Progress Wrestling

Progress Wrestling (stylized as PROGRESS) is a British professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman and events and comedy promoter Jon Briley, later to be joined in management of the company by actor Glen Joseph.^[1]

History

The company was conceived by Jim Smallman and Jon Briley in 2011, who were both massive wrestling fans. Smallman is a big fan of "strong-style" wrestling, Japanese in particular, and Briley was Smallman's agent.^[2] The pair decided to put on a wrestling show in London, as not many shows were being put on in the capital itself, featuring the type of wrestling that they would both like to watch. The pair then spent seven months putting their first show together. Smallman is also a huge fan of punk music, and the pair decided to emphasize the fact that it would be a London-based promotion with a punk rock vibe. They also were keen not be import-heavy, like other promotions, but to promote British talent. The pair eventually settled on The Garage in Islington for the venue, because of the size and also having a great reputation as a music venue. The Garage were also very supportive of what Smallman and Briley wanted to do, and the pair ran their first show on 25 March 2012.

After eleven consecutive sell out shows at the Garage, with the later shows drawing 350 fans, the promotion moved to the 700-capacity Electric Ballroom in Camden from Chapter Twelve in March 2014 for their second anniversary show where the sell outs have continued. To date PROGRESS has sold out all twenty-two main shows up to and including September 2015.

The promotion have been reluctant to use "imports" (talent for which the UK is not their home or one of their homes). Colt Cabana was the first such talent to be included on a show as part of the debut show, Chapter One, in a losing effort to Loco Mike Mason. Ricochet has appeared twice for the promotion, losing to El Ligero at Chapter Six and in a triple threat with Mark Haskins and Zack Sabre Jr at Chapter Eleven. Adam Cole was the first non-European wrestler to register a win in PROGRESS, defeating Mark Haskins at Chapter Ten. Prince Devitt also appeared twice for the promotion, defeating Zack Sabre Jr at Chapter Thirteen and losing to Jimmy Havoc at the PROGRESS World Cup, his final match in the UK before signing with the WWE. Other talents that have appeared include Samoa Joe, Roderick Strong and Tommaso Ciampa. At Chapter 21, Adam Cole and Roderick Strong made their second appearances for PROGRESS by answering and later losing Sumerian Death Squad (Tommy End & Michael Dante)'s open challenge.

Though they have run most of their shows in London, in 2014 Progress held three shows at The Satellite Stage at the Sonisphere Festival, and in 2015 they appeared for five nights at Download Festival.^[3] In December 2015 they began running regular shows at The Ritz in Manchester.^[4]

It was also announced that Chapter 36, to be held in September 2016, will now be held at the legendary Brixton Academy in London. This will be the biggest show PROGRESS have ever held, with a capacity of 2000 people expected to attend.

Events

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Training School

In late 2012 PROGRESS launched the only full-time wrestling school in London and the South East, also known as the ProJo. The school has classes for beginner and advanced level wrestlers, and has a wrestling ring permanently erected along with another ring-sized matted area. The original head trainer at the school was Jimmy Havoc, but he was replaced in November 2013 by Darrell Allen. Other trainers include Danny Garnell, James Davis, Eddie Dennis and Wild Boar Mike Hitchman. The school has hosted seminars by the likes of Michael Elgin, Scott Levy, Nigel McGuinness and others. In late 2013 PROGRESS announced that the ProJo students would be putting on their own shows, which would be called ENDVR. ENDVR shows feature a mix of trainees from the ProJo, their trainers, and other professional wrestlers. The first four ENDVR shows were held at The Bedford Arms in Balham, while ENDVR:5 was held as an afternoon show before the Progress World Cup on 29 June 2014 at The Garage in Islington. Starting from ENDVR:8, the trainee shows move to The Garage on a permanent basis.

Jimmy Havoc & Regression

To date, the most significant storyline within the company has been that of Jimmy Havoc's ascent to the championship. Havoc debuted for PROGRESS on Chapter Two in May 2012 and went on to lose six matches without registering a victory, though became very popular with the PROGRESS fans as an underdog babyface. At Chapter Nine in November 2013 Havoc attacked promoter Jim Smallman and aligned himself with the London Riots, turning heel in the process. Havoc would then use an open contract given to him by Smallman to defeat PROGRESS champion Mark Andrews (who had just wrestled both Paul Robinson and Rampage Brown in consecutive matches) to become champion and pick up his first victory in PROGRESS.

