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Ian was the youngest of the Bryden clan and took the wrestling name of Ian Miller. He began to learn the wrestling business from the age of just twelve at his brothers’ Old Mossblown Gym.
Four years later he turned professional when he was only sixteen years old. Eddie Rose told us of the time Romeo Joe Critchley dressed up as a chauffeur and arrived at the school gates to pick up Ian and loudly announce that the promoter had sent the car to take him to his match that evening.
He was always “Big” Ian Miller simply because he was always tall for his age, even as a teenager. At the time of his professional debut he was a welterweight and gradually filled out to light heavyweight.
One of his very early bouts was against Keith Martinelli for Joint Promotions, in the Drill Hall Dumfries. Needless to say Keith (known amongst the fraternity as blood boots) was up to his usual tricks and blood flowed. Ian put up a gallant fight against one of the hardest men in the business.
Ian worked mainly for the independents where he held the Scottish Middleweight Title for a few years. He learned a great deal from his contests with experienced men that included Eddie Rose, Mark Wayne Joe Critchley and Ezra Francis.
Probably his finest hour was a narrow defeat at the hands of the vastly most experienced Jackie “Mr TV Pallo” in Hamilton Town Hall in the 1979. Another of his career highlights was when he and regular Tag Team partner, brother Dale, took the Scottish Title from The Fabulous Harlequins, in Elgin Town Hall. Something of a rarity in tag wrestling it was a display of classic, clean, skilful wrestling.
In the 1980s as wrestling’s image became tarnished Ian was one of the first to see that the writing was already on the wall for the future of wrestling. He decided to get out of the business and swapped the limelight for firelight, pursuing a successful career in the Strathclyde Fire Service!
Page added 13/09/2020
Page reviewed04/10/2026
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