Mark Andrews has revealed that he and Flash Morgan Webster almost made their AEW debut at the Dynamite taping in Cardiff last year.
AEW ran their first TV taping in the UK in August last year, days before AEW All In at Wembley Stadium. RevPro star Michael Oku wrestled a dark mark, although there was no Welsh talent represented at the event in Cardiff.
Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews, the former TNA and NXT UK Tag Team Champions, would have been the obvious ones to appear at the event. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but it came a lot closer to happening than you think.
Mark Andrews recently sat down with The Soul Sessions to lift the lid on their almost-debut in AEW. He revealed that they nearly wrestled on AEW Dynamite in Cardiff back in August.
“I knew All In was happening on the Sunday, but more importantly, I knew their Cardiff tapings were happening the Wednesday before. So, two days before that Riot Cabaret show, AEW was in Cardiff for the first time. I’d argue it was maybe the second or third most important wrestling show to happen in Wales.”
“You’ve had Clash at the Castle a few years ago—which, you know, I’ve talked about in loads of interviews before, probably even with you during our last one. It kind of felt like a slap in the face to not have any Welsh talent on that show.”
“And before that, there was NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff. Don’t get me wrong, no complaints there. There was some good Welsh representation on that show, and, of course, the moment of my career with Flash when we won the NXT UK Tag Team Championships.”
“But with this AEW show, it really felt like an opportunity. They were in Wales, they were in the UK, and there are so many talented wrestlers in Wales right now. Flash and I showed up hoping to get a spot on that show, and we were kind of under the impression that maybe we would. For a moment, it looked like we were going to be on the show. It seemed like there was going to be some sort of tag team match for us.”
But, I guess the nature of televised wrestling is that things get cut, plans change, and maybe matches go over. I’m not entirely sure why, but we didn’t end up making our AEW debut that night, which was slightly heartbreaking, if I’m honest.
“It wasn’t just about me and Flash not getting to work or debut for AEW. It was more the fact that no Welsh talent at all got to be on that show. That’s what always feels like the real kicker to me.”
Mark Andrews On The Welsh Talent He Wants To See In AEW or WWE
Mark Andrews continued, listing young Welsh talent like Leon Cage and Nico Angelo as wrestlers he’d love to see given an opportunity in AEW and WWE.
“Don’t get me wrong, selfishly, I’d love to be the one to do it. I’d love to be on Clash at the Castle or on AEW when it’s in Cardiff. But more importantly, I’d love to see some new talent get those opportunities. I’d love to see Danny Jones on a big stage, or young Leon Cage, who’s only 17 years old. Or Elijah, James Ellis, Joshua, Nico Angelo—there’s so much talent here. Brendan White, Wild Boar—whoever it is, we’ve got so many talented wrestlers in Wales.
Sometimes, though, it feels a little bit hard done by when Welsh talent is overlooked. I think maybe, to a lot of the big American companies, we’re all the same—England, Wales, Scotland. We’re all kind of lumped together. But when you live here, you know that’s very much not the case. It would be really nice if Welsh talent got more opportunities on bigger platforms. That would help escalate our scene so much. There’s so much talent here, and we need those bigger platforms to show the world.
Martin, absolutely. I’ve delved deep into the Welsh scene myself, interviewing many of the great talents—yourself, James Ellis, J Joshua, Leon Cage, Shane Hooker, and so many more. There’s such an incredible amount of talent here, and they’re amazing. Honestly, I would have lost my mind if you and Flash debuted on that AEW Cardiff card.”
“Yeah, we were there. We had our gear ready. We were ready to make the debut. But unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please give a H/T to BritWrestling for the transcription.
