What is Progress Wrestling? History, roster and ticket information on Britain’s wrestling phenomenom
Everything you need to know about the wrestling company taking Britain by storm
PROGRESS Wrestling has boomed since its creation five years ago.
Beginning at The Garage in North London in front of 350 people, the show now plays to sell-out crowds across the country and this year went abroad for the first time with shows in Toronto and Oshawa in Canada.
Here is everything you need to know about Britain's answer to WWE...
How did Progress Wrestling start?
In 2011 Jim Smallman and Jon Briley formed the company and spent seven months putting the show together.
Smallman was a huge fan of Japanese 'strong-style' wrestling which involved more realistic and unplanned moves than anything seen before in the UK.
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The pair settled on music venue The Garage as the stage for their opening performances and decided the show should have a punk rock theme.
On both its website and Twitter account the company refers to itself as "Punk Rock Pro Wrestling".
Who are the Progress Wrestling stars?
Progress are proud of their record of building careers for talented young British wrestlers rather than importing more experienced bigger names from abroad.
The most significant story to date has been Jimmy Havoc's ascent from no-hoper to the Championship.
Havoc lost his first six matches but became popular with fans and in November 2013 used an open contract from Smallman to challenge Mark Andrews and win the title.
Former champion Will Ospreay has moved on to an illustrious career in the Far East with New Japan Pro Wrestling and Smallman says he has high hopes for 'tremendously technical' current champion Pete Dunne.
Where can I get tickets for Progress Wrestling? How much do they cost?
Tickets were available on sites such as and for their bigger events such as their Brixton Academy but usually the tickets are sold through their mailing list..
The official site also operates a ticket exchange.
However there will be nine further shows in London next year, eight of which will be at the Electric Ballroom in Camden and one at the Brixton Academy, as well as four shows in Manchester and a further show in Birmingham.
Before selling out, tickets for the upcoming shows ranged from £13.50-£22.
What is the Progress Wrestling training school?
In late 2012, Progress launched the only full-time wrestling school in London and the South East, known as the ProJo.
Classes are available for beginner and advanced level wrestlers with a ring permanently erected in addition to a ring-sized matted area.
Students at the ProJo also put on their own shows, which are known as ENDVR, and show a mix of trainers, trainees and other pro wrestlers.
ENDVR shows have moved between The Garage and The Bedford Arms in Balham, South London.
Can Progress Wrestling really compete with WWE?
Smallman says it's not his immediate aim to play in front of tens of thousands of people like WWE.
He told that playing in front of 2500 people in Brixton was 'insanity' and playing in front of 5000 would be 'many times crazier'.
He added that a priority for him is keeping shows at music venues, which suit the product, over larger arenas.
However Progress did host two qualifying matches for the WWE Cruiserweight Classic in April and will perform two shows in Orlando this year as part of the Wrestlemania weekend.
Incredibly the link all came about through a phone call from Smallman's close friend and WWE star William Regal.
