British Wrestling

[SirSam]

Question to British fans. What would you say is the quintessential British Wrestling style?

In the past I would have said the Johnny Saint catch wrestling style however of late British Strong Style, whatever that loose definition means, has really come to prominence.

[mizfan]

The problem I have with British Strong Style is that it doesn't mean anything, at all. It's the same homogenized mix of styles that most promotions use in America. The old catch style is at the very least distinctive, not to mention a personal favorite of mine.

If anyone wants to sell me on what the actual hallmarks of "British Strong Style" are and how it differs from other styles, feel free.

[Prime Time]

In theory it's supposed to be a mixture of the Japanese strong style and older British catch, but to be honest I don't think the theory really holds anymore - other than in a handful of cases. There are a few guys who still work a recognisably British style but most of the time it autotranslates in my head into 'generic indy style'.

World of Sport have a trailer out. Tentative optimism out there that this will hit home a bit more than the special they did.

No date as yet I think, but haven't seen anything about it being pushed back from July so there must be a date sooner rather than later. If the Saturday slot that is rumoured comes to fruition I think it'll be the 21st, personally.



In other news, I saw that Scrubber Daley is still wrestling on the local scene. That's kinda fun.

[mizfan]

Yeah, beyond Sabre I can't think of any really notable UK guys who incorporate much catch style in.

Definitely starting to feel more excited about WoS! It'll be nothing like the classic, I'm sure, but it could be a whole lot of fun anyway.

I feel like Scrubber Daley is a WoS original? Always nice to hear someone from that era is still working!

[Prime Time]

Some of the guys WWE picked up do.

Interesting to see what will happen with it only running 10 weeks. I wonder if LU will be the model? Not sure how it'll work for me. We'll see.

Scrubber Daley was actually Giant Haystacks tag partner. I used to have a tape where they took on Pat Roach and the deaf and dumb champion, Alan Kirby.

[mizfan]

Who in particular? Was looking over the list and the only catch style guys that jumped out at me were Gallagher and Gulak (ironically, not British), and they already worked there. There are a couple I haven't seen but I feel like I've seen most, so curious if I'm forgetting someone.

The shortest LU season was 22 episodes, so 10 seems too short to really compare, although potentially they could do some killer angles that run the course of the show.

WOW on being Haystacks' partner! Wouldn't have guessed that, with a name like that. Didn't know about Kirby either, you're a fountain of knowledge Pete!

[Prime Time]

I've seen Bate working catch style on British promotions. And I was thinking Gallagher too. Not loads, but a couple.

Daley was another big lad (not Haystacks big mind). That tape was actually a last hurrah for that generation from the early 1990s.

As for my knowledge, it was pretty decent up to a point. Now I can barely remember what has happened this year!

[mizfan]

Bate and a lot of guys CAN work in a bit of catch, but I always find it either perfunctory or something they only do because they're up against someone like Sabre who dictates the style of the match. Fair point though, it definitely exists.

Who named a big lad "Scrubber"? Makes him sound like, well, a scrub. Though maybe that term wasn't known/used when he picked it up.

[Prime Time]

We don't really have the word 'scrub' in that sense, so it wouldn't have been a factor. Scrubber here is unfortunately an insult for a woman, but in this case I think the closest meaning would just be scruffy-looking.

On catch, you're right that in general it's a bit less than I'd like to see too. I've seen them do it but it's not like it's the dominant method by any means and more often than not, as I say, there's a fairly 'generic indy' feeling about a lot of it.

World of Sport will be commentated on by Stu Bennett, Alex Shane, and So-Cal Val, if what I saw is correct.



Progress are heading to the US, if anyone wants to check them out:

"4th August – PacPlex, Brooklyn, New York City
5th August – Melrose Memorial Hall, Melrose, Boston
9th August – Venue TBC, Seattle
11th August – Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Chicago
12th August – Monaghan Knights of Columbus Hall, Livonia, Detroit

NYC, Boston, Chicago and Detroit will be same-day double-headers with EVOLVE running in the afternoon and PROGRESS in the evening.
DEFY will be running a show the night after PROGRESS, on the 10th August. Double-header events will be ticketed separately, no combo tickets"

Speaking of Progress they have an event in 10 days time with the following four matches announced so far:

“The Kiwi Buzzsaw” Travis Banks vs Tyler Bate

Thunderbastard Tag Team Series
Sexy Starr (Jack Sexsmith & David Starr) vs Mark Haskins & Flash Morgan Webster

Toni Storm vs Killer Kelly

“The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne & “The Don” Trent Seven vs Kings Of The North (Damien Corvin & Bonesaw)


Also, fallout from the NJPW/RevPro shows is that Summer Sizzler will give Ishii a chance to get some revenge on WALTER.

[mizfan]

That's a surprisingly long tour! I don't think they've run more than 2 shows in a row in the states before. Wonder if all will be official chapters released on their streaming service.

Bate/Banks will hopefully be quite good. I've become a big fan of Killer Kelly too, so her match with Storm should definitely be worth checking out.

I am hyped for WALTER vs. Ishii!! Now that a few New Japan guys have gotten a taste of him, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he started showing up on certain tours, at the very least in a Cobb kind of role, though frankly he could easily replace Elgin's old role and do it better than he ever did at that.

[Prime Time]

It does look as if the Champion Carnival stage will not happen now and he'll be skipping straight to being a big deal in New Japan. NEVER does seem like a good fit.

[mizfan]

It honestly makes a lot more sense for him to work New Japan. AJPW has the history and a handful of really good workers, but WALTER could be huge in Japan and New Japan is the place to go to be huge.

[LK3185]

I read today that Pete Dunne and Ilya Dragunov are wrestling on a progress show in September

[mizfan]

They are indeed! I do like that wXw is kind of blowing up a bit right now with their guys getting bigger bookings outside of mainland Europe. Ilja vs. Dunne has the potential to be a real blast.

[Prime Time]

WoS has a start date - Saturday 28th July. Starting a little earlier than I thought at 5pm. I'd wondered if they'd stick it on after the news and have it as the lead-in for something like The Voice or whatever is going to be starting in the coming weeks.