Progress Wrestling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Progress Wrestling
AcronymProgress
Founded2011
StyleProfessional wrestling
Sports entertainment
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Founder(s)Jim Smallman
Jon Briley
WebsiteProgressWrestling.com

Progress Wrestling (stylised as PROGRESS) is an active 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 Robinson (professionally known as Glen Joseph), and is now under new management.

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.[1] 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 to 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.[citation needed]

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 12 in March 2014 for their second anniversary show where the sell outs have continued. To date, Progress has sold out all London Chapter shows at The Garage and Electric Ballroom. For Chapter 36 in September 2016, Progress staged their largest ticketed show at the time at the Brixton Academy, to an audience of 2,400 and announced that they would return the following September. 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.[2] In December 2015, they began running regular shows at The Ritz in Manchester.[3] In 2017, Progress began to promote shows in Birmingham. For Chapter 55 in September 2017, Progress held their first show at the Alexandra Palace to an audience of 2,000. On 30 September 2018, Progress Wrestling held "Hello Wembley" at the SSE Arena. It was billed by the promotion as the largest independent wrestling show in England for 30 years. The event drew 4,750 people, making it the most attended event in Progress Wrestling history.[4] The promotion expanded to run event's in Sheffield as well as touring across the United States in 2018 and further shows in Bournemouth and Newcastle in 2019.[citation needed]

The promotion have been reluctant to use imports (wrestlers for which the UK is not their home or one of their homes). Colt Cabana was the first wrestler to be included on a show as part of the debut show, Chapter 1, in a losing effort to Loco Mike Mason. Ricochet appeared twice for the promotion, losing to El Ligero at Chapter 6 and in a triple threat with Mark Haskins and Zack Sabre Jr. at Chapter 9. Adam Cole was the first non-European wrestler to register a win in Progress, defeating Mark Haskins at Chapter 10. Prince Devitt also appeared twice for the promotion, defeating Zack Sabre Jr. at Chapter 13 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; though Ciampa established himself as a Progress regular with seven Chapter show appearances.[citation needed]

In 2016, the company began working with other promotions. At Chapter 29 on 24 April in London, Progress hosted two qualifying matches for the WWE Cruiserweight Classic.[5] In 2017, Progress wrestlers such as Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, and Mark Andrews participated in the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament, culminating in Bate being crowned the first ever WWE NXT UK Champion.[citation needed]

In mid-2019, Jim Smallman left the management of Progress, being replaced by Progress commentator Matt Richards. Richards also took over Smallman's ring announcing duties from January 2020, with British independent wrestler Fraser Thomas replacing Matt Richards on commentary.[citation needed]

In June 2020, several female wrestlers complained about sexual harassment in pro wrestling, mainly in the British independent circuit (see Speaking Out movement). After several accusations, Progress decided to no longer work with David Starr, Travis Banks, and El Ligero, as well as suspending indefinitely then- Tag team Champions Jordan Devlin and Scotty Davis, who vacated the titles.[6] Ring announcer and creative team member Matt Richards also left the promotion.[7] On 21 June 2020, it was announced that Glen Joseph was stepping down with Michael Oku, Vicky Haskins and James Amner all taking prominent roles in the company.[8]

In 2021 Progress announced its return, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time, moving from their normal home of the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town and travelling to South London, to set up a temporary home at Theatre Peckham for Chapter 104: Natural Progression on 20 February.[9] Featured on the WWE Network and without an audience to comply with current covid restrictions, this show heralded the return of the NPS and featured all four quarter final matches. Chapter 105: Bring The Thunder followed on 27 February with the main event being the first ever female Thunderbastard match as well as having the conclusion of the Natural Progress Series 7. In March Progress returned with Chapter 106: Stick A Pony in my Pocket and Chapter 107: Go Home, Lock The Door, Do Your Homework, Watch Progress.

Demand Progress[]

Demand Progress
Ownership
OwnerProgress Wrestling
History
LaunchedMarch 2015
Links
Websitedemandprogress.pivotshare.com
Availability

In March 2015, Progress launched Demand Progress, their own video-on-demand service.[10] January 2017 saw the first episode of Freedom's Road, a new series from Progress which would feature matches taped specifically for the show and have a heavy focus on characters and plots.[11] The second season of Freedom's Road launched in August 2018, with an even greater focus on characters and plots than the preceding season.

