Lucha Britannia

Last updated

Lucha Britannia
AcronymLB
Founded2006
Style Lucha libre
Vaudeville
Headquarters Bethnal Green, London
Founder(s)Garry Vanderhorne
Owner(s)Garry Vanderhorne
Website http://www.luchabritannia.com/

Lucha Britannia is a British lucha libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Bethnal Green, London since 2006.

Contents

History

Lucha Britannia was created by Garry Vanderhorne in 2006 from Rock & Metal Wrestling Action (RAMWA), as an alternative form of physical theatre, music, cabaret, comedy and professional wrestling. In 2007, Lucha Britannia held the first of its six sell-out shows at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club. By November 2007 The promotion had outgrown the Working Men's Club and moved to SeOne, a large nightclub beneath London Bridge station. In December that year they were listed by Time Out in their (London) top five Best alternative nightlife of 2007. [1]

In the summer of 2008 Lucha Britannia featured on the BBC's coverage of the Reading and Leeds festivals and in October that year they co-hosted the inaugural Bizarre Ball in conjunction with Bizarre Magazine . [2] In 2009, Lucha Britannia became the first UK based wrestling promotion to feature on live British television in twenty-five years when they featured in their coverage of the Brit Awards after-party at Earls Court hosted by Rufus Hound. Later that year they returned to co-produce and host the second Bizarre Ball again for Bizarre Magazine. [3]

During 2011, Lucha Britannia put on seventeen events in London and around the UK. In 2016 the promotion increased to hosting semi-monthly shows called Lucha Underground at the Resistance Gallery in Bethnal Green, East London on Friday nights.

Events continued at the Resistance Gallery until 2020 when it briefly closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It triumphantly returned in April 2023 at Village Underground in Shoreditch where there are now regular shows.[ citation needed ]

Style

Lucha Britannia combines the Lucha Libre style of wrestling that is characterized by the wearing of colourful masks, rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers, tag-teams and "high-flying" with the traditional British technical style, North American and Japanese Puroresu wrestling format. Aside from wrestling, Lucha Britannia events also include risqué cabaret performances, comedic interludes and side acts. [4]

All the characters and performers in Lucha Britannia loosely fit into a fantastical narrative called the "RetroFutureVerse" wherein a fractious band of outlawed prize-fighters (known as the "United Resistance Movement") battle for justice and dignity against the dastardly representatives of tyrannical rulers (known either as "The State" or "The Yankee Boche") in an ornately cruel, futuristic dystopia. [5]

The promotion runs regular monthly shows from the Village Underground – a venue in Shoreditch in London's East End. Lucha Britannia spawned the London School of Lucha Libre, Lucha Britannia's own professional-wrestling training academy, [6] [7] as well as hosting a variety of other events.

Lucha Britannia has also been an attraction on television and at major UK festivals including the Glastonbury Festival, Download Festival, Reading Festival, Leeds Festival and The Brit Awards. [8] [9]

Regular events include immersive theatre with many elements of wrestling, comedy, and sinister cabaret in their shows.

World Championship

As only months are known, each reign is listed as beginning on the first of the month although this may not be true.

