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The 2010 UKFF UK50(+) - Results


Big Benny HG

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No. 6 - Kris Travis

Score: 432 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2010 votes: 2

2009 ranking: 11th

2008 ranking: 19th

2007 ranking: not listed

2006 ranking: not listed

2005 ranking: not listed

 

travn.jpg

 

Who is he?

Sheffield's Travis comes off his greatest ever in-ring year with his highest ever UKFF UK50 ranking, a 5-place rise on 12 months ago. As the regular tag team partner of Martin Kirby in Project Ego, "The Shooting Star" has appeared in 1PW, 3CW, PBW and FWA, while also coming out on his own in featuring for PW101, DPW, SSW, NBW/GNP and the promotions already mentioned. He beats "Vigilante" Johnny Moss to 6th place with just a single ranking point in the votes....

 

As with others, the tag team accomplishments of Travis (including tag team title reigns in both 1PW and 3CW and appearances in FWA and in Scotland for PBW) have already been covered in the UKFF UK50 entry of his regular partner, in this case Martin Kirby and #9. For the sake of time and space, there is no point repeating the substantial list again here.....

 

In 1PW, Travis continued his singles feud with former WWE star Kevin Thorne (formerly Mordecai). Following the hardcore tag war in Sheffield in July 2009, the pair engaged in a wild grudge bout at the "4th Anniversary Show" in Doncaster last November, immediately after Project Ego had lost their tag straps to Fight Club. Following the involvement of fire, Thorne won after he blew mist into Trav's face. The two warring rivals settled their issues in 1PW's last ever show, in Liverpool, in May 2010 This time a climatic Last Man Standing match, Travis defeated Thorne to win the feud in a reportedly great match.....

 

Travis was also presented as a major star in Pro Wrestling 101, also based out of South Yorkshire. There, Travis instead turned on a feuded with Kirby, the pair stealing the show with their effort at the promotion's final ever event, coming in March at the Sheffield Hubs..... Staying in Yorkshire, and Kris was a part of heel General Manager Christopher Brammer's group in Morley-based DPW. Following a loss to stablemate Rainz in August, Brammer informed Trav that his services were no longer required. "Shooting Star" returned at the organisation's 2nd anniversary event in March 2010 to get his revenge win over Rainz, continuing his issue with Brammer. Just after the end of the 2010 UKFF UK50 period, Travis defeated Stixx in a stipulation bout to actually take Brammer's job as DPW General Manager.....

 

In NBW/GNP, babyface Kris was in the middle of a bitter feud with traitorous new heel Bubblegum. Nothing was settled between the two during their one-on-one in September, as their hatred was unable to stay within the rules and they fought to a double-DQ. Travis beat Nathan Cruz in November, before signing his contract for a final bout with Bubblegum in January. Again, the pair ended up brawling all over the Creswell Social Centre. Fought with a "Loser leaves forever" stipulation, Travis defetaed Bubblegum in the main event of the March show to finally put the latest version of their years-long rivalry to bed and send 'Gum packing from the promotion.....

 

Returning to his heel fitness fanatic gimmick for 3CW in March, Travis fell to defeat at the hands of "Pop Sensation" Jason Mason in a unbelievably ridiculous match in March in Northallerton.....

 

What did the UKFF think?

"Gets better as time goes on, can perform any role to near perfection"

"Feud with Thorne was mental as fuck. If Travis can just kick himself up a notch he can get even better"

"Not only did he have a excellent match against Martin Kirby at 101 in March and a fantastic tag match with Kirby against The LDRs, but he actually turned a feud with Kevin Thorne into something I enjoyed and was interested in. Over one weekend over March I saw him as the cocky heel fitness instructor, the anti-hero face rebelling against management, and then the... Cocky heel non-fitness instructor in his match against Kirby. And then that fight against Kevin Thorne that saw him perform some insane spots and absolutely murder Thorne with kicks. I don't know if I ever expected any of these matches from the past year from Kris Travis. I mean, I knew he was good. But this past year.... His body of work, that I've seen, has improved dramatically"

