SEScoops

Tag: Mark Haskins

  • All Entrants Revealed For ROH World Title No. 1 Contender Tournament

    All Entrants Revealed For ROH World Title No. 1 Contender Tournament

    Ring of Honor wrestling has announced the second and last batch of entrants for the ROH World Title No. 1 Contender tournament.

    ROH announced the first four entrants of the tournament on August 29. Jay Lethal, Kenny King, Dalton Castle, and Marty Scurll were the first four entrants named.

    The remaining four entrants have also been revealed to be PCO, Colt Cabana, Bandido and Mark Haskins.

    The tournament matches are set to take place at Death Before Dishonor and Death Before Dishonor Fallout on September 27 and September 28 respectively in Las Vegas at Sam’s Town Live.

    It was noted in the press release that “Death Before Dishonor has been an ROH staple since 2003 and has featured historic title changes and epic confrontations. This will be the fourth year in a row that Las Vegas has hosted the extravaganza.”

    The semifinals and finals of the tournament will take place at Glory By Honor in New Orleans on October 12 at UNO Lakefront Arena.

    The winner of the tournament will earn an opportunity for the ROH World Championship at Final Battle on December 13 in Baltimore at the UMBC Event Center.

  • RIPTIDE Wrestling Deep Six 2019 (02/15) Full Card feat. Ring of Honor and NXT UK Superstars

    RIPTIDE Wrestling Deep Six 2019 (02/15) Full Card feat. Ring of Honor and NXT UK Superstars

    UK based promotion RIPTIDE Wrestling will be presenting their Deep Six 2019 event tonight. The spiritual home of RIPTIDE; The Brighthelm Centre in Brighton will be hosting the event later this evening.

    The main event will see Chuck Mambo defending his Brighton Championship against Mark Haskins. Haskins recently signed for Ring of Honor but has been appearing on the UK independent scene for companies such as PROGRESS and RIPTIDE.

    NXT UK Superstar Candyfloss will also be in action. The young star will be taking on TK Cooper in an intergender bout. This is interesting as it was believed that NXT UK Superstars could not work intergender bouts. This could be a sign that Candyfloss has left the WWE brand or it could mean that lower card talent have varying contracts to the upper tier Superstars such as Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm. Storm in particular still performs on the UK independent scene and will be facing Kay Lee Ray at ICW’s upcoming Square Go event for the ICW Women’s Championship.

    • Riptide Brighton Championship Match Chuck Mambo (c) vs. Mark Haskins (w/Vicky Haskins)
    • Chakara & Paul Robinson vs. Martina & Rocky Mac
    • Ashmore vs. Cara Noir
    • CandyFloss vs. TK Cooper
    • Damon Moser vs. Jack Sexsmith
    • Spike Trivet vs. Wild Boar
    • Jordon Breaks vs. Kurtis Chapman
  • Mark Haskins Talks Calf Injury, Embarrassing Moments and more

    Mark Haskins Talks Calf Injury, Embarrassing Moments and more

    Ring of Honor star Mark Haskins was recently interviewed by the company, discussing a variety of topics. Haskins recently signed for the company alongside the likes of PCO, Brody King and Bandido. The former PROGRESS World Champion talked about his recent calf injury, embarrassing in ring moments and more.

    When asked about his injury, Haskins responded “It happened mid-match at a live event. I took a kick to the calf and it twinged a little, nothing too major. I thought nothing of it. I finished the match and then as I’m strolling around backstage I realized I was in a tremendous amount of pain, which wasn’t fun.”

    Haskins was also asked what the best advice he had received whilst training. Mark stated “Keep your mouth shut and your eyes and your ears open. Quite a few people told me that. Looking back, maybe they just wanted me to be quiet. Oh well, it ended up being sound advice in the end, as I learned a lot.”

    Finally, Haskins was asked what the most embarrassing moment he has ever had in-ring. Haskins responded that there’s “Eurgh, so many. Once Dalton Castle tried to deadlift German suplex me and he squeezed me so tight I farted down his chest.”

  • Mark Haskins Talks Facing Marty Scurll in Ring of Honor

    Mark Haskins Talks Facing Marty Scurll in Ring of Honor

    Mark Haskins recently signed for Ring of Honor and made his company debut back in January. Haskins teamed with Bandido, David Finlay and Juice Robinson to defeat  Dalton Castle, Flip Gordon, Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb & Jonathan Gresham.

