A church in England opens its doors to pro wrestling in a bid to attract converts

England church opens doors to pro wrestling to attract converts

SHIPLEY, England  — Sitting around a wrestling ring, churchgoers roared as local hero Billy O’Keeffe body-slammed a fighter named Disciple. Beneath stained-glass windows, they whooped and cheered as burly, tattooed wresters tumbled into the aisle during a six-man tag-team battle. This is Wrestling Church, which brings blood, sweat and tears — mostly sweat — to St. Peter’s Anglican church in the northern England town of Shipley. It’s the creation…

A church in England opens its doors to pro wrestling in a bid to attract converts

Sitting under stained glass windows around a wrestling ring, churchgoers roared as burly wresters body-slammed and threw one another to the floor.

There are icons hanging on the walls and the church room is dressed in the liturgical color purple. The organ is still allowed to stand still when the worship band of the IMI Church Collective has set up the mixing desk and put on earplugs. Sinsen Church actually belongs to the Church of Norway, hence the organ and the liturgical colors, but the Free Church rents the premises for its meetings. Now they want everything to be in place before the w…

Seated around a wrestling ring, churchgoers roared as local hero Billy O'Keeffe knocked out a wrestler named Disciple. Under stained glass windows, they cheered and cheered as hulking, tattooed wrestlers tumbled down the aisle during a six-man tag team match, the AP reports.