International expansion[]

In June 2016, the Canada-based SMASH Wrestling had its title defended at a Progress show, ahead of three co-promoted shows between the two in Ontario in September. January 2017 saw Progress promoting a show for Germany-based Westside Xtreme Wrestling in London, with wXw helping with Progress' début German show in Cologne in July. 2017's Wrestlemania Weekend saw Progress travel to the United States for a number of shows; including their own Orlando show, a joint show with WWNLive, and contributing talent - including ring announcer Jim Smallman - to WWE's WrestleMania Axxess events. Progress returned to the States in August for two shows - one in New York City and one just outside of Boston - as well as announcing they would be running two shows as part of Wrestlemania Weekend 2018 in New Orleans.

In April 2018, Progress Wrestling embarked on a three-show tour of Australia, co-promoting shows alongside Explosive Pro Wrestling, Melbourne City Wrestling and . From 4 to 11 August 2018, Progress Wrestling undertook a tour across the United States, titled the "Coast to Coast Tour." They worked in conjunction with WWNLive and Pacific Northwest-based promotion Defy Wrestling. Their shows took place in Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Seattle, Chicago, and Detroit.

Current champions[]

Championship Current champion(s) Reign Date won Days held Defenses Location Notes
Progress Unified World Championship Cara Noir 1 19 January 2020 708+ 13 London, England Defeated Ilja Dragunov, Kyle Fletcher and Paul Robinson in a four-way match to win the vacant title at Chapter 101: Dalmatians.
Progress Tag Team Championship Smokin' Aces
(Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley) 		1
(1, 1) 		11 September 2021 107+ 2 London, England Defeated Lykos Gym (Kid Lykos and Kid Lykos II) at Chapter 121: In 20 Years This Will All Be Orange.
Progress Proteus Championship Vacant N/A 25 February 2021 N/A Vacated after champion Paul Robinson left Progress.
Progress World Women's Championship Gisele Shaw 1 14 August 2021 135+ 3 Sheffield, England Gisele Shaw defeated Alexxis Falcon and Mercedez Blaze in a triple threat elimination match for the vacant title at Chapter 117: Making Diamonds.

Inactive Championships[]

Championship Date Introduced Date Retired Last Champion Notes
Progress Wrestling Atlas Championship 25 September 2016 21 July 2019 WALTER Retired to be replaced by Proteus Championship

Progress Proteus Championship[]

Progress Proteus Championship[12]
Details
Date established21 July 2019
Current champion(s)Vacant
Date won15 September 2019

It was announced on 21 July 2019 that the old Progress Atlas Championship which was unified with the Progress World Championship will be replaced. The title was named after the shapechanging Greek god, Proteus. Progress co-founder Jim Smallman said in the announcement that the champion will be able to pick the stipulation for the championship matches, subject to approval by the promotion.[13]

Reigns[]

As of 27 December, 2021.

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Defenses
1 Paul Robinson 15 September 2019 Chapter 95: Still Chasing Haringey, London 1 529 7 This was a 30-person rumble match. Paul Robinson lastly eliminated Danny Duggan to become the inaugural champion. Robinson's selected stipulation was that he could only lose the title by being knocked out or by tapping out. [14]
— Vacated 25 February 2021 — — — — — Vacated after Robinson left the promotion.

Progress World Women's Championship[]

Progress World Women's Championship[15]
Details
Date established28 May 2017
Current champion(s)Gisele Shaw
Date won14 August 2021
Other name(s)
Progress Women's Championship

It was announced on 24 April 2016, that Natural Progression Series IV would crown the first Progress Worlds Women's Champion. The tournament got underway in October 2016, with the champion to be crowned during the Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2017 weekend from 27 May 2017 to 29 May 2017. At the conclusion of the tournament at day two of the Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2016 weekend, Toni Storm was crowned the first Progress Women's Champion.As of December 27, 2021, there have been six reigns between five champions.

