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The 2013 UKFF UK50


Big Benny HG

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The Ninth Annual UKFF UK50

 

Introduction

 

What is the UKFF UK50?

The UKFF UK50 is the yearly attempt to rank the top 50 wrestlers from the UK wrestling circuit, compiled by the members of the UK's biggest and most active pro wrestling messageboard, the UK Fan Forum. UKFFers come together to debate, discuss, nominate, vote and ultimately rank the best in the British wrestling scene. Previous winners have been Doug Williams (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008), Bubblegum (2009), Martin Stone (2010) and El Ligero (2011 and 2012).

 

 

How does it work?

Every year we compile the list via a number of stages. First, UKFFers nominate who they believe is worthy of a place somewhere in that year's top 50. Then, once we have a list of 50 names, we begin to rank them into an order of merit by way of votes. The final ranked list is then revealed. All the way through, UKFFers are encouraged to discuss, debate and justify their selections, sharing reasons why they believe their decisions to be correct, sharing clips from matches, suggesting particular matches that they believe back up their selections and so forth.

 

 

Upon what criteria are the rankings based?

All the way through the process, nominations and votes should be made based on British wrestlers' in-ring performances you have seen on shows that took place between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013. The key points around which the rankings, nominations and votes are based include:

- whose in-ring performances are the most gripping, convincing and enthralling?

- who is consistently involved in great matches?

- who is able to tell the best "story" through their performance?

- whose performance is able to capture the crowd's interest and make them emotionally invested in the match?

- who actually makes pro wrestling enjoyable to watch with their performances?

 

 

Who is eligible to be included in the UKFF UK50?

To be eligible for inclusion, a wrestler must:

- be British or Irish

- have the majority of their appearances on UK shows, for UK promotions, in the UK wrestling scene.

Wrestlers can be either male or female.

 

Adrian Neville, Prince Devitt, Wade Barrett, Sheamus, William Regal, Oliver Grey, Danny Burch, Drew McIntyre, Mason Ryan, Magnus, Rob Terry and suchlike are NOT ELIGIBLE. For virtually the entire eligibility period, they have all been full-time contracted roster members for overseas-based promotions and the majority of their work is for those promotions in the US. This includes Doug Williams. Yes, he has now been released from TNA, but for more than 11 of the 12 months in questions he was contracted there.

 

Some of these people do indeed make appearances on UK shows between their overseas bookings (e.g. Devitt, Williams). However, when they do so, they are treated more as special attraction imports. Basically, if someone is not a "full time" member of the British wrestling circuit, they do not qualify. The UKFF UK50 is, as it always has been over the past 9 years, purely about British wrestling and the British wrestling scene. It's worth pointing out that Rockstar Spud is still eligible this year. Sure, he is now contracted to TNA, but he was wrestling on the British scene during the UKFF UK50 eligibility period before he left in February 2013. Likewise, Zack Sabre Jr is still eligible. He's been touring extensively with Pro Wrestling NOAH, but he has still been a "full-timer" on British shores.

 

There's probably others I've forgotten to specifically mention above, but the same rules apply and it should be simple enough for you to determine whether someone is or isn't eligible under this criteria. If unsure, ask me either in this thread or in a PM.

 

 

Who is allowed to take part?

Anyone who has a UKFF account. Obviously, you must have actually seen the wrestlers you are nominating/voting for in a British match within the eligible period (e.g. live show, full matches on the internet, TV, DVD, etc).

 

 

I liked the SHIT LIST. Is there going to be another SHIT LIST this year?

We'll see. Maybe as a side attraction once this thing is wrapped up.

 

 

Where can I find out about the previous UKFF UK50 projects?

The 2005 UKFF UK50 threads have now been deleted and so can no longer be viewed. I'll post the full result list a little later on.

 

The 2006 and 2007 results threads were moved into the UKFF Gold forum and are still available for your nostalgic viewing pleasure.

 

The 2008 and 2009 threads were not moved into Gold, and so they have also unfortunately also expired. Again, I'll post the lists.

