Awesome! Can China embrace the spectacle of pro-wrestling?

Rising from the ground with 73kg of writhing muscle on his shoulders, Wang Tao grimaced. The man whose legs were wrapped around his head was not giving up, pulling at Wang's silver-tipped hair, dyed for the occasion.

- Amy Hawkins

Rising from the ground with 73kg of writhing muscle on his shoulders, Wang Tao grimaced. The man whose legs were wrapped around his head was not giving up, pulling at Wang's silver-tipped hair, dyed for the occasion. But Wang knew what he had to do. Reaching up with one arm, he grasped his opponent's neck, and pulled forwards, flinging him to the ground. Seconds later, Wang had him pinned to the floor and had successfully defended his title as Middle Kingdom Wrestling's Belt and Road champion.

The crowd in Beijing went wild. "It was so much better than I expected," said Wang, beaming. "The audience reaction was really, really good." Even Wang's defeated opponent, Shaheen Alshehhi, was impressed. "You're fucking awesome," he said after the match, inviting Wang to compete in Dubai.

Wang is the 25-year-old poster boy for an industry that has struggled for years to gain a foothold in China, despite a huge potential market. Less than 10% of households with internet access watch pro-wrestling, according to a 2023 survey by S&P Global, a market intelligence company. For sports such as basketball and football, the figure is over 50%. Some in the industry hope Wang can make the sport popular in China the way it is in the US.