AS A CHILD he hoped to become a stuntman, but in the end a Wee County 35-year-old settled for wrestling and is looking forward to performing in front of the home crowd this month.

Alloa’s Paul McLaren, aka Falcon, will be entering the ring at Clackmannan Town Hall versus Eric Canyon as Reckless Intent bring live wrestling on Saturday, September 23.

A lifelong fan, Paul fell in love with wrestling shows and entertainment as a youngster when he started watching with his dad after Sky first started airing it.

One of his old-time favourites from the video tapes kindly recorded by their neighbour included Shawn Michaels and while as a small boy he dreamed of becoming a stuntman, he is happy he managed to come near as a wrestler.

Paul explained: “It is physical, it is hard hitting, it’s not as fake as everybody thinks it is.

“It’s honestly like a film - there are good guys and bad guys.”

When he was first looking to train, only a handful of opportunities were available in the UK and he was looking to head south of the border when he got the chance to attend a gym in Clydebank, Glasgow, around 15 years ago and was one of the lucky few who got to wrestle for other companies as well.

Performing in front of a home crowd is always a delight – he said: “You always get a good following and good support here in the local towns.

“I wear a mask when I wrestle so I usually get a good response when I go anywhere and I have been lucky enough to wrestle in Germany, Sweden and Denmark as well as England and Scotland.”

“It is physical, it is hard hitting, it’s not as fake as everybody thinks it is...”

But for Paul, it is all about entertainment and getting emotions out of the crowd: “If I go out as a good guy I can get folk behind me, if I’m a bad guy I can get people to ‘boo’, so you can really control their emotions.”

While they may be facing off against each other in the ring, Paul explained wrestlers at Reckless Intent are always on good terms,

He said: “If somebody doesn’t like somebody else then it’s going to be a bad show and if it’s a bad show then it doesn’t do anybody any good.”

Paul has thoroughly been enjoying his wrestling for the past decade and a half, often in the ring a number of times each weekend, but being a father-of-five, he admits he will have less and less time for it in the future.

Following the event in Clackmannan, the local wrestler will be looking forwards to another show close to home, at The View in Fishcross this November 25 – a venue where he already enjoyed entering the ring before.

The events are always suitable for all the family, as Paul explained they are almost like a panto with lots of emotion coming from the crowd.

Doors will open at 6.30pm, first bell at 7pm.

For tickets call Nicola Blain on 07523 041 612, adults go for £10, kids £5, family ticket is £25 and ringside spots are available at £12.50.

For more info, find Reckless Intent Wrestling on Facebook or visit reckless-intent.com