 

The 2010 (including 2010 SHIT LIST and all that drama) and 2011 threads are both available in UKFF Gold

 

The 2012 version is not in Gold, but for the time being it can still be viewed on the main forum.

 

With that out of the way, it's on to:

 

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

 

2013 UKFF UK50 - Stage One (Nominations)

 

As always, Stage One is the nomination stage. UKFFers nominate British wrestlers they feel deserve a place, any place, somewhere in the list. The 50 with the most nominations make it in, the rest don't.

 

As always, to take part in this Stage I need you to:

 

 

1) Send a PM to myself on the UKFF. E-mails/Facebook messages/etc will not be accepted. This is to prove that you are a UKFF member. This is a UKFF project, after all. Feel free to share your nominations in this thread if you so desire, for the purposes of generating discussion/debate, but I will only count lists that I receive in my PM Inbox.

 

 

2) Within the PM, please nominate up to 15 wrestlers that you feel, based on the criteria described above and matches that you have actually seen, deserve a place, any place, somewhere in this year's UKFF UK50. This doesn't of course, necessarily mean that it is your own personal 'top' 15, just 15 people you would like to see in the 50. All names are a single nomination, carrying equal value, so there is no need to rank your list of nominations in order of merit (i.e. the name at the top of your nominations will be treated equally with the name at the bottom of your list). You can nominate less than 15 if you like, but definitely no more.

 

You don't need to include your reasons for nominating these wrestlers within your message to me during this stage. As you will have seen from past years, I do like to use your quotes when doing the results write-ups, and some people put a lot of time and effort into their comments. However, since this is merely the nomination stage, there is no guarantee that your nominated wrestlers will get through and I don't want you to waste your words - save them for the final round. If you do wish to give your comments at this stage, you'd be best off sticking them in this thread - just a sentence or so to justify their selection or point out particular matches, promotions or shows upon which you have based your decision.

 

 

3) Make sure you get your PM in to me by 23:59 on Sunday 21st July 2013. Any received after this deadline will not be considered....and there's always some spenk who tries!

 

 

Anyone suspected of using dual accounts or other unfair methods to weight the list or make mockery of the spirit of the project may be excluded at my discretion. There's always knobheads who try to get their shitarsey Johnny Kickpadz mates in, but they are usually unsuccessful.

 

The 50 wrestlers with the most nominations after the deadline will make it into the 2013 UKFF UK50. The rest will not. If there are a tied number of nominations for the last few places in the 50 (there usually always is every year), we will have a mini-stage to determine which of them make it in.

 

Please feel free to now use this thread to discuss and debate who is worthy of nominations this year. Campaign for your choices. Share videos of your selections' best matches from the year. Try to convince others that you are correct. Provide evidence as to why you believe you are right.

 

So, finally (at last), to summarise what I need you to do:

- Send me a PM

- 15 Nominations

- By 23:59 on Sunday 21 July 2012

 

Thanks in advance for your continued participation. As always, please feel free to ask any questions you may have, either in this thread or by PM.

 

Here we go...

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So many worthy candidates this year it's ridiculous. Submitted 15 noms, but left out the likes of Noam Dar, Lionheart, Stixx, T-Bone, Haskins and so on.. Too many people to mention. 15 in this case is not nearly enough could struggle with 25!

 

Hey ho. Happy voting!

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My list has been sent. I'm looking forward to seeing the Top 50 this year as I only really got in to the British scene in 2012. I'm really pleased you're taking this project on again Benny. Last years list was an enjoyable and detailed read.

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Great news. To be involved in this is pretty much the reason I signed up to this place. I'll start working on my top 15 once I check out some matches.

 

No pressure, but it'll be awesome if a SHIT LIST is made to accompany this. I had a blast reading the SHITARSE FIFTY from a couple of years ago.

