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PROGRESS World Cup Results

PROGRESS held their ‘World Cup’ event last night at London’s Tufnell Park in front of a sold out crowd.

Based on the FIFA World Cup the event was part of a one night show featuring talents representing countries from all over the globe specifically from each ‘group’ of the actual World Cup. Several of the performers named for the tournament made their debuts for the company in an attempt to truly gift a global feel to the fans in attendance.

Here are the results from the night:

Quarter-Final Match – Chuck Mambo (England) b. “The Russian Nightmare” Ruslan (Russia) – Mambo took the win via pinfall to advance to the semi-finals

Quarter-Final Match – Bad Bones (Germany) b.Oliver Carter (Switzerland) – Bad Bones took the win via pinfall to advance to the semi-finals

Quarter-Final Match – Adam Brooks (Australia) b. Einar Ironside (Iceland) – Brooks took the win via pinfall to advance to the semi-finals

Quarter-Final Match – Naoki Tanizaki (Japan) b. “Fantastic” David Francisco (Portugal) –Tanizaki took the win via pinfall to advance to the semi-finals

Semi-Final Match – Chuck Mambo (England) defeated Bad Bones (Germany) – Mambo took the win via pinfall to advance to the final

Semi-Final Match – Adam Brooks (Australia) defeated Naoki Tanizaki (Japan) – Brooks took the win via pinfall to advance to the final

Mills & Mayhew (Connor Mills & Maverick Mayhew)b. Besties In The World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) – Mills and Mayhew took the win in the only non-tournament match on the show

Progress World Cup 2018 Final – Chuck Mambo (England) defeated Adam Brooks (Australia) – Mambo took the win via pinfall to take the cup and win a PROGRESS Title match of his choosing

Pivotshare Announce Powerslam.tv On Demand Service

Content provider Pivotshare has announced a brand new ‘network’ as part of their offering entitled ‘Powerslam TV.’ Pivotshare already have deals in place with over 100 different companies across 15 countries globally. This includes some of the biggest independent promotions including PROGRESS, ICW, Rev Pro, DEFY and Pro Wrestling: EVE.

Pivotshare sent the following to promote the new On Demand service:

Pivotshare is proud to announce @PowerslamTV, the largest indie #prowrestling video network on iOS, AppleTV, Android, & Roku devices as well as Amazon Prime Channels! Over 70 promotions & 2,000 hours of content w/ more coming every week! Check it out at http://powerslam.tv!

Some of the bigger companies announced for the new service include Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Revolution Pro (Rev Pro), Pro Wrestling: EVE, Over The Top (OTT) Wrestling, DEFY, AAW, wXw, IPW:UK and RIPTIDE.

You can find more information over at powerslam.tv

 

Chris Jericho Talks Ongoing Injury from Kenny Omega Match

Chris Jericho recently sat down with Inside The Ropes as part of his speaking tour of the United Kingdom. As part of an online interview series the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion discussed his bout with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom from this past January.

During the match Omega hit Jericho with his patented ‘One Winged Angel’ move on top of a steel chair, Jericho described taking that move saying that “The One Winged Angel on the chair really hurt. I’m not just saying it hurt as a joke, it really f****d me up. It hurt my back to where there’s still something that’s not right but whatever. I can never take that move again.

Jericho also went on to list the monetary implications and gains from the #AlphaVsOmega bout, stating that NJPWWorld.com gained a “250% increase” on subscriptions as well highlighting that the Tokyo Dome sold an “extra 15,000 tickets.”

You can check out the interview below and also find more information through the Inside The Ropes Twitter account.

IMPACT Star Announced for Fight Club Pro Event feat. NJPW and WWE Superstars

UK based promotion Fight Club: Pro has announced the latest name for their ‘International Tekkers’ event taking place on Friday June 29th from the Starworks Warehouse in Wolverhampton, England.

IMPACT Wrestling star Eddie Edwards will be making his way ‘across the pond’ for the company in an as yet unconfirmed bout. Edwards is currently locked in a brutal feud with rival Sami Callihan at the top of IMPACT programming.