    Haskins has been making several more appearances for the company since then. His latest bout for ROH saw him in a losing effort against fellow Brit Marty Scurll. The ‘Underrated’ Haskins took to Twitter to discuss facing his longtime colleague. The tweet read “Started wrestling the same year, trained together, wrestled all over the UK, Ireland, Germany, BOLA in LA. From on camp sites to o2 Brixton Academy and now ROH. I can honestly tell you kicking Marty Scurll as hard as you can is one of the most enjoyable experiences in life.”

    Haskins and Scurll’s careers are very closely intertwined. Scurll lost to Haskins at PROGRESS Wrestling’s Brixton Academy event a few years ago. This gifted Haskins his first ever PROGRESS World Championship. Both are considered future world title contenders for ROH and are on an upward trajectory, Scurll recently debuted his new stable alongside Brody King and PCO.

  • ROH Star Mark Haskins Reveals Injury

    ROH Star Mark Haskins Reveals Injury

    Ring Of Honor (ROH) has been making strides in locking down talent. In recent months we have reported on the company signing Bandido, Brody King, PCO, and more to their expanding roster.

    Unfortunately, the company have also been impacted by a recent bout of injuries to some of their top, and up-and-coming, stars, including the newly signed Mark Haskins.

    Haskins took to Twitter to reveal that he has recently “suffered a partial tear” in his calf. Thankfully, according to him, “It’s already getting better so shouldn’t be out for more than a few weeks.”

    He promises that he will still be in Florida next weekend, ending his update by saying he’s “Got Lifeblood peeps to represent #Squad”

    LifeBlood is ROH’s latest stable, featuring Juice Robinson, Tenille Dashwood, Bandido, Mark Haskins, Tracy Williams, and David Finlay.

    Recent ROH Injuries

    During their Honor Reigns Supreme weekender earlier this month, both Flip Gordon and Chris Sabin would suffer injuries whilst performing.

    Gordon suffered an injury to his right knee during a match against Tracy Williams. It is reported he may be out for around 4 weeks due to an MCL sprain. Sabin’s prognosis, however, was more serious. He suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during a six-man matchup, which will take a lot longer to heal and rehab.

  • NXT UK and ROH Stars Teaming for PROGRESS Event

    NXT UK and ROH Stars Teaming for PROGRESS Event

    PROGRESS has announced the latest match for their 83rd Chapter event ‘Remove Child Before Ironing.’ The show will be taking place on January 20th from the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.

    The bout will see Drew Parker and Spike Trivet of ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ taking on Eddie Dennis and Mark Haskins. What is most interesting about this bout is the team of Dennis and Haskins. As we have mentioned on numerous occasions NXT UK contracts have certain ‘caveats’ that prohibit certain circumstances.

    One of the alleged ‘rules’ meant that NXT UK Superstars could not work alongside/against those from other major promotions. These promotions included IMPACT, Ring of Honor, New Japan, MLW et al. As we reported back in December Mark Haskins has signed with Ring of Honor and will be part of their roster going forward. Eddie Dennis of course took part in the first NXT UK Takeover event this past weekend. Dennis faced Dave Mastiff in a No Disqualification match.

    Whilst the terms of the NXT UK deals are still not quite fully known, or at least not been made public, PROGRESS is a company that is very much aligned with WWE. From reports in the Wrestling Observer all three of the company’s owners are working with/running NXT UK, so they may be able to leapfrog some of the restrictions imposed on certain talents.

  • ROH Reveal TV Debut Matchup For Bandido and Mark Haskins

    ROH Reveal TV Debut Matchup For Bandido and Mark Haskins

    We recently confirmed that despite interest in All Elite Wrestling, Bandido had signed with Ring Of Honor.

    The popular luchador was faced with a difficult choice at the time, and ended up taking the deal ROH offered prior to All Elite Wrestling’s official announcement.

    We also reported that ROH had signed popular U.K. independent wrestler, Mark Haskins. Rumors had circled Haskins for a while regarding his signing to the company, ever since last year’s Honor Reunited tour in the United Kingdom.

    Ring Of Honor has now revealed each man’s opponent for their respective television debuts: each other.

