Wrestlers on the card :-
• Chris Bronson
• Prince Phoenix
• Saime Sahin
• Nadia Sapphire
• Tiger Ali
• Nico Angelo
• Curt Atlas
• JD Knight
• Ricardo Neto
• KT Electra
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Here's
a promo video to show you what you're missing out on if you haven't
been to a Brit King Pro event. Do yourself a favour and buy tickets.
They regularly put on shows in Swindon, Oxford, Cardiff, Gloucester,
Bristol, Pontypridd, Portishead, Thatcham, Emersons Green, and other places! The
ticket prices are more than fair and I guarantee you'll have a great
time! One of the things that separates Brit-King from most indie
companies is that their events are story-driven. They give you
cliffhangers that make you desperate to attend again next time.
With that being said, let’s dive in…
After a summer hiatus it was time for Brit-King to make a triumphant return to Thatcham for another night of drama and debauchery! While the summer was a good opportunity for the team to reset and recharge, both the Heavyweight Champion, "The Stallion" Chris Bronson, and the Junior Heavyweight Champion, Prince Phoenix, took the time to travel to Mexico and make names for themselves in the home of Lucha Libre; building international relations between the U.K. and Mexico...
No, wait, nevermind...
Who let those two loose without a chaperone?!
I must admit, it was nice to be back at a Brit-King show. We were at their last show before the summer hiatus in Emersons Green on my birthday (June 21st), so it felt fitting to be back for the return show in Thatcham on September 6th. Due to it being the first show back the card wasn't really advertised in advance, so myself and Susie headed to Thatcham not really knowing what to expect or who was on the card. I knew that Brit-King staples Eddie Ryan, The Blockbusters, and the Heavyweight Champion, Chris Bronson, wouldn't be on the card as it clashed with a South West Wrestling show taking place in Cheltenham on the same night. As it turns out, I was wrong regarding Bronson...but more on that later.
As a total aside to the review, myself and Susie decided to visit Stonehenge on the way to the Brit-King show as it's only 45 minutes away from the venue in Thatcham. We were very glad we did! The weather was beautiful and there is something unique about the stones...you can feel a certain power radiating off of them. I'd definitely recommend giving them a visit if you're heading to a Thatcham show in the future.
Match 1: "The Stallion" Chris Bronson vs. Saime Sahin
Turns out Chris Bronson was there! He was pulling double-duty. Opening match for Brit-King, driving 90 mins to Cheltenham, then wrestling for SWW as well. What a fucking legend. It was announced that if Saime defeats Bronson, Saime would get to challenge Bronson for the Heavyweight Championship soon. Brit-King has put on Saime vs. Bronson before and it always delivers. This night was no exception. It was even nice to see the old rivals helping each other get ready for the match...
Nevermind...
Saime Sahin remains one of the hidden gems on the U.K. indies scene and I have no idea why. He's been a consistently fantastic performer for 15 years now. He's impressively agile for a man of his size, he can wrestle, his offence looks crisp, his selling is believable, and he's easy to root for. Everyone loves Saime. Contrastingly, Bronson is easy to hate. I've said before, but Bronson is part-Hennig, part-Flair, and part-Rude...plus some of his own flavour in there as well. Bronson has started to get the respect he so richly deserves and he's getting booked all over the U.K. now, alongside his recent excursion to Mexico. Plus, he has the best back bodydrop in professional wrestling. Period.
After an entertaining back-and-forth contest, Saime was declared the winner...but not so fast. Bronson decided that Saime didn't deserve a title opportunity. Bronson calls the shots in Brit-King and if Saime wants to face Bronson for the Title, he has to go through his friend Prince Phoenix first. The main event for the night was set: Saime Sahin - pulling double-duty too - against Prince Phoenix. A fresh matchup and an intriguing prospect.
Match 2: JD Knight vs. Ricardo Neto
Ricardo Neto was a new name for me. Turns out he cut his teeth at Evolution Wrestling, which is my home-county's promotion (Gloucestershire). Comparingly, I am very familiar with JD Knight and have been watching him wrestle live for, God, 15 years at least. JD Knight has recently been up in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, where he has been potraying Thor for Mythos Theatre. Having spoken to JD after the show, he has informed me that Mythos Theatre will be touring all over the world soon! Fair play to him and the whole Mythos team. What an accomplishment!
Back to the Brit-King goodness.
JD/Neto was a decent match. JD's mannerisms and ring awareness were key here. Coupled with Neto's natural athleticism; it was a winning combination. Some of the highlights included JD arguing with a child in the audience and telling him to put his mask back on because he's ugly, Neto's beautiful front dropkick, and JD's double-underhook DDT to win the match. Good solid work from both.
Match 3: Nico Angelo vs. Curt Atlas
Long-time readers of my Brit-King reviews will know that I'm a huge Nico Angelo fan. What a fucking talent! Both Nico and Curt are part of a New Wave (pun very much intended) of Welsh talent exploding over the U.K. independent scene, spearheaded by Brendan White. I've had the privilege of watching both grow as performers over the last couple of years and the match in Thatcham was arguably match of the night (Saime/Phoenix also has a strong case).
You cannot tell me that they aren't the same picture! Curt is looking at Nico like he's a particularly tasty side of Welsh beef.
