- Ashwin bags six wickets as India hammer Bangladesh in first Test
- Nascent French government under pressure on multiple fronts
- Angry French cognac makers see red over Chinese tariffs threat
- Protect the prosciutto: Italy battles swine fever
- UN holds 'Summit of the Future' to tackle global crises
- Marxist leader set to become Sri Lanka's next president
- From blades to pull-up bars: UK charity tackles knife crime
- Swiss vote on pensions and environment protections
- No pain, no gain: Chinese pro wrestlers fight for recognition
- UAE leader seeks to deepen 'strategic' ties in US visit during Mideast crisis
- Hezbollah takes heavy hits but still fighting Israel
- Floods, landslides hit central Japan months after major quake
- All Blacks coach Robertson demands better finishing
- Argentina edge South Africa to keep title hopes alive
- Biden says China 'testing us,' in hot mic remarks to Quad allies
- Dubois destroys Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Guardiola says critics want Man City wiped 'from face of the Earth'
- Biden says 'Quad' is 'here to stay' despite challenges
- Dubois knocks out Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Vinicius helps 'faster' Madrid overturn stubborn Espanyol
- Zelensky to press US on long-range missile strikes inside Russia
- PSG drop first points in draw at Reims
- Vinicius, Mbappe on target as Madrid crush plucky Espanyol
- Jeeno leads Ko by two at LPGA Queen City Championship
- Bottega Veneta goes for 'E.T.' chic as Madonna pops into D&G
- Messi, Miami frustrated by New York late leveler
- Musk's X platform takes first step toward lifting Brazil ban
- 'Business as usual' for Australia match-winner Carey amid boos
- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Carey sparks recovery as Australia thrash England in 2nd ODI
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Spurs bounce back
- Heavy fire over Israel-Lebanon border after deadly Beirut strike
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win despite Hogg scuffle
No pain, no gain: Chinese pro wrestlers fight for recognition
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China's passionate but underdeveloped scene.
Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China's "Belt and Road Champion" -- but the struggle is far from over.
Despite a promising potential domestic market the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades.
"I have done all kinds of jobs (on the side)... because in the end, it is very difficult to earn enough money to live on just through wrestling," the 23-year-old Wang told AFP.
"I have never given up my dream, which is to make more and more people know China has wrestling."
Part sport and part entertainment, it is best known globally as a stereotypically American spectacle, embodied by the juggernaut World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
It is a marriage of intense athletic feat and melodramatic, lycra-clad performance.
Hooked from a young age after watching Hollywood film "The Wrestler", Wang quit high school and absconded north to train with other like-minded Chinese athletes.
"I tried to explain to my family... but they all disagreed, and did not understand or support me," Wang said.
These days they have come round -- though he said they still hope he will find "a normal job".
- Facebuster -
In the southern Chinese wilderness earlier this month, Wang and fellow wrestler Chen Wenbin slammed each other violently against the struts of a makeshift bamboo cage, smashing each other into a mudpit as curious villagers watched.
It's rudimentary, but far better than previous training conditions, said Wang.
He typically earns about 1,000 yuan ($140) for fight nights, and tries to boost that income with livestreaming.
In the nearby town, he and Chen have constructed a wrestling ring in an unfinished factory where they broadcast themselves practising moves with names like Backbreaker and Facebuster.
Though the fighting is a pretence -- moves are loosely choreographed and outcomes are predetermined -- Wang has been knocked out for real before.
Wearing a "No pain, no gain" vest, Chen recalled when his wages came from performing in places such as bars -- "it was just hard ground... easy for us to get hurt".
Self-described addiction continues to propel Wang and others.
"I love this industry so much that it doesn't matter if I get hurt, I will stick with it," Wang said.
- 'Huge market' -
The root of the addiction became clear last weekend.
At the Supercard From Shanghai -- a fight night organised by Middle Kingdom Wrestling (MKW), a domestic promoter -- Wang strode down a red carpet into the ring, transformed.
Hair slicked back and wearing a snug black-scaled waistcoat, all trace of the mild-mannered, slightly shy Wang vanished as he leapt like a cat onto the top ropes and roared into the crowd.
To howls of delight, Wang defended his "Belt and Road" title in a frenetic four-way fight with another Chinese fighter, a Hungarian and an Emirati.
Accompanied by booming music and a rolling lightshow, the increasingly feral crowd of around 350 made up for in volume what they lacked in numbers.
"Definitely I would say we have more followers, more people are paying attention to us than ever," said MKW founder Adrian Gomez.
The problem is that audience is still miniscule for China, with momentum lost during pandemic years.
The Supercard had 125,000 livestream viewers, a far cry from the millions targeted.
Nevertheless, many insist there is potential.
WWE China has almost 36 million likes and four million followers on short video app Douyin, and analysts say it too has failed to maximise the country's possibility.
"It's a huge market in China, but we haven't fully opened it yet," said Chen, whose night ended less victoriously than Wang's.
His shamanic alter ego ended up tossed onto a table, then a row of chairs, by China's first-ever pro wrestler, The Slam.
American Knickle Sloane said the show's "grind of independent wrestling" had transported him back to his childhood.
"I feel there's a market for (Chinese wrestling) and there's a lot of people who want to see this happen," he said.
For now, the dream is that "more people can make a living", said Gomez.
"I think they deserve to be able to make a living out of what they're good at."
O.Norris--AMWN