    That’s right. Next Saturday’s 1/12 ROH TV tapings, which take place in Atlanta, Georgia will see both newly signed wrestlers face off against one another for their television debut, giving both an immediate opportunity to try and make an impact.

    Card For 1/12 ROH TV Taping

    Bandido vs Mark Haskins

    Silas Young vs Eli Isom for a true ROH TV Title shot.

    David Finlay (who will feature in his first ROH in the United States) vs Tracy Williams

    ROH Tag Team Championship Match
    The Briscoes vs “Best Friends” Chuckie T & Beretta

    Other stars announced to appear at the tapings include:

    ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, ROH Television Champion Jeff Cobb, Women of Honor World Champion Kelly Klein, ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom, Villain Enterprises (PCO, Brody King, Marty Scurll), Dalton Castle and The Boys, Flip Gordon, Juice Robinson, Kenny King, Shane Taylor, Jonathan Gresham, Chris Sabin, PJ Black, Cheeseburger and Luchasaurus.

  • Mark Haskins Interview: Signing With ROH, Wanting To Face Okada At MSG (Exclusive)

    Mark Haskins Interview: Signing With ROH, Wanting To Face Okada At MSG (Exclusive)

    We recently spoke to new Ring of Honor star Mark Haskins. The former PROGRESS World Champion recently signed to the company and is looking to start 2019 in a big way. The UK star has been a huge part of the revival in the UK/European scene and earlier this year appeared at PROGRESS ‘Hello Wembley’ against Matt Riddle.

    This was the second time that we’ve managed to speak to Mark, we would like to thank him again for his time. Here’s the full interview:

    Interview

    SEScoops: You’ve now officially signed with Ring of Honor. This isn’t the first time that you’ve performed for the company but now you’re under contract. Had this been in the pipeline since your successful performances at the International Cup?

    Mark Haskins: Yeah pretty much. After the match with Jay Lethal at York Hall they asked if I’d be interested in working together more and I jumped at the opportunity.

    Potential Opponents?

    SEScoops: I’m sure there’s many stars in ROH that you have your sights set on, are there any names that you’re gunning for from the get go?

    Mark Haskins: Flip Gordon is great, I love being in the ring with him. Jay Lethal is another awesome performer who’s always a joy to be in there with. ROH have a lot of great talent and I’d love to mix things up with some fresh matches in 2019. I’m ready for new matches and different dynamics, I’m rolling in to ROH the best I can be and ready to go.

    SEScoops: ROH and New Japan have such a close working relationship. You were previously in Dragon Gate but would you like to return to Japan to represent ROH in NJPW?

    Mark Haskins: Sure.

    MSG

    SEScoops: With New Japan in mind…there’s a big Madison Square Garden event coming up next year. If you could face anyone in NJPW in that famous arena next year who would you pick?

    Mark Haskins: Okada. There was a point in time where we were both signed to TNA and we’d be at tapings where they had nothing for us. We’d just hang out backstage with the Machine Guns and have nothing to do. It would be cool to show everyone the opportunities they missed out on. I’m so happy to see him go on to become the mega star he is and show everyone what they wasted by not utilising him.

    SEScoops: Vicky Haskins has been such an intrinsic part of your character and presentation over the past few years, will she be joining you in ROH?

    Mark Haskins: Oh come on guys, as if I’m going to give away any spoilers. You gotta watch the show see how things unfold and find out for yourselves.

    Check out our first interview with Mark here.

  • Mark Haskins Officially Signs With ROH

    Mark Haskins Officially Signs With ROH

    We recently reported on the rumors circulating popular U.K. independent wrestler, Mark Haskins, signing with Ring Of Honor. Since then, Haskins took to his social media account in order to break the news that he has officially signed with the company.

    It didn’t take long for ROH to jump in. The company announced that “[…] he’s coming to #ROHAtlanta & #ROHConcord next month!”

    Mark Haskins debuted for Ring Of Honor earlier this year during their Honor United tour in the United Kingdom. He would win their ROH International Cup in August after defeating Elite member, ‘Hangman’ Adam Page in the final. This victory earned him a shot against ROH World Champion, Jay Lethal, where he would lose to the reigning champion.

    It’s reported that Haskins signed with ROH around their recent Final Battle PPV in December.

