The Snake Pit

History

Riley's Gym

Billy Riley was a skilled professional wrestler in a time when there were still legitimate matches. Riley trained in pubs like the Crispin Arms or at his home before he and a handful of other wrestlers, who were also tradesmen, combined their resources to purchase a plot of land and build a dedicated gym in the Whelley area of the town of Wigan. The gym opened in 1948 to teach catch-as-catch-can (CACC), freestyle, and professional wrestling (termed "show wrestling") in the Lancashire style.

The original building was described as a shed or shack with a tin roof, bare bricks inside, a worn wrestling mat stuffed with horse hair, a coal stove for heat, no toilet, rusting weights, and a shower in the corner that only had cold water. Riley was an active coach, known for hard training. He demanded every opponent be approached as world-class, even novices, and frequently used phrases like “you can never train too hard” and "do it again." Riley wanted to be confident in his trainees' skills and did not let them work shows otherwise. He also kept a room of books and reference materials for wrestling. Billy Joyce and other veteran wrestlers would regularly coach alongside Riley. Many of the trainees were mine workers and hoped to boost their incomes by wrestling. There was a common saying that someone reaching into a local mine would grab either a wrestler or rugby player. The professionals usually trained in the morning and worked shows in the evening, then the wrestlers with regular jobs trained after work. Since there had been legitimate wrestlers in every family, it became impossible to hold theatrical-style pro wrestling in Wigan. Riley did not make much money as a coach because he kept his member fees modest. In 1964, they were only two shillings and six pence (2s. 6., a half crown, equivalent to £2.2 in 2025), despite a wrestler like Karl Gotch reportedly earning £30,000 (equivalent to £531,281.3 in 2025) annually. Although the training was tough and many visitors were one-time-only, the gym had unwritten rules against breaking limbs, eye-poking, hair-pulling, and similar behaviour. Women and children were also disallowed in those days.

The gym produced some of the most skilled wrestlers of their time, such as Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, Bert Assirati, Jack Dempsey, Les Thornton, and Billy Joyce (Bob Robinson). Other wrestlers from the gym included Ernie Riley (Billy Riley's son), Joe Robinson (Billy Joyce's brother), Melvyn Riss (Harold Winstanley), John Foley, Alan Latham (Francis Sullivan), Mick and Seamus Dunleavy, Billy Chambers, Len Wetherby, Jackie Cheers, Frank Riley, Jimmy Hart, Alan Hartwood, Harry Duvall, Ken Baldwin, John Naylor, Brian Burke, and Roy Wood. As well as Bob Sherry (Jimmy Niblett), El Diablo (Tony Francis), George Gregory, Count Bartelli (Geoff Condliffe), Jack Mountford, Johnny Eagle (Roy Boyd), and Tommy Heyes.

The Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club

In 1990, Japanese pro wrestlers Kazuo Sakurada and KY Wakamatsu approached Billy Joyce, who directed them to Wood, with an offer to coach in Japan for Super World of Sports (SWS). After a training session, Wood and Joyce took them to the ruins of Riley's, where the visitors looked noticeably upset by the famed gym's condition and offered financial assistance to rebuild it. Wood then travelled to Japan and coached the SWS roster in Lancashire-style catch wrestling. He ended his tour with an exhibition match in front of 17,000 spectators at Yokohama Arena. During this trip, Wood broke the leg of a Japanese wrestler who challenged him, which convinced the others of his ability. Wood was offered a position as a coach in Japan but declined due to his life in England, choosing to visit periodically.

In 1993, the club had another visitor from Japan, Osamu Matsunami. An 18-year-old Matsunami had learned about the club from an article about Dynamite Kid in Weekly Gong magazine (No. 257, May 25, 1989). A quote by Joyce in the article inspired Matsunami's interest in Lancashire wrestling, which grew when Wood coached for SWS in 1990. In May 1993, Matsunami made his first trip to the club, despite knowing little English or the location. After an extended journey and the assistance of several people, Matsunami met Wood, who introduced Matsunami to his family and the community. Matsunami accompanied Wood for several days, including wrestling practices, meeting Riley's wrestlers, and visiting the ruins of Riley's. His visit was covered by the Wigan Post. Matsunami made several more journeys to Wigan, staying for several months at a time. He trained with Wood, Ernie Riley, Billy Joyce, and several other wrestlers, and helped Wood coach kids classes. Matsunami also competed, including a trip to France early-on and placing fifth at the 1995 British Freestyle Wrestling Championships. He opened his own gym in Kyoto, Japan in December 2006. Wood named it "Riley's Gym Kyoto" while visiting in spring 2007.

