British wrestling has seen its fair share of highs and lows over the years, but some moments have left an unforgettable mark on the industry for all the wrong reasons.
From tragic in-ring incidents to corporate takeovers that shook the scene, these controversies have sparked heated debates among fans and shaped the future of wrestling in the UK.
In this article, we take a closer look at the most shocking and controversial moments in British wrestling history—events that defined an era and continue to be talked about today.
The Speaking Out Movement
The Speaking Out movement was such a huge part of the downfall of British wrestling that it really deserves to have its own article (oh wait, it does).
Back in 2020, British wrestling was on its knees. NXT UK had hoovered up most of the top talent in the region and the COVID lockdowns meant that nobody could run any shows.
However, just as interest grew when restrictions began to be lifted, a number of the biggest stars we had were accused of a variety of crimes. Sexual, physical and emotional abuse were par for the course, with British and Irish stars from WWE, AEW and NJPW all implicated.
These accusations ended the careers of people like David Starr, Jimmy Havoc and Jack Gallagher, while others like EL Ligero and Marty Scurll were forced to continue wrestling in exile in foreign lands.
While NXT UK and the pandemic had bigger effects on the death of BritWres, Speaking Out was the final nail in the coffin and turned many people (fans and wrestlers) off the business for good.
Find out every wrestler who was implicated in the Speaking Out movement.
Joint Promotions Creates A Monopoly
After the Mountevans Rules were established in 1947, professional wrestling had a seismic shift. This new set of rules drew bigger crowds and forced promotions to regulate their shows, stopping the growing amount of hardcore wrestling the “All-In Style” had encouraged.
With this renewed interest came a chance for one group to dominate. In 1952, six promotions led by Dale Martin Promotions formed a pact. They would work together, share talent and box out any promotions or wrestlers who didn’t play by their rules.
It was a monopoly in effect, but the business was so inconsequential to the government that they failed to investigate. This allowed Joint Promotions (the name given to this alliance) to dominate British wrestling for the next forty years.
Their monopoly even extended into the TV world. Joint Promotions had the sole TV deal in the country and were featured on ITV’s World of Sport every Saturday, making Big Daddy the most popular wrestler in Britain.
Read more about the history of Joint Promotions and how they dominated the wrestling landscape.
Women’s Wrestling Is Banned (Twice)
Like other female sports in the UK, women’s wrestling has always been given the short end of the stick.
Women were banned from wrestling in venues in London in 1938, a full six years before the brutal All-In wrestling got the chop in 1944. While the sport kept going across the rest of the country, losing its biggest market did not help the lady wrestlers.
Despite making stars like Mitzi Mueller well known through TV and film appearances, ITV refused to allow women’s wrestling on television.
This was an informal rule at first but the ban became official in 1985 after one of Mueller’s matches was canned at the last second.
The “Kinky Blonde” eventually campaigned and even released a song, begging London to “let the girls in” to wrestle again. This proved fruitful as she wrestled her last match in the Royal Albert Hall in an all-women main event in 1988.
Learn more about the history of women’s wrestling in the United Kingdom.
Aaren Wilde Was Attacked By Wrestlers In Unplanned Post-Match Beatdown
One of the most disgusting things ever seen in the ring happened at RevPro Summer Sizzler 2019. During a tag team match between Aussie Open and Josh Bodom & Sha Samuels, referee Aaren Wilde counted a pinfall earlier than planned.
Aussie Open were planned to win the match (and still did) but Bodon and Samuels were frustrated by the end of the bout. Bodon attacked Wilde at ringside, laying into him with strong punched that made for uncomfortable viewing.
Sha Samuels joined in and bodyslammed the referee, although it was later determined that he thought the attack was part of a work to cover for the botched ending, and had no intent to harm him.
Josh Bodom was sacked from RevPro while Sha Samuels was put on a final warning and sent to training for his part in the altercation. In addition, Aaren Wilde was forced to retire from wrestling due to injuries due to the attack.
King Kong Kirk Was Killed In The Ring
Wrestlers dying in the ring is rare but the risk is always there as soon as they step between the ropes.
One unlucky man was Mal Kirk, better known as the monterous “King King Kirk”. He died during a match against Big Daddy in 1987, with both men in their 50s and not in the best shape physically.
He suffered a “massive heart attack” after taking the Big Daddy Splash in the ring. Kirk never rose from the mat and was declared dead when he arrived at the hospital. His widow forever blamed Big Daddy, although the legends was cleared of all charges by local police.
Explore more in-depth about the tragic death of King Kong Kirk.
NXT UK Was Created To Stop The World of Sport Revival
British wrestling was booming in the mid-2010s, with Progress, RevPro and ICW leading the charge into a new golden age. ITV also tried getting back into the wrestling game by reviving “The Wrestling” in a primetime Saturday evening slot on ITV1.
However, as soon as the ITV pilot was announced, Vince McMahon pounced. In one fell swoop he partnered with Jim Smallman’s Progress and killed any chance of them growing any further and created a tournament featuring the best of UK talent.
The most impressive were signed up for the new NXT UK promotion. This took a good chunk of the UK’s main event wrestlers and interest in indie promotions soon waned.
While COVID and Speaking Out also had a huge impact, NXT UK was the first shot fired in the WWE’s war on British wrestling.
Discover how WWE ended the British wrestling revival with their NXT UK project.
Bert Asserti Harrassed Big Daddy Until He Retired
1PW Scammed Their Fans Multiple Times Over The Years
It wouldn’t be a list of controversies in British wrestling without mentioning One Pro Wrestling and the countless times they scammed their fans.
1PW were known for two things; putting on fantastic shows at the Doncaster Dome and advertising fantastic shows that fans never got to see.
While stars like Ric Flair, Bret Hart and AJ Styles all appeared in Doncaster, it was the ones that didn’t which saw the fans scammed out of their money.
In multiple shows, they advertised Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels and The Great Muta to appear, selling tickets based on appearances that never actually happened.
The latter one even ended in Steven Gauntley shutting the company down, only to rebook it once somebody else paid for Muta’s appearance fee.
Jim Smallman and Glen Joseph Left Progress For NXT UK
Progress founders Jim Smallman and Jon Briley were the poster children for the promotion’s image as the Punk Rock Wrestling company. However, like most punk rockers, they eventually sold out when a bigger fish with more money snapped them up.
The duo helped build Progress into one of the biggest promotions in the UK and drew over 5,000 fans at Wembley Arena for their “Hello Wembley!”.
However, the promotion was already on its decline, after their partnership with WWE made the product worse in every way, as the American giants sought to destroy the blossoming indie scene in the UK before it could become more popular than their own product.
Sadly, they were too attracted by the WWE after Progress Chapter 100 and left the company they founded to work full-time in NXT UK. The show never recovered the heights it once did, while Jim Smallman remains employed as a writer with NXT in the United States.
Learn more about how Jim Smallman sold out his “Punk Rock Wrestling” to the WWE.