    There was one wrestler in particular who was thrilled to hear the news: Jimmy Havoc. Havoc, who has teamed extensively with Haskins for PROGRESS Wrestling, gave Haskins a glowing endorsement and said he’s now looking for a new tag team partner.

    https://twitter.com/JimmyHavoc/status/1075779583415279621

  • PROGRESS Chapter 78 Main Event Announced

    PROGRESS Chapter 78 Main Event Announced

    PROGRESS has announced the main event for their Chapter 78 show ’24 Hour Progress People.’ PROGRESS World Champion WALTER will be taking on the Number 1 contender Mark Haskins for the coveted title.

    Haskins became the number 1 contender after this past week’s ‘Pumpkin Spice Progress’ show. Haskins defeated both Chris Brookes and Jimmy Havoc to earn this shot at the Austrian powerhouse.

    PROGRESS Wrestling has also announced a top international bout for Chapter 78. wXw Unified Champion Ilja Dragunov will be heading to the O2 Ritz on November 11th to take on ‘The Product’ David Starr.

    This will be Dragunov’s second bout for the UK promotion. Former promoter of Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) Christian Michael Jakobi appeared during PROGRESS Wrestling’s Super Strong Style 16 event earlier this year and challenged the reigning WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne to a bout against the wXw World United Heavyweight Champion. This match took place at Wembley Arena and Dunne was victorious via submission.

    You can check out our exclusive interview with Mark Haskins here. The top UK star discusses his run in PROGRESS, plans for Japan, Vicky Haskins and his ideal independent opponent.

  • Jimmy Havoc, Mark and Vicky Haskins Announced for ICW Fear & Loathing XI

    Jimmy Havoc, Mark and Vicky Haskins Announced for ICW Fear & Loathing XI

    Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced three of the UK’s top stars for their Fear & Loathing XI. Jimmy Havoc, Mark and Vicky Haskins will be heading to the Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland on December 2nd.

    You can check out our exclusive interview with former PROGRESS World Champion Mark Haskins here.

    Insane Championship Wrestling has also announced that British Strong Style will be heading to Fear & Loathing XI. This will be first time that the BSS stable has appeared as a unit in ICW. Trent Seven is a former ICW World Champion. More interesting is that Pete Dunne actually defended his WWE United Kingdom Championship in the company previously. British Strong Style are arguably the most popular stars from the thriving UK scene. All three are featured heavily on the WWE UK brands and NXT television.

    ICW has also announced a huge Women’s Championship match for their Fear & Loathing XI event. Women’s Champion Viper will be facing challenger Kay Lee Ray. Both stars are considered to be amongst the World’s best and have been a featured part of the weekly WoS programme on ITV/STV.

    Fear & Loathing XI will be taking place on December 2nd at the SSE Hydro. If you’re an ICW fan you know that the ‘Loathing event is ICW’s biggest in the calendar year and last year’s iteration featured Rey Mysterio, Kevin Nash and Rob Van Dam amongst the homegrown talent.

    Tickets are available to purchase via Ticketmaster now.

    https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/1054779563669098496

  • Mark Haskins of PROGRESS/IPW:UK Talks NXT UK, WoS & More (Exclusive)

    Mark Haskins of PROGRESS/IPW:UK Talks NXT UK, WoS & More (Exclusive)

    We recently spoke to former PROGRESS World Champion Mark Haskins. The UK star has been a huge part of the revival in the region and recently appeared at PROGRESS ‘Hello Wembley’ against Matt Riddle. Here’s the full interview:

    Matt Riddle’s Final Indie Opponent

    SEScoops: You recently joined PROGRESS at their biggest ever show in Wembley Arena. You started for PROGRESS way back at the Garage and now you’ve faced Matt Riddle in front of nearly 5,000 fans…did you ever expect that U.K. wrestling would reach these heights again?

    Mark Haskins: No. When I broke in the scene was in a completely different place to where it is now and I never expected it to gain the momentum it has in recent years. It’s a testament to a lot of passionate people’s hard work coming together and I hope the scene continues to blossom.

    SEScoops: You main evented the first of PROGRESS’ ‘September Supershows’ against Tommy End/Aleister Black and Marty Scurll winning the World Title and had to vacate shortly after. Is the World Title in PROGRESS a belt that you are gunning for in the near future?