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Looking forward to this. A lot of guys have made their mark in the last 12 months so should make for some new faces. Wouldn't mind seeing a shitlist too! Cheers for putting it all together Benny. :thumbsup:

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As the nominations deadline of Sunday 21st July draws nearer, here's a reminder of the way the last few years' UKFF UK50s have ended up:

 

2012

1 El Ligero

2 Noam Dar

3 Zack Sabre Jr

4 Kris Travis

5 Rockstar Spud

6 Jack Gallagher

7 Martin Kirby

8 Mad Man Manson

9 Stixx

10 Dave Mastiff

11 Lionheart

12 Mark Haskins

13 Mikey Whiplash

14 Marty Scurll

15 Joey Hayes

16 Bubblegum

17 Andy Wild

18 Nathan Cruz

19 Paul Malen

20 MK McKinnan

21 James Scott

22 CJ Banks

23 Dave Rayne

24 Joseph Connors

25 Johnny Moss

26 Mark Andrews

27 Rampage Brown

28 Red Lightning

29 Dean Allmark

30 Zack 'Diamond' Gibson

31 Wolfgang

32 Kid Fite

33 Wild Boar

34 Max Angelus

35 Sam Bailey

36 Lion Kid

37 BT Gunn

38 Robbie X

39 Liam Thomson

40 Pete Dunne

41 James Mason

42 Trent Seven

43 Cyanide

44 Lee Hunter

45 Jim Hunter

46 T-Bone

47 Jack Jester

48 Jonny Storm

49 Josh Bodom

50 Joel Redman

 

2011

1 El Ligero

2 Zack Sabre Jr

3 Dave Mastiff

4 Mark Haskins

5 Marty Scurll

6 Stixx

7 Martin Kirby

8 Rockstar Spud

9 James Mason

10 Johnny Moss

11 Kris Travis

12 Joel Redman

13 Mikey Whiplash

14 Joey Hayes

15 Jack Gallagher

16 Mad Man Manson

17 Lionheart

18 CJ Banks

19 Noam Dar

20 Nathan Cruz

21 T-Bone

22 RJ Singh

23 Jonny Storm

24 Sha Samuels

25 The Saint

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

 

2010

1 Martin Stone

2 Dave Mastiff

3 Spud

4 El Ligero

5 Zack Sabre Jr

6 Kris Travis

7 Johnny Moss

8 Mark Haskins

9 Martin Kirby

10 Joey Hayes

11 Lionheart

12 Stixx

13 Jonny Storm

14 Bubblegum

15 Marty Scurll

16 Darkside

17 CJ Banks

18 Joel Redman

19 Liam Thomson

20 Cameron Kraze

21 Leroy Kincaide

22 Alex Shane

23 Terry Frazier

24 RJ Singh

25 Mad Man Manson

26 James Mason

27 Paul Malen

28 Kid Fite

29 BT Gunn

30 Sha Samuels

31 T-Bone

32 Derice Coffie

33 Mikey Whiplash

34 Scott Renwick

35 Sam Bailey

36 Robbie Dynamite

37 Val Kabious

38 Nathan Cruz

39 Danny Hope

40 Keith Myatt

41 Danny Garnell

42 Damien O'Connor

43 Noam Dar

44 JD Knight

45 Lion Kid

46 Robbie X

47 Mohmed Ameen

48 Red Lightning

49 Wolfgang

50 Joseph Conners

 

I'll post reminders of the other years later on.

 

Keep the nominations flying in!

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...and a reminder of a few more previous results:

 

2009

1 Bubblegum

2 Spud

3 El Ligero

4 Martin Stone

5 Zack Sabre Jr

6 Dave Moralez

7 Johnny Moss

8 Mark Haskins

9 Joey Hayes

10 Martin Kirby

11 Kris Travis

12 Jonny Storm

13 CJ Banks

14 Joel Redman

15 Lionheart

16 Johnny Saint

17 Terry Frazier

18 Marty Scurll

19 Darkside

20 Cameron Kraze

21 Mad Man Manson

22 Stixx

23 Gilligan Gordon

24 Jetta

25 Robbie Dynamite

26 RJ Singh

27 Mikey Whiplash

28 James Mason

29 Sam Bailey

30 BT Gunn

31 Derice Coffee

32 Johnny Kidd

33 Liam Thomson

34 Jon Ryan

35 Sha Samuels

36 Danny Hope

37 Leroy Kincaide

38 Mohmed Ameen

39 Chris Renfrew

40 Falcon

41 Zebra Kid

42 Sam Slam

43 Kid Fite

44 Dragon Aisu

45 Andy Simmonz

46 Red Lightning

47 Robbie X

48 Scott Renwick

49 Wolfgang

50 Paul Malen

 

