We had a couple of matches whilst in London and each one was great. The photos do not do him justice and he is a great guy on and off the mats.

Had another bout with a ring last week as part of a three way. When it was him and me it was very close and I had to go in hard - and a bit dirty! - to get anything off him.
Great wrestler, great lad.
We will wrestle again.

Had another great meet with Craig last night. His profile name does him no favours this is a hard skilled wrestler. Got a few taps but then I got into my stride and properly hurt him. Don’t know anyone that can take punishment like this lad. Awesome long sweaty fight. Loved it. Highly recommended

Great meet with Craig. Don't let the profile name fool you He's a tough competitive wrestler. He's strong and has one of the highest pain thresholds I've met. It took a lot to put him away - but glad I turned it round and did. Recommended

28/03/2017: It was excellent to get a match in with Jayboy at the Walthamstow ring thanks to the kind match-sponsoring efforts of DaveLon, whose generous offer of a winner's purse does get some quality opponents stepping into the ring with me! It does, however, also mean that I get some opponents who're very keen to make me quit, and Jayboy duly smashed his way to a well earnt victory. (You can see some of the aftermath in my photos if that's your sort of thing!) He's a tough guy in superb shape. He is, however, also completely safe and sane and respected my limits. And I was very pleased to make him work hard for his victory; an armlock and a choke even having me ahead for a period. Jayboy's very highly recommended if you like rough matches, and I can't wait for another go at the big bruiser. Thanks Jayboy—and thanks DaveLon!
24/05/2019: Again thanks to DaveLon I got another crack at Jayboy at the Walthamstow ring and again, after his usual slow start, he got into his stride, got into the mount, and smashed his way to a convincing victory. But heʼs not a one-trick pony, heʼs acquired a nasty strangle and a few other new joint-mangling moves, and is generally just a total handful in the best possible way. A huge amount of sweaty fun to fight. If a painful way to spend an evening! Hope to meet him again soon.
10/06/2022: Been a long time since I last met the amazing Jayboy, but a trip back to much-missed London and some shameless gatecrashing of his bout with WrestleCM19 meant that I got another bout in with him—and duly got worked over again. Always such a pleasure.

10/05/2019: Rather unexpectedly I finally got a grapple with the legend that is Judomonkey when he joined Solidman and me at the Grove Park ring on a sweaty Friday evening in May. Iʼm not kidding myself here, Solidman was the drawcard for that turn up for the books, but it was a very nice bonus. Judomonkey was kind enough to let me try out a few things on him without really defending, but even then I got precisely nowhere, and to call our little tussles one sided would be a considerable understatement. But no surprises there, and they were a lot of fun, and it was very educational getting to watch Judomonkey and Solidman getting stuck in to each other. As meets with three guys often do, eventually things ended up with some two-on-one, about which I will just say that having Judomonkey and Solidman working on you at the same time is the sort of wrestling experience that really should come with a substantial fee. As well as being an excellent grappler, Judomonkey is also a safe and sane nice guy, willing to tone things down to your sort of level, and is easy and interesting to chat to. I even got a lift back to the station, which was good, as I wasnʼt walking all that fast by that stage. Very highly recommended.
05/06/2022: Great to get a brief little tussle in with the big guy at the end of open mat at the Einsteiger international wrestling camp in Lindow (Mark). I'm totally out of my depth taking Judomonkey on, but it is always a pleasure!

10/06/2022: It was a bonus and a real pleasure to be able to gatecrash WrestleCM19's bout against Jayboy at the Walthamstow ring and turn it into a little three-man king-of-the-mat tournament. However, it didn't take us long at all to work out that WrestleCM19 was easily the king of the mat, so things quickly degenerated into plenty of unfair double teaming (although not necessarily always on our champ!). WrestleCM19 is a seriously strong guy, and couples that with some skills, so I got repeatedly taken down and generally just didn't get anywhere against him until he (probably bored) gave me a limb or two to do something with. Even then making the hunky powerhouse tap was seriously hard work (but very enjoyable). Our audience described WrestleCM19 as a classic 1980s heel, and he certainly has that great look about him, with a cracking wrestler's build, but he's also always smiling and with a positively Santa-like twinkle in his eye, so he's only very intimidating rather than horrendously so. A super nice lad and very highly recommended by me.

05/06/2022: I was super pleased that kimmetje accepted my request for a little wrestle during open mat at the twentieth Einsteiger international wrestling camp in Lindow (Mark), because this is a guy whom you really want to wrestle. He looked great in his singlet but our tussle soon showed me that he'd learnt things during the freestyle training to add to his grappling experience as taking him down was hard work. Off the mats he was interesting and easy to talk to, and definitely one of the many good guys who made the training camp another great event. I am looking forward to meeting him there again next year! Highly recommended.

05/06/2022: It was a really good experience meeting, training with and wrestling blnfighter at the 20th Einsteiger international wrestling camp in Lindow (Mark). He was a committed and diligent training partner, and a tough and resourceful opponent during open mat, demonstrating his strength and friendly competitiveness. Over lunch, dinner and post-training beers he was easy and interesting to chat to. Highly recommended and a must for a rematch, whether back at the camp in future years or (hopefully) sooner.

I had the pleasure of meeting Squashlad at the camp.
It is not only that getting squashed by him was fun - he has the power and experience I had expected - he also is a man of decency, humour, open-mindedness, attitude and sportsmanship.
I do look forward to wrestling this guy again - and despite the fact that he lives on the other side of the world, a next encounter is quite probable 😊

05/06/2022: After chatting prior to, and then meeting at, the twentieth Einsteiger international wrestling camp in Brandenburg, it was great to finally get on the mats with elpectoral at the camp. Unfortunately we were both dog tired by the time that open mat came around in that afternoon's training session in the summer heat, so it was a short go at each other, but it was enough to experience his strength and his controlled wrestling style. He is in great shape and did not make things easy for me! Off the mats elpectoral is an engaging and charming guy, easy and pleasant to chat to. I am looking forward to locking up with him again at the 2023 camp.

We both met in a multiple day Wrestling Camp (International Wrestling Camp in Lindow organized by the Einsteiger Wrestling Club Berlin).
I was really lucky to have this guy with us as he's a big part of my consistently good time at the camp.
Level 1: Off the mat
He has a very likeable personality and makes it very easy for anyone to socialize. So we also met the day before and after the camp 🍻😎
Level 2: Training Partner
You can completely rely on him and could not wish a better one. He has a great perception and recognizes his own as well as his partners little inaccuracies. And he has the patience and will to repeat any technique for so long until you get the desired "that was perfect" from the coach. 🔄🏅
Level 3: Opponent
No need to mention that a highly sympathetic character does neither rule out a fight nor tough action against the opponent. For me it was the first time that I wrestled on a real, competition sized wrestling mat. So these feelings of "wow, thats a lot of space" when only 2 guys step onto the mat & "damn little space" when forcefully pushed towards the red zone will always be linked with him ;-) We both managed to succeed with takedowns and pins - so further clashes will definitely be exciting 🥵😈
Big thank you & see you! 🤗

04–06/06/2022: The amazing Kairoi made for a great training partner, a very tough opponent and a pleasure to spend some time (and a few beers) with off the mats during the excellent-as-ever twentieth Einsteiger international wrestling camp in Brandenburg. His BJJ training and powerful physique (those legs!) mean that wrestling him is seriously hard work (at least for someone with my very basic understanding of freestyle), but thankfully for me pins were gained by both of us during our sweaty little tussles in Lindow's summer heat, so I wasn't completely outclassed. Post training he is a super friendly and helpful guy, easily chatting and mixing with everyone at the camp, and he is just generally a delight to spend some time with. My very highest recommendation.

Such a lovely guy. Great fun to wrestle and learn with. Until next time!

05/06/2022: It was great to meet the charming tomtomberlin1983 at the twentieth Einsteiger international wrestling camp in Brandenburg, and even better to get to wrestle him during open mat. He probably didn't appreciate having my bulk land on him (wrestling has weight classes for a reason!) but was far too polite to mention it, and he has the strength and fitness to give his opponents a pleasingly difficult time of it. Add that to a leanly muscular yoga instructor's physique, spectacular good looks and an outgoing and modest manner and a positive outlook and you get a guy that you will definitely want to wrestle. Don't miss the opportunity if it presents itself—tomtomberlin1983 is very highly recommended.

Met this young powerhouse at a meet in Manchester, and then again in London. He's a bit of a dream of an opponent with the powerful rugby player's physique, the huge strength and the good looks, and he really enjoys being heel, so if you like getting worked over (and I certainly do), then a bout with WillPower be an exceptional experience. He's totally safe and sane, and a really nice guy, fun to have a beer and a laugh with, but he's immensely strong, and if you ask him to be aggressive, that is what you'll get, so be clear on what you're up for—and you'll have a fabulous time getting destroyed by the young hunk. My very highest recommendation and a must for a rematch.

Had a fantastic wrestle with Squashlad today, a well built man who loves his wrestling. He's a nice guy who is considerate of safety and respectful of boundaries, but also a great provider of comedy along the way - who says we can't be laughing while we're grunting with pain? He has impressive strength and is good with counter moves. As an added bonus he is very hot and looks great in his trunks. Highly recommended!

23/09/2021: Awesome to finally be getting some Kiwi matches in! And what a great guy to take on. Organizing the match with him was super easy—indeed I didn't really, he did everything! He's a Speedo fan, and looks great in them, with a tall, athletic swimmer's build on him. Major surgery means you do need to take care around his ribcage, which does rule out some holds, and meant that I couldn't rely on my usual technique with lighter guys of just lying on top of them, which was no doubt good for me, but there is still plenty of wrestling to be had with him, and quality wrestling at that. He certainly likes the jobber's role, but is equally comfortable taking charge, and forced some nice taps out of me when he did. Between grapples he is an interesting and easy guy to chat to, being friendly and open and a real pleasure to spend time with. A must for a rematch and highly recommended.
26/02/2022: So I got my rematch in with the tall, handsome Queenslander/Cantabrian Speedo fan, but this time I was largely in the jobber's role, whether I liked it or not! But I did get a decent grip on him too, and it was even more fun than last time (even when he was "complimenting" my dad bod!). A quality bloke who has my very highest recommendation.

14/02/2022: After chatting for ages, and having him recommended by mutual wrestling buddies, it was excellent to finally get to grips with Shad—and on Valentine's Day. 🌹 He puts himself across as a jobber, but I sort of had an inkling that that wasn't quite true—and I think I was right. It's true, he doesn't know much yet, but he's feisty and competitive and quick to pick things up. He's also surprisingly strong. So if he sticks with it I don't think he'll be jobbing for long. And he may well end up dominating guys his size. Between subs he's a pleasant, unassuming chap, easy to talk to and have a laugh with. It's great to have him here in Wellington and hopefully we can wrestle a lot more in future. Highly recommended.

Had a very sweaty but at the same time very nice wrestle with Squashlad at the Seven Sisters Matroom in London. First time i booked a matroom myself. Very even match going back and forth. Squashlad has great technique and knows how to use it while wrestling. Very nice guy off the mats too!
Definitely wants to wrestle him again (and again). Hope it doesn't take too long before we meet again!!

22/06/2018: It's a turn up for the books when the visitor to your city does the work and books the matroom! But sid did: and he was just as organized on the mats once I'd met him at Seven Sisters. I possibly had an edge on him technique wise, but what he does know is well drilled and effectively applied, and when it came to strength I was totally outclassed: he is just raw power. Which made tussling with him an exciting, if sweaty, battle. Between subs he was an interesting and engaging guy to chat to, and our whole meet was just a great pleasure. I am very much hoping that our paths cross again soon, and if you get a chance to take this (safe and sane) muscled powerhouse of the mats on, I strongly recommend that you take it.

Wrestling Squashlad is a joy: he is a skilled and tough wrestler and has a great stamina. After having wrestled him in London last year a rematch in Lisbon is not only a solid action but also a vivid memory of his relaxed but determined style. Safe and sane, well prepared grappler.
Highly recommended.

01/07/2018: I had the privilege of wrestling this talented maestro of the mats on a sultry North London summer night early on in my little MeetFighters wrestling journey, and was quickly taught a quiet lesson in the value of experience and the importance of skill and of practice. In other words, I was demolished, but in such an efficient and relaxed way that I almost didn't notice. It was like the (many, many) taps were just relaxing little interludes in a delightful evening of getting to know this charming man. If he didn't have an almost Santa Claus-like twinkle in his eye as he armbarred you into submission yet again you'd almost think that it was just some inconveniently close yoga practice that you were doing. A very impressive wrestler then. And a lovely man. I have had the pleasure of meeting him and wrestling him since then; I hope that you will have too.

It was great to meet this kind hearted gentleman yesterday for a wrestle. A gracious host and a formidable opponent he easily tied me up in knots and made light work of it too. Approachable, patient and kind enough to give me some very much needed pointers I couldn't fault Squashlad. With a strong build and solid shoulders and biceps we had a great sweaty battle and he looked great wearing the trunks I'd lent him. The fact that he kicked my ass meant I then awarded said borrowed trunks to him as a prize for his victory. Well done mate. Would happily wrestle again. Don't miss your chance fellas!

13/02/2020: Occasionally the stars align and you get to meet a quality new opponent despite being in a city that you donʼt live in and indeed neither does he. Auckland made for a kind hostess. Because wrestlepurc is indeed a great guy to wrestle. It would be easy to underestimate him if, like me, youʼre slightly prejudiced against the good-looking—because he really is very handsome, and everyone knows pretty boys canʼt actually wrestle. Erm, wrong. Wrestlepurc is strong, feisty and determined, so unfazed by my considerable weight advantage that he generally preferred pull me on top of him than risk losing me from guard, and while he isnʼt (yet) very experienced, what he does know he does well, with calm authority and speed. The weight advantage, plenty of Auckland summer sweat and a bit more experience kept me largely out of trouble, but he did get a tap out of me with a nice ankle lock, and while heʼs clearly not averse to being dominated on the mats heʼs not the jobber that his profile may perhaps suggest—he will certainly go for the win if he can, and he will get it off plenty of bigger guys just through tiring them out, as heʼs always up and raring for the restart straight away. Between subs heʼs very easy to chat to, with a pleasant, engaging and outgoing manner, and is generally just a friendly, unassuming nice guy. And probably a highlight of many peopleʼs Kiwi holiday! Safe, sane and very highly recommended, I am already looking forward to my rematch with him.
17/12/2021: So a rematch in with wrestlepurc at last, and just as much fun as the first, but this time down in Christchurch, his new base. He remains in great shape, polite, funny and handsome, and a pleasure to spend some time with. He also continues to know that he's only going to dominate a heavyweight by bouncing up and being raring to go after each sub, and the Energizer Bunny duly wore me out. Which was very enjoyable. Meet him if you can!

Met the delightful Craig a few times a the old Pippas,his skill and strength defeated me into a very sweaty effort.He has amazing staying power and reserves of energy and melts me with his smile,a very clever distraction.

Polite man, great fighter and generally very recommended! :)

12/11/2018: Great to get a match in with this big muscleman when he visited London. The bout was super easy to arrange and vince 39 was a blast to wrestle. He's super strong and very athletic, smart and easy to talk to, safe and sane in the ring and just generally a pleasure to spend some time with. I would jump at the chance to get a rematch in with him, and I recommend that you do too.

A great guy and tidy wrestler. Had a lot of fun working him over and taking him to (and past) his limits.
Very friendly on and off the mats. Very much look forward to wrestling again.

Great to take on this big, strong, cocky and fun heel—in his own ring! Unsurprisingly, I got manhandled, mangled and mawled, and it was pretty devastating, especially on a sweaty summer's day, but it was excellent fun, and despite the big hunk's power and aggression, I always felt super safe. If you like it rough that's what you'll get, but he always errs on the side of safety. And he and the similarly hunky bf make great hosts. Indeed, my detached limbs were carefully packed in ice to make the surgeons' job that little bit easier, and I was even offered lifts to and from the station as well as cooling drinks between the rounds of destruction. Superb. I will be back.

Met Craig three times, I think. First time in my mat room and he got worked over (and he fucking loved it) but when we had the ring match it was an hour long sub contest where he dominated largely (and I wasn't letting him) and those legs of steel nearly took my head off several times. Under rated, decent.

Been privileged to wrestle this muscled legend of English wrestling numerous times now, and even got a fair few subs off him, but only when he's in the mood to get dominated (which is surprisingly often). When he's not though, I get a proper working over. He's a scholar and a gentleman however, and will always politely hand your limbs back to you after he's ripped them off. Also extremely hunky, but then you knew that.

Took this big powerful young lad on in a bout in a nightclub once! (Haha, feeling brave that day.) Was really pleased at how well I did against him too, especially with a big audience watching the action, but inevitably his strength and better technique showed through and I had to tap out. A nice guy and a cracking crowd-pleasing physique on him: definitely wrestle him if you get the chance.

With all of his experience I knew that Squashlad would be no pushover, what I didn’t realize is that it would be so much bloody work. I grossly underestimated this man’s strength. He was all about defense. I never had to work so hard for submissions. If they gave out medals for defense, this guy would have a gold. Either I wore him down, or my technique improved, but I painstakingly got most of what I wanted, although not everything. He made me work so damn hard, that each submission felt glorious. Great fun, yet terribly frustrating at the same time. Awesome gent off the mats. Had a pint prior to our match, and was great company afterward.

27/02/2020: With his size and experience, it was pretty obvious that I was on a hiding to nothing taking RJinSeattle on when he was back in London, but with so many great recommendations, how could I not want to? And Iʼm so pleased that I did—what a great guy. I was, as expected, completely outclassed, and it was all I could do to limpet myself onto the canvas and try to resist the inevitable painful tap for as long as possible: but then even that was a lot of sweaty fun. I did think that maybe, towards the end of our bout, when heʼd got a bit cocky and careless, and maybe a bit tired, perhaps I could sneak in a face-saving single sub, but no—this is a guy who grapples tidily, knows his stuff, and has good cardio as well as impressive strength. He is also the sort of guy you donʼt remotely mind losing to as he is a total sweetheart and in between subs and over a pint he proved to be a really interesting guy to talk to, funny and outgoing and charming. A talented and safe and sane grappler and a lovely bloke when not choking you, meet and wrestle him if you possibly can! RJinSeattle has my very highest recommendation.

Well, 207 recommendations after😂 I met him, finally... In the least suitable of conditions for wrestling!! Still,he was gracious enough to make time for us. Don't let all the talk about giving pointers and tips, bla bla, fool you. This guy knows his wrestling, instincts are all there and he's stronger than he looks. And when he means rough... It's rough alright 😈 his name does him justice, Mister Stone can take whatever you throw at him, with those blue eyes teasing "is that all you got?"... And he looked amazing in red singlet... Or black speedos 👊 I just have one word : rematch... OK, two words 😉 rougher.

21/01/2019: What an experience meeting midblue was! Incredibly strong and super skilled, I was so outclassed by the big bruiser that our bout was pure comedy. But I loved it and so want another go wrestling him on decent mats rather than in a cramped hotel room. (In those circumstances of him being able to throw and flip me properly I will be even more comprehensively demolished, but, you know, yay!) In between having my arse handed to me on a plate, midblue proved to be an interesting and intelligent guy to chat to and my one regret of my fabulous long weekend in beautiful Lisbon (for ATONMANʼs excellent invitational meet) was not having more time to spend with him as he is very congenial company and would very obviously make a knowledgeable and superb tour guide. He is, in short, a monster, but the sort you want to take home to mum, and in the unlikely event that anyone needed another reason to go back to Portugal, midblue would be it. My very highest recommendation.

Great wrestler and really friendly and nice guy. We had to marches and he is really strong. Can"t wait for the third one. Highly recommended.

18–19/01/2019: I had the privilege and the pleasure of taking on the amazing Tiomorbo at ATONMANʼs excellent Lisbon invitational meet and am not ashamed to admit to feeling a bit intimidated in squaring up to this powerfully built slab of muscle. There are veteran sequoia with less trunk girth than this guyʼs thighs. But luckily for me the tactic of throwing myself into our two bouts worked and I was more or less able to get the big powerhouse on the back foot and stay out of trouble. More importantly than that, our two all-too-brief bouts were a lot of sweaty fun and I would love to hit the mats with Tiomorbo again at any opportunity. He has a nice aggressive wrestling style and a clear desire to win, but is careful of his opponent and wrestles safely. Off the mats he is a charming, friendly and engaging guy, easy to talk to and fun to spend time with. Very highly recommended!

15/11/2019: After wanting to meet the legendary badladuk for as long as Iʼve been into wrestling, it was brilliant to have him turn up to my bout versus his mate CoachSal at the Grove Park ring, and even more amazing to have him (all too briefly) get into the ring himself and help CoachSal work me over on the turnbuckles. He is in truly spectacular shape, and the muscles are not just for show, and what were from his perspective just the gentlest of taps to my gut had me hollering for mercy instantly. A beast, but a safe, sane and lovely one: he even bought CoachSal and I dinner after our bout! It is always nice when your expectations about someone arenʼt just met, but are even exceeded: what a great guy badladuk is. My very highest recommendation.

We've spoken for a year, more than enough time to detail the kind of edgy, bloody encounter we both wanted. What ensued was better than we could have ever designed. SquashLad is a handsome bloke, even more handsome with blood streaming down his head and marks across his back and chest. He took great punishment in an ideal ring environment, and we ended the night with a beer and some laughs. A really great fight and a really great friend......but I still wanna break him open again soon. :)

15/11/2019: When you chat to some guys overseas, although you can tell that theyʼre genuine, thereʼs always a degree of skepticism that a bout with them is actually going to be possible. So it was a brilliant surprise to find CoachSal, after chatting to him for ages, making the trip across the pond to see his friends here and also to deal to me as heʼd promised. Itʼs great but rare to find guys into hardcore wrestling and CoachSal is one of the best. Powerful, aggressive and in superb shape, he was as good as his word and made a right mess of me in a punishing and very one-sided bout that hopefully kept our little audience entertained and certainly made me a happy (if sore) little jobber. Always very safely done, CoachSal might be a thug, but he has his head screwed on right, and dinner and a few beers with him after the bout made for a great end to an excellent day. A real find, he has my very highest recommendation and Iʼm looking forward to wrestling him again soon.

I had a really fun wrestle with Squashlad, despite him being heavier and more experienced than me he went at my pace which was good. He managed to get a few taps out of me but I also managed to get a few out of him too. Would happily meet up again and highly recommend meeting him.

20/02/2020: A bout with calad100 at his lovely flat was super easy to arrange and he made for a welcoming and kind host. He was great fun to wrestle, being in superb shape and being strong and determined on the mats. My extra weight largely kept me out of trouble but I didnʼt have it all my own way and wrestling him was a good sweaty workout, with submissions going both ways. He is safe and sane and easy and interesting to talk to. A rematch with him would be very welcome and calad100 is highly recommended.

04/10/2020: After meeting matt richards at the Einsteiger freestyle training camp in Lindow (Mark) in Germany in 2019, and enjoying his company but never quite managing to wrestle him during open mat, it was a pleasant surprise to get invited up to his almost 16 months later to actually get some mat/matt time. Grappling of course, as I can never remember enough of what I learn at Lindow to try it privately, but he seemed fine with that. He proved to be startlingly strong and got me in a nice punishing reverse choke-and-headscissors combination early on, but, having been warned by his previous recommendations to look out for his legs (thank you MeetFighters!) I generally managed to stay out of too much trouble after that, and did my usual unsporting trick with annoyingly athletic guys by just squashing them; but I didnʼt have it all my own way as the last submission I had to concede to him to save my suffering shin from a beautifully executed grapevine. All safely done. Off the mats he proved as charming and interesting company as ever, and was a kind host, running me to and from the station and even taking me for a good Sunday roast at his nice local. A very enjoyable way to spend a rainy autumn day and hopefully we can get a rematch in in due course.

