In a shocking announcement posted on his Twitter page on Sunday afternoon, one of the pioneers for modern British wrestling shockingly revealed their retirement as Martin Kirby has hung up his pink and black trunks for the final time.
Thanks for letting me entertain you for the last 14 years. Its been a blast.👊 pic.twitter.com/fvRtNQMsja
— Martin Kirby マーティン カービー (@MKirbyProEgo) March 15, 2020
Beginning his career in June 2006, the Yorkshire native soon became one of the biggest faces in British wrestling, thanks to his signature pink and black gear and his ability to get any crowd member laughing with his antics. As the years went by, Kirby continued to rise through the ranks, being part of the much loved Project Ego tandem alongside Kris Travis before the sad passing of ‘The Shooting Star’ in spring 2016. Kirby would later adopt Project Ego as a nickname for himself as a fitting tribute to one of British wrestling’s greatest tandems.
In June 2016, Kirby’s career reached an all-time high, as he joined WhatCulture Pro Wrestling (WCPW), which later became Defiant Wrestling. While the company would receive its fair share of criticism from fans and wrestlers alike, there’s no denying how much of an impact Martin had on the promotion. Every single fan of the company was behind him, much like Daniel Bryan in 2013/14. When he finally won the World Championship at No Regrets 2017, the reaction alone is enough of a reason to see how much he was respected by the Defiant audience.
More recently, the master of the Sable Bomb had been wrestling for Dragon Gate (DG) in Japan, a company Kirby had been wanting to debut in for quite some time. Heading out on his first tour in the summer of 2019 (shortly after the closure of Defiant), Kirby would typically be found in the midcard of these shows. His final match, according to Cagematch, came on a DG show from March 1st of this year – he teamed with Gamma, Masaaki Mochizuki, and Ryo Saito in a losing effort against Dragon Dia, Jason Lee, Mondai Ryu, and Oji Shiiba in Osaka.
Already, tributes have been flooding social media, including one that came as quite a surprise given he never wrestled for them. It’s clear to see just how much love the wrestling community has for Martin Kirby.
.@MKirbyProEgo played a huge part in building British wrestling to what it is now 🇬🇧
Enjoy retirement!
Project Ego forever 🙌 https://t.co/azAUkLk5KZ
— WWE on TNT Sports (@wweontnt) March 15, 2020
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