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Saturday the 7th of September was my 3rd Brit-King Pro show of the year, taking place in the Deanery Theatre in Swindon. As it turns out, this was my favourite show of the three for various reasons. First and foremost it was a story-driven show, with heartfelt speeches, run-ins, and laying the framework for the return to Swindon on Saturday the 16th of November. Secondly, the card was stacked! It has old-school veterans like Saime Sahin, Tiger Ali, Eddie Ryan, The Saint, JD Knight, RJ Singh, and the returning Antonio De Luca. It had the new guard of the reigning Junior Heavyweight Champion, Nico Angelo, and the reigning Heavyweight Champion, Chris Bronson. It had the next generation of emerging talent, such as Tristan Lee, Prince Phoenix, and Mulligan, and it had Chicago Desailly having one of the first matches of his fledgling career. Throw in the legend that is Doug Williams being on the card and you've got a recipe for a great show. Like the last show in Swindon in May, the card was six matches.
A special note to say that all videos are credited to @WrestlingCG1 on X, other than the beatdown video after the Nico Angelo vs. Tiger Ali match. That video credit is to Brit-King Pro themselves.
Match 1: JD Knight vs. Chicago Desailly
My understanding is that originally the match was slated to be JD Knight vs. 4FW Legend Mega Pegasus, but it had to be changed last-minute. Chicago Desailly stepped up on very short notice to wrestle one of the first matches of his career against the grizzled pro that is JD Knight. The match was decent. Chicago handled himself well and should be proud of his showing. JD Knight was - as always - the consummate professional. Ultimately, the rookie came out on top and Chicago bested the wily JD.
Match 2: Prince Phoenix W/Mulligan vs. Tristan Lee
This was a repeat of a match that took place at the last Swindon show, but I believe this one topped the last one. It was a fast, ferocious pace. Tristan Lee's chest was cut and red by the end of the match (still was at the meet and greet at the end of the night) and both competitors had red rope marks on their backs from hitting the ropes. One new thing for this show was that Prince Phoenix has a bodyguard now: a 6 foot 7 behemoth called Mulligan. Since hiring this bodyguard, Phoenix refuses to walk to the ring now. Mulligan carries him everywhere. It's a great little addition to a heel character. "I'm too good to walk" is very easy to dislike and adds to the already impressive presentation by Phoenix. He's definitely someone to keep an eye on for the future as his character work is next level already. Like last time Tristan Lee is an easy-to-root-for babyface. His moveset is impressive, his athleticism is fantastic, and I'm expecting big things from him moving forwards. Ultimately, the dastardly heel won the match with a little help from Mulligan via a chokeslam. When in doubt, bring in the monster.
Match 3: Brit-King Pro Junior Heavyweight Championship Match - Nico Angelo (Champion) vs. Tiger Ali W/RJ Singh
As anticipated, this rematch from February 2024 in Gloucester lived up to the billing. Since then, Nico has won the Junior Heavyweight Championship and has been bringing more prestige to the title with every passing day. Tiger Ali has had more amazing matches than I've ever seen anyone else have in my life while being inside the building myself. This was a can't-miss, must-watch. I'll talk more about RJ Singh later, but he continues to be arguably the best promo in Brit-King Pro. He's a natural on the mic and it appears to be easy for him to rile the crowd up into a frenzy. The match definitely had a "big fight" feel right from the start. The face-off before the bell rang solidified this. When all was said and done, Nico stood tall and was still the Junior Heavyweight Champion....
...but then came the first swerve of the night! Prince Phoenix and Mulligan appeared and decimated the champion.
I'm hoping this means Prince Phoenix with Mulligan taking on Nico Angelo for the Junior Heavyweight Championship in November because that match would be insane! Phoenix has all the athleticism of his brother, Owen, while also having the it-factor when it comes to personality and presentation. Nico on the other hand is a world-class in-ring wrestler, has a badass look, and is very easy to root for. God, I hope that takes place in November.
Match 4: Antonio De Luca vs. Eddie Ryan
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This was particularly fun for me as I'm a long time 4FW fan. Eddie Ryan was a mainstay of 4FW for many years as part of the Lion Hearts with Jason Larusso, while Antonio De Luca was also a long-term member of the 4FW team. Having De Luca back in a David Sharp-run company was awesome. De Luca came out to cut a promo before the match began and received a lot of ridicule - he was a heel for many years so people naturally assumed he was going to be a heel again. He received chants of "where's my pizza?" and "pepperoni" almost instantly. I think that was one of the differences between myself and most of the audience: I go back a long way with these people. I couldn't boo De Luca because I was so pleased to see him back. Eventually, Eddie Ryan came out to the ring and the match began - and what a great match it was. Two veterans. Two people with a lot of history in Swindon. Antonio De Luca won the match and then it was time for intermission.
During the intermission, myself and my Wife, Susie, went to the concession stands. We purchased a Brit-King Pro wristband and I asked Nico Angelo to sign my custom print. A little while ago, I asked my digital artist friend, Tony Blake, to create a Brit-King Pro print for me to get signed by some of the people I consider the "faces" of the company at present. I took the print with me alongside a selection of different coloured permanent markers. Of course, I asked Nico to sign in gold. With his moniker being the "black heart of gold" it really narrowed down to two colour options. Gold would pop more than black. As you can see, later in the night I got everyone to sign other than Mega Pegasus as he wasn't on the card. It looks beautiful!