The following bouts and stars have also been announced for the show:

In a FIRST TIME EVER match inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate will be facing former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay. It is incredible to think that these two standouts have never faced one on one in the squared circle but Fight Club: Pro is making it happen.

FCP has also announced that WWE UK roster member Jordan Devlin will be taking on Dragon Gate’s Naoki Tanizaki. The Dragon Gate veteran will be taking part in a run across the UK shore sagainst the likes of Mark Haskins (Frontline Puro) and Chris Brookes (RIPTIDE) and this bout against Devlin should be dynamite.

WWE linked Superstar WALTER has also been announced for the June 29th event, the former PROGRESS ATLAS and wXw Unified World Champion does not yet have an opponent named but with the wealth of stars available Internationally right now he should be matched with someone stellar.

WWE UK Champion Comments on British Wrestling ‘Shortcuts’

WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne recently took to Twitter to shed a light on some of the “bizarre things” that he has noticed on the UK independent scene “over the past year.

Dunne’s full statement reads “Have been seeing a lot of bizarre things in Britwres over the past year. Stop looking for shortcuts and cheap pops on social media and matches. Wrestle loads and focus on the quality of your performance if you want to make it. Basics still matter outside your bubble.”

The UK scene has been exploding over the past 3-4 years with promotions such as ICW, PROGRESS and Rev Pro reaching extraordinary heights. The idea that an independent company would be hosting a show at the SSE Hydro in Scotland or London’s Wembley Arena just a few years ago would be seen as ludicrous…yet here we are.

Pete Dunne will be defending his WWE United Kingdom Championship next Tuesday when NXT and the WWE UK roster invade the Royal Albert Hall, the show will be available to view on the WWE Network.

Opinion: It’s not clear who Dunne is referring to with these comments however taking advice from an established WWE Champion and one of the hottest prospects on the global scene right now would probably be a wise career move.

Cards Announced for Strong Style Evolved UK

Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) has announced the full cards for the upcoming New Japan Pro Wrestling: Strong Style Evolved UK tour that takes place on June 30th and July 1st in Milton Keynes and Manchester respectively. Two of the biggest bouts will be taking place on Night 2, where former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada will face Zack Sabre Jr and reigning Rev Pro British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii will defend his title against Minoru Suzuki.

Here are the full cards for the tour:

Night 1

Shota Umino vs. Mystery Opponent

Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fetcher and Mark Davis)

Walter vs Yuji Nagata

Chris Brookes vs. Yoshi-HashiYoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Will Ospreay

British Tag Team Championship match: Suzuki Gun (Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.) (c) vs. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii)

Night 2

Danny Duggan vs. Mystery Opponent (the same TBD opponent from Umino’s match on Night 1)

Shota Umino vs. Yugi Nagata

El Phantasmo vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. David Star vs. Tiger Mask

Suzuki Gun (Takashi Iizuka, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado) vs. CHAOS (Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, Gedo)

Walter vs. Yujiro Takahashi

‘Switchblade’ Jay White vs. Chris Brookes

Taichi vs. Will Ospreay

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kazuchika Okada

Undisputed British Championship Match – Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki

WWE and NJPW Stars Pay Tribute to Mitsuharu Misawa

Today marks the 9 year anniversary of Japanese wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa’s passing. Several stars from the likes of WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling and beyond have posted tributes to one of the greatest performers of all time (you can see these at the bottom of the article).

Misawa made his professional debut in August of 1981 for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Misawa would go on to inherit the position of AJPW President following the passing of Giant Baba in 1999 and he went on to form the now iconic Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion.

Misawa is regarded as one of the greatest performers in the history of the industry, he famously garnered a six star rating from Dave Meltzer for his bout against Toshiaki Kawada in 1994 and his trilogy against Kenta Kobashi is heralded alongside Flair/Steamboat as one of the greatest ever.

