Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 10/01) - Four beautiful women from Edmonton got naked last weekend and oil-wrestled each other at the Fort Knox nightclub while a crowd of intoxicated men ogled and cheered.

"When women are placed in their natural environment, they become animals," shouts the announcer after the first round.

Just how a smoky bar, a makeshift oil pit and 100 drooling men make up a natural environment is worthy of further investigation. But that doesn't seem to matter to either the performers or their audience.

Diamond, a wholesome-looking blonde woman, has just been defeated by Destiny. Destiny is, hands down, a better wrestler and quite a bit, uh, bigger. Destiny also takes off all her clothes while Diamond keeps her bottoms on.

This is how the winner is chosen. After each round, the announcer calls out a girl's name. She waves and jiggles. The men jeer. Then he calls out the other girl's name. She waves and jiggles. The men jeer.

He does this three times. Whoever gets the most enthusiastic response from the crowd wins.

"Men are pigs," says Diamond, laughing, during a break. "They are sick-minded people."

On a good night, the 19-year-old nursing student makes between $300 and $400. Yellowknife is the "Wolf Pack's" last stop before heading back to Edmonton.

"I don't do this in Edmonton," she says. "I refuse to do it where people know me."

According to Diamond, the fights aren't rigged, but the women try not to hurt each other. And the oil -- well, it's actually just water.

"Oil burns the eyes," she explains. "But the guys think it's oil. I told you, they're stupid."

It turns out, they're not all stupid. "In denial" is arguably more accurate.

"There's no oil in there," I tell a man named Mike.

"There's a little bit," he says hopefully.

"Don't ruin it," adds his friend, Brian. Mike says he's at the show to have a few beers and a laugh with his friends. "It's just another spectacle," he says. Both routing for Destiny --because she's feisty.

"And the girl that got the bloody nose," says Brian. "She's got heart."

So they cheer for the better wrestler, not the best-looking girl?

"It's performance- based," says Mike, with a smile. "100 per cent." There's a handful of women in the crowd. Leanne Nickerson is at the show with her boyfriend. "The nakedness doesn't bother me," she says. "Any different show is interesting to go to."

At the end of the night, the announcer calls out a ticket number. The winning ticket-holder, Brent, gets to take on all four women in his boxers. He spends 15 minutes hiding out in the bathroom before his friends talk him into it.

The girls try to take off his underwear, but he manages to keep it on. "I didn't want to do it -- I'm kind of shy" he says, wiping his bloody nose. "Those girls are tough, too."