Match 5: RJ Singh W/Tiger Ali vs. The Saint
After a few months away, The Saint was back. He came to the ring and cut a promo about his imminent retirement. This is the part of the night that irritated me the most. Not because of anything The Saint did, but because of the audience. I think part of the problem stems from the fact that The Saint has been a heel for quite a while now and the other part of the problem was that a lot of the audience was new. They didn't know The Saint's history. He cut a beautiful promo about retiring sometime soon, about his history with Swindon, and about being The Cornerstone of British independent wrestling for 20 years (all true). The audience booed. The audience was chanting "who are you?" back at him. This wasn't cool as The Saint is a legend, but I get it. RJ Singh and Tiger Ali then came to the ring and told The Saint not to care about "these people" (the audience). RJ offered to manage The Saint for the remainder of his career.
The Saint thought about it momentarily, then declined. This led to a match between RJ and The Saint. It was a fun match. A wild brawl. They wrestled on the outside and through the crowd. It was great fun. When The Saint was declared victorious, I had a sinking feeling that Saime was going to come up short against Chris Bronson in the main event again...we couldn't have a feel-good story two matches in a row, could we?
Match 6: Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Championship Match - Chris Bronson (Champion) W/Doug Williams vs. Saime Sahin
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What a beautiful match. Saime is a living legend in Swindon and was the most over wrestler of the night. The crowd reactions were huge. He's popular with kids, adults, men, women....Saime is just naturally loveable. Plus, he's been in 4FW and Brit-King Pro for so long now. He's not only a Swindon legend now; he's a wrestling legend. For a man of any size he's remarkably athletic. For a man of his size it's incredible. How WWE or AEW haven't snatched up Saime or Tiger Ali is beyond me. Chris Bronson has also been a fantastic Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Champion. He comes across like a star. He reminds me of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig in both his appearance and mannerisms, which is the highest of compliments. His work is crisp. He really has been moulded into a great champion at this point. As predicted, the match was fantastic. I'd say the best match of the night - although Prince Phoenix vs. Tristan Lee and Nico Angelo vs. Tiger Ali both run close seconds. They brawled in the crowd, around the venue....at one point Saime chopped Chris right next to my ear and it sounded like a gunshot went off! During the match there was a problem with the ring. I believe one of the springs or slats was damaged. Saime and Chris being the pros that they are avoided that corner and carried on with the match as if nothing was wrong. Chris retained his title - with a little bit of help from the legendary Doug Williams.
After the match, Chris grabbed the microphone and said that Saime will never challenge for his Heavyweight Championship again. In fact, he would never wrestle again. Doug brought a yellow steel chair into the ring and they put it around Saime's neck, ready to do serious damage. Eddie Ryan came out and made the save! I thought this was setting up Eddie vs. Chris for November, but then Antonio De Luca came out too! Antonio grabbed the yellow steel chair. Were they setting up Eddie and Saime vs. Antonio and Chris for November?....No! Antonio swung the chair and connected with Chris' head! Antonio De Luca turned babyface! Antonio De Luca is challenging Chris for the Heavyweight Championship in November! The event concluded with Antonio De Luca, Eddie Ryan, and Saime Sahin standing tall in the ring together. Three Swindon legends. Three 4FW legends. What an end to the show!
What a great event! Like I said at the start, it was a story-driven show. If I was fantasy booking November, here is how it would look :-
Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Championship: Chris Bronson vs. Antonio De Luca (confirmed)
Brit-King Pro Junior Heavyweight Championship: Nico Angelo vs. Prince Phoenix W/Mulligan (rumoured)
Tristan Lee vs. Tiger Ali W/RJ Singh
Saime Sahin vs. Charles Crowley
Eddie Ryan vs. JD Knight
The Saint vs. Jay Joshua
No.1 Contender For The Junior Heavyweight Championship: Mega Pegasus vs. Jakk Sellstrom vs. RJ Singh vs. Chris Ridgeway vs. Lee Hunter vs. Chicago Desailly
That would be fun!
For a measly £6 after the show, you could purchase a meet-and-greet with all the wrestlers that were on the card. This is where I got my print signed by Eddie Ryan, Saime Sahin, Tiger Ali, The Saint, and Chris Bronson. I also grabbed pictures with Chris Bronson, Antonio De Luca, Chicago Desailly, Prince Phoenix, and The Saint. Definitely worth the money! I spent so long showing the guys the collage and talking to the wrestlers that I missed RJ Singh, Mulligan, and JD Knight, so I'll have to meet them next time!
Brit-King Pro always delivers a night of excellent wrestling, special memories, and family entertainment. I'd strongly suggest you buy tickets here. They run events in Gloucester, Swindon, Oxford, Bristol, Cardiff, Redditch, Thatcham, and more, so chances are they're running an event somewhere near you soon! I'll be at the Gloucester show in October, the Swindon show in November, and the Gloucester show in December. Can't wait!
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