Several stars such as Chris Hero/Kassius Ohno, William Regal and Daniel Bryan regard Misawa as one of their in ring inspirations. The Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion also holds a tribute show every June in honour of their founder.

https://twitter.com/JayBradleyPW/status/1006939898732056576

Mae Young Classic Star Piper Niven/Viper – “People Wrote Me Off Because of My Size”

Kimberley Benson/Viper/Piper Niven took part in the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament and became a firm favourite before being eliminated by Australian Superstar Toni Storm.

As we reported recently Viper filmed a documentary with the BBC entitled ‘Fight Like a Girl’ which is now available to view for UK fans on the iPlayer service. Before the documentary aired Viper sat down with the BBC and discussed a variety of topics from her time as a professional wrestler on the UK scene and beyond, here are some of the highlights:

When discussing getting started in wrestlingIt never occurred to me that it was something you could do. I got totally beat up but I loved it. I went every week for about seven years.”

When discussing the Women’s scene when she first started: “Certainly in my training school there wasn’t many other girls doing it, and all the women wrestlers on television were like supermodels. Women’s wrestling was not respected. It was difficult for me because I’m a girl and because I’m a big girl.

When discussing her peer’s view of her:I think a lot of people took a look at me and thought ‘she’s not going to last five minutes’. I can’t express some of the things I have gone through in my wrestling career. People wrote me off because of my size and what I look like and thought I was some stupid, blonde girl who was never going to amount to anything.

You can read the full interview via the tweet below:

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1005892168752484353

Injured Nixon Newell Replaced at PROGRESS by NXT Superstar

PROGRESS Wrestling announced last week that NXT Superstar Nixon (Steffanie) Newell would be returning home to the United Kingdom as part of their Chapter 71 show ‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.P.R.O.G.R.E.S.S’

‘The Girl with the Shiniest Wizard’ was expected to be challenging PROGRESS Women’s Champion Jinny in a bout for the prestigious title. It was scheduled to be Jinny’s first defence of the belt since defeating the inaugural Champion Toni Storm and ending her nearly year long title reign by exactly a day.

Unfortunately Newell was injured the day before the bout at NXT’s Download Festival event. Nixon did however appear at PROGRESS Chapter 71 and confirmed that she had arranged for a replacement to take on Jinny for her Women’s title…Dakota Kai.

Kai and Newell have been appearing on the road for NXT as a tag team after Nixon made her debut in April at the Venice house show. Newell had been sidelined with an injury practically weeks after signing her NXT contract so this latest setback will hopefully not see her on the bench for a lengthy period of time but the extent of the injury has not yet been revealed publicly.

Final Match Announced for Frontline Wrestling feat. WWE UK Superstar

Will Ospreay’s new promotion Frontline Wrestling has announced the final match for their upcoming debut show ‘Build Me An Empire.’

WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament competitor Travis Banks will be teaming with his CCK stablemates Kid Lykos and Chris Brookes to take on Aussie Open (Fletcher & Davis) and Adam Brooks.

As we already announced on the site last month: Pro Wrestling NOAH and Japanese legend Kenoh will be facing one of the UK’s standout talents; Chris Ridgeway in the main event of the show. Ridgeway is one of the most hard hitting and impactful performers on the scene today and his style meshes perfectly with the ‘British Puro’ aesthetic that Frontine are looking to bring on their cards. Company owner Will Ospreay mentioned in an exclusive interview with SEScoops that he wanted to bring Strong Style to Great Britain in a way that was authentic to the Japanese wrestling culture but still highlighted some of the stellar talent that is being produced on UK shores.

Here is the full card for the event:

  • Chris Ridgeway vs KENOH
  • Rampage Brown vs Rob Lynch
  • Naoki Tanizaki vs Mark Haskins
  • Toni Storm vs Bea Priestley
  • M&M vs The 198 (‘Flash’ Morgan Webster and Wild Boar)
  • Damian Dunne & Kip Sabian vs El Phantasmo & Kelly Sixx
  • CCK vs Aussie Open & Adam Brooks

Huge Matches Announced for Fight Club: Pro ‘International Tekkers’ feat. WWE UK vs NJPW

UK based promotion Fight Club: Pro has announced the first few matches for their ‘International Tekkers’ event taking place on Friday June 29th from the Starworks Warehouse in Wolverhampton, England.

