Published: Thursday, 28th August, 2008 11:50
Dunfermline's 'Prince of Pain' claims Fife title
By Ewan Ferguson
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Pic by: Dunfermline Press
TOM BATER is no ordinary teenager.
Every couple of weeks, the mild-mannered Dunfermline lad slips into a leotard and becomes his alter-ego – The Prince of Pain.
He then thrills crowds of screaming fans by appearing to beat another spandex-clad muscleman to a bloody pulp.
For Tom (17), who weighs in at just under 20 stone, is the heavyweight champion of the Fife wrestling scene after defeating 19 other contenders at a rumble match earlier this month.
The 6ft 9ins former Dunfermline High School pupil, of Jennie Rennie’s Road, has been involved with Fife-based W3L Wrestling for two years now and is undefeated in 20 matches.
Tom appears at events throughout Fife and Edinburgh and is due to appear on home turf when W3L hosts an event at the Carnegie Centre on 4th October.
Those who don’t know better might feel sorry for those wrestlers who have been on the receiving end of Tom’s moves.
But, Tom says this type of wrestling is more about showmanship than competition and there’s very little real fighting involved.
t’s nothing like what you would see at the Olympic Games and the result of each match is decided before the contenders even get in the ring.
“It’s more choreographed and is about entertainment,” he said. “It’s quite like gymnastics.
“You get a lot of bumps and bruises, though, or maybe a pulled muscle – it’s very physical, even though it is choreographed.”
Tom, who is due to start an acting course at Carnegie College next month, tries to keep his wrestling quiet for fear of his identity leaking to the public.
“I don’t really publicly announce that I’m a wrestler,” he said. “I try to live two different lives.”
And he added, “My character (The Prince of Pain) just wants to hurt people by any means – he will do anything.
“The crowd hate me and I shout at them to tell them to sit down and shut up.
“I’d love to make a full-time living from it – but the odds of doing that are astronomical.”
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