, in all honesty. I love professional wrestling. It's given me friends, it's given
16:47 me family, it's given me a life. So I'm giving back. And I'm really hoping that I can get
16:53 some good students that can realise their dreams, they can travel the world, they can
16:57 see that this is an achievable thing. Professional wrestling is a really fun and exciting job
17:02 to have."
17:03 "Well, as a lifelong wrestling fan, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn from two
17:07 of the best."
17:09 This was my moment, to prove I was the next big thing. All the years of pretend wrestling
17:14 with my siblings was finally about to pay off. Ayesha and Boo started me off with some
17:19 bumps. A bump involves stretching your hands to your side and falling flat on your back.
17:25 Professional wrestlers often take dozens of bumps in a single match.
17:37 I was winded after three. Next was running the ropes. Something every wrestling fan has
17:43 thought of doing at least once. After Boo taught me the correct technique, I actually
17:47 picked it up pretty well.
17:48 And finally, Ayesha and Boo taught me a sequence. Matches usually have several sequences. But
18:06 since I was a beginner, we started off at one. And things were looking pretty good for
18:10 me. I could already see myself being the next big thing in wrestling. Until…
18:15 "Well, after that, I think my dreams of becoming the next John Cena, I ended up in. And I think
18:29 the wrestling is better left to the professionals."
18:32 While wrestling may not be for me, Ayesha and Boo hope to continue to nurture the future
18:37 stars of British wrestling. Sheldon Dragwich for KMTV.
18:42 Well, joining me in the studio now is Boo Lamont and Ayesha Raymond. Thank you both
18:48 very much for joining us and welcome to Invicta Sport. Tell me, I want to unpick your brains,
18:53 why start a pro wrestling academy here in the county?
18:56 Well, we both have different reasons if you want to start a boo.
19:00 I'm from Tunbridge Wells originally, so I was raised in Kent. I went to school in
19:03 Kent and I got my first job in Kent. And when I started to train in professional wrestling,
19:08 I still lived in Tunbridge Wells. And I was just thinking it would have been awesome if
19:12 back then, all those years ago, I had somewhere to train locally and I think my career would
19:17 have picked up quicker. It's a lot of traveling and wrestling, but at that time there was
19:20 maybe two or three reputable schools in England. So if there was a school in Tunbridge Wells
19:25 back 20 years ago, it would have been a dream for me. So I'm just trying to make sure
19:29 that that is accessible for people that want to become professional wrestlers in Kent.
19:32 Absolutely. And you said you might have had a different reason?
19:35 Yeah, I mean, for myself, I've come through the era of wrestling becoming, it was almost
19:40 something together and then suddenly we've almost kind of broken apart. I've got my own
19:44 company at the moment, Renegade Wrestling Dojo in Scotland, which was created after,
19:48 basically, we say wrestling burned to the ground. I've come down to Kent now and in
19:52 my head, I think we need to bring wrestling back together, almost like a merger. For me,
19:59 wrestling in Kent was almost very family friendly based and how it was in British wrestling
20:03 is I personally feel is we've kind of moved away from that. Wrestling is from the carnival
20:08 era, it's from days of happy, clappy kids and you want to make children smile. But now
20:12 in terms of British wrestling, we've moved into things like nightclubs and bars where
20:16 it's almost over 14s, over 18s, over 16s and we've kind of alienated our main demographic
20:22 and our main market. So, to bring wrestling back down to Kent will open back up that big
20:26 wrestling market that used to be here with All Star, with Fremantle, with John Coppin
20:31 when it came to the old school touring ways of wrestling, the All Star way of wrestling.
20:36 Modern and traditional.
20:37 Yeah, I mean, just as you mentioned, it seems like such a good opportunity for local people
20:41 if they wanted to get involved, youngsters as well. What can, you know, one of your new
20:45 students, let's say somebody was to sign up, what can they expect on sort of day one?
20:49 Depends. Day one of Aisha. So, as most people know, I shouldn't have done that laugh. Most
20:56 people know I'm Joshi based, I'm very Japanese trained, also very British wrestling trained.
21:01 So for me, wrestling has always been my lifestyle. It turned into my lifestyle very early on
21:06 in my life and it's still my lifestyle right now. And I take it extremely seriously. So,
21:11 I'm not saying drill sergeant mode, but it's not easy. It's one thing that some people
21:16 really do need to realise. I mean, it is fun when you see us get up there in like costumes
21:20 and clap and slapping babies' hands and making people smile. It's fun. But there is a lot
21:26 of hard work that comes into this and there's a lot of hard work that some people do and
21:31 some people don't do. There was something that I was taught a very long time ago. There's
21:34 people who want to be wrestlers and there's people who want to wrestle. You make a choice.
21:40 And I think as well, I think people kind of overestimate or underestimate rather the actual
21:44 physical strength that goes into it. I think I was talking to Sheldon today and he was
21:48 saying that he was sort of aching after it. Talk to me about the sort of physical side
21:52 that goes into it. It's painful. It's a contact sport. It takes a lot out of you physically.
