Wrestling on British shores has been booming for the past few years, companies such as PROGRESS, ICW, Rev Pro, Pro Wrestling: EVE, OTT and Riptide have been growing exponentially to the point that shows in arenas such as Wembley and the SSE Hydro in Scotland are no longer fantasy but an absolute reality.

Alongside this boom in the UK scene there has been a steady growth in the quality of Tag Team wrestling. PROGRESS in particular has seen it’s share of teams go on to great success in WWE UK, World of Sport and beyond. We’ll be looking now at 3 teams who are currently rising the ranks in PROGRESS and becoming the ones to watch in the Tag scene:

Aussie Open

Comprising Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, Aussie Open are one of the most dynamic and exciting teams to emerge from the UK scene in the past year. Having first formed in the ATTACK! promotion back in August they have been challenging for titles in the likes of HOPE, Rev Pro, IPW:UK and CZW which is an absolute testament to their talent and ability to gel so quickly as a unit. Aussie Open have a strong big man/little man dynamic almost akin to that of an early Hart Foundation, the stacked Mark Davis provides a powerful hot tag whilst teammate Kyle Fletcher has an agile flair to his in ring approach. If you are able to catch this team during Wrestlemania weekend in New Orleans (they will be performing on at least one card that weekend for Fight Club Pro) then you absolutely must, they are a force of nature and have no clear end in sight for their ability.

Never Say Die

Alex Cupid and Dillon D’Angelo are the next team that you must check out. The duo have been blazing a trail in PROGRESS since their debut at the very first episode of Freedom’s Road back in 2016. Since that event they made their PROGRESS Chapter debut at ‘Fate Loves The Fearless’ (in a losing effort to our next team on the list) and have appeared at HOPE, RCWA and ACW building upon their now well established chemistry. The team were graduates from the PROGRESS ‘ProJo’ and are a fine example of the quality that the British scene has been producing. Whilst the team are now being established again on PROGRESS’ Live at The Dome side shows they are absolutely destined to grace the main Chapter events going forward, certainly names to remember for the future.

Grizzled Young Veterans

Zack Gibson and WWE UK’s James Drake are actually a team that I would never had expected to put on this list when they were first paired off to defeat Never Say Die back at PROGRESS’ ‘Fate Loves The Fearless’ event. Gibson had previously been part of an extremely successful team alongside Nathan Cruz known as ‘The Origin’ and their seemingly dissolved team came as a shock to the PROGRESS fans and a real shame considering their ability. James Drake was a newcomer to the promotion and had a successful but uneventful run in his early tenure, but the team he formed alongside Gibson saw them capture the PROGRESS Tag Team Titles and catapult them into an outrageous exciting run against Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate). As a member of the WWE UK Division Drake has already proved his ability, maybe it is time that his tag partner Gibson made the jump over too?

You can check out all of these teams on Demand PROGRESS right now for ¢7.49 per month.

This past Sunday saw World Association of Wrestling (WAW) hold an event at Norwich’s Epic Studios, the site of WWE’s United Kingdom network show tapings back in 2017. WAW is the promotion owned and run by British wrestling legends the Knight family, whose most recognisable name is WWE’s Paige.

During the main event of the show British Boxing superstar Anthony Ogogo ran down to the ring and cleared house, helping the British Hooligans by hitting a pretty impressive Rock Bottom and Five Star Frog Splash.

Self confessed wrestling superfan Ogogo is one of the stars of British Boxing, he holds a professional record of 11 wins and 1 loss. Ogogo also saw mainstream success as a cast member of the BBC’s answer to Dancing With The Stars: Strictly Come Dancing, so this is potentially a major mainstream story for WAW in the United Kingdom.

