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World of Sport Wrestling

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This article is about the British TV series of the late 2010s. For the wrestling segment of the original World of Sport programme, see World of Sport (British TV programme) § Features. For the traditional style of Professional wrestling in Britain, see Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom.

World of Sport Wrestling
GenreSports entertainment
Professional wrestling
Developed byITV
Directed bySimon Staffurth
StarringWOS Wrestling roster
Narrated byAlex Shane
SoCal Val
Theme music composerPaul Farrer
Opening theme"ITV World of Sport Wrestling 2018 - Main Theme"
ComposerPaul Farrer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
Production
Executive producersSimon Marsh
Tom McClennan
Production locationsDock10 studios (2016)[1]
Epic Studios (2018)
EditorsNikki Chang
Matthew East-Jones
Phillip Lindsey-Cooke
Camera setupMulticamera setup
Running time60 minutes[2]
Production companiesITV
Top Rope Sports
Original release
NetworkITV
Release31 December 2016 (2016-12-31) –
November 29, 2018 (2018-11-29)

WOS Wrestling (originally an acronym for World of Sport Wrestling) is a British professional wrestling television series and promotion. It was marketed as a relaunch of the wrestling segment from the ITV sports programme World of Sport, which ran between 2 January 1965 and 28 September 1985.

WOS Wrestling debuted on 31 December 2016 with a two-hour special on ITV. This was followed by a ten-episode series in 2018, and a six-date live tour between January and February 2019.[3][4] The promotion would go on a five-year hiatus before announcing its return on 28 June 2024, with a TV taping to take place later that year on 14 September.[5]

History

[edit]

Background

[edit]
See also: World of Sport (British TV programme)

ITV transmitted professional wrestling for over 33 years from November 1955 to December 1988. The bulk of this was screened on Saturday afternoons or lunchtimes (although other slots including midweek late evenings, midweek lunchtimes and bank holiday Monday afternoons were also used).[6] Throughout World of Sport's lifetime, the Saturday afternoon coverage was generally incorporated into the package show as a slot. Joint Promotions held exclusive rights to ITV television coverage until the end of 1986, when they rotated with tapings of All Star Wrestling and occasional WWF special editions.[citation needed]

The distinct British wrestling style of Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules has persisted in the United Kingdom to the present day.[citation needed] Since the early 1990s, an additional strand of wrestling promotions has emerged that were producing more American-styled shows.[citation needed] The two genres have become known commonly as "Old School" and "New School", respectively, after the names used in an invasion angle run by the FWA promotion around 2001.[citation needed] Over the years, numerous attempts were made to relaunch professional wrestling on British television, with various promotions covered on a single local ITV franchise or satellite/digital channels; often touted as the "revival" of British Wrestling.[citation needed] ITV screened World Championship Wrestling (WCW) programming in the early hours and from 1992 to 1995 in their old Saturday afternoon slot, but no homegrown promotion ever received regular syndicated coverage.[citation needed]

In the 21st century, vintage ITV coverage was repeated as World of Sport on digital channels such as The Wrestling Channel and Men and Movies, resulting in the name "World of Sport" becoming a frequent retronym for the traditional, old-school style of British wrestling.[citation needed]

Development and relaunch

[edit]

A pilot for a television series called World of Sport Wrestling was filmed at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon in November 2013.[citation needed] Branding itself as a direct revival of World of Sport on its old slot, WOS Wrestling was hosted by veteran ring announcer Lee Bamber.[citation needed] After it was rejected by ITV, the pilot was eventually uploaded to YouTube on 12 June 2015 by creator John Chapman.[7] It would later be reuploaded in 2023.[8]

On 19 October 2016, ITV commissioned a two-hour, one-off, World of Sport Wrestling special. The show would featured independent wrestlers such as Grado and Sha Samuels, and commentary from former WWE announcer Jim Ross.[9]

The special was taped on 1 November 2016 from dock10 studios in Greater Manchester.[citation needed], and would premiere on 31 December 2016. The main storyline running through the show focused on Grado's quest to become WOS champion. He would lose to Dave Mastiff in a match to become inaugural champion before eventually winning the belt in a rematch at the end of the broadcast.[citation needed]

