British Wrestling flourished in 2014 with many superstars showing that they have what it takes to hone their craft overseas.
Paige became the first ever British Divas Champion, the Norwich-native went on to become a two time divas champion at Summerslam last year before becoming a regular cast member on E! Reality TV show Total Divas. TNA British Bootcamp also returned to our shores and saw the elite of British Wrestling battle it out before Mark Andrews was rewarded with the coveted TNA contract and former WWE superstar Andrew Galloway returned to Scotland to become a two time ICW Heavyweight Champion.
In Britain, there were feud’s that defined the year as former tag team partners Joseph Conners and Paul Malen collided in some of the best matches of the year at Southside and LCW whilst Kay Lee Ray ended Martin Kirby’s 357 day reign as Speed King Champion at Southside: Menace to Society II, to become the first ever Speed Queen Champion.
As you can see 2014 was a great year for British talent, but 2015 is going to be even better. There are so many promotions in the UK now that the talent pool is extraordinary, making it even harder to choose the cream of the crop but here are my picks.
Nixon Newell
Nixon had a massive 2014, after turning on her former partner Zak Northern and aligning herself with Chris Brooks. Together the pair make up The Vulture Squad – a tag team that are fast becoming one of the UK’s most popular pairings.
Known as both Nixon Newell or simply just Nixon, she became the first woman to hold the 24/7 Attack pro wrestling championship back in April and also became a main fixture at many women only promotions all over the UK including LCW Roses and Bellatrix.
At just 20-years-old, Nixon has already established popularity throughout the UK independent scene and looks set for bigger and better things in 2015. After seeing her friend and in-ring rival Mark Andrews make it over in America, Nixon could be set for another North American Tour and could possibly be scouted by any of the top American promotions whilst over there.
Mark Andrews
The TNA British Bootcamp winner, how can he not be set for greatness in 2015? Mark will set the X-Division on fire and show TNA what they have been missing all these years. He will make his Impact debut on Destination America on January 23.
Mark has been a regular on the UK independent scene for years and has delighted fans all over with his amazing in-ring skills and ability to somewhat defy gravity. Finally this year TNA have noticed his potential and the Welsh superstar is set to dazzle across the pond.
His TNA commitments have meant that Mark has now gone over the the states to perform but will be heading back over to the UK during the TNA British Tour that Grado will also play a part in when he faces Al Snow.
Whilst this means he will not be in the UK and a part of as many independent shows as last year, we can still cheer Mark on from a far and wish another one of our home grown talents luck over in America.
Kay Lee Ray
Last year was a massive year for Kay Lee Ray and she will only want to push on further this year. Kay Lee was the Female British Wrestler of 2014 – Winning the Speed King title, being a finalist on TNA Bootcamp 2 and Scottish Women’s Champion.
The Scottish star made a splash over in the States last year as she became a regular at SHIMMER whilst also making her debut at AIW and SHINE.
The fierce red-head has become the standard bearer for female wrestling all over the UK and in her home-town, where she is still the inaugural champion, a title she has held for almost two years.
Her run on TNA Bootcamp introduced her to wrestling fans all over the world and even though Dixie Carter didn’t think she was ready for be Knockout at the end of it, she showed that she can hold her own in the ring against one of the best when she fought Gail Kim.
Kay Lee is one of the most innovative and unique female wrestlers in recent memory and hopefully 2015 will be the year in which her full potential is finally noticed.
Damien Dunne
In recent years Damien has mostly been known as a part of The Dunne Brothers with his brother Pete, but over the past year Damien has been gaining recognition for his singles action and looks set for a big year as he continues to go it alone.
The Birmingham native put his skills on display as part of CHIKARA last year and will be hoping to take up a regular place with the growing promotion.
Damien has had a fantastic year with one of the highlights seeing him hold the British Lions Championship for 333 days before dropping the title to Tyler Bate. He will be hoping 2015 contains more title reigns and the occasional link up with his brother.
Jack Union
Whether he is known as Jack Union or Jack Birchill, this British wrestler represents his country wherever he goes. As one of the most travelled wrestlers on the UK scene Union has regular bookings all over Germany and regularly performs for both GHW and CWE.
Union became the first British superstar to make a tournament final at CWE back in November, before returning to the UK to pick up the CCW Heavyweight Championship in December.
