Acronym | Progress |
---|---|
Founded | 2011 |
Style | Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
Headquarters | London, England |
Founder(s) | Jim Smallman Jon Briley |
Owner(s) | Lee McAteer Martyn Best |
Merged with | DEFY Wrestling |
Website | ProgressWrestling.com |
Progress Wrestling (stylized as PROGRESS) is a British professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman, events and comedy promoter Jon Briley, and later, actor Glen Robinson (professionally known as Glen Joseph). The company is now co-owned by Lee McAteer and Martyn Best.
Progress was conceived by Jim Smallman and Jon Briley in 2011, who were both wrestling fans. Smallman is a fan of "strong style" wrestling, Japanese in particular, and Briley was Smallman's agent. [1]
In 2015, Progress appeared for five nights at Download Festival. [2] In December of that year, they began running regular shows at The Ritz in Manchester. [3] On 30 September 2018, Progress Wrestling held "Hello Wembley" at the Wembley Arena. 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]
In 2016, the company began working relationships 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 UK Champion.[ citation needed ]
Smallman left Progress at the end of 2019 after Chapter 100. In June 2020, Progress would be affected by reports of sexual harassment in the British independent circuit. 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 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, travelling to South London to set up a temporary home at Theatre Peckham for Chapter 104: Natural Progression on 20 February, eventually producing 23 shows behind closed doors which featured on the WWE Network. On 31 December that year, ahead of their return to live shows in January 2022, it was announced that Progress had been acquired by Lee McAteer and Martyn Best - taking over ownership from Briley.
On 9 February 2024, it was announced that PROGRESS Wrestling would merge with DEFY Wrestling, an independent promotion based in Seattle, Washington in the United States. It was created to bring a "global presence" to both brands and aid further expansion plans. [9]
Demand Progress Plus is Progress' video-on-demand service that launched in 2023, replacing the previous service on Pivotshare. [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]
As of April6, 2024.
Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PROGRESS World Championship | Kid Lykos | 1 | 25 February 2024 | 41+ | London, England | Defeated Spike Trivet at Progress Chapter 163 - Twisted Metal in a Steel Cage Match | [12] | |
Progress Wrestling Atlas Championship | Yoichi | 1 | 5 April 2024 | 1+ | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Defeated Ricky Knight Jr. at Chapter 166: Freedom Walks Again. | [13] | |
PROGRESS Tag Team Championship | | Sanity (Big Damo and Axel Tischer) | 1 (1, 1) | 5 April 2024 | 1+ | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Defeated Cheeky Little Buggers(Charles Crowley and Alexiss Falcon) and (Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper) at Chapter 166: Freedom Walks Again. | [13] |
Progress Women's Championship | Rhio | 1 | 22 October 2023 | 167+ | London, England | Defeated Lana Austin at Chapter 158: The Long Halloween. | ||
Championship | Date introduced | Date retired | Last champion | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Progress Proteus Championship | 21 July 2019 | 24 February 2021 | Paul Robinson | Retired after champion Robinson left Progress. |
Progress Proteus Championship [14] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Details | |||||
Date established | 21 July 2019 | ||||
Date retired | 25 February 2021 | ||||
|
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. [15]
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 | 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. | [16] |
— | Deactivated | 25 February 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated after Paul Robinson left the promotion. |
Patrick Lennon, wrestling journalist for the Daily Star , has attended and reviewed Progress shows. [17]
Carrie Dunn, founder and main contributor of wrestling blog "The Only Way is Suplex", [18] published the book Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling. [19] Progress Wrestling features frequently in the book including opening a chapter regarding London based wrestling promotions. [20]
Luke James Uggles Eatwell, known by his ring name Zack Sabre Jr. and its abbreviated form ZSJ, is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the group The Mighty Don't Kneel and was the inaugural NJPW World Television Champion. He also makes sporadic appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH).
The 2000 Insurrextion was the inaugural Insurrextion professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the American promotion, World Wrestling Federation. It took place on May 6, 2000, at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, England. The event was broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom.
Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom.
William Peter Charles Ospreay is an English professional wrestler, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his 8 year tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he held various championships, including the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. He is the leader of the United Empire and a member of the Don Callis Family stable. Ospreay is regarded by fans, peers, and industry journalists as one of the best in-ring performers of all-time.
Noam Dar is a Scottish-Israeli professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand. He is the leader of The Meta-Four stable and has held the NXT Heritage Cup a record-setting three times. He is also known for his tenure with Scottish promotion Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW).
Peter Thomas England is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Pete Dunne and is one-half of the New Catch Republic with Tyler Bate. He is a one-time WWE United Kingdom Champion and one-time NXT Tag Team Champion alongside Matt Riddle, with whom he also won the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Tyler Bate is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on the SmackDown brand. He is also one half of the New Catch Republic with Pete Dunne.
Travis Bligh, better known by his ring name Travis Banks, is a New Zealand professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE on their NXT UK brand. He is also known for competing in promotions such as Fight Club Pro, What Culture Pro Wrestling, Attack! Pro Wrestling, Revolution Pro Wrestling, and most notably Progress Wrestling, where he is a former World Champion. He works in Mexican promotions such as International Wrestling Revolution Group, Kaoz Lucha Libre, The Crash Lucha Libre and Wrestling League Society. As of 2023 he is the fourth champion of the Morelia, Michoacan wrestling promotion SCW.
Glen Robinson is an English Actor, Director, Musician and Broadcaster.
Marcel Barthel is a German professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Ludwig Kaiser. He is a member of Imperium.
New Catch Republic is an English professional wrestling tag team consisting of Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate. They are currently signed with WWE and appear on the SmackDown brand.
Jack Rea is an English professional wrestler signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), under the ring name Zack Gibson. He has also wrestled in WWE's NXT brand where he performed under the ring name Rip Fowler. He formed the tag team Grizzled Young Veterans with James Drake in 2017, becoming the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions and three-time Progress Tag Team Champions.
Jinny Hahn is a English retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Jinny.
Moustache Mountain was a British professional wrestling tag team consisting of Trent Seven and Tyler Bate, Bate is currently signed to WWE where he performs on the SmackDown brand and Seven worked for WWE until his release in August 2022. They are one-time NXT UK Tag Team Champions and NXT Tag Team Champions. Created in 2015, they previously worked for other promotions, most notably Chikara and Progress Wrestling. They are also known as part of the three-men stable British Strong Style together with Pete Dunne, also in WWE.
Yasmin Josephine Lander is an English professional wrestler best known under the ring name, Charlie Morgan. She is known for her appearances in Progress Wrestling, Bellatrix Female Warriors, World Association of Wrestling, Southside Wrestling Entertainment, as well as Pro-Wrestling: EVE where she is a former champion. Morgan also worked for WWE in their NXT UK division.
The Progress Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the British professional wrestling promotion Progress Wrestling. Introduced on 24 November 2013, the inaugural championship team was FSU. The current champions are Cheeky Little Buggers, who are in their first reign.
The Progress Atlas Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the British professional wrestling promotion Progress Wrestling. Initially, the title was destinated exclusively for wrestlers weighing over 205 pounds in weight, but the respective rule was scrapped in time.
Alice Olivia Walker, better known by her ring name Alex Windsor, is an English professional wrestler currently working for Revolution Pro Wrestling, where she a former Undisputed British Women's Champion. She is best known for her time in Pro-Wrestling: EVE and various promotions from the European independent scene.
Laura Di Matteo is an Italian professional wrestler best known for her tenure with British promotions Pro-Wrestling: EVE and Progress Wrestling. She is also known for her tenures with various promotions from the European independent scene.
Michael Oku, is an English professional wrestler, notable for his work on the British Independent circuit, particularly with Revolution Pro Wrestling, where he is the current Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship, after defeating Great-O-Khan on 17 December 2022.