On 23 March 2017, ITV announced that they had commissioned a ten-episode series of WOS Wrestling in partnership with Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling (then known as Impact Wrestling). Then-Impact CCO Jeff Jarrett would serve as an executive producer, along with Tom McLennan and Simon Marsh. A TV taping was scheduled to take place at Preston Guild Hall on 25 and 26 May.[10] On 28 April, Pro Wrestling Insider reported that the WOS tapings had been postponed.[11]

2018 Series and live tour

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In April 2018, ITV announced the return of WOS Wrestling as a ten-part series. The series was taped at Epic Studios in Norwich, on May 10, 11, and 12.[12]

WOS's first series was broadcast from July 28 until September 29, and was hosted by Alex Shane and SoCal Val.[citation needed] Its main storyline focused on the championship reign of Rampage, and his pursuit by challenger Justin Sysum. Sysum competed in Rampage's Triple Threat title match with Grado.[citation needed] After a controversial countout loss in episode 3, Sysum defeated the champion in a tag match in episode 7.[citation needed] In the final two episodes, Sysum earned himself a title shot and ultimately defeated Rampage to win the title.[citation needed] Other storylines saw the establishment of a women's championship, a Tag Team Championship tournament, and Grado's running battles with disapproving WOS executive Stu Bennett.[citation needed] Recurring characters have included masked monster heel Crater, treacherous heel Martin Kirby and his former partner, singing babyface Joe Hendry.[citation needed]

At the conclusion of episode 6 (transmitted 1 September 2018) a six-date live tour was announced for January 2019.[3] The WOS Women's Championship changed hands four times, while Sysum made four defences of his WOS Championship against former champion Rampage. The WOS Tag Team Championship were not defended, however, as Davey Boy Smith Jr. was not on the tour.[4]

The TV programme received a nomination for Digital Content for the Royal Television Society's East Awards 2019.[13]

On May 8, 2019, upstart American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) reached a media rights deal with ITV.[14] When asked about this on Twitter in-regards to ITV, Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer responded in a tweet on 28 May 2019 that WOS Wrestling had been cancelled.[15]

On 13 December 2019, the WOS Twitter account uploaded a teaser video.[16]

2024 revival

[edit]

At 09:00 BST on 28 June 2024, a short teaser video was posted announcing the promotion's return with a TV taping event called "WOS: The Return". The event will be held on 14 September. Narrated by Sha Samuels, the video showed the WOS Heavyweight Championship, and the WOS logo with "The Return" written underneath.[5][17] Advertised as appearing are Adam Maxted, Iestyn Rees, Joel Redman, Eddie Ryan, Sheikh El Sham, Niwa Niwa, Nathan Angel, Jake McCluskey, Ashton Smith, Session Moth Martina, Nightshade and SoCal Val advertised as appearing.[18]

Fightful reported that, due to trademark issues with ITV, the official name of the promotion would be shortened to WOS Wrestling. It was also announced by WOS that the promotion's programming would be broadcast through online platforms, rather than on ITV's television networks.[19] Talent announced for the event included Grado, Sha Samuels, L.A. Taylor. On 2 August 2024, it was announced that NORTH Wrestling and Progress Wrestling announcer Tom Campbell would be providing commentary.[20]

Programme sales

[edit]

Broadcasting rights to the series were licensed in India to Discovery Communications-branded channel DSport. Series 1 was transmitted on Tuesday nights at 9pm from 26 February 2019.[21]

In the United States, Series 1 was screened on Stadium on Sunday nights 7pm EST, starting 12 May 2019, the first ever purchase of a UK wrestling programme by a US television channel.[22]

List of WOS Wrestling Episodes

[edit]

2013 pilot

[edit]
No. Recording date Recording location Transmission date Matches
1 November 2013 Fairfield Hall, Croydon unbroadcast
  • Karl Kramer defeated Hakan by two falls to one
  • Yorghos defeated Jon Ritchie by two falls to one
  • Alan Lee Travis defeated Joe E Legend by two falls to one to defend the LDN British Heavyweight Championship
  • Johnny Kidd defeated Matt Kaye by two falls to one
  • Zak Knight defeated Zebra Kid by two falls to one

New Year's Eve 2016 special

[edit]
No. Recording date Recording location Transmission date Matches
1 1 November 2016 dock10 studios, Salford Quays 31 December 2016

