Over the summer of 2019, the UK wrestling scene reached peak panic mode where fans were lamenting the death of the scene due to PROGRESS Wresting and other companies seeing attendances fall. While NXT UK has indeed signed up most of the top talent in Europe and All Elite Wrestling, NJPW, and Ring Of Honor have scooped up what is left there is an incredible amount of talent on the scene. While it would be impossible to list everyone we are going to list the talents we see as the future, and in some cases the very near future, of BritWres.
Scotty Davis
Scotty Davis was long pegged as one to watch on the European independent wrestling scene. 2019 has seen him finally emerge as the talent that many thought he could be as his home promotion Over The Top (OTT) Wrestling in Ireland has given him big wins over names like Jyushi Thunder Liger and Darby Allin and recently he won his first title in the company when he became NLW Champion. Add that to his recent Natural Progression Series and PROGRESS tag team championship wins as well as an impressive debut at Westside Xtreme Wrestling(wXw)’s Ambition tournament and Scotty is setting himself up for a huge 2020.
Kanji
Kanji is most known in the UK scene as the ace of Defiant Wrestling’s women’s division where she felt like a homemade star. Since the closing of Defiant, she hasn’t settled anywhere but has continued to impress wherever she goes in the UK. Unfortunately got injured against Emi Sakura in her OTT debut, cutting short what was a very impressive match.
Joe Nelson
Nelson (Right) With Besties In The World
Breed Pro Wrestling are one of the companies dedicated to helping the younger talent in BritWres. Joe Nelson is the holder of their Leader Of The New Breed championship which has given him the chance to tear the house down at Breed on multiple occasions. Nelson’s attitude matches the talent which has impressed some important people in the scene and has no doubt opened some doors in recognizable companies like ATTACK! Pro Wrestling and Fight Club: Pro and the ultra-popular Schadenfreude & Friends.
Gisele Shaw
Trained by Lance Storm Gisele Shaw spent a few years wrestling in Canada but never made much of an impression. Shaw made her way to the UK in 2019 and has spent the year impressing everywhere she’s been. With her high flying skills mixed with her ferocious chops she has had great matches in almost every major company in the UK and even had an impressive showing in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling in Japan. 2019 has seen her get her name out there with OTT’s fanbase especially taking a liking to her and 2020 should see her take over as one of the top names in the scene
Cara Noir
Black Swan @Cara_Noir #Chapter96 pic.twitter.com/0yTHnn9ALe
— 𝘒𝘶𝘳𝘵 (@ThisisKurtIRL) October 14, 2019
The Black Swan of BritWres was someone that was tipped for stardom ever since adopting the Cara Noir character. Offering something just a little bit different Noir captivates fans with his entrance and then proceeds to kill it in the ring time and time again. He became a made man in PROGRESS after battling Pete Dunne at Chapter 95 and looks set to become a cornerstone of the scene in the coming year.
Laura Di Matteo
Laura Di Matteo has been around for a few years now and has had major runs in PROGRESS already. It’s unfortunate for Di Matteo that her high profile run came before she was really ready for it as she is now one of the most underrated wrestlers in Europe but fans still have a negative perception of her from her time in PROGRESS feuding with Jinny. With the women’s divisions needing a restocking in multiple companies Di Matteo is sure to impress in 2020 and finally live up to the hype and does end the year as GWF women’s champion.
Club Tropicana (Captain Sexsea & Aidan)
https://twitter.com/Captain_Sexsea/status/1123171923565928448
Club Tropicana has already made the big step of working outside of Ireland, a big accomplishment for a team that only debuted in 2017. Their matches with the Anti-Fun Police have all been instant comedy classics and when it comes time to get serious Captain Sexsea is one of the best hot tags in the scene and Aidan has improved his power game over the years.
Dani Luna
https://twitter.com/DaniLuna_pro/status/1174730619059916805
Luna has come almost out of nowhere to become a force in 2019 with her participation in Schadenfreude and Friends shows making her a recognizable name. She has wrestled for major companies like RevPro, NXT UK, ATTACK, Fight Club: Pro and even has a win over Toni Storm in PROGRESS. It’s almost guaranteed 2020 will see Luna become one of the biggest female stars in the scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12a5YTbS-MI
Ricky Knight Jr
Ricky Knight Jr can do a little bit of everything and is easily the best wrestler his family has ever produced. He currently holds 5 titles from around the UK scene and bigger companies like RevPro, ICW, and Wrestle Gate Pro have already taken notice and started to use him.
