Many people will have seen flashes of an American wrestling show with, for example, Hulk Hogan on television. Show wrestling is relatively small in the Netherlands, but Rik ‘Stormram’ Slager wants to change that. The Nistelrodenaar will be in a wrestling show in Podium Azijnfabriek in Den Bosch next Sunday. “It’s very nice how people respond to you.”
It could easily be a report on the Jambers program. During the day he works as hardware engineer in the office, but in the evening he turns into a show wrestler. At work he is ‘just’ Dirk Soetekouw (29) from Nistelrode, but in the ring he goes by the name Rik ‘Stormram’ Slager.
As a child, Soetekouw took part in judo and also chose volleyball. “I thought show wrestling was cool to watch. When I was 21 years old, I started trying it. Not that I could train nearby, but I was happy to do it.”
It was hard work, especially in the beginning, to understand the sport. “I had to train a lot on the simplest things. After doing it hundreds of times, I mastered the basics. Then I went one step further and learned new things.”
According to Soetekouw, show wrestling is about a story in the ring. “They often come down to the same thing. There is a person who is good and there is a bad guy. We enter the ring to entertain the audience. Usually you get the people involved right away, but sometimes you have to try a little harder. In the end it takes off, that adrenaline is great.”
‘Unbreakable’
“Dirk is a human wrecking ball with the strength of a crazy rhino and the mentality of a real Brabander,” says organizer Rico Meijer. “135 kilograms of pure pounding power, but it moves like a feather. Burgundian, rock hard, explosive and indestructible.”
The Nistelrode native steps into the ring without fear, even though the body has to endure a lot. For example, striking punches are thrown and it happens that an opponent, sometimes weighing around 200 kilos, jumps from the ropes onto his body. “Of course it hurts, if a giant falls on you it is a huge blow. We train in such a way that we have our body under control and apply certain techniques so that we can continue. Injuries are not too bad for me.”
“Apparently I’m crazy enough to do this.”
In order to keep it going, he believes there has to be something loose. “Who would voluntarily let themselves be thrown to the ground and jump through tables? Apparently I’m crazy enough to do this. It is underestimated, as is evident from the fact that fighters from, for example, the UFC who participate, all say that this is the toughest thing they have ever done. It is the most intensive form of theater and you can only do this if you are in top shape.”
Soetekouw has no plans yet to make his work there one day. “I’m not concerned with that, it’s just great fun to do. If you want to go abroad you have to keep pushing and put yourself first. I’m not that kind of person. But if I ever get the chance, I would definitely take it.”