2018 Series

[edit]
No. Recording date Recording location Transmission date Matches
1 10–12 May 2018 Epic Studios, Norwich 28 July 2018
  • Justin Sysum won a Five-Way elimination match over Crater, Sha Samuels, Rampage and Adam Maxted) to win a shot at WOS Champion Grado. After the match, WOS Executive Stu Bennett ruled that instead, Sysum would face Rampage and Grado in a triple threat match for the title as the referee had missed Rampage also beating the count
  • British Bulldog Jr. defeated Will Ospreay
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament quarter final: Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees defeated Martin Kirby and Joe Hendry
  • Rampage defeated Grado and Justin Sysum to win the WOS Championship in a triple threat match
2 4 August 2018
  • Rampage defeated Joe Hendry by pinfall to defend the WOS Championship
  • Gabriel Kidd defeated Lionheart, Robbie X and Liam Slater in a Fatal Four Way lumberjack match to win a contract for "a big opportunity"
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament quarter final: Nathan Cruz and Adam Maxted defeated Doug Williams and HT Drake
  • Kay Lee Ray defeated Viper and Bea Priestley in a Triple Threat match to become the first WOS Women's Champion
3 11 August 2018
  • Grado defeated Sha Samuels
  • Martin Kirby defeated Joe Hendry
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament quarter final: BT Gunn and Stevie Boy defeated Brad Slayer and CJ Banks
  • Crater defeated Gabriel Kidd. (This was the match from the contract Kidd won the previous week)
  • Rampage defeated Justin Sysum to defend the WOS Championship
4 18 August 2018
  • Kay Lee Ray's defence of the WOS Women's Championship against Bea Priestly ended in No Contest after Viper and Ayesha both interfered
  • Will Ospreay defeated Martin Kirby
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament quarter final: Grado and British Bulldog Jr. defeated Crater and Robbie X
  • Justin Sysum defeated Joe Hendry and Nathan Cruz in a Triple Threat Match
5 25 August 2018
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament semi final: Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees defeated BT Gunn and Stevie Boy
  • Crater defeated Liam Slater and Gabriel Kidd
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament second inal: Nathan Cruz and Adam Maxted defeated Grado and British Bulldog Jr.
  • WOS Women's Championship battle royal: Champion Kay Lee Ray defeated Viper, Ayesha, Bea Priestly and Casey Owens to successfully defend her title
6 1 September 2018
  • Rampage defeated British Bulldog Jr. by pinfall to successfully defend the WOS Championship
  • Joe Hendry defeated Martin Kirby in a Submission Match:
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament final: Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees defeated Nathan Cruz and Adam Maxted to win the titles. After the match, Cruz turned on Maxted
  • Handicap tag match – Justin Sysum defeated CJ Banks and Sha Samuels to earn a future challenge to WOS Champion Rampage
7 8 September 2018
  • Ladder match, loser leaves WOS, battle of former tag team partners: Adam Maxted defeated Nathan Cruz
  • Fatal four way:Gabriel Kidd beat Crater, Robbie X and Liam Slater. All other three men pinned Crater, Kidd was awarded the win as first man down
  • Martin Kirby used the ropes to pin Grado after both men used a toothbrush as a weapon from Grado's trademark bum-bag
  • Justin Sysum and Joe Hendry defeated Rampage and Sha Samuels
8 15 September 2018
  • Viper defeated Ayesha to win a shot at the WOS Women's Championship
  • Couple vs Couple Mixed tag team match: Will Ospreay and Bea Priestly defeated Stevie Boy and Kay Lee Ray
  • British Bulldog Jr. defeated Iestyn Rees
  • Robbie X defeated Crater in a match where the goal was to pull off the opponent's mask.
    (The commentary team did not identify the unmasked Crater and he replaced his mask immediately after the loss)
9 22 September 2018
  • Kay Lee Ray defeated Viper to successfully defend the WOS Women's Championship
  • Crater, Moose, Nathan Cruz, Adam Maxted, Justin Sysum, Gabriel Kidd, Sha Samuels and CJ Banks were the final eight survivors of the 16-man elimination tag team stage of Buzzer Battle, eliminating British Bulldog Jr., Kip Sabian, Iestyn Rees, Grado, Robbie X, Liam Slater, BT Gunn and Stevie Boy to advance to the Battle Royal stage
  • Justin Sysum won the Eight Man Battle Royal stage of the Buzzer Battle to win a shot at WOS Championship, last eliminating Crater
10 29 September 2018
  • Grado and British Bulldog Jr. defeated Iestyn Rees and Kip Sabian to win the WOS Tag Team Championship
  • Justin Sysum defeated Rampage to win the WOS Championship

