The world of professional wrestling has its newest superstar - a young lad from Wigan with a very familiar name!

And if fans were watching 'Dynamite Kid' Tommy Billington's debut on All Elite Wrestling - the major rival for WWF/WWE - thinking they were seeing double, it was for very reason.

Because Golborne-born Tommy has inherited the nickname from his famous uncle, the original 'Dynamite Kid' Tom Billington - who was one half of the famous ‘British Bulldogs’, alongside cousin Davey Boy Smith.

And 23-year-old Tommy quickly showed he has got to where he is on merit, with a sparkling performance in a fast-paced entertaining match against established star Dax Harwood.

Indeed, Harwood was so impressed with his opponent that, even after securing a narrow victory with a slingshot powerbomb, he left Billington alone in the ring so the live audience could show their appreciation.

Among the impressed fans watching on television was none other than Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart – ‘the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be’ – who is related to the Billington and Smith families through marriage.

And Tommy later posted a picture of him watching the bout with Bret, to gain some valuable feedback!

Do you believe in Joe Hendry? From a wrestler's entrance music to beating artists like Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Dasha, it seems yes, the public do believe in Joe Hendry.

The Scottish professional wrestler saw his song 'I Believe in Joe Hendry' reach number four in the official charts, in what he describes as a "series of fortunate random events".

Now the 36-year-old from Edinburgh is considering his next move - whether projecting his face on the Las Vegas Sphere or writing a song for the first minister of Scotland.

Hendry, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), was a musician for a decade before becoming a wrestler.

...

Hendry not only has the support of the wrestling community, his family have his back too.

Drew Hendry, the SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, is his uncle.

He said: "It’s been cracking to see the wrestling community and the wider public get behind Joe, he’s absolutely deserving of the top spot.

"I’ve always believed in him."

Joe has even offered his musical services to the new first minister.

"If John Swinney had given me enough notice, we could have done 'I Believe in John Swinney' for him, that would have been no problem," he said.

The song.

Wrestling fans have hit out at "extortionate" ticket prices for WWE's first ever Scottish pay-per-view show, Clash at the Castle.

The "premium live event" comes to Glasgow's OVO Hydro venue on 15 June.

The cheapest tickets cost £300, with premium tickets more than £2,000.

...

A WWE spokesperson told BBC Scotland News that some tickets had been on sale at lower price point across two nights at the venue.

However, they declined to give details of how many of these tickets were available or how many had sold.

Journalist Ross Brady, who has followed WWE to events in London, Cardiff and New Orleans, said he was not able to find a ticket for less than £300.

He said: "The first prices that went up were for combo tickets of around £330, so I waited for the event on the Saturday and it was £303.50 for just the single ticket.

This September, Pro Wrestling NOAH will be heading over to the United Kingdom for a three-show tour. September 6th-8th are the dates listed.

Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho, Ospreay was asked why he decided to join AEW.

"Main thing was, I wanted to be in the UK. I know I'm not going to be exactly comfortable moving to another country. I moved to Japan in 2019, as much as I loved it, it wasn't home. I entered a new relationship with my new Mrs. who wrestles under the name Alex Windsor, I have a stepson now, she just started school. If you know her story and everything she's been through, the UK scene kind of knows it, but she lost her husband, and having to pick herself up from that and having to be a mom, a single mom, to losing her husband, it's going to have some tolls on you, so she needs to be around family and friends in her social circle. I couldn't bear the thought of moving her away from all of that and having her own on her own again. For me, the main priority was to stay in the UK, but also wanting to up the wrestling because I had done everything in New Japan. I completed it. The viable option was where was I happy and what was I doing? Every time I came (to AEW), Tony [Tony Khan] has given me nothing but trust and respect the moment I came in here. It was the right decision for me at this time. I'm happy here and looking forward to the challenges. It's the right decision," said Ospreay.

Asked if he talked to WWE, Ospreay replied, "Yeah, of course, but it was night and day. Even in differences of what they were offering and what AEW was offering, AEW was way better. The scheduling, everything about AEW was completely the right option for me. It was always, you can go be a superstar in WWE and famous, but it's not as good of pay and it's not as kind of a schedule. I respect everyone there doing it, but it's not for me."

