Huge crowd gathers outdoors in the Himalayas for Nepal Ring Wrestling’s triumphant return
The last time Nepal Ring Wrestling Association was in action was back in April of this year with their outdoor Summer Slam event. That event, held on Nepali New Year’s Day, drew an enormous crowd that watched wrestling from the mountainside and created a great deal of momentum for the NRWA. Unfortunately, Covid-19 intervened and threw a wrench in everyone’s plans.
However, with the easing of restrictions in Nepal, the NRWA was able to get back to action this past Saturday with the First High Altitude Wrestling Championship which took place from Charikot, Dolakha, Nepal.
The NRWA’s return to action wasn’t your typical pro wrestling event, though. Part of what made this event so special and memorable was its setting, as the event took place outdoors in the midst of the beautiful Himalayan mountain range. It made for a memorable day of pro wrestling for the huge crowd of the estimated 5,000 plus that were on hand. That estimate comes directly from the NRWA’s General Secretary, Subarna Shrestha. Making that attendance figure even more impressive is the fact that to reach the location, most people would need to travel at least an hour on foot.
A large crowd of fans gathered in Charikot to watch Nepal Ring Wrestling Association’s First High Altitude Ring Wrestling Championship
Aside from the beautiful scenery, the wrestling in the ring was just as delightful to watch. The first match of the live streamed portion of the event was a tag team match that saw Thagu and X-Hero team up to take on Tanu, the only female participant in the match, and Baka, who was making his NRWA debut. Tanu and Baka both fared well against X-Hero early on, with both using their size advantage to gain the upper hand. Baka did not look out of place in his first match and Tanu looked good flying through the air after hitting a top rope splash. X-Hero took a lot of punishment but also showed off some impressive amateur style wrestling, executing some nice rolls on Tanu and also showing his high flying ability. In the end, the veteran prowess of Thagu proved to be too much for the debuting Baka and Thagu landed a TKO on Baka before scoring the pinfall.
Thagu and X-Hero hit their version of The Young Bucks pose following their tag team victory
The second match of the night was billed as a light heavyweight bout and took place between David and Shine. David got a positive reaction from the fans (and from the live stream operators who kept inserting sound effects and extra cheering crowd effects during the match) and wrestled a very aggressive match, attacking Shine from the second he entered the ring. David stuck with this no-nonsense attitude throughout the match, even forcefully unmasking Shine in the process. But Shine held his own in this one as well with this match standing out as one of the event’s best wrestling matches from a skill and execution standpoint. In the end, David nailed a really nice looking frog splash to put Shine away and leave Charikot with a hard fought victory.
David lands a frog splash on Shine before putting him away with a pin.
Things got a little more violent in the next match as The Yuv, King Robert, and UBL Stone squared off in a triple threat hardcore match. The Yuv is Nepal’s master of the hardcore wrestling style and definitely felt at home in this dangerous bout, even when having fluorescent light tubes smashed against his back and chest. The brawling spilled out of the ring in this bout with frightened fans left running and ducking to avoid shards of glass that had splintered off of the wrestlers. The Yuv was bloodied relatively early in the match and looked the part of the hardcore brawler as he scoured ringside for any type of weapon to use against his opponents, even breaking spectator’s chairs over his opponent’s backs. It’s hard not to be reminded of wrestlers like Abdullah The Butcher or Mick Foley when watching The Yuv wrestle. He doesn’t have that typical wrestler body type, like Abdullah or Foley, but he finds ways, and weapons, to get the job done. The job got done in this match when The Yuv brought out the thumbtacks and kendo sticks, but not before he took a big bodyslam into the tacks himself first. King Robert looked good as well, showing off at least one particularly impressive martial arts style kick where he appeared to climb UBL Stone in the corner before delivering a kick to his face. The Yuv, the hardcore legend of Nepal, ended up walking away with the win after landing a uranage.
The Yuv has a painful meeting with the thumbtacks that he introduced into the match.
The event’s main event was a big one as it saw reigning NRWA Heavyweight Champion Nuwakote Tiger get in the ring with Chattan. These two last met at Summer Slam and had a raucous brawl that spilled all over the hillside. This was a match that we were happy to see again, this time with Nuwakote Tiger’s title belt on the line. The two big heavyweights didn’t disappoint here, either, as their brawling left the comfort of the ring once again. Lots of strikes and power moves in this one as the puroreso and strong style influence that comes from the NRWA’s relationship with Japan’s Zero-1 was on display. This was a very good match and one where you could almost feel the turning point. Nuwakote Tiger took to the air from the top rope to execute his flying elbow drop finishing maneuver but Chattan had it well scouted and moved just in time. Unfortunately, due to internet connection issues at the relatively remote site, the live stream cut out soon after this turn, but Chattan seemed to have control of the match at this point and the NRWA would later announce that Chattan had won the match, becoming the new NRWA Heavyweight Champion.
Chattan celebrates his NRWA Heavyweight Championship win as the Himalayas look on in the background
Chattan’s championship title belt victory was celebrated with a welcome parade in Kathmandu following his return from the event in Dolakha. Chattan’s supporters including family, friends and fans helped welcome the new champion back home. Footage of that hero’s welcome can be seen below.
The winning wrestlers also received prize checks as is the tradition for winning wrestlers at NRWA events. For their victory in the tag team match, X-Hero and Thagu won 75,000 NPR (Nepalese Rupee). Davis took home 85,000 for his victory, The Yuv 120,000 and Chattan took home 150,000 along with his new title belt.
The winning wrestlers pose with their checks.
The event was inaugurated by Nepal’s Youth and Sports Minister Maheshwar Jung Gahatraj. Prior to the event, the wrestlers were welcomed to Dolakha by the Mayor of Bhimeshwor Municipality and ex Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal, Ananda Pokharel. Surya Bhandari, Member Secretary of Province Sports Development Council, Bagmati Province also spoke and stated that he feels happy to promote this type of wrestling championship.
A couple additional matches that took place didn’t make it to the live stream, presumably due to the issues with internet connection in the remote location. Those matches included a battle royal that was won by Shine and a light heavyweight match between CJ World and the debuting Young Shady. CJ World walked out of the light heavyweight bout as the winner.
The event’s inauguration ceremony, featuring Nepal’s Youth and Sports Minister Maheshwar Jung Gahatraj
For fans that were not able to attend the event, the NRWA also live streamed a majority of the event and it’s available to check out below. There has not been confirmation from the NRWA that this is the case, but the wrestling association recently started a YouTube channel that now features all of the matches from their Summer Slam event, and it’s entirely possible that these matches in full will make their way there soon too so be sure to subscribe now.
After this second consecutive massively successful event with a huge, passionate crowd on hand, I think it’s safe to say that the country of Nepal is in the middle of a pro wrestling boom right now. It will be interesting to follow this boom and see the heights that the Nepal Ring Wrestling Association can grow to with the massive fan support they have behind them.
