Progress Wrestling
Founded | 2011 |
---|---|
Style | Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Founder(s) | Jim Smallman Jon Briley |
Owner(s) | Glen Joseph Jim Smallman Jon Briley |
Website | ProgressWrestling.com |
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 Robinson (professionally known as 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 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.
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 London Chapter shows at The Garage and Electric Ballroom. For Chapter 36 in September 2016, Progress staged their largest ticketed show 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.[3] In December 2015, they began running regular shows at The Ritz in Manchester.[4] In 2017, Progress will begin to promote shows in Birmingham.
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 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; though Ciampa has established himself as a Progress regular with seven Chapter show appearances.
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 June, the Canada-based SMASH Wrestling had its title defended at a Progress show, ahead of three co-promoted shows between the two in Toronto in September.[6][7] Progress also announced they would be running two shows in the United States in April 2017 as part of WrestleMania weekend with WWNLive.
Events
2012
No. | Title | Venue | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chapter One: In The Beginning | The Garage | Highbury, London | 25 March 2012 |
2 | Chapter Two: The March of Progress | 24 June 2012 | ||
3 | Chapter Three: Fifty Shades of Pain | 30 September 2012 | ||
4 | Chapter Four: The Ballad of El Ligero | Boston Dome | Tufnell Park, London | 25 November 2012 |
2013
No. | Title | Venue | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
5 | Chapter Five: For Those About to Fight, We Salute You | The Garage | Highbury, London | 27 January 2013 |
6 | Chapter Six: We ♥ Violence | 31 March 2013 | ||
7 | Chapter Seven: Every Saint Has a Past, Every Sinner Has a Future | 19 May 2013 | ||
8 | Chapter Eight: The Big Boys Guide to Strong Style | 28 July 2013 | ||
9 | ENDVR:1 | The Bedford | Balham, London | 1 September 2013 |
10 | Chapter Nine: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kick Me, Kill Me | The Garage | Highbury, London | 29 September 2013 |
11 | ENDVR:2 | The Bedford | Balham, London | 17 November 2013 |
12 | Chapter Ten: Glory Follows Virtue As If It Were Its Shadow | The Garage | Highbury, London | 24 November 2013 |
2014
No. | Title | Venue | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
13 | Chapter Eleven: To Fight War, You Must Become War | The Garage | Highbury, London | 26 January 2014 |
14 | ENDVR:3 | The Bedford | Balham, London | 2 February 2014 |
15 | Chapter Twelve: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 30 March 2014 |
16 | ENDVR:4 | The Bedford | Balham, London | 13 April 2014 |
17 | Chapter Thirteen: Unbelievable Jeff! | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 18 May 2014 |
18 | Future ENDVR #1 | White Oak Leisure Centre | Swanley, Kent | 8 June 2014 |
19 | ENDVR:5 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 29 June 2014 |
20 | Progress World Cup | |||
21 | Sonisphere Festival | Knebworth House | Knebworth, Hertfordshire | 4 July 2014 |
22 | 5 July 2014 | |||
23 | 6 July 2014 | |||
24 | Chapter Fourteen: Thunderbastard | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 27 July 2014 |
25 | ENDVR:6 | The Bedford | Balham, London | 7 September 2014 |
26 | Chapter Fifteen: Just Because You're Paranoid, Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out to Get You | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 28 September 2014 |
27 | ENDVR:7 | The Bedford | Balham, London | 2 November 2014 |
28 | Chapter Sixteen: Very Very Very Breaky Breaky Breaky Bishi Bishiii | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 30 November 2014 |
2015
No. | Title | Venue | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
29 | ENDVR:8 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 4 January 2015 |
30 | Chapter Seventeen: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 25 January 2015 |
31 | ENDVR:9 | The Bedford | Balham, London | 1 March 2015 |
32 | Chapter Eighteen: The Show We Can't Call ProgressleMania For Legal Reasons | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 22 March 2015 |
33 | ENDVR:10 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 19 April 2015 |
34 | Chapter Nineteen: Super Strong Style 16: Tournament Edition 2015 | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 24 May 2015 |
35 | 25 May 2015 | |||