Atomic Pro Wrestling stages fights in venue where viewers can enjoy craft beer and get close to the action

AKA that time Giant Haystacks came out of retirement for a brief, truncated run in American wrestling. It wasn't pretty. In more ways than one.

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/SquaredCircle/t/492226

WRESTLING NEWS
1PW Wrestling Owner Files Resignation Filing With UK Government
By Corey Brennan Last updated Sep 26, 2023
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1PW Wrestling looks to be on its way out, despite heavily promoting their next show next month.

Earlier today, Steven Gauntley, owner of 1PW Wrestling filed with the UK government three new filings:

–Termination of appointment of Steven Gauntley as a director.

–Cessation of Steven Gauntley as a person with significant control.

–Cessation of Liam Alan Frank Smedley as a person with significant control.

Gauntly also resigned, as shown on Companies House.

Joe Dombrowski, who has commentated for several major professional wrestling companies such as IMPACT, Ring Of Honor, RevPro and The NWA.

Joe has also previously announced for 1PW Wrestling and took to social media earlier today to send a warning to those on the UK scene and those who had agreed to fly into the UK for the event that the end is nigh for the promotion.

To my British & import friends- If you’re booked on the Oct 28 1PW event: I’d find another show to work. To any fan/sponsor: if you put money into this, get it back however you can ASAP. The rats are fleeing the ship. The band’s playing on deck. The Titanic is sinking.

Joe Dombrowski

The company have previously responded to claims that they had not paid up with talent, claiming that they had fully paid up all talent.

Since that statement, Bodyslam.net has been made aware of other significant debts the company has yet to pay up on, including money owed to talent despite the promotions claims otherwise.

This comes along with the news that the companies upcoming Know Your Enemy show is failing miserably in ticket sales.

More than 80,000 fans gathered at Wembley Stadium to watch pro-wrestlers including Saraya, MJF and Will Ospreay.

The event was a rare opportunity for British fans to see a live event of this size - the last major US wrestling show at Wembley was 1992's Summerslam.

Co-founder Tony Khan said the event was a "huge milestone" for AEW, which was set up in 2019 as a rival to WWE.

...

Saraya, whose full name is Saraya Jade Bevis, grew up in Norfolk and claimed victory as the AEW Women's Champion.

The 31-year-old and her wrestling family inspired the film Fighting With My Family.

"The fact that it's Wembley Stadium in my home country, it was the most amazing experience of my whole life," she said.

...

The rivalry between the two organisations runs deep and Tony is keen to emphasise that the 81,035 tickets sold is more than the higher estimates of 80,000 when WWE, then WWF, brought Summerslam to the UK more than 30 years ago.

"This is the first time, on record, we could find any [event] that has sold over 81,000 tickets," he says.

He confirmed the event would return to Wembley in 2024.

The adrenaline-fuelled event took place on Saturday (August 19), with wrestling fans from across the city arriving in droves to watch the action.

The annual ‘mega show’, which began at midday and ended at 5pm, was free to watch on the Flag Market for those willing to stand.

A group of professional Welsh wrestlers are set to return to their home county of Blaenau Gwent this month, to put on what is described as one of the biggest wrestling events the south Wales valleys has ever seen.

The show named Echoes in the Valley, which will take place at Ebbw Vale Sports Centre on August 23, will feature a number of former WWE stars including Flash Morgan Webster, Wild Boar and Mark Andrews- and will mark the return of a number of local stars who grew up wrestling in make-shift rings around Blaenau Gwent.