"Amazing feud with Kevin Thorne"

"Absolutely blistering performances with Kevin Thorne reflect on how awesome Travis has come along. Will continue to shine"

"Very talented"

"Outstanding dedication to entertain the fans"

"Some of the most vicious matches with Kevin Thorne that got the crowd's emotions involved"

"A great series of matches against Kevin Thorn in 1PW"

"The stronger of the two out of him and Kirby"

"High potential and skilled wrestler, with an entertaining character"

"Extremely talented and proven himself in singles and tags. Great, heated feud with Kevin Thorne in 1PW, involved in great tag matches and good at comedy too"

"Top class performer. Cocky and arrogant: my cup of tea"

"Another good year for Travis has seen his continuing improvement both in his in ring work and his personality and character development. Maybe still a little on the lean side to be taken seriously as a credible World title contender but if he remains as dedicated as he seems to be then who knows what he may achieve?"

"Between his feud with Kevin Thorn, Martin Kirby and tag matches as part of Project Ego, Travis has proved why he deserves to be in the top 5 this year"

"Surely a big star in the making. Dripping with charisma, great look/shape, fantastic in-ring ability. Knows when to play up the cheating, tweener roll with Kirby in Project Ego, but can also dumb it down for hate filled fights i.e. vs. Kevin Thorne at 1PW, vs. Martin Kirby at 101"

"Great character who happens to be a great wresler as well"

"This guy has everything. An awesome worker"

"His feud against Martin Kirby produced a couple of great fights, as did his feud with Kevin Thorne. Match against The Leaders with Kirby gave us the best tag contest since the FWA's return"

"Cocky, Arrogant & an awesome in ring worker. He makes you want to punch him in the face every time he comes to the ring with his

Edited by Big Benny HG
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For me it would be El Ligero - i have never seen him have a bad match.

 

My personnal best for him was against Jonny Storm at FWA , i went to the show in Nottingham with real excitement at seeing the LDRS v Project Ego and didn't believe that i could see a match on that card that would be better.

 

I also loved El Ligero v Spud at RDW - both were fantastic in that match.

 

In my mind Spud would be 2nd , I'm afraid that most of the time that i see him wrestle i don't see the best of him as he is often making the other guy look brilliant and the crowd hate him , but he has with out a dought the best gimmick in British wrestling - Period !!!!

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Looking at this list so far (and the remaining 5) shows you the incredible talent we have here.

 

Zak Sabre - Has been in some of the best tag matches to ever happen in the UK. However, I can't see him winning this and his singles stuff is good but missing that special something. It may be his lack of crowd work - because technically he is excellent - but he is definitely NOT the best singles wrestler in the country. Put him in an All-Star or family friendly environment and I think he'd struggle a little to get the crowd to love/hate him in the same way as some of the other guys could. Just my opinion.

 

El Ligero - As i've only seen him in FWA I don't think i've seen the best of him.

 

Mastiff - Has just been awesome as the IPW champ. The matches he'd had with Go Shiozaki and Morishima were some of the best heavyweight matches i've seen live.

 

Spud - The most charismatic worker in the UK today. Not much more to say really. Whenever i've seen him wrestle he's not done anything spectacular in the ring but his character has carried the match and got the crowd emotionally involved.

 

Stone - Been a great year for him and I think he'll win this.

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No. 5 - Zack Sabre Jr

Score: 464 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2010 votes: 8

2009 ranking: 5th

2008 ranking: 10th

2007 ranking: 50th

2006 ranking: not listed

2005 ranking: not listed

 

zackv.jpg

 

Who is he?

Intense and firey strikes-and-submissions machine at times, cheeky and mischievous scamp at others, Chatham's Zack Sabre Jr makes his 4th consecutive UKFF UK50 appearance and, in doing so, equals the exact same ranking he achieved last year in cracking the top 5..... Whether it be fast-paced, non-stop-action tag thrillers, slow-burn hold-for-hold, technical mat battles or all-out, passionate, hate-fuelled grudge wars, Zack has proven to be a master of all styles.....