Championship reigns

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WOS Championship

[edit]
WOS Championship
Details
PromotionWorld of Sport Wrestling
Date established2 November 2016
Date retired3 February 2019
Statistics
First champion(s)Dave Mastiff
Final champion(s)Justin Sysum
Most reignsAll champions (1 reigns)
Longest reignGrado (554 days)
Shortest reignDave Mastiff (<1 day)
Oldest championRampage (34 years, 276 days)
Youngest championGrado (28 years, 154 days)
Heaviest championDave Mastiff (315 lbs)
Lightest championGrado (235 lb)
Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
1 Dave Mastiff 2 November 2016 World Of Sport Wrestling Manchester, England 1 <1 <1 Defeated Grado to become the inaugural champion. Aired on 31 December 2016 [23]
2 Grado 2 November 2016 World Of Sport Wrestling Manchester, England 1 554 574 Aired on 31 December 2016 [23]
3 Rampage 10 May 2018 World Of Sport Wrestling Norwich, England 1 2 63 This was a 3-Way match also involving Justin Sysum. Aired on 28 July 2018 [24]
4 Justin Sysum 12 May 2018 World Of Sport Wrestling Norwich, England 1 267 127 Aired on 29 September 2018 [25]
— Deactivated 3 February 2019 WOS Live Tour Tag 6 Norwich, England — — — The Title became deactivated when WOS held their last event. [26]
5 Sha Samuels 14 September 2024 WOS - Evening Show Norwich, England 1 72+ 72+ Defeated Adam Maxted for the vacant belt [27]

WOS Tag Team Championship

[edit]
WOS Tag Team Championship
Details
PromotionWorld of Sport Wrestling
Date established10 May 2018
Date retired3 February 2019
Statistics
First champion(s)Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees (1 Day)
Final champion(s)Grado and British Bulldog Jr.
Most reignsAll champions (1 reigns)
Longest reignGrado and British Bulldog Jr. (267 days)
Shortest reignKip Sabian and Iestyn Rees
Oldest championIestyn Rees (35 years)
Youngest championKip Sabian (28 years)
Heaviest championIestyn Rees 251 lb (114 kg)
Lightest championKip Sabian 180 lb (82 kg)
Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
1 Iestyn Rees and Kip Sabian 11 May 2018 World Of Sport Wrestling Norwich, England 1 1 28 Defeated Nathan Cruz and Adam Maxted in a tournament final to win the title.
Aired on 1 September 2018 		[28]
2 British Bulldog Jr. and Grado 12 May 2018 World Of Sport Wrestling Norwich, England 1 267 127 Aired on 29 September 2018 [25][29]
— Deactivated 3 February 2019 WOS Live Tour Tag 6 Norwich, England — — — The Title became deactivated when WOS held their last event. [26]
3 UK Pitbulls
(Big Dave & Bulk) 		14 September 2024 WOS - Evening Show Norwich, England 1 72+ 72+ Defeated CW Davies & Jack Landers for the vacant belts [27]