2008

1 Doug Williams

2 El Ligero

3 Bubblegum

4 Martin Stone

5 Joey Hayes

6 Pac

7 Zebra Kid

8 Jonny Storm

9 Spud

10 Zack Sabre Jr

11 Dave Moralez

12 Johnny Moss

13 Jetta

14 Stixx

15 Martin Kirby

16 Sam Slam

17 Lionheart

18 Darkside

19 Kris Travis

20 Falcon

21 Liam Thompson

22 Wolfgang

23 Terry Frazier

24 Mikey Whiplash

25 Darren Burridge

26 Paul Malen

27 Johnny Phere

28 Mad Man Manson

29 Mark Haskins

30 Marty Scurll

31 Majik

32 Ross Jordan

33 Cameron Kraze

34 Johnny Saint

35 Robbie Dynamite

36 Robbie Brookside

37 Sha Samuels

38 Andy Simmonz

39 Joel Redman

40 James Tighe

41 Phil Bedwell

42 The Juice

43 Johnny Kidd

44 Dragon Aisu

45 Kid Fite

46 Ricky Knight

47 Sweet Saraya

48 Sam Bailey

49 Jon Ryan

50 Zak Zodiac

 

2007

1 Doug Williams

2 Pac

3 Martin Stone

4 Spud

5 Bubblegum

6 El Ligero

7 Majik

8 Darren Burridge

9 Drew Galloway

10 Jonny Storm

11 Andy Simmonz

12 Falcon

13 Robbie Brookside

14 Ricky Knight

15 Wolfgang

16 Dragon Aisu

17 Eden Black

18 Luke "Dragon" Phoenix

19 Ross Jordan

20 Jack Storm

21 Lionheart

22 Mad Man Manson

23 James Wallace

24 Darkside

25 Dave Moralez

26 Scott Renwick

27 Adam Shame

28 Seamus O'Shaunessy

29 James Tighe

30 Stixx

31 Iceman

32 Johnny Moss

33 Conscience

34 Sam Slam

35 Jetta

36 Jody Fleisch

37 JC Thunder

38 Jon Ryan

39 Joey Hayes

40 Red Lightning

41 Sweet Saraya

42 Sha Samuels

43 Jon Ritchie

44 Ashley Reed

45 Terry Frazier

46 Ashe

47 Juice

48 Johnny Kidd

49 Steve Grey

50 Zack Sabre Jr

 

Less than 48 hours now until the nomination stage closes for this year. 123 different wrestlers have received at least one nomination during the process so far. Do they include your picks? Don't leave it to chance!

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It's no secret that I absolutely love the British scene right now. You've got such a strong roster of talent as well as promotions so that this is the healthiest I have ever known the English scene. Over the course of the past 12 months (July 1st 2012 to June 30th 2013) I've gone to 43 shows featuring 122 wrestlers based or living in England. Remove those who weren't born in the UK (Jenny Sjoden, Alpha Female and Shanna) and that means I have a potential 119 wrestlers to whittle down to 15.

 

The 15 in my list will definitely be wrestlers who appeared in Revolution Pro Wrestling, Southside Wrestling Entertainment, Preston City Wrestling and Fight Club: Pro. Out of those 43 shows FCP were responsible for 7 of them, RPW 8 with SWE and PCW tied at 9. Sittingbourne, Kent was definitely the furthest south I traveled with Ayr, Scotland the furthest north. I've had a definitive 12 tied down for a while now, all of which work at least two of the four promotions on a regular or guest appearance basis. So to me my list has been greatly shaped by my "home" promotions that cover the north and south of England divide.

 

These are in my humble opnion the top 15 UK workers over the 2012/3 voting period.

