2018 will see WWE’s WrestleMania event head to New Orleans for the first time since WrestleMania 30. For fans who have made the trip to the ‘grandest stage of them all’ it isn’t just the big event that draws you to the host city, with Axxess, the Hall of Fame and the RAW after Mania always providing some gravitas to the biggest weekend in professional wrestling.
But it isn’t just WWE that invades New Orleans this year, the MoreThanMania brand will be once again bringing some of the finest independent stars from across the globe to WrestleMania weekend, and amongst them will be the cream of the UK scene…so here are 3 stars that you simply cannot miss seeing on that weekend in April.
Mark Haskins
Haskins is quite simply one of the most technically proficient wrestlers on the planet right now. The former PROGRESS World Champion (as are the other two of our choices here) has been tearing it up on the UK scene over the past year with DEFIANT, IPW:UK and of course PROGRESS. Now one half of the PROGRESS Wrestling Tag Team Champions, Haskins has been using his experience to work with younger stars and build them on the company’s monthly Chapter shows. A true clinician in the ring and a veteran who you simply cannot miss if you are in New Orleans. Check out his bout against Martin Kirby from DEFIANT Wrestling below:
Jimmy Havoc
The longest reigning PROGRESS Champion in history and the winner of CZW’s Tournament of Death 2017…Jimmy Havoc is one of the premier death match performers on the planet, but to simply just refer to the Camden based star as a “deathmatch guy” is almost a disservice, he is a complete all-rounder. Since returning from a career threatening knee injury Havoc has been reinventing his style and can be slotted anywhere on a card with ease, be it in an epic back and forth main event or alongside his Tag Team partner Mark Haskins earlier in the show. Havoc also has a penchant for the humorous (albeit a fairly dark humour) and when he decides to bring that to the forefront in his bouts it kicks up a level and sets him apart from others in the deathmatch field. Again a true veteran on the UK scene and someone not to be missed.
Will Ospreay
If you are already a fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling then this man needs no introduction, but if you have never seen Will Ospreay perform then you are in for a treat. The current reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion made the jump to Japan a few years ago and has looked every bit the star that the UK fans knew he would be on the international stage. You’ll be able to catch Ospreay on at least two cards over Mania weekend as he’ll be performing on EVOLVE’s 102 event and for PROGRESS. You can also see Ospreay perform as part of NJPW’s upcoming 46th Anniversary event on NJPWWorld.com against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in his first ever NJPW Main Event. Trust me when I say that I was lucky to see Will perform in small buildings across the UK before he hit the big time, because this won’t be the last time he main events in Japan or anywhere else he decides to wrestle…