I started attending WWE shows as a child. It wasn’t easy: we were poor. But my family would save up and my cousin, my Aunt, my Uncle, and I would travel to Birmingham to watch the latest crop of wrestlers do their thing. I was lucky enough to watch people like Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Randy Orton, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, and more.
This led me to the British independent scene. My first show was 2008. I was in my late teens. Some of the wrestlers I was first drawn to during those formative years are still people I get to watch wrestle now: JD Knight, Eddie Ryan, and Jonny Storm, followed by incredible talent coming out of 4FW, such as Saime Sahin and Tiger Ali. Since 2008, I have watched live wrestling every year other than during Covid. Over the last few years, myself and my Wife, Susie, have started to attend more and more indie shows. Partly because we have more free money. Partly because the British indies are on fire right now.
With companies like RevPro and Progress leading the charge, the UK has become a hot-bed of great wrestling, interesting characters, and fabulous entertainment. At one point independent wrestling was viewed as a bit of a joke (not by me!). Local workers performing to small audiences. That isn’t the case anymore. In the South-West of England and the South of Wales alone we have British Kingdom Pro, Attack!, Chaos, New Wave, South West Wrestling, Evolution, No Mercy, and more, putting on legitimately brilliant shows week-in and week-out.
This leads me to Wales. Dear Wales. A stone’s throw from where we live in Gloucester. For a long time the Welsh wrestling scene didn’t really exist. There was a smattering of Welsh wrestlers, but certainly not a “scene” or anything of note. Over the last few years in particular, people like Brendan White, Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster, Wild Boar, and more have made a concentrated effort to change that. Companies like New Wave sprouted up; dedicated to training wannabe wrestlers in and around Wales. Existing companies like Attack! and Chaos started to flourish.
A lot of hard work, sweat, blood, and tears later, we have the current Welsh wrestling scene. Multiple companies doing good, consistent business and scores of Welsh wrestlers leading the charge on the British indies. Just read this list of Welsh wrestlers currently active :-
- Mark Andrews
- Flash Morgan Webster
- Brendan White
- Curt Atlas
- Danny Jones
- Nico Angelo
- Leon Cage
- Shane Hook
- Tommy Vril
- Wild Boar (recently retired)
- James Ellis
- Matt Gatlin
- Josh Holly
- Nadia Sapphire
- Mulligan
- Jay Joshua
- Harrison Bennett
- Duke Degnan
- Alexander Vane
- Adam Crater
- Splits McPins
- James Taylor
Plus a list of non-Welsh wrestlers that consistently train/trained in Wales :-
- Dani Luna
- Kyriacos
- Aluna
- Vivika
- Chris Bronson
- Rayne Leverkusen
- Hunter Maul
That’s not all! The next generation of great workers are also coming from Wales. People like Chicago Desailly, MJ Bale, Eli Blake, Lana Rae, KT Electra, and Abigail are all massively influenced by or trained within the Welsh wrestling system.
Take a moment and let that list sink in. Some of the biggest names in Britain right now are Welsh. Names like Nico Angelo, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, Jay Joshua, Danny Jones and Matt Gatlin.
This has never happened before. Ever. Wales was never a wrestling hotbed. It was never a country that got named alongside wrestling’s strongest countries such as England, the U.S.A., Germany, Canada, Mexico, and Japan…and yet, seemingly from nowhere, Wales has its fingerprints across wrestling worldwide. Of course, it’s not “seemingly from nowhere”. As alluded to before, people like Brendan White are unsung heroes making this happen. Without New Wave, without Brendan, without Wild Boar, and Mark Andrews, and Flash Morgan Webster, this doesn’t happen. At the time of writing this, New Wave wrestling are about to put on their first show in Canada (where they already have a training school). A Welsh identifying company are putting on world-class worldwide shows! It is absolutely mind-blowing to me.
Typically my wrestling show reviews hover around 10,000-30,000 unique reads, so for those of you reading that aren’t familiar with the Welsh wrestlers, the rest of this article will be dedicated to educating you on what you’re missing. I can’t highlight everyone as I’ll never finish writing, but I will cherry-pick from a smorgasbord of talent.