21:57 It takes a lot of you mentally as well. It's a very tough sport. And sort of to prepare
22:03 yourself for it, you do have to have a good health and fitness level. You do have to go
22:07 to the gym. You do have to be quite clear-minded that this is what you want to do because you
22:13 can't go into a job like this half-hearted. Because I mean, there's a lot of heartache
22:18 and a lot of agony. But the victory and the good times, it sort of just supersedes it
22:23 once you're actually there.
22:25 And you both have had quite long careers as well. Can you talk me through any sort of
22:28 highlights for yourselves?
22:30 I've just recently come back from an entire year in Japan. I'm currently the only international
22:34 wrestler side with seedling, which is a joshi promotion in Japan. I spent an entire year
22:39 where I was wrestling for Sendai Girls, obviously Seedling because I was signed there, Ice
22:44 Ribbon and mostly all the joshi companies that were around Japan. So for me, I've literally
22:50 had a whirlwind year of being on the other side of the world and I have now had to come
22:54 back and to do this kind of helps me a little bit more because all that knowledge and everything
22:59 that I learned over the years of my wrestling and obviously being away for a year, I can
23:03 bring back into this.
23:05 Just before we come on, I just want to ask about going across the world. What's the sort
23:07 of, is there a cultural difference with wrestling?
23:09 A hundred percent.
23:10 A hundred percent.
23:11 It's different everywhere you go.
23:14 For me and Michael, my experience, Japan-wise and joshi-wise, it's their lifestyle. It's
23:21 very, very difficult in all honesty, to be honest, to make a living and a lifestyle from
23:25 wrestling in Britain. And it's something that a lot of people just have to swallow and you
23:29 have to accept. When you're over in Japan, it is their lifestyle. You've got girls in
23:34 the dojo from they were 12 years old and they will become superstars by the time they're
23:38 18 and they eat, sleep and breathe wrestling. Over here, it's not to kind of brush over
23:44 anybody's abilities or anybody's mental state, but some people need to have that balance
23:49 between it being happy-go-lucky fun time and it being a lifestyle. There is a balance in
23:54 the middle that you can find, but realistically it's either all or nothing.
23:58 Just really quickly before we have to wrap up, Boo, any highlights that you can sort
24:01 of...
24:02 We've recently just come back from Rings of Europe where we wrestled in Austria and it
24:05 was an incredible experience. Just having a long career and having got to wrestle so
24:09 many people on their way up and then seeing so many people have success afterwards. There's
24:14 a number of people that I've had great matches with really early on in my career and really
24:17 on in their career and they have just gone on and gone on to bigger and bigger heights
24:20 and it's just been a beautiful thing to watch and it's rewarding.
24:23 Well, thank you very much both of you for joining us. I'm sure people if they wanted
24:28 to check out the wrestling club down in Tunbridge Wells, I'm sure they will after seeing things
24:32 today.
24:33 Thank you for having us.
24:34 Now, we've reached full time on today's episode, but there's just a few minutes of extra time
24:38 to take a look at this week's Action Replay. It's the segment where we take a look at the
24:42 clips and videos sent in by you, the KMTV viewers. Let's see what we've got in store
24:47 this week.
24:49 First up this week on Action Replay, let me introduce you to Isabel Fassinge, who could
24:54 be Kent's next Olympic success. The skeleton racer from Sevenoaks is aiming for a gold
25:00 medal at the 2026 Winter Games, but has recently started crowdfunding after struggling to juggle
25:06 training with earning an income. The rising star has already won bronze in the junior
25:12 European circuit, but says she won't stop until she has a gold medal in her hand.
25:17 Next up, and we just had to feature this second half winner from Maidstone, Sandbone over
25:22 Torquay United. A free header from the host handed the ball to a perfectly placed Sandbone
25:28 to smash one part of defence and secure the winner for the stones. It marks the centre
25:33 back's fourth stones goal and helped put promotion hopefuls Maidstone in fourth place
25:37 on the table.
25:39 And finally, take a look at Medway's Rebel Runners, the social running club, seen here
25:44 taking the hilly route through Parkwood near Gillingham. The group runs on track, grass,
25:49 in the rain, sun and even snow. One of the largest clubs in North Kent, the group welcomes
25:54 joggers of all abilities and even enters into the London Marathon each year.
25:59 Well that's it for this week's Action Replay. Don't forget it could be you in next week's
26:04 edition. Just send in your pictures and videos on social media or to sport@kmtv.co.uk
26:11 And as Sophia mentioned there, if you want to appear in next week's Action Replay you
26:18 absolutely can. Tag us on social media @kmtvkent or send us an email to sport@kmtv.co.uk. Just
26:25 tell us what part of Kent you come from and what it is you do. Well that really is full
26:29 time on today's episode of Invicta Sport. And if you want more from KMTV you can watch
26:33 all our special programmes at kmtv.co.uk. I'll be back on Monday with another episode
26:39 of Invicta Sport but for now, goodbye.
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