Indie Watch is our regular series that looks at all of the amazing talents working the independent circuits around the world. Some are veterans revitalizing their careers, some are indie prospects hitting their peaks, while others are names to be on the watch for! This edition looks at three Scottish wrestlers who have recently come together in the WrestleZone promotion to form the trio known as The Foundation of the Future.
When Zach Dynamite made his return to WrestleZone (WZ) in August 2016 after two years off due to injury, the fans were delighted to see him back. He captured the Tri-Counties Championship the following year but after he lost the title back to Aspen Faith in January 2018, he snapped. Dynamite brutally ambushed his training partner Bradley Evans, and started dubbing himself “The Foundation of the Future”. A few months down the line though, Evans realigned himself with Dynamite at Aberdeen Anarchy X, later joined by Ryan Riley the following March at the Regal Rumble. Just like that, The Foundation of the Future was born.
Indie Watch: Zach Dynamite
Whenever you attended a WrestleZone show from 2011 onwards, Zach Dynamite was bound to be wrestling on that show, and you were always guaranteed a show-stealing performance from him. He debuted at the 2011 Regal Rumble event, being decimated by Crusher Craib in a 2 on 1 Handicap Match alongside Fraser McLeod while also entering the second annual Regal Rumble Match. In his first few years on the WrestleZone roster, Dynamite could be seen grappling opposite names such as The Sterling Brothers (Alan Sterling and William Sterling), Johnny Lions, and Aspen Faith, with a lengthy rivalry coming against Damien in 2013. The pair had some epic encounters with each other that almost saw Zach forced into retirement but luckily, he would win that contest to ensure his career continued. After that came to an end, Dynamite would continue to put on stellar performances before what many thought was his final match on September 13th 2014, where he was unsuccessful against the first lord of WrestleZone, Lord Alan Sterling.
Following two years on the shelf with some knee-related issues, it was announced that Zach Dynamite would be returning to the WrestleZone roster at Battle of the Nations 2016, where he would pick up a victory over Lord Mr Malice in relatively short fashion. As the months went by, Zach would be one of 16 men entered into a tournament to crown the inaugural WrestleZone Tri-Counties Champion. He would make it to the semifinals of the tournament after overcoming Chris Archer and Shawn Johnson but after some shenanigans in both of the tournament’s semifinal matches, a Fatal Four Way Ladder Match was set for Aberdeen Anarchy 2017 to crown the first champion. While Zach came within inches of lifting the gold, it would be Aspen Faith who became the champion to cement his name in the history books.
2017 proved to be a rather huge year for Zach – not only did he compete in that Tri-Counties Championship Ladder Match, but he also challenged Shawn Johnson for the Undisputed WrestleZone Championship in a match that also included current NXT UK mainstay Joe Coffey. Even though he would come away from that contest unsuccessful, the match clearly left an impression on WrestleZone management as he earned an opportunity at Aspen Faith’s championship in November 2017. This match took place on one of WrestleZone’s smaller town hall shows, the type of shows that don’t often feature title changes. Dynamite made sure that that fact changed here as he dethroned The Lost Boy of his title to begin the reign of a more refocused Zach Dynamite.
https://www.facebook.com/wrestlezonescotland/videos/1749913575050954/
Sadly for him, that reign would only last two months as Aspen took the title back at the first show of 2018. This is when Zach snapped, and took out his frustrations on Bradley Evans. Fast forward a few months later, and he was back in contention for the Tri-Counties Championship, which was now held by “The Dad Bod God” Andy Wild (a single appearance for Discovery Wrestling (DW) also came during this team where Zach teamed with Nathan North against The Kings of Catch (Aspen Faith and Lewis Girvan)). He was one of three challengers for Wild at Aberdeen Anarchy X that September alongside Mr P and “Vintage” Nathan North. It’s important to note that Mr P had Bradley Evans in his corner for this match as an alliance had been formed between those in the weeks prior. That friendship turned out to be quite an important factor in this one as Evans turned on his so-called new friend, reuniting with Zach Dynamite, and making Zach the new champion in the process.
https://www.facebook.com/thezachdynamite/videos/609287472796585/
Although Zach lost the gold to Mr P at Christmas Chaos 2018, this didn’t derail his momentum. Alongside “Tenacious” Johnny Lions, he was the last man eliminated from the 2019 Regal Rumble Match at the hands of RUDO Lightning, and he was chosen by WrestleZone management to face “The Bastard” PAC at this year’s Aberdeen Anarchy back in April. Although he debuted eight years ago, Dynamite still embodies what The Foundation of the Future is all about.
Indie Watch: Bradley Evans
After a brief appearance in a Battle Royal in October 2016, Bradley Evans made his official WrestleZone debut in February 2017. From the get-go, Evans has been a tough powerhouse grappler that can knock down the toughest of challenges with a single shoulder tackle. He had some entertaining matches with the likes of Alan Sterling and Nathan North (who he debuted in the same match as) in his first few months on the roster, forming an alliance with Zach Dynamite along the way. After just eight months as part of the main pool of WrestleZone talent, Evans received title match for both the Tag Team Championships and the Tri-Counties Championship against The Sterling Brothers and Aspen Faith respectively, the latter of which saw him suffer a small injury. Fortunately, it wouldn’t keep him out for too long, and Evans had already returned before the end of the year.
As we got into the new year, Evans was forced to go out on his own after Zach turned his back on him at Summerhill Showdown. During this time, Evans was falling down the pecking order in WrestleZone slightly, suffering losses for the most part. An impressive showing during the 2018 Battle of the Nations pre-show against both Kaden Garrick and eventual winner Dino Del Monte reminded everyone of how Bradley actually was, before he forged a new alliance alongside Mr P in the summer. That alliance wouldn’t last that long though as Evans would assault P, once again becoming aligned with Zach Dynamite in the process.
https://www.facebook.com/thezachdynamite/videos/697668763932961/
Ever since those two got back on the same, Evans has been calling himself The Mad Dog, a nickname that entirely suits him these days. Two unsuccessful challenges at Mr P’s Tri-Counties Championship at the start of 2019 saw some slight tension form between he and Zach, but they got back on the same page just in the nick of time to be joined by Ryan Riley the following March.
Indie Watch: Ryan Riley
Before Connor Inglis came along this past January, Ryan Riley was the newest member on the WrestleZone roster. His official debut came on the Aberdeen Anarchy X pre-show on September 1st where he took part in a seven-man Battle Royal that would eventually be won by Jason Reed. After this match was all said and done, we saw the real Ryan revealed at future shows – he was here to inspire the others around him, proclaiming that he’s lost seven stone. The guy can’t go five minutes without mentioning his incredible weight loss fact!
Riley has garnered some huge victories since his debut, including pinfall wins over two multi-time Tag Team Champions in the form of Kaden Garrick and Mikkey Vago of The Rejected. Despite that though, it felt as if there was something missing from Ryan. That led us to the Regal Rumble this past March as he interfered in a tag team match to cost Mr P and Damien their match with Jason Reed and the man who Riley was helping out, Zach Dynamite. With that, The Foundation of the Future was now in full swing.
https://www.facebook.com/thezachdynamite/videos/879413555724356/
Ever since they all came together, The Foundation of the Future has found their fair share of enemies. As we enter the second half of the year, expect to see championship gold come around their waists by the time we’re ringing in 2020.
Check out our full list of previous Indie Watches, showcasing emerging talent from around the world!
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
