Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 4, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 4, 2011 Been away for the weekend - countdown will recommence tomorrow night as usual! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 5, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 No. 29 - BT Gunn Score: 150 points Total 1st place rankings in 2011 votes: 4 2010 ranking: 29th (2009=30th; 2008=NL; 2007=NL; 2006=NL; 2005=NL) Â Â From South Lanarkshire, BT Gunn makes his third consecutive UKFF UK50 appearance.... and achieves virtually the exact same position he did the previous two times. As well as being presented as a top star in his native Scotland, including winning major singles gold, "Booty" reportedly had a WWE trial during the 2010 tour and has also featured in northern England. Â In Premier British Wrestling, Gunn first received a crack at the Heavyweight Title at the annual "Maximum Impact" supershow in October. As one of 4 men in the headlining Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, Gunn, Johnny Moss and Michael Knight lost out as Lionheart retained his belt. Lionheart knew he had been in a fight, however, showing his respect and admiration for Gunn after, knowing a rematch was on the cards. BT got back in the title picture with wins over Jack Jester and Andy Wild before receiving another shot at the gold in a one-on-one environment in the main event of February's "Fully Charged 2011" in Greenock. This time, Gunn downed Lionheart in a reportedly thrilling contest to raise the PBW Heavyweight Title for the first time. Since his win, Gunn has gone on to successful main event defences against Paul Tracey, Jester and Valkabious. Â Gunn was no stranger to gold, since, Gunn came into the 2011 UKFF UK50 period as a double singles champion, holding both the BCW Openweight Championship and ICW Heavyweight Championship, having just defeated Kid Fite in a BCW ladder match headliner in Kilmarnock and winning an ICW 4-way in Glasgow. He would drop his ICW title in the shocking closing scenes of the September show, when presumed retired "Darkside" James Scott returned and pinned him in a wildly heated impromptu bout, joining the Gold Label heel stable in the process. BCW defences against Jester, England's Joey Hayes and Germany's Bad Bones took him through to the end of 2010. The wins kept coming in 2011 as BT, now a double champion again due to his PBW win, continued his run with defences over Noam Dar, Andy Wild and the monstrous Johnny Moss. Â Back in ICW, Booty continued to lead the babyface charge against the hostile takeover of the Gold Label. Gunn and Jester went to war with GL's Scott and Wolfgang in a Glasgow Street Fight in November. After forming the "New Age Klique" with outspoken Chris Renfrew, Gunn battled Gold Label foes in wild tag bouts in April and July. Â As well as also continuing to appear for Scottish Wrestling Alliance, Gunn has appeared in England for Triple Team Promotions in Carlisle, North East Wrestling Society in County Durham and Complete Revolutionary Wrestling on Tyneside. In addition, Gunn has just featured overseas for DPW in Denmark. Â What did the UKFF think? "Booty has been pretty awesome in ICW all year" "In my opinion, the best Scottish wrestler" "He never fails to deliver quality matches" "Amazing moveset and can seemingly have a good match with anyone" "Exciting as fuck, will be in a wheelchair by 40" "Outstanding performances up and down Scotland, many people are still under the impression that Lionheart is the man up in Scotland, however with the year that BT Gunn has had, he can't be far behind" "After a bit of a breakout year last year, he has cemented himself as a top player in 2010/11 with PBW glory. Very charismatic, has that 'it' factor that you can't define" "BT's stuff in ICW and PBW have been nothing short of amazing" "Had a great year in all companies worked for and WWE try outs. A must for top 5 at least this year at least. Also ended Lionheart's 2 year title run" "Great matches against Lowthian, Max Heat & AJ Anderson (where he teamed with Noam Dar) & Andy Wild (in CRW, NEWS & PBW respectively), BT is a solid talent who always delivers" "Good all round star who has fans loving him wherever he goes. Candidate to fill Lionheart's shoes in the next few years. Should be seen more in Britain" "The meteoric rise continues, probably the most over wrestler in Scotland" "Not quite as standout as he has been in previous years, but he's still very very good" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cum