36 | Download Festival | Donington Park | Castle Donington, Leicestershire | 10 June 2015 |
37 | 11 June 2015 | |||
38 | 12 June 2015 | |||
39 | 13 June 2015 | |||
40 | 14 June 2015 | |||
41 | ENDVR:11 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 21 June 2015 |
42 | Chapter Twenty: Thunderbastard: Beyond Thunderbastard | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 26 July 2015 |
43 | PTNTL:1 | The Bedford | Balham, London | 11 August 2015 |
44 | PTNTL:2 | 27 August 2015 | ||
45 | Chapter Twenty-One: You Know We Don't Like to Use the Sit-Down Gun | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 6 September 2015 |
46 | ENDVR:12 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 13 September 2015 |
47 | Chapter Twenty-Two: Trust, Encouragement, Reward, Loyalty... Satisfaction | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 18 October 2015 |
48 | ENDVR:13 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 1 November 2015 |
49 | PTNTL:3 | Nambucca | Holloway, London | 25 November 2015 |
50 | Chapter Twenty-Three: What a Time to Be Alive | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 29 November 2015 |
51 | Chapter Twenty-Four: Hit the North! | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 6 December 2015 |
2016
No. | Title | Venue | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
52 | ENDVR:14 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 3 January 2016 |
53 | Chapter Twenty-Five: Chat Shit Get Banged | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 24 January 2016 |
54 | Chapter Twenty-Six: Unknown Pleasures | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 14 February 2016 |
55 | ENDVR:15 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 13 March 2016 |
56 | Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Lost Art of Suffering | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 27 March 2016 |
57 | Chapter Twenty-Eight: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 10 April 2016 |
58 | Chapter Twenty-Nine: Practically Progress in Every Way | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 24 April 2016 |
59 | ENDVR:16 | The Garage | Highbury, London | 15 May 2016 |
60 | Chapter Thirty: Super Strong Style 16 2016 | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 29 May 2016 |
61 | 30 May 2016 | |||
62 | Chapter Thirty-One: All Hail The New Puritans | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 19 June 2016 |
63 | Chapter Thirty-Two: 5000 to 1 | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 26 June 2016 |
64 | Chapter Thirty-Three: Malice in Wonderland[8] | 31 July 2016 | ||
65 | PTNTL:4[9] | The Bedford | Balham, London | 8 August 2016 |
66 | ENDVR:17[10] | 9 August 2016 | ||
67 | Chapter Thirty-Four: Keep It Unreal[11] | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 14 August 2016 |
68 | Chapter Thirty-Five: Writing Nirvana on Other People's Bags[12] | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 28 August 2016 |
69 | Chapter Thirty-Six: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room, Again[13] | O2 Academy | Brixton, London | 25 September 2016 |
70 | Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Sudden Sense of Liberty[14] | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 16 October 2016 |
71 | Chapter Thirty-Eight: When Men Throw Men At Men[15] | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 30 October 2016 |
72 | PTNTL:5[16] | The Bedford | Balham, London | 14 November 2016 |
73 | ENDVR:18[17] | 15 November 2016 | ||
74 | Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Graps of Wrath[18] | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 27 November 2016 |
75 | Chapter Forty: Intercepted Angel[19] | O2 Academy | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | 11 December 2016 |
76 | Chapter Forty-One: Unboxing Live[20] | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 30 December 2016 |
2017
No. | Title | Venue | Location | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
77 | Chapter Forty-Two: Life, the Universe and Wrestling[21] | O2 Academy | Birmingham, West Midlands | 15 January 2017 |
78 | Chapter Forty-Three: Tropic Thunderbastard[22] | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 29 January 2017 |
79 | Chapter Forty-Four: Old Man Yells At Cloud[23] | 26 February 2017 | ||
80 | Freedom's Road Taping | The Dome | Tufnell Park, London | 6 March 2017 |
81 | 7 March 2017 | |||
82 | Chapter Forty-Five: Galvanize | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 19 March 2017 |
83 | Chapter Forty-Six: I Like to Chill Out Here and Shoot Some Dinosaurs | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 26 March 2017 |
