A group of Welsh grandmothers have made their debut in the ring after forming an unlikely friendship with pro wrestler DeReiss Gordon during a flight to Las Vegas in April. Lynn Crawford, 71, Susie Matthews, 73, Rose Sulley, 74, and Christine Goodwin, 80, met Gordon, known in the ring as Man Like DeReiss, while travelling to scatter the ashes of Rose's late husband, Pete.
When they boarded the flight, the women discovered a stranger sitting in one of the seats they believed they had booked. What began as an awkward travel dispute later turned into an unexpected friendship that has now taken them to a wrestling showcase in Cardiff, with talks also under way about turning their story into a film with the producer of the 2003 movie Calendar Girls.
How did the friendship begin?
The group met Gordon on the flight in April while they were heading to Las Vegas to scatter the ashes of Rose's late husband, Pete. The women realised a stranger was occupying one of the seats they thought they had reserved, before the situation eventually eased and they got to know Gordon.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Sulley described the experience as being
"like a dream"which the four nans never want to
"wake up from".
The four women said they knew
"nothing"about wrestling before meeting Gordon earlier this year.
What happened in Cardiff?
On Sunday, the group headed to a wrestling showcase in Cardiff, where they were trained by professional wrestlers before entering the ring themselves. People in the crowd held banners with their photos and chanted
"Nanas! Nanas!"
The unlikely friendship has created something of a fan base in the wrestling world. Sulley said,
"It was absolutely hilarious"
Before going into the ring, the group also took an open-top bus tour of Cardiff and spent a night playing bingo.
Gordon said that when he first met the group he was
"completely outnumbered"by the nans from Cardiff.
"I didn't stand a chance at all,"he said, adding that the nans were
"fuming"at first, but the situation quickly softened.
He said the unlikely friendship had been just as
"amazing"for him.
"It seems unlikely because we're from different cultures and with different ages. But in terms of personalities, we're quite similar. We're all basically crazy."
Gordon said he hopes to keep any
"angry Welsh nana's"on his side of the wrestling ring in future, adding that the group of four were
"natural performers".
Could their story become a film?
The story has also drawn interest from Nick Barton, producer of Calendar Girls and The Full Monty, who has
"approached the group of friends"about the remarkable story that
"wasn't meant to happen"being turned into a film.
Crawford said that when they first met, they laughed that it should become a movie.
"Four nanas and a wrestler! It'd be brilliant,"she said.
Gordon said he initially could not believe the suggestion.
"I couldn't believe it at first,"he said.
"Then I checked it out and was like, 'WOW! A movie'. This could happen. There's a way to go but we believe this would be a great movie."
Goodwin, Sulley, Matthews and Crawford have been friends for more than 40 years, and Goodwin said the experience showed that people should seize unexpected opportunities.
"all of this goes to show if something comes your way just grab it with both hands"
Matthews said she never wanted to end up sitting in a chair thinking,
"I wished I'd have done this and wished I'd have done that"
She added:
"Thank God I'm lucky enough to say I did it, and I'm hopefully gonna do a lot more."
Gordon said the experience showed how much people can have in common if they take time to talk.
"We're all human, we all have blood inside us and if you speak to the person next to you, you never know what you have in common, what you might share."
Key Facts
- Four Welsh grandmothers met DeReiss Gordon, known as Man Like DeReiss, on a flight to Las Vegas in April.
- The women were travelling to scatter the ashes of Rose's late husband, Pete.
- They later took part in a wrestling showcase in Cardiff after being trained by professional wrestlers.
- Nick Barton, producer of Calendar Girls and The Full Monty, has approached the group about turning the story into a film.
- The four women, aged 71, 73, 74 and 80, have been friends for more than 40 years.
