Ricky Knight

Ricky Knight
Birth namePatrick David Frary
Born (1953-12-24) 24 December 1953 (age 71)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1990)​
ChildrenSaraya Bevis
Roy Bevis
Zak Zodiac
Professional wrestling career
Billed fromNorwich, England
Trained byJimmy Ocean[1]
Debut1978

Patrick David Frary (born 24 December 1953) is an English professional wrestling trainer, promoter, owner, and former professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Ricky Knight.[2] He is the owner of the World Association of Wrestling promotion in Norwich.

Professional wrestling career

Knight was working as a bouncer when he first met professional wrestler Jimmy Ocean. Ocean trained Knight, and the duo formed a tag team.[1] Throughout the 1990s, they teamed together as The Superflys on the British circuit. The team was managed by Knight's wife Sweet Saraya. The trio appeared on Reslo, Orig Williams' Welsh-language wrestling programme on S4C.[3] The Superflys wrestled in All Star Wrestling, holding the British Open Tag Team Championship four times together.[4] Their final title reign ended in 1998 when Knight and Ocean fell out (kayfabe) and Ocean beat Knight in a singles match for the title then chose the Canary Kid as his partner. Three years later in 2001, Knight won the TWA version of the title with son Roy as the New Superflies.[5]

Knight, Sweet Saraya, and Jimmy Ocean formed the World Association of Wrestling in 1994 in Norwich. Ocean left the business one year later.[1] The promotion also included a wrestling school, The WAW Academy, which trained Roy Knight and The UK Pitbulls. The WAW Academy is Europe's longest running wrestling school.[4] As a member of the roster, Knight has held the WAW World Heavyweight Championship one time. He also held the WAW Tag Team Championship with Ocean.[6]

Personal life

Knight was in prison for eight years, mostly due to violent offences.[2]

Knight is married to Julia Bevis, who wrestles under the name Sweet Saraya.[2] They have two children, and he has two other from a previous marriage. His sons Roy Knight and Zak Zodiac wrestle on the British wrestling circuit as the UK Hooligans. Their daughter Paige wrestled for WWE, winning the NXT Women's Championship and the WWE Divas Championship twice before retiring due to a serious neck injury.[2] The family was featured in The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family, a 2012 documentary.[2] The documentary was adapted into a feature film, Fighting with My Family, by Dwayne Johnson's production company Seven Bucks Productions. The film was directed by Stephen Merchant, with Nick Frost playing the role of Knight,[7] and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019.

Championships and accomplishments

  • All Star Wrestling
  • DAM Promotions
    • DAM Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[9]
  • Extreme World Wrestling
    • EWW St George's Championship (1 time)[8]
  • Herts and Essex Wrestling
    • HEW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[8]
    • HEW Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Jimmy Ocean(1), Chuck Cyrus(1), and Karl Kramer(1)[10]
  • Independent Pro Wrestling Germany
    • IPW Senior Championship (1 time)[11]
  • Playhouse Wrestlefest
    • Wrestlefest Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Zack Zodiac[12]
    • PWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[8]
    • PWF Mid-Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[8]
    • PWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Roy Knight[8]
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • Ranked No. 457 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2019[13]
  • Real Deal Wrestling
    • RDW British Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[8]
    • RDW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Zak Zodiac[8]
  • The Wrestling Alliance
  • World Association of Wrestling
    • WAW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[6]
    • WAW Hardcore Championship (1 time)[14]
    • WAW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jimmy Ocean[6]
    • WAW Pontins Open Championship (1 time)[15]
    • Eastern Area Championship (1 time)[16]
  • World Wide Wrestling League
    • W3L Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[8]
  • X Wrestling Alliance
    • British Inter-Federation Cup (2007) - with Jo FX, Kraft, and Zack Zodiac[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Interview: Zak Knight, Sweet Saraya and Ricky Knight". The Student Pocket Guide. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Deacon, Michael (19 July 2012). "The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family, Channel 4, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. ^ Reslo programme guide (including listings for matches by Superflies, Jimmy Ocean and Ricky Knight with Saraya in their corner) ITV Wrestling, JNLister
  4. ^ a b c d "The History of WAW". World Association of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. ^ All Star Wrestling British Tag Team Championship, Wrestling-Titles.com
  6. ^ a b c "Ricky Knight". World Association of Wrestling. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  7. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (8 February 2017). "Lena Headey & Nick Frost Join Dwayne Johnson In 'Fighting With My Family'". Deadline. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Ricky Knight - Titles". CageMatch. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  9. ^ "DAM Spring Showdown 2". CageMatch. 21 April 2006.
  10. ^ "HEW Living On A Prayer 12". CageMatch. 25 March 2016.
  11. ^ "IPW Germany Kick In The Eastereggs". CageMatch. 6 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Playhouse Wrestlefest IX". CageMatch. 16 February 2008.
  13. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2019 - the Internet Wrestling Database".
  14. ^ "WAW/DAM Promotions". CageMatch. 27 September 2002.
  15. ^ "WAW". CageMatch. 22 July 2006.
  16. ^ "WAW October Outrage 5". CageMatch. 25 October 2003.
  17. ^ "XWA War On The Shore". CageMatch. 7 April 2007.