84 | WWN Live: PROGRESS Wrestling | Orlando Live Events | Fern Park, Florida, United States | 31 March 2017 |
85 | Chapter Forty-Seven | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 23 April 2017 |
86 | Chapter Forty-Eight: Bang the Drum | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 14 May 2017 |
87 | Chapter Forty-Nine: Super Strong Style 16 2017 | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 27 May 2017 |
88 | 28 May 2017 | |||
89 | 29 May 2017 | |||
90 | Chapter Fifty | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 25 June 2017 |
91 | wXw Presents Progress Wrestling | Live Music Hall | Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | 1 July 2017 |
92 | Chapter Fifty-One: Screaming For Progress | O2 Academy | Birmingham, West Midlands | 9 July 2017 |
93 | Chapter Fifty-Two | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 30 July 2017 |
94 | Chapter Fifty-Three | 27 August 2017 | ||
95 | Chapter Fifty-Four | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 10 September 2017 |
96 | Chapter Fifty-Five | TBA | London | 24 September 2017 |
97 | Chapter Fifty-Six | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 29 October 2017 |
98 | Chapter Fifty-Seven | The Ritz | Manchester, Lancashire | 12 November 2017 |
99 | Chapter Fifty-Eight | Electric Ballroom | Camden, London | 26 November 2017 |
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, Damon Moser, Chuck Mambo 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. The shows were later moved back to the Bedford and filmed for Freedom's Road, a new regular program for Demand PROGRESS with more of an emphasis on drama and characters.
Jimmy Havoc and 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 Ten 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 London 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. After they both failed to convince Zercher to turn on the other, the two engaged in a bloody contest with Robinson emerging victorious, seemingly signalling the end of Regression.
Championships
Progress World Championship
Unlike conventional wrestling championships which are generally represented by a championship belt, the Progress championship was initially represented by a large staff with an eagle head piece. At Chapter Sixteen, the staff was replaced by a more traditional title belt. The title has been defended in the United States at the WrestleCon Supershow in Dallas, Texas, and subsequently defended in Italy on April 30, 2016[24] and Ireland on July 16, 2016.[25]
As of November 16, 2024.
Reign | The reign number for the specific champion listed |
---|---|
Location | The city in which the title was won |
Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won |
+ | Indicates the current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nathan Cruz | 1 | March 25, 2012 | 245 | Highbury, London | Chapter One: In The Beginning | Defeated Marty Scurll, El Ligero and Mike Mason in a tournament final to crown the inaugural champion. | |
2 | El Ligero | 1 | November 25, 2012 | 245 | Highbury, London | Chapter Four: The Ballad of El Ligero | ||
3 | Rampage Brown | 1 | July 28, 2013 | 119 | Highbury, London | Chapter Eight: The Big Boy's Guide to Strong Style | ||
4 | Mark Andrews | 1 | November 24, 2013 | <1 | Highbury, London | Chapter Ten: Glory Follows Virtue As If It Were Its Shadow | Successfully cashed in his Natural Progression Series title shot. | |
5 | Jimmy Havoc | 1 | 609 | Used the open contract given to him by Jim Smallman to make an immediate title match. | ||||
6 | Will Ospreay | 1 | July 26, 2015 | 182 | Camden, London | Chapter Twenty: ThunderBastard: Beyond ThunderBastard | ||
7 | Marty Scurll | 1 | January 24, 2016 | 154 | Camden, London | Chapter Twenty-Five: Chat Shit, Get Banged | ||
8 | Pastor William Eaver | 1 | June 26, 2016 | 35 | Camden, London | Chapter Thirty-Two: 5000 to 1 | Successfully cashed in his Natural Progression Series title shot. | |
9 | Marty Scurll | 2 | July 31, 2016 | 56 | Camden, London | Chapter Thirty-Three: Malice in Wonderland | ||
10 | Mark Haskins | 1 | September 25, 2016 | 35 | Brixton, London | Chapter Thirty-Six: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room Again | This was a triple threat match also involving Tommy End. | |
— | Vacated | — | October 30, 2016 | — | Camden, London | Chapter Thirty-Eight: When Men Throw Men At Men | Haskins vacated the title due to injury. | |
11 | Pete Dunne | 1 | November 27, 2016 | 2911+ | Camden, London | Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Graps of Wrath | Defeated Jimmy Havoc, Matt Riddle, Sebastian, TK Cooper, Travis Banks, and Trent Seven in a seven-way elimination match to crown a new champion. |
Combined reigns
As of November 16, 2024.