Union also made his debut for House of Pain this year and could be set for a run in WXW when he attends a try-out next weekend. This year looks set to be a big year for the Leeds-native as he continues to thrive in Britain and Europe.
Barricade
The former House of Pain champion had an impressive 2014 holding the title throughout and becoming one of the regular fixtures at the promotion.
Barricade has honed his craft at many of the top UK promotions including LCW and HOPE this year and has been recognised as one of the rising stars of the business.
The monster’s year didn’t end as great as it began though as his manager Felony turned on him to side with The Foundation and handed the House of Pain heavyweight title to his rivals in the process.
The rivalry between Barricade and The Foundation has been brewing for months and at the Christmas Chaos event just over a week ago, Felony resurfaced with Alton Thorne to wage more war on the former Champion by cutting off the hair he has become famous for.
This feud will no doubt play a massive part in House of Pain this year and will see Barricade lifted to bigger heights as an in ring talent.
Joseph Conners
The “Righteous” Joseph Conners has played his part in one of the biggest feuds of 2014 as his rivalry with Paul Malen defined House of Pain for the past few months.
Not only that, but Conners was also able to wrestle Marty Jannetty back in August at Southside Wrstling Entertainment (SWE) which is one of the biggest promotions in the UK.
Conners and former Predators partner Malen have collided over the past few months in a strap match, first blood match and a shocking no count-out, No holds barred, falls count anywhere match as an end to their on going rivalry hung in the balance. Conners was also a part of one of the moments of the year at SWE when he was thrown from the balcony by Paul Malen.
Throughout this feud Conners came out as one of the most under-rated wrestlers on the UK circuit and even had an audition for last year’s TNA British Bootcamp. 2015 should be a year of change for the Righteous one as he looks set to continue his rise.
RJ Singh
The Hertfordshire native is the current All England Champion and a former FPW Champion. 2014 was a somewhat successful year for the man formerly known as Ross Jordan.
The newly named RJ Singh gimmick has seen him rise to greater heights on the UK scene and allowed him to connect more with the audience. Although the Bollywood star competed and lost two career matches last year, he still managed to pick up the All England Championship back in November when he defeated Darrell Allen at IPW.
After being on the UK scene for around 14 years, you have to think there isn’t a lot more for Singh to achieve, but the somewhat retired wrestler is still an integral part of some of the biggest promotions in the UK, including SWE and PROGRESS and this year he will show that experience is key as he continues his illustrious career.
Grado
Grado has been wrestling for the past 12 years and has always been in and around the wrestling business. He is the current PWE Heavyweight Champion and has been known to wrestle for many promotions throughout the UK including SWA, SWE and ICW where he is a former ICW Heavyweight Champion.
The Scottish juggernaut found international acclaim this year when he took part in TNA British Bootcamp 2 and found the bad side of Al Snow. Grado didn’t give up hope after being kicked off the show though and turned up again in London where he was allowed to re-join the group that eventually made the final six.
It was even noted by the judges at the trial matches during his time in Bootcamp, that Grado’s connection to the audience and the audience’s reaction to him was second to none and that helped him through to the final stages of the competition.
Even though Grado wasn’t one of the final three on the show he accomplished what he set out to do and that was to wrestle at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, where he will be a part of TNA’s Maximum Impact tour and will face his old adversary Al Snow.
This will be the biggest audience Grado has ever wrestled in front of and it will be interesting to see how he reacts in front of his home-town crowd and against such fierce opposition.
Dave Mastiff
Hailing from Dudley, the 5ft 10in superstar is known for his size and trademark Cannon Ball manoeuvre but mostly for is “take no prisoners” attitude.
The former PWE and RPW Heavyweight Champion was also a part of TNA British Bootcamp 2 this year and his no-nonsense attitude saw him make it all the way to the final six before being sent packing by the judges. But not before he proved to both the TNA roster and the British one that size is not an issue in the world of wrestling because he has the agility and stamina of men twice his size.
Many suspect this wont be the last TNA or the American wrestling scene see of the big guy and after being lifted into stardom last year, this year could see him reach a whole new set of heights.
We are only in January and already former WWE Women’s Champion Melina has been advertised as heading over to the UK in April. 2015 is shaping up to be an exciting and record breaking year for British Wrestling and with all of the above involved it could be one of the greatest yet.
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