Wrestling With the Champ has been nominated for the Liberty Award at the 2026 Leicester Comedy Festival and UK Kids’ Comedy Festival Awards.
The nomination follows an impromptu performance at the Real Ale Classroom on February 7th when thirty audience members arrived for a show that was cancelled at short notice. Rather than let them head home disappointed, Ant McGinley and Damien St John, the creators of Wrestling With the Champ, offered to perform again minutes later.
Within minutes, they were back on stage delivering a second edition of their improvised gameshow, FistyMania. What could have been an awkward gap in the programme became one of the most memorable moments of the festival.
Damien St John, Co-creator and writer of Wrestling With the Champ said:
We were in the bar having a post-show pint when Alex Hylton from Jokes on Us, who is a fantastic promoter, explained to the next audience that the show they'd come to see had been cancelled last-minute. Leicester audiences are always brilliant, and we wanted to repay the faith Alex has shown in us over the years. Ten minutes after offering to go again, we were back on stage having a blast. It all felt slightly surreal.
Ant McGinley, Co-creator and producer of Wrestling With the Champ said:
It turned into one of those brilliant comedy accidents. Suddenly we had a completely unexpected second show on our hands and a fresh audience in front of us ready to expect the unexpected. We're pleased we could do more for the festival and for the venue. The Champ loved being up on stage again so soon and we hope we crowned some new Champaholics that night!
The Liberty Award recognises contributions big or small that helped shape the festival. The full list of nominees is:
Wrestling with the Champ
The Festival Hub
DMU special collection
Real Ale Classroom
Firebug
Liebenspiel
Notable past winners include Harborough District Council and the BIG Weekend (2019), Weirdos Comedy Weekender (2024), The Worst Record Cover of the World Exhibition (2025).
The winners will be announced at 10am on Wednesday, March 11th 2026.
Further information can be found at https://www.comedy-festival.co.uk/festival-awards
Catch Wrestling With the Champ: FistyMania at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival on May 30th 2026.
About FistyMania
FistyMania is the improvised gameshow segment from Wrestling With the Champ, the comedy podcast and live show created by Ant McGinley and Damien St John. First developed at the Leicester Comedy Festival and later performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe and Manchester Fringe Festival, the format blends wrestling trivia, audience participation and deliberately chaotic challenges inspired by the larger-than-life world of professional wrestling.