† | Indicates the current champion |
---|
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jimmy Havoc | 1 | 609 |
2 | Nathan Cruz | 1 | 245 |
El Ligero | 1 | 245 | |
4 | Marty Scurll | 2 | 210 |
5 | Will Ospreay | 1 | 182 |
6 | Pete Dunne † | 1 | 2911+ |
7 | Rampage Brown | 1 | 119 |
8 | Pastor William Eaver | 1 | 35 |
Mark Haskins | 1 | 35 | |
10 | Mark Andrews | 1 | <1 |
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 championship belt, the Progress Tag Team Championship was originally represented by a shield with the Progress eagle on the front. The shield splits into two, one for each championship holder. At Chapter Forty Six the Tag Team shields were replaced with traditional strap title belts, with the design on the front plate of each belt representing the defunct Tag shields.
As of November 16, 2024.
Reign | The reign number for the specific champion listed |
---|---|
Location | The city in which the title was won |
Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won |
+ | Indicates the current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FSU (Mark Andrews and Eddie Dennis) |
1 | March 30, 2014 | 301 | Camden, London | Chapter Twelve: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room | Defeated Screw Indy Wrestling and Project Ego in a tournament final to crown the inaugural champions | |
2 | The Faceless/The Origin (Nathan Cruz, El Ligero, Danny Garnell and Damon Moser) |
1 | January 25, 2015 | 120 | Camden, London | Chapter Seventeen: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger | Danny Garnell and Damon Moser originally captured the titles as The Faceless, before all 4 unmasked, renaming themselves The Origin on 24 May 2015 | |
3 | The Sumerian Death Squad (Tommy End and Michael Dante) |
1 | May 25, 2015 | −3275 | Camden, London | Chapter Nineteen: Super Strong Style 16: Tournament Edition 2015 (Day 2) | Defeated Nathan Cruz and El Ligero | |
4 | The Origin (Nathan Cruz and El Ligero) |
2 | November 29, 2015 | 182 | Camden, London | Chapter Twenty-Three: What a Time to Be Alive | Won in a three-way match also involving The London Riots | |
5 | London Riots (Rob Lynch and James Davis) |
1 | May 29, 2016 | 119 | Camden, London | Chapter Thirty: Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2016 (Day 1) | ||
6 | British Strong Style (Trent Seven and Pete Dunne) |
1 | September 25, 2016 | 82 | Brixton, London | Chapter Thirty-Six: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room... Again | ||
— | Vacated | — | December 16, 2016 | — | — | — | PROGRESS management vacated the titles after Pete Dunne attempted to give his half of the titles to Tyler Bate. | |
7 | British Strong Style (Trent Seven (2) and Tyler Bate) |
1 | December 30, 2016 | 2878+ | Camden, London | Chapter Forty-One: Unboxing Live | Won in a three-way match with The Riots and the LDRS of the New School |
Combined reigns
As of November 16, 2024.
† | Indicates the current champion |
---|
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|
1 | El Ligero | 2 | 302 |
Nathan Cruz | 2 | 302 | |
3 | Mark Andrews | 1 | 301 |
Eddie Dennis | 1 | 301 | |
5 | Tommy End | 1 | 188 |
Michael Dante | 1 | 188 | |
7 | Trent Seven † | 2 | 2960+ |
8 | Danny Garnell | 1 | 120 |
Damon Moser | 1 | 120 | |
10 | Rob Lynch | 1 | 119 |
James Davis | 1 | 119 | |
12 | Tyler Bate † | 1 | 2878+ |
13 | Pete Dunne | 1 | 82 |
Atlas Championship
The Atlas Championship is exclusively for wrestlers over 205 pounds in weight—the cruiserweight weight limit. Rampage Brown was the first champion after winning a tournament. As of November 16, 2024.