 

Zack has been best known over the 2010 UKFF UK50 period for being one half of the LDRS of the New School with Marty Scurll, appearing in IPW:UK, FWA, TXW, BAWA and others. The pair had matches with The Thrillers, Northern Xposure, Stixx and Malen and Cheech and Cloudy, and reigned as the Undisputed British Tag Team Champions. All of this was documented in much detail for Marty's UKFF UK50 entry at #15.....

 

As a soloist, Zack appeared additionally for Triple-X Wrestling and AMP in England, PBW, SWA and BCW in Scotland and even enjoyed a championship run as a headliner and established star in WXW in Germany.

 

In the Coventry-based TXW promotion in which he initially first came to the attention of the wider UK wrestling industry, Zack took centre stage in the main storyline this year, that being his long and grueling championship chase for the TXW Title. Zack thought that he had won the new championship in the "Clusterfuck" match on the promotion's comeback show, but was cheated out of victory by sneaky Adam Shame, who everyone had thought was already eliminated. From there, Zack started his road to the title, having to fight through every challenge and roadblock that Shamer put in the way. At "Summerfest" in October 2009, Zack clashed with Shame on opposite sides of the 6-man tag team main event as Sabre, Marty Scurll and Falcon faced the "Tartan Army" of Shame, Scott Renwick and Damien O'Connor. Though his team came out on the losing end of the fantastic bout, there was no doubt as to Zack's championship intentions..... Next up was "XXX Invasion Tour" in January 2010, where Zack faced Renwick one-on-one. The match got out of control as the entire roster became involved in a ridiculous brawl where Zack, again, was left looking the main threat to Shame's belt.....

 

In a change of pace, Zack tussled with British wrestling supremo Johnny Kidd in a World of Sport Rules match on the April show, Sabre coming out on top in a reportedly (and expectedly) excellent contest. Later that night, Adam Shame used Zack's own armbar finisher to successfully defend his title against Devilman, and Shamer and Zack came face-to-face as Zack was officialy announced the next challenger to the TXW belt..... On a collision course, Shame and Sabre "picked each other's poison" at "X-Seven" in July. Sabre managed to overcome Tartan Army member Damien O'Connor in a Lumberjock match (entire heel roster at ringside, dressed in ginger wigs and tartan hats), which again kicked off a massive fight. That eventually settled down into Shame beating Zack's old friend and partner Jimmy Havoc in a deathmatch, after which Sabre and Shame once again went to war, brawling all over the building with ferocious intensity and gritty, realistic hatred to close the show..... It came after the end of the 2010 UKFF UK50 period, but Zack Sabre Jr finally beat Adam Shame for the Triple-X Wrestling Championship after a year's hunt in the superb main event of "Destination XXX" in September.....

 

What did the UKFF think?

"Amazing technical wrestler, amazes me some of the things he can do"

"I wish he was in Scotland way way way more. There's just something about him, PBW, BCW and SWA have all used him, but wish they'd use him way more. His strikes are frightening, but he's way more than that"

"STIFF KICKS and a great technical wrestler"

"Great technical ability"

"Live, I've seen him have a great back and forth match against Joey Hayes, and then probably my favourite all UK tag match I've ever seen in LDRs vs Project Ego. On DVD I've really enjoyed the LDRs/NX feud and he also has had two great matches against Munenori Sawa and TJP in WXW. WXW having so much faith in him he's now their Heavyweight Champion. He scored very highly in my list last year and the guy has only got better since then... Unfortunately I've just not had that much opportunity to see him live as much as I'd like. This guy would be on every single UK show I attend if I could have my way"

"Awesome year for Zack, great matches include Stixx at FWA and against Lightining Kid at AMP. Brilliant to watch"

"Amazing technical talent, great tag team and singles wrestler"

