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'The world's too isolated': Uncles, aged 50 to 92, wrestle in Tanjong Pagar in the name of friendship
The real wrestling was the friends we made along the way.
October 31, 2025, 04:56 PM
Two elderly men — a 92-year-old and a 75-year-old — got into a fight in Tanjong Pagar.
It ended with the seniors easily seeing each other off and heading home with bright smiles.
Wrong punchline? Let's start from the beginning.
Uncles and pro wrestling?
The Oct. 25 fight was part of a community event organised by Tanjong Pagar Community Club.
The six-match wrestling event, WrestlePagar, included a segment where elderly uncles — or "Huncles" as they call themselves — would get into the ring as well.
I had to read the event invite twice to make sure I got that right.
Wrestling to me means dramatic fights with chairs, piledrivers and, sometimes, blood.
Uncles and fights are two things you wouldn't want mentioned in the same breath, much less uncles and wrestling.
But in Tanjong Pagar, they were, and it involved a 92-year-old "huncle". I had to see it for myself.
Huncles of Tanjong Pagar
I arrived at the main hall of Tanjong Pagar Community Centre that Saturday evening to heart-thumping music and revolving spotlights, with a ring set up in the middle of it all.
A group of elderly men sat ringside, and their white-and-blue polo tees emblazoned with the “Huncle” logo confirmed that these were the folks who were entering the ring.
As it turns out, "Huncle" stands for: "Healthy Uncles who Network, drink Coffee, Learn and Exercise."
At least, according to the backs of their shirts.
Video via Mothership
Started in April 2024, "Huncle" is a community group catered to men aged 50 and above in the Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru ward of Tanjong Pagar GRC.
Each month, they get together for various activities. Today, it was wrestling.
In the middle of a trio along the front row was a man who had the smallest frame amongst the group and sat with a slight slouch.
This was the 92-year-old wrestling contender, Lai Weng Kay, better known as Uncle Lai.
Video via Mothership
WrestlePagar kicked off with a pre-match fight by professional wrestlers. It didn't take much to get the crowd into the mood, including the Huncles.
For much of the event, they watched on from where they were sat, cheering and clapping along with the thuds and slaps that echoed from the ring.
When the action spilled out of the ring, Uncle Lai and the Huncles would lean toward the edge of their seats and egg the wrestlers on.
Every now and then, I would catch the Huncles turning to each other and making conversation.
It certainly looked like they, and everyone else, were having fun. But that's not what I came here for.
I came to watch the uncles throw punches, swing each other into the corners, and trade kicks.
Video via Mothership
'Who are you trying to bluff?'
About an hour into the event, a wrestling duo by the moniker "LFG" took the ring.
Before they entered, they put the Huncles in the limelight and offered pleasantries.
"Shout out to the Huncles!" one of the wrestlers bellowed.
"Huncles! Huncles! Huncles!" the crowd chanted in response.
Video via Mothership
But anyone who follows pro wrestling would know that fake smiles and betrayals are part of the drama. "LFG" decided that the Huncles were not old enough to be spared.
"But I got one question," one of them said. The chants simmered and the smiles faded.
"Who are you trying to bluff?" he taunted.
The applauding turned into jeering, and the Huncles got going.
They waved their hands and yelled at the wrestlers to "go home!".
Uncle Lai even got up from his seat at one point, buoyed by all the action.
Video via Mothership
Asking for it
"LFG" eventually won their match, but their itch for a fight was not scratched.
The duo turned to the Huncles, and beckoned for them to get in the ring. Finally, what I came for.
Uncle Lai and his 75-year-old tag team partner, Uncle Richard, obliged.
They got up and climbed into the ring as the crowd roared with excitement.
One of the wrestlers grabbed Uncle Richard by the collar, but with one fell swoop of a karate chop, he sent his opponent flying.
Video via Mothership
Video via Mothership
The 92-year-old threw his hands into the air in jubilation after landing his decisive blow.
There was not a hint of frailty in the ring, not from the Huncles, anyway.
The Huncles routed their challengers in minutes — Huncles, one. "LFG", zero.
Video via Mothership
300 Huncles
Alas, the uncles' wrestling event was a very particular form of theatre.
The uncles didn't throw suplexes and stick piledrivers, but their performance was enough to gain adulation from the crowd, including me.
It was a joy watching the seniors step into the ring with so much zeal.
After WrestlePagar ended, I sat down with Uncle Lai for a post-fight interview.
"Oh, we didn't practice much, just one session," Lai told me.
In the ring, he relied on "instant reflexes", the 92-year-old added with a chuckle.
He said he was never really a fan of wrestling and had only ever seen it on television, but quipped that the experience at WrestlePagar has made him one.
Uncle Lai used to work in a bank but retired at 55.
As for the name "Huncle", he told me it was conceived through a communal effort.
They settled on a cheeky portmanteau of "hunk" and "uncle" to to make it more appealing.
Photo via Mothership.
"Once or twice a month we meet up ...we have coffee, play games, visit places," he told me.
Besides the monthly organised activities, the Huncles would also meet "at random" to hang out.
"We'll keep up with the news, talk about the world," Lai shared.
The real wrestling
But wrestling, and all these activities, are just means to a particular end.
At the end of WrestlePagar, Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC Foo Cexiang explained that the event was a marriage between "macho" and "macho men", he said as he gestured to the Huncles.
The real issue that Huncle has been wrestling with is getting the elderly, especially the men, involved in the community and to stay socially connected.
It was a point Uncle Lai mentioned as well. "You know, the world, it's too isolated," he told me.
His favourite thing about the Huncle community isn't the activities they do.
"It's the friendships. Getting to know each other, talk about things. The world, nowadays, it's full of problems," the 92-year-old said.
Since its inception, Huncle has attracted over 300 participants.
Uncle Lai is possibly the oldest member, but he hopes more will join.
"The more the merrier," he commented.
Photo via Singapore Pools / Facebook.
The friends we made along the way
After WrestlePagar ended, the Huncles shuffled out of the hall and began making their way home.
I saw a group of them pause at the entrance as one provided guidance to the rest on how they could get home.
Before they left for the night, I had a brief conversation with another Huncle, 73-year-old Michael Chong.
He'd sat next to Uncle Lai in the front row and made merry conversation with the 92-year-old throughout the event.
He told me that he and Uncle Lai lived in the same neighbourhood.
During my conversation with Uncle Lai, Chong patiently stood by, waiting for us to finish so the two could make the journey home together.
Beyond the sensational action and fun of the wrestling event, one thing was clear by the end of the night.
Despite their age, the Huncles still have plenty of fight left in them, especially when accompanied by friendship and community.
Photo by Mothership
Top image via Mothership