    Mark Haskins: Yeah, I want my belt back.

    Moving Further Afield

    SEScoops: You appeared for ROH earlier this year, are there any companies further afield in the States or Japan like NJPW, NOAH or MLW that you’d like to appear for? Maybe a return to IMPACT or Dragon Gate?

    Mark Haskins: Who knows what the future holds? I’d love to go back to Japan at some point as I’m a very different performer now to what I was back then. I think that would be a lot of fun.

    Vicky Haskins

    SEScoops: Your partner Vicky Haskins is an extremely important part of your character’s presentation now. When did the idea come about to have Vicky accompany you to the ring?

    Mark Haskins: About 2-3 years ago. I’d been pushing for her to come in to Progress 18 months before it actually happened. I think a lot of people don’t realise she’s been a manager for years, she knows what she’s doing and she got signed to FCW before it became NXT back in 2010. I think it was something that people would only understand once they’d seen it happen, and when it did people realised there was something there.

    Dream Indie Opponent

    SEScoops: Who would be your current dream opponent on the independent scene?

    Mark Haskins: Penta El 0M. Rey Fenix would be another. There’s a lot of talents I want to tear it up with. WALTER also being one of them.

    SEScoops: We’ve just had the 10 episode run of WoS and the NXT U.K. division starting next week. The two big names that weren’t part of either show were arguably yourself and Jimmy Havoc. Was it a conscious decision to not take part in either and remain completely independent?

    Mark Haskins: Not really, I think both company’s have an idea of what they’re looking for and that’s not us. We live in an age though where you can become a star without having to sign to a major organisation and that’s creatively refreshing. I feel like in a lot of cases Wrestling has become very repetitive and it could open up a new era of fans by doing something genuinely different to the norm. It just needs some one to push boundaries and try something new and everyone would realise they don’t need to get signed to a company to be a success.

    You can follow Mark on Twitter @ThisIsHaskins. We’d like to take this time to thank Mark again for his time.

  • Mark Haskins Talks PROGRESS Bout with Matt Riddle

    Mark Haskins Talks PROGRESS Bout with Matt Riddle

    PROGRESS recently announced who new NXT Superstar Matt Riddle would be facing at Wembley Arena. The ‘King of Bros’ will be making his final independent appearance against Mark Haskins for Chapter 75 ‘Hello Wembley’ on September 30th.

    Haskins is one of the most well respected veterans in the UK scene. The former PROGRESS World Champion had to relinquish his belt and has been seeking a chance to regain it since. Haskins lost to Tyler Bate in their Chapter 74 match which meant that he wouldn’t get a shot at WALTER for this upcoming Wembley Chapter.

    Haskins has taken to Twitter to discuss what the Wembley show means for the UK scene. The ‘Underrated’ star stated “To think we’ve reached the peak of British Wrestling would be naive. This might only be the start of something HUGE. Don’t become content, keep working and pushing forward because we could be the generation that changes everything.”

    Here’s the full announced card for the event:

    • PROGRESS Women’s Champion Jinny vs Millie McKenzie
    • PROGRESS World Champion WALTER vs Tyler Bate
    • Eddie Dennis vs Mark Andrews
    • Jimmy Havoc vs Paul Robinson
    • Thunderb*stard Tag Team Title Match
    • Ilja Dragunov vs Pete Dunne
    • Mark Haskins vs. Matt Riddle

  • WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne Announced for IPW:UK Anniversary XIV

    WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne Announced for IPW:UK Anniversary XIV

    IPW:UK has announced Pete Dunne’s opponent for their Anniversary XIV show. The WWE United Kingdom Champion will face Mark Haskins on the September 22nd card in Maidstone, England.

    Haskins has a big September ahead of him. The former PROGRESS World Champion will not only face the ‘Bruiserweight’ on the 22nd but he will also be challenging Matt Riddle in his final Independent date. The Haskins/Riddle match will be taking place September 30th from Wembley Arena for PROGRESS.

    Dunne will not be the only NXT star on the show. The WWE UK Champion’s British Strong Style stablemates will also be in attendance. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven are two of the most charismatic stars on the UK scene and are destined for even bigger things in the WWE as evidenced by their NXT Tag Title program against the Undisputed Era.