 

Dave Mastiff - Without shadow of a doubt the best big man in England. I don't think anyone else comes close to big, bad Dave. Dave was on 22 out of the 43 shows so just over half and has really shown his range from being trusted to open the show with a great, clubbering heavyweight battles to closing the show out in EPIC, clubbering heavyweight battles. While he's not had the marquee matches like the ones against Takeshi Morishima, Go Shiozaki and Takashi Sugiura in years prior, he has found a new import rival in fast rising ROH star Michael Elgin and the two have had two incredible matches against each other in Fight Club: Pro. And he can go from the epic clash of the titans like the Elgin battles, to big man vs little man wars like his hastily scheduled rematch against Noam Dar in January for PCW, to the side splitting comedy matches against Mad Man Manson. For a man of his frame his agility is second to none with the flying cross body block he has recently began employing, his devastating cannon ball splash and the one-off specials like his top rope handstand and rolling kip-up which brought an audience to their feet.

 

Dean Allmark - I only got to see Deano a total of 6 times this past year but he's a man who leaves his mark. Allmark always catches me by surprise with how good he can be, I don't know why. Maybe it's the gear. Maybe it's the entrance music plus his clap-happy babyface routine. Maybe it's still imagining Dean still in that All Star bubble of "Easy" and "Shall I's?", but he always finds a way to blow me away. I don't think you'll find a finer sub-five minute match all year than the one between him and Martin Kirby as the dark match of February's Dragon Gate UK show at Castleford, itself a more condensed and lightning paced version of the fantastic opener they had at PCW only a few short weeks prior. I can't wait for his match against Jushin Thunder Liger this November.

 

El Ligero - Absolutely one of the best in the UK. A very deserving winner of the past two years UKFF 50 and I wouldn't put it past a trifecta and moving towards Doug Williams four year win streak. This past year saw the conclusion of his feud with the masked Ego Dragon in SWE with a suitably epic no ropes match in October which saw Ego unmasked as long time friend/rival, Martin Kirby. Although the feud between Ligero and Kirby itself in SWE was far from over as shown by a brilliant street fight on the last day of the eligibility period. Ligero is a roster member with all three of my favourite UK promotions and is trusted by all three to deliver on the highest level. Whether it's the intense, heated, blood feud with Martin Kirby in SWE or the feud with Mark Haskins in RPW. Headline singles matches against the very best in the world like El Generico, Prince Devitt and Johnny Gargano. Tagging with Kirby in PCW to stand against one of the best tag teams in the world today in The Young Bucks. Even throw away matches lower down the card like the ones against Zack Sabre Jnr (last minute reschedule) and Kris Travis (afternoon show) for PCW could end up stealing the card on any given show. One of the hardest working wrestlers in all of England today.

 

Joey Hayes - Through his stellar work in PCW this year, Hayes has more than earnt his place in my top 15. His heel turn has inadvertently made him more popular than ever before with the Lava crowd. He was the one who got to beat Lionheart in his retirement match last December. He now claims victories over international stars Paul London and Super Crazy en route to losing to Noam Dar in an epic finals of the Road To Glory tournament in what was one of my favourite all English singles matches from this past year. His work in the north west and Scotland has kept him very busy this past year whether it's heel run in PCW, G.I Joey elsewhere or prima donna tag actions with Danny Hope as part of The Models.

 

Kris Travis - Travis really has had a strong year whether it's as one of the top singles stars in PCW or his work with Martin Kirby as part of Project Ego in RevPro Wrestling. Shortly into the voting year he became PCW Heavyweight Champion in a moment that brought an entire crowd to their feet. His first match with Chris Masters surprised me as I honestly wasn't expecting that much, but their second match blew me away as the drama was stepped up from the first in what will go down as a potential UK MOTYC. Project Ego were the corner stone of RPW's tag team division and more than earnt it with my UK MOTY against The LDR's in December, as well as facing the international dream team of El Ligero and recent WWE signee Samuray Del Sol, along with their title change match against The Swords Of Essex in York Hall in June that really legitimized the SOE. Ego's match against The Predators to decide SWE's first ever tag team champions was also up there as one of Ego's finest matches. With his natural athleticism, Travis really shines at the character work as one of England's most charismatic wrestlers.

 

Mark Haskins - For a while now I've been coming round to the thought that Haskins has become one of the best all rounders in England. Being released from TNA really was the fuel that Haskins needed to step up to that next level. He's stepped in the ring with some of the greatest wrestlers in the world like Jerry Lynn, Tajiri, Prince Devitt, CIMA, BxB Hulk and Naruki Doi and not looked out of place. He's had a great series of matches with Stixx and MK McKinnan in SWE and El Ligero in RevPro. He can play the fan favourite in SWE and then the most hated man in the building in RevPro and Fight Club: Pro. Along with stepping up his work in the ring he's really improved on the mic and his character work, gaining confidence every single time.

 

Martin Kirby - Out of all the 15 of my nominations Martin Kirby is the wrestler I've seen the most. He's been on 25 out of the 43 shows I attended and there's a reason why he's so in demand, be it RevPro, Southside, Preston, Dragon Gate UK, etc etc... He really is one of the best in England. He can play the clap-happy babyface and the hometown hero. He can be the cheating, comedy heel. He can be the intense and hated Ego Dragon. He can have the epic singles and tag matches against the best in England and Worldwide. He can do a lot more light-hearted affairs. Need a fast paced opener? Kirby's your man. Need a guy in a four or six way to help hold everything together and keep things moving? Yep, it's Kirby. He offers something to each and every single promotion that books him, regardless of his place on the card. He and Kris Travis as Project Ego dominated RevPro's tag team division with stand out match after stand out match that was filled with character and comedy as well. Southside he maintained his dual identity of both himself as a babyface and the ruthless Ego Dragon right until the time he was unmasked in that epic no ropes match. In Preston he's the good hand who can be trusted to go out and have a great match with anybody and will remain over with the audience regardless of wins and losses. If I was booking a show tomorrow, Kirby would be the first name on there.

 

Marty Scurll - I don't think Marty really matched his 2011/12 performance this year (I ranked him #1 in last years listing) but that's not to say he's not been absolutely fantastic this year. Through TNA's British Boot Camp he got to appear like the big star he's going to be, getting opportunity to wrestle for TNA at Wembley. In fact this has been Scurll's biggest year as he got to appear on TV as well as the big stage for TNA, he got to wrestle the current Open The Dream Gate Champion, CIMA, in a singles match as part of the last Dragon Gate UK tour and his win/loss records was a big part and angle of that tour. While I said his performances may not have matched last years he was still involved in my UK MOTY for 2012 and for this voting eligibility period in The LDR's vs Project Ego. And his series with Robbie X in SWE help bring up Robbie's game and elevate him exponentially, the same as their singles match for RevPro in Robbie's debut. Scurll really has been one of the main driving forces behind RevPro storyline and match wise as his feud with Rockstar Spud practically dominated the promotion, to no one's disagreement. His subsequent heel turn since the Spud feud ended and he lost to him in Bootcamp has opened a few more avenues for him to explore on the UK scene as he has turned heel in all his major promotions now.

 

MK McKinnan - In my first show of the UKFF50 eligibility period MK McKinnan managed to dethrone Eddie Edwards for the Fight Club: Pro Championship in a spectacular main event and he's just from strength to strength from there. In Fight Club his next defense was a 30 minute time limit draw against one of the absolute best in the world in Prince Devitt. Then he closed out 2012 with an absolutely incredible ladder match against the former champion, Eddie Edwards in a match that was simply amazing. Outside of Fight Club he finally brought together those big time match performances in SWE with a brilliant tag match with Jonathan Gresham against The LDR's in August. But when he was matched up against Mark Haskins the two had two fantastic matches together that really cemented his place in the promotion. But while Southside had a clear idea in mind to bring in and use MK, RevPro debuted him last minute as a replacement for his partner in that SWE tag match, Jonathan Gresham. While I'm sure RevPro had MK on their radar and he was obviously going to be brought in down the line, fate necessitated that his debut would have to be brought forwarded over the turmoil of their Uprising weekend in October and within 7 months he went from being brought in last minute to main eventing in a match against Zack Sabre Jnr. Now I spent the better part of six months championing a match between the two as when you see potential natural chemistry such as that, it's hard to ignore. I thought a match between them would be incredible and I am yet to be proved wrong as they faced each other three times in the space of three months and each one built up to the next and was fantastic in it's own way. MK/Zack in any shape or form is a match-up that you need to witness live one day to see two of the very best in England going hell for leather. MK really has had a fantastic body of work over the past 12 months with the matches against Eddie Edwards, Zack Sabre Jnr, Mark Haskins and the one-off's against Prince Devitt and Samuray Del Sol and he really is one of England's best right now.