Check out the full video below:

Ogogo to the rescue. That POP! @WAW_UK what a show. #Norwich #EpicStudios #RockBottom #FrogSplash #OArmy pic.twitter.com/hEoR9T9jz1

— Anthony Ogogo (@AnthonyOgogo) February 10, 2018

This past week’s 205 Live bout between Kalisto and Lince Dorardo has (at the time of writing) hit 537,000 views on WWE’s official YouTube channel. When considering the fact that most 205 Live match replays average around 100-200k this can be considered somewhat of a win for the purple brand.

There has been a notable uptrend in match quality for the Tuesday night show over the past several weeks with fans describing the feel of the show as more akin to the Cruiserweight Classic. Recent rumors around Triple H’s involvement in 205 Live have added to the consensus that the show is in fact getting some much needed traction heading into Wrestlemania season.

This week’s episode also featured the 205 Live debut of Roderick Strong against Hideo Itami, last week’s episode also featured two great bouts in the form of Cedric Alexander vs Gran Metalik and TJP facing WWE UK competitor Tyler Bate.

This past Sunday saw ICW present their 7th annual Square Go from the The O2 ABC in Glasgow, Scotland.

The event saw Irish star ‘Session Moth’ Martina defeat Kasey to become the brand new ICW Women’s Champion, she will now defend against Mae Young Classic competitor Viper at tonight’s #ICWFightClub taping. ICW Undisputed Champion BT Gunn successfully defended his belt against former TNA star Bram, he will now face new Number 1 contender James Storm also as part of tonight’s Fight Club taping.

Stevie Boy became the seventh winner of the Square Go match, outlasting 29 other men. The Square Go is almost identical to a Royal Rumble match, 2 men start in the ring and a new competitor appears every 2 minutes, eliminations only occurring once a competitor has been thrown over the top rope and both feet have hit the ground. The only discernible difference is that 5 random competitors are given the opportunity to use a weapon of their choosing during the match.

Check out the rather strange rules video for the Square Go below, if you’re a fan of the film Battle Royale then you may get a kick out of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMZvJUH4_rk

DEFIANT Wrestling will be facing IPW:UK in a 5 on 5 match as part of the Chain Reaction PPV on Sunday February 18th, the event takes place from Manchester’s BEC Arena.

IPW:UK invaded DEFIANT during the fourth episode of Loaded, DEFIANT’s weekly YouTube show. Austin Aries and Mark Haskins made their way to the ring to declare that IPW:UK would be taking over the Loaded programme, leading to this eventual 5 on 5 bout with a Loser Leaves Town Stipulation; if DEFIANT win then IPW:UK owner Billy Wood is banished from Loaded, however if IPW:UK win then former WWE Intercontinental champion and DEFIANT GM Stu Bennett will find himself out of a job.

Check out DEFIANT’s show for free each and every Friday on their YouTube channel, it features some of the best performers from the UK independent scene taking on international stars such as Mike Bailey, Austin Aries and David Starr.

Defiant vs IPW. 5 vs 5. February 18th, LIVE on PPV from Manchester. Limited tickets available via https://t.co/ULpKIx5nRd or watch LIVE online, full details via https://t.co/iviFUMnu10 #ChainReaction #WeAreDefiant pic.twitter.com/flQjGuRvzC

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) February 10, 2018

IPW's three-week rule is over & I’m back at the helm. First order of business: Feb 18th, 5 from @DEFIANTwres vs 5 from @IPWUK.. LOSER LEAVES TOWN. If Defiant win, Billy Wood is gone. If IPW win, I’m on the dole. Team announcements this week! ???? https://t.co/h56tYLQ95R

— Stu Bennett (@StuBennett) February 10, 2018

Irish promotion Over The Top Wrestling (OTT) has announced the first two matches for their upcoming Scrappermania IV show. Scrappermania is OTT’s Wrestlemania, it is the biggest wrestling show in Ireland and will again be held in Dublin’s National Stadium. These two matches are more than worth of the honor, as Keith Lee will be taking on Minoru Suzuki and Jeff Cobb will be facing Tomohiro Ishii.