WOS Women's Championship

[edit]
WOS Women's Championship
Details
PromotionWorld of Sport Wrestling
Date established10 May 2018
Date retired3 February 2019
Statistics
First champion(s)Kay Lee Ray
Final champion(s)Katy Lees
Most reignsViper (2 reigns)
Longest reignKay Lee Ray (253 days)
Shortest reignViper (1 day)
Oldest championKay Lee Ray (28 years)
Heaviest championViper 207 lbs (94 kg)
Key
No. Overall reign number
Reign Reign number for the specific champion
Days Number of days held
Days recog. Number of days held recognized by the promotion
+ Current reign is changing daily
No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref.
Date Event Location Reign Days Days recog.
1 Kay Lee Ray 10 May 2018 World of Sport Wrestling Norwich, Norfolk 1 253 167 Defeated Viper and Bea Priestley to win the title.
Aired on 4 August 2018 		[30]
2 Viper 18 January 2019 WOS Wrestling UK Tour 2019 Southampton, Hampshire 1 1 1 This was a 3-way match also including Bea Priestley [31]
3 Bea Priestley 19 January 2019 WOS Wrestling UK Tour 2019 Newport, Gwent 1 7 7 [32]
4 Viper 26 January 2019 WOS Wrestling UK Tour 2019 Blackpool, Lancashire 2 8 8 [33]
5 Katy Lees 3 February 2019 WOS Wrestling UK Tour 2019 Bethnal Green, Greater London 1 <1 <1 This was a 3-way match also including Bea Priestley [34]
— Deactivated 3 February 2019 WOS Live Tour Tag 6 Norwich, England — — — The Title became deactivated when WOS held their last event. [26]
6 Alex Windsor 14 September 2024 WOS - Evening Show Norwich, England 1 72+ 72+ Defeated LA Taylor for the vacant belt in the finals of the WOS Women's Title Tournament [27]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Back in the ring: ITV World of Sport Wrestling filmed at dock10". Dock10. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. ^ "WOS Wrestling - Episode 1". www.itv.com. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Events | World of Sport wrestling".
  4. ^ a b WOS Results, Cagematch.net, last accessed 15 February 2019
  5. ^ a b "WOS Wrestling: The Return, Saturday 14th September 2024 Live at WOS Arena @ Epic Studios, NorwichTickets on sale 10am on Friday 28th June 2024". World of Sport Wrestling (Press release). 28 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  6. ^ uk2.net. "ITV Wrestling". www.itvwrestling.co.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "411Mania - New Information on World of Sport Wrestling's Revival Pilot". New Information on World of Sport Wrestling's Revival Pilot.
  8. ^ ITV World of Sport 2013 Pilot
  9. ^ "World Of Sport Wrestling". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  10. ^ "OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE ON RETURN OF WORLD OF SPORT ON ITV". PWInsider. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  11. ^ "ITV World of Sport tapings postponed". 28 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Pro-wrestling to return to British TV". BBC News. 25 April 2018.
  13. ^ "RTS East Awards 2019". 18 January 2019.
  14. ^ Currier, Joseph (8 May 2019). "AEW announces UK broadcast details on pre show Double or Nothing". F4wonline. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  15. ^ Dave Meltzer on X: "Yes" X
  16. ^ "World Of Sport Wrestling return teased on social media". Cultaholic. 13 December 2019.
  17. ^ Gibbons, Aidan (28 June 2024). "World of Sport Wrestling Returning Later this Year". Cultaholic. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  18. ^ "WOS Wrestling - The Return". Universe Events. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  19. ^ Kelly, Andrew (30 June 2024). "More News On WOS Revival". Cultaholic Wrestling. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  20. ^ Brennan, Corey (2 August 2024). "Tom Campbell Announced As Part Of WOS: The Return Announce Team". Fightful News. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  21. ^ "DSport to t'cast UK's WOS Wrestling League in India | SportzPower".
  22. ^ "#NEWS: WOS Wrestling Reach U.S Broadcasting Deal". Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  23. ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip (1 November 2016). "World Of Sport Wrestling - TV-Show @ MediaCity Studios in Manchester, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  24. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (10 May 2018). "WOS Wrestling #1 - TV-Show @ Epic Studios in Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  25. ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip (12 May 2018). "WOS Wrestling #10 - TV-Show @ Epic Studios in Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  26. ^ a b c Kreikenbohm, Philip (3 February 2019). "WOS Live Tour - Tag 6". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  27. ^ a b c Kreikenbohm, Philip (14 September 2024). "WOS - Evening Show". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  28. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (11 May 2018). "WOS Wrestling #6 - TV-Show @ Epic Studios in Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  29. ^ "WOS Wrestling Results (9/29/18): New WOS Heavyweight Champion, WOS Tag Team Titles Defended, More | Fightful Wrestling". www.fightful.com.
  30. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (10 May 2018). "WOS Wrestling #2 - TV-Show @ Epic Studios in Norwich, Norfolk, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  31. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (18 January 2019). "WOS Live Tour - Tag 1 - Event @ O2 Guildhall Southampton in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  32. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (19 January 2019). "WOS Live Tour - Tag 2 - Event @ Newport Centre in Newport, Gwent, Wales, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  33. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (26 January 2019). "WOS Live Tour - Tag 4 - Event @ Blackpool Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  34. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (3 February 2019). "WOS Live Tour - Tag 6 - Event @ York Hall in London, England, UK". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
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