{"id":8483,"date":"2017-10-16T12:08:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T16:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=8483"},"modified":"2017-10-16T12:08:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T16:08:39","slug":"britwres-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2017\/10\/16\/britwres-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beginners Guide to BritWres (The UK Indie Scene)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Big Guide To BritWres<\/strong><\/h3>\n

British Wrestling is the place to be to see some of the best wrestling in the world, and the BritWres boom has led to companies opening throughout the UK.\u00a0 Here I will be giving you a guide to which companies to watch depending on what you want to see.<\/p>\n

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Photo: James Musselwhite https:\/\/www.portraitofawrestler.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BritWres: The Big Three<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Made up of PROGRESS Wrestling, RevPro <\/strong>and Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW)<\/strong>, the big 3 of BritWres is the place to go to see elite level international stars mix it up with the best local stars from each region.<\/p>\n

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Photo: PROGRESS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PROGRESS, the biggest company by far, uses mainly their own talent from their famed ProJo as well as the occasional guest star from WWE and other international names such as WALTER<\/strong>, Matt Riddle<\/strong> and Jeff Cobb.\u00a0 <\/strong>Presented as “Punk Rock Pro Wrestling”, it has built an image of being anti-WWE and presenting a product for the hardcore fans who are turned off the WWE product<\/p>\n

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Photo: RevPro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RevPro is the Pro Wrestling Guerilla (PWG)<\/strong> of the UK and features a ton of dream matches such as Tomohiro Ishii vs Keith Lee (thanks to their relationship with NJPW<\/strong>). It consistently puts on fantastic matches and while it lacks in storylines, the matches more than makes up for it.<\/p>\n

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Photo: ICW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last but not least we have the originator of the BritWres boom, Glasgow, Scotland’s\u00a0ICW. ICW is a great mix between the other two companies as they feature alot of local talent such as the immensely popular Grado<\/strong>, Kay Lee Ray<\/strong> and many more as well as big names like Kassius Ohno<\/strong> and Rey Mysterio Jr.\u00a0<\/strong>The company is solely responsible for the BritWres boom as their hardcore over 18 product made them a modern day ECW which saw hardcore fans and mainstream media pick up on British Wrestling again and recognize the talent on display.<\/p>\n

BritWres: The Cult Faves<\/strong><\/h3>\n

These are the\u00a0companies that don’t have the international acclaim of the big\u00a0three but certainly have their fans, who are always treated to a good show no matter who is booked.\u00a0 Companies like Pete Dunne’s<\/strong>\u00a0ATTACK! Pro Wrestling (ATTACK!)<\/strong>,\u00a0Trent Seven’s Fight Club Pro<\/strong> (FCP), the Knight family’s World Association of Wrestling (WAW)\u00a0<\/strong>and Ireland’s own\u00a0Over The Top Wrestling (OTT).<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Photo: ATTACK!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cardiff, Wales’ ATTACK! is a true breeding ground for BritWres, having seen the rise of Pete Dunne as well as\u00a0Mark Andrews\u00a0<\/strong>and being the birthplace of\u00a0CCK. <\/strong>It is one of the most important and unique companies in all of BritWres, as it is a place that wrestlers can try different things such as Damian Dunne becoming Chief Deputy Dunne and PROGRESS alumni The Hunter Brothers becoming the Construction Brothers.\u00a0 ATTACK is a great company to watch if you want to get in on the ground floor of the next Will Ospreay<\/strong> or Tyler Bate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Photo: FCP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FCP is a company with a unique style to other BritWres companies following owner Seven’s less flippy more striking mantra and being a good place to see bigger names in a different environment.\u00a0With\u00a0Tommy End<\/strong> (now NXT’s Aleister Black<\/strong>) and Sami Callihan<\/strong> as former champions, it is a very different promotion to any listed before.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WAW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WAW out of Norfolk, England is the home promotion run by Ricky<\/strong> and Saraya Knight<\/strong>, better known to many as the parents of WWE Superstar Paige<\/strong>. One of the longest running promotions in England, founded in 1994, the company is a niche product that mixes local talent, including sons The Hooligans UK<\/strong> (Roy<\/strong> and Zak Knight<\/strong>), with top indie and former WWE stars.<\/p>\n

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Photo: OTT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OTT offers something completely different, the Irish company features its own talent such as Jordan Devlin<\/strong> and the Session Moth Martina<\/strong> mixed\u00a0with huge names like The Elite <\/strong>(Kenny Omega, Nick & Matt Jackson<\/strong>) and British Strong Style<\/strong> (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven & Tyler<\/strong> Bate<\/strong>).\u00a0<\/strong>OTT offers comedy and the chance to see Irish Wrestling at its best, as well as some dream matches bu also features UK guys well being one of the first companies to get behind Pete Dunne. It is a company that is knocking on the door of the big\u00a0three, as it looks to sell out the 2000 seater National Stadium<\/strong> for a second time this year.\u00a0 All three companies are known for having passionate fanbases who are invested in seeing these companies feature newer talent and something different to the more mainstream companies.<\/p>\n

