Few wrestling promotions have burned as brightly—and as chaotically—as 1 Pro Wrestling (1PW).
From its inception in 2005, the UK-based company sought to make a splash in the wrestling world, but its ambition was often overshadowed by mismanagement, controversy, and financial turmoil.
1PW’s story is a cautionary tale of bold moves gone wrong, with memorable highs tarnished by catastrophic lows.
From its ill-fated debut show to booking legends like Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels under shaky finances, the company’s history reads like a manual on how not to run a wrestling promotion.
Through multiple closures, accusations of embezzlement, and unpaid talent, 1PW became infamous for its behind-the-scenes drama as much as its in-ring action.
This dive into 1PW’s biggest controversies showcases the moments that defined—and ultimately doomed—the promotion. From “A Cruel Twist of Fate” to its final implosion in 2023, 1PW’s turbulent journey is one of wrestling’s wildest sagas.
1PW’s First Show Was Named For Matt Hardy, Who Did Not Appear
They say start as you mean to go on. 1PW did exactly that but not in the way any of the fans would have wanted.
Owner Steven Gauntley wanted to kick off 1PW with a bang. In a show filled with “imports” (foreign wrestlers, usually American), the biggest and most notable would be Matt Hardy.
The first 1PW event took place on the 1st of October 2005. This was just six months after Matt Hardy had been fired from the WWE, due to his reaction to the discovery that his girlfriend Lita and his best friend Edge were having an affair. He was one of the hottest wrestlers in the world at that point and bringing him was ambitious, but a no-brainer.
The deal for Matt Hardy to appear at 1PW’s debut show was done early on. Gauntley even named the show for him, calling it “A Twist of Fate”. The whole show was built around the appearance of Matt Hardy.
Then, it wasn’t. By July of that year, Hardy was back in the WWE and feuding with Edge. Despite booking him well in advance, 1PW had to go without the WWE star for their first show.
The name was changed to “A Cruel Twist of Fate” and still featured a host of imported talent, including AJ Styles, Abyss, Raven, Tommy Dreamer and many more.
Read more about 1PW: A Cruel Twist of Fate.
1PW Fake Closed Down After Booking The Great Muta
The company trundled along for another year, booking increasingly impressive cards with more and more American wrestlers flown in to the shows on Gauntley’s dime.
While the lack of local, homegrown talent was a worry, 1PW decided that throwing more and more money at increasingly impressive foreign stars was the way to go.
This culminated in the promotion booking Japanese legend The Great Muta to appear at their 1PW No Turning Back 2007 event.
The January show went on sale in August and tickets quickly sold out. The Doncaster Dome was set to be full for Muta’s first-ever match in the UK and the hype was huge.
However, it soon became clear that Steven Gauntley could not afford to pay Muta or the other wrestlers. He claimed the bank cut their funding in November 2006 and they could no longer afford the show.
1PW had been horrendously run. They were running shows to pay for the ones previously, the whole thing built on a house of cards that was ready to fall at any moment.
The show was cancelled, although 3CW and RQW stepped in to save the day, with RQW booking Muta and 3CW running a 1PW tribute show at the Doncaster Dome instead.
It was a sad end to a once great promotion but it seemed like a fitting, albeit unspectacular send-off for 1PW.
Explore in more detail how The Great Muta bankrupted 1PWV
…But They Were Back In Business Months Later
Despite claiming the company had gone into liquidation following the events of 3CW: 1PW Will Not Die, Steven Gauntley didn’t actually liquidate the company.
They ran 1PW Resurrected in April 2007, albeit with a much less impressive roster of talent. With an apparent new source of funding found, 1PW drew 800 fans to the 1400-capacity Doncaster Dome.
Not only was the show not a big success, it also burned any bridges between 1PW and their fellow wrestling promotions. 3PW and RQW had come to their aid in a time of need, simply to do right by the fans.
They only helped thinking that 1PW had no money and were closing down. Now they were back in business, their own sacrifice seemed pointless and Gauntley just seemed like he was scamming them (spoiler: he was!).
They Failed To Pay Talent After Booking Ric Flair For Their Third Anniversary Show
On the surface, 1PW booking Ric Flair seemed like a huge success.
The Nature Boy had recently retired from wrestling after his first of many final matches. His loss to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 was a perfect way to end his career and 1PW sought to take advantage of the publicity they’d get from booking him.
They acquired his services for their Third Anniversary Show in 2008. Tickets flew off the shelves and fans packed the Doncaster Dome for a glimpse at the WWE Hall of Famer. They even did a Q&A session with the former WWE Champion, which was said to go swimmingly.
Even Ric Flair was a delight to be around and his appearance was said to be a huge success. He didn’t wrestle but got into the ring to speak to the crowd and cut a classic “Ric Flair” promo. Everybody was thrilled.
That was until it came time to pay the talent. Ric Flair had already been paid his $20,000 fee to attend and there was not enough money to cover the rest of the talent. New owners Dragon Asiu and El Ligero hid in their office as they counted the money, theorising that somebody must have robbed them during the show.
They hadn’t. They just hadn’t factored in all the costs for the event. 1PW couldn’t pay all the wrestlers as agreed and were £5,000 in the hole for the show. They were back to running the next show to pay for the previous one, which is not a sustainable business model.
After A Shawn Michaels Appearance Fell Through, 1PW Closed Down For The Second Time
After Steven Gauntley left the promotion, it bounced around the hands of wrestlers like Dragon Aisu and El Ligero before being taken over by Danny Rodd. After wrestlers like Ric Flair and Bret Hart had made appearances for the promotion, Rodd sought to book Shawn Michaels for 1PW.
This was a huge get. Michaels had only just retired after his match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26 and was still a massive name in the industry. He was arguably the greatest wrestler of all time and could have made 1PW into a big name again.
Tickets were sold for a Q&A with HBK and fans bought tickets for the 1PW Anniversary show in their droves. The 2011 event was looking like a great success until the internet rumblings were confirmed.
Shawn Michaels was not coming to the UK. The tour was cancelled with two months’ notice and all events featuring the WWE Hall of Famer were no longer occurring. 1PW’s Anniversary Show was cancelled with fans struggling to get refunds.
Danny Rodd even claimed he was the one being scammed. 1PW promptly shut down (for real this time) and stayed dead for the next 12 years before an unlikely, unwanted return.
Discover more about Shawn Michaels’ cancelled UK appearances for 1PW
They Failed To Pay Wrestlers After Relaunching And Shut Down For Good
Flash forward to 2023. The unlikely has occurred and Steven Gauntley is back in charge of 1PW.
They returned to the Doncaster Dome for A New Twist Of Fate, which once again did not feature Matt Hardy.
The event brought in stars like Rob Van Dam, Christopher Daniels and Mickie James and managed to draw over 1500 fans. It was a successful return to promoting and Gauntley would soon ramp things up, signing huge talents like Will Ospreay and Lance Archer to appear.
However, the real controversy came at 1PW’s Devil’s Due event. The main event was set to feature Will Ospreay defending his 1PW World Heavyweight Championship against Matt Cardona, who at the time was arguably the biggest star on the indies.
Despite the hype for the show, Matt Cardona had to complain on Twitter before he was paid the deposit for the show. It later came out that multiple wrestlers weren’t paid at all for the event and Gauntley had gone radio silent as they prepared for the next show.
It later came out that the show was cancelled and Steven Gauntley had been embezzling money from the company. 1PW was promptly shut down and remains one of the most controversial wrestling promotions in British history.