"I think the Leaders are the best tag team in the country today and there feud with Northern Xposure have produced some outstanding matches. Furthermore their TLC match with Thrillers at the IPW:UK Anniversary show was incredible"

"Technical genius, and is great as either a face or a heel"

"He still does not seem to realise how truly great he is"

"Flag-bearer for British technical wrestling"

"I have never seen a wrestler look so small but hit soo hard, great things really do come in small packages. His style is exciting and hard hitting and I'm yet to see him in a bad match"

"Constantly putting on some of the best matches in the UK and getting the recognition that he deserves across Europe as well. Awesome talent"

"It's funny as Zach is a fairly skinny guy who doesn't cut promo's and has little intensity but he seems to have this natural charisma about him that makes him awesome. Crowds take to him instantly and his kicks are as good as Martin Stones punches. I really enjoy his LDRS work but I'd love to see more of him as a singles wrestler"

"as reliable and hard working as they come. Another guy who can have a good match with just about anybody. For what he lacks in personality he more than makes up for with his heavy hitting strikes and holds and counter holds. Another one of our young talents that could easily go from strength to strength on the international scene"

"Steals the show on most events. The Leaders are still the best team in Britain"

"Excels in most styles whether it be chain, shoot style or high impact/fast paced tag matches with the LDRS. Awesome BattlARTS style match with Munenori Sawa at this years 16 Carat Gold in Germany. Needs to work on charisma abit more and he'd be nearing the complete package"

"One of the most famous UK names in Europe nowadays. Winning titles everywhere. His kicks look and sound vicious. Not yet seen him have a bad match"

"Excellent Techincal ability and shines in the ring whether singles or tag. Also was good as a comedy heel in AWW. Zach Sabre Sr at Triple X pushed him up a few places. That combined with the more agressive side he showed that night, another dimension to his skills"

"The news that Zack Sabre will be back for PBW this year is excellent. His matches at BCW, SWA and PBW's main shows towards the end of the year where all so different. I can certainly see what all the fan fare is about"

"Awesome mat artist, a fact that his kick-based offence sometimes clouds. Battles with the Lightning Kid and Scott Renwick for AMP and TXW respectively have been blinders. A 6-man outing for the latter, tagging with Falcon and regular partner Marty Scurll was a perfect example of high-octane, storyline driven British wrestling"

"Great knowledge of how to structure a match around that killer armbar of his. Feel like he's just that bit better than Scurll"

"For me, he's the best in the land. I could watch him all day and not get bored"

"His body is a bit better than I've seen and I like the new black trunk, black kick pads look. Although he doesn't yet have the promo ability, (I don't think he wants to really) his technical ability is off the chart and his strikes frighten me. It could be said that he sometimes doesn't try to make his opponents look good, but I'll forgive him, because when he's against another bloody good wrestler you're in for a treat. Really wish he was brought up to Scotland more"

"Always a delight to watch, absorbing mat wrestling and some of the best strikes in Europe. The Leaders team with Scurll is what fun tag team wrestling is all about, with tons of great matches across the country to their credit. Zack always turns in a top class performance and is nearly always in the best match of the night. It's no coincidence he gets booked against international talent so much, as he has great matches with everyone and you'll go out of your way to see him measure up against an indy darling or puro champion. Constantly getting better too, the fucker"

"Awesome worker to watch, perhaps not the casual fan's cup of tea but for a wrestling fan he's a wet dream"

 

**********************

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No. 4 - El Ligero

Score: 511 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2010 votes: 9

2009 ranking: 3rd

2008 ranking: 2nd

2007 ranking: 6th

2006 ranking: 22nd

2005 ranking: 42nd

 

ligero.jpg

 

Who is he?