Doctor Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 That quote from me at the bottom should say "NOT quite as standout as he has been". Â He rocks though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 5, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 No. 28 - Greg Burridge Score: 157 points Total 1st place rankings in 2011 votes: 3 2010 ranking: Not Listed (2009=NL; 2008=25th; 2007=8th; 2006=2nd; 2005=20th) Â Â After a couple of years of more limited bookings, the former Baxter/Darren Burridge returns to the UKFF UK50 for the first time since 2008. A former runner-up in this project, Burridge has continued to feature for the 1PW promotion that gave him his biggest push. Â The controversial 1PW promotion returned for the latest time in February 2011 with the start of an 8-man tournament to crown a new Heavyweight Champion following Martin Stone's departure. In the main event of the show in Ellesmere Port, the former Team SHAG member returned under his real name to beat El Ligero and advance to the second round. The semi-finals and final were to take place over 1PW's May weekender. First, back in Ellesmere Port, Greg beat "Suicidal, Suicidal, Suicidal" Jimmy "Fucking" Havoc, setting up a main Heavyweight Title showdown with Lionheart in the final the next day. There, in Chester, the heel-turning Scot was victorious as both Burridge and 1PW went down. Â Elsewhere, Burridge entered an entertaining back-and-forth YouTube battle with 'MVK' Valkabious, hyping their fight for the new SOUTHSIDE promotion in Cambridgeshire. At the actual show, Burridge lost to the 'Most Valuable Killer' in the main event. A rematch is currently scheduled for later this year. In addition, Greg found himself booked on the latest Ryan Spitfire effort in Cumbria in May, where he tangled with "Vigilante" Johnny Moss on a night of chaos. Since the end of the 2011 UKFF UK50 period, Burridge reformed his Team SHAG partnership with Colt 'Boom Boom' Cabana for Preston City Wrestling, beating Martin Kirby and Nathan Cruz. Â Rather interestingly, Burridge can also be seen playing the part of masked psychopath Metalico for the wacky carnival which is Lucha Libre Britannia, where he also takes the role of head trainer. Â What did the UKFF think? "A great return to form this year with his Val Kabious feud was brilliant" "Ace" "Came back with probably the best promo in Britwres history. He Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 5, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 No. 27 - Kid Fite Score: 163 points Total 1st place rankings in 2011 votes: 0 2010 ranking: 28th (2009=43rd; 2008=45th; 2007=NL; 2006=NL; 2005=NL) Â In a MEAN FUCKING FACE contest with Lionheart (Photo - David J Wilson) Â The in-ring persona of PBW promoter Ross Watson, Kid Fite makes the UKFF UK50 for the 4th consecutive year, improving his 2010 ranking by a single place following a year where he has featured for just about every Scottish promotion (with the notable exception of his own), as well as organisations across northern England, mainland Europe and even the north-east United States, making him one of the most active wrestlers in the entire UK. Â In British Championship Wrestling, Fite had just lost his Openweight Title to heroic BT Gunn in Kilmarnock to culminate their feud. Fite instead turned his attentions to the BCW Heavyweight Title, but was defeated by champion Darkside in the main event of the October East Kilbride event. Fite scored a victory over Lionheart at the annual 'No Blood, No Sympathy' supershow in December, but could only watch on as Lionheart came back to go all the way in the evening's Battle Royal main event, then defeat Darkside in a 4-way for the championship. By virtue of his pinfall win over the new champion, Fite was granted first crack at the belt but went down to Lionheart in the main event of February's Kilmarnock show when he clashed with his fellow head trainer at the Scottish Pro Wrestling Academy, 'Highlander' Colin McKay. Â Fite started the March show by beating Highlander's protege JD Bravo, but ended it in charge of a new leading heel stable. During the course of the evening, fellow SPWA students Davey Blaze, Chris Rampage, Stevie Xavier and Kay Lee Ray all turned on Highlander and joined forces with Fite to form the group which would come to be known as "The Aggression". The feud with Highlander drew even more attention on the massive May show back in Kilmarnock, as former WWF and WCW champion Kevin Nash teamed with McKay to defeat Fite, Blaze, Rampage and Xavier in the main event. Fite would