Nico Angelo
"The Man with a Black Heart of Gold" - or as I've recently referred to him as given his increased muscle mass: "The Man with a Black Hear of Swole'd", Nico Angelo is about as complete of a wrestler as you will find not only in Britain, but in the world. If someone were to argue that Nico Angelo is the best wrestler in the U.K., I would have no counter-argument. Arguments could be made for "The Stallion" Chris Bronson, Jay Joshua, and a small handful of others, but nobody on the continent is better than Nico Angelo. He's got the look, he's got the believability, he's got amazing-looking offence, he can sell, he's easy to root for as a babyface, and he's even better to hate as a heel. Not only is Nico Angelo a fantastic trainer by all accounts of everyone I've spoken to, but he's still at the absolute peak of his power in the ring. Nico Angelo not wrestling for one of the top organisations in the world is one of the biggest travesties in recent memory.
The current Progress Tag Team Champion (with Connor Mills), King of Chaos Champion, and Riot Cabaret Champion, "The Man with a Black Heart of Gold" is certainly living up to the "gold" part of his monikor. Nothing cemented his place as the best Welsh wrestler in the world (for my money) more than his very recent King of Chaos Championship defence against Leyton Buzzard, where both combatants went to WAR! Check it out for yourself in highlight form below (the full match will be released via Chaos' on-demand service soon)
Other recommended viewing includes his matches with Saime Sahin and Danny Jones at Brit King Pro earlier in the year.
Subculture
Pioneers in many ways, the team of Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster, and Dani Luna have been a staple of Welsh wrestling for the last 5 years. Former RevPro, WWE NXT UK, and Impact tag team champions, Mark and Flash have not only been intrumental to Welsh wrestling in front of the camera, but also behind it. With ownership stakes in numerous local companies, Mark and Flash have been helping carve an identity for Wales in the Pro Wrestling sphere for a while now. Not only that, but all 3 are phenomenal workers in the ring too! They've got a cool look, their wrestling style is mesmerising, and they put on epic match after epic match. A recent example of this is their awesome tag team match against the amusing "Legion of Bloom" for Attack! Pro. The full version of the match is available at Attack! Pro Wrestling's YouTube channel here.
Brendan White
Every single wrestler I've spoken to about the surge of exceptionalism in Welsh wrestling has credited Brendan White as the main reason why. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. That says a lot. The founder of New Wave Wrestling Academy, Brendan White has been a driving force in all that is good in Welsh wrestling for a long time now. Debuting as a wrestler a decade ago, Brendan White is a former King of Chaos Champion himself as well as being a decorated tag team wrestler alongside fellow-Welshman Danny Jones, collectively known as Greedy Souls. Brendan has made it his life's mission to put Welsh wrestling on the map and he has categorically succeeded in this venture. A mentor to many on the indies, a brother-figure, a father-figure, and a friend, the Welsh wrestling scene is all the better for Brendan's prescence within it.
Danny Jones
"Made of Stone" Danny Jones is a powerhouse. Tall, strong, aggressive, and angry, he is a natural heel. One thing that has always struck me about Danny Jones is that his offence is so believeable. His suplexes, his knees, his piledriver...it all looks devastating. If you were to ask me, gun-to-head, who I thought was the most likely to make it to WWE and have a fantastic career there out of the current Welsh wrestlers it would be Danny. I think almost everyone I've mentioned is capable of it, but Danny has the aggression, the size, and the believability. Another former King of Chaos Champion and a multi-time tag team champion with Brendan White, Danny can do it all in the ring. I've watched him wrestle live a dozen or so times now and every single match has been awesome, without exception. Put him in there with another big powerhouse like Charlie Sterling? No problem. Make him have a heavyweight vs. junior heavyweight match against Nico Angelo? Expect fireworks. The future is incredibly bright for Danny. Recommended viewing: his Brit King Pro match against Nico Angelo. Highlights below. Another great match is his inter-gender match against Dani Luna for Attack!