In his first title defence at Chapter Eleven, Havoc defeated Zack Sabre Jr with the help of his newest associate, PROGRESS trainee 'The Omega' Isaac Zercher. Havoc was joined at Chapter Thirteen by Paul Robinson, and the group later christened themselves 'Regression' as a play on the name of the company and to symbolise their hatred of PROGRESS Wrestling.

The group lost its first members at Chapter Fifteen, as the four members of the group (not including Zercher) took on PROGRESS Tag Team champions Eddie Dennis and Mark Andrews, Will Ospreay and Noam Dar in a 'titles vs careers' match. Ospreay pinned James Davis of the London Riots, meaning that the Riots were gone from PROGRESS.

Havoc eventually lost the title at Chapter Twenty to Will Ospreay in a no disqualification match. At Chapter Twenty-One, Havoc and Robinson were placed in a number one contenders no disqualification match against each other. The two engaged in a bloody contest with Robinson emerging victorious, seemingly signalling the end of Regression.

Championships and Accomplishments

PROGRESS Championship

Unlike conventional wrestling championships which are generally represented by a belt, the PROGRESS championship was initially represented by a large staff with an eagle head piece. The eagle represented the promotion's logo, but was affectionately referred to as the "Nazi staff" by fans. Promoter Jim Smallman was never afraid to defend the accidental likeness of the championship during shows, by occasionally declaring "It's not Nazi, it's regal" whenever a "Nazi staff" chant was started by the fans in attendance.^[5] At Chapter Sixteen the staff was replaced by a more traditional title belt.

PROGRESS Tag Team Championship

It was announced at Chapter Nine that beginning in November 2013 there would begin a series of matches to determine the first PROGRESS Tag Team champions. The champions were crowned at Chapter Twelve, the second anniversary show, in March 2014. As with the PROGRESS championship not being a conventional belt, the Tag Team championship is represented by a shield with the PROGRESS eagle on the front. The shield splits into two, one for each championship holder.

Natural Progression Series

Beginning with Chapter Four: The Ballad of El Ligero, PROGRESS launched the Natural Progression Series, with the intention of showcasing young and up-and-coming British talent. From Chapter Four each card will feature a match in the series. The tournament was announced as an annual tournament, with the winner gaining a shot at the PROGRESS title.^[6]

2013

2014

2015

Notes

Tournaments

PROGRESS World Cup

The PROGRESS World Cup was held in June 2014 at The Garage in Islington, with 8 members of the PROGRESS roster representing individual countries. The winner of this one-day tournament would be given a title shot against the PROGRESS Champion.

At the conclusion of the tournament final Jim Smallman approached Rampage Brown, the tournament runner-up, and said that if Brown left the Screw Indy Wrestling faction he would let him face Samoa Joe at Chapter 14. Brown accepted the offer, and was installed as Samoa Joe's opponent at the promotion's Thunderbastard show in July.

Super Strong Style 16

The Super Strong Style 16 is an annual two-day tournament with competitors from around the world, in the vein of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Battle of Los Angeles or Westside Xtreme Wrestling's 16 Carat tournament. The winner of the tournament receives a Progress Championship match. The first event was held in 2015, and was won by Will Ospreay, who went on to win the championship at Chapter Twenty: ThunderBastard: Beyond ThunderBastard.

2015

Media Review/Industry Response

Patrick Lennon, lead wrestling journalist for The Daily Star, has attended and reviewed PROGRESS Shows such as the acclaimed "Chapter Seven: Every Saint Has A Past, Every Sinner Has A Future."^[7]

Carrie Dunn, founder and main contributor of wrestling blog "The Only Way is Suplex",^[8] recently published "Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling".^[9] PROGRESS Wrestling features frequently in the book including opening a chapter regarding London based wrestling promotions.^[10]

Roster

Current Roster

References

External links

• PROGRESS Wrestling official website
• PROGRESS Wrestling official Twitter account

Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom National promotions All Star Wrestling New Generation Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling Notable independent promotions Dragon Gate UK Extreme World Wrestling Frontier Wrestling Alliance Garage Pro Wrestling Insane Championship Wrestling International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom LDN Live Pro Wrestling Lucha Britannia Premier British Wrestling Preston City Wrestling Progress Wrestling Real Quality Wrestling Revolution British Wrestling UKW – UK Wrestling Experience Welsh Wrestling XWA Other promotions Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances Joint Promotions National Wrestling Alliance Union of European Wrestling Alliances Defunct Notable Promotions British Wrestling Association British Wrestling Federation (1960s version) British Wrestling Federation (Orig Williams version) Joint Promotions NWA UK Hammerlock One Pro Wrestling Revolution British Wrestling The Wrestling Alliance