face Nash again later that weekend in another huge bout down in England, as he and Liam Thompson (comprising 'Fight Club', the reigning 1PW tag team champions) beat 'Big Sexy' and Road Dogg on top of 1PW's "Last Stand" event in the Chester area. Â Over in Glasgow's wild Insane Championship Wrestling, Fite has been drafted in to fight off the threat of the Gold Label, the heel force made up of James Scott, Lionheart, Wolfgang and Red Lightning. Fite was defeated by BCW rival Lionheart in February. Then, in April, after beating England's CJ Banks, he became involved in fighting the Gold Lable again. As such, he found himself on 'Team ICW' in the crazy 8-man tag team streetfight which headlined the July 2011 "Never Mind the Baws, Here's the ICW" card, where ICW went down. Â While all of this has been going on in Scotland, Fite has also appeared in England for Lincolnshire's RDW, Hull's NGW, Newcastle's CRW, the West Midlands PPW and County Durham's NEWS. Never one to rest on this schedule, Fite kept his passport to hand for appearances in Denmark, Germany, Spain and Norway, and in March 2011 he and Andy Wild set off for America for a 3-show tour with the Combat Zone Wrestling and National Wrestling Superstars promotions. Â What did the UKFF think? "Under-rated" "Stiff, powerful, imposing. What else do you want?!" "Guy is extremely talented. I saw him at a CRW show in November and the aggression made the audience question whether it was "real or fake". If he can make it questionable then he's doing something right" "Much the same as BT Gunn, Kid Fite is one of the top workers in Scotland, if not Europe" "Great wrestler, also gets a lot of exposure outside of the UK" "Best heel on any show. Will be ICW champion next year" "Stuff as part of Fite Club is good, played the cowardly heel vs Nash/Road Dogg to perfection" "As steady as a rock" "Always intense, always talented, deserves a lot more praise than he gets" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 5, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 No. 26 - Lightning Kid / Mark Andrews Score: 169 points Total 1st place rankings in 2011 votes: 0 2010 ranking: Not Listed (2009=NL; 2008=NL; 2007=NL; 2006=NL; 2005=NL) Â Â Originally coming up through the scene in his native Wales and south-east England before branching out in the Midlands, Scotland and everywhere in between, Mark Andrews and his masked alter-ego Lightning Kid have become one of the most well-travelled and hardest working acts on the UK circuit. At the age of 19, Mandrews makes his UKFF UK50 debut at an impressive 26th place. Â Having already made a couple of appearances in the Midlands for Triple-X Wrestling and their sister promotion AMP (including a bout against Helix and Andy Shoes the previous night), Lightning Kid was repackaged as "Juan (something-or-other)" as presented as a rookie in TXW's NXT parody at "X-Seven" in July 2010, where he and 5 others were given stupid names and forced to perform various tasks by 'host' Omer Ibrahim before fighting in a non-conclusive 6-way. At "Destination XXX" in September, Kid, Fred Babestation, Gustav Von Assbugel and the other "rookies" formed their own NeXXXus faction, led by the despicable Helix. Though the faction was to only last one show before TXW went into hiatus, Andrews showed as much hatred for the TXW roster as he does for disabled children, beating down eXodus, Quentin Hyde-Styles and Terry Seddon during the course of the show (setting off a cool angle between eXodus and Quentin, which unfortunately was never followed through). Â Lightning Kid had also made a few previous appearances for Swindon's 4 Front Wrestling, and returned in July 2010, as part of the trio of fodder for the Knights Templar faction to destroy. From 2011, however, he was brought into the promotion full-time as a babyface part of their junior heavyweight division, given plenty of focus on the undercards of 4FW events. Since then, he has gone on to fight his career-long rival Wild Boar, Dave Sharp, Matt Lomaxx, Benjamin Jackson, So Sai King and Gilligan Gordon. Â Other appearances across the 2011 UKFF UK50 period included a 4-way against Liam Thomson, Noam Dar and Andy Wild for BCW in Scotland, AMP bouts against The Birmingham City Machine Dunnes, Helix and Keith Myatt and a return to Celtic Wrestling in Wales. Making waves across the country, Andrews was one of those selected to represent British wrestling in exhibition bouts presented by FWA at both Thorpe Park in April and the London Expo in May, tussling with WIld Boar and FutureShock Wrestling's