The speculation following these two match announcements is that both Keith Lee and Jeff Cobb are being looked at as possible entrants in this year’s G1 Climax tournament. Jeff Cobb has already made his debut for New Japan as part of 2017’s World Tag League tournament where he teamed with Michael Elgin (he was originally scheduled to team with Matt Riddle). Keith Lee has yet to make his way over to NJPW but he does have the pedigree for a run over in Japan, having faced Tomohiro Ishii in an absolute barnburner back at Rev Pro’s Global Wars 2017 as well as his incredible runs in PROGRESS, EVOLVE and PWG.

Tickets for OTT’s Scrappermania will be available to purchase as of March 2nd.

ScrapperMania 4
May 12th,
National Stadium Dublin
Keith Lee Vs Minoru Suzuki
Tickets on sale March 2nd #OTT #ScrapperMania4 #OnlyTheBest pic.twitter.com/ptSthpCfui

— OTT WRESTLING (@OTT_wrestling) February 9, 2018

ScrapperMania 4
National Stadium Dublin
May 12th
Tomohiro Ishii Vs Jeff Cobb
Tickets on sale end of February! #OTT #OnlyTheBest #ScrapperMania pic.twitter.com/KuHtVmdBc7

— OTT WRESTLING (@OTT_wrestling) February 8, 2018

PROGRESS Wrestling has announced that longtime Women’s roster member Dahlia Black will become a full time member of the promotion’s commentary team.

Dahlia is a member of the popular South Pacific Power Trip stable alongside Travis Banks and partner TK Cooper. The SPPT have seen themselves rise from the tag team mid card of the PROGRESS roster to fully fledged main event stars, this past weekend saw Banks and Cooper compete for the PROGRESS World Title. Both TK Cooper and Dahlia also appeared on WWE’s Axxess shows last year as part of Wrestlemania weekend.

The company has touted Dahlia as the “1st full time female commentator in wrestling” and whilst this may not be strictly accurate (Alison Danger worked as a commentator for Ring of Honor) it is certainly a huge achievement for Dahlia and offers an extra dynamic to their on demand content.

2/2 #LiveAtTheDome: We listened to the response from you about her commentary & know how hard she’s worked, so as of March 25th @blahliadack will become a permanent member of the PROGRESS announce team, making her (we believe) the 1st full time female commentator in wrestling!

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) February 8, 2018

Former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre will be inducted into the ICW Hall Of Fame later this evening. The icon of Scottish wrestling helped grow and define Insane Championship Wrestling into the phenomenon they are today.

McIntyre (known as Galloway on the independent scene) had two stints for the company, his first back in 2006 when he appeared at the company’s inaugural event and became their first ever Heavyweight Champion and his second followed his 2014 release from WWE. Drew’s run from 2014-2017 completely reignited his career and fundamentally changed the course of ICW’s already incredible success story.

Two of ICW’s biggest stars Lionheart and Wolfgang took to Twitter to congratulate the ‘Chosen One’ for his many accomplishments. Wolfgang, who is currently a member of the WWE United Kingdom roster paid special tribute to the legend, stating that “He was there my first day of training in 03 Without him laying the ground work before leaving in 07 returning in 14 to put Scotland on the world map we may never have got this far.”

https://twitter.com/LionheartUK/status/961266981797289984

Monday Scotlands true world champ @DMcIntyreWWE returns #ICW as hes rightfully inducted into t HOF
He was there my first day of training in 03 Without him laying the ground work before leaving in 07 returning in 14 to put Scotland on the world map we may never have got this far pic.twitter.com/A0o96OOutS

— Wolfgang (@WolfgangYoung) February 7, 2018

https://twitter.com/DMcIntyreWWE/status/961299107288674304

WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne has been confirmed as the next challenger to the OTT Wrestling Gender Neutral Championship when he faces current Champion ‘Session Moth’ Martina on March 3rd from The Arena in Suir Road, Dublin.

