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Progress Wrestling (stylized as PROGRESS) is a British
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
that was established in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman, events and comedy promoter Jon Briley, and later, actor Glen Robinson (professionally known as Glen Joseph).


History

Progress was conceived by Jim Smallman and Jon Briley in 2011, who were both massive wrestling fans. Smallman is a big fan of "
strong style is the predominant style of professional wrestling in Japan, professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Gairaigo, Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English ...
" wrestling, Japanese in particular, and Briley was Smallman's agent. In 2015, Progress appeared for five nights at
Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
. In December of that year, they began running regular shows at The Ritz in Manchester. On 30 September 2018, Progress Wrestling held "Hello Wembley" at the SSE Arena. 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. In 2016, the company began working relationships with other promotions. At Chapter 29 on 24 April in London, Progress hosted two qualifying matches for the
WWE Cruiserweight Classic The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly the Global Cruiserweight Series, was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE. All participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less to determine the inaugural WWE Cruise ...
. In 2017, Progress wrestlers such as
Pete Dunne Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Butc ...
,
Tyler Bate Tyler Bate (born 7 March 1997) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand. In 2017, he became the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion (later renamed NXT United Kingdom Championship) ...
,
Trent Seven Benjamin Maurice Webb (born 21 August 1981), better known by the ring name Trent Seven, is an English professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and actor. He was signed to WWE on their NXT UK brand, where he is a former NXT UK Tag Team Champi ...
, and Mark Andrews participated in the
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament The WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in December 2016, debuting as a WWE Network ...
, culminating in Bate being crowned the first ever WWE UK Champion. Smallman left Progress at the end of 2019 after Chapter 100. In June 2020, Progress would be affected by reports of sexual harassment in the British independent circuit. 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. Ring announcer and creative team member Matt Richards also left the promotion. On 21 June 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. In 2021, Progress announced its return admist the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, travelling to South London to set up a temporary home at Theatre Peckham for Chapter 104: Natural Progression on 20 February, eventually producing 23 shows behind closed doors which featured on the WWE Network. On 31 December that year, ahead of their return to live shows in January 2022, it was announced that Progress had been acquired by Lee McAteer and Martyn Best - taking over ownership from Briley.


Demand Progress

''Demand Progress'' is Progress' Pivotshare-based
video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
service that launced in March 2015. 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.


Championships


Current champions


Inactive championships


Progress Proteus Championship

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 Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
god,
Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...
. 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.


Reigns


Reception

Patrick Lennon, wrestling journalist for the '' Daily Star'', has attended and reviewed Progress shows. Carrie Dunn, founder and main contributor of wrestling blog "The Only Way is Suplex", published the book ''Spandex, Screw Jobs & Cheap Pops: Inside the Business of British Pro Wrestling''. Progress Wrestling features frequently in the book including opening a chapter regarding London based wrestling promotions.


See also

*
List of Progress Wrestling tournaments Progress Wrestling has held a variety of professional wrestling tournaments competed for by wrestlers that are a part of their roster. Natural Progression Series Natural Progression Series I Natural Progression Series II Natural Progression ...
*
NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...
- Brand of the U.S-based
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
from which several Progress talent have competed for.


References


External links

*
Progress Wrestling (Progress)
at Cagematch.net {{Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom Progress Wrestling 2011 establishments in the United Kingdom Entertainment companies established in 2011