Progress Wrestling
Progress Wrestling (stylised as PROGRESS) is a semi-active 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), and is now under new management of James Amner and Lucy Cave.
![]() Progress Wrestling's logo | |
Acronym | Progress |
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Founded | 2011 |
Style | Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Founder(s) | Jim Smallman Jon Briley |
Website | ProgressWrestling.com |
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.[1] 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 12 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 time 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.[2] In December 2015, they began running regular shows at The Ritz in Manchester.[3] In 2017, Progress began to promote shows in Birmingham. For Chapter 55 in September 2017, Progress held their first show at the Alexandra Palace to an audience of 2,000. On 30 September 2018 Progress Wrestling held "Hello Wembley" at the SSE Arena. It was 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 2018 the promotion expanded to run event's in Sheffield as well as touring across the United States and in 2019 it will be expanding further to run shows in Bournemouth and Newcastle.
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 1, in a losing effort to Loco Mike Mason. Ricochet appeared twice for the promotion, losing to El Ligero at Chapter 6 and in a triple threat with Mark Haskins and Zack Sabre Jr. at Chapter 11. Adam Cole was the first non-European wrestler to register a win in Progress, defeating Mark Haskins at Chapter 10. Prince Devitt also appeared twice for the promotion, defeating Zack Sabre Jr. at Chapter 13 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 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 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 NXT UK Champion.
In mid-2019, Jim Smallman left the management of PROGRESS, being replaced by PROGRESS commentator Matt Richards. Richards also took over Smallman's ring announcing duties from January 2020, with British independent wrestler Fraser Thomas replacing Matt Richards on commentary.
In June 2020, several female wrestlers complained about sexual harassment in pro wrestling, mainly in the British independent circuit (see Speaking Out movement). 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 June 21, 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]
International expansion
In June 2016, the Canada-based SMASH Wrestling had its title defended at a Progress show, ahead of three co-promoted shows between the two in Ontario in September. January 2017 saw Progress promoting a show for Germany-based Westside Xtreme Wrestling in London, with wXw helping with Progress' début German show in Cologne in July. 2017's Wrestlemania Weekend saw Progress travel to the United States for a number of shows; including their own Orlando show, a joint show with WWNLive, and contributing talent - including ring announcer Jim Smallman - to WWE's WrestleMania Axxess events. Progress returned to the States in August for two shows - one in New York City and one just outside of Boston - as well as announcing they would be running two shows as part of Wrestlemania Weekend 2018 in New Orleans.
In April 2018, Progress Wrestling embarked on a three-show tour of Australia, co-promoting shows alongside Explosive Pro Wrestling, Melbourne City Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Australia. From 4 to 11 August 2018, Progress Wrestling undertook a tour across the United States, titled the "Coast to Coast Tour." They worked in conjunction with WWNLive and Pacific Northwest-based promotion Defy Wrestling. Their shows took place in Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Seattle, Chicago, and Detroit.
Demand Progress
Ownership | |
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Owner | Progress Wrestling |
History | |
Launched | March 2015 |
Links | |
Website | demandprogress |
In March 2015, Progress launched Demand Progress, their own video-on-demand service.[9] 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.[10] The second season of Freedom's Road launched in August 2018, with an even greater focus on characters and plots than the preceding season.
Current champions
Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Defenses | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Progress Unified World Championship | Cara Noir | 1 | January 19, 2020 | 380+ | 2 | London | Defeated Ilja Dragunov, Kyle Fletcher and Paul Robinson in a four-way match to win the vacant title at Chapter 101: Dalmatians. |
Progress Tag Team Championship | Vacated | N/A | June 20, 2020 | N/A | N/A | Vacated as a result of the champions being suspended[11] | |
Progress Proteus Championship | Paul Robinson | 1 | September 15, 2019 | 506+ | 5 | London | Won a 30-person rumble match by lastly eliminated Danny Duggan to become the inaugural champion at Chapter 95: Still Chasing. |
Progress World Women's Championship | Jinny | 2 | December 15, 2019 | 415+ | 1 | Sheffield | Defeated Meiko Satomura at Chapter 99: With A Flake, Please. |
Inactive Championships
Championship | Date Introduced | Date Retired | Last Champion | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Progress Wrestling Atlas Championship | 25 September 2016 | 21 July 2019 | WALTER | Retired to be replaced by Proteus Championship |
Progress Unified World Championship
Progress Unified World Championship | |||||||||||||||
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Details | |||||||||||||||
Date established | March 25, 2012 | ||||||||||||||
Current champion(s) | Cara Noir | ||||||||||||||
Date won | January 19, 2020 | ||||||||||||||
Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||
Progress Championship, Progress World Championship | |||||||||||||||
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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 16, 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 30 April 2016[12] and Ireland on 16 July 2016.[13] On 5 May 2019, the World Championship and Atlas Championship were unified by WALTER, defeating Trent Seven. The title was henceforth known as the Unified World Championship.
