Progress wrestling
| Progress wrestling | |
|---|---|
| shape | promotion |
| Establishment date | 2011 |
| Location |
London , UK
|
| founder |
Jim Smallman Jon Briley |
| owner | Glen Joseph Jim Smallman Jon Briley |
| Branch | Wrestling |
| Further information | |
| Website | progresswrestling.com |
Progress Wrestling (proper spelling: PROGRESS) is a British Wrestling - Promotion . It was founded in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman and event manager Jon Briley. Actor Glen Joseph joined later. The promotion, which is mainly active in the United Kingdom, works with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) , among others .
history
Stand-up comedian Jim Smallman and his agent Jon Briley, both big wrestling fans, started Progress Wrestling in 2011. The first show, which took about a year to prepare, took place on March 25, 2012 at the North London club The Garage instead of. About two months later, the actor Glen Joseph (actually Glen Robinson) was joined by a third organizer. Eleven more shows followed, all of which were sold out. Progress Wrestling moved from the 350-person club The Garage to the double-sized club Electric Ballroom ( Camden Town , London). In addition to the shows in The Garage and the Electric Ballroom, shows were also held as part of the Sonisphere Festival (2014) and Download Festival (2015) music festivals . A total of 35 events took place until 2016, all of which were sold out. In 2015, The Ritz in Manchester was added as a regular venue. The Brixton Academy was finally booked for the 36th edition of its event series in September 2016 , where the promotion had its previous visitor record with 2,400 spectators (apart from the festival shows). The promotion organized one of the largest independent wrestling events for decades.
2016 also marks the year of the first collaboration with World Wrestling Entertainment. Two qualifying matches for the Cruiserweight Classic were recorded at Chapter 29 in London on April 24th . The cooperation was continued in 2017 with the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament , in which, in addition to Progress with Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) and OTT Wrestling, other British promotions also took part. Another collaboration exists with the German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), who have previously organized a show in Cologne and London.
Wrestling school
At the end of 2012, Progress set up the Progress Dojo (ProJo) wrestling school in Brixton . The main trainer is Darrell Allen, who designs the lessons together with Eddie Dennis, Danny Garnell and James Davis. The school is open seven days a week. In addition to normal training, the school also offers guest seminars. Wrestlers like Ricochet , Doug Williams and Raven have already been won as seminar leaders .
Shows
From the beginning, Progress Wrestling relied on a mixture of independent wrestlers from all over the world as well as from the local scene. The wrestlers are not employed by the doctorate themselves, but appear as freelancers. As usual in wrestling, the fights are agreed and the storyline is given by the doctorate. The presentation takes place in separate shows that were initially held every three months, but now take place several times a month. The main shows are named "Chapter" and take place in the UK only. Events outside the UK are named “Progress:” and the name of the respective city. Rookie shows for young wrestlers are held under the title "PTNTL" ("Potential"), while shows with exclusively British wrestlers and wrestling school graduates are held under the title "ENDVR".
The shows are recorded and marketed via a paid streaming service.
title
The main title of the promotion is the Progress World Championship , which was initially awarded as a trophy, but has now been adapted to the regular design as a belt. It was awarded directly at the first event of the promotion to Nathan Cruz , who was allowed to prevail in a tournament against Marty Scurll, El Ligero and Mike Mason. A tag team belt was added in November 2013 and the Progress Atlas Championship in September 2015, which is only awarded to wrestlers who weigh more than 205 pounds and are therefore above the cruiser weight . The last thing to be introduced was a women's belt in May 2017 with the Progress Women's Championship. The Proteus title was introduced in September 2019.
- Current title holder
| title | Current title holder | Date of title win | Previous title holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progress World Championship | Walter | July 25, 2018 | Travis Banks |
| Progress Tag Team Championship | Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) | March 31, 2019 | Swords of Essex (Will Ospreay and Paul Robinson) |
| Progress Atlas Championship | Trent Seven | September 30, 2018 | Doug Williams |
| Progress Women's Championship | Jordynne Grace | December 30, 2018 | Jinny |
literature
- Carrie Dunne: Chapter 11: In the spotlight - London calling . In: Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling . Pitch 2013 pp. 174–176. ISBN 978-1-909178-46-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Derek Brenner: Progress Wrestling / Download 2015. Download Festival , accessed on August 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Sumit Rehal: Progress Wrestling - 'If we didn't have such talented guys in Britain, then the promotion wouldn't be doing as well as it is,' says co-founder Jim Smallman , The Independent . May 26, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
- ^ Patrick Lennon: Fighting talk: Progress Wrestling put on a thrilling show at Brixton Academy. Daily Star , September 29, 2016, accessed August 2, 2017 .
- ^ Rob Leigh: Jim Smallman of PROGRESS Wrestling: 'We want fans to see us at the pinnacle of British wrestling'. Talksport.com, October 2, 2016, accessed August 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Another Indie Promotion To Host WWE Global Cruiserweight Series Qualifying Matches . Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ↑ Christian Bruns: WWE UK Championship Tournament: At 19 the King of England . In: Power Wrestling . February 2017, p. 49 .
- ↑ Change of location for PROGRESS in Germany & wXw SHortcut to the Top 2017. Westside Xtreme Wrestling , accessed on August 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Training with PROGRESS. Progress Wrestling, accessed August 2, 2017 .
- ^ Demand Progress. (No longer available online.) Official website, archived from the original on May 4, 2019 ; accessed on August 2, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ PROGRESS World Championship. Cagematch.net, accessed August 2, 2017 .