Reign | The reign number for the specific champion listed |
---|---|
Location | The city in which the title was won |
Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title was won |
+ | Indicates the current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Event | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rampage Brown | 1 | September 25, 2016 | 112 | Brixton, London | Chapter Thirty-Six: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room Again | Tournament final to crown inaugural champion. | |
2 | Matt Riddle | 1 | January 15, 2017 | 2862+ | Birmingham | Chapter Forty-Two: Life, the Universe and Wrestling |
Progress Women's Championship
It was announced on April 24, 2016 that Natural Progression Series IV would crown the first Progress Women's Champion. The tournament got underway in October 2016, with the champion expected to be crowned in May 2017.
Tournaments
Natural Progression Series
Beginning with Chapter Four: The Ballad of El Ligero, Progress launched the Natural Progression Series, with the intention of showcasing up-and-coming British talent. The winner earns a match for the Progress World Championship at any time, the Natural Progression Series trophy and is allowed to install an eliminated wrestler in that year's tournament into the next Natural Progression Series. This last rule did not count for NPSIII as the following tournament was all-female.
Series I
Quarter Finals (Chapters 4 - 7) | Semi Finals (Chapters 8 & 9) | Final (Chapter 10) | ||||||||||||
Mark Andrews | Pin | |||||||||||||
Will Ospreay | ||||||||||||||
Mark Andrews | Pin | |||||||||||||
Jonathan Windsor | ||||||||||||||
Mike Hitchman | ||||||||||||||
Jonathan Windsor | Pin | |||||||||||||
Mark Andrews | Pin | |||||||||||||
Paul Robinson | ||||||||||||||
MK McKinnan | ||||||||||||||
Paul Robinson | Pin | |||||||||||||
Paul Robinson | Pin | |||||||||||||
Eddie Dennis | ||||||||||||||
Eddie Dennis | Pin | |||||||||||||
Darrell Allen Joey Lakeside Xander Cooper |
At the conclusion of the first Natural Progression Series final, the winner Mark Andrews decided to install Will Ospreay into the next tournament.
Series II
Quarter Finals (Chapters 11 - 14) | Semi Finals (Chapter 15) | Final (Chapter 17) | ||||||||||||
Josh Bodom | ||||||||||||||
Morgan Webster | Pin | |||||||||||||
Morgan Webster | Pin | |||||||||||||
Pete Dunne | ||||||||||||||
Pete Dunne | Sub | |||||||||||||
Robbie X | ||||||||||||||
Morgan Webster | Pin | |||||||||||||
Zack Gibson | ||||||||||||||
Will Ospreay | ||||||||||||||
Zack Gibson | Sub | |||||||||||||
Zack Gibson | Sub | |||||||||||||
Ali Armstrong | ||||||||||||||
Ali Armstrong | Pin | |||||||||||||
Chuck Mambo Pastor William Eaver |
The winner Morgan Webster decided to install Pastor William Eaver into the next tournament. Morgan Webster lost his championship opportunity to Zack Gibson.
Series III
Quarter Finals (Chapters 22 - 25) | Semi Finals (Chapters 27 & 28) | Final (Chapter 29) | ||||||||||||
Damian Dunne | Pin | |||||||||||||
Tyler Bate[NPS 1] | 8:54 | |||||||||||||
Damien Dunne | 10:33 | |||||||||||||
Pastor William Eaver | Pin | |||||||||||||
Pastor William Eaver | Pin | |||||||||||||
Tyler Bate | 9:56 | |||||||||||||
Pastor William Eaver | Pin | |||||||||||||
Damon Moser | 11:15 | |||||||||||||
Damon Moser | Pin | |||||||||||||
Jack Sexsmith Shen Woo | 6:54 | |||||||||||||
Damon Moser | Pin | |||||||||||||
Aston Smith | 10:09 | |||||||||||||
Ashton Smith | Pin | |||||||||||||
Kyle Ashmore | 9:28 |
- ^ Damien Dunne originally lost to Sebastian at Chapter Twenty, but on 18 January 2016 it was announced that Sebastian had withdrawn from the tournament. Damien Dunne vs. Tyler Bate was scheduled as a "Second Chance" match to find a replacement.