rising star Xander Cooper. Â Andrews' expanding appearances have not been limited to the United Kingdom, however. Indeed, during the 2011 UKFF UK50 eligibility period, he notched up matches in Germany and Spain and, after the end of the period, travelled to the USA to compete in Chikara's 2011 Young Lions Cup, exiting in the first round. Â What did the UKFF think? "Still manages to amaze me every time I watch this guy. Guys a natural born high flier and does it well, can get super over as a babyface, begining to get tons better in the ring with progression as well, easily could claim to be one of the top Welsh wrestlers in the country right now" "Future star, excellent worker, lives up to the hype surrounding him" "Up and coming highflyer. Along with Wild Boar, recently got some exposure" "Great high flyer, who always seems to go under-appreciated, should definitely have been in the last two PBW King of Cruisers and hopefully will make it in this year, always amazing to watch against Andy Wild" "Excellent to watch live and can surely only get better" "Wales' answer to PAC or Ricochet" "Amazing high flyer, thoroughly deserving of the praise and accomplishments being put before him at the moment. Improved his mat wrestling as well this year" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 5, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 On a further Andrews-related note, I must point out that a further anonymous "comment" I received contained this single (NSFW) image.....  http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-...5_6036464_n.jpg  Ahem.  Anyway, with 25 down and 25 to go, we have officially reach the halfway-point in this year's countdown:   26 Lightning Kid Mark Andrews 27 Kid Fite 28 Greg Burridge 29 BT Gunn 30 Wild Boar Mike Hitchman 31 JD Knight 32 Liam Thomson 33 Owen Phoenix 34 Paul Malen 35 Andy Wild 36 Terry Frazier 37 Joseph Conners 38 Val Kabious 39 Behnam Ali 40 Darkside James Scott 41 Sam Bailey 42 Dean Allmark 43 Cyanide 44 Colossus Kennedy 45 Zack Diamond 46 Max Angelus 47 Robbie X 48 Cameron Kraze 49 Eddie Reyes 50 Mohmed Ameen  This also means that your Top 25 this year still contains (alphabetical order), in rankings yet to be revealed:   CJ Banks Dave Mastiff El Ligero Jack Gallagher James Mason Joel Redman Joey Hayes Johnny Moss Jonny Storm Kris Travis Lionheart Mad Man Manson Mark Haskins Martin Kirby Marty Scurll Mikey Whiplash Nathan Cruz Noam Dar RJ Singh Rockstar Spud Sha Samuels Stixx T-Bone The Saint Zack Sabre Jr  Gallagher and The Saint are making their UKFF UK50 debuts this year.  Thoughts so far? Opinions? Predictions?  Next up, someone who held a promotion's singles heavyweight title during the 2011 eligibility period.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Â Some serious inkage on Burridge there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotlightmagnet1 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I think Kid Fite looks like John Malkovich. Sadly, thats the biggest thought I have. Â Most of these guys I haven't heard of and never seen. I'm sure they deserve they're spot, but the only ones I really know are Terry Frazier, Dean Allmark, Sam Bailey and Greg Burridge. So I'm a little detached from the results thus far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt360 Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 I think Kid Fite looks like John Malkovich. Sadly, thats the biggest thought I have. Most of these guys I haven't heard of and never seen. I'm sure they deserve they're spot, but the only ones I really know are Terry Frazier, Dean Allmark, Sam Bailey and Greg Burridge. So I'm a little detached from the results thus far.  Same here. I know 12 of the top 50 so far, the rest I've never seen. However, I did have the thought that Lionheart has a very similar face in each photo I've ever seen him in. Even the angry face stare off with Kid Fite has that same face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Southside crew Posted September 6, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted September 6, 2011 No. 28 - Greg Burridge Score: 157 points Total 1st place rankings in 2011 votes: 3 2010 ranking: Not Listed (2009=NL; 2008=25th; 2007=8th; 2006=2nd; 2005=20th) Â Â After a couple of years of more limited bookings, the former Baxter/Darren Burridge returns to the UKFF UK50 for the first time since 2008. A former runner-up in this project, Burridge has continued to feature for the 1PW promotion that gave him his biggest push. Â The controversial 1PW promotion returned for the