Turning Shaolin monks into entertainers: Shanghai wrestlers tell the world about Chinese martial arts in the ring
Oriental Wrestling Entertainment is looking to gain popularity in the mainland by adding a kung fu twist to the traditional western style
WWE has long been China’s perception of what professional wrestling should be, but the US giants have a fight on their hands in the mainland with a Shanghai-based promotion adding Shaolin monks and martial arts to the mix.
“We are thinking we will do something extraordinary, and bring something new to the wrestling world,” Oriental Wrestling Entertainment vice-president Michael Nee told the South China Morning Post.
“We are the translators, we try to tell the world about Chinese kung fu through the platform of wrestling.”
OWE performed in Chongqing City last weekend, while the company also puts on regular shows in a venue down the mountainside of the Shaolin Temple – the birthplace of kung fu.
Founded in 2017, most of OWE’s roster is made up of former kung fu students including several Shaolin monks, selected from over 200,000 applicants who had trained for more than 10 years at 25 different martial arts schools, and who had never stepped foot in a wrestling ring until nine months ago.
Training is intense, with morning and afternoon sessions six days a week led by Japanese wrestling legend CIMA, real name Nobuhiko Oshima, a staple of Japan’s second largest promotion Dragon Gate.