At 77-years-old, Captain Rajoo ‘Tiger’ Ellappan, a former South African police officer, said he was overcome with both pride and gratitude after he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the World Wrestling Alliance of RSA recently.
Born in the Riverside area in Durban north but forced to move to Chatsworth in 1963 due to the Group Areas Act, Ellapen said he owed much of his success to the police force as they offered him time and facilities to become a professional wrestler during apartheid.
In 1969, Ellapen joined the ranks and was based at the Wentworth Police College as an instructor during the days of the "South African Police Force". It was here that Ellapen learnt the ropes as an amateur before evolving into a professional wrestler.
“I used to train and teach others amateur wrestling at the college and also in the process, learn my own moves so I could turn pro. Major Northnagle trained me at Wentworth. It was a really good place for me to start because I got an opportunity to practice and also the police force gave me a platform. They were lenient in that they gave me time off to rest after events.
“During this time, I also attended wrestling events to watch people like Percy Hall wrestle at the Durban City Hall. I used to often go and watch their tactics and then go back to the college and practice,” Ellapen said.
“I used to also train at the Seamen Institute on Point Road at the time. It was one of the only places with a ring, and that’s where I could get a feel of what it was like to bounce off the ropes and try all these moves I saw,” he added.
After turning pro in 1975, Ellapen’s once far-fetched dream of becoming a professional wrestler was churned into reality, through dedication and support from those around him.
But his career would also get a cherry on top, as Ellapen got a chance to wrestle Percy Hall himself, a man he once idolised and learnt from.
“I watched him wrestling so it was quite special” he explained.
Percy Hall, as he was known in South Africa, was known as Willem Hall to the rest of the world, according to Fight Times, a professional wrestler since 1954.
“Having been recognised by the sport, by fans, after all these years wrestling at the City Hall, wrestling at the Ice Rink and at the Westridge Stadium. Just having the support that I did from my own Indian community.... Especially now, at the age of 77, to be recognised, it means a lot,” Ellapen said.
“I was fortunate because I was a police instructor and people recognised me and gave me permission to wrestle at the City Hall and this was a time when everything was strict.”
Founder of World Wrestling Alliance in South Africa - Daryl Naidu aka “Nightmare” - said Ellapen was inducted for being a pioneering figure for the sport in the Indian community.
“Being a professional wrestler myself, Tiger was heavily influential in me starting out. He basically gave me his own space and told me I could wrestle there. So when I launched this program with WWA to recognise legendary wrestlers, I knew Tiger Ellapen had to be one of the first people I honour and pay homage to. It is because of people like Tiger and Trevor Van de Westhuizen aka “Blacksmith” that I am where I am,” Nightmare said.
Now on the verge of developing the sport and creating a bigger spectacle for crowds to enjoy, Nightmare said he was planning to take what Tiger Ellapen gave him and use it for the future.
“Tiger helped introduce me to pro wrestling and now I am taking the sport to another place, especially in my own community and city. I have teamed up with wrestling federations from across the country and overseas to bring them here to Chatsworth. In the near future, we plan on holding more events with other contests like the slap competition together with wrestling, for spectators to enjoy,” Nightmare told the POST.
The POST