20/08/2020: Getting a bout in with danwrestle at the Grove Park ring couldnʼtʼve been easier and was well worth while. For a lightweight he is startlingly strong and is not afraid to get stuck into a bigger [OK, fatter] guy and push hard for the submission, which made for a sweaty and satisfying bout. We did some competitive subs grappling and some more give-and-take jobber/heel stuff and both were a lot of fun. He has a careful wrestling style and is safe and sane but isnʼt afraid to make use of his strength. Between submissions heʼs a chatty, pleasant and friendly guy, so our time at Grove Park flew by and a rematch is very much needed. Highly recommended.

I had a totally fab meet with Squashlad.. i originally arranged to meet this guy in a few weeks but as we were both free, brought it forward to today.... i thought he wanted a heel/jobber match but in fact we had almost 3 hours subs scrap, both gave as good as we got... Totally the type of meet i like. Both constantly blocking and trying to get the upper hand. A real struggle...!! A few mistakes on my part allowed him to get a couple of subs... A thoroughly decent guy, aggressive when he wants to be, fast too. I will DEFFO recomend him and i look forward to meeting him again. Thanks for coming mate

05/08/2020: Arranged late the night before, on his mats by noon the next day—awesome! The sort of no-mucking-about, letʼs-wrestle kind of guy whom I like to tussle with. When he takes his shirt off itʼs obvious how dedicated he is with the weights and the muscle is not just for show, he is seriously powerful. I stood no chance. But he is not just a brawler, he has good cardio and technique too, and is one of those lads whoʼs been wrestling since their early teens, so I was seriously outclassed, particularly when it quickly became obvious what three months of covid-19 lockdown had done to my normally reasonable stamina. However, he is a gent and likes a good competitive grapple, so he was kind enough to give me plenty of openings, and the resulting taps to a headlock and an rnc were very satisfying. Gifted to me, certainly; but very satisfying! The vast majority of the gurgling and tapping out was, however, done by the short fat bloke here. Always safe and sane and respectful of his opponent, Desterfight was great post-lockdown shock treatment for me, and the bruises made for some excellent souvenirs. Off the mats heʼs a kind and considerate host and easy and interesting to chat to. Highly recommended and hopefully a rematch is not too far away.

I had a fantastic 2-hour-match with Squashlad at the Grove Park ring yesterday. I am not much experienced in wrestling, have not performed so many match so far, and the wrestling bout I had with him is by far the best I have ever had. Our match was composed mainly by submission/grappling holds, he patiently taught me how to perform properly arm/head/hammer locks, in addition to practicing other submission holds. He has a very strong neck and he perfectly knows how to wrestle and adjust as well with a lighter opponent than him, at the end of the match I felt fulfilled and honored to having wrestled this skilled opponent.
I strongly recommend him both for experienced wrestlers and novice as well, he is surely one if the best grappler in London and everyone could learn something with him.
Always safe & sane, off the mat he is a polite man and a good listener as well, although I do not have a solid grasp of the English language.
YES, highly recommended, looking forward to wrestle with him again soon.

10/05/2018
It is always a pleasure to rate the best rated guy on meetfighters. We met at the small venue in Stockwell where I tried to be as much as competitive as possible but his weight and above all powerful and experience made things a little complicated for me.
Craig is a fantastic guy well able to adjust to any opponent he turns on, so guys do not hesitate to wrestle him. It is definitely worth it.
Out of the mat he is a sociable and genuine guy too.

01/04/2016: Had a great wrestle with HHfight at the Grove Park ring and felt really privileged to be one of this fine-wrestler-in-the-making's first grapples in London. My height and weight advantage did mean that things were tricky for him, but this is not a guy to worry about that, he gets stuck in and is super keen and enthusiastic and that combined with his startling strength meant that he did get some submissions off me, particularly with his very effective headlocks. He also nicely had me on the back foot with some good punches when we mixed things up a bit with a boxer v. wrestler bout. HHfight is in great shape and with his hunger to win, once he gains a bit more technique and learns to pace himself he'll be a formidable opponent. Safe and sane on the mats, off them he's a chatty and interesting guy and therefore I'm very much looking forward to another match with him. Highly recommended.
10/05/2018: A rematch with HHfight took far too long to arrange (which was entirely my fault), but it was well worth waiting for. We met up this time at the Stockwell matroom and had a good sweaty tussle, which will hopefully this time be just a prologue to some more regular grappling. A quality opponent.

I met Squashlad last night for a wrestle. It was a very civilised encounter meeting first in a pub for a drink and quick bite of food. On first impression Squashlad is unassuming, chatty and affable, a good rapport some built and we where then on our way to wrestle. Wrestling is his thing...he moves effortlessly, applies holds with what appears to be little or no exertion on his part. I on the other hand was tied up in knots several times, just having to wait it out, or tap. I was unable to
muscle my way out of his vast technical skill. We both come from very different training backgrounds and in wrestling I was outclassed by this man. Squashlad did graciously show me some moves, and made it seem easy , but it has shown me that wrestling in not my natural combat style. If you want to wrestle with a man who knows his stuff you won’t find better than Squashlad. He is also an absolute gent and a friendship was forged over some more refreshments and banter post match. Recommended .

15/02/2020: A bout with ToeTheLine was the perfect end to a great trip to sunny Auckland. He does like winding his opponents up, and has a reputation as a bit of a hard man, so I was expecting great things, and Iʼm pleased to say that he is indeed a five-star opponent. Thankfully for my prominent nose and pretty face [ahem] we werenʼt doing his preferred styles of bareknuckle boxing or brawling, but rather having a go on my preferred turf of submission grappling. Because he is, despite the taste for the rough stuff, an absolute gentleman, and both accommodating of and considerate to his opponent. He sticks completely to what youʼve agreed, and is safe and sane. Unfortunately I suspect that all I achieved is convincing him that wrestling is not his thing, which is rather a pity, because heʼs an impressive and dedicated athlete who clearly trains hard, and Iʼm sure could be a great wrestler if it was his thing. But you know, you like what you like, and I really admire and respect his willingness to try new things and give other disciplines a go. And if and when he does wrestle again, although it might not be a FILA-pleasing bout, he will dominate most guys by just outmuscling them. Off the mats he is a lovely, entertaining and friendly guy, and the post-match pints and banter were almost as much fun as the wrestling. Iʼm not sure quite what weʼll do fight wise when we next meet up; but Iʼm sure that we will meet up again, because ToeTheLine is a quality bloke, and highly recommended by me.

Had such a good time wrestling with Squashlad. He is a strong guy with good knowledge of submission wrestling. I enjoyed getting worked over but also got couple of subs out of him. Highly recommended

14/02/2020: My match with jobber boy was no sweat at all to arrange, but plenty sweaty in reality in the Auckland summer sunshine. It was great of him to give up his lunch break for a quick Friday tussle with me, and he proved to be a resilient wrestler, using his leanly muscular physique to good advantage, and not being the total jobber that his profile name would indicate—he likes to crank on a hold too, and does it well, even versus much heavier opponents such as me. Between subs he is personable and pleasant and easy to chat to, with a big winning smile. Safe, sane and highly recommended, he is a must for a longer rematch.

It was great to meet the world famous Squashlad. Easy communication and such a nice friendly person.
Enjoyed our match even though he was much heavier and very hard to throw off! He is surprisngly strong and his choke type holds are overpowering. A good tussle.
Thanks for the meet-up and look forward to another match sometime.

15/02/2020: Setting up a bout with Scissornz was super easy, and having the bout was super pleasurable, as heʼs a skilled and nice guy. His years of Olympic freestyle wrestling experience were very evident, but he was accommodating enough for us to do my more usual submission grappling without complaint. There is a reason that wrestling has weight classes, and lightweight v. mid-heavyweight is hardly fair, so I was able to stay out of too much trouble by essentially just lying on top of him, but do not underestimate him—he is startlingly quick and strong, and took me down in a nice tight and punishing headlock that took me ages to work my way out of, and there is a similarly good reason that his profile name is Scissornz. (Not that I was struggling too much to get out of that one!) Off the mat(tress) he is a charming and easy guy to talk to, full of useful information about Auckland and interesting tidbits and anecdotes about the New Zealand wrestling scene past and present. He even got the post-match drinks in. A lovely guy and a skilled wrestler, he is highly recommended by me and I look forward to welcoming him back to London in due course and getting a rematch in.

Had a great match with Squashed. Very keen wrestler with great technique, fit and aggressive. We had a very intense, long session. Great sweaty brawl and work out. Squashad has way more skill than me but my weight advantage helped a couple of times at least. Very nice guy also, and good to share a couple of beers after the match and talk. Hope to meet up again.

12/02/2017: It was great to get outdoorsdad as my first opponent on my Kiwi holiday as he's big and strong and doesn't quit. When he's on top of you he's very hard to shift, and when you're on top of him he makes you work for the submission, having a good feisty attitude and a real desire to win, which made for a really enjoyable match. He's also a kind and gracious host and is interesting to chat to and to share a few post-match beers with; and it turns out that we have really quite a startling amount in common! Outdoorsdad is safe and sane and comes very highly recommended and is a must for a rematch when I'm back in the tropical paradise that is Wellington.
09/02/2020: Back in windless Wellington again, and of course that meant a rematch with my mate outdoorsdad. As ever I struggled against his strength and his height and weight advantage, but there are worse things than to be pinned under him, and it really sharpened my desire not to let him get the takedown. Sometimes I managed that, in which case my bit more experience meant that I usually managed to go on to get the submission, but often heʼd just bat my puny struggles aside and get me pinned and helpless. All safely done though; a pleasure as ever—and some new Kiwi beers to try sitting in the sunshine for a post-match cool-down and a bit of a catch up. I love holidays!

I enjoyed wrestling squsahlad and also look forward to wrestling him again. A great guy and a great wrestler. Good control (very safe and sane wrestler) and also easy to arrange meeting him. Highly recommended.

13/02/2017: It's always a bit of a challenge taking on a guy who's trained in both freestyle and BJJ and is a real outdoors man, hiking, search and rescue, you name it, so I was pleased to hold my own against KiwiWrestler when he kindly hosted a match for me at his. We mainly did submission grappling but he did some coaching for me in freestyle as well as grappling, which will be really useful in the run up to the Brandenburg freestyle training camp. Don't be fooled by his low-key demeanor, KiwiWrestler knows his stuff, and unleashes his get-in-quick attack once you're on the mats, but he's completely safe and sane, and what is obvious from the off is that he's a thoroughly nice guy: he's a good host and an interesting bloke to chat to between subs. I look forward to taking up his offer of a post-match beer the next time that we get to meet and grapple, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later. Highly recommended.
07/02/2020: The latest rematch was a fair time in coming, but was well worth waiting for. Again KiwiWrestler proved a top quality opponent, and again we were pretty even matched, me with a bit of a height and weight advantage, him with a bit more nous and with the more pukka technique befitting a BJJ blue belt. I think without exception whichever of us got the initial advantage would go on to get the submission, but sometimes that could take an age! He probably edged this one, but good for him, and it has left me with a desire to up my game. KiwiWrestler is a must for anyone properly into their wrestling and hopefully our next bout wonʼt be so far into the future.

When Squashlad (Squash for short hereafter ) first send me a message asking if I would be keen for a wrestle, I checked his profile and had a minor panic attack. This guy has wrestled about 20x the number of wrestlers I had. Finally I gained enough confidence to say yes, and I am very pleased I did. Squash pinned me more times than I can remember, but always let me retain some dignity. He is in good shape and knows what he is doing. Everything seemed effortless to him, while I was a sweaty mess. Like the hundreds before me, I definitely recommend Squash for a match, and look forward to our next rumble. He's a very nice guy off the mats too. Five stars.

06/02/2020: After missing out on possible opportunities to wrestle Huttman09 in 2017, 2018 and 2019, 2020 proved to be my year, and I got a sweaty Waitangi Day tussle in with the Kiwi muscleman, and a great experience it was too. Heʼs in cracking shape, one of those guys who make you think that maybe you might have bitten off a bit more than you can chew when they take their shirt off, and certainly he is plenty strong. Thankfully for me though, a bit more experience combined with the increasingly sweat-soaked nature of the bout (February is mid-summer in New Zealand) meant that I was able to slip out of trouble, and then get a choke or armbar or two in as needed. It was, however, hard work, as I needed to be quick to get things on before he powered out of them. Between subs heʼs a very easy guy to chat to, friendly and engaging and with a big sunny smile on him even when heʼs otherwise doing an Incredible Hulk impression and popping out the veins on his neck and traps! Heʼs safe and sane and very careful of his opponent. Heʼs also a kind and generous host and the match was very simple to arrange. Huttman09 is therefore highly recommended and a must for a good sweaty rematch when Iʼm back in the Kiwi sunshine.

Had an epic battle with squash. He's a live wire and will fight you hard to stay on top. It all got a bit brutal and exhausting but was great fun. Great bloke to chat to out of thé ring. And by Christ does he wind me up in the ring. Looking forward to the next round.

05/01/2020: A great small group meet at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats meant that I got a very welcome second crack at the powerhouse that is RugbyBear, but the result was exactly the same—and no surprises there! I have still to get a sub off him, despite shamelessly cheating and guillotine choking him when his head was down and not ready for the restart, whereas Iʼve now tapped out to the muscleman so often that Iʼve lost count. Itʼs a real pleasure to get ring time with a guy who clearly loves his wrestling as much as I do, who is super strong and not averse to using his strength to overpower his opponent, and who doesnʼt mind things getting nice and feisty, while still keeping everything safe and sane, and friendly outside the ropes. A nice guy before and after, a bit of a monster in the ring—what more could you want? Hopefully this will be only the second of many bruising battles against this quality opponent, although I think I might be waiting a while to take a sub off him! Highly recommended.

I was, if honest, apprehensive. Not about meeting Squashlad but about my first real session. But Squashlad put me at ease very quickly and I soon relaxed and started to really enjoy the wrestle we had.
His experience and strength are well worth a match! I can’t help feel he took it easy on me (and I feel battered, in a good way) but regardless I learnt a lot in just two short hours (avoid the ropes!!) ha ha.
Practical tips for a beginner, like me, coupled with examples of some holds and what to do - an awesome time!
I would recommend a match with Squashlad most highly! Kind, chatty and knows his stuff that’s for sure. Until next time!! Oh oh - and I got a few taps in from him - ha ha which he paid me back for with no uncertain terms.

16/01/2020: Fitgymlad is clearly going to be an excellent addition to the London wrestling scene, although unfortunately I canʼt see that he will manage to be all that active for a while yet given his punishing training schedule and existing startlingly macho sporting commitments: he clearly works out more than I sleep! And it shows in a superb muscular physique that will make him a formidable opponent on the mats once he has the time to devote to his latest sport. Organizing the bout with him was as easy as can be—he even booked the Grove Park ring for us despite not having been there before; communicating with him was simple; and he was reliable and bang on time. Once down to business his inexperience was fairly evident, but he is a quick learner, and coupled with his stamina, impressive strength, greater height and desire to win I didnʼt have it all my own way, and eventually he was taking me down more often than the other way around, and even got three lovely submissions out of me, including with a beautiful skull-crushing headlock. At that Johnny 5 pace of development he will be using me as a sweat towel rather than an opponent in no time. Safe, sane, charming on and off the mats, easy on the eye, a true sportsman in all senses of the word, the well named Fitgymlad is clearly going to make a big splash, so grab a bout with the big ironman while he is still just about beatable!

Squashlad over-praises me and most unfairly runs down his own beautiful abilities. He's a class wrestler, and - I don't care what he says - definitely above my level (so there, buddy! :-) ) . As I pointed out to him re. our previous meet, we were going to see if I could avoid being outclassed and beaten up again. Until he decided he wanted to "play" rather than wrestle "straight" I was once more in the nicest possible way completely outclassed. He's got great effortless wrestling skills to go with a stripped-down, naturally developed body in perfect proportion, and he instinctively finds his opponent's weak point, errors or vulnerabilities, exploiting them fluently with the minimum of effort. Jiu jitsu isn't wrestling, and my encounters with him prove it! I'm also perhaps not the most natural heel yet - we'll work on that, hopefully :-) He's been very kind in his rec., but I'm delighted he enjoys our matches, and meeting him again was definitely a highlight of a very enjoyable meet.

04/01/2020: It was excellent to get the legendary Cymrofight back in Ynys Prydain and back on the mats at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats. Our previous bouts had been submission grappling, where he could put his jujitsu skills to use, and in which to avoid undignified tapping out Iʼd had to resort to sitting on him, but this time we mixed it up with some give-and-take and some jobber–heel work. As Iʼd thought might be the case, my cluelessness about pro wrestling and his sweet and sunny nature meant that it probably wasnʼt the most convincing pro squash match thatʼs ever taken place, despite him very much looking the part in the big black heelʼs pro boots, but it was nevertheless a lot of fun, and frankly Iʼll do whatever style he likes to get more mat time with his quality wrestler and absolutely lovely guy, because it is astonishing just how little time 20 minutes is—even when youʼre in a painful leg lace. I wish Cymrofight all the best in his endeavours overseas, but weʼre looking forward to getting him back as a regular on the UK wrestling scene. Safe and sane, a highly recommended, highly lovely highlight of a great meet.

04/01/2020: Gmguy is always a great addition to a meet, with his cheery, friendly demeanour and his enthusiasm for getting onto the mats, and it was excellent to get to take him on again at the Grapevine Group meet at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats. I had forgotten just how strong he is and it took a lot of effort to keep him under control, but that made for a really good sweaty tussle. Off the mats he is as pleasant a guy as ever, always good for a chat and an encouraging word between bouts. As a result I am looking forward to seeing him and taking him on again soon, and he comes highly recommended by me.

He's well named. I didn't stand a chance against his skill, strength and experience and got duly squashed. But all in a gentlemanly, considerate way. If I could get a regular session with someone like this, I might start to learn something. Strongly recommended.

04/01/2020: Itʼs always good to see new guys coming to the Manchester meets, and if theyʼre friendly, outgoing guys who want to get on the mats and wrestle, then their presence makes the meets even better—and this includes WeeJimmie. Heʼs hardly wee, heʼs a compact, solid and muscular guy whose considerable strength and mat presence makes him a challenge to manoeuvre and submit. Once he couples his strength and enthusiasm with a bit more technique he will be a real force to be reckoned with. Off the mats he is unassuming but pleasant and approachable, a nice social type who added good things to the meet. He came a considerable distance to join us, but hopefully he enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having him there, and with luck weʼll get the stocky powerhouse back down before long. Take him on when you can!

I had my longest match to date with Squashlad. He has loads of stamina and just kept coming back for more. He made me work hard for my subs. He is modest about his skills and is better than he thinks. Great company off the mats too and I'm glad we had time for a beer later. Will the rematch be even longer???
29.12.19 Managed to get a rematch in with this charming guy. Not so charming on the mats though and he's stronger than last time we met, and tougher too. I always admire his stamina. Great match...hope we don't have to wait so long next time.

27/09/2015: Had a fantastic match with this strong, experienced, seriously in-shape wrestler at his excellent home set up. I learnt a huge amount from his calm and disciplined approach to his grappling as despite spending perhaps the majority of the time on top, Crushhhh was virtually always in control and he'd quietly bide his time, get the reversal and then the submission. He's hugely strong and particularly effective in getting submissions from crushing holds like headlocks (which I'm normally able to hold out in), so is well named, and is clearly serious about his gym work and his sport, but is nevertheless a very technical and skilled wrestler who knows his holds, using his strength only when he needs to. He's also a generous host and an engaging, interesting and funny guy who's great to spend some time with off the mats so he comes very highly recommended. A rematch is most definitely on the cards!
22/04/2017: Well that was a rematch that took an awfully long time to arrange, and I'm not sure why, but good things come to those who wait, and it was certainly just as much fun as round 1—even if much briefer, as we had other important things to get on to, like the fabulous lasagne that he'd cooked for us and a trip to his five-star beer lover's local! I am still scoreless against the muscle, but at least spent more of this match on top, although to no avail. Crushhhh is a superb host, a super guy and a great wrestler: what more could you want?
29/12/2019: It had been a long time since we last had a match, and it took a while for him to get into his stride, so I did think that maybe I was finally getting somewhere. But then the leg lock came out, and I was back to tapping out all over the place. Oh well. Still as lovely and charming a guy as ever.

I met Squashlad for a grapple on my home mats. Despite the fact that I was hopelessly outclassed by this bigger, stronger guy with well over 200 opponents to his name , he was keen to ensure we both had a fun time and kindly wrestled me at my (considerably lower!) level. He was also totally respectful of my recent arm injury, although he more than made up for it with some killer holds on my other arm! A lovely guy to spend time with, both on and off the mats - sexy, relaxed, easy to talk to, witty and funny - what’s not to like? If you’re one of the few not to have wrestled Squashlad yet, seize the chance! You won’t be disappointed. I certainly wasn’t and I’ll be back for more as soon as he has room in his diary!

19/12/2019: Iʼd sort of always wanted to wrestle Sebastian Flyte to the ground, so it was a delight to finally do so in the beauty of the Chiltern Hills, in what was, while not quite Castle Howard, certainly the most attractive matroom Iʼve ever wrestled in! But calebluegrappler is not just easy on the eye—he also brews excellent coffee. And prepares fabulous tasty sandwiches. And makes for witty, intelligent and interesting company. And is just generally a very fine host and a pleasure to spend time with. And looks stunning in a straw boater. Was there anything else? Oh yes! We wrestled. Which was fab fun too. He has clearly learnt a lot in a relatively short space of time, is feisty and competitive and has a clear desire to win. Which, you know, if I was a lean mean lightweight too, he probably wouldʼve. But Iʼm not, so I sat on him. Hey, youʼve got to say thanks for good hospitality somehow. Hopefully we can meet again very soon, because the Lord Flyte is wrestling aristocracy, and not to be missed. Safe and sane, a controlled and skilled wrestler, get a match in with calebluegrappler if you can. Very highly recommended.

I was invited by another guy to wrestle with him and a couple of other guys, including Squashlad. I didn't know what to expect, but was very happy to have a couple of rounds with this guy. He's a scrappy wrestler with some skill, a really nice chap and good fun to be around. I'm glad we had the chance to meet and wrestle!

29/12/2019: GymBoyJ was a great addition to my last grappling meet of 2019, although it was slightly sobering to be in a little group of four guys and realize that, despite appearances, youʼre the baby of the group—the three older guys all being in much better shape! GymBoyJ is, shall we say, well named, and all that muscle is not just for show—he is seriously strong. Thankfully for me he was only just getting back into grappling after a break, and had a cautious approach to his wrestling after encountering a few uncontrolled idiots in his last few matches, so I was able to get a sneaky sub or two off him on those occasions when I could stay out of the way of the power being applied. When it was, however, I was going down! But then that wasnʼt exactly unenjoyable.... A safe and sane nice guy, take the muscleman on if you can, he is highly recommended.

Squashlad is one good guy. It is clear he loves getting on the mat and is ready to take on all challengers. He is tough, has solid grappling skills and is a strong positional grappler. I look forward to another round when our paths cross. Off the mats, he is easy to chat with and a genuinely nice guy. If you get the opportunity, wrestle him!

29/12/2019: Sometimes in this lark youʼre so far out of your depth that thereʼs nothing to be done other than just roll with it and enjoy your lesson—so I did. It was no surprise that I was so completely and easily outclassed given that MKellʼs grappling reputation precedes him a little like the bow wave of a supertanker, but I was still very pleasantly taken unawares by him: not so much by his skills, which were expected, nor by his strength, which was too, but by his ability to use both effectively, both alternately and together. He is not one of the Zen super technicians who seem to regard any application of force as cheating—you get the power to take you down—nor one of the bulldozers whoʼve never seen the need to learn any significant technique when outmuscling the other guy works just fine thanks—he clearly knows his stuff and likes to make use of it—but heʼs rather a wrestler who has both skill and strength at his disposal. And as a result wrestling him is quite the experience. And a very enjoyable one too. Thankfully for me he is very calm and measured in his approach—you are controlled and manoeuvred, not flattened—and he is the very definition of the description “safe and sane”, so despite the huge gap in size, skill and strength, wrestling him was an absolute pleasure, and Iʼd love to do it again—and I recommend that you do too. And, you know, if you have no choice but to be pinned motionless and helpless on a sweaty mat in a chilly industrial unit in Walthamstow in December (which I didnʼt) there are worse ways to while away the time than under 226 lbs of muscle!