latest time in February 2011 with the start of an 8-man tournament to crown a new Heavyweight Champion following Martin Stone's departure. In the main event of the show in Ellesmere Port, the former Team SHAG member returned under his real name to beat El Ligero and advance to the second round. The semi-finals and final were to take place over 1PW's May weekender. First, back in Ellesmere Port, Greg beat "Suicidal, Suicidal, Suicidal" Jimmy "Fucking" Havoc, setting up a main Heavyweight Title showdown with Lionheart in the final the next day. There, in Chester, the heel-turning Scot was victorious as both Burridge and 1PW went down. Â Elsewhere, Burridge entered an entertaining back-and-forth YouTube battle with 'MVK' Valkabious, hyping their fight for the new SOUTHSIDE promotion in Cambridgeshire. At the actual show, Burridge lost to the 'Most Valuable Killer' in the main event. A rematch is currently scheduled for later this year. In addition, Greg found himself booked on the latest Ryan Spitfire effort in Cumbria in May, where he tangled with "Vigilante" Johnny Moss on a night of chaos. Since the end of the 2011 UKFF UK50 period, Burridge reformed his Team SHAG partnership with Colt 'Boom Boom' Cabana for Preston City Wrestling, beating Martin Kirby and Nathan Cruz. Â Rather interestingly, Burridge can also be seen playing the part of masked psychopath Metalico for the wacky carnival which is Lucha Libre Britannia, where he also takes the role of head trainer. Â What did the UKFF think? "A great return to form this year with his Val Kabious feud was brilliant" "Ace" "Came back with probably the best promo in Britwres history. He Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LariatTom Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Great write ups so far, and some surprising names in the first half of the Top 50. There are a few guys that I would have thought, or hoped, would be higher up but I guess a fair bit of that can be down to exposure and where they're used. I'd easily expect someone like Burridge to fly back up into the top half for next year's UK50 since he seems to be taking a few more bookings these days. He's a great worker of both serious and comedy wrestling and could well be one of the top promo guys in the country. Â I've just counted through and I think I've seen 20 of the 25 remaining. Having said that, I'm looking forward to seeing where they place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 7, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 No. 25 - The Saint Score: 174 points Total 1st place rankings in 2011 votes: 1 2010 ranking: Not Listed (2009=NL; 2008=NL; 2007=NL; 2006=NL; 2005=NL) Â Â Another 4 Front Wrestling-contracted talent making his first ever UKFF UK50 appearance, and in doing so is the second highest 'new entrant' in this year's rankings. This 29-year old heavyweight is the top babyface for the Swindon-based promotion, having risen through the ranks over the course of the 2011 eligibility period. Â Having already taken a huge step forward when he fought former GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima in a highlight bout earlier in the year, The Saint was 4FW's first choice to fight another former GHC champ when Pro Wrestling NOAH talent returned to the UK for one weekend in July 2010. In a high-profile bout, The Saint went down to Go Shiozaki in another attention-grabbing performance. Â After down to 4FW Heavyweight Champion JD Knight in the headline contest of a smaller 4FW show on the road, The Saint became officially recognised as the number one contender to the strap when he outlasted 19 other 4FW wrestlers to win the battle royal main event of October's "Hallowe'en Spectacular 2010". Now presented as the top face in the organisation, Saint's big title shot came on top of "New Year's Wrestleution". With the backing of the 4FW babyface roster to counteract the sinister ever-present "Knight's Templar" squadron, Saint pinned JD Knight to lift the 4FW Heavyweight Championship for the first time. An outraged Knight immediately ordered his stablemate Maddog Maxx to cash in his 'Money in the Bank' opportunity, won earlier in the night, there and then. A hot impromptu bout saw the new champion keep his hard-earned gold. Â The Saint saw off JD Knight in rematches in March and April, the latter being a brutal Last Man Standing bout featuring all manner of plunder. Further victories over Matt Lomaxx, So Sai King and Benjamin Jackson on touring shows led into the final contest with JD Knight, this time coming in a climatic steel