As of 2 February 2021.
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
<1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
+ | Current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
1 | Nathan Cruz | 25 March 2012 | Chapter 1: In the Beginning | Highbury, London | 1 | 245 | 1 | Defeated Marty Scurll, El Ligero, and Mike Mason in a tournament final to crown inaugural champion | |
2 | El Ligero | 25 November 2012 | Chapter 4: The Ballad of El Ligero | Highbury, London | 1 | 245 | 3 | ||
3 | Rampage Brown | 28 July 2013 | Chapter 8: The Big Boy's Guide to Strong Style | Highbury, London | 1 | 119 | 2 | ||
4 | Mark Andrews | 24 November 2013 | Chapter 10: Glory Follows Virtue As If It Were Its Shadow | Highbury, London | 1 | <1 | 0 | Successfully cashed in his Natural Progression Series title shot | |
5 | Jimmy Havoc | 24 November 2013 | Chapter 10: Glory Follows Virtue As If It Were Its Shadow | Highbury, London | 1 | 609 | 9 | Used the open contract given to him by Jim Smallman to make an immediate title match | |
6 | Will Ospreay | 26 July 2015 | Chapter 20: ThunderBastard: Beyond ThunderBastard | Camden Town, London | 1 | 182 | 4 | Successfully cashed in his Super Strong Style 16 title shot | |
7 | Marty Scurll | 24 January 2016 | Chapter 25: Chat Shit, Get Banged | Camden Town, London | 1 | 154 | 7 | ||
8 | Pastor William Eaver | 26 June 2016 | Chapter 32: 5000 to 1 | Camden Town, London | 1 | 35 | 1 | Successfully cashed in his Natural Progression Series title shot | |
9 | Marty Scurll | 31 July 2016 | Chapter 33: Malice in Wonderland | Camden Town, London | 2 | 56 | 1 | ||
10 | Mark Haskins | 25 September 2016 | Chapter 36: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room... Again | Brixton, London | 1 | 35 | 1 | This was a triple threat match also involving Tommy End | |
— | Vacated | 30 October 2016 | Chapter 38: When Men Throw Men At Men | Camden Town, London | — | — | — | Haskins vacated the title due to injury | |
11 | Pete Dunne | 27 November 2016 | Chapter 39: The Graps of Wrath | Camden Town, London | 1 | 287 | 11 | Defeated Jimmy Havoc, Matt Riddle, Sebastian, TK Cooper, Travis Banks, and Trent Seven in a seven-way elimination match to win the vacant title | |
12 | Travis Banks | 10 September 2017 | Chapter 55: Chase the Sun | Haringey, London | 1 | 318 | 17 | Successfully cashed in his Super Strong Style 16 title shot | |
13 | Walter | 25 July 2018 | Chapter 74: Mid Week Matters | Camden Town, London | 1 | 417 | 15 | Unified with the Atlas Championship on 05/05/2019 following Walter's win over Trent Seven | |
14 | Eddie Dennis | 15 September 2019 | Chapter 95: Still Chasing | Haringey, London | 1 | 126 | 2 | Successfully cashed in his title opportunity gained by defeating Mark Andrews at Chapter 76. This was a triple threat match also involving David Starr. | |
— | Vacated | January 19, 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | Dennis vacated the title due to a shoulder injury | |
15 | Cara Noir | 19 January 2020 | Chapter 101: Dalmatians | Camden Town, London | 1 | 380+ | 2 | This was a four-way match also involving Ilja Dragunov, Kyle Fletcher and Paul Robinson. |
Combined reigns
As of February 2, 2021.