Reigns[]

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Defenses
1 Toni Storm 28 May 2017 Chapter 49: Super Strong Style 16 Camden Town, London 1 357 14 Won a tournament final to crown the inaugural champion. This was a three-way also involving Jinny and Laura Di Matteo. [16][17]
2 Jinny 20 May 2018 Chapter 69: Be Here Now Manchester 1 224 6 [18]
3 Jordynne Grace 30 December 2018 Chapter 82: Unboxing Live, A Dukla Prague Away Kit Camden Town, London 1 259 9 [19]
4 Meiko Satomura 15 September 2019 Chapter 95: Still Chasing Haringey, London 1 91 1 [14]
5 Jinny 15 December 2019 Chapter 99: With a Flake, Please Sheffield 2 482 2 [20]
— Vacated 10 April 2021 — — — — — Vacated after Jinny was unable to commit to future dates, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
6 Kanji 8 May 2021 Chapter 111: One Leg in the Air Sheffield 1 84 3 Kanji defeated Gisele Shaw in a Best Of Two Out Of Three Falls series of matches with 2-1 in total. [21]
— Vacated 14 August 2021 — — — — — Vacated after Kanji sustained an arm injury that would require surgery.
7 Gisele Shaw 14 August 2021 Chapter 117: Making Diamonds Sheffield 1 135+ 3 Gisele Shaw defeated Alexxis Falcon and Mercedez Blaze in a triple threat elimination match. [22]

Combined reigns[]

† Indicates the current champion
Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
defenses 		Combined days
1 Jinny 2 8 706
2 Toni Storm 1 14 357
3 Jordynne Grace 1 9 259
4 Meiko Satomura 1 1 91
5 Gisele Shaw † 1 3 135+
6 Kanji 1 3 84

Progress Atlas Championship[]

Progress Atlas Championship[23]
Details
Date established25 September 2016
Date retired21 July 2019

The Progress Atlas Championship was a championship exclusively for wrestlers over 205 pounds - the cruiserweight weight limit - in weight. Rampage Brown was the first champion after winning a tournament.There have been eight reigns between five different official champions

On 27 February 2019, Progress announced that there would be a unification match between the Atlas and World championships at Super Strong Style 16 on 5 May of that year, with Walter winning and thus unifying the two titles.[24]

On 21 July 2019, Progress announced that the Atlas Championship had been retired, to be replaced with the upcoming Proteus Championship.

Reigns[]

Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Defenses Number of successful defenses
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Defenses
1 Rampage Brown 25 September 2016 Chapter 36: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room... Again Brixton, London 1 112 3 Defeated Joe Coffey in a tournament final to crown the inaugural champion. [25][26]
2 Matt Riddle 15 January 2017 Chapter 42: Life, the Universe and Wrestling Birmingham 1 175 9 [27]
3 Walter 9 July 2017 Chapter 51: Screaming For Progress Birmingham 1 34 1 [28]
4 Matt Riddle 12 August 2017 Progress: New York City New York City, New York 2 29 0 [29]
5 Walter 10 September 2017 Chapter 55: Chase the Sun Haringey, London 2 238 2 This was a three-way also involving Timothy Thatcher. [30]
— Vacated 6 May 2018 Chapter 68: Super Strong Style 16 2018 Haringey, London — — — Walter voluntarily vacated the title.
6 Doug Williams 20 May 2018 Chapter 69: Be Here Now Manchester 1 133 2 Won a four-way with Joseph Conners, Rampage Brown and Rob Lynch for the vacant title. [18]
7 Trent Seven 30 September 2018 Chapter 76: Hello Wembley Wembley, London 1 217 6 [31]
8 Walter 5 May 2019 Chapter 88: Super Strong Style 16 Haringey, London 3 77 1 Upon Walter's victory, the title was unified with the Progress World Championship, but not deactivated. [32]
— Deactivated 21 July 2019 — — — — — PROGRESS declared the championship retired, to be replaced with the Proteus Championship at Chapter 95: Still Chasing[33]

Combined reigns[]

Rank Wrestler No. of
reigns 		Combined
defenses 		Combined
days
1 Walter 3 4 349
2 Trent Seven 1 6 217
3 Matt Riddle 2 9 204
4 Doug Williams 1 2 132
5 Rampage Brown 1 3 112

Reception[]

Patrick Lennon, wrestling journalist for the Daily Star, has attended and reviewed Progress shows.[34]