In 1995, Osamu Nishimura visited and trained at the gym. Soon after, Wood was recruited by Nishimura's mentor Tatsumi Fujinami, a popular pro wrestler and then-president of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), to train NJPW's roster. In Japan, Wigan and Riley's were regarded as the spiritual home of wrestling, and Fujinami viewed CACC as the foundation of pro wrestling and wanted it to be preserved. Wood was accompanied by five wrestlers including Shane Rigby, a three-time Commonwealth silver medallist from Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club, who learned catch wrestling under Wood. After the success of the first tour, Wood coached in Japan several more times and NJPW held several Lancashire wrestling-style shows featuring Wood's wrestlers under the brand "Muga" (無我; selflessness).

The Snake Pit

The gym was simply known as "Riley's" in Britain. The "Snake Pit" (蛇の穴 / スネーク・ピット) name, often used anachronistically, was popularised in Japan. Wood was unaware of the "Snake Pit" moniker until his trip to coach in Japan for SWS.

The Snake Pit took its current form around 2011. Due to prior frustrations, Wood maintained his focus on freestyle wrestling until his daughter, Andrea, convinced her father to help preserve the sport of catch wrestling by coaching again. Alongside the 35th Aspull Freestyle Wrestling International in November 2012, The Snake Pit held the first catch wrestling matches to take place in Wigan in fifty years, with participants from Britain and Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan. The Snake Pit also held its first certification that month. Osamu Matsunami and Ian Bromley became the first certified coaches and Riley's Gym Kyoto became the first certified affiliate gym. Since then, The Snake Pit has held regular workshops, competitions, and annual "international weeks" for foreign visitors. Wood has also travelled to the United States several times to promote the revival of catch wrestling.

The Snake Pit marked its 70th anniversary with the first annual Catch Wrestling World Championships on November 2, 2018. The event was held at the University of Bolton Stadium and featured competitors from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, South Africa, Sweden, Lithuania and New Zealand.

After the death of coach Ian Bromley in February 2019, The Snake Pit partnered with the charity Andy's Man Club (AMC) to raise awareness and combat stigma around mental health. The 2019 Catch Wrestling World Championships in November were held in tribute to Bromley. A message from the charity's founder and footage of Bromley's final interview were played between matches. A voluntary group was also set up, promoting the hashtag #17:17. AMC donated wristbands, flyers and other items to be given out at the event. The award for best/outstanding wrestler at the World Championships was named in Bromley's honour. The number of entrants for the event doubled from the previous year, including accomplished grapplers and mixed martial artists such as Olga McGlinchey (2012 world championships bronze medallist and Olympian), UFC fighters John Hathaway and Tom Watson, and Nathaniel Brown, a 2019 British freestyle silver medallist.

In January 2022, documents found in the Snake Pit's archives helped reveal Britain's first black Olympian - Louis Bruce, a biracial wrestler and tram driver from Edinburgh, Scotland. It was previously thought that Harry Edward was Britain's first black Olympian.