    Several other major names will be announced for the Anniversary show. Here’s some of the stellar talent being brought in:

    • rent Seven & Tyler Bate
    • David Starr
    • IPW Undisputed World Champion Kip Sabian
    • Bad Bones
    • Doug Williams
    • IPW Womens Champion Xia Brookside

    IPW:UK has issued the following on the big event:

    September 22nd will be host to INTERNATIONAL SUPER 8. 8 of the very best international world talent will compete for the Super 8 trophy and the opportunity to face the IPW Undisputed World Champion at our annual end of year supershow UNDISPUTED.

    Tickets for the show are available to purchase here

    https://twitter.com/IPWUK/status/1039945989413646340

  • Matt Riddle Announced for PROGRESS: Hello Wembley (9/30)

    Matt Riddle Announced for PROGRESS: Hello Wembley (9/30)

    PROGRESS has announced who new NXT Superstar Matt Riddle will be facing at Wembley Arena. The ‘King of Bros’ will be making his final independent appearance against Mark Haskins for Chapter 75 ‘Hello Wembley’ on September 30th.

    Haskins is one of the most well respected veterans in the UK scene. The former PROGRESS World Champion had to relinquish his belt and has been seeking a chance to regain it since. Haskins lost to Tyler Bate in their Chapter 74 match which meant that he wouldn’t get a shot at WALTER for this upcoming Wembley Chapter.

    Matt Riddle recently appeared on camera at NXT Takeover and has been confirmed as a signee to WWE’s developmental system. Riddle has been one of the hottest ‘import’ talents to emerge from PROGRESS over the past few years having won the ATLAS title and defending the belt across the globe. This will be the biggest English Independent show in years and the following bouts are now signed:

    • PROGRESS Women’s Champion Jinny vs Millie McKenzie
    • PROGRESS World Champion WALTER vs Tyler Bate
    • Eddie Dennis vs Mark Andrews
    • Jimmy Havoc vs Paul Robinson
    • Thunderb*stard Tag Team Title Match
    • Ilja Dragunov vs Pete Dunne
    • Mark Haskins vs. Matt Riddle

    Tickets are still available to purchase via AXS.

  • WoS Tag Team Challenging for DEFIANT Number 1 Contendership

    WoS Tag Team Challenging for DEFIANT Number 1 Contendership

    DEFIANT Wrestling has announced that a Number 1 contenders’ match to the company’s Tag Team Champions Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher). The bout will be taking place at the upcoming Stacked ’18 event from the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester, England.

    Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins will be taking on the team of ‘Superbad’ Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees. Kip and Rees’ debut match as a team occurred during episode 1 of the new World of Sport/WoS reboot on ITV, this will be their first opportunity to get a shot at Championship gold on the UK independent scene.

    Havoc & Haskins are two of the most well respected and tenured performers on the UK scene, they have also been extremely successful as a tandem. The team were previously tag team champions in DEFIANT and have also held the PROGRESS Tag Team Champions.

    The card for Stacked ’18 is now as follows:

    • Walter vs Will Ospreay (Internet Championship)
    • Bea Priestley vs Millie McKenzie (Women’s Championship)
    • Havoc & Haskins vs Alpha Bad (Tag #1 Contenders)
    • Chris Brookes vs Chris Ridgeway (Internet #1 Contenders)
    • Doug Williams vs John ‘Bad Bones’ Klinger
    • Joe Hendry vs Martin Kirby
    • Drake vs El Phantasmo
    • Omari vs Lucky Kid
    • Gabriel Kidd vs ???

    Tickets for the event are available to purchase via Eventbrite.

  • DEFIANT Announce CCK vs Haskins/Havoc for Stacked ’18

    DEFIANT Announce CCK vs Haskins/Havoc for Stacked ’18

    DEFIANT Wrestling has announced the second match for their upcoming Stacked ’18 event which takes place from the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester, England on August 26th.

    Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos (better known as CCK) will be taking on the team of Mark Haskins and Jimmy Havoc to decide the Number 1 contender to Aussie Open’s Tag Team Championships. Aussie Open defeated Havoc & Haskins at No Regrets 2018 to capture the belts on April 28th.

    Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins are both scheduled to take part in Ring of Honor’s upcoming Honor ReUnited tour in August and are two of the highest profile performers in the UK who have not signed for the NXT UK or WoS brands. Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos likewise do not appear to have signed for the two ‘warring’ promotions with Brookes outright saying to a Rev Pro crowd earlier this year that he is staying independent for the foreseeable future.

