After England captain Harry Kane was twice 'wrestled' to the ground during corners in England's opening win against Tunisia in the World Cup, we've spoken to a professional wrestler to provide the Spurs striker with a few top tips for dealing with aggressive defenders ahead of the game against Panama.
PROGRESS Wrestling is the UK's biggest independent wrestling promotion and hosted their very own PROGRESS World Cup earlier this month.
Chuck Mambo represented England and defeated wrestlers from Germany, Australia and Russia to claim the World Cup title for his country. SPORTbible managed to get Chuck to reveal his top tips to help Kane deal with defenders grappling him at set pieces.
1. Don't fear anyone
OK, first things first here KANE! Your name is frikkin KANE! You're named after one of the most terrifying men in all of the history of my sport. Nobody should be willing to wrestle you.
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You need to get a mask, organise some pyro with whoever does that at the World Cup, over theatrically kill some football characters (ideally using your new relationship with the pyro guy, and still avoiding jail) and bust out a few chokeslams!
I'm not 100% clear on the red card, yellow card system, maybe you'll be off the pitch for a few games but when you're back! OH WHEN YOU ARE BACK! NOBODY is gonna mess with Harry KANE!
2. Don't trust referees
Secondly, stop respecting the referees. I've noticed in your sport that the referees give the players a lot of jip.
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The greatest performer in the history of our sport is undoubtedly Stone Cold Steve Austin, for a number of reasons. His aggression, his strength, and his badass tough guy-ness, but it's also because he stone cold stunnered all the referees!
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If you want the refs to respect you, show them tough love.
3. Never stay down
As in wrestling, I advise you never to stay down for more than two seconds.
If you get knocked down, get back up, dust yourself off and get back on the attack.
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As a matter fact, I've noticed a lot of diving in your sport and as a professional wrestler, I find it distasteful for your players to pretend to be hurt. You won't get away with it now you've got VAR!
4. Don't be intimidated by the crowd
There's going to be a lot of fans at this World Cup, and they won't all be England fans. Even the England fans can't all like you! Don't let the crowd mess with your head man!
You think John Cena would be John Cena if he gave a hoot when they were booing him?
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In September, PROGRESS Wrestling will be holding the largest independent UK wrestling show in 30 years at the SSE Arena, Wembley.
Details on tickets can be found here:
Featured Image Credit: Image: Pasco PhotographyTopics: Football News, Football, England, World Cup, Wrestling News, Wrestling, WWE, Harry Kane