Key
No.Overall reign number
ReignReign number for the specific champion
N/AThe information is not available or is unknown
+Current reign is changing daily
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
DateEventLocationReignDays
1Leon Brittannico20 January 2012Lucha Britannia London, England 1273Defeated Bradford W. Bush to become inaugural champion. [10]
2Santeria19 October 2012Lucha Britannia London, England 1147 [11]
3Metallico15 March 2013March Madness London, England 177 [12]
4 Dark Brittanico 31 May 2013The Super Lucha Summer Extravaganza London, England 1140 [13]
5Metallico18 October 2013October Frightmare London, England 2<1 [14]
6Santeria18 October 2013October Frightmare London, England 242 [14]
7Anteios29 November 2013I Was Santa's Love Slave London, England 1112 [15]
8The Bengal Tiger21 March 2014Lucha Britannia London, England 156Defeated Santeria for the vacant title. [16]
9 Dark Britannico 16 May 2014Lucha Britannia London, England 235 [17]
10 Glamsexico 20 June 2014Lucha Britannia London, England 156 [18]
11Leon Britannico15 August 2014Lucha Britannia London, England 177 [19]
12Santeria31 October 2014Lucha Britannia London, England 377 [20]
13Freddie Mercurio16 January 2015Lucha Britannia London, England 191 [21]
14Santeria17 April 2015April’s Atonement London, England 463This was a three-way match, also involving Metallico. [22]
15Cassius19 June 2015Lucha Britannia London, England 1154 [23]
16Fug20 November 2015Lucha Britannia London, England 128This was a three-way match, also involving Santeria. [24]
17Cassius18 December 2015Lucha Britannia London, England 221 [25]
18Freddie Mercurio8 January 2016Lucha Britannia London, England 27 [26]
19Cassius15 January 2016Lucha Britannia London, England 363 [27]
20La Diablesa Rosa18 March 2016Lucha Britannia London, England 1154 [28]
21Lord Reginald Windsor19 August 2016Lucha Britannia London, England 163
22Jerry Bakewell21 October 2016Lucha Britannia London, England 128 [29]
23Malik18 November 2016Lucha Britannia London, England 128 [30]
24Cassius16 December 2016Lucha Britannia London, England 435 [31]
25La Diablesa Rosa20 January 2017Lucha Britannia London, England 291
26Hombre Del Rocka21 April 2017Lucha Britannia London, England 156
27La Diablesa Rosa16 June 2017Lucha Britannia London, England 363
28Pavo Real18 August 2017Lucha Britannia London, England 1154
29La Diablesa Rosa19 January 2018Lucha Britannia London, England 4182
30Jerry Bakewell20 July 2018Lucha Britannia London, England 263
31Fug21 September 2018Lucha Britannia London, England 2147 [32]
32Triffidos15 February 2019Lucha Britannia London, England 1106
33El Ray Anansie1 June 2019Lucha Britannia London, England 10
34Triffidos1 June 2019Lucha Britannia London, England 156
35El Ray Anansie27 July 2019Lucha Britannia London, England 21
36Triffidos28 July 2019Lucha Britannia London, England 280
37Hanuman16 October 2019Lucha Britannia London, England 130
38Cara Noir (Pava Real)15 November 2019Lucha Britannia London, England 263
39Disco Diablo17 January 2020Lucha Britannia London, England 11,273
40Bradford W. Bush13 July 2023Lucha Britannia London, England 1133First match after the Pandemic
41Marduk Malik23 November 2023Lucha Britannia London, England 2120
42Bullito22 March 2024Lucha Britannia London, England 10Champion for only eight minutes!
43 La Diablesa Rosa 22 March 2024Lucha Britannia London, England 5510+

See also

References

  1. Time Out (London), Clubs: Best alternative nightlife of 2007, 19 December 2007 Archived 12 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Bizarre Magazine (online), Bizarre Ball: 2008 Archived 2012-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Bizarre Magazine (online), Bizarre Ball: 2009 Archived 2012-06-01 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Hutchinson, Kate (29 October 2007). "Clubs: Mexican Wrestling". Time Out (London). Archived from the original on 23 January 2012.
  5. "Lucha Britannia's United Resistance Movement". Lucha Britannia!. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  6. The Prisma (Online), Lucha Libre in London, 3 July 2011 Archived 11 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  7. BBC News, Mexican Wrestling takes hold in UK, 21 May 2011 Archived 2 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. BBC News (Derby), Photos: Download Festival 2010, 14 June 2010 Archived 19 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Download Festival 2009 (Online), The Village: Events Listing Archived 2011-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Kreikenbohm, Philip (20 January 2012). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  11. Kreikenbohm, Philip (19 October 2012). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  12. Kreikenbohm, Philip (15 March 2013). "Lucha Britannia March Madness – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  13. Kreikenbohm, Philip (31 May 2013). "Lucha Britannia The Super Lucha Summer Extravaganza – Event @ The Bankside Vaults in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  14. 1 2 Kreikenbohm, Philip (18 October 2013). "Lucha Britannia October Frightmare – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  15. Kreikenbohm, Philip (29 November 2013). "Lucha Britannia I Was Santa's Love Slave – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  16. Kreikenbohm, Philip (21 March 2014). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  17. Kreikenbohm, Philip (16 May 2014). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  18. Kreikenbohm, Philip (20 June 2014). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  19. Kreikenbohm, Philip (15 August 2014). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  20. Kreikenbohm, Philip (31 October 2014). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  21. Kreikenbohm, Philip (16 January 2015). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  22. Kreikenbohm, Philip (17 April 2015). "Lucha Britannia April's Atonement – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  23. Kreikenbohm, Philip (19 June 2015). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  24. Kreikenbohm, Philip (20 November 2015). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  25. Kreikenbohm, Philip (18 December 2015). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  26. Kreikenbohm, Philip (8 January 2016). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  27. Kreikenbohm, Philip (15 January 2016). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  28. Kreikenbohm, Philip (18 March 2016). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  29. "Jerry Bakewell is our new Lucha Britannia world champion!". Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2016 via Twitter.
  30. "Last night marked the start of a new era in @luchabritannia..." Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2016 via Instagram.
  31. "Cassius the neon explosion is the new and now 4 time @LuchaBritannia world champion #". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017 via Instagram.
  32. Kreikenbohm, Philip (21 September 2018). "Lucha Britannia – Event @ Resistance Gallery in London, England, UK". Cagematch – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 13 July 2022.