† | Indicates the current champion |
---|
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jimmy Havoc | 1 | 9 | 609 |
2 | Walter | 1 | 15 | 417 |
3 | Cara Noir † | 1 | 2 | 380+ |
4 | Travis Banks | 1 | 17 | 318 |
5 | Pete Dunne | 1 | 11 | 287 |
6 | El Ligero | 1 | 3 | 245 |
Nathan Cruz | 1 | 1 | 245 | |
8 | Marty Scurll | 2 | 8 | 210 |
9 | Will Ospreay | 1 | 4 | 182 |
10 | Eddie Dennis | 1 | 2 | 126 |
11 | Rampage Brown | 1 | 2 | 119 |
13 | Mark Haskins | 1 | 1 | 35 |
Pastor William Eaver | 1 | 1 | 35 | |
14 | Mark Andrews | 1 | 0 | <1 |
Progress Tag Team Championship
Progress Tag Team Championship | |||||||||||
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Details | |||||||||||
Date established | 24 November 2013 | ||||||||||
Current champion(s) | Vacant | ||||||||||
|
It was announced at Chapter 9 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 12, 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 46 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 2 February 2021.
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
+ | Current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
1 | FSU (Mark Andrews & Eddie Dennis) |
30 March 2014 | Chapter 12: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room | Camden Town, London | 1 | 301 | 2 | 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) |
25 January 2015 | Chapter 17: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger | Camden Town, London | 1 | 120 | 2 | Danny Garnell and Damon Moser originally captured the titles as The Faceless before all four unmasked, renaming themselves The Origin on 24 May 2015. | |
3 | Sumerian Death Squad (Tommy End and Michael Dante) |
25 May 2015 | Chapter 19: Super Strong Style 16 2015 | Camden Town, London | 1 | 188 | 2 | Defeated Nathan Cruz and El Ligero. | |
4 | The Origin (Nathan Cruz (2) and El Ligero (2)) |
29 November 2015 | Chapter 23: What a Time to Be Alive | Camden Town, London | 1 | 182 | 3 | This was a three-way also involving London Riots. | |
5 | London Riots (Rob Lynch and James Davis) |
29 May 2016 | Chapter 30: Super Strong Style 16 2016 | Camden Town, London | 1 | 119 | 3 | ||
6 | British Strong Style (Trent Seven and Pete Dunne) |
25 September 2016 | Chapter 36: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room... Again | Brixton, London | 1 | 82 | 1 | ||
— | Vacated | 16 December 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated by Progress management after Pete Dunne attempted to give his half of the title to Tyler Bate. | |
7 | British Strong Style (Trent Seven (2) and Tyler Bate) |
30 December 2016 | Chapter 40: Unboxing Live | Camden Town, London | 1 | 177 | 3 | Won a three-way with London Riots and LDRS of the New School for the vacant titles. | |
8 | CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos) |
25 June 2017 | Chapter 50: I Give it Six Months | Camden Town, London | 1 | 14 | 0 | ||
9 | British Strong Style (Trent Seven (3) and Tyler Bate (2)) |
9 July 2017 | Chapter 51: Screaming For Progress | Birmingham | 2 | 63 | 4 | This was a six-man tag team match with Pete Dunne as Seven and Bate's partner, and Travis Banks as Brookes and Lykos'. Even if Dunne was part of the winning team, only Bate and Seven were recognized as new champions. | |
10 | CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos) |
10 September 2017 | Chapter 55: Chase the Sun | Haringey, London | 2 | 77 | 1 | This was a ladder match. | |
11 | Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) |
26 November 2017 | Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life | Camden Town, London | 1 | 77 | 2 | ||
12 | Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins | 11 February 2018 | Chapter 63: Take Me Underground | Manchester | 1 | 14 | 0 | ||
13 | Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) |
25 February 2018 | Chapter 64: Thunderbastards Are Go! | Camden Town, London | 2 | 160 | 6 | ||
14 | CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos) |
4 August 2018 | USA Coast to Coast Tour | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 3 | 7 | 2 | Kid Lykos was injured in the title match. Subsequent defences were made by Chris Brookes and either Jonathan Gresham or AR Fox. | |
15 | Flamita and Bandido | 11 August 2018 | USA Coast to Coast Tour | Chicago, Illinois | 1 | 50 | 1 | Defeated Chris Brookes and AR Fox. | |
16 | Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) |
30 September 2018 | Chapter 76: Hello Wembley | Wembley, London | 1 | 91 | 4 | This was an eight-team Thunderbastard match also featuring Sexy Starr, M&M, Anti-Fun Police, Calamari Thatch Kings, Grizzled Young Veterans and The 198. | |
17 | Swords of Essex (Will Ospreay and Paul Robinson) |
30 December 2018 | Chapter 82: Unboxing Live, A Dukla Prague Away Kit | Camden Town, London | 1 | 91 | 2 | ||
18 | Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) |
31 March 2019 | Chapter 87: Breadknife | Camden Town, London | 2 | 119 | 2 | Successfully cashed in Mark Davis' Natural Progression Series title shot. This was a tables, ladders, and chairs match. | |
19 | Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) |
28 July 2019 | Chapter 93: Cheer Up Juice | Camden Town, London | 3 | 49 | 0 | ||
20 | Jordan Devlin and Scotty Davis | 15 September 2019 | Chapter 95: Still Chasing | Haringey, London | 1 | 278 | 3 | Successfully cashed in Scotty Davis' Natural Progression Series title shot. This was a triple threat tag team match also involving Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis). | |
— | Vacated | 19 June 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | Vacated by Progress management after both Scotty Davis and Jordan Devlin were legitimately suspended. |
Combined reigns
As of February 2, 2021.
