Jim Smallman’s career in wrestling has two distinct parts.
The first was as a visionary. He spearheaded the BritWres boom period with Progress Wrestling and ran some of the most successful shows since Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks in their pomp. His alternative, punk rock-inspired wrestling shows breathed new life into the genre and made wrestling in Britain cool again.
The other half was his hand in ending the new potential golden age of wrestling in the UK. He sold out to the WWE and was the head writer for NXT UK as they plundered and pillaged all the top stars in the scene.
The two halves of his career provide a stark difference and really show how the WWE’s unbeatable machine can turn even the most principled men over to their site, to the detriment of the rest of British wrestling.
Jim Smallman Founded Progress Wrestling and Grew The Company To New Heights
In 2011, Jim Smallman co-founded Progress Wrestling, an organization that reshaped the British wrestling landscape with its bold “punk rock wrestling” ethos.
From the start, PROGRESS stood apart by fostering an edgy, youthful, and inclusive atmosphere that appealed to fans in their twenties and thirties.
Staged in iconic music venues like The Garage and the Electric Ballroom, shows were infused with indie rock and a rebellious spirit, breaking from the UK’s traditional family-friendly wrestling format.
With its mantra of “Don’t Be a Dick,” PROGRESS championed progressive values and built a community for fans and performers alike.
The company became a hub for left-leaning working-class audiences, mirroring punk’s history as a safe space for outcasts. Its integration of music further emphasized its identity, with wrestlers’ entrance themes becoming a vital part of their personas and the overall experience.
Under Smallman’s leadership, PROGRESS thrived as a trailblazer in the BritWres boom. It became a proving ground for talents like Zack Sabre Jr., Marty Scurll, and Will Ospreay, who helped elevate its reputation.
The pivotal Chapter 9 marked the start of Jimmy Havoc’s legendary 600+ day title reign, cementing PROGRESS as a must-watch promotion. PROGRESS’s embrace of creativity, inclusivity, and punk roots propelled it to the forefront of the wrestling world, making it a leader in the resurgence of British wrestling.
Along with ICW and RevPro, Progress were the top promotion the UK had seen in years. Not since the peak of FWA in the early-2000s has there been so much interest and it was all down to Jim Smallman and his partners.
However, it would all come crashing down when WWE came calling.
Jim Smallman Sold Out When Partnering With WWE In 2016
Progress were the biggest promotion in the UK in 2016. Then, ITV decided to bring back the wrestling on their channel and create a new World of Sport Wrestling promotion for a special episode on New Year’s Eve 2016.
Now, this wasn’t a threat to Progress. They were attracting vastly different fan bases. ITV wanted the mums, dads and kids watching the show on a Saturday evening, while Progress wanted the young men and women on a night out.
In fact, World of Sport bringing wrestling back to the mainstream would only have helped all promotions. Renewed interest in the sport would have meant more fans seeking out good wrestling and fun stories, which is exactly where Progress excels.
But the WWE couldn’t have that. They first partnered with Progress for some qualifying matches for the Cruiserweight Classic before going all in with them during the first WWE United Kingdom tournament.
They enlisted Smallman to help with the tournament and he even appeared in a WWE ring during an event in Norwich. This tournament featured all the top stars from across the UK, sans outliers like Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr and any of the stars of World of Sport.
This included Progress main eventers like Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne and Trent Seven. WWE snapped these all up to deals over the next two years as they created their own UK promotion called NXT UK.
Progress signed an agreement to work with the WWE over this. They agreed for their shows to be broadcast on the WWE Network and were allowed to use the NXT UK talent, as long as it was approved by the company.
This caused havoc for the company. As a heavily story-driven promotion. They relied on strong narratives that built up over months and months. However, with nobody ever knowing if the WWE-signed talents would turn up on a regular basis, it took the wind out of Progress’ sails creatively during this period.
However, this was a huge detriment to the show. Fans knew WWE talent wouldn’t be losing to the local favourites, so storylines involving them became dull and predictable. There was even a time where British Strong Style held the Heavyweight and tag team titles, yet missed a key show for a WWE taping.
Progress’ punk-rock aesthetic was shattered. The licensed music, which was a huge part of their presentation, was replaced by generic free sounds due to their broadcast on the WWE Network. Jim Smallman had sold the company out to the WWE and ruined everything that made it great.
He Joined NXT UK After Leaving Progress Wrestling At Chapter 100
Progress Chapter 100 was a huge show for the company. Getting to 100 numbered events was a big achievement for the British indie company which had brought so much joy to the fans.
The event took place on 30th December 2019 and was their annual “Unboxing” show. The gimmick for the event was that anything could happen and surprises were guaranteed.
Stars like Jimmy Havoc, Ilja Dragunov and Rampage Brown were all in action but the main talking point was about Jim Smallman.
This was because Progress Chapter 100 was the last show he’d be a part of.
The Progress founder posted a video in August of that year. He overlooked a mountain range in Saes-Fee in Switzerland as he explained the history of Progress and how much the company means to him.
It ended with him revealing that his appearance at Progress Chapter 100 would be his last. Smallman was stepping away from the company both on-screen and behind the scenes, leaving it in the very capable hands of Glen Joseph and Jon Briley.
However, he did not say he was stepping away from the wrestling business, only Progress wrestling.
That is because just one week after this announcement it was reported by the Wrestling Observer and Fightful that Jim Smallman had signed for the WWE to work in their NXT UK branch full-time.
The Englishman had been working with the brand since June 2018 as a producer and creative, while still running Progress alongside his partners. He admitted on Twitter that NXT UK was his day job and he was leaving his company to continue in that role.
However, the responsibilities soon became too much and the former comedian soon had a choice to make.
This was a huge slap in the face to Progress fans and fans of British wrestling in general. WWE had decimated the UK scene with NXT UK, with Smallman and company being the ones who let them in with the initial working relationship.
Just like many professed “punks” before him, Smallman sold out to “the man” and jumped ship to the big corporation, abandoning the company he created with his bare hands.
Was it the best career choice for him? Of course, it was. Even with NXT UK shutting down in 2022, Smallman retained his role in the company. He was shipped off to the United States, working in Florida as a writer for the American version of NXT.
It would be impossible to blame him from a purely professional point of view. It was the best thing to do for him and his family, giving him a steady paycheck instead of the unsteady nature of being a wrestling promoter.
It just went against everything Progress wrestling, at least the Progress of old, stood for. The punk rock, anti-establishment had already sold out to the megacorporation and now the plucky young owner had jumped ship too.
Its hard to blame Jim Smallman for making that decision, but its impossible to claim it didn’t sting.