Really friendly guy, extremely easy to set up a match with at the mat room - he looks great in his red speedos!
The match started off not going in my favour and I tapped a few things... I eventually managed to turn the tables and squash lad got well and truly squashed! I must say it was great fun to make him submit countless times and he suffers so well, especially in camel clutches, leg scissors and spladles!
Looking forward to next match already :-)

20/11/2019: It was super easy to set up a bout with the young powerhouse that is skadoskesutton at the Stockwell matroom, and his strength, confidence and outgoing and friendly manner made for a good fun tussle and a great evening. Heʼs more experienced than you would guess from his number of opponents on here, has an impressive physique and clearly likes to dominate his opponent. We did some sweaty submission grappling, where a bit more experience kept me out of too much trouble, and then moved on to some jobber–heel promission, and here skadoskesutton came into his own. Heʼs got a really good repertoire of punishing holds, the strength to make even a bigger opponent tap out in them, the skill to ensure theyʼre put on safely, and the sadistic streak to enjoy seeing his opponent suffering in them! Lovely stuff. Heʼs promised me Iʼve only seen about 30% of what he can do in demolishing bigger guys, so the rematch is eagerly anticipated. Highly recommended.

2019 Nov Craig once again proved to be a star making the long journey from London to sunny Lowestoft and thankfully trains, weather and seagulls all behaved themselves on this occasion. Neither of us realised quite how long it had been, over two years in fact and it would have been good if the visit had been longer which is always a good sign. We may have spent more time on the well known wrestling moves of eating and drinking than Boston's and armbars but it was a very enjoyable time non the less. When we did get down to it, Craig's nipples may have suffered due to my increased appetite but he seemed to like it and whimpers beautifully. Hopefully it won't be so long till my next feast.

After far too long I had the pleasure of Craig visiting me in my new home town. Unfortunately he had the pleasure of weekend rail disruption but he braved trains, coaches, riding pigs bear back and possibly swimming finally he made it to the most easterly town in the UK.
When we finally got down to it Craig had changed from a compliant jobber to being competitive and he is a strong guy. Although he claims to never go to the gym I think those muscles came from somewhere. We had a great sweaty battle and thankfully when we were both dripping Craig remembered his true vocation and let me enjoy my tiny cruel streak.
Lovely guy, lovely guest and strong wrestler. Hopefully not so long till next time.

Having spoken to Craig some time back (ok not really that long ago) when he got back in touch I really flattered him by confessing i had forgotten we had spoken. In my defence, I don't have one, thankfully he wasn't so petty as to let that stop him visiting me and what a great time I had.

While we competed to see who could be the most self-effacing about our respective bodies and discussing the mega hotties we have both met I had trouble convincing him that he is a hotty. I liked his profile photos but the reality was even better, furry chest, great strong legs and fab nips, not to mention handsome with dreamy eyes.

Most of us have little quirks on this site and fortunately Craig and I have complimentary ones, occasionally I like to just hurt someone and i always like nips, he likes being hurt and having his nips played with. Bingo! He suffered beautifully, and seemed to enjoy all I could throw at him (apart frrom the tickling ha ha). He may have said I was the worst heel he had ever met but I took this as a compliment because I think he meant that I enjoy providing pleasure and pain.

Lovely guy, great afternoon hope to repeat soon,

It's always intimidating to meet a guy who's much bigger than you, who's had more past opponents than you've had hot dinners and whose profile lists his heel's enjoyment of applying intense holds and (just some of!) the injuries that he's inflicted. And sure enough in no time at all the big heel had me pinned to his mats, bleeding and helpless, while he toyed with me and made idle comments about disposal of the body parts. But actually no, hugefan's probably the worst heel that I've ever met! His "merciless evil laugh" as he clamps on a hold is more of a sweet chuckle and he's far too nice to hurt anyone, and spent as much time giving me a very competent massage between holds as racking me in them. A strong, in shape and enthusiastic gentle giant who knows his holds, hugefan is a friendly, welcoming host who's discovered the elixir of youth, who wrestles safely and sanely and who ensures that his guests (and their nipples!) have a great time. Very highly recommended and I'm very much looking forward to the rematch!

11/08/2019
First Wrestle
Thanks for the wrestle mate- longer next time!
I met squash lad recently toward the end of a group meet- what a great guy- funny- and good on the mats- cheers mate- looking forward to our next wrestle fella- wrestlers give him a try!

Second Wrestle
12/10/2019
Had another wrestle with squashlad!!
Keep them coming- that's what i say!!!love wrestling him- such a nice guy and great wrestler- wed just keep going given the chance!- more wrestles bring them on!!!

11/08/2019: Oiled 8 at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats threw up some excellent new guys and quality new (to me) wrestlers, none more so than beverleyboi. We had an all-too-brief supposedly “dry” wrestle prior to the oily business—but it was hard to tell the difference with the amount of sweating going on. Which is my idea of a good match. As the briefest of glances at his truly impressive physique would indicate, I was easily outmuscled on the mat, and pinned and submitted. But, you know, there are worse places to be left flattened and helpless than under beverleyboiʼs sweaty chest, and it impressed me that he didnʼt just rely on his considerable strength and muscle his way to victory, but coupled it with some good technique to achieve a nice brace of textbook submissions for his easy win. Off the mats heʼs a lovely smiley, cheery and approachable guy, and he added to a great meet with his positive outlook and friendly manner as well as with his obvious aesthetic qualities! Unsurprisingly he has my very highest recommendation and I hope that I can get a rematch in with him sooner rather than later. And if you get the opportunity for some mat time with him, then drop whatever youʼre doing and take it!

Having been chatting for a while, had a heel/jobber match with Squashlad whilst in London yesterday. He arranged the matroom and met me at Stockwell Tube.
We had 2 full hours of sweaty grappling on the mats and, if this isn’t a contradiction, he’s a hugely nice heel! That said, his favourite arm bar and chokes were applied with some force, as were headscissors from some powerful thighs (got him in mine once!); his facepins were also effective.
He’s a witty and intelligent guy, very easy to get along with and good to chat with.
We agreed to meet again, hopefully before too long (he may even get to experience more of my scissors!) and am really looking forward to it. In the meantime, a huge recommendation from me.
18/9/19 update.....despite moving to London, it’s taken longer than it should have done to sort a rematch, but it was well worth the wait. As ever, Squashlad was a true gent (even as a heel!). Despite it being another heel/jobber match, I even managed one sub from him. Roll on our next meet - and sooner than last time!

Met Squashlad for a bout after a quick arrangement. A really nice person, very experienced and strong, had a great match on the mat, he knows his moves and holds and always manages to put you in a difficult position with total respect to rules and limits, just the type of bout both opponents like. Long stamina to wrestle on, an incentive to try hard to win! A great personality with interests in many areas, definitely a nice company off the mat! Thank you for the experience! Looking forward to the next meeting, hopefully very soon!

26/08/2019: An easy-to-arrange match with a kind and genial host made for a great relaxing finish to a hot and sweaty bank holiday weekend. Although it did also get me even hotter and sweatier! London Wrestler is enthusiastic and experienced, and strong and determined, so itʼs great fun taking him on. He is super friendly, chatty and outgoing, intelligent and interesting, and clearly likes to make sure that his guests are well looked after, which was lovely. The sweat meant that I was largely able to slip out of his clutches and stay out of trouble—but do not underestimate his strength! Heʼs a delightful guy, safe and sane on the mats and a charmer off them, so he comes highly recommended by me and a rematch will hopefully not be far away.

Have met squashlad twice now, once at my old place a few years ago, and again tonight. He made the effort to travel to me which was really awesome. Hasn't changed much, still a total jobber who can take two heels beating him up.

From the second we got on the mats we all went at it, and whislt we managed to get a fair amount of submissions, he wanted more. Was great to see his pain threshold is still high! Had a fab time with him and UKWrestler, both lovely blokes.

Would highly recommend Squashlad, great conversationalist, reliable, good fun on the mats and just an overal lovely chap.

Would definitely meet again and if you've not met him, I'd suggest messaging him and seeing for yourself how awesome he is. 10/10👍🏻👍🏻😁

03/09/2019: Itʼs cracking to have the amazing SubsGuy82 back on the site and, especially after all the horrors that heʼs been through the last year or so, back on the mats. I am pleased to report that his philosophical good humor, excellent hosting skills, powerful thighs and devasting fists are all unchanged. As indeed is his taste in doing nasty painful things to poor innocent jobbers. And on tonightʼs occasion, in the powerful company of ukwrestler, when it was largely two-on-one (the fiends!), I was properly taken apart. His punching is truly impressive, and I think I may have made a big mistake in introducing him to the idea that any heel worth his salt shouldnʼt be averse to using the belt left so carelessly close to the mats. Ow. All, however, always done for fun, and safely and with care for the guy whom heʼs taking apart. Itʼs a great, properly matted set up that heʼs got in the new place, heʼs always super welcoming and friendly, and hopefully now that heʼs able to be back into the jobber-wrecking game we can wrestle much more often than has recently been possible. Britpro royalty and highly recommended. Oh—and yes, he is still that handsome!

It was great to meet Craig.
He is very strong and I feel I was no great match for him but he was kind enough to tap a few times having got him in a few holds he had shown me. I hope I can remember them for the next time!
A really lovely man, willing to hand on his great skills and to spend time with chatting and sorting out the world.

I look forward to meeting Craig again & recommend you do too.
2/9/19
I have been lucky enough to meet Craig a few times now and each time is more enjoyable than the last. This is not to say he is averse to getting many uncomfortable submissions from me: he is very skilled, has great strength and easily ties knots in my feeble frame. A delightful, charming man.

09/08/2017: It was a privilege to be one of Johnrpageʼs first opponents for a good relaxing grapple at his place in the West End. Heʼs enthusiastic and startlingly strong, with a good intuitive grasp of things and some impressive scissors, so we had a fun tussle, and his natural fitness and strength coming from all his cycling and swimming were very evident. Heʼs also a kind host and an intelligent and interesting guy to chat to, about all sorts of things, and although a large glass of red wine may not be a personal trainerʼs idea of post-match hydration, it certainly worked for me! Johnrpage is highly recommended and safe and sane and Iʼm looking forward to seeing his progress when we have a rematch.
04/03/2019: This was my fourth-odd trip to Johnʼs place for a post-work grapple and Iʼm sure it wonʼt be the last. I obviously have a selective memory, because you would think by now that I wouldnʼt be (pleasantly, but painfully) startled by how strong he is, but I always am. I do always remember what a good cook and a kind host he is though, and those are rather nice qualities for a good friend to have.
02/09/2019: One of my most regular wrestling meets now, and thereʼs a reason for that: he is always such a pleasure to wrestle and spend time with.

I met up with Squashlad during a 4-day intensive wrestling camp and he was a blast to roll around with. Twice my size and weight, I was outclassed at first, but I used my speed and quicker reflexes to take him down and score some early points. But once we began the ground game, I was at a great disadvantage. His defense was impenetrable as I attempted various gut wrenches and maneuvers to get him on his back until I tired myself out just being on the offensive. When he countered, I was already exhausted and couldn't resist the force of his mass and power on top of me. After gaining the top position, he easily tired me out and waited until I was forced to submit and lose to a pin. Squashlad is an awesome and nice guy off the mat. Very friendly and a huge wrestling enthusiast. I recommend him to any wrestlers in the area!

09/06/2019: The Einsteiger International Wrestling Camp in Lindow (Mark) is always a blast, and always an education, not least because of all the great guys whom you get to meet and wrestle. And B2Bomber is a five-star experience both on and off the mats. It could be humiliating being so effortlessly and repeatedly taken down and wrapped up by him when heʼs basically half my size, and his impressive speed, enthusiasm and power are very evident when you wrestle him, but when itʼs a guy this nice and the wrestlingʼs this much sweaty fun being nimbly shown up for the lumbering lump that you are is a laugh rather than an embarrassment. And off the mats heʼs somehow even nicer a guy, being the epitome of American charm, good manners, generosity and outgoing friendliness. In other words, a quality, talented wrestler and a quality, lovely person—he has my very highest recommendation. Wrestle the international traveller while you can; and, if youʼve got the speed and reaction times that I havenʼt—pin him down and teach him a lesson for me!

Honestly if you ever get the chance to meet this guy say yes in a heartbeat, he’s one of the nicest people, he’s very kind, very caring, got a wicked sense of humour and just all round awesome, as for the wrestling FUCK the man knows how to put on a chokehold, he was getting me to tap in seconds flat at certain points, he’s extremely strong and knows his body well and how to use it, I came home all battered and bruised! I would say yes to another round any day, I can’t recommend him enough!

28/08/2019: A stress-free and uncomplicated setting up of a bout is usually an indication that your opponent is a proper wrestling enthusiast too, and wants to get down to business. And Toughsnowflake does. He was so into it that he was nearly a day early. And he was every bit as tough and as witty as his profile name would suggest. He is also nicely put together, extremely handsome, and the possessor of some considerable crushing power, especially in his legs, which I was eventually forced to tap out to, rather than risk a broken rib, after mouthing off too much that I wouldnʼt. They are apparently dancerʼs legs, although I think heʼd look equally at home on the rugby field. The thug has warned me that if I call him a thug in this recommendation he will hunt me down, so obviously I am delighted to confirm that heʼs a complete thug. But heʼs also safe and sane and respectful, enthusiastic and committed, very mature for his tender years, very strong, stupidly flexible, charming, and a delight to spend time with. And anyways a bit of a taste for the rough stuff is a big plus in my books. And oh, the wrestling? Well, my bit more experience largely kept me out of trouble, and on top more often than not, but when youʼre taking on a lad this strong and committed, and this truly ludicrously flexible, that doesnʼt necessarily translate into many submissions—just a lot of sweat and (extremely enjoyable) frustration. So I had to choke him into submission. A lot. Well, until he started to learn how to counter that. And given that I can barely make him tap now, his strength means I suspect that our rematch will be much more even, and I could well end up being taken apart. And this is before considering, for all you boxers out there, that heʼs quite handy with his fists too.... So take the young hunk on while heʼs still just about controllable. Very highly recommended. For a thug.

SquashLad....
Travelled a long to meet me up and had a Wrestling session..

His enormous endurance level surprised me.
His never give up attitude made me mad to pin him. It went 2-0. He was liking the pain, which I was giving to him. But thoroughly I enjoyed the session.

Needless to say about his hosting....
Proper human being is scripted for him...
Need to keep in contact with the gentleman...

Highly recommended..

23/06/2019: Itʼs great to have the young Indian muscleman with us here in England, and wrestling him was well worth a trip upriver to Oxford. It was a sweaty match in midsummer and he certainly looks the kushti business when heʼs hot and sweaty! Big shoulders, big legs, and massive biceps, the muscles arenʼt just for looks and heʼs got considerable power, crushing two good subs out of me. Still, it couldʼve been a whole lot more, and I was pleased that a combination of sweat, stubbornness and old guy wiles kept me out of too much trouble. Between subs heʼs an interesting and engaging guy to chat with, outgoing and adventurous and keen to try new things, and it was a great pleasure to spend the afternoon with him. A rematch on a trip down to London for him is already in the planning, and Iʼm sure heʼll be looking to make me tap out a lot more. Wrestle08 is a safe and sane nice guy and comes highly recommended. Wrestle him while you can.
24/08/2019: Got my rematch in with the impressive young Indian bull elephant here in London and heʼs even more muscular and confident than before. Always a pleasure to spend time with, including during a walking tour of Central London and over some dinner. He may not be with us in England for much longer, so catch him while you can!

Wow! What can I say, Squashlad is one of the most handsome, charming and professional guys I have ever wrestled with. He knew exactly how to handle it as he has way more experience than me so I didn’t feel like having no chance from the beginning, I d love to meet him again in the next event.

11/08/2019: Umbreon was one of the top finds of an excellent Oiled 8 at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats. It was a very well attended meet, with lots of quality wrestlers, new and old. Umbreonʼs slightly shy demeanour hides (briefly) an enthusiastic wrestler with some really good instincts and some impressive speed. His lack of experience and my considerable extra bulk meant that he was defending most of the time, but he did so with aplomb, and is clearly one of those guys to whom wrestling will come easily, as his instinctive defence was effective and intelligent and if weʼd been closer in weight I would not have been able to break him down to a submission. He is in spectacular shape and his stamina means that he will quickly be giving even bigger guys a run for their money. Between subs he is an interesting and easy guy to talk to, being polite and friendly. Safe and talented, umbreon is a wrestler that you need to meet. Hopefully I can get a longer rematch in with him soon.

Good grappler. We got to roll at a Manchester tournament and he was fun, full on and formidable. Nice lad too. For a Kiwi😆

17/10/2015: Had a good if brief grapple with scotsgrappler at the meet v. our Italian friends at Pippa's and I'd be very keen to meet him again when his mind's less on being the host with the most and running a smooth tournament and more on the job at hand! It was good fun though and he's very experienced as well as being safe and sane and a pleasure to spend time with both on and off the mats, so he's very highly recommended.
11/08/2019: It had been truly ages since Iʼd managed to cross swords with scotsgrappler so it was extra good to come across him at the excellent Oiled 8 at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats and get a bit of mat time in with him again. Unfortunately a bit of blood meant that it was a swiftly curtailed bout, but it was still a lot of fun. Hopefully another round wonʼt have to wait years! Quality guy.

Had a great, all be it short meet with Squash in his hotel. He is a very strong guy with a good body and is way too modest about his looks. This was a bit of a short one sided meet, but I still enjoyed his company. Got him in a few chokes, scissors and lifts - a pleasure to dominate. Total gent and hope to meet up again 🐻

10/08/2019: After trying and failing to meet the somewhat elusive ChokeHoldBear for literally years, I was, shall we, say, somewhat cross to find out that my phone hadnʼt delivered his message and that heʼd been standing outside my hotel in Manchester 20 minutes previously—and had, presumably, now decided that I was a waste of time and departed. Thankfully for me the big amiable musclebear hadnʼt yet entirely given up on me and shortly thereafter I finally got my squash match in with him. It was brief [even briefer after wasting 20 minutes], but it was well worth waiting years for. If your idea of a good wrestling bout is being destroyed by 254 lbs of moody muscle, and it certainly is mine, then ChokeHoldBear is a wrestler you need to meet. Even watching him take his shirt off is quite the experience. He is one seriously powerful guy. I was lifted effortlessly and repeatedly, and choked, crushed and punched into total submission. He will be the first to admit that he has a definite mean streak, and if youʼve agreed to let him get stuck in it will hurt, but equally he is completely safe and sane and sticks strictly to the limits that youʼve agreed, and is respectful of the wrestler that heʼs dismembering. It was, in other words, brilliant bruising fun seeing what the big powerhouse could do. When heʼs not destroying you heʼs a super nice guy, laid back and funny, very modest about his good looks and amazing physique, and is generally just a pleasure to spend (far too little) time with. I hope another bout with him can happen far sooner, and certainly if youʼre feeling brave and want to get up close and personal with all the mean muscle, go for it, because ChokeHoldBear is highly recommended by (what remains of) me.

When we chatted after our match Squashlad described our encounter as a sweaty stalemate. He was being kind. His experience definitely gave him the upper hand and I was forced to defend from start to finish and eventually tapped to an arm lock. It was great fun though.... he was a thoroughly nice bloke.... good looks, great bod and a sensible attitude. It was a shame we ran out of time but if he were to invite me on to the mats or into the ring again I'll be there without hesitation.

11/08/2019: After chatting on and off for a few years it was excellent to finally encounter the amazing manclad531 at Oiled 8 at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats. Not that we oil wrestled today, it was a more traditional subs contest, although with enough sweat to make maintaining a decent grip almost as tricky as in oil. A quick glance at the superb shape that manclad531 is in is enough to tell you that the bout is going to be hard work, and so it proved, with me being unable to break through his excellent defence, but feeling suitably pleased that some stubbornness, some helpfully slippery mats making reversals more difficult (although not impossible, as he skilfully proved), some luck and plenty of sweat kept me on top most of the time and largely out of trouble. Nevertheless I should have been able to do something with the advantageous position, but failed to—he was just too strong and too skilled. [And also too distractingly good looking, which is frankly cheating!] In short, we battled each other to a sweaty standstill, and a result has to await a rematch, but hopefully that will be soon, as manclad531 is a quality opponent, and the sort of guy Iʼd very happily wrestle every week if I was so lucky. Safe and sane on the mats, as well as strong and skilled, off them he is polite, friendly, outgoing and personable, and generally just an absolute pleasure to meet. My very highest recommendation and if you get a chance to wrestle him, go for it!

06/07/2019: I have now had the great pleasure of wrestling FightfunGER in Lisbon 🇵🇹, Lindow (Mark) 🇩🇪 and Manchester 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, which is a definite personal best, and I hope that before long I can actually wrestle him where he lives or where I do as well! You can always tell that youʼre going to get a quality opponent when the guy involved travels this much to wrestle, and this is certainly the case with FightfunGER. Heʼs startlingly strong, skilled and experienced, and I have to work hard to stay in control in our bouts—and none more so than in our latest bout in Manchester, where he was on form and on fire, having me in all sorts of trouble from early on. Fantastic fun to wrestle in other words! And heʼs just as much fun off the mats too, as a meal and a few beers after the Grapevine Group meet confirmed yet again. Safe, sane, sorted and fun, FightfunGER comes highly recommended by me.

To say something about this guy that hasn’t already been said? is almost an impossibility, so repetition may occur. Squashlad is both a most charming, eloquent, agreeable guy, and a real tough SoB, and both sides of him will appear during a bout so when you meet him (the small handful of fools left that haven’t) you have been warned.
He had been recommended to me by a good friend and wrestling buddy, as somebody who would give me a tough but worthy time in the ring, and boy did he ever! Unfortunately at a group meet there is never enough time (or energy!) to have a serious amount of ring time with a guy like this. I’m just hoping that he’ll agree to round two? If he doesn’t I’ll turn to stalking!

06/07/2019: The ever excellent Grapevine Group meet gave me the opportunity of a rematch with the amazing Chuck, and it was, entirely predictably, one of the highlights of a great meet and a great day. As our previous bout had demonstrated to me, heʼs a quality wrestler in truly superb shape. As our previous bout had also demonstrated to me, wrestling him is hard work, and a loss is a likely result, but despite forewarned being forearmed, I was still tapping out to him within seconds of us locking up on the Wrestling Factoryʼs main mats. Dʼoh. I did manage to even things up a little after that, but it was a lot of effort, and I suspect he was being charitable much of the time. Still, win or lose, with a guy this lovely the result is irrelevant, itʼs just a blast wrestling Chuck, and indeed so is going out for a meal and a few beers with him afterwards. Safe, sane, strong, skilled, interesting, intelligent, friendly and fun: whatʼs not to like? Wrestle this man if youʼre lucky enough to get the opportunity. Very highly recommended.

Met Craig today at the group meet we had a great match aswell,hope to have another match again soon,looking forward to round 2.

13/12/2014: Had a good, fun, sweaty wrestle with andy at the OWG meet. Andy's a solid, up-for-it guy who plays safe and respects others. Really enjoyable to wrestle and to chat to off the mats and there will be a repeat!
13/06/2015: Rematch with andy at John's meet at Pippa's. Plenty of give and take and as enjoyable as before; hopefully only the second of many.
06/07/2019: I have wrestled andy at many, many meets now, but for whatever reason the great Grapevine Group meet was the first time that weʼve mixed it up in the Wrestling Factoryʼs pro ring. The extra dimension obviously suits him as it was a harder tussle when the big guy was on his feet, with some nice work on the turnbuckles and ropes. Andy was, however, as always, safe and sane and is therefore highly recommended.

After many messages to and grow, I meet Squashlad at a meet in Manchester and oh boy did we have match!.
He's a very strong, experienced wrestler with a good agressive attitude but always safe and sane!
We had an a really tough, rough, sweaty match but if we'd had more time, I recon it would have been an epic, rough but sane match! Exactly the kind of match I love!.
He's extremely tough with a huge pain threshold and made we work really hard although he previaled as the victor on this occasion!.
A great submission wrestler whom pushes your limits! I'm looking forward to a tougher and tougher match with this experienced wrestler!.
Off the mats, he's a really friendly, easy going guy with a sexy accent !
Safe and sane always, I can't wait to wrestle this guy again!.
Definitely take the chance to meet and wrestle him!

