Egham wrestler 'lucky to be alive' after bout

Sep 21 2009 By Mark Goode

Wrestler Billy Reynolds had a lucky escape

An Egham wrestler says he's lucky to be alive after almost breaking his neck in a bout at Egham leisure Centre on Friday.

Billy Reynolds, 24, of Pooley Green Road, nearly broke his neck after landing on his head during an LDN wrestling show at the Runnymede Council-run centre in Vicarage Road.

Mr Reynolds, otherwise known in the ring as B-Rey, was the main attraction of the show due to his local roots, but when he came to jump from the ropes against his opponent The Bulldozer, he made a near fatal mistake.

He said: "I was meant to somersault forward and land on my opponent on my back, but I flipped too late and landed on my head. Everything was spinning and my neck was killing me. I am lucky to be walking, because I could have broken my neck and killed myself."

Mr Reynolds was carried into the back stage area by his close friends and colleagues, who laid him down on the floor.

He said: "Everyone was around me and my 10-year-old cousin was crying because she thought I was going to die. My girlfriend and my mum were very worried."

He was taken on stretcher to St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, where he was treated for neck injuries and concussion until three am on Saturday morning.

Despite his injury Mr Reynolds has not been put off by his passion, which started as a young boy when he watched wrestling on TV. He said it now beats his previous injury, which was a broken nose.

He said: "I'm back at work now, but I just feel quite sore. In a few weeks time I'll be able to train again and be in the ring. Despite the injury it went really well. We had around 300 people in the audience, and about 25 of my friends came to see me."

Despite his injury, Mr Reynolds managed to crawl onto his opponent, pin him, and win.

Mr Reynolds has been a wrestler for four years and fought in over 200 fights, but this was his first appearance in his local area. The night saw four other matches take place, one of which took place in the dark due to a 10-minute power failure.