In the Ugandan town of Mukono, wrestlers, both boys and girls, face off in the mud. Each of these matches aims to replicate, as realistically as possible, the famous American championship (WWE) that these Ugandan wrestlers dream of.
In a mud ring dug into the ground and delineated by four bamboo poles and two strings, young men and women confront each other, executing dives and falls with loud cries and grimaces.
At the Bumbash Wrestling Academy, established a year ago in the town of Mukono, about thirty kilometers from the Ugandan capital Kampala, 200 enthusiasts - including 30 women - train in "soft ground wrestling."
This local version of wrestling was conceived by Daniel Bumba, who has been commentating in the Luganda language on the famous American championship (WWE) for 18 years on local television, along with his friend Arthur Asiimwe. The two thirty-year-olds dream of making this marshy plot amidst eucalyptus and yams the center of a future professional discipline in this East African country.
"The boys and girls here will be the Hulk Hogans and Sasha Banks of tomorrow," declares Daniel Bumba, referring to two of the most famous American wrestlers.
Here, three letters are on everyone's lips: WWE, the World Wrestling Entertainment, a global reference in wrestling.
In rudimentary conditions, they replicate the setups of the American league. Like in the WWE, fights, announced by a speaker who mimics the gimmicks of American shows, are supervised by a referee in black and white striped attire, with a replica of the famous "WW" belt at stake.
In one corner of the ring, a makeshift staircase with a plank and two sticks allows for height to execute the most spectacular jumps, popularized by The Undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton...
"We used to watch the fights of the whites but never thought that one day, we, too, Ugandans, could have a chance to wrestle. As soon as I discovered that there was an academy in Uganda, I went for it because it was my dream coming true," says Bridget Nahoba, one of the young women in the group.
"My dream is to join the WWE," affirms this 25-year-old former nursing student, a fan of wrestler Bianca Belair: "People think that women can't wrestle, but we are here to set an example."
"I love wrestling, I love Sasha Banks, I want to become like her," sums up another, Nevia Hope Nabwire, an 18-year-old former street vendor, passionate about WWE since childhood.
Five days a week, trainees, mostly from modest backgrounds, undergo intensive training. Under the blazing sun, they work on strength training and practice moves like "chokeslam," "powerbomb," and other ground projection techniques, their heavy falls only cushioned by a layer of mud.
These acrobatic moves performed without protection raise concerns in the medical community. Faced with the popularity of videos circulated on social media, orthopedic surgeons have recently warned on television about the risks of concussion and injuries, especially to the spine.
"You are safe when you know how to fall. There is about an eight-month training to learn how to fall," Daniel Bumba reassures.
The two founders, who received a visit from the army in early March to ensure that their structure was not a training camp for antigovernment rebels, claim to have initiated the process to have "soft ground wrestling" officially recognized.
They hope that official approval will enable them to attract funds because "we lack equipment, we risk being evicted by the landowner (...), trainees frequently suffer from malaria because we are in a bush infested with mosquitoes, they need food...," lists Daniel Bumba.
The precarious conditions do not diminish the dream of the apprentice wrestlers.
Justice Omadi assures that he is not motivated "solely by money." "My wish is that if one or more organizations came to support our sport here, (...) we could have the chance to go and fight in foreign countries," he explains: "I would really like to meet Roman Reigns (WWE star) one day and fight in the same (ring) as him."