† | Indicates the current champion |
---|
By team
Rank | Team | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FSU (Mark Andrews and Eddie Dennis) |
1 | 2 | 301 |
2 | Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) |
3 | 8 | 286 |
3 | Jordan Devlin and Scotty Davis | 1 | 3 | 278 |
4 | British Strong Style (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) |
2 | 7 | 240 |
5 | Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) |
2 | 6 | 210 |
6 | Summerian Death Squad (Tommy End and Michael Dante) |
1 | 2 | 188 |
7 | The Origin (Nathan Cruz and El Ligero) |
1 | 3 | 182 |
8 | The Origin/The Faceless (Nathan Cruz, El Ligero, Danny Garnell and Damon Moser) |
1 | 2 | 120 |
9 | London Riots (Rob Lynch and James Davis) |
1 | 3 | 119 |
10 | CCK (Reigns 1-2: Chris Brookes and Kis Lykos) (3rd reign: Chris Brookes, Kid Lykos, Jonathan Gresham and AR Fox) |
3 | 3 | 98 |
11 | Swords Of Essex (Will Ospreay and Paul Robinson) |
1 | 2 | 91 |
12 | British Strong Style (Trent Seven and Pete Dunne) |
1 | 1 | 82 |
13 | Flamita and Bandido | 1 | 1 | 50 |
14 | Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins | 1 | 0 | 14 |
By wrestler
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Trent Seven | 3 | 8 | 322 |
2 | El Ligero | 2 | 5 | 302 |
Nathan Cruz | 2 | 5 | 302 | |
4 | Eddie Dennis | 1 | 2 | 301 |
Mark Andrews | 1 | 2 | 301 | |
6 | James Drake | 3 | 8 | 286 |
Zack Gibson | 3 | 8 | 286 | |
8 | Jordan Devlin | 1 | 3 | 278 |
Scotty Davis | 1 | 3 | 278 | |
10 | Tyler Bate | 2 | 7 | 240 |
11 | Kyle Fletcher | 2 | 6 | 210 |
Mark Davis | 2 | 6 | 210 | |
13 | Michael Dante | 1 | 2 | 188 |
Tommy End | 1 | 2 | 188 | |
15 | Damon Moser | 1 | 2 | 120 |
Danny Garnell | 1 | 2 | 120 | |
17 | James Davis | 1 | 3 | 119 |
Rob Lynch | 1 | 3 | 119 | |
19 | Chris Brookes | 3 | 3 | 98 |
Kid Lykos | 3 | 3 | 98 | |
21 | Paul Robinson | 1 | 2 | 91 |
Will Ospreay | 1 | 2 | 91 | |
23 | Pete Dunne | 1 | 1 | 82 |
24 | Bandido | 1 | 1 | 50 |
Flamita | 1 | 1 | 50 | |
26 | Jimmy Havoc | 1 | 0 | 14 |
Mark Haskins | 1 | 0 | 14 | |
28 | AR Fox | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Jonathan Gresham | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Progress Proteus Championship
Progress Proteus Championship | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Details | |||||||||||||||
Date established | 21 July 2019 | ||||||||||||||
Current champion(s) | Paul Robinson | ||||||||||||||
Date won | 15 September 2019 | ||||||||||||||
|
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.[14]
As of 2 February 2021.
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
+ | Current reign is changing daily |
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 | 506+ | 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. |
Combined reigns
As of February 2, 2021.
† | Indicates the current champion |
---|
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Paul Robinson † | 1 | 7 | 506+ |
Progress World Women's Championship
Progress World Women's Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Details | |||||||||||||||||||
Date established | 28 May 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||
Current champion(s) | Jinny | ||||||||||||||||||
Date won | 15 September 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||
Progress Women's Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|
It was announced on 24 April 2016, that Natural Progression Series IV would crown the first Progress Worlds Women's Champion. The tournament got underway in October 2016, with the champion to be crowned during the Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2017 weekend from 27 May 2017 to 29 May 2017. At the conclusion of the tournament at day two of the Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Edition 2016 weekend, Toni Storm was crowned the first Progress Women's Champion.