In a FIRST TIME EVER match inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate will be facing former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay. It is incredible to think that these two standouts have never faced one on one in the squared circle but Fight Club: Pro is making it happen.

FCP has also announced that WWE UK roster member Jordan Devlin will be taking on Dragon Gate’s Naoki Tanizaki. The Dragon Gate veteran will be taking part in a run across the UK shore sagainst the likes of Mark Haskins (Frontline Puro) and Chris Brookes (RIPTIDE) and this bout against Devlin should be dynamite.

WWE linked Superstar WALTER has also been announced for the June 29th event, the former PROGRESS ATLAS and wXw Unified World Champion does not yet have an opponent named but with the wealth of stars available Internationally right now he should be matched with someone stellar.

PROGRESS Release Brackets for World Cup 06/13

PROGRESS has announced the brackets for their ‘World Cup’ event taking place in London’s Tufnell Park this Wednesday (June 13th).

Based on the FIFA World Cup the event will be part of a one night show featuring talents representing countries from all over the globe, specifically from each ‘group’ of the actual World Cup. Several of the performers named for the tournament will be making their debuts for the company in an attempt to truly gift a global feel to the fans in attendance.

The first round matches will be as follows:

  • Bad Bones (Germany) vs Oliver Carter (Switzerland)
  • Ruslan (Russia) vs Chuck Mambo (England)

The winners of these two matches will meet in the semi finals

  • Einar Ironside (Iceland) vs Adam Brooks (Australia)
  • David Francisco (Portugal) vs Naoki Tanizaki (Japan)

The winners of these two matches will meet in the semi finals

The tournament will be single elimination with the winner earning a PROGRESS Title shot of their choosing. Final tickets are now available and are priced at just £19, you can grab these via the tweet below:

D-Generation X Members Heading to UK Promotion

UK based promotion Preston Championship Wrestling (PCW) has announced that former WWE Superstars and members of the D-Generation X stable Billy Gunn and X-Pac will be appearing as part of their ‘Fright Night’ event taking place on October 27th from the Evoque Night Club in Preston, England.

The company has not yet confirmed if the two Superstars will be performing on the show or just appearing in a Meet & Greet capacity. Billy Gunn has been active over the past few years having appeared for New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as several independent promotions including House of Hardcore, VCW and GPW. Gunn has also made several appearances in Europe for the likes of wXw and SWE.

X-Pac has also been taking booking across the States for independent promotions such as DEFY, AAW and WSW but in much more sporadic capacity. Waltman has also been appearing occasionally in the UK for PCW alongside the likes of WWE UK’s Zack Gibson, Moose, Sha Samuels and ICW’s Lionheart.

WWE UK Superstar Announced for RIPTIDE ‘International Waters’

RIPTIDE Wrestling has announced that WWE United Kingdom Superstar Jordan Devlin will be joining the ‘International Waters’ event on July 6th to take on the ‘Pansexual Phenomenon’ Jack Sexsmith.

Devlin took part in the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament and he is set to take part in the Royal Albert Hall event on June 17th. Sexsmith is another performer who has been on WWE’s radar recently, he took part in a tryout session earlier this year and is being rumored as a name for the upcoming WWE United Kingdom roster reveal.

This is the third match confirmed for the show, following the already announced WALTER vs ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey and Naoki Tanizaki vs CCK’s Chris Brookes.

Tickets for the show are available to purchase now here.

https://twitter.com/RIPTIDEwres/status/1003897044807966721

Full Card for DEFIANT Wrestling ‘Built To Destroy’ PPV

Top UK independent promotion DEFIANT will be hosting ‘Built To Destroy’ this Sunday live on iPPV through the FITE TV app as well as through their own Access DEFIANT On Demand service.

