IT was compulsive viewing for families up and down the country in the 1960s and 1970s.

At 4pm every Saturday, with the half-time football scores well out of the way, Dickie Davies, the host of ITV’s World of Sport would hand over the commentator Kent Walton for wrestling bouts filmed earlier in the week from a hall or theatre somewhere in the UK.

At its peak, 12 million grapple fans tuned into all-action contests featuring the likes of Mick McManus, Jackie Pallo, Billy Two Rivers, Johnny Kwango, Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks.

The advent of more and more live sport bought up by Sky and the glitzy import of WWF wrestling from the United States eventually brought about the demise of both mainstream TV wrestling and World of Sport .

But it seems, British wrestling is back to good health, and once again touring the regional theatres and halls across the UK.

Saturday afternoon will see wrestling brought to a new generation at Hexham’s Queen’s Hall on Saturday afternoon. A ring will be put up on stage, ready for ‘seconds out’ at 3pm, for the W3L Wrestling Showdown .

Promotional literature promises top body-slamming action featuring stars from around the world battling it out in an excitement filled dose of family friendly wrestling matches.

The event will feature championship contests including heavyweight clashes and the tag teams of W3L doing battle, plus action from the W3L’s women’s division.

W3L – the World Wide Wrestling League – is based in Fife, in Scotland. It is a promoter taking profressional wrestling to a variety of venues. The organisation,. set up in 2003, has its own training school and some students have gone on to be full-time wrestlers.