Disclaimer: I recorded a short interview with Ravie Davie after his recent Drumchapel show with CPW. I have since lost the phone I recorded that interview on. This article is based on that interview but will not directly quote it. Because of the aforementioned losing of the recording device it was… eh… recorded on. Anyway… enjoy.

By Thom McManus

Its hard not to write this article in a very sooky way. Journalistic integrity is important. Impartiality is at the core of that. But to be honest, balls to it. Ravie Davie has something very special on the go right now and I enjoyed a live wrestling show in 2023. After all the carry on. A pandemic. He’s caught fire and deserves no end of credit for that. It was a good show. Not perfect but it was geared to entertain its paying audience. No airs or graces. A roster with a common goal who went out and smashed it. A very positive thing no matter who you pledge allegiance to in this weirdly territorial game. He makes people from every age group get emotionally invested and that is professional wrestling. That’s at the core of the belief system of anyone who does wrestling right. Send them home happy.

While the chat itself was brief, it was full of substance. Community Pro Wrestling isn’t just a name. It’s about communities. It’s about bringing live entertainment to people in working class wee towns up and down the country. Catering that entertainment to the audience who buy tickets to see it instead of catering it to a handful of adults is why its turning heads as a wrestling promotion. This isn’t a Ravie Davie vanity project, he believes in this deeply. Family friendly wrestling isn’t just a way of saying ‘you can bring your children to this show and they won’t end up scarred for life’ it should be the marker for the type of show you’re paying to see. CPW put on a show that the kids in the audience went mental for and that means they’ll annoy their mums and dads to buy tickets to the next one.

I did not expect to like that show in Drumchapel and ended up properly enjoying it because of the work of the people involved. After a seven hour shift and a few Venom’s I got very lost en route. The phone that I have now lost entirely got me near the venue before dying and I somehow went 25 minutes in the wrong direction, making me late for the planned pre-show interview. The point in that tangent is, as a day, it was a bit chaotic. I showed up reekin’ and left buzzing. Ravie Davie is a bit chaotic himself and that’s why everything he does is relatable. I’m a bit chaotic. We are all a bit chaotic, but some of us can channel the chaos in very positive ways and he can do that. He affects positive change and makes a living doing it and that is nothing but an admirable thing.

He was brutally honest in the eight minutes I spoke to him post show. He is the biggest star to come out of this scene since Grado. That’s undeniable. The chat was deliberately brief on my end because there was a ring to pack away and people are knackered after shows but I got the impression he’d have spoke to me for hours. He believes in this project and wants people to know about it and it is undoubtedly worth your time. He is selling out venues up and down this country.

I was greeted by Georgia when I entered the venue and was told to put that she’s the ‘hardest worker in the room’ in the review, which I forgot to do (sorry) but do you know what? She is. She never stopped walking about that venue making sure everything was running smooth. Communicating with the wrestlers. It’s very much a team effort and Mrs Ravie Davie is at the core of it. The reason he does it at all is for his wee boy. See how it’s hard not to be sooky? It’s a very wholesome reason to want this and that’s what sets him apart more than anything that’s gone viral.

Aside from the burgeoning promotion and successful training school, one thing perhaps going a bit unnoticed recently is how much better Davie has got in the ring. The main event of that Drumchapel show was very well worked. Matches like that can be clusterfucky. Too much going on at once. Everyone let everyone else shine and all six men walked away looking shit hot. That’s a very well put together match and it’s no accident. He’s working at his craft every day and truly finding his niche and it’s rubbing off on everyone around him. It makes Sam Barbour better. It makes Ross Hauser better. The whole team benefits and it’s why everything is running well.

Wrestling isn’t very complicated. It’s about making people happy. Telling stories where the ultimate pay off is a satisfied paying customer. People get very caught up in their own personal journey in wrestling and lose sight of what its all about sometimes. Its about the ones who pay to see you perform. End of story. Davie gets that and that’s why the shows are already very good. With the potential to be very special. The line up for the upcoming Govan weekender is full of stoaters. Joe Hendry’s on it. Buy tickets now.

Never be afraid to go out on your own. Life’s too short. He bet on himself and is working harder than anyone else on this scene to make it happen and is now reaping the rewards. Keep an eye on CPW. Keep an eye on Ravie Davie.