Nadia Sapphire
Moving in a more feminine direction, when I think of female wrestlers from Wales, two names immediately spring to mind: Nixon Newell and Nadia Sapphire. Nadia has been around the UK indies for nearly TWENTY years now - and she's still in her prime in her mid-30's! The first and only Welsh female promoter that I'm aware of, Nadia has done more to promote Welsh wrestling than most. She's an excellent wrestler in her own right: trained in earnest by the incredible Dave Sharp, Nadia has a strong technical grounding coupled with a brilliant heel character. If I needed one person on this list to piss the fans off so much they start to riot, Nadia would be my first call. I've seen her (and Prince Phoenix) almost cause multiple riots at Brit King this year alone. I believe Nadia has been a key ingredient in the growth of talented wrestlers coming out of Wales and she perhaps doesn't get the credit she deserves.
Jay Joshua
When I said above that Nico Angelo is the best Welsh wrestler in the world right now for my money, a few other names rose up in my head instantly to challenge that: Danny Jones, James Ellis, and Jay Joshua. Jay Joshua is arguably the most improved Welsh wrestler of the last few years. He was always decent, but something has shifted during the last 24 months. He oozes confidence, his character is brilliant, and the quality of matches he's putting on right now is sublime. His match against Chris Bronson at New Wave last month is right up there with the best matches I've ever seen live - and I'm including live WWE matches in that list. Check the match out here. The current New Wave Wrestling Champion and former No Mercy and Attack! Champion, Jay Joshua's stock is continuing to rise. I feel as though 2026 is going to be a massive breakout year for him. If you want an example of the calibre of Welsh wrestling in 2025, look no further than Jay.
Leon Cage
I'm going to conclude this article by writing about three of the most promising young Welsh talent currently making headway on the British scene. First we have Leon Cage. Still a teenager, Leon is already attracting the attention of global superstars like Will Osprey after creating some of the coolest new moves wrestling has seen in a long time. Recently returning from a 4-month injury, Leon is expected to do great things heading into 2026. Leon is already a former Knights of Chaos tag team Champion alongside the next man on this list, Shane Hook, collectively known as "Rising Tide". That's an accurate name for these two as they're the most exciting high-flying young men coming out of Wales right now. Incredibly bright futures. They can represent Wales for a long time to come to a worldwide audience.
Shane Hook
I'm a new convert to Shane Hook's fandom, having only watched him perform live for the first time last month. Since then I've seen him wrestle live once more and will do yet again before the month of November is concluded. Like his tag team partner Leon above, Shane Hook has all the potential in the world. If he continues to progress at his current rate; he could be something really special. He's an easy-to-root for babyface with a breath-taking arsenal of moves at his disposal. His matches are already of a quality much higher than his age should allow. Check out his recent match against Kyriacos from Pro Wrestling Chaos as a prime example of this :-
Tommy Vril
Last but certainly not least is Tommy Vril, who is my favourite find of 2025. While everyone referenced in this article is a great wrestler, what separates Tommy is that he's also a fantastic character. Characters aren't as commonplace as they were in the 90's. These days most wrestlers want to have impressive moves in the ring and often place emphasis on this above everything else. Not Tommy. Don't get me wrong, he's brilliant in the ring already after just 18 months(!), but his character work is what sets him apart. His proficient dance background means that he moves differently to any wrestler I've ever seen. He can slither and arch, and twist in unexpected ways. Furthermore, his entrance is amongst the best in all of wrestling right now. Watch it in the highlight video below - it is something to behold. Young, talented, great promo skills, beautiful in-ring skills, and masterful character work, Tommy Vril is someone that should go very far in professional wrestling if he continues down his current path.
Honestly, I could go on forever. I haven't even gotten to James Ellis or Curt Atlas, or some of the other spectacular Welsh talent that are smashing it right now. The salient point of this article is that Welsh wrestling has never been this good. Not even close. The sheer volume of talented workers active right now is mind-blowing. Do yourself a favour: get out to a live show and see them for yourself! Companies like British Kingdom Pro, Attack!, Pro Wrestling Chaos, New Wave, No Mercy, Evolution, South West Wrestling, and others frequently showcase Welsh talent. You are looking at some of the biggest and brightest stars of the future of the sport right here and right now in Wales. Start to become familiar with them now.
Thank you for reading. Until next time, I've been your friendly neighbourhood Shangel.
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