    This bout joins the already confirmed Will Ospreay vs WALTER bout…looks like ‘Stacked’ might be the right word for this show and DEFIANT will be adding to the lineup over the coming weeks.

    Ticket information can be found via the tweet below:

  • Former PROGRESS World Champion Announced for Ring of Honor

    Former PROGRESS World Champion Announced for Ring of Honor

    Ring of Honor have announced that former PROGRESS Wrestling World Champion Mark Haskins will be teaming with the NWA World Champion Nick Aldis to take on The Young Bucks as part of the upcoming Honor United show in Edinburgh, Scotland.

    The following are the dates and locations for ROH’s upcoming Honor United tour:

    • May 24, 2018 — Edinburgh Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, Scotland, 7:30 p.m. local time
    • May 26, 2018 — Crystal Palace Sports Centre, London, England, 6 p.m. local time
    • May 27, 2018 — The Doncaster Dome, Doncaster, England, 6 p.m. local time

    Haskins is one of the most well respected pros on the UK scene, he has been performing at the highest level for the past decade plus for the likes of Rev Pro, IPW:UK, OTT and the now defunct 5 Star Wrestling. His inclusion on a show of this magnitude and his rumored links to the WWE United Kingdom are a testament to his abilities.

    No further information on Haskins’ involvement with ROH going forward has been announced however a stint alongside the likes of ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay would certainly not be amiss for one of the UK’s finest technical masters.

  • 3 UK Stars Who Should Enter The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament

    3 UK Stars Who Should Enter The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament

    WWE announced over Wrestlemania weekend that the United Kingdom roster would once again be featured during a two day event in the historic Albert Hall on June 18th/19th. The company has confirmed that a tournament akin to the original in Blackpool would determine the Number 1 Contender to Pete Dunne’s United Kingdom Championship.

    Whilst there are a slew of worthy challengers already signed to WWE’s United Kingdom roster we decided to look at 3 stars currently working the UK scene who could seemingly make the jump into the ‘big time’ and be crowned the next number 1 contender to the already prestigious belt, here are those names:

    Nathan Cruz

    You may not know Nathan Cruz, but you really should. The current NGW Champion is a veteran of the UK scene and extremely well respected by his peers. One of the most impressive aspects of his extensive resume comes from his time in the PROGRESS promotion, where he became their first ever top Champion (the belt later became a World Title) and he also held the Tag Team Championships for an extensive period of time, defeating the likes of the Sumerian Death Squad (Aleister Black’s former team), Tommaso Ciampa & Zack Sabre Jr and F.S.U (Mark Andrews & Eddie Dennis). Cruz has an incredible presence and can play to crowds of varying ages with unquestionable ease, he is a talent on the UK scene that should absolutely be given a shot amongst the WWE’s growing roster. Incredibly Cruz actually wrestled as part of an NXT taping back in 2016 in a losing effort to Elias, you can read more about his time working for the company from this interview with Sky Sports.

    Mark Haskins

    Another veteran from UK shores who we really need to see mix it up with some of WWE’s best. Mark Haskins is the definition of a technical master, his unwavering and relentless style has seen him capture the PROGRESS World and Tag Team Championships as well as a slew of belts across Europe. His next big encounter comes as part of ICW’s Newcastle show where he steps in for an injured Paul London to challenge for the ICW World Championship against BT Gunn, who himself is another star worthy of making the tournament in June. The pinnacle of Haskins’ career thus far has to be his PROGRESS World Title win during the 2016 Brixton Academy show against Marty Scurll and Aleister Black, the bout ended in an absolutely euphoric response from the huge crowd and will be remembered for years by the PROGRESS faithful…Haskins is absolutely ready for WWE.

    Zack Gibson

    By now you may have already heard of Zack Gibson. ‘Liverpool’s Number 1’ has been gracing shows across the UK for a number of years and his claim to soon be the ‘World’s Number 1’ is being backed up with every passing appearance. Gibson is no stranger to the WWE United Kingdom title, he recently challenged Pete Dunne for the strap as part of a Futureshock Wrestling event and whilst he came up short another shot at the coveted prize cannot be too far away for the Scouse Superstar (he’ll definably call himself that in WWE). Interestingly Gibson’s longtime tag team and business partner James Drake is already a member of the WWE United Kingdom division, he took part in the original tournament and subsequent Norwich tapings in a reduced but somewhat prominent role and there is certainly scope to team these two on future shows for the company.

