Grado gears up for return to the wrestling ring in Edinburgh taking on the best of Japan

Grado says he might need to “cut back on the fish suppers” but that he is ready to dust off the singlet in the wrestling ring once again.

The former grappler for Glasgow-based Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), who now stars on television and radio, will be taking part in Pro Wrestling NOAH’s event at the O2 Academy in Edinburgh next month.

Grado, real name Graeme Stevely, from Stevenston, will compete in a tag team match on Friday, September 6 taking on the best in Japanese wrestling.

The 36-year-old, alongside the likes of now WWE stars Drew McIntyre, Joe Hendry, Alba Fyre and Piper Niven, helped build ICW to heights such as playing to a sell-out OVO Hydro in Glasgow.

Grado says the event will be full of emotion for him going from playing in front of dozens of fans to thousands STV News

The Scot Squad star admits he might have had too many takeaways of late but that he’s ready to chop and suplex his way back into action next month.

He told STV News: “It’s been a while for me. I’ve done a lot of filming recently so wrestling has taken a back seat.

“I’m not in the right shape as what I used to be but it is an absolute honour to be involved in this.

“I’m ring-rusty so I need to improve on that. It’s vital that I’m not eating fish suppers every night, getting Chinese takeaways or eating kebabs.

“I need to walk my dog a bit more about and maybe wire my jaw shut.”

Grado says the event will be full of emotion for him going from playing in front of dozens of fans to thousands at the O2 with NOAH making their return to the UK for the first time in a decade.

He added: “My first wrestling match I wore my maw’s cycling shorts and I put on a tartan waistcoat my granny used to wear.

“I wrestled my debut match in front of about 13 people in Greenock Town Hall.

“To go from wrestling there to for NOAH – I want to start greeting because its such a big thing for me and I’m really excited about it.”