Jayde
Jayde has IT, unfortunate injuries have meant her 2019 didn’t go as she would have hoped but that hasn’t stopped her from impressing everywhere she’s been. She’s even managed to capture the Full Force Wrestling women’s championship this year.
OJMO/Michael Oku
OJMO is the real deal. With recent debuts in OTT and PROGRESS going really well he’s set himself up for major runs in those companies as well as RevPro who have been pushing him for a while now. Whether on his own or part of Destination: Everywhere OJMO has been a big player on the indie scene this year and is ready to take over as one of it’s biggest stars in the near future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAGnvZnjMIQ
A2A (Harrison Bourne & Joe Lando)
Bourne and Lando have all the potential to be one of the best tag teams in the UK wrestling scene. Clearly influenced by Will Ospreay they can pull off some insane athletic feats and work extremely well together as a high flying tag duo. Have already impressed in Wrestle Gate but have yet to have their majorbreak.
Young Guns (Luke Jacobs & Ethan Allen)
Another up and coming tag team who recently debuted for PROGRESS. Whether together or apart both have shown potential to be big players in the UK scene going forward and with the current lack of top tier tag teams there could be opportunities opening up for teams like this.
Woke Queens (Debbie Keitel & Valkyrie)
Between them, Debbie Keitel and Valkyrie had shown potential for singles runs as both have achieved success on their own in various companies around Europe. Now that they’re together they’ve achieved success as a tandem as the current EVE Tag Team Champions.
Calum Black
2019 has been a big year for Black as he has established himself as a main roster member in OTT thanks to some really impressive performances against the likes of David Starr. The powerful young man wrestles a completely unique style to his fellow upcoming Irish talents and is sure to be a future OTT Champion.
Chakara
Chakara will be a star there is no doubt about that. She has the perfect kind of look and charisma to play a top-level heel, something that British wrestling desperately needs. 2019 has been her most successful year to date as she won the Tidal Wrestling and Kamikaze Pro women’s titles.
Sugar Dunkerton
Sugar Dunkerton is a sixteen-year veteran from America that most notably spent time in CHIKARA. Since 2018 though he has fallen in love with the UK wrestling scene and made it a second home. He’s already made appearances for major companies like OTT and PROGRESS that went down a treat and it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a regular in the top tire of UK indies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wknQAPpIZVU
Candyfloss
There aren’t many people that exude babyface energy like Candyfloss. Despite outside factors working against her, she’s already carved out an impressive career that’s included a tour in STARDOM and working for NXT UK. With her intentions focused solely on wrestling now we are set to see the best of Candyfloss.
Kieran Kelly
While it often doesn’t get the same attention from outside the bubble Scotland is also producing hot talent. Kieran Kelly is already a great worker that has won titles in Scotland and worked for some of Scotland’s biggest companies. Made a big impression against Rory Gulak at a School Of Irish Wrestling show and a definite future star for the Scottish scene.
Bobbi Tyler
Bobbi Tyler has had a great 2019 which has seen her capture multiple titles in the UK as well as House Of Glory. On top of this, she has spent much of the year in Stardom as part of the popular Tokyo Cyber Squad faction where she has improved leaps in bounds since her debut. She’s got the look, the charisma and the talent to succeed and once she comes back from Japan she’s guaranteed to make a mark in the UK.
Sam Barbour Experience
Another Scottish representative and one that’s very different from Kelly. While Kely is the kind of wrestler that will get over through ring work Sam Barbour is the total package. Barbour can hold his own with a mic in his hand, play a character and has incorporated some good strikes into his in-ring repertoire. Already a feature for ICW he deserves to break out into the rest of the scene to showcase his talents.
Sammii Jayne
One of the scene’s best-hidden talents Sammi Jayne has been criminally unused by promotions like PROGRESS. The company’s who have used her have seen the benefits as she is one of the strongest heels in Europe and draws heat very easily. On top of this, she makes her opponents look fantastic in the ring and when the time comes she can make anyone a star, just as Charlie Morgan and Raven Creed.
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. Subscribe to Powerslam to see more of all of these talents from various promotions in the UK