OTT first introduced the Gender Neutral title (the first of its kind) back in 2017, ‘Session Moth’ Martina was crowned the first ever Champion at OTT’s Being The Elite event and has successfully defended her title twice in multiple person matches against the likes of Adam Maxted, Charlie Sterling, Angel Cruz and Chuck Taylor.

Martina is one of the most unique stars in the UK/Ireland and she has been demanding a match with the WWE Superstar ever since we was crowned GN Champion, this bout is set to turn a few heads in the UK scene and push the Championship even further into the spotlight.

#OSO4
Gender Neutral Championship
BoozerWeight Martina Vs WWEUK Champion, BruiserWeight Pete Dunne
March 3rd, The Arena Suir Road Dublin
Ticketshttps://t.co/XfaVHfCrm0 #OTT #OnlyTheBest pic.twitter.com/nLlTTlTy4P

— OTT WRESTLING (@OTT_wrestling) February 7, 2018

WWE’s ‘WWE Universe’ Twitter account recently sent out a poll asking fans to rank the best of the best when it comes to the Crossface Chickenwing…Superstars included in the poll were Bob Backlund, Asuka, Cesaro and Dean Ambrose.

Several fans were quick to respond to the tweet with their chosen pick, Bullet Club’s Marty Scurll. ‘The Villain’ has utilised the Crossface Chickenwing for a number of years, the move has helped to define his villainous persona and has seen him win countless championships including the PROGRESS World Title and New Japan’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

The WWE fans were not the only ones to notice this glaring omission from the poll, Marty himself tweeted in acknowledgement to the effect of “wait…what?” Whilst there was never a chance that WWE would refer to someone contracted outside of the company this bodes extremely well for the UK star, his position in the Bullet Club stable has helped to establish him in the Junior ranks of New Japan and his unique style and persona has carved a niche for him in the territory, if WWE were unaware of ‘The Villain’ before this poll then they certainly should know who he is now.

These are your choices for the BEST of the BEST when it comes to the #CrossfaceChickenWing! Vote now to determine the all-time master on this #WAMWednesday…

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) February 7, 2018

https://twitter.com/MartyScurll/status/961317971497975813

The ‘Chosen Bros’ tag team of Lucha Underground’s Jeff Cobb and EVOLVE/PROGRESS’ Matt Riddle will be making their way to Rev Pro’s ‘Epic Encounter’ event on May 11th from the world famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London. The team were expected to be part of New Japan’s World Tag League event last year but plans were allegedly nixed once NJPW officials became aware of Riddle’s previous drug history. Jeff Cobb still made an appearance in the tournament alongside Michael Elgin.

With Rev Pro’s strong working relationship alongside New Japan there is always the chance that Riddle could be brought into the fold, he is regarded as one of the top independent stars on the planet and could be a huge asset to New Japan, especially considering their US expansion plans.

Riddle and Cobb will be taking on one of the best up and coming teams on the UK circuit right now, Aussie Open. Comprised of Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, Aussie Open have been tearing through the United Kingdom’s tag ranks ever since they joined forces in 2017. Incredible bouts through PROGRESS against the likes of Mark Haskins & Jimmy Havoc, CCK and Moustache Mountain/British Strong Style have garnered the Australian stars a huge following on UK shores. This bout will surely be Aussie Open’s biggest test yet and a massive opportunity to test themselves against two of the world’s best.

The two main event bouts for the card have also been announced and they are as follows:

• Revolution Pro British Tag Team Championship Match – Suzuki-gun (RPW British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr & IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Minoru Suzuki) vs CCK (Chris Brookes & Travis Banks)
• WWN World Champion Keith Lee Vs Tomohiro Ishii

This is going to be an… #EpicEncounter Tickets on general sale NOW: https://t.co/LhHedYxXS8 pic.twitter.com/ilwWaOc9CK

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) February 6, 2018

SEScoops has spoken exclusively to IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay regarding his brand new UK based promotion Frontline Wrestling.