BritWres: The Newcomers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: WCPW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WhatCulture Pro Wrestling(WCPW)\/Defiant<\/strong> and Will Ospreay’s Lucha Forever\u00a0<\/strong>promotions make up the big additions to the scene. Never has there been two companies with such different fortunes.\u00a0 WCPW despite having huge money and name recognition has been luke warm received by UK fans, despite a huge international following, despite featuring such huge names as Marty Scurll<\/strong>, War Machine (Hanson & Rowe)<\/strong>\u00a0etc. frequently. The company is on the verge of rebranding to Defiant Wrestling in December, following the departure of their creative team from WhatCulture and them seemingly taking their promotion with them.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Lucha Forever<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the other hand Lucha Forever has gone from strength to strength, recently hosting its Ultimo Battle show which drew big numbers in London and was a critical success.\u00a0 LF has as you would expect a high paced, athletic ring style and features a wide array of talent.\u00a0 Has provided TV time and a big stage for the increasingly popular Aussie Open\/Assault(Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0as well as future star\u00a0Omari.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Lucha Forever could very quickly find a niche role between the big 3 and the cult favorites with its mix of dream matches and unknown talent.<\/p>\n

BritWres: The Avoidables<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: 5-Star Wrestling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5 Star Wrestling<\/strong> is renowned for blaming a terrorist attack for cancelling its 128 man arena tour tournament.\u00a0 It recently gained a TV deal with Freesports in a decision that was widely panned by fans of British Wrestling.\u00a0 Hasn’t run a show since January and if they intend to run a show near you, do’nt go they will more than likely cancel it.\u00a0 This company is well and truly avoidable.<\/p>\n

BritWres: The Women<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: WAW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are two main all female promotions in British Wrestling, the first, Bellatrix<\/strong>,\u00a0is run by the famous Knight family (as a sister promotion to their WAW).\u00a0This company trains its talent in traditional catch style wrestling and runs 4-5 shows a year.\u00a0 Mainly features its small roster as well as guests from around the UK including Ireland’s Rhia O’Reilly<\/strong> and Jetta<\/strong>, a veteran of the UK scene.\u00a0A good company to watch out for to see younger talent or if you are a huge fan of Sweet Saraya.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Photo: Pro Wrestling EVE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other all female promotion is Pro Wrestling: EVE. <\/strong>EVE is a great promotion that features some of the top names in UK wrestling consistently with Viper, Kay Lee Ray <\/strong>and Session Moth Martina<\/strong> appearing regularly, as well as recent WWE signee Nixon Newell<\/strong> and Mae Young Classic Competitor Alpha Female\/Jazzy Gabert<\/strong>. EVE consistently puts on great matches and really fun shows and is older than most current BritWres companies having formed in 2010 this is the place to go to watch your UK Joshi action.<\/p>\n

BritWres: The Others<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: IPW:UK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A collection of companies that relies on local talent and the occasional visit from a mid tier indie guy to draw.\u00a0 These companies offer something different and rely on building their hardcore fanbase and really feel like they have heart.\u00a0 IPW:UK<\/strong> is one such company it has a long history having been around since 2004 and puts on consistently the best shows in the UK while also giving other stars a chance to shine such as their current champions being Adam “Flex” Maxted, Johnny Storm, Livvii Grace<\/strong> and many more this company pushes people that dont get pushed elsewhere and offers something completely original which in the overcrowded market of BritWres is really hard to do.<\/p>\n

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Photo: NGW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New Generation Wrestling\u00a0<\/strong>is a company that has been around since 2008 and is one of the only family friendly companies in the UK.\u00a0 It has had many different phases including when every match had a 15 minute time limit when they were shown on WrestleTalkTv, they present stories over in ring matches and feature wrestlers who are bigger in Manchester and the surrounding area as a promotion it does its job in niteresting kids and families and familiarizing them with UK wrestling.<\/p>\n

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Photo: CCW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Celtic Championship Wrestling (CCW),\u00a0<\/strong>running out of Cork it is Ireland’s number 2 promotion and offers what OTT did in its first shows, Over 18 shows with local talent putting their all into it with unique guest stars like Sabu, Will Ospreay and Jimmy Havoc coming in and being treated as legends by the rabid fans.\u00a0 CCW is famed from its Botchamania spot where Pastor William Eaver<\/strong> won a ladder match by pulling a whole tile out of the roof.\u00a0 CCW features mostly its own talent trained in their school with everyone having a gimmick that they play fantastically well much like OTT it offers something quite Irish in comparison to the British companies companies.\u00a0 CCW is must watch as it is starting to gain a reputation and put on fantastic matches.<\/p>\n

British Wrestling is full of dozens of different companies and this guide is only to single out those that offer something worth watching that sets them apart and something that is for every taste be that womens wrestling, superindies or just plain good pro wrestling.\u00a0 Are there any other companies you think deserve recognition here?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Big Guide To BritWres British Wrestling is the place to be to see some of the best wrestling in the world, and the BritWres boom has led to companies opening throughout the UK.\u00a0 Here I will be giving you a guide to which companies to watch depending on what you want to see. BritWres: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2013,"featured_media":8641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,2,21,13,324,20,19,317],"tags":[1139,454,388,270,385,911,194,536,1477,234,554,1589,628,530,472,1573,47],"class_list":["post-8483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-defiant","category-featured","category-icw","category-international","category-other","category-progress","category-revpro","category-women","tag-kay-lee-ray","tag-icw","tag-kassius-ohno","tag-keith-lee","tag-new-japan-pro-wrestling","tag-ott","tag-paige","tag-pete-dunne","tag-revpro","tag-rey-mysterio-jr","tag-saraya-knight","tag-session-moth-martina","tag-tomohiro-ishii","tag-trent-seven","tag-tyler-bate","tag-viper","tag-wwe"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2013"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}