By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
What's The JamWhat's The Jam
  • Home
  • Latest News
    • UK News
    • World News
  • Super ViralHot
  • Lifestyle
    • Health and Fitness
    • Photography
    • Property
  • Humor
  • Celebrity
  • Weird
  • Videos
  • All Topics
    • Babies and Kids
    • Celebrity
    • Comedy and Humor
    • Documentary and Reportage
    • Fails
    • Health and Fitness
    • Holidays and Travel
    • Influencers and Models
    • Latest Videos
    • Life Hacks
    • Lifestyle
    • Nature and Wildlife
    • Pets and Animals
    • Photography
    • Property
    • Real Life
    • Sport
    • Strange and Bizarre
    • Super Viral
    • UK News
    • World News
Search
  • Health and Fitness
  • Holidays and Travel
  • Nature and Wildlife
  • Pets and Animals
  • Photography
  • Babies and Kids
  • Comedy and Humor
  • Fails
  • Real Life
  • Strange and Bizarre
  • Submit News
  • Customize Interests
  • Bookmarks
  • Newsletter
  • Who Are We
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
© 2023 What's The Jam. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: ‘I’m a dad-of-three but spend my weekends fighting DEATH MATCHES – I earn £12,000 a year from my hobby’
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
What's The JamWhat's The Jam
Aa
  • News
  • World
  • Viral
  • Funny
  • Weird
  • Celebrity
  • DIY
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
    • News
    • World
    • Super Viral
    • Videos
  • All Topics
    • Babies and Kids
    • Celebrity
    • Comedy and Humor
    • Documentary and Reportage
    • Fails
    • Health and Fitness
    • Holidays and Travel
    • Influencers and Models
    • Life Hacks
    • Lifestyle
    • Nature and Wildlife
    • Pets and Animals
    • Photography
    • Property
    • Real Life
    • Sport
    • Strange and Bizarre
  • Quick Links
    • Customize Interests
    • Bookmarks
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Write For Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
© 2023 What's The Jam. All Rights Reserved.
Joe Mcgivern, a store security worker by day, earns £12,000 annually from weekend death wrestling. This hardcore hobby, involving glass and blood, offers a surreal thrill and helps pay the bills.
Lifestyle

‘I’m a dad-of-three but spend my weekends fighting DEATH MATCHES – I earn £12,000 a year from my hobby’

Heather Campbell
Last updated: 2024/07/17 at 2:21 PM
Heather Campbell
Share
5 Min Read
Joe Mcgivern. (Picture: Jam Press)
SHARE

A dad-of-three who spends his weekends death wrestling has revealed the hardcore hobby brings in £12,000 a year.

Joe Mcgivern, 37, who works in store security during the week, often ends up with shards of glass embedded in his body during his time off.

But the self-confessed “pacifist”, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, says the buzz is “surreal” – and helps pay the bills.

READ MORE: ‘I’m a rich housewife – my hubby spends over £440,000 for my birthday and summer holidays’

- Advertisement -

“I don’t believe in actual violence – I’m very anti-military and all that sort of stuff,” Joe told What’s the Jam.

Joe Mcgivern, a store security worker by day, earns £12,000 annually from weekend death wrestling. This hardcore hobby, involving glass and blood, offers a surreal thrill and helps pay the bills.
Joe Mcgivern. (Picture: Jam Press)

“But when I’m covered in blood and can’t breathe, the glass [in my skin] bit – it’s the closest thing to being in the trenches.

“It’s such a surreal feeling when the crowd is chanting.

“You’ve got to be careful when you’ve got glass flying around and people bleeding.

“But it’s such a great feeling when it goes right.”

- Advertisement -

Death matches – commonly known in wrestling as ‘Hardcore’ – is a form of the sport where typical rules do not apply.

This includes disqualifications and count-outs.

The matches often allow wrestlers to use a wide variety of foreign objects, including glass, baseball bats wrapped in wire, ladders and thumbtacks.

- Advertisement -
Joe Mcgivern, a store security worker by day, earns £12,000 annually from weekend death wrestling. This hardcore hobby, involving glass and blood, offers a surreal thrill and helps pay the bills.
Joe Mcgivern. (Picture: Jam Press)

Joe has three children and a mortgage of £1,500, so any financial gain he gets from his hobby is a major bonus.

He said: “It does pay better than my real job and I get a thrill from it.

“The fans are a bit more hardcore. They’re super supportive and buy merchandise.

“I sell a lot of my bloody clothes as well.

“I probably make more money selling bloody pants than actual wrestling.”

Joe says he has been wrestling since he was 18 but didn’t start death matches until around eight years ago.

Joe Mcgivern, a store security worker by day, earns £12,000 annually from weekend death wrestling. This hardcore hobby, involving glass and blood, offers a surreal thrill and helps pay the bills.
Joe Mcgivern. (Picture: Jam Press)

He said: “It was basically in the mid 1990s that the way wrestling was perceived changed.

“There was a famous show in 1995 about death matches that started the whole thing.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do because I watched all that stuff as a teenager, like Jackass.

“I always wanted to do it but there wasn’t a scene in England at the time. It’s probably popped off in the last four or five years.

“I’m a bit of a wuss in real life, really, but I just love pro wrestling as a different form of pro wrestling.

“At the end of the day, we’re still fighting in our pants for a crowd that knows it’s predetermined.

“I love it.”

Joe participates in death matches up to six times a month.

Joe Mcgivern, a store security worker by day, earns £12,000 annually from weekend death wrestling. This hardcore hobby, involving glass and blood, offers a surreal thrill and helps pay the bills.
Joe Mcgivern. (Picture: Jam Press)

He said: “Sometimes you do a Friday or a Saturday show.