06/07/2019: After a few false starts it was great to finally be at the same meet as the big Glaswegian and to get to take him on. The Grapevine Group meets always throw up quality opponents, and Glasgow Crusher is certainly that. Heʼs big and strong but safe and considerate of his opponent, and thanks to his appropriately measured approach to sussing out his opposition plus the 20-minute time limit for bouts at the meet I was able to squeek a victory on this occasion before he properly got into his stride. However now that he has my measure Iʼm sure our rematch will be a different matter, and Iʼll get a Glasgow Crusher full power and out for some revenge! And that, can I say, is an extremely appealing prospect! So hopefully we can organize it shortly. One of lifeʼs cheery nice guys, if you get a chance for a bout with Reggie Lisowskiʼs Caledonian remake and his bulging muscles, go for it—heʼs highly recommended by me.

15/07/2018: Thanks to the ever generous auspices of DaveLon I was lucky enough to get a bout in with OliLifting on one of his trips down to London, and it was a devasting[ly good] experience. Heʼs obviously a seriously built lad, but itʼs not until youʼre up close and locking up with him that you realize just how muscular he is, and not until he goes to work on you that you realize just what that sort of strength feels like when itʼs being applied to making you suffer. There were a fair number of submissions, such as a bearhug, that Iʼd not tapped out to before, and a large number of humiliating positions to be kept suspended and helpless in, but hopefully they all kept our little audience suitably entertained, and everything was done very safely, with the punishment appropriately balanced with a sensible care to avoid injury. But actually it wasnʼt the amazing physique nor the immense strength that impressed me most about Oli, but rather his keenness to actually wrestle, and put plenty of variety into his wrestling game, rather than just relying on his strength to bulldoze his opponents into submission, as well as his friendly, chatty and approachable demeanour. As a result, despite the total demolition that constituted our hour in the Walthamstow ring, and the aching, battered and bruised me that resulted, this was a real highlight of my wrestling experience, and if youʼre lucky enough to get offered a bout with OliLifting too, donʼt hesitate, take it. (You never know, a good surgeon just might be able to reattach whatever gets ripped off.) Very highly recommended.

08/06/2019: After chatting for a while it was excellent to get a chance to meet and wrestle IKBER at the ever brilliant Ringen Einsteiger Berlin 19th International Wrestling Camp in Lindow (Mark). He is in great shape and a powerful and committed wrestler, so it was a lot of fun wrestling him. He was a good sport in committing to trying Olympic freestyle with me during open mat and got stuck in, but was always safe and sane. Iʼm looking forward to wrestling him again and trying wrestling disciplines that heʼs more experienced in. Off the mats heʼs a super nice guy, friendly and outgoing and easy to talk to. Highly recommended and I hope that we can get another bout in sometime soon.

16/06/17 Squashlad is honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met! He's very easy-going, reliable, funny and skilled :) Therefore, the fight was as great and intense as I expected! The "old lazy daddy" is strong, especially considering the fact that he doesn't do any other sport. However, his wrestling experiences are very obvious, his moveset is big and he is determined to show that. The fact that we were quite even in terms of strength made the fight even better :) It went back and forth, we both dominated each other and tested our limits which are very high for both of us. In the end we did a final "Best of 3" to determine a winner. After a very sweaty and hard match, I was finally able to defeat him! ;) However we are both winners obviously because we finally had the chance to meet us! Considering our great time, our next meeting will follow very soon :)
18/06/19 Since I already knew how lovely Squashlad is as a fighter but especially as a person, I was very excited and happy to meet him again. As expected, we had a lot of fun again, he knows what I like, he is very pleasant and funny :)
The dinner afterwards was very nice and I would love to meet him again way more often ;)

16/06/2017: I'm never sure whether wrestling guys when I could quite literally be their father is a good idea. I mean 22? I can't even remember 22. If you beat them, I feel like a bully, and if they beat you, well it just feels like time to retire. In this case with young quadi1 I somehow managed the rather unenviable trick of feeling like a bully, having spent most of the time on top of him pulling his limbs off and (inadvertently) making him bleed and (having failed to transition quickly from give-and-take to competitive) losing to him in our best-of-three decider—way to go huh? He seemed to like being worked over but when he wants to win he's startlingly quick for a heavyweight and has a determination, stubbornness and strength that serves him well, along with some good technique and a nice taste for the rough stuff. And although his repertoire is as yet not that great, that's no problem if, like me, you fail repeatedly to avoid what he does know—in particular his rear naked choke, which I knew was coming and still ended up tapping out to several times. Aside from the grappling, quadi1 is great company, being easy and interesting to talk to, and he makes for an excellent tour guide to historic Hanover. He is safe and sane and with his determination and hard work in the gym he has the makings of an excellent wrestler. And I don't just say that because he can already beat me! So I'm looking forward to the rematch with the talented roughhousing youngster.
18/06/2019: My third trip to Hanover for a tussle with the young heavyweight, now even bigger and stronger than ever. It was sweaty work trying to subdue him, but a lot of fun. And heʼs as entertaining company as ever during a much needed post-match dinner. Highly recommended.

09/06/2019: The ever excellent Ringen Einsteiger Berlin 19th International Wrestling Camp in Lindow (Mark) gave me the opportunity to meet and wrestle some great guys and wrestlers, none less so than Wresbear75. He was in the beginnersʼ group, but that may have been just an attempt to lure potential opponents into a false sense of security! He certainly made me work hard during our great little bout during open mat, and what he might currently lack in technique he very nearly made up for with his startling strength, effective positioning, good balance and determination and real desire to win. He was, in other words, brilliant to wrestle! And Iʼd love to do so again soon. Off the mats heʼs a pleasant, outgoing and engaging guy, interesting to chat to and easy to get along with. I appreciated his willingness to engage me in English, me being too lazy to have learnt anything more than schoolboy French. The training camp was definitely an even better place for him being part of it—highly recommended.

8–9 June 2019: It was great to meet Marcofighter at the Ringen Einsteiger Berlin 19th International Wrestling Camp in Lindow (Mark), and even better to get a couple of quick bouts in with him during open mat. Heʼs new to Olympic freestyle, and it is very different to grappling, so he was fairly easy to control, but when we switched to doing a little bit of grappling so that he could show me what he can do it was a very different story, and we were much more evenly matched. His very impressive physique is not just for show and when he locks on a hold you certainly know about it. When not wrestling heʼs interesting and easy to chat to and is a friendly and outgoing guy who added to the great welcoming atmosphere of the training camp. I very much hope that I get to wrestle him again soon, ideally in a longer bout. Safe, sane and highly recommended.

18/05/2016: A great tussle in a sultry Chemnitz with the big powerhouse that is raufer76. I was totally overpowered and outclassed here, but that doesn't matter when you're having a great sweaty battle with such a cool guy. He was kind enough to give me a couple of subs to a couple of chokeholds, but that was just to be nice, he was in complete control, working me over in a startling variety of well executed holds and showing me who was boss. Brilliant fun! He's skilled, safe and sane and a really decent bloke. I particularly appreciated all his hard work to do things in English (his third language) for me, and going out for pizza afterwards to replenish the calories made for a really enjoyable end to the Saxonian leg of my holiday. Raufer76 is very highly recommended and we will definitely be grappling again: and hopefully soon!
14/06/2017: Well it was over a year later, but the rematch with the Saxon powerhouse was well worth the wait. He was still all over me, Chemnitz was still as sweaty, the space to wrestle was still as small, and four hours still flew by too fast. He is just fabulous fun to grapple with! Till next year then....
14/06/2019: A little mid-summer tradition now, and always worth the trip down to sultry Chemnitz. I never get anywhere against the big guy, but itʼs an awful lot of fun trying! Die Energie in Sachsen!

25/06/19
A long awaited and hugely enjoyed (be me lol) rematch with this Star of the Mats! Simply one of the best there is!!
14/05/17
Had the real pleasure of locking up again with this star of the UK mat world! Don't be fooled by the "I'm only a jobber" routine! There's real skill and determination in this grappler's repertoire! A superb few hours wrestling! The perfect opponent!
12.10.15
Another great session today! Watch out for the legs! Hes a cyclist...get caught in the head scissors and you know it! He's got some sneaky fighting back moves, too. Always a pleasure to wrestle and excellent chat off the mats. Continues to be an A1* opponent!
18.04.15
Dont be mislead! The so called squashlad is fast learning good aggressive tactics! Hes strong and resilient. We had several good sessions today, making me definitely want more! Whats this about rule breaking? Who? Me?!! Great guy off the mats too.
This is one first rate jobber! He can certainly take his punishment! Easy to fix a meet; safe, sane and reliable. Tough on mats, he delivers exactly what his profile says. Intelligent and good conversation off the mats, too. For a "newbie", he's a natural, I reckon....born for the mats! I had a great, fun evening...just hope he comes back for more! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

24/10/2014: It's pretty intimidating taking on a guy who outweighs you by 32 lbs and has had 222 past opponents just here on Meetfighters alone! And yes, all that strength and experience certainly told, with him getting multiple submissions out of me from a wide arsenal of holds and techniques. But wrestling dadwrestle was a great, if punishing, experience - he's a true gentleman, welcoming and hospitable, and plays safe and respects limits, with an excellent spacious set up for wrestling. Don't let his age fool you! You'd never guess it and the man is still in great shape, with a lot of strength. Although he prefers competitive matches dadwrestle can certainly punish jobbers. Highly recommended and this jobber will be back for more.
18/04/2015: A rematch with dadwrestle, competitive this time, at a small group meet in Hackney. As strong as ever, he had me controlled and submitting most of the time, but he seemed almost paternally proud when he found that his protégé had developed something resembling a defence and could even (very occasionally) get the odd sub himself. Dadwrestle's a lovely man, thankfully far above such base things as cheating in tag matches. Wrestle him and learn....
12/10/2015: For my swansong at dadwrestle's great home set before he's reduced to joining us plebs at the matrooms and it was as good fun a grapple as ever. I think he's quietly pleased with how I'm coming along, but that didn't stop him working me over yet again. Which is how it should be.
14/05/2017: He'll tell you he's retiring soon. He won't. He'll tell you he's past it. He isn't. Ow....
25/06/2019: A while since weʼve tussled, so it was time for the new lean and mean dadwrestle to put me through my paces and show me whoʼs boss. Which he certainly did. And which is always an immense amount of sweaty fun!

7/4/18 at Pippa's, Wrestled squashlad in the ring,wow super nice guy,so strong I had no chance except to submit over and over again to this super Wrestler, had great time,thanks for wrestling me from Ripper Roger xxx,14/4/18 WOW Wrestled again, this guy is awesome,he just smiles at me knowing I will submit at any minute, when he's ready,love it

07/04/2018: A rematch with walsallgoodguy in the ring at the Wrestling Factory was a highlight of the April Grapevine Group meet, because this time I knew what to expect with the legend that is Ripper Roger. You can do what you like with him, twist him into shapes that a pretzel-maker would reject as too complicated, and there may be a need for an inter-bout change of trunks to something more suitably loud, but what you canʼt do is to get him to quit. (Scream, possibly, but quit, never.) Which does, of course, make wrestling him a lot of fun. Enthusiasm for wrestling is infectious, and I know a lot of people have caught the bug from walsallgoodguy because he clearly loves his wrestling. He doesnʼt hog the ring, but heʼs there at the beginning of the meet, and there at the end, and he sweats a lot for his sport in the interim. Heʼs also a super nice, friendly and outgoing guy and very welcoming to anyone new to our meets, which is a huge help, and I always appreciate his willingness to indulge my tastes towards submission rather than his more audience-pleasing pro. Safe, sane and sorted, a Manchester fixture, walsallgoodguy is highly recommended.

A briefer meeting than we both might have liked (Grapevine at High Barnet, me having to arrive late & him having to leave early) but we had a good time.
Well, a bit frustrating for me - he's stronger than he'd looked to me before his muscles were flexing in use, & much faster & clearer-thinking than me. So even when I was on top I wasn't really in control.
Seemed a really nice guy too - but I need to see more of him to confirm. :-)

02/02/2019: Late additions to meets are always welcome, especially when they are quality wrestlers, and I was keen to get onto the mats with Robin when he arrived at the Grapevine Group meet at the High Barnet matroom as it was obvious that he is in great shape and was keen to make up for lost time. I was though soon wondering if that was such a great idea, as his speed and strength were immediately apparent and I was very much on the back foot. Eventually my height and weight advantage stood me in good stead (there is a reason that wrestling has weight classes) but gaining the upper hand was by no means easy. It was, however, a lot of fun, as Robin is an enthusiastic and feisty wrestler and is out to win, but does so in a way that is safe and controlled and respectful of his opponent. A pleasure to wrestle in other words, and I hope that we will end up back on the mats for a rematch before too long. Highly recommended.

14/04/2018: He just popped into the matroom to watch the little mismatch between RugbyBoy and me.... Yeah right! Few people are going to be able to resist getting in on the action for a bout with RugbyBoy, and MCRLON30UK is definitely not one of them. Still, he wasnʼt just muscling in, he was keen for a bout with me too, and so we grappled, and despite his carrying an injury it was very one sided, with me getting properly flattened in seconds each time. His headlocks in particular, not a hold Iʼd normally worry about getting caught in, were devastating, with me tapping out to the crushing pain before the resulting throw had even had us hitting the mats. And this was just us doing submission grappling, rather than his preferred MMA. Fair to say then, he likes it rough. Nice one! Hope to get some more mat time with him, even though when heʼs back to full fitness itʼll inevitably be even more one sided. Highly recommended.

Great, strong grappler! This guy has a lot to offer on the mats, he's quick, agile and adopts good technique...especially in defence. He as a strong body with impressive tone. Brilliant lad and all round gent! Thanks bro anytime! Highly recommended.

14/04/2018: After missing out on a match with him at several Manchester meets, it was excellent to finally get a bout in with RugbyBoy at the OWG meet. It was obviously going to be a mismatch, even with us doing submission grappling rather than his preferred MMA, but despite the amazing powerlifterʼs physique it is not until you lock up with him that you realize just how strong he really is. Thankfully for me itʼs pretty obvious that RugbyBoy realizes that heʼs only very rarely going to get much of a challenge through here or at a Manchester meet, and is very happy to tone it down to your level, and as a result I was just completely dominated rather than hospitalized. Iʼve probably made him sound like a bit of a monster, and certainly you could just paint him green and thereʼs your Hulk Halloweʼen costume done, but actually heʼs one of those lovely cheery outgoing people who always have a smile on their face, and spending some time with him is great fun. He does like to give you a bit of cheek when youʼre flattened under him and helpless, but itʼs all just done for a laugh, and indeed, if I couldʼve taken a breath, I wouldʼve laughed along with him, a definite natural comic, with the timing of his jokes as good as that of his throws. In short, safe, sane, fun and funny, he is an absolute must meet if youʼre lucky enough to get some mat time with him. My very highest of recommendations.

Whay a properly good guy! Just heading back on the train from a top day with craig as i am typing this.

On the mats he claims to be a jobber - i sure did not get this side of him, he threw himself into the bout vs me and had a good idea of how to be offensive on the mats. When he has to defend he makea it truly hard work getting ANYTHING on him, and when i was lucky to open his defence he shows great durability and does not tap easy, and this is in a condition i would struggle to wrestle in.

After the session we made brilliant use of the weather and had a couple at a pub for a good couple of hours, we had a fair few things in common and he made great company.

Another day like today is required i think, top stuff and i can not recommend him enough!

18/04/2015: Wrestling The Kestrel could be a bit of a depressing experience. You know, having your arse comprehensively kicked and having the resulting lengthy amount of time with your head buried in the mats to reflect that heʼs 11 years younger than you are and that youʼll never be as good a wrestler as he is.... Kes is to wrestling as ducks are to water. But actually heʼs such an awesome bloke and his love for wrestling is so infectious that wrestling himʼs just a complete joy. Strong, skilled and talented, heʼs controlled aggression itself, but is nevertheless a smart tactician, happy to bide his time and wait for mistakes—which he ruthlessly exploits. Heʼs probably the most complete wrestler that Iʼve come across. Iʼm just going to count myself lucky that Iʼve wrestled him now, when it was just a very clear result, as opposed to six months from now, when heʼs going to be a freaking monster! Safe, sane, reliable, a top lad with superb footballing taste and good fun to hang around with off the mats, he comes very highly recommended. Wrestle him now while itʼs still possible!
20/02/2019: My longest ever wait for a rematch! But then, The Kestrel is worth it. He really is the complete package wrestling experience—strong, skilled, relentless, built, sane and sorted, a bit of a bully in the nicest, safest, most fun way possible, (whisper it) very handsome—itʼs something you just have to bide your time for. I didnʼt stand a chance and was just a nasty sweaty smear on the High Barnet mats when he got too bored to want to continue, but wow it was fun! If you get the chance of a wrestle with him, take it with both hands and be grateful!

Squashlad was kind enough to keep a slot free to meet and wrestle between his travelling and his busy schedule . Needless to say he is an expert wrestler after many matches under his belt . He kept the match fun and lowered the pace to adapt to our circumstances though, resulting in a very enjoyable session. Off the mats a very nice guy which i expect and intend to meet and wrestle soon again. Definitely recommended.

11/04/2019: Finally got an opportunity to wrestle madridwrestler when he was in London, and was pleased to find that he was well worth the wait. We probably needed more space than is afforded by the Stockwell matroom for his energetic and fast-paced wrestling style, but it was sufficient, and we had a great sweaty tussle. Heʼs one of those guys who talks down his skills, experience and stamina, and I half fell for it, ending up on the back foot from the off, and really having to up my game. Which is obviously what you want in a bout! And it was a blast. Madridwrestler is a strong, confident and swift grappler, and is hard work to subdue. He is controlled though, no flailing limbs, and his power and pace are directed effectively. He is also a very easy guy to talk to between subs, and is chatty, friendly and outgoing. So heading out to dinner and a glass of wine after our bout was the perfect end to a great evening, and I am very much looking forward to meeting him again. Highly recommended.

easy going friendly guy; It was my first fight after a few years, so I was worried that the match would be very uneven. Squashlad is a strong, skilled and experienced fighter and i found myself all too often loosing. However, Squashlad was very helpful, patient and showed me many tricks and moves making the whole match very enjoyable.

15/01/2018: It's always a pleasure getting to wrestle guys who've made a conscious decision to really give wrestling a good go and do more of it and a match with WolfinLondon at the Stockwell matroom was no exception. His enthusiasm was infectious and it was a great way to spend a cold winter's Monday evening. He's tall and strong and in great shape so when he couples that with some more experience he will be formidable. Between subs he's interesting and easy to chat to (although I did chicken out of trying out my schoolboy German on him!) and on the mats he's safe and sane. With his packed schedule of upcoming bouts I may have to wait my turn for another crack at him but it will be well worth it! Highly recommended.
14/05/2019: I did have to wait my turn and it was well worth it! Great to get back on the mats with this startlingly strong and interesting and personable guy, this time on a warmer May evening. Which made things a bit sweaty. All good fun. Hopefully our third bout will take less time to arrange....

Squashlad responded to my Match Request and it was straightforward to arrange the fight. Looking at his recs, I expected a tough match, and it was! During the fight, he remained unnervingly calm and composed while I grimaced and grunted. He quickly exploited my mistakes and turned it around into a submission from me. I did manage to get him into a few holds that would have got a tap from most guys, but somehow, he endured it until I tired and couldn’t maintain it anymore - hats off to his resilience! An easy guy to talk to and I appreciated his guidance during the game. He’s a skilled and outstanding fighter. An absolute recommendation from me!

19/05/2019: Itʼs always good to get in quick to the built and keen new guys on the site, and hopefully get a match in with them before they learn too much, because when they couple some technical nous with the strength and the enthusiasm, itʼs usually game over for us older, slower, smaller guys! And so I am sure it will be with tallfitldn: but as I did manage to get in quick, and he was similarly quick in kindly hosting a bout for us, I escaped today with my dignity intact. He is, however, very strong (his profile pics are recent and accurate) and clearly takes the gym seriously, and is throwing himself into grappling with alacrity, so it was hard work, and he spent a fair bit of time in our little bout in the mount. Once he knows what to do from there, look out! Arranging the match with him was very easy, chatting to him before and after our little tussle was similarly so, and a pleasure, and he is a safe and sane nice guy who makes decent coffee [major recommendation bonus points there]. Hopefully we will grapple again soon, when the result will probably be less predictable. You, therefore, should get in there now, before the muscle gets applied too effectively! Highly recommended.

Beat the crap out of him. Twice. Always always a pleasure. Good high pain threshold. My fists were getting more tired before his ribs started screaming ouch. A nice guy too.

10/05/2019: And so we meet again. Agreed to grapple rather than fight. Can’t say I managed to resist punching at certain points ;), SL puts up a good fight but my arm seems to like his neck a lot and just can’t keep away :). Great match as always and look forward to meeting again next time.

03/11/2018: Itʼs great to have the fight machine that is Solidman back on MeetFighters, and even better to have got a rematch in with him, thanks to DaveLonʼs generous support! The outcome of the match was never in any doubt, it was only ever a question of how much punishment I was going to be able to take, and even then Iʼm not kidding myself—if heʼd really wanted to get me to throw in the towel, he could have. The heavy and accurate punching is something else, and is obviously his specialty, but even if grappling only heʼd still make mincemeat of me. It is, therefore, rather a shame for my healthʼs sake that fighting Solidman is such a blast! Super strong, built like earth-moving equipment (heʼs well named), tough and distractingly handsome, fighting him really is quite the experience! But donʼt be put off getting into the ring with him just because heʼs a monster and youʼre going to lose—because heʼs also a very kind, safe, sensible and thoughtful guy, respectful of otherʼs limits, safety, and skill level, and a really lovely and interesting person. So take your chance to fight him if youʼre lucky enough to get it! 👍 The very highest of recommendations.
10/05/2019: Well hereʼs a turn up for the books! The Fight Machine is turning his hand to grappling, and forgoing his speciality punching and strikes. Does this mean I have the inkling of a chance to get a sub off him?? Erm, no.... 😂

Met Squshlad at our last Oiled event in Manchester. Do not be deceived by his cheeky smile, this is one tough cookie ! I started off taking him on first going easy but soon realised he can handle a whole lot more. When my tag partner joined in he still put up a good fight until we were able to overpower him and lock him up with a few pins. Definitely worth a fight a very good wrestler and a nice guy with it.

17/02/2019: Oiled 5 at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats was a whole lot of fun, not least when you get to take on your hosts with the most! Both of them that is. At the same time. Me vs 427 lbs (194 kg) of prime Northern beef. With a small audience. Pretty much my idea of wrestling heaven basically! It was a “dry” wrestle, in one of the matrooms, rather than one of the main events of the day, but I was sweating enough to make it almost as slippery as if the oil had already come out. Needless to say I was comprehensively dominated and tapped out to a wonderfully nasty leg pressure point while nicely restrained in a powerful full nelson—and similarly needless to say, I loved it! All super safely done, the big guys donʼt take themselves too seriously, are concerned to make sure that everyone is enjoying themselves, and are only as mean as you want them to be [a lot meaner please!]. And our little grapple was just the personal highlight of a really fun afternoon meeting and wrestling a great bunch of guys, old friends and new, which they superly organized for us all. So Tag Team are very highly recommended and Iʼm very much looking forward to a re(mis)match!

Such a good match,a highly recommended opponent. Squashlad is strong, skilled and very good at locking down a victim. Many times I found myself caught in one of his arm locks and a couple crushes in his incredibly strong legs.
We spent the most part of two hours rolling, pinning, squeezing and getting increasingly sweaty whilst executing different techniques. I suprised myself with what I can do, but also very impressed by his high tolerance to a good crushing.
A man who clearly enjoys wrestling and is great fun to be with in a match and in general. He is wise, witty and respectful - without hesitation made adjustments for my slight asthma flair-up, which thankfully wasn't too much of a hindrance in the end.
Very excited for another match!