Series IV
Natural Progression Series IV will crown the first Progress Women's Champion, with its first match at Chapter Thirty-Eight: When Men Throw Men At Men. According to co-owner Jon Briley, there is to be six first round matches.[26]
First Round
- Chapter 38 - Jinny defeated Pollyanna
- Chapter 39 - Nixon Newell defeated Katey Harvey
- Chapter 40 - Toni Storm defeated Bea Priestley
- Chapter 42 - Alex Windsor defeated Livvii Grace
- Chapter 43 - Laura Di Matteo defeated Chakara
- Chapter 44 - Dahlia Black defeated Session Moth Martina
Second Round
- Chapter 45 - Jinny defeated Nixon Newell
- Chapter 46 - Toni Storm vs Dahlia Black
Super Strong Style 16
The Super Strong Style 16 is an annual Spring Bank Holiday weekend knock-out tournament with competitors from around the world. The winner of the tournament receives a Progress Championship match.
2015 (Chapter 19)
Round One (Sunday 24th May) | Quarter Finals (Monday 25th May) | Semi Finals (Monday 25th May) | Final (Monday 25th May) | ||||||||||||
El Ligero | 9:12 | ||||||||||||||
Will Ospreay | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Will Ospreay | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Mark Haskins | 10:48 | ||||||||||||||
Mark Haskins | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Jack Gallagher | 8:04 | ||||||||||||||
Will Ospreay | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Roderick Strong | 12:45 | ||||||||||||||
Rampage Brown | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Big Daddy Walter | 7:26 | ||||||||||||||
Rampage Brown | 14:04 | ||||||||||||||
Roderick Strong | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Tommy End | 17:49 | ||||||||||||||
Roderick Strong | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Will Ospreay | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Zack Sabre Jr. | 17:57 | ||||||||||||||
Eddie Dennis | 10:49 | ||||||||||||||
Marty Scurll | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Marty Scurll | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Dave Mastiff | 9:24 | ||||||||||||||
Dave Mastiff | Stop | ||||||||||||||
Noam Dar | 10:41 | ||||||||||||||
Marty Scurll | 19:48 | ||||||||||||||
Zack Sabre Jr. | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Damian O'Connor | 12:52 | ||||||||||||||
Tommaso Ciampa | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Tommaso Ciampa | 15:49 | ||||||||||||||
Zack Sabre Jr. | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Zack Gibson | 15:47 | ||||||||||||||
Zack Sabre Jr. | Sub |
2016 (Chapter 30)
Round One (Sunday 29th May) | Quarter Finals (Monday 30th May) | Semi Finals (Monday 30th May) | Final (Monday 30th May) | ||||||||||||
Mark Haskins | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Pete Dunne | 9:50 | ||||||||||||||
Mark Andrews[SSS16 2] | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Mikey Whiplash | 1:40 | ||||||||||||||
Damon Moser | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Mikey Whiplash | 4:35 | ||||||||||||||
Mark Andrews | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Zack Gibson | 7:50 | ||||||||||||||
Kenny Williams | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Zack Gibson | 10:23 | ||||||||||||||
Zack Gibson | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Jack Gallagher | |||||||||||||||
TK Cooper | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Jack Gallagher | 6:21 | ||||||||||||||
Mark Andrews | 6:20 | ||||||||||||||
Tommy End | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Dave Mastiff | Sub | ||||||||||||||
Big Daddy Walter | 11:13[SSS16 1] | ||||||||||||||
Big Daddy Walter | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Chris Hero | 13:18 | ||||||||||||||
Mark Andrews | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Chris Hero | 16:11 | ||||||||||||||
Chris Hero | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Tommy End | 12:36 | ||||||||||||||
Sami Callihan | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Matt Cross | 10:06 | ||||||||||||||
Sami Callihan | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Tommy End | 6:31 | ||||||||||||||
Rampage Brown | Pin | ||||||||||||||
Tommy End | 7:29 |
- ^ This match was also an Atlas Championship Tournament group stage match. Had the match lasted longer than 15 minutes, both wrestlers would have been awarded one point for a draw with the match continuing only for the Super Strong Style 16 tournament.
- ^ After Haskins collapsed from exhaustion between the first and second day, a single fall Redemption Scramble match was held at the start of day two between all of the wrestlers who lost in the first round, Nathan Cruz and El Ligero.