cage encounter designed to put an end to their feud. Taking place in July 2011 back in Swindon, another dramatic and vicious affair had a shock ending as Knight's former enemy Jack Dynamo entered the cage, seemingly to fight off the Knights Templar, but instead turned on The Saint. Though he was just as surprised as everyone else by Dynamo's actions, JD Knight took advantage of the twist to score the pin and relieve The Saint of the title. Saint looks to feud with Dynamo for the rest of 2011. Â Like other 4FW wrestlers, The Saint rarely makes many appearances anywhere else, but has made one-off appearances for Oxfordshire's BAWA and in the reknowned Croydon Fairfield Halls for LDN Wrestling over the course of the year. In addition, as a direct result of his showings against Morishima and Shiozaki in 2010, The Saint was selected as one of a few British wrestlers to appear on Pro Wrestling NOAH's "European Navigation 2011" tour in May 2011. Kicking off the Wolverhampton leg of the show, The Saint was beaten by former Toryumon X star and ex-GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Taiji Ishimori in a well-received bout (which I personally missed due to still being in the pub.....d'oh). Â What did the UKFF think? "Brilliant year, had some cracking matches with JD Knight in 4FW, really continued to grow as a talent, which was proved when he was asked to be one of the British guys on the NOAH show. Had a great match with Ishimori that night, impressed heavily. Could be an even better year for him" "Wasn't sold on him at first but he has worked hard and had some great 4FW main events and a lovely dark match at NOAH UK" "Finally got his shot at a Supershow event after 10 years of constant hard work. Needs to be seen more around the UK" "The epitome of hard work. After years toiling on the British wrestling circuit, the last 12 months have been a breakout period for Saint. An improved physique and appearance has been coupled with the best in-ring performances of his career. Building on his encounters with Morishima and Shiozaki, Saint has developed a credible Japanese style that few in this country can replicate. Debut for NOAH saw a competitive bout with Taiji Ishimori that was very well-received. Excelled for 4FW in November; first waging war against champion JD Knight in an eight-man tag, then winning a 30-Man Rumble Match for a shot at Knight's title. Finally captured the belt from Knight in a Lumberjack Match in January. Fended off the briefcase-wielding Maddog Maxx (attempting to cash in his own title shot) the very same evening, solidifying himself as champion. The highlight of Saint's year though was the Last Man Standing rematch against Knight in the Spring, one of the finest headline contests I have witnessed in this country and one certainly worthy of a wider audience. His Halo finisher is very much over in Swindon, after years of establishing it. One to watch, to coin a phrase" "A great year for this man, strong matches in BAWA as their champion with wrestlers that I wouldnt usually give the time of day as performers, a run as the 4FW champion since the start of the year and a great little bonus match against Ishimori at Noah put him in. He has improved radically since I saw him take on Go Shiozaki back at the start of the 12 month UKFF 50 period, a good match in itself, it seemed to flick a switch in him and enable him to be on it all the time. The storytelling in his matches for the 4FW title with JD Knight this year has been excellent" "This guy really puts on entertaining matches and is one of the most talented wrestlers in the UK" "Much like JD, big thumbs up for the Last Man Standing match. Anytime the crowd sing "When the Saint comes marching in" is always a delight" "Thoroughly deserved his NOAH place, had a solid match with Ishimori to boot as well. Guy's improved leaps and bounds in the past 12 months too" "4FW run and NOAH match have made this the year of his career. Makes moolah" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 7, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 No. 24 - Sha Samuels Score: 179 points Total 1st place rankings in 2011 votes: 0 2010 ranking: 30th (2009=35th; 2008=37th; 2007=42nd; 2006=20th; 2005=NL) Â Â Now veteran of 6 consecutive UKFF UK50s, former Kartel member Sha Samuels had to scrape through the nominations process via 'Stage Two' in order to secure his place this time, but then went on to gain enough votes in the final round to earn his highest ranking since 2006. The rough-house London brawler has enjoyed a strong singles run