13/02/2019: You know when your opponent for the evening is on to his third opponent in as many days that youʼre going to get an enthusiastic and genuine guy, and so ShortMick is. He is also well named, but do not let that fool you into thinking that he will be a pushover. He is not. Even when youʼve been wrestling him for well over an hour, do not think that you have his measure. You have not. He has many more tricks up his sleeve and gradually lets slip that he knows a lot more about freestyle wrestling and submission grappling than he is initially willing to let on. Couple that with an approach that means that he takes a fair while to warm into things, but is a bit of a daemon when he does; significant speed and swift reactions; a willingness to try things even if they might not come off; and some truly startlingly strength and endurance, and you have a formidable opponent. I did not have things at all my own way, tapped to him several times, and am not ashamed to say that I had to resort to flattening him with my extra bulk (Iʼm more than half as heavy again as he is) to get out of some sticky situations on several occasions. If he was my size I wouldʼve been completely owned. On the other hand he is, shall we say, blessed with the beauty of youth, so you know, that might notʼve been so bad! ShortMick is also very easy to chat to, being an intelligent, interesting and outgoing guy, is safe and sane on the mats, and even brings the drinks. Very highly recommended as a result, and hopefully heʼll fit me in to his packed fight schedule again soon.

Squashlad has a great talent on the mats. He definitely knows how to roll. And even more so how to defend. Very dense, always aware of every situation. It’s almost impossible to set a hold on him. He’s constantly moving and he made me put up all my effort to keep it interesting for him. I had a lot of fun with you on the mats. Outside of the mats a real British gentleman in every way. Definitely recommended if you like to put an effort into the fight.

Squashlad is a great fighter, calm, patient, but an incredible force and very resistant, at certain moments why he does not type ? .Any error is fatal.I am glad to have made several fights during this tournament in Lisbon. Even if he looses nothing on the mat, Squashlad is a very friendly person, with whom to share a good meal, but I will improve my level of English🙄

Squashlad and I met at the London Bridge and drove to Grove Park. Arrived we made the ring unsafe.😁 Squashlad is a tough guy, we had a sweaty fight and a lot of fun. I can only recommend Squashlad and look forward to the next fight coming soon.👍

Such a shame that Craig had been given a beating the day before by a fellow wrestler that when we met he was extremely sore. That said he did give a good account for himself as we wrestled. Was hoping for a two on one beatdown with readyforit but had to think of other ways of squashing this jobber! Got him tapping in my figure 4 headlock.

We have already pencilled in a rematch and I hope he has learned his lesson not to have two wrestles in two days when we meet.

Great wrestler, safe and sane, recommended

09/04/2017 and another two on one match with me and Brit Pro Heel against Squashlad. This time Squashlad learned his lesson from last time and he was set upon by us. I managed to put my figure 4 headlock on him and made him submit. Then Brit Pro Heel added his force to the mix, they even ganged up on me (I won't forget that!). Gave him a few slaps (thanks Rob c57 for that idea) and a couple of wedgies. 3rd time can't come quick enough. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

September 2018
Thanks to Craig for coming to a group meet where it was mostly Pro guys but he held his own against each and everyone but when I got him I scissored him hard (as I know he likes it!)

06/11/2016: It was very rude of me to turn up to the little group meet at the High Barnet matroom that ShockR had kindly arranged for us in no fit state to wrestle after being destroyed by Solidman the day before, but I didn't want to cancel or rearrange as I had been wanting an opportunity to wrestle him for ages. Thankfully for me he and readyforit were very forgiving and were careful to work around my bruises and I really enjoyed our little series of matches, even if things were less intense than they could have been. And if ShockR was getting properly stuck into me things may well have been very intense, as he's a very strong guy, with big, powerful legs and arms. I saw what his bulging biceps inadvertently did to readyforit! So I am very much looking forward to a rematch with this great guy, who is safe and sane and highly recommended by me.
09/04/2017: Well the rematch with ShockR was Spoil Squashlad Day as he kindly arranged a two-on-one demolition match for me at the Walthamstow ring, with me mismatched against BRIT PRO HEEL and him. The evil heels weren't slow in showing me that taking on the two of them was a major challenge, and I got taken apart, ShockR specializing in working over my lower body with a nice range of leg and ankle locks and plenty of forearm smashes and body punches. All very safely and considerately done though: ShockR is just a total pleasure to grapple with. Round 3 therefore needs to happen sooner!

Finally got to wrestle squashlad, after wanting to wrestle him for a while. A nice guy who is as tenacious as his other opponents say he is. In fact it became a battle of who was the more stubborn, we drew on that. Great company as well as a great wrestle. I hope we wrestle sometime soon.

1997 I visited Newzealand - the land of the long white cloud and enjoyed the breathtaking landscape of the two islands. Twenty years later I met a "Kiwi" in Berlin for a wrestling match. Squashlad is a nice grounded guy and he is very reliable. So it was easy to arrange a match with him. On the mat Squashlad is safe, sane and fabulous fun to wrestle with. I was impressed how strong he is. Be aware when you get into his hold, there is no escape. ;-) I highly recommend Squashlad for a sweatty grappling match. Im looking forward to meet him again for a rematch and the beer afterwards ;-))

12/06/2017: My final match in Berlin for this year was a cracker thanks to the very fine opponent that is Ringer 43. What a great guy: strong, skilled, keen, punctual, engaging and intelligent, he was very easy to arrange a match with, pushed hard for a win but didn't take himself too seriously and was really interesting to talk to between submissions, about life growing up in the DDR and everything and anything else. Ringer 43 is safe, sane and fabulous fun to grapple with and is very highly recommended. A rematch with him would be a very great pleasure and is one of many good reasons to get back to Berlin sooner rather than later.
27/05/2018: Back to Berlin and another grapple with Ringer 43, and again it was a highlight of a fabulous German 🇩🇪 holiday. He's big, strong and determined, and goes for the sub but nevertheless just wrestles for the fun of it, and time spent with him, either grappling or chatting, is an absolute pleasure. Hopefully only the second of many sweaty grapples with this top quality guy.

20/05/2018: The fantastic Einsteiger freestyle training camp in Lindow (Mark) was once the opportunity to meet some new guys as well as to catch up with some old friends, and a wrestle with hashbock during the post-training open mat sessions was one of the highlights of that this year. Freestyle is hardly the forte of either of us, but it was a useful discipline to try to put into practice what we'd been learning. I found hashbock on the mats to be a safe and considerate opponent. Nevertheless the real benefit of meeting him was off the mats as he's great company, and made a good fellow to go exploring more of Berlin and Brandenburg with, especially on a fabulous day trip out to Potsdam kindly guided for us by catchbear1 and OefightBln. Always up for a coffee or a beer, a chat or a grapple, a discussion on contemporary American politics or an impromptu Czech lesson, he's great to be around. Nevertheless we do have to hit the mats again and try some submission! Highly recommended.

25/05/2018: A trip back to Berlin was a chance to catch up with friends and wrestlers old and new, and although I spent most of my time with old comrades, I'm pleased that I managed to get some matches in against friends not yet met, otherwise I would have missed out on the smilely and hospitable force of nature that is scissorboi! Arranging a match with him was a breeze, and he kindly had me around to his amazing apartment for a grapple and a few much-needed post-match beers on a beautiful Berlin summer's day. We certainly sweated, but that wasn't solely down to the sultry conditions: this is a wrestler who likes to get stuck in, isn't remotely fazed by taking on guys bigger than himself, and doesn't even mind it a bit (sanely) rough. As he said, he's an Austrian 🇦🇹 country boy, a bit of falling out of trees toughens you up! (It apparently also gives you a superb physique, although that he attributed to his job.) Between subs and once we'd admitted that the winner was the heat, he's a chatty and cheerful guy, outgoing and funny and a kind host. Definitely a guy to wrestle again and again and I hope that I can again soon.

Squashlad certainly taught me a lesson.

I went into the meet with very little submission experience; just one previous meet. As the meet progressed, Squashlad gave me advice on what I should be doing, what I should be avoiding and on what I should be aiming to do.

Just what a beginner needs. But don’t be mistaken, he didn’t take it easy on me; well, not so as I noticed anyway. He took submission after submission and encouraging as he was when I did something right, he always had a counter ready. It was a truly challenging meet.

Squashlad was easy to talk to, open and engaging. He also had the fitness and strength to apply his knowledge and skills. I look forward to the day when I can prove to him that I have learnt.

08/01/2018: It was great to meet jonny innocent when he's just starting out in wrestling, because I could just about keep him under control, but once he masters a bit more technique to go with his strength, stamina and desire to win he's going to have a lot of guys flattened. He was aggressive in the best possible way from the off, is very strong (with legs like tree trunks), moves swiftly, and has a real desire not to concede any submissions to his opponent, so wrestling him was much more challenging than I'd anticipated it being with a rookie, and, more importantly, was a huge amount of fun. His speed on the mats is impressive, but he's not frenetic or failing, but controlled and safe. Between subs he is interesting and easy to talk to, enthusiastic and friendly, and came across as an all-round nice guy (with a spectacular physique). His willingness to grapple with me rather than stick to his preferred pro style says a lot about his cooperative approach to wrestling and I hope that he continues to develop an interest in submission—mainly so that I can grapple with him some more. Very highly recommended. Can't wait to see him in the Jonny Innocent trunks!
04/05/2018: Got a rematch in with the legman, and his progress was very evident. Took me ages to get a first submission off him, and it really shouldn't given how new he is to wrestling and that pro continues to be his preferred style. But he is strong, tough, determined and resilient, so I had to work hard. That did make the eventual tap that much more satisfying though! A top quality guy and an absolute pleasure to wrestle.

Had an amazing first ring experience with this strong handsome guy. Was introduced to many new things and enjoyed being generally tossed about and crushed, especially between his strong legs. He's a really nice easy going guy though and made me feel completely at ease, making sure it was safe and sane. No hesitation in meeting him again and being shown more of his skills.

25/04/2018: It's always a privilege to be someone's first opponent, and although I wasn't Funlad89's, it was his first time in a ring, so that was pretty cool. It was very easy to arrange the match with him and we had a fun few sweaty hours' grappling at Walthamstow doing some submission coaching and some heel/jobber pro play. He's a cooperative, well-named wrestler, safe and sane when wrestling and interesting and intelligent to talk to when taking a break. He's got a good baseline level of strength and I'm sure could develop in competitive wrestling if he chooses to. But even if he sticks to jobbing I would welcome more ring time with him. Highly recommended.

11/04/2018
Squashlad and I had been speaking since pretty much day 1 on MF.
What else can I say apart from that his positive, experienced and strong reputation precedes him. A super friendly ‘Kiwi’ ;)
who’s probably the most relaxed in terms of wrestling and accommodates your needs and objectives from the match, over his.
We were back and fourth in the ring and and then on the mats, actively and safely performing submissions with a tiny bit of pro thrown in for me. 👍
Although, something I better mention is my very over compensating expressive face, which became the highlight for Squash. He made me realise there’s a lot for me to learn, build on and to apply successfully and effectively having the ultimate impact on ones opponent. Highly recommended and I will be back for round 2!

11/04/2018: It was great to get a match in with JackBC while he's just starting out in wrestling as his size, strength and enthusiasm mean that he's soon going to be a real handful and too much for an old man like me! It was very easy to arrange a match with him and he turned up right on time. He's very easy to talk to: indeed if you're not really in the mood for conversation he'll happily do that for you. His height does make him a bit of a challenge to control but he's not the lanky inexperienced sort who's all flailing limbs, he's a controlled and thoughtful wrestler who is looking to improve. He was very tolerant of my preference for submission, which was therefore most of our match, but we did a little bit of pro for fun too. He's got a very expressive face—he really would be great on the radio—so it was occasionally fun to tie some painful knots in him, but he's by no means a pushover, and in a rematch he may well take his revenge. Safe, sane, fun and funny, JackBC is highly recommended.

Wrestled SquashLad early on a Sunday morning. Granted it’s not my best time of the day but the only time schedules worked. He is polite and courteous, the type of guy you feel comfortable with in your house very quickly. We chatted. Wrestled and had a lot of fun. Clearly to jobber type but get a sense that he is more than competent when he wants that kinda match. Following the wrestle we had a nice walk and talk. Great guy. Would meet again.

15/04/2018: There is something about the confidence of a guy who opens his front door to you in nothing but his underwear that tells you that you're going to have a great match. Still, if I had a physique like that I'd probably show it off too: there are ocean liners with less beam then maw1667's musclecub shoulders. So it was straight down to action in his box room, and unsurprisingly I was totally dominated—although I was hardly complaining! He doesn't just rely on his size and strength though: although I was demolished with a few nice bodyslams he's a surprisingly technical wrestler for such a powerhouse, and thinks through what he's doing to maintain control, so we had a good fun grapple. Although it was straight into the action he's a chatty and hospitable guy, always careful to ensure that his guest is having a good time, and it was very enjoyable to spend the morning with him after our match, walking his schnauzer (who's almost as cute as his dad), exploring the area, drinking too much coffee and generally putting the world to rights. Safe and sane when wrestling, friendly and interesting when not, maw1667 was a complete pleasure to meet and wrestle and I hope to get a rematch with him sooner rather than later.

09/04/2018: A good sweaty match with Motbridge11 at the Walthamstow ring was just the thing to liven up a dull Monday at the office. It was very easy to arrange a match with him and he turned up bang on time, letting us make the most of the booking, and is one of those guys whom you take an instant liking to, being all big smiles and a sense of fun. He does like jobbing, so I was in a rather unaccustomed rôle as heel, but he's not the dead fish type, he fights back and wrestles properly, and his gym regime means that he's got a good level of baseline strength and plenty of power when he needs it, so we had a good fun match, and left the ring definitely needing a mopping! (Which of course it got.) Interesting to chat to between submissions, safe and sane on the mats, this nice guy is highly recommended and a must for a rematch sooner rather than later.

I had a fun time in the ring, thanks to Squashlad. As many other guys have written, he is a really nice guy and very strong. He made an arrangement and organized the special rule match, which was really exciting to me.
Look forward to the next special match with him.

06/04/2018: I was privileged enough to be included on Magnum JP's packed fight card on his latest trip to Europe and was really pleased that I was as we had an excellent match at the Grove Park ring. The bout was very easy to arrange with him and he is a very courteous and charming guy, easy and fun to chat to despite him having to do everything in my language thanks to my embarrassingly monoglot status. In the ring I had thought that my extra height would give me an edge, and it was certainly very useful, but this was no easy match: Magnum JP is in superb shape, and the muscles aren't just for show. He shares my taste for a bit of the rough stuff, so when he got on top you certainly knew about it! Always entirely safe, sane and respectful of his opponent though. So no doubts that this is a guy whom you want a rematch with and who comes very highly recommended: but if there had been, a parting gift of a big hug, his huge warm smile and a generous present from Japan of some delicious green tea chocolates would have fixed that! How can you not like an opponent who gives you presents just for wrestling him? A must-meet if he is in your town and I hope I can wrestle him again sooner rather than later.

Met this guy today, not an ideal venue, but we had a good grapple... Strong, good technique, pleasant fella and a good match all round ;-)
Def be up for another grapple sometime so hope we get the chance!

24/03/2018: Hotel room matches are always a bit frustrating, and when you're tackling a tall, very strong guy who, like you, wants to get really stuck in, that's particularly the case, so we both knew within a few minutes of locking up that a rematch at a more appropriate venue would need to be arranged. That said, we made the best of what was available, and it was a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning. The match was no bother at all to arrange, and birmingham uk fighter came as billed: a safe, sane, pleasant and intelligent guy who was interesting to chat to before the grappling began—and then a real handful. He didn't seem handicapped by his night on the tiles that he'd not that long since got back in from and his strength was very evident, getting me locked up nicely in lots of punishing holds. Subs went both ways and we had a good sweaty battle, concluded only but all too soon by his need to check out of the room. Hopefully therefore we can resume shortly somewhere more matted and spacious! Highly recommended.

Wow, So two days latter I sit down to write this and I'm still sore, in a good way. That muscle ache when you know you have had a great workout.

From the outset communication was fantastic and a match was arranged with very little mucking around.

In person he is easy and fun to talk to, before, during and after the match. I was a little nervous, but he quickly put me at ease.

Wrestling wise he is strong, very strong, and can take (and enjoys) any punishment you can deal out. Skills wise he knows his tricks. After the 30 minuets we were up to 3-1 in his favor. ( Headlocks that I just had no counter for) To make things a little more interesting he agreed to remove the headlock from his menu, and thus handicapped the real battle began. The battles were intense, long and sweetly, but at all times in control and felt safe.

He loves his wrestling and it is a pleasure to spend time with him. Also his pics on here make him look a lot older than he is. Oh an do not give his legs the credit they deserve. Did I mention GREAT legs.

28/02/2018:
The Short Version
If you're looking for a short, fat, ugly opponent for an ego-boosting easy victory, I wouldn't bother with Andrae frankly.
The Long Version
You can underestimate these colonials you know. They may not get many opponents and so might be a little lacking in technique, but fuck me they're strong. I should have known from the off saying hello to Andrae, with his T-shirt and jeans struggling to contain all the bulging tanned muscle, that this was going to be hard work, but I'm cocky enough that I did still think that I'd come out on top. I was wrong about that. It took him a little while to relax into the bout, and I got a few early chokes in, but by the end, with his confidence gained, he was chucking me across the room like I was a quarter of my actual weight, and trying out effective new things on me. He got the decider with a lovely ankle lock that came out of nowhere and had me tapping instantly. But despite the victory, physique and good looks he's an unassuming and charming guy, very easy and interesting to chat to and get along with, modest about his skills and keen to ensure that you're enjoying the bout too: which I certainly did. A safe and sane nice guy, a must meet if you're in Auckland, hard work but an absolute pleasure to wrestle, he comes very highly recommended.

I first met Squashlad at a meet in Manchester and I was initially amazed at how enthusiastic and positive he was about wrestling! He made a great opponent and jobber and can take loads of punishment while being destroyed and always wants more! He worked well with my fake kos and I was very happy to have met such a great guy as he was really fun to talk to and he lifted me out of the bad mood I had that day. An amazing guy to wrestle

10/09/2016: You've probably looked at Mike's profile and seen that he's 5' 5" and thought that he wouldn't be all that much of a challenge. You would be wrong. The lad has obviously been living at the campus gym and making eating quality food his major as he's a short, non-green Hulk, approximately as broad as he is tall. (He should definitely put up some more profile photos.) And all the muscle is not just for show. If, like me, you tell him when chatting beforehand that you're fine with him doing his favorite heel turn, and that you're fine with the rough stuff, that is what you are going to get. He's got a tough, brawling style of wrestling, clearly likes being in charge and is very strong. Being locked in one of the private matrooms at the Wrestling Factory and destroyed by the young powerhouse was quite an experience! As well as being a thug he is also, however, a really nice lad, polite, friendly and modest, and despite the roughness he's safe and sane and wrestles with consideration for his opponent. Can't wait to wrestle him again; by which time he tells me he's going to be even more hench! So maybe we will have to paint him green after all....

Met Squashlad today and found him to be a really nice guy. Can take a long and sustained work over. Would recommend.

10/02/2018: Thanks to the sponsorship of the ever-generous DaveLon martialartslad2013 came down to London from Edinburgh just for a bout v. little me! Now how's that for spoilt? Rather unsurprisingly I was no match for the heavyweight judo black belt, and am now rather battered and bruised, but martialartslad2013 is perfectly safe and sane, knows what he's doing and strictly respects whatever limits you set. His enthusiasm for combat sports is obvious and he's easy and interesting to chat to before and after a bout. Highly recommended.

04/11/2017: Unfortunately he's a less frequent visitor to England nowadays, so it was an extremely nice surprise to see alexxwrestler turn up to the Grapevine Group meet at the High Barnet matroom—I'd thought that I'd missed my chance to take him on. You can see why he makes such an impression as soon as he takes his shirt off, and the muscles are not just for show: it was very startling tapping out so quickly to a guy so much lighter, but his strength, speed, agility and good technique meant that I had little option. Thankfully for my self respect I did manage to eventually even the score up, through rather gracelessly flattening the muscular lightweight, but make no mistake, this is a quality wrestler who will easily defeat most guys bigger than him. He's beautifully aggressive, but in a very safe way, so wrestling him is as much of a pleasure as it is a challenge. Off the mats he's charming, self effacing and easy to talk to—which makes a nice counterpoint to his demon mat presence!
Alexxwrestler deserves his fine reputation and is very highly recommended, and I hope to get a rematch with him before too long: but I do realize how long the queue is!

4 November, 2017
After a long gap I wrestled Squashlad again at a Grapevine meeting in Barnet.
Had a good fight as he was not a pushover, but eventually submitted after putting up a good resistance. Well recommended.
I am looking forward to another match soon.

04/11/2017: Despite being at several meets together in the past, it'd been years since I'd last got a grapple in with Rock Hard Pete, so it was great to have a quick tussle with him at the end of the Grapevine Group meet at the High Barnet matroom. It took a while for us jockeying for position but his size and strength meant that, once on top, the submission was only a matter of time, and it was very safely and sanely done. Off the mats Rock Hard Pete is a cheery chap, outgoing and easy to talk to. Hopefully a rematch with him will be quicker in the coming.

04/11/2017: The Grapevine Group meet at the High Barnet matroom was an excellent opportunity for several tussles with devonwrestler. This enthusiastic grappler was new to me, but not new to the mats, so I had to work hard to get anything off him, and it was a lot of fun. Hopefully he thought so too as we had several good grapples during the course of the meet. A safe and sane nice guy, he was chatty and outgoing and easy to talk to between bouts, and added greatly to making it a top quality meet. Highly recommended.

What a total pleasure it was to meet this highly experienced and skilled man at last on the mats, - a long overdue meeting. This guy is one of the very best here on MF. First he manages to be easily encouraging to everyone around him, dispelling any slight nervousness with relaxed, unforced, genuine charm. Secondly he is in great shape....strong and flexible too and with such abiding enthusiasm for wrestling that it is contagious to anyone who meets him. Thirdly he is one of those guys who make you feel totally safe when he is wrestling.....all that experience behind him seems to have created a man of the mats who is very comfortable to roll with. No sense of strong ego here....even when being competitive. And yes of course he is skilled and determined too, but there is a twinkle in the eyes and I can only say to everyone don’t hesitate to meet him and wrestle, whatever your level. It’s no wonder that so many have met him and written entirely positively of his many qualities here. A gentleman of the mats. Hope to meet again soon and benefit from his self-effacing expertise.

06/01/2018: After what seemed like an aeon of never quite managing to be in the same place at the same time it was fantastic to finally get to the Grapevine Group meet at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats at the same time as the legendary davey123 and take him on. You will be entirely unsurprised to hear that he wiped the floor with me, but you know, wrestling mats can never be too clean, and it's no issue losing to a guy who's not only this well built and skilled, but also a charming, self-effacing nice guy. He's one of those total gentlemen of the mats who, when asked about your match, will describe you in such glowing terms that anyone listening would almost assume that you'd dominated him easily, rather than the rather more accurate other way around. Despite all the impressive strength he has a very controlled and technical grappling style and wrestling him is therefore very safe. Between subs, off the mats and over post-meet dinner and drinks he's easy and interesting to chat to, with wide interests and many good stories about wrestling and life. He's already very kindly invited me for a rematch along with mutual friends, and I hope that I can take him up on that very soon. Davey123 is one of this site's “must wrestles” for a reason and mat time with him is an absolute pleasure.

Well as many other guys have written, Squashlad is a really nice guy and was great to spend my first time inside a ring at Walthamstow and was kind to share his own wrestling experiences.

I had a fun time in the ring, Squashlad is tough and strong and knows how to move around on the canvas, to his own advantage. He executes holds very well, cranking up the pressure and have the bruises to prove it this morning. Fortunately, it wasn't fully one sided although it seemed it at times and he seemed to enjoy a rocking camel clutch, head scissor variations, being driven hard into the corner and a reverse leg lock.

Highly recommend meeting this guy for a thoroughly enjoyable time.