Ospreay previously ran Lucha Forever alongside fellow UK performer Ryan Smile, the company unfortunately closed doors in 2017. This new venture for Ospreay is decidedly more focused on the Puroresu style of pro wrestling as described in the company’s first promotional release:

Coming soon pic.twitter.com/01PcbfjM7k

— Frontline Wrestling (@FrontlinePuro) February 5, 2018

Matt Jackson of the Young Bucks tweeted an interesting reply to a fan earlier today. When asked if the Bucks’ would be taking part in next year’s Wrestle Kingdom show Jackson simply replied “our contracts will be up by then, so we’ll see.”

Whilst the Bucks are extremely business savvy individuals and this could be an attempt to once again ‘troll’ the wrestling world it is interesting to note following the departures to NXT of Ricochet & War Machine…

The Bucks have said on many occasions that they do not intend on leaving the independent scene and making the jump over to the WWE. It is important to remember that the legal issues surrounding the use of the ‘Too Sweet’ hand gesture and ‘crotch chop’ may have soured any sort of relationship between the two parties; the WWE sent a cease and desist letter to the Bucks which could easily have had a detrimental effect on the merchandise sales for the New Japan stars.

You may also remember back in January when the WWE UK Facebook page seemingly jumped the gun and referred to the reformed Balor, Gallows and Anderson trio as ‘The Bullet Club.’

Opinion: Whilst the three men where in fact part of the original Bullet Club and it was a simple mistake by a member of WWE’s social media team the fact remains that ‘Bullet Club’ is not a trademark WWE owns and they have superstars on WWE television openly referring to the gimmick…which was lifted from the Kliq…all very confusing legally.

https://twitter.com/MattJackson13/status/960953139686907904

PROGRESS has released an updated list of names for their upcoming Wrestlemania weekend shows from the Pontchartrain Center on April 6th/April 7th. The company has also confirmed that the famed ‘Thunderb*stard’ match will be coming to the United States for the very first time.

Here are the confirmed names for the weekender:

• PROGRESS World Champion Travis Banks
• PROGRESS Women’s Champion Toni Storm
• PROGRESS Tag Team Champions Zack Gibson and James Drake
• ATLAS Champion WALTER
• Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay
• ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster

The company has also confirmed that ‘Limitless’ Keith Lee will be joining the Super Strong Style 16 tournament in May alongside WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne. The SSS16 is regarded as the premiere tournament in European wrestling and the 2018 iteration looks set to be one of the biggest in company history.

New Orleans is looking pretty sweet already. We roll into @pontcenter for shows on the 6th and 7th April. Be there! https://t.co/7cexAZv3PD #ThisIsProgress pic.twitter.com/xHlDyFrlgl

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) February 5, 2018

#SSS16: The Limitless @RealKeithLee is the next man to enter the Super Strong Style 16 tournament! 5th-7th May at @Yourallypally – day and weekend tickets at https://t.co/BoFYvGNw23. #ThisIsProgress pic.twitter.com/siZw2pBXZC

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) February 5, 2018

5 Star Wrestling has announced that former WWE/WCW/Lucha Underground legend Rey Mysterio will be challenging for their newly created Tap Or Snap Championship this Thursday as part of their weekly FreeSports programming.

Inaugural winner Mark Haskins captured the title last Thursday when he won a 5 man submission elimination match, outlasting UK stars such as ‘Flash’ Morgan Webster and Nathan Cruz.

5 Star is available to watch live in the UK on Thursday nights from 7pm via the following channels:

• Freeview (ch 95)
• Sky (ch 424)
• Freesat (ch 252)
• Talk Talk TV (ch 95)
• BT TV (ch 95)

How about this for a match for this Thursday night on LIVE British television?@reymysterio @ThisIsHaskins @ArenaNewcastle #Newcastle @FreeSportsUK #TaporSnaphttps://t.co/QKntxRckIG pic.twitter.com/BJFBRKDuY0

— Brand (@5StarWrestling) February 6, 2018

5 Star Wrestling has announced the main event for their next live show on the UK’s FreeSports channel this Thursday. 5 Star Wrestling Champion John Morrison will be facing former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger for the belt inside Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena.

