Back on New Year’s Eve of 2016 there was a resurrection of the famous World of Sport, a former Saturday night stalwart for families across the UK.
It featured several names of the UK independent scene and excited many a fan (myself included) that there could be a UK mainstream wrestling show on television. Then 5-Star wrestling happened, and the worry was, that that would close the door to other TV executives being brave enough to commission a wrestling show. Despite that, the ITV have commissioned a 10-episode series to air later this year (dates as yet unconfirmed), and the tapings for the shows have happened between 10th and 12th May. Below, I present my 5 biggest signings for the promotion and the names to look out for.
These are in no particular order, they are just 5 names that I am excited to see when the shows air.
First a returning competitor, from God’s own county of Yorkshire, Rampage Brown. He’s an absolute powerhouse, and has a wealth of experience behind him, having been a wrestler since 2001. He has an already storied career, that has brought him many titles. He’s the current Defiant Champion, the 3rd holder of the Progress Wrestling championship and the inaugural Progress Atlas division champion, a title which has only been held by 2 other men. All in all, he’s a fantastic wrestler, his talent will be known and he will be heard.
Another return is the wonderful Viper. I did expect her to appear as part of the Mae Young Classic, and there’s a chance that that could still happen, but either way it’s a welcome return of a mighty wrestler, who has the necessary repertoire of moves to dominate foes. I’m looking forward to her leading the women’s division and showing why the WWE are interested in her.
It feels completely counter-intuitive to say this about a 25-year veteran of wrestling, but here’s a debutant to World of Sport, Doug Williams. He has had a long career, through the good times of British Wrestling and also the less-good times. I could write about all the titles he has won, and all the accolades he has gained, but that would end up longer than War and Peace. Suffice it to say, he’s a legend of British wrestling and experienced with the Television product, having worked for IMPACT! whilst it was called TNA. He is perfect to act as a mentor to the younger competitors and guide them how to work to the TV audience as well as the live crowd.
The next competitor that I’m looking forward to watching is Kip Sabian. I’ve had the privilege of seeing him live for HOPE Wrestling, where he’s a former Kings Of Flight Champion. He was tagging with Cara Noir against Martin Kirby and Tyler Bate, and my gosh, he held his own and even excelled in the match. He’s a fantastic wrestler and is dripping with arrogance. It’s hard to believe he’s as young as he is, and as an “bad-guy” character, he’s not just bad, he’s Superbad.
The final one of my 5 to watch is Will Ospreay. He is a pure talent, and has been recently ripping it up in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Alongside this, he is a winner of the Best of the Super Juniors – a tournament twice won by then Prince Devitt (now Finn Bàlor) and the one and only Ricochet. He’s also the first winner of the annual Super Strong Style tournament for This Is Progress. This tournament win, married with his epic struggles against Jimmy Havoc resulted in his winning of the Progress title in a No Disqualification match at Chapter 20: Thunderbastard: Beyond Thunderbastard, which is my go-to match in terms of all-round emotion. Ospreay can do hardcore matches and – as evidenced in his matches with Ricochet – he can do high octane matches that have no pause for breath. He’s one of the biggest names that isn’t signed with WWE. It’s absolutely mad to think he’s so good at such a young age but the Aerial Assassin will bring a lot of interest and all the crowd gasping at his exploits.