Notable people

Head coaches

Billy Riley (1948–1970s) - founder of the gym, wrestler, coach, and promoter

Roy Wood (1970s–present) - born in 1943 to a family of boxers, Wood joined Riley's when he was fifteen; he was a molder by trade and began "show" wrestling after Riley told him "you can't eat medals, turn professional and earn some money", and boxing for Matt Moran's fairgrounds boxing booth. In December 2023, after coaching for almost 50 years, Wood was recognised on the 2024 New Year Honours and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) "for services to wrestling and young people"

Original gym

Under head coach Billy Riley:

Karl Gotch - 1948 Olympic wrestler, pro wrestler, coach, nicknamed "God of Wrestling" in Japan, major influence on development of MMA

Billy Robinson - 1957 British freestyle wrestling champion, pro wrestler, coach, influenced development of MMA

Billy Joyce - pro wrestler, regarded as Riley's most skilled legitimate wrestler

Bert Assirati - pro wrestler and strongman

Jack Dempsey - pro wrestler

Les Thornton - pro wrestler

Revived gym

Under head coach Roy Wood:

Dynamite Kid - pro wrestler, known for his rivalry with MMA pioneer Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask)

Darren Wood - Roy's son, won gold at the 1986 European and 1987 World Championships for cadets, and 1987 British Senior Championships

Kazuo Sakurada and KY Wakamatsu - pro wrestlers

Osamu Nishimura - pro wrestler

Tatsumi Fujinami - pro wrestler, hall of famer; Fujinami's son LEONA also trained under Wood

Shane Rigby - Commonwealth Games and Championships silver medallist from Bolton WC, trained in CACC by Roy Wood

Paul Stridgeon - British freestyle wrestling champion, international competitor; professional rugby coach

Shigeo Miyato - pro wrestler, founded the UWF/CACC Snake Pit Japan in 1999

Mike Grundy - UFC fighter, 2014 Commonwealth bronze medallist, started with Wood as a child, trained with Rigby for MMA

St Helens R.F.C. - professional rugby club, multi-time Challenge Cup champions while training with Wood

Maria Dunn - freestyle wrestling Olympian from Guam, coached by Roy Wood for the 2012 Olympics

Jack Gallagher - WWE wrestler and MMA fighter

The Snake Pit's certified coaches are Greg Crompton, Chris Lomas and Rikk Georgiades along with assistant coaches Kevin Lloyd, Wei Tran, Mark Ganaden, .

Riley's Gym Kyoto

At present, Riley's Gym Kyoto is the only Snake Pit certified affiliate club in the world. Its head coach, Osamu Matsunami, made several extended trips to Wigan to train with Wood and other Riley's wrestlers, and trained in Tokyo with Billy Robinson and Shigeo Miyato. Matsunami opened the gym in December 2006 and it was named in Riley's honour by Wood when he visited in spring 2007. Matsunami and Ian Bromley were the first two coaches to be certified in 2012.

Legacy and influence

The gym has been well-known in Britain and internationally for decades, being regarded as a home and mecca for wrestling due to its influence on catch-as-catch-can, professional, and freestyle wrestling, as well as mixed martial arts (MMA). The gym's Lancashire catch-as-catch-can style produced some of the most popular and skilled professionals of their time (see above) before transitioning to freestyle wrestling and consistently developing top wrestlers and British champions, with pro wrestlers occasionally training there as well. The gym became one of the most essential sources to preserve catch wrestling as the style struggled to survive.

Outside of Britain, the gym's influence has been felt most in Japan, where Riley's wrestlers including Karl Gotch, Billy Robinson, Billy Joyce, Les Thornton, Dynamite Kid, and others regularly toured, with Gotch and Robinson in particular becoming very popular in the country. The gym's reputation was an inspiration for the "Tiger's Den" in Tiger Mask, a manga and anime series about pro wrestling, and Robinson inspired the character Robin Mask in the Kinnikuman manga/anime series.

