Before Revolution Pro Wrestling became the biggest promotion in Britain, IPW: UK was one of the top dogs in British wrestling in the 2000s.
International Pro Wrestling: The United Kingdom was created in 2004. It was founded by Daniel Edler, a British promoter from London. The company quickly grew and secured a deal to broadcast on The Wrestling Channel at some point in the mid-2000s.
They found success with compelling storylines, bringing through some top British talent. Stars like Martin Stone, Johnny Storm, Doug Williams and Marty Scurll all starred in the promotions, as it grew into Britain’s most popular.
However, the UK scene was on its knees at that time. Even being one of the most popular promotions meant that they still only drew a couple of hundred fans, even on a good night. British wrestling had been on the downturn since the 1980s. People grew tired of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, and ITV noticed. They cancelled the wrestling in 1988, allowing the WWE to become the dominant force in the country.
Promotions like IPW: UK and FWA sought to modernise pro wrestling in Britain, mixing it with the pomp and circumstance of their American counterparts.
It had been a slow march of progress, but Edler and his booker Andy Quildan hoped IPW: UK Revolution show in London in 2012 would help reignite the public’s love for wrestling.
Andy Quildan Became The IPW: UK Booker After Years At The Company
Before he founded RevPro, Andy Quildan worked his way up through IPW: UK. The Englishman started out as a referee for the company in 2005, before slowly gaining the trust and expertise needed to help run the company.
Eventually, owner Dan Edler replaced Andrew Maddock with Andy Quildan, making him the new booker of the promotion. He also took on duties in promoting and producing shows in Sittingbourne, which became his “home area” of promoting.
With Quildan and Endler working together, the company quickly grew. They found a loyal fanbase who followed them around the Southeast, impressed by the storylines and action at IPW: UK shows.
They grew to become one of the biggest promotions in the UK. While the business was on a downturn, IPW: UK drew around 200 fans per show. Not WWE numbers, but very respectable for a British wrestling promotion. However, they had plans to expand even more, and partnering with a top European promotion seemed to be the way forward.
NWE Partnered With IPW: UK For Their Revolution Show
2012 was to be a big year for IPW: UK.
The promotion sought to put on its biggest show yet at the Troxy music venue in Stepney, London. The event, titled “Revolution”, was run almost entirely by Andy Quildan, with the funding coming from abroad.
They teamed with European promotion Nu Wrestling Evolution (NWE) to put on a show in the 3,100-capacity venue. A sell-out would have smashed their record for their highest-attended show ever, but it would take some big names to draw such an audience.
Quildan and Edler had big plans. Former WWE stars Kevin Nash and Goldberg were planned to appear, with a hefty price tag to boot. Andy Quildan told former XWA booker that the plan was for Goldberg to spear somebody, setting up a match for a future show. Given his huge popularity from his days in WCW, this seemed like a surefire bet to bring the punters in.
“Kevin Nash was going to be on the Revolution show and Goldberg. He was going to do an angle where he speared someone, said ‘You’re next’ and then set up a match for the next show.” Quildan said in Ropes and Glory: The Emotional Rise Of British Wrestling.
Kevin Nash was even announced for the show. Andy Quildan announced a meet-and-greet for fans to speak to the former WWE Champion, with special tickets sold later on just to meet him. Ticket sales increased thanks to Nash’s involvement, but the good times ended very sharpish.
After tickets had been sold with Nash as the featured star he was announced to no longer be taking part in the event. In a now-deleted Tweet, he said “No IPW can’t pay the rate the contract was signed for” when asked if he would be attending IPW: UK Revolution.
This seemed unfathomable but the truth became all too clear, all too soon.
They Pulled The Funding, Which Ended Hopes Of Kevin Nash & Goldberg Appearing
Fans very quickly realised that their hopes of seeing Goldberg and Kevin Nash at the Troxy were in tatters
On April 10th, the company released a statement that the partnership with Nu-Wrestling Evolution had been terminated after they pulled the funding and tried to cancel the Revolution event. Without their financial backing, IPW: UK were unable to pay for big-money deals for Goldberg and Kevin Nash, dashing all hopes of the pair appearing.
“It is with deep regret that we today have to announce that Nu Wrestling Evolution (NWE) have decided to withdraw from the April 28th show at the London, Troxy effective immediately.” They wrote on April 10th, 2020.
“NWE management made the decision to completely cancel the event following the cancellation of their two shows in The Canary Islands last weekend leaving IPW: UK management with a serious dilemma…”.
NWE pulled out two days before the announcement, with Quildan scrambling to find some way to carry on. The company had already invested heavily in advertising Kevin Nash for the show and losing him reflected very badly on IPW: UK as a company.
Despite NWE cancelling their involvement, the show still went on. The setbacks proved difficult for Andy Quildan, as multiple refunds were requested by fans who had bought tickets based on Nash appearing. They even sold tickets solely for a meet-and-greet with the former WWE Champion, which of course all had to be refunded.
The show still went on and by all accounts was a decent show. The main event of Marty Scurll vs Sami Callihan was a great match, the opening ladder match was a wild ride while American stars like Carlito and Chris Masters added to the star power.
However, it was a financial bust. Of the 3,100 seats in the venue, they only managed to sell around 500-600 after all the refunds and issues with finances and wrestler bookings. Creatively it was a very well booked show, but Andy Quildan was done with not having control over his own wrestling company.
“In the early years, when I was booking with somebody else’s money, I was always saying ‘I want this guy and that guy’, but Dan was taking the financial risk, so it was a constant struggle.” Andy Quildan said in 2016.
Andy Quildan Split From IPW: UK To Create RevPro
After the event was over, a decision was made by Andy Quildan to leave IPW: UK and start his own promotion. He was tired of being saddled by the creative and financial restrictions of the IPW bosses.
At some point after IPW: UK Revolution, Andy Quildan formed his own promotion. He has been a director of Dynamic Wrestling Limited since July 2009 and is the company that owns and runs RevPro wrestling as of 2024 even though it was created three years prior to the promotion’s formation.
Revolution Pro Wrestling, or RevPro, had its first event in August 2012. IPW: UK originally announced their intention to run their annual Summer Sizzler event in The Wyvern Hall, Sittingbourne, with tickets going on sale for the show in June of that year.
However, on the day of the show fans noticed that the regular website no longer worked. Another user of UKFF pointed out that it redirected to a new website – the Revolution Pro Wrestling site. The change was official, and Summer Sizzler was the first official event run by Andy Quildan and RevPro.
The split had been fairly amicable, according to the limited information available. It was not a name change as IPW: UK still ran regular events. However, Quildan’s RevPro remained running shows in Sittingbourne and places like Portsmouth, allowing IPW: UK to remain in their home base of London.
One thing that RevPro did to add immediate credibility was to bring the title belts with them. Somehow Quildan managed to wrangle the British Heavyweight, Cruiserweight and Tag Team Championships, bringing them to RevPro and crowning new champions. These titles are the same ones used by the company today.
The company would quickly grow and Revolution Pro Wrestling remains the most recognisable name in British wrestling today.