Several top names from the UK indie scene will be making their way to Northumbria’s Students Union this Sunday and the full card for the show has now been revealed:

  • DEFIANT World Title Match – Rampage (c) vs Martin Kirby
  • DEFIANT Women’s Title Match – Millie McKenzie (c) vs Bea Priestley
  • Will Ospreay vs Joe Hendry
  • Jimmy Havoc vs Kay Lee Ray
  • Aussie Open vs Chris Brookes & ???
  • Prince Ameen vs Gabriel Kidd
  • Alex Gracie vs Louis Archer
  • Simon Miller vs Drake

This will be DEFIANT return of former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay who will look to become the new Number 1 contender to the DEFIANT Championship when he faces Joe Hendry.

Tickets for the show are available to purchase from WeAreDefiant.com now.

Chris Jericho Sends Another Message to Tetsuya Naito Ahead of Dominion

Chris Jericho appeared in a pre-taped promo segment during New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors directed towards his upcoming opponent for the June 9th Dominion show; Tetsuya Naito.

The IWGP Intercontinental Champion Naito had just competed in a bout alongside Los Ingobernables members SANADA, EVIL and Bushi before the lights went out in the arena and Jericho appeared on screen.

Jericho made several comments on his recent run with New Japan, particularly the fact that he believes that his match with Kenny Omega at this past Wrestle Kingdom was the ‘main event’ even though their match wasn’t actually the last on the card, that honor went to Naito and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada.

Jericho also alluded to Naito’s Wrestle Kingdom 8 bout where the NJPW fans ‘booted’ him out of the main event in favour of (ironically) an IWGP Intercontinental Title match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Naito had previously discussed his feud with Jericho via Tokyo Sports, stating that “Jericho lost at Wrestle Kingdom 12, attacked me unprovoked 1/5 (at New Year Dash). He’s not interested in the (Intercontinental) title, he’s interested in me. This can be a non title match.” He went on to state that “Even just the value of Naito transcends the belt, and Jericho is also world famous worldwide.”  

You can check out the full promo from Jericho via the tweet below. But be forewarned that there are some strong words from ‘Swearicho.’

Rev Pro Post Cryptic Tweet Regarding UK Star’s WWE Status?

Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) recently revealed that they will not be using WWE UK contracted talent on their events going forward. Owner of Rev Pro Andy Quildan revealed via the Rev Pro Twitter account (in response to a fan question) that “Sadly those in the tournament [WWE UK Championship] and those who have also signed but aren’t in the tournament will no longer be appearing for us.”

One of the major stars on the UK scene linked with the WWE UK roster is #CCK member Chris Brookes. The ‘Calamari Catch King’ faced former PROGRESS ATLAS and wXw Unified World Champion WALTER as part of the Rev Pro Live in Southampton last night (June 3rd) and the official Rev Pro Twitter offered the following on Brookes’ status with the company: “Things were emotional for Chris Brookes in Portsmouth on Tuesday, tonight it could be on another level as in what could well be his last match in a RevPro Ring Chris Brookes goes one one one with Walter live in Southampton. Be there to be apart of history.

There has been absolutely no concrete evidence on Brookes’ WWE status however the Wrestling Observer did note back in May that “Toni Storm, Joe Coffey, Dave Mastiff, El Ligero, Travis Banks, Chris Brookes, Jinny and Eddie Dennis” were on WWE’s radar; “WWE attempted to sign as many of the top United Kingdom stars as possible in recent weeks to both keep them from World of Sport and also to be with them for their own heavier expansion into the U.K. market with a U.K. specific brand and weekly television.”

Former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Announced for Rev Pro Summer Sizzler 2018

Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) has announced the latest name for their upcoming Summer Sizzler event which takes place on Friday August 17th from the historic York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.

Former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA will be making his way to York Hall for the first time since the NJPW/ROH/CMLL combined War of The Worlds UK event way back in August 2017. That event saw KUSHIDA successfully defend his ROH Television title against Titan. KUSHIDA’s opponent for Summer Sizzler has not yet been named.

KUSHIDA is the second name to be announced for Summer Sizzler behind Rev Pro British Heavyweight and former NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii. The returning Champion Ishii’s opponent has not yet been named, his last successful defence took place against the WWE bound Keith Lee.