No. | Overall reign number |
---|---|
Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
Days | Number of days held |
Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
+ | Current reign is changing daily |
No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
1 | Toni Storm | 28 May 2017 | Chapter 49: Super Strong Style 16 2017 | Camden Town, London | 1 | 357 | 14 | Won a tournament final to crown the inaugural champion. This was a three-way also involving Jinny and Laura Di Matteo. | |
2 | Jinny | 20 May 2018 | Chapter 69: Be Here Now | Manchester | 1 | 224 | 6 | ||
3 | Jordynne Grace | 30 December 2018 | Chapter 82: Unboxing Live, A Dukla Prague Away Kit | Camden Town, London | 1 | 259 | 9 | ||
4 | Meiko Satomura | 15 September 2019 | Chapter 95: Still Chasing | Haringey, London | 1 | 91 | 1 | ||
5 | Jinny | 15 December 2019 | Chapter 99: With a Flake, Please | Sheffield | 2 | 415+ | 2 |
Combined reigns
† | Indicates the current champion |
---|
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jinny † | 2 | 8 | 639+ |
2 | Toni Storm | 1 | 14 | 357 |
3 | Jordynne Grace | 1 | 9 | 259 |
4 | Meiko Satomura | 1 | 1 | 91 |
Progress Atlas Championship
Progress Atlas Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Details | |||||||||||||||||||
Date established | 25 September 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
Date retired | 21 July 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
The Progress Atlas Championship was a championship exclusively for wrestlers over 205 pounds - the cruiserweight weight limit - in weight. Rampage Brown was the first champion after winning a tournament.
On 27 February 2019, PROGRESS announced that there would be a unification match between the Atlas and World championships at Super Strong Style 16 on 5 May of that year, with Walter winning and thus unifying the two titles.[15]
On 21 July 2019, PROGRESS announced that the Atlas Championship had been retired, to be replaced with the upcoming Proteus Championship.
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 | Rampage Brown | 25 September 2016 | Chapter 36: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Room... Again | Brixton, London | 1 | 112 | 3 | Defeated Joe Coffey in a tournament final to crown the inaugural champion. | |
2 | Matt Riddle | 15 January 2017 | Chapter 42: Life, the Universe and Wrestling | Birmingham | 1 | 175 | 9 | ||
3 | Walter | 9 July 2017 | Chapter 51: Screaming For Progress | Birmingham | 1 | 34 | 1 | ||
4 | Matt Riddle | 12 August 2017 | Progress: New York City | New York City, New York | 2 | 29 | 0 | ||
5 | Walter | 10 September 2017 | Chapter 55: Chase the Sun | Haringey, London | 2 | 238 | 2 | This was a three-way also involving Timothy Thatcher. | |
— | Vacated | 6 May 2018 | Chapter 68: Super Strong Style 16 2018 | Haringey, London | — | — | — | Walter voluntarily vacated the title. | |
6 | Doug Williams | 20 May 2018 | Chapter 69: Be Here Now | Manchester | 1 | 133 | 2 | Won a four-way with Joseph Conners, Rampage Brown and Rob Lynch for the vacant title. | |
7 | Trent Seven | 30 September 2018 | Chapter 76: Hello Wembley | Wembley, London | 1 | 217 | 6 | ||
8 | Walter | 5 May 2019 | Chapter 88: Super Strong Style 16 2019 | Haringey, London | 3 | 77 | 1 | Upon Walter's victory, the title was unified with the Progress World Championship, but not deactivated. | |
— | Deactivated | 21 July 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | PROGRESS declared the championship retired, to be replaced with the Proteus Championship at Chapter 95: Still Chasing[16] |
Combined reigns
Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Walter | 3 | 4 | 349 |
2 | Trent Seven | 1 | 6 | 217 |
3 | Matt Riddle | 2 | 9 | 204 |
4 | Doug Williams | 1 | 2 | 132 |
5 | Rampage Brown | 1 | 3 | 112 |
Reception
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]
Also
References
- 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. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Progress wrestling attendance record". 411mania.com.
- "Another Indie Promotion To Host WWE Global Cruiserweight Series Qualifying Matches". Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- https://411mania.com/wrestling/progress-updates-list-of-talent-departures-no-longer-working-with-travis-banks-and-ligero/
- https://411mania.com/wrestling/progress-ring-announcer-and-creative-matt-richards-leaves-company/
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