The company sent out the following press release hyping the match:

‘The All-American American’ Jake Hager will challenge John Morrison for the 5 Star Championship next Thursday night (February 8) at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle. This main event match was confirmed on Thursday night’s historic 5 Star Wrestling:LIVE on FreeSports broadcast as Hager defeated ‘English Lion’ Eddie Ryan then Morrison retained his belt against Rob Van Dam. Hager has vowed that he is in 5 Star Wrestling to become champion ever since he was unveiled as the company’s big money signing at a press conference in Sheffield in January. And the big Oklahoman reiterated this statement before he narrowly defeated his nemesis Ryan in an exciting bout at Liverpool Echo Arena. Meanwhile Morrison recorded his sixth successful defence in what is turning out to be an epic reign. Rob Van Dam joins AJ Styles, PJ Black, Carlito, Moose, Drew Galloway and Rey Mysterio as a who’s who of names that ‘The Shaman of Sexy’ has beaten in 5 Star Championship matches.

BREAKING NEWS from the 5 Star Wrestling website: John Morrison vs Jack Swagger 5 Star Championship match… https://t.co/UADQVQSnnP

— Brand (@5StarWrestling) February 2, 2018

UK promotion Fight Club: Pro has announced that WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne will be taking on former UFC fighter and now world renowned independent star Matt Riddle as part of their Tribute to Francois Trebec show on Friday February 23rd.

Contrary to FCP’s original announcement this will be the second time that the two have faced, the ‘Bruiserweight’ and ‘King of Bros’ had a match as part of IPW:UK’s Extreme Measures event back in 2017.

Tickets for the show are available to purchase now and if you are in the UK then you do not want to miss this.

A TRIBUTE TO FRANCOIS TREBEC
MATCH ONE – DUNNE vs. RIDDLE

What better way to start off our February announcements than with a match that has never happened anywhere before. The current WWE UK Champion takes on the former UFC fighter. #TRIBUTE

Tickets: https://t.co/rXwZRGJiTf pic.twitter.com/RkxxTOxyEm

— Fight Club: PRO (@Fightclubpro) February 4, 2018

Revolution Pro Wrestling has announced the first two matches for their upcoming Epic Encounter event on Friday May 11th.

EVOLVE and PROGRESS star Keith Lee will be facing Tomohiro Ishii for the second time, the first bout was a hard hitting spectacular for the Rev Pro faithful and this sequel looks set to wow the York Hall fans once again.

The second announced bout sees Undisputed British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr taking on the team of Travis Banks and Chris Brookes. Also known as CCK, Banks and Brookes will be looking to introduce Suzuki to the best that the UK scene has to offer, this could well be one of the best tag bouts in the country this year and is definitely worth checking out on demand in May.

https://twitter.com/Travis_BanksPW/status/960584226138677249

Friday May 11th #EpicEncounter2018 Mailing lis pre-sale starts MONDAY at 7pm #IshiiVsLee2 pic.twitter.com/FMwml8Cqxi

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) January 31, 2018

Combat Zone Wrestling has announced the date for their next Tournament of Death. The 2018 iteration will be taking place Saturday June 9th from the ‘Ultraviolent Underground’ 179 Ebenezer Church Road in Townsend, DE. Tickets for the event will be available to purchase in March.

CZW’s TOD is one of the most violent events in the wrestling calendar; light tubes, planes of glass and even barbed wire trampolines are commonplace and blood is always guaranteed to be shed by the bucket load.

Last year saw former PROGRESS World Champion Jimmy Havoc take the crown at the first time of asking, whether he will be involved in the 2018 event remains to be seen.

It's coming…#TOD pic.twitter.com/eO9mvMBOoZ

— CZW: Combat Zone Wrestling (@combatzone) February 5, 2018

Former WWE Superstar and top member of the Bullet Club Cody Rhodes has addressed rumors of CM Punk being considered for his #AllIn event taking place later this year.