Also, unless there's some powerful protein wind going on, Nico can actually smile! Who knew! He's usually so intense in the ring. Someone in the crowd referred to Curt's wrestling attire as "Granny panties", which amused Nico.
As expected, Nico and Curt was a very hard-hitting match. Nico's offence in particular looked crisp and powerful. I'm not sure how many times they've wrestled before - it was my first time seeing them go one-on-one - but their chemistry was fantastic. Their timing was spot-on.
The chop above sounded painful! So much so that we caught reaction pictures from both. Nico hurt his hand and Curt hurt his chest...Drew (referee) looks pained as well. Sympathy chop at its finest.
Good stuff! While I don't want to see anyone get hurt AT ALL, nothing takes me out of the moment of suspending my disbelief more than obviously fake strikes or mis-timed spots. You don't really have to worry about that with Nico or Curt as they're both believable workers.
Nico was declared the winner (yay!) and the show went to intermission.
Match 4: Nadia Sapphire vs. KT Electra
Nadia Sapphire has legitimate heat. She's shrill, she's rude, and she's easy to hate, as all great heels should be. During the last show before the summer hiatus, Nadia Sapphire, Prince Phoenix, and Chris Bronson formed a stable (name still T.B.C.). I was pleased to see that the continuity was there. Phoenix helped Bronson at the start of the show, Phoenix helped Nadia here, and Nadia managed Phoenix for his main event match with Saime Sahin. Brit-King Pro are starting an on-demand service soon and one of the things that will really help it to shine is long-term storytelling. Hard-hitting wrestling is incredible, but emotional connection to the characters and how they interact with each other is what will keep bringing people back time and time again. It has to make sense and it has to be consistent. Brit-King are doing a great job of that thus far.
Like Ricardo Neto, it was my first time seeing KT Electra wrestle live. I've seen KT at Brit-King shows before, but not in-ring. Her athleticism instantly stood out as impressive. The lady can move! One of the things that impressed about both Nadia and KT is their mat wrestling. The fundamentals are there in ways that are sometimes lacking in 2025 for both the female and male performers. Sometimes indie wrestling can feel like a spot-fest, which is pointless. If it doesn't make sense, mean something, look realistic, and make you feel something, there is no point having it in the match in my opinion.
I love Nadia's facial expressions. Nadia and JD Knight have the best expressions in Brit-King in my humble opinion.
After a fairly even back-and-forth contest, Nadia got the victory...with a little help from Prince Phoenix as you can see.
Before the main event started, Phoenix got on the microphone and declared that Drew wouldn't be refereeing the main event. He'd found a suitable replacement: Tiger Ali.
Isn't it nice to see Saime and Tiger in a ring together again?
Seeing Saime and Phoenix square off against each other was an unexpected, but very cool surprise. Long-time readers will know that I made 3 predictions about Phoenix 18 months ago...
1) He'd be Junior Heavyweight Champion within a year (he was).
2) He'd be main eventing shows by the end of 2025 (he is).
3) He'd be Heavyweight Champion by the end of 2026 (I still believe he will be).
Phoenix is packing on muscle at the moment and he doesn't look out of place wrestling the heavyweights - even a particularly heavyweight-y heavyweight like Saime.
He can talk, he generates huge heat - I've seen him almost cause 2 riots this year alone - and as you can see in the video above, his strikes and moves look fantastic. Plus, he's an international star now! Travelling around Mexico with Bronson and picking up some extra styles and moves for the repetoire along the way.
Seeing a fresh main event was nice. I've seen Phoenix and Saime in the ring together before, but never one-0n-one. Saime was, as always, incredible. I must say the entire roster of Brit-King main event mainstays know how to put on one helluva show. Mix-and-match Saime, Tiger Ali, Chris Bronson, Eddie Ryan, Prince Phoenix, and Nico Angelo all you want. Any combination will be a winner!
Phoenix and Saime fought on the outside of the ring. They fought inside the ring. The odds were stacked against our babyface: Phoenix was a sniper, Nadia was getting involved....even the referee, Tiger Ali, suddenly developed a "shoulder injury" when counting to three as Saime had Phoenix pinned. Saime had finally had enough! He superkicked Ali. Just as Nadia tried to get involved again, KT Electra made the save and fought Nadia on the outisde of the ring. This gave Saime enough breathing room to hit his finisher and count to three himself using Tiger Ali's arm.
Saime and KT Electra celebrated in the ring together to end the show. Saime has a Heavyweight Championship opportunity at some point in the future.
As is customary post-show at Brit-King, you can purchase a meet-and-greet with the wrestlers for £6. This includes a large print that all the wrestlers can sign and it gives you the opportunity to have a chat with them, grab some pictures, and end the night on a high. A number of the team have become friends at this point, so it's always a great way to end the night. I got some prints signed by Nico, JD Knight, Saime, and Curt Atlas that I took with me from home, grabbed some pictures with the roster, bought some shorts from Nico, had some lovely chats, and then headed back to Gloucestershire with Susie. It was another epic night of professional wrestling goodness.
Can't wait to be back at a Brit-King Pro show again this coming weekend in Swindon (September 13th)!
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