2017 (Chapter 49)
For the first time, 2017's tournament will take place over three days; running from Saturday 27th May to Monday 29th.
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.
Quarter Finals | Semi Finals | Final | ||||||||||||
Tommy End | Pin | |||||||||||||
Eddie Dennis | 8:22 | |||||||||||||
Tommy End | 8:34 | |||||||||||||
Rampage Brown | Pin | |||||||||||||
Rampage Brown | Pin | |||||||||||||
Paul Synott | 8:51 | |||||||||||||
Rampage Brown | 15:40 | |||||||||||||
Noam Dar | Pin | |||||||||||||
Noam Dar | Pin | |||||||||||||
Grado | 18:00 | |||||||||||||
Noam Dar | Sub | |||||||||||||
Darrell Allen | 11:37 | |||||||||||||
Darrell Allen | Pin | |||||||||||||
RJ Singh | 8:33 |
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 Joe's opponent at the promotion's Thunderbastard show in July.
Tag Team Championship tournament
Starting at Chapter Ten, Progress held a tournament to crown their inaugural tag team champions. Four semi final matches were held, with the winners set to face off in a four-way match for the Championship at Chapter Twelve.
Semi Finals (Chapters 10 & 11) |
Finals (Chapter 12) | ||||
Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) | Pin | ||||
Grado & Mad Man Manson | |||||
Project Ego | |||||
Screw Indy Wrestling (Mark Haskins & Nathan Cruz) | Pin | ||||
Screw Indy Wrestling | |||||
Dave Mastiff & Stixx | |||||
F.S.U. | Pin | ||||
The Swords of Essex (Paul Robinson & Will Ospreay) | |||||
F.S.U. (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews) | Pin | ||||
The Bhangra Knights (Darrell Allen & RJ Singh) | Count Out | ||||
London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) | Count Out |
Atlas Championship tournament
Group A | Group B | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wrestler | Matches | Points | Wrestler | Matches | Points |
T-Bone | 3 | 6 | Joe Coffey | 3 | 5 |
Dave Mastiff | 3 | 4 | Rampage Brown | 3 | 3 |
Big Daddy Walter | 3 | 2 | Michael Dante | 3 | 2 |
Iestyn Rees | 3 | 0 | Damo O'Connor | 3 | 2 |
Group stage
- Chapter 28 - Group A: T-Bone defeated Big Daddy Walter via pinfall
- Chapter 29 - Group A: Michael Dante defeated Damo O'Connor via pinfall
- Chapter 29 - Group B: Rampage Brown vs. Joe Coffey ended in a time limit draw
- ENDVR:16 - Group A: T-Bone defeated Iestyn Rees via pinfall
- Chapter 30 - Group A: Big Daddy Walter defeated Dave Mastiff via submission
- Chapter 31 - Group B: Damo O'Connor and Joe Coffey defeated Rampage Brown and Mikey Whiplash (substituting for Michael Dante) via pinfall
- Chapter 32 - Group A: T-Bone and Zack Gibson (substituting for Dave Mastiff) defeated Big Daddy Walter and Iestyn Rees via pinfall
- Chapter 32 - Group B: Rampage Brown defeated Damo O'Connor by forfeit when Damo was unable to appear
- Chapter 34 - Group A: Dave Mastiff defeated Iestyn Rees
- Chapter 34 - Group B: Joe Coffey defeated Michael Dante
Finals
Semi Finals (Chapter 35) | Final (Chapter 36) | ||||||||
A1 | T-Bone | ||||||||
B2 | Rampage Brown | Pin | |||||||
Rampage Brown | Pin | ||||||||
Joe Coffey | |||||||||
B1 | Joe Coffey | Pin | |||||||
A2 | Dave Mastiff |
Media review and industry response
Patrick Lennon, 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.[27]
Carrie Dunn, founder and main contributor of wrestling blog "The Only Way is Suplex",[28] published the book Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling.[29] Progress Wrestling features frequently in the book including opening a chapter regarding London based wrestling promotions.[30]
Roster
Progress talents are freelance competitors, meaning they appear for multiple promotions worldwide, as well as performing for Progress. The following are talents who have appeared on the most recent three Chapter shows.