During a recent Twitter Q&A Cody made the following statement on the former WWE World Champion and UFC fighter:

“We would LOVE to have him. Wrestling fans never gave up on him. (but the idea for this show stemmed from the success ROH/”BTE”/BC was having & that is my current focus)”

Of course Punk would be on the radar for any promotion that could make a play for him, although his stint in the UFC has thus far been less than stellar his name value is still a commodity and would help elevate the #AllIn card immensely.

• CM Punk takes a Stone Cold Stunner during MMA training (Video)

All In takes place on Saturday, September 1st from a location soon to be announced. Talent already confirmed for All In includes:

• IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks
• “The Villain” Marty Scurll
• “Hangman” Adam Page
• Stephen Amell of the hit series Arrow
• Tessa Blanchard

1. Are you booking any legends?
2. Can we have Green Arrow in a match in his full outfit?
3. Is Brandi competing?
4. Can you get Pete Dunn or Tyler Bate to be #AllIn?
5. Can you address CM Punk rumors? #AllIn

— Jinx (@JinxBillionz) February 5, 2018

1. Yes 2. Hmmm 3. Brandi runs my corp, she's always in the mix. 4. Marty wants to limit Brits' to just him 5. We would LOVE to have him. Wrestling fans never gave up on him. (but the idea for this show stemmed from the success ROH/"BTE"/BC was having & that is my current focus) https://t.co/LWlAjTnyTd

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) February 5, 2018

Insane Championship Wrestling has announced that former NXT/WWE Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre will be inducted into their Hall of Fame on Monday February 12th. Following McIntyre’s initial release from WWE he found his feet in ICW and helped grow the company into arguably the biggest in Europe, helping transform the UK scene in the process.

ICW has also announced that BT Gunn will be defending his Undisputed Championship against former TNA star Bram at Square Go! on February 11th. The company has also announced that Session Moth Martina will be challenging for the ICW Women’s title against Champion Kasey Owens at the now annual event.

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/959124271304990720

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/960207711894999040

https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/960236395318169600

PROGRESS has been lining up their 63rd Chapter event on Sunday and the currently announced card is nothing short of a barnburner. An incredible dream bout between Former WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate and Suzuki-Gun stable member Zack Sabre Jr sits alongside the following matches:

• PROGRESS Tag Team Title Match – Grizzled Young Veterans (c) vs Mark Haskins and Jimmy Havoc
• PROGRESS World Title Match – Travis Banks (c) vs Chris Brookes vs TK Cooper
• WALTER vs Mark Davis

The show will be taking place inside Manchester’s O2 Ritz and will likely be available to view on demand by next weekend.

#Chapter63: You guys have asked for this match more than any other in the last 6 months. We're happy to oblige. @WalterAUT faces @DUNKZILLADavis at @O2RitzManc this Sunday! #ThisIsProgress pic.twitter.com/1bsfUWKFNS

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) February 5, 2018

#Chapter63: No. Words. Needed. Manchester you lucky, lucky people! #TakeMeUnderground #ThisIsProgress pic.twitter.com/U8Dk7pWJ7s

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) February 1, 2018

#Chapter63: events in both Birmingham and London left us with little choice – @Travis_BanksPW defends his World Title against @PureTKC AND @OBEYBrookes in the main event of #TakeMeUnderground! SOLD OUT at @O2RitzManc next Sunday! #ThisIsProgress pic.twitter.com/gtJgMn1BC0

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) January 31, 2018

#Chapter63: Unbeaten since October, @ThisIsHaskins and @JimmyHavoc have made themselves undeniable. They face #GrizzledYoungVeterans @ZackGibson01 @JamesDrake_GYT, also unbeaten, at a SOLD OUT @O2RitzManc on 11th Feb for the tag team titles! #ThisIsProgress #TakeMeUnderground pic.twitter.com/vzZtxASemW

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) January 29, 2018

The reveal of former UFC Champion Ronda Rousey at this past Sunday’s Royal Rumble has given WWE some massive massive exposure. Outlets from outside of the wrestling ‘bubble’ are now starting to mention names such as Asuka, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks as potential Wrestlemania opponents for ‘Rowdy’ Ronda and giving the WWE valuable reach into an entirely new audience…something that would certainly not be happening if the cultural phenomenon hadn’t made her way over to the squared circle.

