4 Front Wrestling (Sometimes acronymed as 4FW) is a pro wrestling company based in the South West of England, established in 2004 by former professional wrestler Dave Sharp. Since 2005, the company has promoted a range of shows; utilising events through

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, primarily in the

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon unitary authority area had a population ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

areas.

Style and partners

4FW is well known for its use of United Kingdom wrestlers, but also its partners with international promotions. The promotion has a high

puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's ac ...

vibe, and has had its own wrestlers appear in Japan and Mexico. The company has a working relationship with Michinoku Pro wrestling, as well as

Wrestle-1 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed by wrestlers loyal to Mutoh, who lef ...

. It is also a regular occurrence for high-profile wrestlers from Japan and

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

to have one-off matches in the company. 4FW also has a 'Junior Heavyweight' Championship, which is common in Japan, rather than a more traditional cruiserweight, or light heavyweight in the rest of the world.

Synopsis

4FWs first show was held at Pinehurst People's Centre in 2005 'and so it begins' They had opened a wrestling school held at Cheney Manor, training wrestler's such as Saime Sahin, Tiger Ali and

Eddie Ryan Vincent Rubio (born 5 November 1985), better known by the ring name Eddie Ryan, is a British professional wrestler currently active in the United Kingdom. Rubio, originally from Plymouth, England, started his in ring career in 2008 at the 4 F ...

. In 2011, Owner and Promoter Dave Sharp retired from Pro Wrestling due to neck injuries, which lead to the promotion running more events. Perhaps 4FWs most well known was ''4FW Ultimate Supremacy 2015'' which held an event featuring recently released from WWE Wrestlers

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest prof ...

against

Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...

in the main event. The event brought around 1,000 fans into Swindon for the event held in Swindon MECCA. 4FW also has an on-demand video service for all of its previous shows library in the same vein as the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...

on Powerbomb TV. 4FW has also reached out to new fans by using other international talent such as

Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (''né'' Runnels; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Rhodes is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AE ...

, however, Rhodes was unable to make the show, so

Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-ti ...

took his place in the match, flying from Japan to the UK for the match against Tiger Ali.

Junior Heavyweight Championship

During its tenure, 4FW has had a number of notable Junior Heavyweight Champions. Due to the unique nature of the championship, it has been defended in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and Japan. The championship was first won by Gino in July 2006, winning an 8-man tournament and who held the championship for 91 days, before losing the belt to

El Ligero Simon Musk (born 7 January 1985) is an English professional wrestler better known under his in-ring persona of masked Mexican luchador, El Ligero (or simply Ligero). He is most known for his time in WWE, on their NXT UK brand. Professional wre ...

. Ligero would lose the championship to Ashley Reed, before being vacated (presumed forever), until its reintroduction in 2010. The championship would be now won by Dave Sharp himself defeating Benham Ali in 2010. He would lose the championship to Owen Phoenix who would hold it for a record 731 days (Two years). The championship would be won by Jason Larusso, Benham Ali, and

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 ...

until 2013. Dunne would hold the championship for almost half a year. Kenbai would defeat Dunne for the gold at ''Ultimate Supremacy 2013'', and would defend the belt against

Hiromu Takahashi (born December 4, 1989) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a member of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' stable. Takahashi made his debut for NJPW on August 28, 2010, and worked ...

, Taro Nohashi for Michinoku Pro in Japan and

Ho Ho Lun Wong Yuk Lun (born July 19, 1987), better known by his ring name Ho Ho Lun (Hoholun, 何顥麟), is a Hong Kong professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE, where he competed in their Cruiserweight Classic tournament and in their ...

in Hong Kong, before being won by Ken45. The title would later be returned to the company, when Tiger Ali won the championship during a tour of Japan. Owen Phoenix would return to wrestling, after an absence and win the championship back, and hold it for 167 days, holding the championship for a total of 898 days. At the start of 2015, the former

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...

;

Koji Kanemoto (born Kim Il-Sung (김일성); October 31, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer. Professional wres ...

, would defeat Phoenix for the title, but would later have to vacate the championship.

and

Mark Haskins Mark Haskins (born 25 June 1988), is an English professional wrestler currently signed with Ring of Honor. He is known internationally for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as well as his appearances in Progress Wrestling, Revolution ...

would battle for the vacant championship at ''4FW New Years Wrestleution 2016'', with Omega winning the vacant championship. He would hold the championship shortly; and vacate the belt after, stating that he was not a Junior Heavyweight, an

angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the ''vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles ...

that he had been working in

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...

. To date, Omega is still undefeated in 4FW, with 5 wins from 5. Less than a month later, Haskins would win the championship, this time defeating P. J. Black, but would have to vacate the championship himself due to nagging injuries. Bubblegum would then win the vacant championship against Mega Pegasus in Swindon on 21 January 2017.

Championships and accomplishments

4 Front Wrestling Champion

* Current champion:JD Knight

4 Front Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Champion

* Current champion: Tiger Ali

4 Front Wrestling Tag Team Championship

* Current champion: Saime Sahin & Tiger Ali

References

External links

4 Front Wrestling official website
{{Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom British professional wrestling promotions 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom