Wrestlers on the card :-
• Saime Sahin
• Eddie Ryan
• Chris Bronson
• Nico Angelo
• Prince Phoenix
• Mega Pegasus
• Reece Alexios
• Josh Knott
• Curt Atlas
• The Blockbusters: Jordan Sparkes & Toby St. John
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With that being said, let’s dive in…
It's nice to be back at a Brit-King Pro show! I've mentioned it before, but I often find myself on a high for a few days after the event concludes and it's a nice change of pace from the usual headaches and horseshit that everyday life can bring us all. At its core wrestling - like cinema or live theatre - is all about escapism. Giving the fans a night of distraction and creating some decent memories. When a wrestling show is presented to a high standard this is exactly what it can do. When the promotion or wrestlers on the card aren't quite up to that standard it becomes easy to fall out of the moment and get lost in the mundanities of life once more. With 4FW or indeed Brit-King Pro, I've never had to worry about that. The level of talent and professionalism on display puts Brit-King Pro up there with the very best the British indie scene has to offer.
The card for this show changed around a lot compared to the originally advertised matches as injuries plagued the day. For some companies that would dip the quality of the show, but not for BKP. Of the 4 matches originally announced, 1 remained...kind of....but more on that later...it speaks to the depth of the roster that a show can lose Tiger Ali, Chris Bronson (from an in-ring perspective other than a minute or so at the end), JD Knight, and Antonio De Luca and still be brilliant!
One instant observation between the last Thatcham show I attended (October 2024) and now is that the crowd was bigger! The emergence of WWE on Netflix and the quality of some of the storytelling in WWE the last few years has led to something of a boom. The U.K. indie scene in general feels like it's hotting up nicely. When you couple this with Brit-King's ever-growing reputation as a go-to for a decent night out, the crowds will inevitably get larger.
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, and Emersons Green. 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. As I
said before, watching wrestling is pretty much always fun, but watching
characters and stories develop is where the art truly lies in my humble
opinion.
Another important change for this show was that Brit-King Pro debuted a new Heavyweight Championship! It is frickin' BEAUTIFUL and definitely makes the Heavyweight Championship feel more prestious...it's also heavy (I got to hold it later in the night)! There are pictures of it further down in the review.
Finally, before we dive into the card play-by-play, news has reached me that Tristan Lee and Brit-King Pro have parted ways. Those of you that have read my previous Brit-King reviews will know that Tristan had become fairly commonplace on the cards and I thought very highly of his potential for the future. I want to take a moment to wish Tristan the best and I look forward to seeing what's in store for him in the future. His easy-to-root-for underdog babyface persona and his ever-improving in-ring work will set him up nicely wherever he lands next I'm sure.
Match 1: Curt Atlas vs. Toby St. John
This was my first time seeing Curt Atlas wrestle live in over a year and even during that relatively small amount of time he seems to have grown into more of a polished performer. The heel Atlas entered the ring first. The tattoos, the chain, the braids: it works for him. His facial expressions are also really good. It's easy to dislike him when he's performing.
Comparitively, I've only recently seen Toby St. John wrestle for the first time: back in January in Swindon for Brit-King. Ordinarily Toby is a tag team wrestler alongside Jordan Sparkes collectively known as "The Blockbusters". They're a very successful tag team...
Originally The Blockbusters were set to take on The Steel Serpents, but the formerly mentioned injuries shuffled the card. I was interested to see what Toby could do as an individual performer. St. John is one of the most easy-to-root-for babyfaces I can remember seeing live in some time. His smile is infectious. Knowing absolutely nothing about him at all, his aura and the way he carries himself would lead me to bet my house on the fact he's a great guy outside of the ring as well. This is exactly what you want if you're wrestling as a babyface. In my opinion being a babyface wrestler is harder than being a heel. When you're a heel you can do no wrong. It's easier to get people to hate you than to like you. It's human nature. As a heel if you mess up, so what? You're a heel. Babyfaces don't have that luxury. Being a genuinely likeable babyface must be so difficult. It's one of the things that makes me marvel at Saime Sahin time and time again. He's been 4FW/Brit-King's top babyface for like a decade and yet the attendees have never turned on him and he's never grown stale. That's impressive.
The match itself was a solid opener. Both performed well and the crowd was hot throughout - and throughout the entire night. I don't recall a crowd being quite as loud or engaged in the action as they were in Thatcham last night.
St. John won the match and gave the crowd something to cheer about early.
Match 2: Reece Alexios vs. Jordan Sparkes
Before the match had time to start, Reece Alexios got on the mic and told us all how great he was...
This was my first time watching Alexios live and damn, what a talent! He's good looking too! If there's one thing that'll make men hate you faster than anything it's you being good looking! Throw in the arrogant persona and the spot-on facial expressions, you've got a fantastic recipe for a successful heel. One thing I did notice pretty quickly with Alexios is that he moves differently to everyone else. Not during the match, but before and after. He almost glides as he walks and poses. It's a combination of dancer movements and Greek statue positions. Very cool.
Everything I said about St. John above is the same for Jordan Sparkes. I'd never seen him wrestle solo and I was curious to find out what he could bring to the table by himself. Turns out quite a lot! I said in my last review that The Blockbusters remind me of both the Hollywood Blondes and the Von Erichs, and I couldn't think of two better compliments. I'm not sure when Sparkes and St. John are due to return to the states, but I hope they're sticking around for a few more Brit-King shows before they depart.
Alexios won the match. I thought Alexios vs. Sparkes was a slightly better match than the opener, which was very good in its own right. The crowd was even louder for this one as well!
Match 3: Brit-King Pro Junior Heavyweight Championship Match - Prince Phoenix (Champion) vs. "The Man With A Black Heart Of Gold" Nico Angelo
Now that we've been to quite a few Brit-King shows, an added benefit is that we've learned the lyrics to a lot of the entrance themes including both Nico's and Phoenix's. Two absolute belters! I enjoyed singing along to both during the entrances...quietly to myself for Phoenix's entrance. He's a heel after all. Much louder for Nico's. As more and more people become regulars at Brit-King, I'm expecting the "whoa-oa-oa-oooooa" in Nico's theme to become a sing-along with the crowd, much like Cody Rhodes' "whoa-oaaaaaa" in "Kingdom".
Nico vs. Phoenix is always a great match. I've seen it live twice before and both times were epic. Just as I was about to settle in for what would have been some high-flying, hard-hitting action, "The Stallion" Chris Bronson's music hit and he came to the ring. The Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Champion said that he runs Brit-King and he wasn't allowing his friend, Phoenix, to defend the Junior Heavyweight Championship in a dump such as Thatcham. He was calling off the match.
Turns out it was just a ruse to attack Nico. "The Silverback" - and Brit-King legend - Saime Sahin made the save. Chris Bronson said that neither Saime nor Nico were deserving of title shots and they would have to wrestle each other in order to earn it.
Match 3 Revised: No.1 Contender Match: "The Silverback" Saime Sahin vs. "The Man With A Black Heart Of Gold" Nico Angelo
Frankly, this isn't a match I ever expected to see. Between the size difference and the fact they're both babyfaces, this was a pipe-dream. I'm so glad I got to see it though. Saime and Nico are two of the best workers in Brit-King Pro, fuck, the U.K. and have been for a long time. A babyface vs. babyface match was an intriguing prospect. A face vs. face match can be jarring because the crowd doesn't know who to root for. Both participants are being respectful and honest, and decent. Thankfully, Saime and Nico are so good at what they do and have such spectacular movesets that it didn't matter. Both got cheered and loud reactions from the crowd. Saime did get cheered more, but I was cheering for Nico (sorry Saime!). I'll always root for the underdog.
As predicted, the match was great. It's hard to choose between this and the main event as "best match of the night", but when an event puts on quality after quality, everyone's a winner. It was hard-hitting. The chops sounded like gunshots, the kicks were stiff, the action was fast-paced, and everything looked crisp. Without a doubt, two of the best workers in the U.K. today. I'm still flabbergasted that WWE/AEW/TNA/etc. have never picked up Saime. Very few men his size can move like he can. He can hit cruiserweight moves with the same level of grace that they do. His punches and kicks are believeable, the crowd love him, he has a brilliant moveset, charisma oozes out of him...I'll never understand it. Nico still has so much of his future ahead of him and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a WWE or a NJPW snag him. What he lacks in height for a WWE, he more than makes up for in aggression. Like an Eddie Guerrero or a Chris Benoit, his aggressive style and believeability makes you feel like he could hold his own against anyone, irrespective of size difference.
Saime picked up the win and became the new no.1 contender. I'm not sure how that's going to work given what transpired at the end of the show, but that's a question to be answered another day.
Intermission time! Three matches down.
A quick note: while a hot crowd is awesome, please control your children during the intermission and after the show. It is against the rules to be climbing in/on the ring, tugging at the ropes, crawling underneath the skirting, etc.
Match 4: Josh Knott vs. Mega Pegasus
It was good to see Pegasus back. This was my first time seeing Josh Knott perform outside of The Steel Serpents and I must make a point of saying that he's a brilliant heel. Him calling a lady in the crowd out for being on her phone and not watching him destroy Pegasus was a particular highlight. I've always thought that the first match back after intermission is a tricky one for the wrestlers. The crowd are already 60-90 minutes into the night, probably getting a bit tired, and reserving whatever energy they have left for the main event. It's a testament to Knott, Pegasus, and the crowd that they weren't dead for match #4. Knott and Pegasus both worked hard to keep the crowd engaged.
After a fairly even contest, the villainous Knott was victorious.
Match 5: Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Championship Match - "The Stallion" Chris Bronson (Champion) W/Prince Phoenix vs. "The English Lion" Eddie Ryan
(God that new Heavyweight Title is beautiful)
Nope. Bronson was at it again. Before the match, Bronson announced that Eddie hadn't earned his title shot yet either. Instead, Eddie was going to have to wrestle Prince Phoenix. This was presumably because Bronson is injured. It explains why Nico vs. Phoenix was changed to Nico vs. Saime (so that Phoenix was free to main event), which in turn explains why Saime vs. Alexios was changed to Alexios vs. Sparkes.
Match 5 Revised: Prince Phoenix W/"The Stallion" Chris Bronson vs. "The English Lion" Eddie Ryan
Before the match started, Phoenix was riling the crowd up. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Phoenix is the best heel in a company filled with great heels. Tiger Ali and Chris Bronson are incredible heels. Reece Alexios, Curt Atlas, and Josh Knott are also decent heels. But none can capture the raw hatred that Phoenix does. At my last Brit-King show in Swindon in January, two grown men came out of the crowd to try and fight Phoenix. That's white-hot heat, brother. The crowd were booing and jeering Phoenix so Phoenix got on the turnbuckle and threatened to knock everyone in the crowd out. Yes, in the video above, he does end by pointing at me.
By the time the main event started, the crowd had lost all semblence of control...in the best way. 20 or 30 kids had swarmed the edges of the ring. Phoenix was in the ring threatening them. He even poured water on them all at one point! His heel instincts are impeccable. The crowd finally died down just enough for the match to start...
Yes, Eddie Ryan did put Phoenix's head in a bin. As you can see in the videos above, the crowd loved the main event. Nothing is better than watching wrestling live when the performers are amazing and the crowd is invested. It's so much fun! Half the crowd were out of their seats at various points during the match. A year ago, I predicted that Phoenix was Brit-King's "Next Big Thing". I called his Junior Heavyweight Title victory a year ago. I called him main eventing shows for Brit-King a year ago. Actually getting to be there last night to witness it was awesome. He belongs there. He proved last night that he can - and should - be called upon to main event. Not only can he generate white-hot heat, but he can wrestle. He can cut a promo. He might not have the size of an Eddie Ryan or a Saime Sahin, but he wrestles in such a way that you believe he can hold his own. All the hard work at the gym over the last year has aided his cause as well. An arrogant Heavyweight Champion that cheats to win, causes riots, and laughs the whole time while doing it vs. some incredibly likeable babyfaces chasing the title? I can definitely see it in 2025 or 2026.
The ending sequence to the match was fantastic as well. See for yourself...
It was mental! It had a chair, interference from Chris Bronson, Josh Knott, and Curt Atlas. Saves from Saime Sahin and Nico Angelo. A ref bump. A hot crowd. What more could you want?!
Oh yeah, an impromptu Heavyweight Championship match!
Match 6: Brit-King
Pro Heavyweight Championship Match - "The Stallion" Chris Bronson
(Champion) vs. "The English Lion" Eddie Ryan
The originally scheduled main event happened after all...
With Wolfmother's "Sundial" blaring out of the speakers and people surrounding the ring, Eddie Ryan was declared the new Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Champion. Eddie was hoisted onto the shoulders of Saime Sahin and Toby St. John, with Nico Angelo beside them clapping. It was the best ending to a Brit-King show I've ever seen. I'll talk about Eddie and the title victory in a moment, but before that a special mention for Chris Bronson. For 413 days, Chris Bronson propped up Brit-King Pro. He was the face of the first calendar year for the company...and what a face he was. He looked the part (and got into better and better shape as the year progressed), he talked the part, he walked the part. I don't think Brit-King would have grown so quickly without Bronson's in-ring skill and heel ability to get people to buy a ticket to see him hopefully get beaten next time. What a champion he was. Eddie has some big shoes to fill...
And I have full confidence that Eddie will do just that. I've been watching Eddie wrestle live for close to 15 years. From his early days in The Lionhearts with Jason Larusso, to his brilliant singles run through the U.K. indies, to NXT UK, to opening his own wrestling school in Plymouth....I don't think many people in the building yesterday were as emotionally invested or as happy to see Eddie win the Heavyweight Championship as I was. Yes, he's won Heavyweight Titles before, including in Dave's 4FW, but I wasn't there live on those occasions. Plus, kids were surrounding the ring, everyone was screaming and yelling....that was special. Really special. Much like January's Swindon show was a coming-out party for Prince Phoenix as Junior Heavyweight Champion, March's Thatcham show was for Eddie Ryan as Heavyweight Champion. It's a new year and the long-time champions of Chris Bronson and Nico Angelo have been dethroned by rising superstar Prince Phoenix and long-time stalwart Eddie Ryan. Nobody is more deserving than Eddie.
I suspected that Eddie might be becoming the champion last night for two reasons: 1) Phoenix won the Junior Heavyweight Championship two months ago and it doesn't make much business sense to have two heel champions long-term - you have no champion to put in the ring to take pictures with the fans. 2) the Newbury Today website did a write-up promoting the show and they interviewed Eddie. Eddie all but guaranteed he'd beat Bronson. If a babyface "guaranteees" something, they generally have to do what they said. Otherwise they lose credibility.
After the dust settled it was time for the post-show meet-and-greet. I got to catch-up with the guys and congratulate Eddie on his victory. I got a picture with Eddie with the new Heavyweight Championship and I got pictures for the first time with Curt Atlas and Reece Alexios.
When Susie (my Wife) was taking my updated pic with Prince Phoenix (now including the Junior Heavyweight Championship), she started chuckling. I didn't know why. I assumed it was because Phoenix was in full heel mode - dark sunglasses....indoors....in a darkened room...it wasn't until later I realised why she was chuckling...
A Saime Sahin photobomb!
I took some prints with me to get signed, all of which were photos taken by the incredible Emma Meek, who is second-to-none with behind-the-scenes wrestling photography.
Like Comic Cons, post-show meet-and-greets can be a daunting process for me. Not because I'm in any way nervous - I'm not - but because my hands shake pretty severely sometimes when I get an adrenaline dump or when I'm getting tired. It's a consequence of attempted suicide when I was 22. I'm not going to go into specifics here - I've done so before in a lot of depth during a relevant episode review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's "Amends", which can be read here - but the short version is that I took around 60 pills. I don't know the exact number. What I do know is that I survived without medical intervention or vomiting them up. No idea how. I shouldn't have. 13 years later the only consequence I've noticed so far is that my hands shake when I'm tired or have an adrenaline dump. They never used to before that. I don't know what other consequences could reveal themselves in the future, but for now I think it's a more than fair trade-off for surviving. If I knew then the future I'd have now, I'd never have tried it in the first place, but back then I didn't see a happy future or a way out at all. Depression is a bitch, Ladies and Gentlemen! So, during a meet-and-greet, I can feel quite embarassed. If my hands start shaking, I fixate on it. The more I fixate on it, the more adrenaline I get, the more they shake. It's a vicious cycle. At Comic Cons it's more or less disappeared because I'm so used to them (over 200) that I rarely get an adrenaline dump. Between the natural adrenaline of watching a live wrestling show then fixating on my hands during the meet-and-greet, I can end up in my own head too much.
I bought a beanie from Eddie Ryan that carries his logo: the English Lion! I was planning on buying the beanie at the show either way once I clocked them as I was entering, but the fact I bought it during the same night be became Heavyweight Champion was just the cherry on the cake.
What better way to conclude the review than with an updated title histories collage for Brit-King Pro :-
An absolutely amazing night out, as always. Get yourself to a Brit-King Pro show as soon as you can, Ladies and Gentlemen! See you in Swindon on the 10th of May!
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