The question marks around Rousey’s full time contract and her upcoming matches are still shrouded in mystery, however it is fairly safe to assume that a match against Charlotte Flair has been considered and a bout against Women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka will come to fruition at some point. But outside of the already established names being thrown around who else is there for Ronda to face in WWE?

Here’s three names that we feel should be considered for the ‘Rowdy’ one:

Nikki Cross

Photo Credit: WWE.com

The first name we’re throwing in for consideration is Nikki Cross. The former Pro Wrestling: EVE champion and ICW alum has been an integral part of the Sanity stable since their formation and an eventual call up to one of the main roster shows possibly alongside her stablemates must surely be near.

As a fan of the independent scene there is a good chance that Rousey is already aware of Nikki’s abilities, her fire, aggression and unpredictability all combine to create one of the most intriguing superstars in NXT’s Women’s division.

The likelihood of this happening isn’t exactly high, Rousey will most probably be used sparingly with select dates and specials on WWE Network against the alread- mentioned established main roster names. That said, the Scottish NXT Superstar is ready to make that jump and what a way to establish her on WWE’s main roster.

Mickie James

Photo Credit: WWE.com

What better way to introduce Ronda to the WWE style? Mickie James has been slotted perfectly back into WWE’s ranks and could act as a mentor to guide Ronda through her first few months in a completely new industry. Whilst Rousey is a self proclaimed mega fan of pro wrestling it is a very different prospect when you actually get inside the ring and Mickie’s experience, skill level and name value could see her guide the new recruit.

Out of the three that we will mention this has a fairly high chance of coming to fruition, James can act as the ‘Chris Jericho’ type gatekeeper for Ronda and gaining experience/knowing how to perform for a television audience as well as a live crowd will be essential if Ronda is going to thrive in WWE.

Bayley

Bayley

There are two ways that a feud against Bayley could work for Ronda. There’s no doubt that the insanely popular former NXT Women’s Champion Bayley has been under-utilised on WWE’s main roster, a chance to go toe to toe with Rousey could present an opportunity to either turn Ronda heel, or in a complete u-turn actually finally get Bayley to turn to the dark side.

Bayley could easily use the exposure from a bout against the former UFC Champion, she is a solid in ring performer and has the ability to draw emotion from a crowd of all ages, something that WWE is sorely lacking right now (Cena and Roman I’m looking at you here).

Granted Bayley is so low down on the pecking order that a match against Rousey is probably furthest from WWE’s mind, however if you want to get a crowd to be invested in Ronda then you could do a lot worse then giving Bayley a shot.

Who would you like to see Ronda in the ring with? Let us know in the comments.

New Japan Pro Wrestling have a lot to celebrate right now. The company have just finished their ‘New Beginning’ tour and following the highly successful Wrestle Kingdom show on January 4th their live attendance figures have been released and they are staggering.

Japanese wrestling correspondant @EvanDeadlySinsW released the following chart showing the gradual build of live attendance since May 2015 up to January 2018. The spikes in July/August from 2015 to 2017 can be attributed to New Japan’s G1 Climax tournament which runs over several weeks, however the truly impressive stats are seen when you compare January 2016 and 2017 to this year’s huge number.

Check out the chart below:

Thanks to a big jump in WK attendance and successful New Beginning shows, January 2018 was NJPW's best drawing month in… a long time. pic.twitter.com/DDyQjiAQmt

— Evan (@EvanDeadlySinsW) January 31, 2018