for Kent-based IPW:UK, where he emerged as the lead heel in the group. Â After over a year of increasingly less subtle build, Samuels had turned on his long-time tag partner Terry Frazier in April, with the pair brawling to an out-of-control double disqualification in June. The Samuels-Frazier feud continued to be a main art of IPW:UK's regular main Sittingbourne events as the feud escalated. Samuels got the better of Frazier in a No-DQ match at the "6th Anniversary Show" in August, when referee Chris Roberts had seen enough of Sha's vicious and brutal beat-down of his former friend and awarded him the decision. This wasn;t to be the last that the Sittingbourne fans were to see of Samuels that night, as he made a surprise return at the end of the night following his former "Firm" ally Martin Stone's steel cage victory over Danny Garnell. Laying out Stone as he tried to explain he would be leaving IPW:UK, Sha single-handledly both made another enemy and established himself as the top bad guy in the promotion at the same time. Â At "Make or Break" in October, the gimmick was that Samuels and Frazier were able to choose each other's opponent in "Pick Your Poison" fashion. First, Sha chose Zebra Kid for Frazier, but couldn't help but get involved, costing Frazier the win. Another fight between the two led immediately into Sha's bout with Terry's obvious choice, Sha's new enemy Martin Stone. Sha again left on top, after a crazy brawl ended with Samuels scoring the win over Stone after a sneaky low blow. As a result of his run of victories, Sha was granted a shot at Dave Mastiff's Undisputed British Heavyweight Title on the final show of the year, December's "Brawl at the Hall". Though this was Sha's first shot at the belt, the Frazier feud again took over as Terry's interference caused the DQ that cost Sha the singles gold he had craved so long. This time, Terry had gained the upper hand. Â All of this led to the climatic "I Quit!" match at "No Escape 2011" in March. There, an intensely heated, dramatic and exciting thriller saw the pair beat the crap out of each other all over the hall before Terry eventually beat down Sha in decisive fashion, but chose to say "I Quit" himself to finally put an end to the whole situation once and for all and move on. A brilliant and emotional ending to a fantastic rivalry. Â Though he hardly looked like a winner, Sha's "victory" earned him another shot at Mastiff's belt. This time, Pro Wrestling NOAH's Takeshi Morishima was added to the mix in a 3-way for the championship at the "2011 Sittingbourne Spectacular". After Morishima was eliminated early, Samuels and Mastiff went at it hard and heavy before Rockstar Spud made a surprise appearance to interfere on Sha's behalf, costing Dave the match and allowing Sha to win the biggest singles achievement of his career, Undisputed British Championship. Sha, Spud and T-Bone were revealed to be allies as a new heel faction looks to dominate IPW:UK for the remainder of 2011 and beyond. Â Over in the FWA, however, Sha has continued to be a front-line babyface and has been central to the Resistance vs. Agenda feud around which the promotion is based. As such, Sha has fought off The Agenda's Dave Mastiff, Joel Redman, Iestyn Rees in various combinations of singles, tag and trios bouts for the past year. Â What did the UKFF think? "With a more aggressive streak I see this guy as a bonafide main eventer of the future" "I enjoy him. Makes moolah" "While Marty Scurll was definitely the most improved wrestler in the ring, for me, Sha stepped up every game of his character in 2010/11 and was more than rewarded with an IPW:UK Title win. Two fantastic matches with Terry Frazier that were both full of heated and intense brawling, March being a definite stand out. A match against Martin Stone in Oct where you could definitely feel the torch being passed, as Sha well and truly became the most hated man in Sittingbourne throughout the course of the year. I don't know how the hell he almost missed the cut - To me, Sha is a top #5 wrestler and he can only get better" "As IPW:UK's top heel he has never been better" "Put on some great matches for IPW with both Terry Frazier and Mastiff. Probably the best brawler I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted September 9, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 No. 23 - Jonny Storm Score: 188 points Total 1st place rankings in 2011 votes: 2 2010 ranking: 13th (2009=12th; 2008=8th; 2007=10th; 2006=3rd; 2005=2nd) Â Â The second of our entrants to have placed in the UKFF UK50 