    Out of the three listed there is an extremely good chance that Gibson will not only be part of the tournament, but he may actually win. Pete Dunne has been portrayed as someone of a ‘tweener’ character on NXT and the crowds have been massively behind the ‘Bruiserweight.’ A strong villainous character with the presence of Gibson may be just what is needed to help elevate the United Kingdom Championship to bigger heights and help build to what is hopefully an established Network/Television series down the line.

    Are there any UK stars you’d like to see? Let us now in the comments.

  • Paul London No Longer Appearing for ICW, Replacement in World Title Match Announced

    Paul London No Longer Appearing for ICW, Replacement in World Title Match Announced

    Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) has announced that former WWE Tag Team Champion Paul London will no longer be able to appear at their Newcastle show on April 15th due to injury. London was scheduled to challenge for the ICW World Championship against Undisputed Champion BT Gunn.

    ICW has now announced the replacement for Newcastle and it has kicked the event up by quite a notch…former PROGRESS World/Tag Team Champion Mark Haskins will now be taking on Gunn for a chance to add the Insane Championship title to his impressive run on top of the UK scene.

    Tickets for the event in Newcastle are available to purchase now via Ticketmaster.

    https://twitter.com/InsaneChampWres/status/981577227027517445

  • 3 PROGRESS Stars That You Need To See in New Orleans

    3 PROGRESS Stars That You Need To See in New Orleans

    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…

  • Rey Mysterio Challenging for 5 Star Wrestling Title This Thursday

    Rey Mysterio Challenging for 5 Star Wrestling Title This Thursday

    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)

  • DEFIANT Wrestling #6 Available Now on YouTube feat. PROGRESS and ICW stars

    DEFIANT Wrestling #6 Available Now on YouTube feat. PROGRESS and ICW stars

    DEFIANT Wrestling has released the sixth instalment of their ongoing web series and it is available to watch below.

    The show was headlined by IPW:UK’s Mark Haskins and DEFIANT’s Martin Kirby, this bout continued the ongoing invasion angle between the two rival companies. If Haskins won then IPW would take control of the show until the upcoming Chain Reaction PPV, if Kirby won then he would get a title shot against DEFIANT Champion Austin Aries.

    Other matches on this stacked show include:

    • Primate and Jimmy Havoc vs Aussie Open
    • Joe Coffey vs The Prestige in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match
    • Gracie’s Open Challenge

    Next week will see two more massive bouts when NJPW and Suzuki-Gun stable member Zack Sabre Jr takes on Mike Bailey and Millie McKenzie takes on Mia Brookside.

  • DEFIANT/WCPW Show #4 Airing Now on YouTube

    DEFIANT/WCPW Show #4 Airing Now on YouTube

    Defiant Wrestling (formerly known as WCPW) will be hosting their fourth weekly show tonight for free on YouTube. The company’s ongoing feud with fellow UK promotion IPW:UK is currently at the forefront of the weekly programming and features two of the independent scenes top stars Austin Aries and Mark Haskins. As well as the fallout from last week’s invasion this #WeAreDefiant show will feature bouts from some of the UK’s best.

    Matches currently announced for the show are:

    • Xia Brookside vs Millie McKenzie vs Roxxy
    • CCK’s Chris Brookes vs David Starr

    The show is airing right now so check it out below:

  • PROGRESS Announce Two Big Matches for Chapter 61

    PROGRESS Announce Two Big Matches for Chapter 61

    PROGRESS has announced two more bouts for their upcoming Chapter 61 event at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England.

    Newly crowned IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay will be facing the debuting Australian Adam Brookes, Ospreay has made the Australian scene a home away from home recently and now he will be welcoming one of the country’s best to UK shores.

    From welcoming Australia to PROGRESS we get this…Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins will be looking to cause absolute destruction when they face the impressive Aussie Open, comprised of Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis this team has been establishing themselves on the UK scene over the past year and now they get their sternest test in PROGRESS against the two former PROGRESS World Champions.