ARRIBA! Popular Leeds-based masked man who is amongst the very busiest and well-travelled wrestlers on the UK circuit, appearing on all shows of all sizes, in front of every different type of wresdtling audience, in every single corner of the country. Since making his comeback from injury in the summer of 2010, All Star Wrestling, 1PW, PW101, XWA, GPW, 3CW, GNP/NBW, FSW, DPW, SSW, FWA, PBW, RDW, BCW and PTW are just a few of the places he has entertained crowds this year, which has resulted in him securing his 4th consecutive top 10 finish in the UKFF UK50, 3rd consecutive Top 5, and being one of only a small handful to have been ranked in the UKFF UK50 in each and every one of the 6 years it has been running. Though he slips a single place in 2010, Ligero has performed every role possible, from kid-friendly mid-card flyer to genuine promotional lead babyface and championship challenger.....

 

In 3CW, Darkside was recognised as the Champion, but was unable to attend their biggest show of the year, "Darkest Deeds". As such, the promotion held a 20-man rumble to crown a new champion that night in Billingham, with Ligero making a surprise and unannounced return from a injury long layoff as the 20th entrant. After a brief battle with the promotion's nuber one heel Cameron Kraze, Ligs tossed Kraze over the ropes to claim the belt..... Ligero was recognised as the 3CW British Champion whil Darkside, who had not been beaten, sill reigned as 3CW Heavyweight Champion until the belts could be unified (think the actual and interim champions in UFC). The first opportunity was seemingly at "Fight Before Christmas" in Billingham, where the two champions stood face to face and agreed to the match, only for bitter former champion Cameron Kraze to declare his interest. Kraze picked out former 3CW star Mohmed Ameen (working as a pizza delivery boy, after losing his fortune earlier in the year to Dragon Aisu) as his tag partner, and a main event tag match was signed. In the match, Ligero and Darkside suffered from a difference of opinion, creating an opening for Team Cameron Kraze (as they would become known) to score the win and add fuel to Cameron's championship claim..... Ligero and Darkside were finally due to settle the championship situation at "Free For All VII" in February 2010, though their hard-fought contest ended with no victor as Kraze and Ameen invaded and attacked both combatants. It was decided to add Kraze to the mix, staking his own 3CW Lord of the Ring title, as the championship chaos was to be resolved in a 3-way at the "6th Anniversary Show". Ligero and Darkside beat Kraze and Ameen in a tag rematch in Northallerton in March, before the big show back at Billingham in April. There, a red-hot atmosphere greeted the 3 men as they fought around the hall and exchnaged desperately close near falls off big moves aplenty. The babyfaces teamed up to eliminate Kraze from procedings, then a little later it was Ligero that hit his C4L (springboard tornado DDT) on Darkside to attain the status of top name in the promotion and form the 3CW Triple Crown Championship..... Since then, Ligero has retained his title in another top match with Scotland's "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson.....

 

Across in XWA, Ligero has also achieved main event status..... Returning at "Goldrush" in January 2010, Ligero was immediately placed into a 4-way for the vacant Flyweight Championship (given up when previous champion and bitter enemy of Ligero, Spud, had won the XWA Heavyweight Title) against CJ Banks, Sam Bailey and Marty Scurll. Indeed, it was Ligero that became a 2-time Flyweight Champion when he hit the C4L and pinned Scurll in what was supposedly an excellent contest..... Ligero's first defence of the title came at XWA's next show, "War on the Shore 6", reviving his 2007 feud against old rival "Bollywood Dream" RJ Singh. This time, it was revealed that Singh had made allies in high places when Ligero was distracted by the playing of heel XWA authority figure Greg Lambert's music and Singh hit his finisher to take the belt..... The pair were rematched at "Vendetta 2009" to supposedly settle the score once and for all in a Ladder bout, and it was the assistance of Greg's babyface cousin Tom Lambert that Ligs took advantage of to snatch the strap and become the first ever 3-time Flyweight Champion.....