29/01/2018: It was great to meet this strong nice guy early on in his MeetFighters adventure for a sweaty winter warmer of a grapple at the Walthamstow ring. He's enthusiastic and unfazed by taking on more experienced guys, has some good power, especially in his legs, and is keen to upskill and try things out, so he makes for a fun opponent. Between subs and off the mats he's pleasant and easy to chat too, and has a good knowledge of classic pro wrestling. Definitely a guy to meet again soon. Safe, sane and highly recommended.

Nov 17. What a nice guy. Met at the Barnet meet today. Our first time hitting the mats together and also the opportunity to do it more than once. Real friendly guy with some very good skill. Off the mats he's great conversation. Wish we had had longer but was glad for the time I got. 10/10

04/11/2017: I'd assumed when he emigrated that I'd missed my chance for a grapple with the legend that is Mark uk, but thankfully a trip to the Grapevine Group meet at the High Barnet matroom had a nice surprise for me in his (substantial) form. I was expecting him to be big: he is. I was expecting him to be strong: he is. I was expecting him to be skilled: he is. I was expecting him to beat me with ease: he did. So no additional surprises then. Well, except that along with all the muscle and skill you get a modest, unassuming, funny and charming guy whom you'd like to go for a pint with after the match and the meet: less expected perhaps, but very welcome. In short therefore, Mark uk is an absolute five-star bloke and an absolute five-star wrestler; safe, sane and very highly recommended, and I hope that I can somehow get lots more mat time with him soon.

I had the great pleasure of wrestling this powerful Kiwi transplant at a recent group meet in Manchester. I knew from various reports and recommendations that he was very strong and accomplished. What an understatement! He overpowered me and had me submitting almost at will. He had me thinking I should change my name to Squashedlad but I decided to maintain his modesty.He is blessed with a quick wit and ready smile, both of which he employed while making me tap innumerable times as well as later on during drinks and dinner. Highly recommended.

11/11/2017: I'd been chatting to Hardmatch for ages so it was a real treat to get this excellent guy over to England and on the mats at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats courtesy of the little meet kindly organized for us by eastcheshireguy. Wrestling him was a lot of sweaty fun although his punishing match schedule was very evident! We hit the mats again later in the day at John's meet and this is certainly a guy you could wrestle over and over. Very safe and sane. Off the mats and over some much needed dinner and a few pints he's even more fun to spend time with, being an engaging, outgoing, generous and funny guy. Hopefully a rematch with him won't need to await me getting out to British Columbia as Hardmatch should be a wrestling regular! Highly recommended.

I had the pleasure to meet Squashlad at a group meet, and what a nice surprise! He is a very strong opponent and especially very difficult to defeat. He's patient and cunning at the same time, so he will let you waste all your energy while he will try to defend himself at the best of his possibilities and then come at you when you are by then exhausted, eventually. He's also got a strong build with impressive legs, that I would have loved to try, but unfortunately I didn't get the chance. Maybe next time! ;) My highest recommendation to this fighter!

04/11/2017: The Grapevine Group meet at High Barnet was the opportunity to meet and wrestle some great new (to me) guys, including some real powerhouses such as loco! He's a big, strong guy with a really good, aggressive-from-the-off wrestling style, and he easily and consistently got me down on the mats, pinned me under him and worked on me. Thankfully a combination of stubbornness and sweat kept me from conceding any subs (during the meet's quickfire three-minute rounds format), but there was no denying who was in charge! Loco may be aggressive, but only in a good, safe and respectful way, so I'd love to take the big strongman on again soon. Highly recommended.

08 Nov 17: Great wrestling meet with Mr Squashy at Barnet. Really genuine nice person and amazing wrestler. I've not done much before and learned so much from him. We did around 90 minutes and I was pretty exhausted by the end! Had me tapping every time, and the few times I had him in a hold he just waited until I was worn out then got me back! Must do it again soon!

07/11/2017: It's always a pleasure to wrestle an enthusiastic newcomer and hertsdog was certainly that. He's also in truly amazing shape, and his strength, good cardiovascular fitness and stamina meant that this was a much tougher match than it should have been versus someone new to wrestling: when he gets you locked up, it's hard work to break free from all that muscle. But of course that just made it all the more fun! Between subs at the High Barnet matroom on a cold November evening he was pleasant, interesting and easy to talk to and the sort of guy you'd want to invite for a pint to continue to chat to, so hopefully we will get a chance to do that one night soon when we haven't wrestled till late. Safe, sane and highly recommended.

Met squashlad today for a brief bout in a group meet. What an amazing fighter !!! A very tough and strong guy.... difficult to get the grips on him and ince you get it hard to make him submit . Excellent Figter fully recommended .

04/11/2017: It's rare that I hold off on asking guys at meets for a wrestle because, you know, nothing ventured nothing gained and all that, but with brazilwrestler86 I have to confess that it was so obvious that I'd be totally and completely outclassed that I did hold back from asking for a match when we came across each other at the Grapevine Group meet at the High Barnet matroom: the guy is seriously well built and is, well, actually Brazilian.... Eventually however, he asked me for a match, and I'm really pleased that he did as our two little grapples were a lot of fun. It's true, all the muscle and skill meant that there was only going to be one result, and I duly tapped out to avoid having my head come off in his headlock (not normally I hold I'd sub to), but I was super pleased to otherwise largely hold my own and only concede the one sub in our two little three-minute tussles. Once he has you down though, that's it: brazilwrestler86 is just immensely strong. But despite the skull-crushing power he is perfectly safe and sane, is willing to wrestle down to his opponent's level, and is a surprisingly technical wrestler for such a powerhouse. Chatting to him around our matches was similarly enjoyable as he's an interesting and intelligent guy who has done some amazing things with his life. An absolute must for a rematch—hopefully many while we have the pleasure of his company here in London—and my very highest recommendation.

We've been trying to set up a match for quite a while, but finally got the opportunity in Barnet today. We squeezed in a few 3-min rounds where he instantly started homing in on my arms and even though I've got a decent bit of flexibility he got a couple of subs from that!

Strong, fast and skilled - all you need for a good match - highly recommended!

04/11/2017: I'd been wanting to get a match in with this skilled young man for ages so it was great when the Grapevine Group meet gave me the opportunity. His training was very evident, as expected, but what I wasn't prepared for was how big and strong he's grown up to be [I vaguely remember the days when it was the muscles getting bigger, and not just the gut!] nor how crazily flexible he is. Even when pinned and safely locked up, getting a tap out of sub aqua was a huge amount of hard work, and in some of our matches I didn't manage it at all. Between rounds he's an interesting guy to talk to and he has a very pleasant, friendly and outgoing way about him that contrasts nicely to the stoney immovability that is sub aqua on the mats. A safe and sane nice guy, he's a must for a rematch, hopefully sooner rather than later, and is very highly recommended.

It was good meeting Squashlad. much stronger then he looks and had a good time wrestling. Hope to wrestle him again soon.

25/10/2017: fitnesssouth1 was my fellow Londoner at wrestleruk1's meet to welcome slpt and eventually it was our turn to show all the muscle-bound Northern guys that the soft Southerners could actually wrestle. Well I'm not sure if we achieved that, but we did have a good fun sweaty little tussle—and hopefully proximity means that we can have another go soon. Fitnesssouth1 was safe and sane and is highly recommended.

Met squashlad a very friendly guy very welcoming had a request for a grapple which sorry to say I was out of steam although fully enjoyed the short time the guy knows his business and gives as good as he gets fully enjoyed the short time hopefully have a longer time next time we meet thank you for the warm welcome ..

14/10/2017: Given that he'd come to the OWG meet to meet a particular guy and do some pro in the ring, Craig was remarkably sanguine about it all, and I only needed to bully him a little bit right at the end of the meet to get him onto the mats and doing some submission grappling with me. His huge strength held him in good stead and we had a good sweaty tussle. I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did, even without the ropes to hold us up! With luck he will come back to other Manchester meets and give me a longer match. Safe, sane and highly recommended.

14/10/2017: It was great to meet GazProFan at the OWG meet at the Wrestling Factory and get a match in with him. He kindly did subs with me despite his preference for pro, and he proved to be a strong and determined opponent. He has formidable legs and once he learns to use them to subdue and submit the other guy he will be a real force to be reckoned with. Off the mats he's a chatty, pleasant and outgoing guy and good to spend time with. Hopefully he will be back at the Manchester meets and will give me another match. Safe, sane and highly recommended.

Given that Mr 200+ opponents is a bit of a Meetfighters legend and is, you know, actually a kiwi [yum!], getting to know him at wrestleruk1's meet and being yet another lucky one to join his 200+ Men Club was amazing - if tremendously extenuating. Sadly for me he was incredibly strong and well prepared, so he did not take it easy on me at all and proceeded to thoroughly wipe John's mats with my face, while remaining a defensive little armadillo the entire time, countering every single move I threw at him and proving that muscles can be completely useless sometimes! Between bouts and over lunch my suspicions were confirmed as he turned out to be an incredible guy with a wicked sense of humour, and with him and wrestleruk1 and all the other guys at the meet it really was a truly amazing day. “If this is Wednesday this must be Mansfield” it may have been (there were a few occasions when I had no feckin idea where I was due to being knocked out), but Craig will always, ALWAYS beat ya no matter how long you try to break his defences (I honestly can't remember making him tap out??), and is always very safe and sane. So squashlad is very highly recommended, and I hope that I get to grapple with him again soon!

P.s. I swear I wasn't being lazy, I was just trying to be as funny as youuuu, ahaha! Cheers ya big slag! I mean, slug! I mean, Craig!

P.p.s. I can't stop picturing your face on a kiwi, as if you were actually a kiwi, because of the way that's phrased up there. I'm photoshopping that back in Dublin, and putting in on my upcoming blog post ahahaha!

25/10/2017: Given that Mr Video is a bit of a MeetFighters legend and is, you know, actually Brazilian [gulp] getting invited to wrestleruk1's meet to be one of the lucky guys to get to take slpt on on his English grand tour was amazing—if a bit intimidating. Thankfully for me he'd been wrestling for days by the time I got there, and generally took it pretty easy on me, so although getting up close and personal with all the muscle was quite the experience, I was stoked to only tap out to him a couple of times. Between bouts and over lunch he proved himself to be as nice and as funny a guy as he comes across, a real pleasure to spend time with, and with him and wrestleruk1 and all the other guys at the meet it was just an excellent day. “If this is Wednesday this must be Mansfield” it may have been (there were a few occasions when he didn't look like he knew where he was!) but he always makes you feel like you're the guy he wants to be wrestling, which is a rare skill, and is always safe and sane, so slpt is very highly recommended and I hope that I get to grapple with him again soon.

A great guy and serious competition. The minute we set eyes on each other I knew our match would be fun and intense, from the start we both went for it and put on a good performance.

This was an great fight and the competitiveness increased throughout each round we had over the 2 days. Don't miss the chance to get to grips with this tough, great-looking man.

Already arranging the next match and looking forward to upping our game. To be continued..............

07 & 09/10/2017: lutonwrestle was a guy I'd been wanting to try my luck against for ages, so it was great to get to meet him at ATONMAN's meets at High Barnet and at Walthamstow. His aggressive, take-no-prisoners wrestling style didn't disappoint, and we had several good hard sweaty battles that some of the guys watching seemed to enjoy almost as much as I did! A rematch is already in the planning and so hopefully I will get to take the Hertfordshire bruiser on again soon: he is highly recommended.

Thanks, Craig, for the introduction to pippas. It was a jolly good time. Glad I could help you keep warm on the mats a bit. Sorry I took away your famous side headlock with my neck restriction.

14/10/2017: It was fantastic to have this quality wrestler join us for the OWG meet at the Wrestling Factory and hopefully Guysmiley enjoyed the meet (and the socializing afterwards) as much as we enjoyed having him there. It took a bit of coaxing to get him to strip off and get out on the mats, but that may have been a bit of a ploy as it meant I perhaps took his reticence for inexperience—and wow was I wrong about that! He is super strong and getting him turned was a mission: getting him to tap was beyond me. It was a lot of fun though, and he was always safe and sane. He also joined us for dinner afterwards, and although that would undoubtedly have confirmed everything everyone's ever heard about Britain and food, he was a convivial addition to our group, funny and quick witted and a pleasure to be around. I hope that we get Guysmiley back This Side soon!

Squashlad is a real gentleman. He is also a very strong fighter. One of the strongest I met not only in this event in London but everywhere across Europe. We had several matches and in each circonstance he forced me to give up. Sometimes easily sometimes less easily. It was exciting for me wrestling him and I hope meet him again for a rematch. Thanks from me to you! Top recommended!

07 & 09/10/2017: ATONMAN's meet brought lots of great wrestlers to London, Mat74 not least among them. I was privileged to get several sweaty matches in with this tenacious, super fit and enthusiastic wrestler on both days and thoroughly enjoyed all my time with him. He's got some good grappling training, great instincts and a real desire to win, and that coupled with his superb stamina and cardiovascular fitness mean that he is hard work to contain and it's a great workout taking him on. He's always safe and sane and respectful of his opponent—even if he is usually suctioned onto him like a limpet. He joined us for dinner after the first meet and is excellent funny and intelligent company. Very highly recommended and it's great to hear that a rematch with Mat74 may not be too far away.

Fun match with the lad. He loves a good squash and I always aim to please! Would love to roll with him on a mat sometime (and find more ways to squash him). Strong and confident and can take a lot of abuse which was a pleasure to inflict–even with my polite manners! Pleasure to take him on again.
10/3/17: Excellent time with SquashLad again. Great to see him, catch up get reacquainted and a such a great wrestler just like I remembered. He has had nearly 200 matches since last time...so unfair! But so worth the wait. Great fun just like the last time. Wrestling, hanging out with a good mate in London, what could be better.

28/09/2015: Had a fun tussle with Redmond40 on his latest trip to London. He's a big strong guy who likes to dominate and he was completely effective in doing that with me as I was totally overpowered. He's completely safe and sane though and always respectful of his opponent; indeed demonstrating those excellent manners that Americans invariably have even while attempting to pull my limbs off.... Between rounds he's a chatty, engaging and witty guy whose enthusiasm for wrestling is infectious. Hopefully he'll manage a trip back to London soon and when he does we'll be meeting again somewhere with a bit more space for a longer match, which I'm very much looking forward to. So Redmond40's highly recommended!
03/10/2017: Quite possibly my longest ever wait for a rematch, but well worth it! It was great to have Redmond40 back in London for some laughs and a gossip, some swimming and chilling out, and some dinner (which he very kindly paid for) and drinks, and generally another great evening. Oh and there was some wrestling too! Which was again a lot of fun as I tried to manoeuvre my way into being able to do something despite his size and strength (and largely failing). Hopefully I'll persuade him onto some mats one day, but in the meantime I'd happily wrestle him anywhere!

What a gent, reflected in his recommendation. Squashlad knows how to wrestle, to counter well, to search out the submission. I may have been a little under the weather and sub par, but frankly that wouldn't have changed the result all that much - though I'd like to test that more thoroughly when I'm 100%! Great guy, friendly and competitive.

19/09/2017: After you've been on MeetFighters just a little while you'll realize that guys cancelling last minute (or even just not showing up at all) is all part of it. Even the best things usually have downsides and you just have to take the rough with the smooth. No doubt most times the cancellations are for legitimate reasons. But as a result I really appreciate it when guys go out of their way to wrestle me as scheduled: although sometimes, with hindsight, they probably should have postponed! So it proved with GusLondon, who turned up at the High Barnet matroom and gamely got stuck in despite really not being well enough to be there, and he has my great respect for doing so. Unfortunately it did mean that we only had a brief grapple, and his energy levels were a bit restricted, but it was enough for me to experience how strong he is, and how determined and (appropriately) aggressive, so he is a must for another go and a longer match. While catching our breath he proved to be a pleasant guy to chat to and share a joke with, and I'm sure that round 2 will be a lot of fun. Safe, sane and highly recommended.

Pleasant and easy to get along with, Good wrestle also

28/10/2017: After chatting for ages it was great to finally make it down to West Norwood for a match with COMBAT123. As expected I had no answer for his immense strength, and was overpowered and flattened early on. He's a safe and sane guy, happy to pitch things at your level, but he also clearly likes to dominate on the mats, so I was well worked over. A fantastic match in other words! After the sweaty stuff he's a very interesting guy to chat to, pleasant and outgoing and with lots of eye-popping wrestling tales, having been around the underground wrestling scene for a while. Hope I can get a rematch in with him soon. Very highly recommended.

It was good to meet Squashlad at the recent Manchester meet. He is a really friendly guy who put me at ease straight away, and I then knew it would be the sort of sporty fun match that I really like. It could easily have been a bit one-sided in his favour but he was a real gent and toned things down to make for a good bout. Hope to meet again soon.

9/9/17
Loved the latest tussle with Squashlad.He's got such a repertoire of holds and moves that I inevitably fall victim to them, but it's great fun trying to thwart his intentions and to make myself a pain in the arse as much as possible! :) Very much looking forward to the next one.

09/04/2016: After being at a couple of Manchester meets with hedloker uk now, I finally managed to get a match with him on the main mats at the OWG meet. He's not necessarily that keen on wrestling lardarses like me, which might explain why it's taken a while to be able to get a match with him, but don't think that that means that he's an easy beat for a heavier guy: quite the opposite, hedloker uk knows his stuff, and was in control throughout most of our match. It was particularly refreshing to wrestle a guy into freestyle [proper wrestling!] after a day of nothing but submission grappling. Hedloker uk is a safe wrestler on the mats and an interesting, pleasant and personable guy off them. Definitely someone to wrestle again and again and I hope that we will.
09/09/2017: John's Manchester Meet 21 provided an opportunity for another crack at hedlocker uk at the Wrestling Factory, so of course I took it! He really is superbly skilled and in superb shape and if I wasn't so much heavier than him he would completely destroy me. As it is we have some good, even, sweaty, back-and-forth battles and I have a ball doing so. Hopefully I will get a lot more mat time with him.

Update: September 2017 - I have now had the immense pleasure of meeting Squashlad a couple more times since our first match last year and I had this vague notion that, as time goes on, he would become an easier opponent to fight. How wrong could I be! In the few months since I last saw him, he has become even stronger and tougher than he was before and it took me by surprise. It goes without saying that his superb physique and attitude to the sport means Squashlad was built to wrestle.
It’s always great fun to see this guy and hang out for a few hours and worth a great deal of travel to meet!
Note to self: be tougher on him next time, he won’t break ;)

October 2016: I write this feeling battered, bruised (I hope) but totally buzzed after having an amazing afternoon of wrestling with Squashlad. What a man he is - a great guy to spend time with: enthusiastic, friendly and so easy and relaxing to talk with. What’s more he is extremely fit with an exceptional, strong physique and killer thighs that literally took my breath away - not only in the visual sense (I’m a legs man! ) but also by the fact that they left my ribcage creaking at one point.
Squashlad is a tough opponent and gives a mega workout on the mats - I won't need the gym for days now! Even when he allowed me to work him over, he was still hard to manoeuvre! But what’s great is that he can easily turn the tables - and quickly too…one minute you have him contained safely in a head lock or head scissors, the next he’s suddenly on top applying arm-bars or choke holds - whatever he likes seeing as his technical skills are brilliant. His defence is also really good too as is his ability to break down your own defence pretty well too.

It was an absolute pleasure to host Squashlad - he's totally safe, sane and reliable. I only wish I had been able to spend more time with him off the mats and take him out for dinner as I really appreciate him making the journey up from London and going through the nightmare that is the Sunday train-service.

I highly recommend this guy and I can't wait for our second match - I'd wrestle him every day - but it will be well worth waiting until the new year!

30/10/2016: A nice long sweaty grapple with Pinstride was just what I needed after a trying weekend of lost phones and rail replacement buses as he's a brilliant guy to wrestle and a fantastic host. I arrived at his a grumpy, irritable old man and left a happy, smiley and beaten up old man. Fabulous! He's got a great heel turn if you like that sort of thing [I like that sort of thing], with the most fantastic heel's wrestle-face: the look of menace lets you know exactly what's coming to you jobber boy! Just before his fist buries itself in your "abs".... Always safe and sane though. And the Hallowe'en mask of menace was all the more impressive given that he's got a face very much not made for radio. :-) Between subs he's an interesting guy to chat to, friendly and outgoing and very easy to talk with, and is a kind and thoughtful host. As a result Pinstride is very highly recommended and my only regret is a need to wait till 2017 till we get to wrestle again. But wrestle again we certainly shall!
16/09/2017: A return to Grundisburgh always makes my weekend, and this was no exception. Pinstride's a bit hard to catch nowadays, now that he's mainly a Budapester, but is well worth biding your time for, as he remains a good tough opponent, great fun to hang out with and a fabulous host. He's clearly learning a lot wrestling all the muscled guys in Hungary and working hard in the gym, so tussling with him is fantastic fun. I'll try not to monopolize his mat time when he is back in Suffolk: but no guarantees!

Been talking to his guy for abit. Was hoping to get down to London to meet him. Sadly life got in the way but lucky we both met at the Manchester meet.

Craig is a very defensive wrestler. Very strong and clearly knows what he is doing. Spent a long time trying to find a way through his defences and lucky managed to get a lucky choke on him.
Off the mats Craig is great guy to chat with. Very socialable and a great sense of humour.

Definitely want to meet up again soon. Hopefully have a one on one match for abit longer as well. Look forward to meeting up again soon mate.

09/09/2017: It was a really good surprise seeing toetotoe at John's Manchester Meet 21 at the Wrestling Factory as I'd been trying to get a match with the young powerhouse for ages. However when we got down to business it was rather less him slipping out of my clutches and rather more me failing to stay out of his, as I was flattened and easily controlled every time. It was a bit like the anonymous guy facing down the tank in Tiananmen Square, although thankfully more successful (I lived)—but also briefer! Given toetotoe's super-powerful physique you could probably have guessed that really, he's built like the Forth Bridge, but what you may not have guessed is that he's not only very strong, he's also very quick. So although through a combination of sweat and bloody mindedness I was somehow able to not concede a sub while he was in the mount for an age, when I did once get a reversal, and therefore relaxed for a moment, expecting him to take his time to regroup, that proved to be the only sub of our matches, as he was around me and clamping on a r.n.c. at a speed that a bantamweight would envy, and I was tapping instantly. Very safely and sanely done though. Off the mats he's a chatty, pleasant, outgoing and funny nice guy, a pleasure to talk to and to go for a post-meet meal and few drinks with, so toetotoe and his muscles are a five-star recommendation from me. I just hope I can get a rematch with him rather more quickly!

I had a very enjoyable wrestle with Squashlad at the Manchester meet 13-05-17.He is a strong skilled wrestler ,he was quite surprised with my suppleness and how I can use it to get out of trouble.He made my ribs click during our wrestle and I sure did know about it when I turned over in bed the following night.However a few exercises the morning after all clicked and no damage done.Squashlad is a safe,sane and friendly wrestler and I hope we can wrestle again at a future meet.

09/09/2017: John's Manchester Meet 21; I had a great wrestle Squashlad for the second time.It was a safe ,sane and competitive wrestle which I enjoyed very much.He is a great wrestler and I did use my suppleness during the wrestle to my advantage.I hope to wrestle with him again at any future meets. Highly recommended.

13/05/2017: It was excellent to get a match in with this well named and experienced wrestler on the main mats at John's meet at Pippa's. My extra bulk kept me out of trouble, but this is a guy who clearly knows his stuff, both submission and freestyle, and with his height and startling flexibility he was a real handful to keep under control. Do not relax against him, he has the ability to bring his legs up and over and hook you out of the way from practically anywhere. Safe, sane and friendly and a pleasant and interesting guy to chat to between subs too. Hope to get a rematch in with him soon.
09/09/2017: John's Manchester Meet 21 provided the opportunity for the rematch versus this quality opponent back at the Wrestling Factory, so of course I took it! As startlingly flexible as ever, it was again a huge amount of fun, and hopefully only the second of many tussles. Highly recommended.

