Tony "Banger" WALSH

Leamington Spa Heavyweight

Tony "Banger" Walsh is a very familiar name to British wrestling fans, who would see him on their televisions regularly on Saturday afternoons on ITV's "World of Sport". In his own words, here is how he came to embark on a wrestling career:

I was married, with a baby daughter, and working as a doorman part-time to bring in some extra cash, when I was offered the chance to fill-in as a late replacement at a wrestling tournament, it took me 5 seconds to think about it ... my life and future were never to be the same again. That first fight was a step into the unknown, a few butterflies, but I was young, fit and more than a little handy when it came to the crunch! Amazingly I won the bout, though only by default. My opponent had done something particularly nasty to my nether regions! I remember lying on the canvas hearing the crowd cheering, booing and shouting - this was where I belonged.

Tony "Banger" Walsh was usually cast in the classic role of villain - one of those wrestlers the fans loved to hate. These pictures from a televised match against welterweight Jeff Kaye illustrate the roughhouse tactics employed by Walsh to ensure his 'badboy' reputation preceded him wherever he wrestled.

N.B. Left-clicking on any photograph will enlarge it