Carrie Dunn, founder and main contributor of wrestling blog "The Only Way is Suplex",[35] published the book Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling.[36] Progress Wrestling features frequently in the book including opening a chapter regarding London based wrestling promotions.[37]

See Also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Rehal, Sumit (26 May 2014). "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. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Progress wrestling attendance record". 411mania.com.
  5. ^ "Another Indie Promotion To Host WWE Global Cruiserweight Series Qualifying Matches". Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  6. ^ "411Mania".
  7. ^ "411Mania".
  8. ^ "When it comes to PROGRESS, huge change is needed and huge change has begun: Glen Robinson and Matt Richards are stepping away. @VickyHaskins is involved, @lucefromsocials is involved, @jamesamner is involved & I am involved. More on this tomorrow - Michael Oku". Twitter.
  9. ^ Taylor, Oliver (13 February 2021). "FULL DETAILS ON RETURN OF PROGRESS WRESTLING". pwinsider.com. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Progress Wrestling Launch Their On Demand Service". WrestleRopes UK. 22 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  11. ^ Perry, Ian. "Progress Wrestling: Freedom's Road Debut Episode TV Report". PWInsider. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  12. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Progress Proteus Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  13. ^ "411MANIA". PROGRESS Wrestling Announces New Proteus Championship.
  14. ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip (15 September 2019). "PROGRESS Chapter 95: Still Chasing - Event @ Alexandra Palace in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  15. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Progress World Women's Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  16. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (28 May 2017). "Natural Progression Series IV". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  17. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (28 May 2017). "PROGRESS Chapter 49: Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2017 - Tag 2 - Event @ Electric Ballroom in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  18. ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip (20 May 2018). "PROGRESS Chapter 69: Be Here Now - Event @ Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  19. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (30 December 2018). "PROGRESS Chapter 82: Unboxing Live! 3 - A Dukla Prague Away Kit - Event @ Electric Ballroom in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  20. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (15 December 2019). "PROGRESS Chapter 99: With A Flake, Please - Event @ O2 Academy Sheffield in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  21. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (22 May 2021). "PROGRESS Chapter 111: One Leg In The Air - TV-Show @ Theatre Peckham in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  22. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (14 August 2021). "PROGRESS Chapter 117: Making Diamonds - TV-Show @ Theatre Peckham in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  23. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Progress Atlas Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  24. ^ Wrestling, PROGRESS (27 February 2019). "The biggest match in PROGRESS history takes place on Sunday 5th May, when World Champion @walteraut faces Atlas Champion @trentseven in a TITLE UNIFICATION MATCH. This huge clash goes down as part of #SSS16 at @yourallypally!".
  25. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (25 September 2016). "PROGRESS Atlas Title Round Robin Tournament (2016)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  26. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (25 September 2016). "PROGRESS Chapter 36: We're Gonna Need A Bigger Room ... Again - Event @ O2 Academy Brixton in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  27. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (15 January 2017). "PROGRESS Chapter 42: Life, The Universe & Wrestling - Event @ O2 Academy in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  28. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (9 July 2017). "PROGRESS Chapter 51: Screaming For PROGRESS - Event @ O2 Academy in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  29. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (12 August 2017). "PROGRESS New York City - Event @ Elmcor Center in New York City, New York, USA". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  30. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (10 September 2017). "PROGRESS Chapter 55: Chase The Sun - Event @ Alexandra Palace in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  31. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (30 September 2018). "PROGRESS Chapter 76: Hello Wembley! - Event @ The SSE Arena Wembley in Wembley, Greater London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  32. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (5 May 2019). "PROGRESS Chapter 88: Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2019 - Night 2 - Event @ Alexandra Palace in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  33. ^ "A landscape-changing announcement for Alexandra Palace..." PROGRESS Wrestling on YouTube. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  34. ^ "Every Saint Has A Past, Every Sinner Has A Future show is a winner". Daily Star. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  35. ^ "The Only Way Is Suplex". Carrie Dunn. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  36. ^ "Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling" Amazon listing. ASIN 1909178462.
  37. ^ Dunn, Carrie (2013). "Chapter 11: In the spotlight - London calling". Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling. Pitch. pp. 174–176. ISBN 978-1-909178-46-5.

External links[]

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