I have had the pleasure to meet Squashlad twice once at grove park 1 to 1 and at Manchester at a group meet. A great competitive and fun gay to wrestle. Always a challenge. His skills are expanding and it always great to meet him. He is very likable guy and easy to get along with. I look forward to meeting him again and to see what new challenges come about

25/04/2017: Great to have such an easy to arrange match for a change: 48 hours later and we're throwing each other around the Grove Park ring, keeping warm on a cold April night. TigerWizard's a keen, very strong and sensibly stubborn wrestler, so we had a good tussle and he really made me work to take any subs off him, powering his way out of many attempts. Between subs he's a chatty and outgoing chap, easy to talk to and knowledgeable about our great sport. Highly recommended and hopefully a rematch will be on the cards soon.
09/09/2017: A change of venue for an unexpected but very welcome rematch against TigerWizard, this time at the Wrestling Factory in Ancoats for John's Manchester Meet 21. Again the big powerhouse used his strength to make it difficult to get anything off him, and again we had an intense sweaty battle. Hopefully only the second of many tussles.

Craig asked me for a roll during the Meet at Pippa's on Saturday 9 September and I was glad to accept. His wrestling skills are far in advance of mine but I owe him a big thank you for his patience with me & the help he gave me. He adjusted the wrestle to my level; while he submitted me a few times he also gave me the chance to sweep him and practise a few holds on him. I'm really grateful to him; he certainly helped my confidence and my motivation to carry on with the sport. Whatever your level I would encourage you to have a roll; it wll be fun and if you are a novice like me you will have fun.

Thanks Craig

09/09/2017: John's Manchester Meet 21 at the Wrestling Factory was one of the best attended for ages, with plenty of new (to me) guys to try my luck against, and syardley was one of the keenest to accept a request for some mat time together, which is always encouraging! When down to business he was safe and sane and keen to get stuck in, with a good level of cardio and base strength making him a tricky opponent. Off the mats he's a pleasant and chatty bloke and I'm sure that he charmed all at Pippa's and will have plenty of rematches to arrange—including with me! Highly recommended.

I met Squashlad at a Manchester group meet. Agreeable guy off the mats but he was aggressive and strong when we wrestled. I found him difficult to get a submission from but he got several from me, so I was on the receiving end of the squash. Good, enjoyable wrestler and I hope we can wrestle again

09/09/2017: It was great to see plenty of new (to me) faces at John's Manchester Meet 21 at the Wrestling Factory and to have BSF accept my request for a grapple on the main mats. He's tall, strong and flexible and likes to get stuck in, so getting anything off him was a real challenge. Between subs he was an interesting and personable guy and was easy to chat to. Hopefully this will be just the first of many tussles with him. Safe, sane and highly recommended.

I am glad that i meet this popular wrestler in UK ! I started my trip at London with a great fun submission match with Squashlad! He is very great guy, fun, strong, like play sub rough ! Have a great time with him. My jetlag that i had that day don't help me to win my match with him unfortunaly! : ) But next time.. i will win ! and i will have more energy for sure ! : ) Highly recommended for a great sub match with a great wrestler!

24/08/2017: It's always great to meet a new wrestler, but when the guy involved is a wrestling superstar, with well over 400 past opponents and a catalogue of BG East matches that guys all over the world have watched, it's both a pleasure and a bit intimidating! I need not've worried though, because although Marcwrestler is indeed a prolific wrestling superstar, who sure knows his stuff, he's also a cheery, relaxed and outgoing guy who just wants his opponent to have fun wrestling him. He was pretty jet lagged after his trans-Atlantic flight earlier in the day and his preceeding match, but he was still bouncy, freshly showered and raring to go when we met, so we had a good sweaty tussle and I was comprehensively taken apart in a wide variety of punishing holds—including some that were completely new to me. All very safely done though, and between the huge repertoire of holds, the huge muscles and the hugely entertaining Québecois English I had a great evening and it was very flattering to be included in Marcwrestler's packed holiday schedule. Very highly recommended and I hope we get him back in England before too long.

Met Craig yesterday for a submissions only match. First of all it was easy to arrange and he was punctual. He is an interesting thoughtful polite guy who is easy to chat to.
We had a female ref and as Craig got changes she commented that he looked strong. She was right-he is, as i found out to my cost. He is not only strong, he is skilled. Most of all he is safe, even though i did sustain a slight injury that halted the match early. Not Craigs fault i hasten to add. On the mats he pretty much worked me over with a series of painful submissions. Whilst Craig was hardly out of breath i was sweating profusely just to stay in the match. He was the better man and proved it afterwards by not enforcing the post match stake that we had agreed, as i was injured. This is a top recommendation for a top bloke.

31/08/2017: A match with nice guy markuk was a series of firsts for me: first match with him, first match at the Submission Room in Seven Sisters, and first match with a very professional female referee, the rather intimidating but very funny strongwoman Killpussy! He very kindly arranged everything for us and was generally just a pleasure to deal with, wrestle and chat to, even buying me a sausage pastry to replenish the lost energy on the way back to the tube! Unfortunately I dropped rather clumsily onto him at one point, and the resulting cocked rib meant that we had to finish up rather earlier than we wanted to, but even that he was super nice and forgiving about. Hopefully we can have another, injury-free go soon—with or without Killpussy's sardonic commentary on our wrestling abilities! Safe and sane and highly recommended.

15/07/2017: An after-work match with gazst at the High Barnet matroom was the perfect antidote to a dull day at work, and with the bonus of a small audience with a taste for rough matches, which always adds to things. A significant height and weight advantage meant that I thought that I'd have things easy, but gazst's no-nonsense keenness, strength, determination and evident boxing training proved that that wasn't the case, with subs going both ways, and I had no option but to tap out to his punishing headlock, while my gut took a bashing. All very safely and sanely, even considerately done though. He's in great shape, with very powerful legs, has an infectious level of enthusiasm and is easy and interesting to talk to between subs, so a rematch is a must, and gazst is highly recommended.

I met squashlad at a group match. Great meeting this guy, highly skilled wrestler certainly managed to make me submit. Enjoyed watching this guy fight the others in the group. Lovely guy great to meet him again.

08/08/2017: A1Jobberlad was my partner for a tag submission match versus NorthNotts and wrestleruk1 and was much needed in trying to contain the musclebound bullies! Thankfully it wasn't the most serious match ever held, so he and I didn't in fact get thrown out of the first-floor window; and, even better, it meant that I got to have a few grapples with him too. He's an enthusiastic and up for it wrestler, amazingly flexible and resilient, and while he clearly enjoys playing the jobber, he fights back hard to make it a good fun grapple for both guys. Between subs he's a personable, friendly and outgoing bloke, interesting to chat to (even about things other than wrestling!), and I only wish that he could've had some more time to spend with us all. Hopefully we will rectify that via a rematch soon! Safe, safe and highly recommended.

Met Craig, northnotts and A1jobberlad today for what turned out to be an excellent afternoon of wrestling. All the guys are great and I've met A1jobberlad and northnotts before (see previous recommendations) but first time for meeting squash!
I can only reiterate what everyone else has said about this guy...strong as an ox and skilled way beyond my level. The one thing I didn't pick up on in his many recommendations was how cool and laid back his attitude is...it's a bit of decoy so don't be fooled by it! Once he hits the mats he turns into a wrestling champion and outclassed me by miles....obviously I stood no chance but if you're gonna get beat might as well get beaten by the best! (That's my new motto) off the mats he's a lovely bloke and easy to chat too. He made the effort to travel up here at fairly short notice and I really appreciated it, what a lovely guy and big recommendation off me! Not sure he needs anymore recommendations though as he's inundated with wrestling and deservedly so! Oh and Craig....I still owe you a dinner!

08/08/2017: It was brilliant to be invited to wrestleruk1's little meet at his with NorthNotts and A1Jobberlad and even better to be able to get to meet and wrestle them all. A super nice guy and a kind, generous and welcoming host, he doesn't take things too seriously, which is probably just as well for me, because if he chose to apply all the muscle (and there is a lot of muscle!) I would've needed to be mopped off his mats along with all the sweat. He is stupidly strong and getting anything off him was a lot of hard (although very enjoyable!) work. It's always nice to meet a guy whose photos are an accurate reflexion of his hard work at the gym, but what a photo can't tell you is what a lovely, sweet person he is. So let me do that. Safe, sane and very highly recommended, and with some very patable canine companions, wrestleruk1's a pleasure to have met and wrestled, and I hope that I get to do so again.

Great match today with squashlad as part of a 4 way tag kind of meet. Great wrestler with brilliant technique. Got 1 sub which i was well chuffed about but he got too many from me. Definitely recommend

08/08/2017: After having once been told that he wasn't interested in wrestling lardarses like me [I'm paraphrasing] I was super pleased to be invited by NorthNotts to a little group meet with him, wrestleruk1 and A1Jobberlad and to get the chance to take him on. Thankfully for me it is true that I do have a bit of an advantage in the weight department, but that's just as well as if it'd been more even NorthNotts would have had me on toast: he's fast, very strong, determined and aggressive in just the right way—he wants to win, but doesn't take anything too seriously. As it was subs went both ways and he had me locked up and helpless many times. He has seriously strong tree trunks for legs and a great ability to get them quickly around you. One of life's natural comedians, it was difficult not to concede the advantage when he makes you laugh, and that really added to a great day wrestling him and the other guys. Safe, sane, fun and funny, he's very highly recommended and I hope I get to try my luck with him again.

6 Aug 17 Great to catch up with Squashlad for a long overdue rematch, he was looking more beefy, stronger and handsome than I remember and was on good form on the mats. Really great guy to wrestle and meet. Hope to catch up again soon.

Really enjoyed meeting and wrestling Squashlad at Pippa’s. Strong, fit, sorted lad with plenty of stamina who is safe and sane on the mats . Friendly and easy going to chat with off the mats. Looking forward to taking him on again and giving him a run for his money next time. Excellent grappler, highly recommended.

12/03/2016: Had a good grapple with secondsout on the main mats at Pippa's as part of John's meet and am looking forward to some more mat time with this strong, skilled and determined grappler. Safe, sane and courteous on the mats, he's a chatty, friendly, outgoing guy off them, so is highly recommended. I think we'd have fun wearing each other down (and out!) when we've more time for a longer match.
06/08/2017: A sweaty summer rematch with secondsout on his mats in Hove Actually was a great way to finish off an excellent Sussex weekend's wrestling and festivities. He's strong, keen and determined so is great fun to grapple and subs went both ways. A thoughtful host and an interesting guy to chat to too. Hopefully only the second of many matches.

Thoroughly enjoyable meet with Craig (squashlad) last night at Walthamstow. He is attitude-free, down to earth and has a good sense of humour. I had to be on my best defensive form to withstand the onslaught but it was all well worth the effort and I am definitely looking forward to the next time. And we had a nice couple of winding down beers in the local pub at the end. A nice way to spend a Monday night.

31/07/2017: Sometimes the guys whom you meet for a grapple aren't just nice guys, they're inspirational. Steve50a is such a wrestler. Most guys in their 20s would be delighted to have such a good physique and he is seriously strong with it. Each and every subs was a huge effort to get as he just powers out of what you try to put on him. And his effective leg laces often meant I needed to concentrate on a reversal before attack was possible. So our match at the Walthamstow ring hugely enlivened an otherwise dull Monday; as did a couple of pints and a chat about all things wrestling afterwards. Safe, sane, reliable and just the right sort of feisty, steve50a was a great pleasure to wrestle and hopefully we'll be able to grapple again soon.

Attractive and intelligent guy to wrestle. He is far better wrestler than me and made sure I knew it and made use of it putting in one painful hold after another. He is stronger and a lot more aggressive than he appears to make out on the mats so beware! Still I enjoyed the evening even though it was a walk over for him.

A nice sane guy to meet.

25/07/2017: There are some guys you've just got to get a match with, and phyta123 and I have similar tastes for what we like in a match, so it was excellent when he accepted my impatient demand for a match in short order! No waiting for the weekend nonsense here, a midweek grapple at the High Barnet matroom was the order of the day. Unfortunately my impatience meant that phyta123 was wrestling with a crook shoulder, so it couldn't be as intense a battle as we'd both've liked, but it was still a good tough tussle and he made me work enjoyably hard for everything. He's got a good solid punch, which I always struggle to counter, so he held his own despite the injury. Chilling out between subs he proved to be a chatty and pleasant guy with a wealth of wrestling tales so he is highly recommended. Safe and sane and hopefully a rematch is on the cards.

Soft spoken, clear eyes and gentleman like manners. You're in for a big surprise on the ring as he's extremely strong and can be quite ruthless. However, as he cares very much about his opponent, you'll get to decide where and how it all goes.
As a result we had a great time wrestling, each dominating from time to time, being creative and experimenting.
It was a great rainy afternoon. Hope to do it again !

29/07/2017: There is something in the theory that if a match is a breeze to arrange your opponent is going to be quality opposition. It certainly proved that way with the Gallic charm personified that is Riviera Wrestle and a horribly rainy, very unsummery London Saturday was no obstacle to a very relaxing and enjoyable grapple with him. Unfortunately he was carrying a bit of an injury to his shoulder, so we kept things playful, but despite my significant weight advantage he left me in no doubt that he knows his stuff and was startlingly strong for a guy of 65 kg. With my stomach rumbling for dinner his mouthwatering conversation about French cuisine was a tad cruel, but apart from that he was safe, sane and a delight to spend the day with. Highly recommended and I am eagerly awaiting another grapple with Riviera Wrestle.

01/07/2017: Getting to wrestle this legend of underground wrestling on his most recent trip to Europe was a bit of a dream come true, if rather a painful one! Big, strong (so strong), skilled, powerful and sadistic, if hardcore wrestling is your thing, this is the man to be getting in the ring with: the Grove Park ring in my case. (Hopefully we'll get some footage from the beatdown edited together soon and available to view by those with strong stomachs!) You will be unsurprised to know that I got totally demolished, and the mismatch in our skill levels, let alone our strength, did make a few things a bit challenging, but as well as being very well named BrutalWrestler is safe and sane, capable and willing to pitch the destruction at a level that you're comfortable with, so wrestling him is an amazing experience. If you get the opportunity to wrestle the wrecking ball, count yourself among the lucky ones and go for it. BrutalWrestler is very highly recommended: and I'm still grinning about being offered a San Francisco rematch with him! Bring it on! 👍

Met Craig at a Social gathering. Had a cracking little Wrestle with him. Fiesty , strong , great detrermination and a Good Arsenal of holds. Great Fella to wrestle and Share a laugh and a bevvie with. Top Lad.

16/07/2017: It was brilliant to finally meet Pitbull at a wrestlers' shindig in Harlaxton and to hit the mats with him. We were both rather the worse for wear by that stage, so it wasn't the longest or most technical grapple that I've ever had, and it probably wasn't very sensible—but it was a lot of fun! He's a strong and determined guy, so it was great tussling with him, and even better getting to know him over dinner, and breakfast, and drinks, and, erm, lunch, and OK, well possibly there was a lot more socializing than grappling, but hey: Pitbull is the sort of guy you want to socialize with! Highly recommended and a must for a less Redbull-fuelled rematch.

Nice Guy To Wrestle with. Even if hes older he has a Body like 10 Year younger guys. Its hard to get on top in a Fight with him. If you are on Top that doesnt mean you won. He is also very good on Defense. Cool guy on and at the Mat. Highly recommended. Would be Fun to Wrestle with him soon Again

03 & 05/06/2017: Two opportunities to wrestle Wrestlinger2009 came up during my trip to Germany, firstly at the Einsteiger freestyle training camp in Lindow (Mark) and then on RingerBln's mats in Berlin, and it was great to be able to tussle with him several times. He's tall and has a real desire to win, and may well have done that during our second set of matches had RingerBln not already knocked the stuffing out of him for me (I was late as usual). Off the mats he's an outgoing and affable guy who likes a beer and who was kind enough to provide a translation service for us lazy monoglot Anglophones. Wrestlinger2009 is safe and sane and highly recommended and I hope that we can wrestle again soon.

A strong determined and talented wrestler, and a great guy off the mats. Highly recommended

25/05/2015: After meeting him on the mats and in the ring at Pippa's in Manchester, I got the benefit of encountering mikeswuk's skills again during the submission grappling classes at the excellent International Wrestlers' Camp in Lindow (Mark). He was a huge help in repeating the submissions and counters that we'd had demonstrated with me and letting me try them out on him with a suitably educational level of resistance or cooperation as was needed; along with chipping in the benefit of his own extensive experience from time to time. So I'm looking forward to a further grapple with this skilled but unassuming wrestler back in England and seeing if I can remember what I've been taught. A pleasant, friendly, engaging chap off the mats too; and therefore highly recommended.
13/06/2015: Well I got some more grappling in with mikeswuk back in England, at John's meet, and was extremely pleased to take a few subs off him! [That they were subs that he'd spent a good, very patient half hour coaching me in how to achieve we will overlook for now!] A very talented wrestler and a lovely bloke, I'm looking forward to more coaching and more grappling.

Heute zum zweiten Mal getroffen mit besserer Umgebung. Es ist schon so viel über ihn geschrieben worden :-) und er ist ein sehr netter und starker Kerl! Hatbsehr viel Spaß gemacht! Und immer ein freundliches lächeln...
Gerne wieder!!

03/04/2017: I was very flattered to be chosen by the amazing waterrescue for a match on his first trip to London since the '80s [it was acceptable in the '80s]: it helps to have friends in high places (thank you marko75!). As expected he was far too strong and far too skilled for me, and it was only his sweet nature, sympathy for my existing bruised state and a hard floor that ruled out throws that prevented me from being totally demolished. We will definitely be having a rematch as soon as that can be arranged, and the outcome on some proper mats is not in doubt; it will, however, I am sure be just as much fun as Monday's sweaty little tussle, because this is one amazing guy to spend some decent grappling time with. He's safe, sane, friendly and chatty, interesting to talk to, a great host, in superb lifeguard's shape, able to demolish most opponents but also able and willing to tone it down to your level of skill and fitness. An amazing experience to wrestle him in other words: if you get the chance to, take it! I will be doing so—only maybe with reinforcements next time!
17/06/2017: Well, I got my rematch with waterrescue, and with reinforcements in the shape of marko75 and toxic, but I was still toast on the Hildesheim mats—but what a lot of fun. He's comically out of my league skillwise, but doesn't seem bothered about having to wrestle down to others' level in order to have a good fun match—and so we did. An absolutely lovely guy and an absolute pleasure to wrestle. I am looking forward to round 3 very much. Expect to sweat. Expect to laugh. Expect to lose.

Thanks to marko75 I had the luck to meet squashlad on the last day of his trip to Germany. On the mat he is very strong and skilled with an impressive variety of moves and holds. Unsurprisingly he was clearly superior to me and I had to submit more than one time. But at least I was able to cause him some problems especially by using my long legs :) Fighting him was just a great experience and a lot of fun. Above all squashlad is such a friendly and likable guy to talk to and spend a great time with. I'm impatiently looking forward to meet him again.

17/06/2017: Toxic made for a very welcome addition to a great little meet kindly organized for me by marko75 and waterrescue at Hildesheim. He's tall, strong and keen and a pleasure to wrestle and once he learns how to apply his strength, particularly his impressive legs, lots of guys will be getting worked over. At Hildesheim though, his inexperience combined with the formidable prospects that are waterrescue and marko75 meant that he was largely in a defensive mood, which in turn meant that I could take a few subs off him; although I suspect that he was largely letting me, as he seemed to quite enjoy my chokes! Off the mats he was similarly a pleasure to spend time with, being warm and funny and easy to talk to, and he provided an invaluable translation service for this lazy Anglophone, and a fascinating walking tour of Hildesheim and a delicious dinner in a seafood restaurant with him and marko75 was the perfect finale to a great day. Toxic is safe, sane and highly recommended and I can't wait to get back on the mats with him.

a super fight afternoon. you realize the experience significantly. super lever. much power. sexy body with a lot of power. I can recommend it, the endurance is impressive. sorry, I still have much English practice. 😁 testing these fighters! you are always welcome in Hannover.
Greeting Marko

Ein super Kampfnachmittag. Man merkt die Erfahrung deutlich. Super Hebel, viel Kraft. Sexy Körper mit viel Power. Ich kann ihn nur empfehlen, die Ausdauer ist beeindruckend. Sorry, ich muss noch viel Englisch üben. 😁 Testet diesen Kämpfer! Wir sehen uns wieder auf der Matte Kleiner.

Gruß Marko

17.06.2017
Nach einem Jahr ein neues Treffen. Er ist stark und kennt viele Aufgabegriffe. Es macht sehr viel Spaß mit ihm zu kämpfen. Ich hoffe wir sehen uns bald wieder. Dein sympatisches Lächeln ist großartig. Auf der Matte ist er ein gefährlicher Gegner. Ich wünsche mir noch viele Runden!

After one year a new meeting. He is strong and knows many tasks.
It's a lot of fun to fight with him. I hope we'll see you again soon.
Your sympathetic smile is great. On the mat, he is a dangerous opponent. I wish you many more laps!

20/05/2016: A chance for a match against marko75 was a key factor in picking staying on in Germany for my holidays after the Lindow training camp and, happily for me, he didn't disappoint.  Wow what a great wrestler and a great guy!  Strong, experienced, skillful, quick, aggressive in the best possible way, he's such a delight to wrestle.  He quickly summed up my level of wrestling ability and happily but subtly wrestled down to it, with, as a result, us both getting subs off each other in a fantastic sweaty grapple;  but he could clearly have made mincemeat of me if he'd wanted to.  He does a job that's far too valuable to society to take him away from, but in a parallel universe there's a marko75 who's a pro wrestler, because he's a genius at a heel turn, with the perfect Bad Boy made-for-television face of menace before he cranks on that hold or punches your gut:  you sure know what's coming!  And it's marko75 who personally put the grunt in “the grunt 'n' groan game”.  In short, a bout with this guy is the sort of thing that makes you think that wrestling really is the most fun that you can have with (some) clothes on.  And it obviously works for him, because he appears to have discovered the fountain of youth....  Off the mats the Bad Boy's lacking the evil glint in the eye but replaces it with warmth, good humor, a quick wit and kind hospitality, taking me for dinner and some good local Pilsner and an interesting walking tour of central Hanover.  An absolutely cracking evening and I can't wait for a repeat.  (It would be hard to think how to top it so a repeat is the most that I can ask for!)  Very highly recommended:  wrestling this bloke is an opportunity not to be missed, so take it if you can and feel privileged.
17/06/2017: Well I got my repeat of a match with marko75 and somehow it was even better than last year. Possibly because he very kindly organized a little meet for me with equally nice guys waterrescue and toxic in Hildesheim, which was just brilliant; but possibly because he's just the most fantastic guy to spend time with: “everyone's favorite DDR bear” 🐾 is a superb wrestler (way out of my league here), one of life's natural comedians, and warm, kind, generous and interesting to chat to—even through the often comical medium of Google Translate! (Oh, and he's unbelievably hot. I'm just saying....)

Squashlad is a very pleasant person, very ruthless with his great weakness - lack of English knowledge; THANK YOU! In addition, Squashlad is a perfect fighter because he is fighting tirelessly. Obendrein Squashlad tries to connect the wrestling with grappling, causing others to fail. I was impressed by Squashlad and can only put me in the row - see recommendations of the others!

05/06/2017: RingerBln was kind enough to have me and Wrestlinger2009 around to his fine home mat set up in Berlin to practice the freestyle techniques that we'd in theory just learnt at the freestyle training camp in Lindow (Mark) before my pea brain returned to grappling for the rest of the year. However I was so totally outclassed by RingerBln that it was solely an opportunity to practice my defence (now hugely better than my attack, for just this reason!). He's tall, very strong, skilled and aggressive in the best possible way, so I was toast. Even (inadvertently) chucking in the odd choke from grappling helped me only for the blink of an eye. My only saving grace was that Wrestlinger2009 didn't fare much better! Thankfully off the mats this pinning machine turns into a gentle giant and is a gracious host, and it was great to spend some cool-down time with him over a few beers in his excellent favorite local bar. Highly recommended and I look forward to wrestling RingerBln again—probably this time next year!

