The British independent wrestling scene has never been better and produced more stars than right now. There are a litany of streaming outlets for domestic and international fans to enjoy and even the WWE have recognised the potential in the likes of PROGRESS and Revolution Pro, asking them to host qualifying matches for the Global Cruiserweight Series.
If you’ve never had the chance to check out the UK scene and the talent we have on offer then here are some names to get you started:
Zack Sabre Jr
As one of the biggest names to emerge from England, Zack Sabre Jr is the modern representation of the ‘World of Sport’ days of UK wrestling. His ability to lock in devastating submissions from multiple angles coupled with an MMA styled striking approach compare to the ROH days of Bryan Danielson and have seen him compete for companies across the globe.
Currently one of the highlights of the ever growing EVOLVE promotion, Sabre Jr looks set to break out onto the world stage as a featured attraction in the WWE Global Cruiserweight Series, check out the episode of Rev Pro TV below to see Zack take on recent NXT signee Shinsuke Nakamura:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q32CmYvWkD8
If you’d like to check some more Zack Sabre Jr matches then these are the ones to hunt down:
- VS Chris Hero at PWG Mystery Vortex II
- VS Roderick Strong at PWG Don’t Sweat the Technique and EVOLVE 45
- VS Prince Devitt at PROGRESS Chapter 13 – (Available for free on Youtube)
‘The Villain ‘Marty Scurll
Current PROGRESS World Champion Marty Scurll knows what it takes to be a great heel, his transition from ‘Party Marty’ to ‘The Villain’ has completely transformed and elevated his star power to where he is main eventing across the UK.
His feud with Will Ospreay has been one of the reasons the UK scene has such a buzz at the moment, their match at PROGRESS Chapter 25 where Marty took the PROGRESS title started a succession of great contests including a bout at Rev Pro’s High Stakes that arguably stole the show (the main event was AJ Styles against ZSJ) through to their Wrestlemania weekend bout at Wrestlecon.
For a small glimpse of Marty’s brilliance check out this match from Rev Pro TV against his arch nemesis Will Ospreay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWlDnEPL2aM
Other MS matches to check out are:
- VS AJ Styles (C) vs Will Ospreay – Revolution Pro Uprising 2015 (this is one of the best matches I have ever seen live)
- Vs Will Ospreay – Revolution Pro Wrestling High Stakes 2016
- 9 MAN THUNDERB*STARD MATCH – PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 2016 (purely for Marty’s shenanigans)
Will Ospreay
Having recently signed for NJPW as the newest member of CHAOS, Will Ospreay looks set to rise rapidly to the top, he has an unbelievable amount of athletic ability and being in his early twenties he has a good amount of time to build his reputation on the world stage.
The highlight of his UK run is arguably his match with Jimmy Havoc at PROGRESS Chapter 20. After a year of dominating the main event scene; Havoc dropped the title in spectacular fashion after a gruelling match involving multiple chair strikes, thumbtacks and a 630 Senton from Ospreay.
Check out this match with Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne) from Rev Pro TV #8 below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2jLaiMiF9w&feature=youtu.be
Other WO matches to check out are:
- VS Kazuchika Okada – RPW Global Wars UK (the match that got him signed to New Japan)
- VS Matt Sydal – RPW Summer Sizzler 2015 (the first Ospreay match I was lucky enough to see live)
- VS Mark Andrews – PWG BOLA 2015
Thanks for reading, are there any names from the UK scene that you see making it big anytime soon? Leave a comment and let me know!