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They released their first report in April 2021 with the recommendations:

• Wrestling has fallen between the categories of sport and theatre, sometimes characterised as sports entertainment. The panel recommends that wrestling training schools be considered as ‘sporting’ and shows, promotions and associated activity be considered ‘theatrical’ or ‘artistic’ or ‘performative’, in respect of future guidance, legislation and regulation.
• The minimum health and safety standards across independent wrestling in Britain is worryingly low. The parliamentarians have recommended a raft of measures most notably, enhanced requirements under the licencing and insurance arrangements wrestling companies have in place, and the adoption of concussion protocols. Signed PAR Q fitness forms, guidance from the Health and Safety Executive and minimum first aid training are also recommended.
• Wrestling’s own MeToo movement, known as SpeakingOut highlighted stories of sexual abuse, assault and predation. The report makes a number of recommendations in response to the movement, including hardwiring the voice of abuse survivors into British wrestling, the development of practical guides for first responders and working to establish case management systems to address allegations of abuse.
• Wrestling training schools have insufficient protections in place, particularly given they are regularly working with minors. The report recommends that, as is proposed under current legislation, sports coaches be recognised as a position of trust for the purposes of child sexual offences and that wrestling coaches be considered sports coaches for this purpose. A number of interim steps in relation to safeguarding and data protection are also proposed.
• The wrestling industry suffers from a lack of official representation, and the report recommends the establishment of trade bodies to more effectively promote British wrestling.
• Other recommendations include a call for increased data collection about the industry, appropriate memorialisation of great British wrestling talents building on the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame for Scotland, work to better understand the gender pay gap in wrestling, infrastructure to support wrestlers working overseas and better measures to accommodate visiting talent, and creating a safety standard for wrestling rings.

And in June 2023 it looks like they held a meeting at Loughborough University to discuss the issue of concussion in British wrestling:

Professor Warden said: “Concussion in sports is an important topic that requires attention and research, and this event aims to shed light on the issue within the wrestling community.

“With a line-up of esteemed speakers and experts, the event promises to be a significant platform for enhancing knowledge and fostering dialogue regarding concussion recognition, management, and guidance for a safe return to sport and work.

“We are delighted to have experts sharing their knowledge and experiences in this critical area of research and practice, and sincerely glad to partner with the APPG in applying world-leading research to wrestling”.

Alex Davies-Jones MP said: "Wrestlers from across the UK pressed us to do more on concussion, we listened and have acted. It has been brilliant to work with Loughborough University on today’s event which is shining a light on the significant issues around concussion that professional wrestlers face.

“For too long the wrestling industry has been unregulated and the lack of concussion protocols are particularly problematic.

“As co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Wrestling in Parliament I am keen to support where I can, and will continue to work with wrestlers, industry experts, academics and all involved to bring improvements to this thriving sector."

The Brynmawr-raised performer was known for his androgynous appearance and claimed to have taken part in more than 12,000 fights during a career that spanned seven decades – including one contest where he dropkicked Jimmy Savile.

Street left his home town in the 1950s to seek fame as a wrestler in London, rejecting his family’s tradition of working in coalmines. In the capital he became known for being a heel (bad guy), specialising in antagonising crowds with his fighting and appearance.

He later developed a penchant for flamboyant costumes that challenged social norms and helped sow the seeds for glam rock – often appearing wearing lipstick, with bright dyed hair and wearing a feather boa.

Trigger warning: may contain traces of Jimmy Saville.

Don't even remember how I found it, but WF is a Brit wrestling promotion that I've enjoyed for a long time through their youtube channel; lots of updates and always enjoyable match commentary.

These types of shows were my first introduction to pro wresting back in the day, and I'll always have a soft spot for them. Any other good ones out there?

Atomic Pro Wrestling is a Liverpool-based promotion with their third show at the start of August.

I have been meaning to go and I am hoping that the third time's a charm.

I added the British Bulldogs as the community banner for obvious thematic reasons but feel it worth flagging up the DSotR episode about The Dynamite Kid (on the left of the image) as he was a complicated figure and we need to acknowledge the rough (violence, physical and mental health issues like so many of that era) with the smooth (he was a fantastic performer who helped inspire modern wrestling).

Thoroughly enjoyable two-part documentary from 2014 looking at Glasgow's Insane Championship Wrestling, focusing on their star wrestler Grado.

• Part 1
• Part 2

It's an oldie but a goodie and Mick is a star.

It'd be rude not to start off by going back to one of the big highpoints in British wrestling popularity. We had very few telly channels and this was almost must-watch viewing that crossed generations.