“It just depends – it’s a niche market.

“I’ve had a few bad cuts but I’ve always been able to walk after.

“I’ve been stitched up and wrestled the next day.

“If you do get hurt you can work around it for the next match.

“Life is dangerous.

“I’ve got more friends that have been hurt playing football than friends in matches.”

Joe Mcgivern, a store security worker by day, earns £12,000 annually from weekend death wrestling. This hardcore hobby, involving glass and blood, offers a surreal thrill and helps pay the bills.
Joe Mcgivern. (Picture: Jam Press)

Joe said his kids haven’t been to a match yet but his family is supportive.

He added: “My son thinks it’s kind of cool.

“[My kids] obviously don’t go to those kinds of shows but they go to family shows.

“They’re still quite young.”

READ MORE: Inked eyeballs, metal mohawk and split tongue – body mod fan shares brutal reality of ‘painful’ and ‘reckless’ obsession

Have a story to tell? Hello@whatsthejam.com
TAGGED: fight, horror, Lifestyle, shocking, side gig

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
[mc4wp_form]
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Previous Article A mother recounts her son's miraculous journey of being 'born twice' for life-saving spina bifida surgery. Now thriving, Otis defies all odds, bringing hope to others. ‘Our baby was born TWICE after our world fell apart during a routine scan’
Next Article 24-year-old Becky Cannon becomes RNLI's youngest female coxswain, continuing an 80-year family legacy. She credits her late grandfather, Ron Cannon MBE, for her inspiration. Britain’s youngest female coxswain whose family spent generations in RNLI praises ‘inspiring’ late grandad
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

235.3k Followers Like
69.1k Followers Follow
11.6k Followers Pin
56.4k Followers Follow
136k Subscribers Subscribe
4.4k Followers Follow
- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

Latest News

YouTuber Niko Omilana has laughed off being left out on Celebrity Traitors, turning his awkward castle experience into a comedy skit after being the second contestant banished.
‘Lonely’ Celebrity Traitors star laughs off being left out by co-stars as fans demand he receive ‘justice’
Celebrity 17 October 2025
Jack Grealish was spotted at McGettigan’s Irish bar in Dubai after being left out of England’s squad, relaxing with fans as the Three Lions secured their World Cup qualification.
Jack Grealish spotted in Irish bar in Dubai after England secure World Cup spot
Sport 17 October 2025
A couple who spent two years travelling Australia in a 1966 double-decker bus have listed their luxury mobile home for £62,000 after transforming it into a vintage masterpiece.
Scottish couple selling unique double-decker bus home after two years of travel
World News 17 October 2025
Influencer James Patrick Ellingworth nearly vomited after eating the world’s stinkiest tofu, calling it the “worst thing ever,” even worse than the infamous Surströmming fish.
Influencer nearly gags on camera trying TOFU that is ‘worst thing’ that’s ‘ever graced’ his mouth
Super Viral 17 October 2025

You Might also Like

YouTuber Niko Omilana has laughed off being left out on Celebrity Traitors, turning his awkward castle experience into a comedy skit after being the second contestant banished.
Celebrity

‘Lonely’ Celebrity Traitors star laughs off being left out by co-stars as fans demand he receive ‘justice’

17 October 2025
A couple who spent two years travelling Australia in a 1966 double-decker bus have listed their luxury mobile home for £62,000 after transforming it into a vintage masterpiece.
World News

Scottish couple selling unique double-decker bus home after two years of travel

17 October 2025
Influencer James Patrick Ellingworth nearly vomited after eating the world’s stinkiest tofu, calling it the “worst thing ever,” even worse than the infamous Surströmming fish.
Super Viral

Influencer nearly gags on camera trying TOFU that is ‘worst thing’ that’s ‘ever graced’ his mouth

17 October 2025
Teacher and travel lover Lucy shared a 99p hack using contact lens cases to store liquids, saving hundreds on flights by avoiding travel minis and checked luggage fees.
Life Hacks

Travel-loving teacher shares ‘genius’ 99p travel hack that has saved her hundreds of pounds on flights

17 October 2025
Simon Cowell has offered £1,000 and a business deal to anyone who can find Pizzaland’s lost margarita recipe, hoping to revive his favourite pizza from the defunct chain.
Celebrity

Simon Cowell partners with fan who unearthed Pizzaland recipe

17 October 2025
A ghostly figure believed to be the Grey Lady of Longleat House was caught on camera in Wiltshire’s Wolf Wood, sparking intrigue ahead of the estate’s autumn ghost tours.
Strange and Bizarre

Ghost who haunts ancient home caught on camera

17 October 2025
Ryder Cup legend Justin Rose has hinted at buying his beloved Aldershot Town and wants Luke Donald as manager after Tommy Widdrington’s sudden resignation from the club.
UK News

Ryder Cup hero Justin Rose ‘to buy’ non-league Aldershot Town…and bring in Luke Donald as manager

17 October 2025
Tourists were stunned when firefighters removed a 16ft anaconda hiding under pool steps at a Brazil resort, using tools to free and safely release the massive snake.
World News

Five people have to carry away huge 16ft anaconda at busy tourist spot

17 October 2025
//

What’s The Jam is your one stop website for the latest viral and weird news from around the world.

 
Have a story to tell? Hello@whatsthejam.com

Quick Link

  • Customize Interests
  • Bookmarks
  • Write for Us
  • Newsletter
  • About Us

Top Categories

  • UK News
  • World News
  • Latest Videos
  • Lifestyle
  • Super Viral

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

[mc4wp_form]

What's The JamWhat's The Jam
Follow US
© 2023 What's The Jam. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Our site is an advertising supported site. Please whitelist to support our site.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?