Correct up to Chapter 46
Male roster
Ring name | Real name | Notes |
---|---|---|
Axel Dieter Jr | Unknown | |
Damon Moser | Unknown | |
Dave Mastiff | David Minton | |
El Ligero | Simon Musk | |
Jack Sexsmith | Ryan Comerford | |
James Drake | Unknown | |
Jim Hunter | Unknown | |
Jimmy Havoc | James Mcahren[31] | |
Jordan Devlin | Jordan Devlin | |
Lee Hunter | Unknown | |
Mark Andrews | Mark Andrews | |
Mark Haskins | Mark Haskins | |
Matt Riddle | Matthew Riddle | Progress Atlas Champion |
Morgan Webster | Gavin Steward | |
Nathan Cruz | Nathan Irwin | |
Paul Robinson | Paul Robinson | |
Pete Dunne | Peter England | Progress World Champion |
Sebastian | Karim Nabbach[32] | |
Shane Strickland | Shane Strickland | |
TK Cooper | Tasman Bartlett | |
Travis Banks | Travis Bligh | |
Trent Seven | Ben Webb | Progress Tag Team Champion |
Tyler Bate | Tyler Bate | Progress Tag Team Champion WWE United Kingdom Champion |
WALTER | Walter Hahn[33] | |
Will Ospreay | Charles Williams | |
William Eaver | Martin Kelly | |
Zack Gibson | Jack Rea |
Female roster
Ring name | Real name | Notes |
---|---|---|
Dahlia Black | Olivia Shaw | |
Jinny | Jinny Sandhu | |
Nixon Newell | Steffanie Newell | |
Session Moth Martina | Unknown | |
Toni Storm | Toni Rossall |
Broadcast team
Ring name | Real name | Notes |
---|---|---|
Callum Leslie | Callum Leslie | Commentator |
Glen Joseph | Glen Robinson | Commentator/Ring announcer |
Matt Richards | Matt Richards | Commentator |
Jim Smallman | James Smallman | Ring announcer |
RJ Singh | Ross Jones | Commentator |
Notable guests and alumni
- Adam Cole
- Chris Hero
- Damo O'Connor
- Doug Williams
- Grado
- Jack Gallagher
- Johnny Gargano
- Kenny Williams
- Leva Bates
- Martin Stone
- Mason Ryan
- Matt Cross
- Noam Dar
- Prince Devitt
- Ricochet
- Roderick Strong
- Sami Callihan
- Samoa Joe
- Tommaso Ciampa
- Tommy End
References
- ^ "About". Progress Wrestling. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ 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. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ^ http://downloadfestival.co.uk/news/progress-wrestling-set-wreak-havoc-download-2015
- ^ http://www.progresswrestling.com/chapter24news/
- ^ "Another Indie Promotion To Host WWE Global Cruiserweight Series Qualifying Matches". Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ https://hashtagwrest.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/announcement-progress-thisis_progress-goes-to-canada-this-september/
- ^ https://hashtagwrest.wordpress.com/2016/07/28/announcement-progress-thisis_progress-vs-smash-new-event-added-match-talent-signed/
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=135787
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=155825
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=155826
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=135788
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=135789
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=135791
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=135792
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=135793
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/events/315720948784081/
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/events/207929032959709/
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=135795
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=135796
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=155824
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=162142
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=107447
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=162672
- ^ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=1723&page=5&reign=7
- ^ http://www.wrestling-news.net/ccw-project-mayhem-2016-results/81341/
- ^ Briley, Jon. "post from 4th January 2017". PROGRESS Wrestling Fans. Facebook. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ "Every Saint Has A Past, Every Sinner Has A Future show is a winner". Daily Star. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ "The Only Way Is Suplex". Carrie Dunn. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ ""Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling" Amazon listing". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ ""Die Havoc Die" - A Look at UK'S Most Hated Wrestler - Jimmy Havoc". HighlightNation.com. Three Amigos Global Ltd. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
- ^ "North Korean officials visit salon over Kim Jong-un 'bad hair' advert". BBC.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ "WALTER - Wrestlers Database". Cagematch. Cagematch.net. Retrieved 13 February 2017.