every single year, well-known veteran performer "Wonderkid" Jonny Storm remains as busy as ever, working all over the UK and mainland Europe. This year, however, former 4-time Top 10 ranked Storm falls to his lowest ever finish in this project. As well as being a regular fixture in Germany for RNW, ACW and GWP, in France for ABC and in Belgium for Be. Catch Company throughout the year, 34-year old Jonny Storm continues to be in demand with family-friendly British promoters. Â For John Freemantle's traditional-styled Premier Promotions, which stays strict to the old school British hall style (including the use of rounds and public warnings), Jonny has rumbled with Dan Walsh, Zack Sabre Jr, Jon Ryan, James Danmar, Crazy Horse ("Viking Warrior" from the AllStar circuit), Rishi Ghosh, James Mason, Gareth Harris, "Mean" Anton Green and "Dazzling" Darrell Allen in places like Bournemouth, Brighton, Worthing, Bedford and Potters Bar. Staying the in south-east, Storm is also a favourite in BOBW, where he can frequently be seen in the ring with career-long opponents Phil Powers, Jorge Castano and Jody Fleisch. Â While none of those promotions take a storyline-based approach to selling tickets for repeat shows (instead taking the touring one-night attraction route), Storm has also continued to play a major role for the latest version of the Frontier Wrestling Alliance which brought him much attention in the last decade. While locked in a feud with the dastardly Rockstar Spud, Storm was part of the FWA British Flyweight Championship round-robin tournament, securing wins over El Ligero in Nottingham, RJ Singh in Wolverhampton before the tourney was abandoned. Storm was supposed to fight his nemesis Spud in a long-awaited ladder match at "European Uprising" in November, held as part of the Memorabilia exhibition in the NEC. An injury, however, saw his opponent replaced by FWA up-and-comers Axl Rage and Nathan Cruz as the bout became a 3-way. Jonny came out with the win, and eventually fought to a no contest with Spud when FWA returned to the NEC for the March exhibition. Â Elsewhere, Storm feuded with Paul Malen in West Bromich for Phoenix Pro Wrestling, culminating in him losing a 'Loser Leaves Town' bout to "The Prodigy" just after the end of our 2011 UKFF UK50 period. He also headed north to main event against the monstrous Colossus Kennedy in a DPW title challenge in Castleford and headlined against his old friend/rival Fleisch for AJ Spitfire in Cumbria. In addition, "The Wonderkid" returned to the 'supershow' stage when he fought high-flying Mexican sensation Ricky Marvin for Pro Wrestling NOAH on the Wolverhampton leg of the Japanese promotion's 2011 tour. Â What did the UKFF think? "Guy's a British gem in the ring, great match with Ricky Marvin showed that even after so many years in the ring the guy still has it" "Was one of the front runners of the evolution in the early 2000's and is still kicking ass now" "Has had some cracking matches in West Brom this year, he's still got it!" "Brilliant worker, can have a good match with anyone" "He's Jonny Storm, super over and loveable scamp of Britwres. He has to be in this list, plus he's pretty astounding" "My choice for number one, about time this guy reached the top accolade. Works extremely hard. Often has the best match on a show and works the crowd like no other. Great as a heel or a babyface" "May not appeal to the internet types as much as he used to, especially as there's younger guys doing what he did ten years ago, but better, but on a family show nobody can work the crowd like he can. His appeal is so broad" "Veteran continues to excel in promotions up and down the country" "Rarely has a bad match, even on PTW he was the only guy that added any monetary value to that show for the fans involved, great worker who can get matches out of anyone, no matter how bad" "Still in the top 3 baby faces in the country in my opinion, manages to get over with any crowd I have seen him perform in the country. People will buy a ticket to see Jonny and he raises the credibility of a promotion and card when on the bill" "Best pure babyface in the UK. Has the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he walks through the curtain" "He's still around and still very enjoyable in the ring. Great personality and quality veteran lightweight wrestler. Always good to see" "Great match at NOAH, still shows himself to be a ring general after so many years at it" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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