It will be interesting to see who Rev Pro bring into the UK for their upcoming events after announcing that WWE UK talents would no longer be performing for the company. You can check out our full report on that story here.

Pro Wrestling: EVE Announce First Match for Strong Women Style

All Female UK promotion Pro Wrestling: EVE has announced the first bout for their upcoming ‘Strong Style Style: Road to SHE-1’ event which takes place on Saturday September 29th from the Walthamstow Assembly Hall in London, England.

The ‘ace’ of the Sendai Girls Promotion Chihiro Hashimoto will be taking on International standout Jordynne Grace in a highly anticipated bout.

Hashimoto is a former three time Sendai Girls World Champion and she trained under Japanese wrestling legend Meiko Satomura as part of the Sendai Girls Dojo. Hashimoto made her professional debut in October 2015 and was named the 2016 Rookie of the Year by the acclaimed Tokyo Sports publication, becoming only the second female to win the award in history.

Jordynne Grace made her professional debut in 2012 and has performed for promotions across the globe, namely Beyond Wrestling, Shine, CWE, XWA UK and of course EVE.

EVE recently held the biggest event in the history of European Women’s wrestling at Wrestle Queendom. The event took place at the historic York Hall in Bethnal Green and saw the winner of last year’s SHE-1 event Charlie Morgan defeat Sammii Jayne to become the Pro Wrestling: EVE champion.

https://twitter.com/ProWrestlingEVE/status/1002600293291450368

Best of The Super Juniors Winner Crowned

New Japan Pro Wrestling held the finals of their Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) tournament earlier today and the winner has now been officially crowned.

The final of the 2018 iteration saw Taiji Ishimori face Hiromu Takahashi to determine the Number One contender to Will Ospreay’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Dominion on June 9th. Takahashi took the win in an enthralling match to win the trophy and cement his place in New Japan history.

Takahashi spoke to the crowd following his win and stated that his “dream is the same as it was when he was here five years ago. To have the junior belt. To win the heavyweight belt while still junior champion. Nothing’s changed! So keep watching Hiromu have more, more, MORE, MORE!! Fun with everyone!“*

This makes the Dominion card in Osaka-Jo Hall even more intriguing as it was widely believed Will Ospreay would win this tournament and go on to face Rey Mysterio for the IWGP Junior title. With Ospreay now set to defend his belt against the ‘Time Bomb’ Takahashi the opponent for Mysterio is still yet to be revealed, leaving many NJPW fans to question who the company have in mind for the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

*Credit to Chris Charlton for the Translation.

Rev Pro Confirm Status of WWE Contracted Talents on Their Shows

One of the biggest promotions in the United Kingdom Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) has revealed the status of WWE UK contracted talents appearing on their shows.

Owner of Rev Pro Andy Quildan revealed via the Rev Pro Twitter account (in response to a fan question) that “Sadly those in the tournament [WWE UK Championship] and those who have also signed but aren’t in the tournament will no longer be appearing for us.” Whilst this outcome seemed inevitable this is the first time that an “official” announcement has been made publicly.

WWE have appeared to be far more aggressive in their pursuit of UK based stars since the reformation of the World of Sport (WOS) brand. We reported earlier in May that independent promotions outside of PROGRESS and ICW would no longer be able to feature WWE UK signed stars as part of their On Demand offering…however with Rev Pro’s announcement that anyone even appearing as part of the WWE UK tournament won’t be featured on their shows it changes the landscape of UK wrestling exponentially; several of the top stars on the scene such as Chris Brookes, Travis Banks, WALTER, El Ligero and Dave Mastiff have either been confirmed as WWE UK tournament competitors or are heavily linked to the UK brand.

Jeff Jarrett Heading to ICW for One Night Only

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced that WWE Hall of Famer and founder of TNA/GFW Jeff Jarrett will be heading to the company for a special one off appearance this July.

‘Double J’ will be making a special appearance as part of ‘Shug’s Hoose Party 5’ acting as the Commissioner for one night only. This isn’t the first time that WWE affiliated talents have acted as Commissioner for the Scottish based company; Former WCW/WWE Superstar Kevin Nash and Mick Foley have appeared at previous ‘Fear & Loathing’ pay per view shows in the same capacity.