13-16/05/2016: It was great to meet and train with horti at the fantastic 16th International Wrestlers' Camp in Lindow (Mark). What a lovely guy! Immensely strong with an amazing physique, he is nevertheless a wrestler who wants to improve technically and was keen to put into practice what we were being taught at the training camp, so it was a surprisingly gentle experience tussling with the big guy (although a super-competitive bout with him may be a different matter!). Between training sessions he was a really interesting guy to chat to, super-friendly, witty and engaging, and he speaks better English than I do! I hope to meet and wrestle him again soon, in Brandenburg or in London, and he is very highly recommended by me.
09/06/2017: The rematch finally came in the shape of a grapple in horti's beautiful garden in Dresden which was a new experience for this grass-stained wrestler! As ever there was little I could do once he got on top but it was an awful lot of fun trying. Off the grass he proved to be a superb co-host and we had a very entertaining couple of evenings with them in amazing Dresden. The ultimate in sane grass bear wrestling: and what more could you ask for? 🐾

10/06/2017: I had the pleasure of meeting and wrestling kleiner kerl at the little group meet kindly organized for me at OefightBln's matroom in Berlin by catchbear1 and OefightBln along with xxlbear and goergilein. He proved to be startlingly strong and swift and it took a lot of work and sweat to subdue him. (And, if I'm being honest, by “subdue him” I mean more “lie on top of him” than wow anyone with my technique.) We had several little grapples during the meet and all were a pleasure and I'd welcome an opportunity to wrestle this safe and sane nice guy again.

10/06/2017: I had the pleasure of meeting and wrestling xxlbear at the little group meet kindly organized for me at OefightBln's matroom in Berlin by catchbear1 and OefightBln along with kleiner kerl and goergilein. He proved to be a strong and determined wrestler and was on top of me and in control for most of our little match. I would very much have liked a longer grapple with him so I hope that we get to wrestle again soon. Safe, sane and highly recommended.

10/06/2017: During my stay in amazing Berlin catchbear1 was kind enough to organize a little group meet for me at OefightBln's matroom, so I was able to meet them both along with kleiner kerl, xxlbear and goergilein. He also took a lead in translating for me so that this lazy Anglophone was able to chat with everyone. I soon found out that a very gentle introduction to the wrestling of coffee and cake doesn't mean that I'm not going to get mangled on the mats! I was a little worried about wrestling a guy with such very impressive triple bypass scars, especially when one had very recently been redone, but catchbear1 is clearly one of those guys whom very little will slow down. A super nice, welcoming and friendly guy off the mats and a competent and committed wrestler on them, catchbear1 was safe and sane and is highly recommended.

I also met Squashlad after the wrestling camp in Lindow in 2017. After other short meetings during the week, he was also able to wrestle with me. Although only a short time, but it was a lot of fun. He is a very good wrestler and grappler and has an excellent stamina. And he is strong.
It was a great pleasure for me to meet him. I hope for more bouts with more time. Squashlad is also a very nice guy next to the mat. Highly Recommended. With nearly 200 former opponents not really unusual.
(I hope my english was not so terrible :-))

10/06/2017: OefightBln very kindly hosted a little group meet for me at his Berlin home, meaning that I was able to meet catchbear1, kleiner kerl, xxlbear and goergilein as well as his good self. I suspect the delicious coffee and cake before our matches were a not-so-subtle attempt to slow me down, but who can complain when your opponent's hosting skills are this good? And OefightBln proved to be not just a nice guy off the mats, but on them too, as he used skill and technique to pin me rather than relying on his strength. It wasn't the longest grapple ever, but it was good fun, and I look forward to doing it again. Highly recommended and particular thanks for translating for me so that I could talk with everyone who'd kindly come along.

Ich habe Squashlad beim Ringertreffen 2016 in Lindow getroffen, dort in der Anfängergruppe. Feiner Kerl, engagierter, rücksichtsvoller Trainingspartner.

13–16/05/2016: It was a pleasure to meet, train with and wrestle BenAlHürxe at the 16th International Wrestlers' Camp in Lindow (Mark). He's a big guy, strong with it, and has been training for many months at the Berlin club, so only just still qualified for our beginners' group, and was therefore a real (but very enjoyable) challenge to wrestle. He's very safe though, and prefers to concentrate on using good technique, especially what we'd just been taught, rather than his size to get and keep control and get the pin, so wrestling him was beneficial to my own improvement during the training camp, as well as a lot of fun. Off the mats he's an extremely friendly, welcoming, funny and helpful guy, kindly doing some translating for us monoglot Anglophones where needed, and making us visitors to Brandenburg feel very well looked after. I'd love to wrestle him again whenever the opportunity presents itself and he is very highly recommended.
05/06/2017: It was the briefest of reunion wrestles with this big sweetheart of a guy, right at the very, very end of the 2017 Einsteiger freestyle training camp, which was a real shame, but it was an absolute pleasure as ever. BenAlHürxe is one of those guys you want to wrestle every day, not once a year!

05/06/2017: A little wrestle with patlutte right at the very end of the excellent Einsteiger freestyle training camp in Lindow (Mark) was the final lesson that the camp had to teach me, as he skillfully demonstrated the virtues of speed, good technique, conserving energy and taking the opportunities that your opponent presents you with in a superbly efficient manner, as I was gently but repeatedly pinned by a guy 13 kg lighter than me. And very modestly done, in that winning French accent! Until next year then, when perhaps I shall be a better pupil....

04/06/2017: After chatting to him before the camp, I finally managed to corner the powerhouse that is Judo Bear for a little wrestle during the last open mat session at the superb Einsteiger freestyle training camp in Lindow (Mark) that he was there for and was so pleased that he didn't get away! He's super strong, but doesn't rely on his size and strength, but tries to use good technique to turn and pin his opponent, and his strong background in judo and other combat sports was very evident. Unfortunately his need to get away on the Monday meant that there was no opportunity for a second tussle with him, but I am sure that we will wrestle again, because this is the type of quality wrestler whom you want to spend hours on the mats with. Safe and sane and yet another of those lovely friendly guys who did everything in English for me, lazy Anglophone that I am, Judo Bear is highly recommended.

02–05/06/2017: It was fantastic to have berber as a regular training partner at the excellent Einsteiger freestyle training camp in Lindow (Mark) as he's experienced, enthusiastic, super strong and patient, meaning that I got to really drill all the holds, throws and reversals that we were taught. However it also meant that in our little tussles during the open mat sessions he wiped the floor with me (but that was cool, I'd sweated on them so much by then that they needed wiping). Despite the language barrier we really hit it off and had a good giggle together when our coach remained sternly unimpressed by our efforts. A safe and sane nice guy, he well deserves his Einsteiger nickname, and I look forward to training with him and wrestling him again next year.

November 2016
Ahh, Squashlad... Where do I begin?? It's difficult to find the words to express just how highly I think of this man...
After writing xxxx number of messages, we finally had the chance to meet at Pippas. Long overdue..
Firstly, Squashlad and I hit it off so well. We quickly established a solid relationship, which only continued to thrive and flourish over the next few months from the moment we made contact. Safe to say, my expectations to finally meeting him were high!
Having met Squashlad, I'm happy to tell you he exceeded my expectations (if possible)! He's got a lovely voice, a winning smile, he is friendly, genuine, good looking (his pictures definitely does not do him justice).. Basically a man you'd really, really want to meet.
We'd been discussing back and forth who was gonna beat who.. Winding each other up, and boy, were we competitive!
He clearly has a lot of skill, and is very strong. He is quick, and his background in freestyle helps his balance. Impossible to budge off! His 150+ past opponents aren't just for show; theres clearly a lot of skill to this guy.
He was also very conciderate, and 100% safe.. My neck injury, (which I won't be carrying next time around - I'm in for a real beating) he made sure not to touch.

I don't know what else to say.. Squashlad has well over a 100 recommendations, and I'm glad to confirm he deserves every single one of them. He truly is a remarkable man, which I can't wait to get on the mats with again.
Liten setning på norsk, etter ønske.. Fantastisk humor - Liker vikinger.. Fikk ikke oppfylt sitt ønske om #dannythevikingpretzel, ettersom jeg vant ganske overlegent. Neida. Joda.. Anbefales varmt!!
My absolute highest recommendations!

12/11/2016: So you've probably been chatting to young GrappleViking. Let's face it, most of us have. And if you haven't met him yet, you may wonder what about this remarkable young man is actually genuine. Well, after having chatted to him for ages, I was delighted to see him come to England to go to John's Manchester Meet at Pippa's, and to meet and wrestle him there. And having done so, I can confirm that he is every bit as charming, polite, friendly, courteous, intelligent, enthusiastic, witty, outgoing, confident, modest and cheeky as he seems. What may not be obvious from chatting to him though, disguised as it is by his modesty and his respectful attitude to us old people, is that he is, firstly, very good, demolishing guys much bigger than himself with ease; and, secondly, that he is very competitive: the lad just loves to win. And he usually does. I felt very relieved to only concede two submissions to him in our little 20-minute grapple: it could so easily have been many more if he'd been less tired (it being the end of the meet) and hadn't been carrying a neck injury. And it will be many more, because GrappleViking is clearly just going to get better and better. He's already far better than the likes of schmucks like me after just three previous matches and two grappling lessons: a year from now he is going to be unstoppable. So wrestle him now while you still have a prayer! But losing to a lad this talented, let alone this nice, is no shame; indeed it was almost a pleasure seeing the quiet (but respectful) satisfaction that he took in dispatching me and most of us other experienced but hopeless old gits! In summary, this is a very genuine, very talented, and very nice young man, whom no one's going to begrudge the trail of destruction that he's just started unleashing on MeetFighters World. He's safe and sane and the cheeky youngster comes with my very highest recommendation. (Oh, and yes, he really is that handsome too!)

A very confident wrestler with great style and control. I accepted that I would not win and just enjoyed the pleasure of the fight with this elegant fighter. I thoroughly recommend you fight him: you will enjoy the experience, whatever the outocome.

13/05/2017: It was great to get a grapple in with this outgoing and enthusiastic wrestler on the main mats at John's meet at Pippa's. He's strong and makes you work hard to take anything off him, so it was a lot of fun. He's safe and sane on the mats and pleasant to talk to off them. I was pleased to find that I'll be meeting him again soon, at the freestyle training camp in Brandenburg, so for once a rematch should be only a little while to wait for—good stuff!

13/05/2017: It was a really nice surprise to see baerhd over for John's meet at Pippa's and brilliant to get to tussle with the big powerhouse on the main mats. It's very difficult to get anywhere against his strength—but an awful lot of fun trying! Safe and sane and a super nice guy off the mats too. I hope we see him back in Manchester before too long!

I met sqashlad in Manchester he is a very nice guy and very strong
he is very respectful of any limits. He knows many holds and is a great
guy to chat too.I am looking forward to our next match.I have no hesitation
in recommending him to anyone who would like to take him on
cheers Tony

13/05/2017: I was pleased to be able to arrange a match with geordie for John's meet at Pippa's, and got to tussle with him on the main mats. Do not underestimate him: he is properly strong and knows how to attack and defend. Getting him to submit was a lot of hard work and his favoring one arm only seems to have made that arm bulge with muscle! Geordie is safe and sane and a very nice chatty and outgoing guy, so I hope to get to grapple with him again soon.

10/10/2015: Had a good grapple with RedJim at the OWG meet at Pippa's. He's a strong and determined guy and when he cranks a hold on you know about it. Very safe and sane though, so he's highly recommended. Hope to get to wrestle him again.
17/04/2017: A rematch was a long time coming so I was very flattered that RedJim made a pretty epic journey to the Walthamstow ring just to chuck me around again (well, OK, and to have a few pints). He's a fearless chap and gets stuck into heavier lumps like me no problem. Good fun, and a nice guy to spend time with out of the ring as well.

Met Squashlad at the Manchester meet and had a good wrestle with him. Fun and sociable guy both on and off the mats. If you get the chance to meet up with him he's well worth the effort.

01/04/2017: It was great to get an April Fool's Day grapple in with wrestlelock at the Grapevine Group meet at Pippa's. His BJJ training was clearly evident (and he was kind enough to show me a few things, even if most of them did go over my head!) and we had a good sweaty tussle. Thankfully a bit of extra height and quite a lot of extra bulk (ahem) kept me out of trouble, but he's a competitive wrestle and I'm looking forward to another go at him soon. Safe, sane, friendly and polite, wrestlelock is highly recommended.

we met at a group meet and had an all to brief match, he looks great and really loves to be a jobber, and take a bit of a bashing, all safe and sane tho! looking forward to the next time. 1/04/17 finally met again for another enjoyable match, but blimey it's harder work now! not sure if it's me feeling my age or him getting stronger , but anyway still great fun, very much recommended.

01/11/2014: Had a quick bout against this enthusiastic and experienced guy and really enjoyed it. Welcoming, friendly, safe and accommodating, he's in great shape and knows his stuff. Looking forward to a longer rematch! Highly recommended.
01/04/2017: A new personal best for waiting for a rematch; but oldscrapperderby is worth the wait. Had a really enjoyable tussle with him at the Grapevine Group meet at Pippa's: he's still the business! Safe and sane, in amazing shape and knows how to take charge in a match. Hopefully future rematches will come around much more quickly....

Craig was in jobber mode for our match and it was good for me to channel my inner heel, something I don't often get the chance to do. I enjoyed putting him in various holds and keeping him on the edge of submission, teasing him. The smile on his face and the moans of pleasure mixed with pain told me how much he was enjoying the match. Of course, as it was our first match I only introduced him to a few of the holds in my arsenal. I'm looking forward to our next time. Highly recommended.

10/10/2015: I'm not quite sure given all the meets that we've been to in common why it's taken so long for me to have a proper grapple with matworker---probably because he's usually busy being the host with the most I suppose---but at the OWG meet, freed from his admin duties, we fixed that. He'd let me into the secret of his one weakness earlier in the day, but it did me no good and I was on the receiving end of matworker's excellent heeling skills, a wide variety of submission holds and pro moves. All very safely done though---this is a very considerate and careful wrestler and he's therefore highly recommended. There'll be much less time before the rematch.
01/04/2017: Just a bit of an update to let y'all know that that wasn't a one-off, and that Dave has subsequently taken another break or two from his superb hosting of meets to educate me in how to wrestle, and shown me who's boss again. He is an inventive but safe heel and enjoys taking charge, which makes for a good match. Here's to many more meets!

I had a fun tag team match and definitely sure made me work. An easy going guy off the mats with great conversations. Highly recommend this guy if you want a friendly tussle

25/02/2017: It was great to have this super feisty young wrestler make the time to come and wrestle the old fat blokes at the little meet that cyclone74 very kindly organized during my all-too-brief layover in Sydney. I'd been warned that wolfpack was fast and strong and seen that he has a bit of a penchant for inflicting some pain and the warnings were not wrong! Coupled with the youthful virtues of speed and fitness he was a real handful and I felt very pleased to have got him to tap at all, but not until after he'd got me to submit, including in his scissors, which is not a hold that I normally bother much to try avoiding, because I never need to tap out in scissors—except here in Sydney, where it seems to be the (painful) local speciality. (Might have something to do with all the guys having legs like tree trunks....) He was kind enough to avoid punching as his preferred style runs more towards MMA than straight submission grappling, which is just as well otherwise I'd have been toast. He is, in other words, entirely safe and sane, despite his liking for torturing an opponent a bit. In the [frequent—the old man was shagged!] breaks in our little meet, wolfpack proved to be an intelligent and interesting guy to chat to and so, coupled with his impressive grappling skills, he's very highly recommended and I hope to get to tussle with him again when I'm back in beautiful Sydney.

This guy was great to meet, what a tag team. Not only was he a great wrestler but a very nice guy. The match before the tag was a great pleasure, one to remember. If you don't meet him it's your loss.
Plus a awesome scissors to end the night

25/02/2017: After chatting for ages it was great to finally get to Sydney and meet and hit the mats with the wrestling machine that is cyclone74. He went out of his way to arrange a really good meet for me so that I could wrestle as many Sydney guys as possible in the short time that I was in town, which I hugely appreciated. It was a scissorfest of a meet and scissoring is obviously what Sydney wrestlers excel at as I've tapped out in guys' scissors more often in the last four days than I have in the last four years. And cyclone74 is the undisputed scissor master! (Which, when you see his massive muscular legs, isn't that much of a surprise.) But don't think of him as a one-trick pony, I actually tapped to him more often in his headlocks and neck cranks than I did in his scissors—he's an extremely strong tank of a guy and once he's got you locked up tapping out is really only a matter of time. (The time being, for one particularly one-sided sub, about six seconds!) His BJJ training really shows. Between subs and off the mats he's a very friendly and personable guy and easy to talk to. Cyclone74 is very highly recommended, is a safe and sane if rather painful wrestle and is a must for a rematch, when I will almost certainly not get my revenge!

Thanks for the compliment Squashlad, I would never claim to be a bodybuilder… Simply a fighter who likes to look good. If I knew he thought so highly of my physique I may have been a little more kind with him on the mats… which I’m sure he would have absolutely hated, because this guy likes it rough, real and brutal!
We wrestled for over 3 hours in a non-air conditioned room which left us (and the mattress) soaked in sweat and totally dehydrated. During this time Squashlad took every form of abuse known to wrestling and at quite a high intensity…. yet he was the one who wanted to keep going 3 hours later when I unfortunately had to leave.
Squashlad is probably not the most accurate name for this fighter as he certainly does not just lay there and allow you to squash him (thank God!) In fact he fights back with all the determination and strength of some of the most competitive submission fighters I’ve met.
If you are looking for an opponent who enjoys a rough, brutal but sane match, coming at you with all he’s got, then you must meet this man.
Looking forward to meeting again… highly recommended!

There's a bit of an urban myth (usually spouted by guys who don't do any weights at all) that bodybuilders' muscles are just for show. Well in the case of ruffnhard at least, I can vouch for that not being the case—he's super strong and easily overpowered me every time. It was a little like trying to wrestle a bulldozer into submission, and with the same result. I did, however, get two subs off him, by rather unfairly targeting an old injury of his, but hey, I had to avoid a total whitewash! (And we shall just ignore the 20 times that number that he took off me.) But the huge muscles aren't all that's in his arsenal, as he knows and can execute a good range of submission holds and punches hard and accurately. And it's not just the physique that you can take at face value, his profile name is what-you-see-is-what-you-get too. He's a safe and sane guy, able and willing to pitch things for his opponent's level and tastes, but if like me you're up for doing his favored rough and hard style of match, ruffnhard is what you're going to get, and it will hurt. I am, as a result, thoroughly battered and bruised: it was a cracking match in other words! Can't wait to get back to beautiful Sydney and hit the mats with the muscle again. Ruffnhard is a top bloke, an excellent wrestler, super tough, super nice and very highly recommended.

Experienced guy + over 160 Previous Opponents + Submission Grappler (him) vs Unfit + Pro-Mission Jobber (me) . . . you can guess the outcome ! ! !
I was tapping out left, right & centre. But then he slowed it down a bit, and still had fun getting me to tap out in prolonged holds, proving his dominance over me. Great fun. And yes I even got a few taps from him, though I'm sure he LET me. :-).
Experienced, well-travelled, fun guy . . . I hope he comes back to Sydney soon ! ! !

22/02/2017: Was great to have rob c57 for my first grapple in sunny Sydney as he's strong, determined and really good to spend time with. His size and strength meant that I was just defending when he was on top, and chances to counterattack were frustratingly few as he knows how to use his weight effectively. He does prefer jobbing but was kind enough to do submission with me and made me work for everything—which was tricky when you're not used to the New South Welsh climate! Between subs and off the mats rob c57's an interesting, modest and engaging guy, and a few drinks and dinner afterwards were a very pleasant way to end a great day with him. Highly recommended, safe and sane and I'm looking forward to a rematch with him soon.

23/02/2017: Well when a 23-year-old professional swimming instructor has the profile name Jobberpunisher, what can you do but give your inner jobber a day out to play? And so I did, and Jobberpunisher did not disappoint: this is one cocky, confident and skilled young lightweight who can easily take charge in a match and inflict as much pain as you're up for trying out. He's very strong for such a lean guy and has a large repertoire of holds that he executes swiftly and competently, often combining them with smashes and punches for extra effect. His scissors are quite startlingly strong and he has a bit of a thing for nerve holds and pinches, which can be very painful. Always safely and sanely done though: Jobberpunisher is a real pleasure to wrestle. Highly recommended and I hope to get another squash match in with him soon. Just make sure you offer to get his parking charge for him though, or he really might turn green and bust out of his shirt!

There's little I can say to add to previous comments already made about Craig, except to re-enforce how true they are. Despite being outclassed in strength and weight Craig was a pleasure to scrap with. Friendly, handsome, safe and sane. Incredibly, even frustratingly, resilient, as others have attested, it certainly was a challenge I won't forget. Whilst we both enjoy a rough match, I felt completely comfortable with him and I had heaps of fun. I'd love to have another crack when I have picked up a few more tricks! Highly recommended, a great match.

15/02/2017: After a bit of a mess arranging things at the start of my Kiwi holiday (which was entirely my fault), it was great to get to wrestle the very accurately named scrappingmatt in New Plymouth just before heading off to New South Wales. I did feel like a bit of a bully when I weigh half as much again as he does, but scrappingmatt's one of those get-stuck-in blokes who isn't at all fazed by taking on a much heavier opponent, in fact I think he quite likes having more to bash! As his profile name implies, he likes a good scrap and including plenty of gut punching, and I got plenty of the scrappingmatt attitude, and I had to resort to just squashing the feisty lad a few times to get a breather and give my “abs” a rest. But despite the high-speed, brawling wrestling style he's very safe and sane and is careful of his opponent's welfare. He's also interesting and easy to chat to between subs (and probably would be before a match too, if you could stop him whipping his shirt off and getting straight down to the gut bashing!). Highly recommended and I'm hoping to get a rematch with him sooner rather than later when he's over in the northern hemisphere: so look out for him there Europe-based guys!

First of all it I want to state that squashlad is a very nice friendly guy. Totally genuine. The kind of guy that you can't help but like immediately.
But having said that my intention was to quickly wear this guy down with punishment and make him quit. The first day we wrestled it was only a short match but I could see that wearing this guy down was not going to be easy. I did everything I could to him but no matter what I did he put up enough resistance to make my job difficult.
The next day we met for a much longer match which would last 2 hours. I was certain I would be able to destroy him in far less time and make him want to quit. No way. No matter how rough I was on him or how much I worked him over he just kept coming back for more. You cannot frustrate him or break his will to keep wrestling. He just gets back on his feet and is ready to keep going.
What I learned after 2 hours of wrestling was that he was prepared to keep going for much longer. He won't quit. I think I was getting more exhausted than what he was. Perhaps that is what his plan was.
Great guy. If you have the endurance to last a long time in a submission wrestling he will give you a long match. You might make him submit but don't count on him quitting. He will keep coming back at you. Doesn't back down.
Definitely recommend squashlad.

21/01/2017: So it took over a year to get another chance to get back in the ring with the Canadian superstar, but good things come to those who wait.... Painful things also come to those who wait! Don't get me wrong, subwrestler2 is a totally safe and sane guy, with the skills to pitch his attack in a way that will work for his opponent, but be warned, if you ask for a rough match, that is what you're going to get. Ouch.... Fabulous fun. Can't wait to do it again! The most skilled wrestler I've had the privilege to be destroyed by. Don't miss a chance to wrestle him.
09–10/01/2016: A small series of matches with the force of nature that is subwrestler2 in the ring and on the mats at Pippa's. I would say that we were operating in different competitions, let alone leagues, but even that seems comically inadequate. The only times that I wasn't defending were when I was struggling back to my feet for yet another arse-kicking. But even that was a privilege! Because this is one super-skilled wrestler, with the strength, fitness, technique and aggression to go with it, so I feel very lucky to have got several hours of his time. He'll go as hard as you want, and is very capable of doing so, but the great thing about a guy this skilled is that he's capable of dishing it out without injuring, so despite it being really quite a painful experience taking him on, it was also a totally safe one. And he was kind enough to say that I was quite tough (which is certainly more polite than the more accurate “a bit crap”)—although I think that just indicates that I got through the two hours of our final match without expiring....
An absolute five-star grappling experience and an absolute five-star bloke; if you can get a match with him, do. Hope I get to meet him again. (Just not in a dark alley!)