Along with their in-ring careers, Gotch and Robinson became prolific coaches and trained students in the Riley's style for decades. Gotch was a trainer at the JWA and NJPW dojos, and a booker for NJPW. His students included Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Satoru Sayama (the first Tiger Mask), Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, Minoru Suzuki, and Masakatsu Funaki. Robinson's students included Kazushi Sakuraba, Kiyoshi Tamura, Shigeo Miyato, and Hideki Suzuki. Gotch, Robinson, and their students innovated a realistic pro wrestling style, leading to Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki, the UWF and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi, and setting a foundation for modern MMA. Sayama founded Super Tiger Gym followed by Shooto in 1985, to combine catch wrestling with striking for legitimate competition. Shooto held its first professional event in 1989, several years before the UFC was established. In 1993, Suzuki and Funaki co-founded and competed in Pancrase, a shootfighting promotion which held its first event a month before UFC 1. Gotch suggested the name as a reference to the ancient Olympic sport of pankration. Maeda founded RINGS, a shoot-style pro wrestling promotion that transitioned to MMA. And Takada co-founded PRIDE, one of the most popular MMA promotions in history. These promotions and their associated training facilities produced many of the top Japanese and international MMA fighters of their time. Among them were Sakuraba and Tamura. Sakuraba utilised catch wrestling to regularly defeat the best fighters of his time despite often being much smaller, and was nicknamed "The Gracie Hunter" for his victories over four members of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family including Royce, Royler, and Renzo. Tamura performed well at the top levels of MMA, later founding the gym U-FILE CAMP and the promotion U-STYLE. Other notable gyms include Kiguchi Dojo, founded by Sayama's associate Noriaki Kiguchi, who also founded combat wrestling; Paraestra, founded by Sayama's student Yuki Nakai; and CACC Snake Pit Japan, founded by Miyato as UWF Snake Pit Japan, with Robinson and Lou Thesz as the first head coaches.

Snake Pit Championships

The Snake Pit organises the Catch Wrestling World Championships, British Championships, and other competitions for the sport.

2018 World Championships

The Snake Pit held its first Catch Wrestling World Championships on November 2, 2018 at the University of Bolton Stadium, featuring competitors from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, South Africa, Sweden, Lithuania and New Zealand. Results:

Challenge matchː Josh Barnett and heavyweight runner-up Ian Jones wrestled to a draw

Heavyweight champion Wade Barrick received the "best wrestler" award, Ian Bromley, Ian Jones, and Greg Crompton were recognised for coaching, and Roy Wood received a lifetime achievement award for sixty years of service.

2019 World Championships

The 2019 Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on November 1 at the University of Bolton Stadium. The event was held in memory of coach Ian Bromley. Results:

Challenge matchː John Hathaway def. Nathaniel Brown

Hathaway received the Ian Bromley trophy as "best male wrestler of the night" and Olga McGlinchey received the Arthur Silcock trophy as "best female wrestler of the night."

2022 World Championships

After a two-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on June 4, 2022 at the University of Bolton Stadium. The event featured 33 competitors wrestling a total of 29 matches. Results:

Additionally, Tommy Hawthorn was awarded the Ian Bromley Cup as "best wrestler of the night", Greg Crompton received the Nathan Tully Award for "dedication to grassroots/paying it forward", and John Hathaway received the Jack Carroll award for fastest win (pin or submission).

2023 British Championships

The 2023 Catch Wrestling British Championships took place on August 5 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, England. Entries were open to competitors residing in the British Isles. Results:

2023 World Championships

The 2023 Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on October 28 at the University of Bolton Stadium. Previous champions Josh Barnett and Owen Livesey faced each-other in the headline bout. Results:

Superfightː Owen Livesey (2022 heavyweight champion) defeated Josh Barnett (2018 super heavyweight champion)

Angel Verduzco was named the Ian Bromley Cup "outstanding wrestler", Brett Pfarr was named "best male wrestler of the night", Nikki Hilton was named "best female wrestler of the night", Jordan Stott received the Nathan Tully award for "dedication to grassroots/paying it forward", and Mike Clark received the Jack Carroll award for fastest win (pin or submission).

2024 British Championships

The 2024 Catch Wrestling British Championships took place on August 10 at Robin Leisure Park in Wigan, England. Resultsː

2024 World Championships

The 2024 Catch Wrestling World Championships took place on September 7 at The Edge in Wigan, England as part of a two-day event. It was the first time that the town of Wigan hosted the World Championships. Wrestlers from fourteen nations competed, including the USA, Australia, Japan, Georgia, Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Netherlands. Resultsː

Additionally, Connor Bishop received the Ian Bromley Cup "outstanding wrestler" award, Thomas Higgins received the "best male wrestler" award, Bo Geibe received the "best female wrestler award", and Leo Hawthorn received the Jack Carroll award for fastest win (pin or submission).