 

Ligero made his return in GPW,just down the M6, in February at "Back With A Bang!!". For a contender's position, Ligero faced Sam Bailey, Ricky J McKenzie and Darkside in a 4-way. The bout would set up a GPW feud with his 3CW rival Darkside, as Ligero was counted out when Darkside prevented him from getting back in the ring..... On the back of that, the two met again the following month at "Out For Justice", as they joined warring tag title rivals The Mystics and Paradise Lost for a 6-man tag. Ligero gained the upper hand here, as he prevented Darkside from breaking up a pinfall attempt, thus earning hsi side the victory..... The two were supposed to fight one-on-one at the April "Jam Hot" event, but Darkside was unable to make the show and, instead, Ligero was added to a match with his former 3CW enemies Martin Kirby and Cameron Kraze. Much like in 3CW, Ligero and the other babyface tamed up to eliminate Cameron Kraze, leaving them to battle fairly for the win. Ligero pinned Kirby to earn a GPW Heavyweight Title shot at the next show..... At "A Few More Good Men" in May, Ligero and champion Juggernaut fought to a double-knock out, as GPW entered its summer break.....

 

Other notable appearances have included the debut of his darker heel persona El Negras Ligero for Pro Wrestling 101, under which he beat Robbie X at their afternoon show in the Doncaster Dome in November. When ROH star Davey Richards failed to appear for PW101's next event, however, Ligero reverted to his usual character to step in and face Lionheart in a showcase singles bout on the organisation's final show. He also appeared on the last ever 1PW event, being one of the men defeated by Martin Kirby in a 7-man Scramble match.....

 

What did the UKFF think?

"Haven't seen him have a bad match and, since he returned from injury, he's somehow got even better"

"Never stops wrestling and always puts on entertaining matches"

"Probably one of the most consistent guys on the UK scene. This past year he did spend more of it than he'd like on the shelf, but he's definitely not lost anything at all since he returned from an injury. In fact, he's probably still at that same level. Admittedly I did enjoy his stab at something else with Negras Ligero, and he did have a good match against Lionheart at 101, but I feel he was at such a high level... Not that much he did stood out from anything he'd done at the past. Great wrestler and one of the best.... But I don't think he really wow'd me by doing something new or which made him stand out. The downfall of being so consistently good"

"Great fun to watch, can connect with any audience"

"The amount of non-fans that have seen Ligs and been impressed speaks for itself, we need more Ligeros"

"I think he's getting even better. He's become the number one in so many companies and for a very good reason"

"The fact that this guy is continuously booked everywhere speaks volumes about what he can do and how he does it. Very few people engage the crowd like he does"

"Never once failed to entertain me at any show I've had the pleasure to see him perform"

"For me, he's the best wrestler in the UK at the moment without any doubt. Popular with people of all ages and I can't think of a bad match involving him"

"In my opinion, the best. I'd say almost underrated because while he gets great credit for his work, he's even better than that. I think his storytelling ability gets overlooked at times because of his character. An asset to all the millions of shows he

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Still to come, the Top 3 (alphabetical order):

 

Dave Mastiff

Last year ranked 6th. Returned from OVW in the USA with a new name and won the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship in IPW:UK, having epic bouts with Leroy Kincaide, Takeshi Morishima and Johnny Moss. Part of The Agenda lead heel faction in the new FWA.

 

Martin Stone

Last year ranked 4th. Held the 1PW, PW101 and FWA Heavyweight Titles all at the same time. Year-long feud with Danny Garnell in IPW:UK. Leads The Agenda in FWA.

 

Spud

Last year ranked 2nd. Uses his old AWW and TXW "Rockstar" gimmick virtually everywhere now. Held the XWA British Heavyweight and Flyweight Championships at the same time, as well as the British Cruiserweight Championship in IPW:UK and the Openweight Title in 1PW. Made a huge impression on the debut new FWA show.

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Zack was personally my number 1. There's no doubt how much he's loved over here in Triple X land after the atmosphere at the title match. Shame that was outside of the voting period, because that was something else and might've swayed one or two people if they were there to see it! Even so though, 5th place is a magnificent achievement. All of the top 5 is very strong and shows the huge talent we have over here in British wrestling.

 

I'd also like to point out that all of the top 5 have at one point or another performed in that room upstairs in the Jolly Beggar!

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