This appearance will coincide with Jarrett’s UK speaking tour ‘Ain’t He Great?’ which starts July 23rd and heads to the following cities:

  • London – 23rd July
  • Edinburgh – 24th July
  • Sheffield – 25th July
  • Cardiff – 26th July

Tickets for these shows can be found via the tweet below:

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1001897453715640320

UK/Mae Young Classic Star Subject of BBC Documentary

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced that their reigning Women’s Champion Piper Niven/Viper will be the subject of an upcoming BBC Documentary on Monday June 11th.

‘Fight Like A Girl’ will be shown across the United Kingdom and will be one of the highest profile spotlights on UK wrestling in the mainstream for the past few decades, potentially since the heyday of World of Sport.

Here’s part of the synopsis for the show: “By day, 26 year-old Kimberly Benson dons her smart workwear and goes off to her job in the family coach hire business. By night, with big blow-dried hair and head-to-toe in shimmering Lycra, she steps into the ring as Viper, one of the UK’s top female wresters. The contrast is not lost on her and in Fight Like A Girl, the first in a new run of BBC One’s Our Lives strand, Kimberly explains what it’s like to lead her double life. She reveals everything from how she copes with her rigorous training regime, to how she deals with homesickness, as the sport she loves takes her all over the world.”

If you live in the UK you can check out the show at 7:30pm on Monday 11th June on BBC One.

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1002539678288039936

Two WWE Linked Stars Colliding in UK Tournament

UK based promotion Anarchy Pro are in the midst of their ‘Masters of Brutality’ tournament with the 3rd round upcoming in July. One of the more headline grabbing bouts taking place on July 26th will see two stars who have been heavily linked with WWE over the past few months collide.

The leader of #CCK Chris Brookes will be taking on Ringkampf’s WALTER at the East Yard in Camden Lock. These two stars represent the UK scene’s brightest performers and this should be an absolute barnburner of a bout.

If you’ve never heard of WALTER then he is certainly a performer that should be on your radar. The Austrian powerhouse has been dominating the Tag and Heavyweight divisions in wXw, PROGRESS and PWG over the past couple of years and he is now being slated as a future WWE/NXT signee (even if he denies any sort of negotiations). The de-facto leader of the Ringkampf stable (alongside Timothy Thatcher and previously NXT roster member Axel Dieter Jr) has a ton of potential on the world stage and has already garnered critical praise from the likes of Dave Meltzer, who gave his PWG All-Star Weekend bout against Zack Sabre Jr from October 2017 a 5 star rating.

Chris Brookes is one of the most in demand stars on the UK circuit right now, his hugely successful run alongside Kid Lykos in #CCK has seen him catapulted into the ranks of PROGRESS wrestling’s main event scene and he was tipped as one of the favourites to win the Super Strong Style 16 tournament but he eventually fell short. Since Lyko’s most recent injury Brookes has once again been establishing himself as a legitimate singles star and this bout against WALTER will only help build his profile as one of the nation’s best.

NXT Superstar Returning to PROGRESS for Chapter 71

PROGRESS Wrestling has announced that NXT Superstar Nixon (Steffanie) Newell will be returning home to the United Kingdom as part of their Chapter 71 show ‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.P.R.O.G.R.E.S.S’

‘The Girl with the Shiniest Wizard’ will be challenging PROGRESS Women’s Champion Jinny in a bout for the prestigious title. This will be Jinny’s first defence of the belt since defeating the inaugural Champion Toni Storm and ending her nearly year long title reign by exactly a day.

Whilst Newell is still contracted to NXT this is an interesting development to the story surrounding PROGRESS and WWE’s business relationship. Several reports have indicated that the UK based promotion will be heading to the WWE Network imminently and stars from WWE’s NXT and 205 Live roster have been making sporadic appearances for PROGRESS over the past few months; the most recent being Kassius Ohno’s role as part of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament in Alexandra Palace this past month.