 

Noam Dar - 2012/3 really was the year of Noam Dar. It was far and away the biggest year of his career and he faced each challenge as it came and successfully managed to step up accordingly. AJ Styles in July as the main event of Pro Wrestling Elite's biggest show, Noam was the one who looked like the star in my eyes. He held his own against Davey Richards and Prince Devitt on back to back weekends in August. He faced Jerry Lynn in his UK retirement match. He main evented Preston City Wrestling's biggest show of 2012 against former WWE star John Morrison in December. He was placed into a rise or fall trial series for Dragon Gate UK against three former Open The Dream Gate Champions and more than earnt his spot on the DG:UK roster. Noam really is a prodigy. He's not just a future exceptional talent, he's an exceptional talent right now. And he's not going to stop at being one of the best in the UK, he will end up as one of the best in the world. It's not just the matches he's had against the international talent that has made this such an incredible year for Noam as he has had incredible matches against the best in the UK as well as become PCW's first Cruiserweight Champion and win their 2013 Road To Glory tournament in a fantastic all UK final against Joey Hayes. He did suffer two injury related set backs this year so I hope he can heal and return stronger than ever as it's only a matter of time until the world's larger stage comes calling for him.

 

Robbie X - I don't know if I ever envisioned that I would one day consider a graduate of the 1PW Academy to be one of the best in England but after the year Robbie has had, it'd be hard to think of reasons to exclude him from my list. And for my money it's all down to Southside's nurturing booking that has allowed him to develop into the wrestler you see today. Robbie has always had potential and the tools with his athleticism a strong point, but over the past year he really has become a more well rounded wrestler. While in last years voting period he showed the glimpses of the great wrestler he could be, the Speed King match against Marty Scurll especially, when he faced Jonathan Gresham in August everything clicked and started to come together at a fantastic pace as from there he went from strength to strength, the improvement noticeable in every single match. He stepped his game up month by month and was a well deserved choice to dethrone Scurll of his Speed King belt at the October anniversary show. And one of the main reasons why Robbie had to be included in my list was his March rematch against Scurll where in his first main event after two and a half years of wrestling for SWE, he and Marty were able to create a drama filled, sublime wrestling match and a very worthy main event showing that it's only a matter of time until Robbie can comfortably fit in the main event picture on a regular basis. Robbie then followed on that performance by defeating Noam Dar the next month and showed that the future of the UK scene isn't entirely on Noam's shoulders. RevPro soon came calling and again he found himself on the opposite of the ring to Marty Scurll in a blinder of a semi-main event match that helped showcase Robbie whilst also put over Scurll's newfound heel aggression. If Robbie continues at the rate he did over the past year then he will be cracking the top 10 next year.

 

Rockstar Spud - If I was ranking this list on character work, charisma and promo's alone, Spud would easily take the #1 spot. Spud was a more than deserving winner of TNA's British Bootcamp as I defy anyone to watch that series and not see the larger than life character of Rockstar Spud. He really has turned his biggest weakness into his greatest strength as he has used his size to become the biggest character in British wrestling. His feud with Marty Scurll that started before Bootcamp and was escalated accordingly during and post-filming was one of the best feuds I've seen in England and a lot of that was down to Spud's hard work and effort in really pushing that feud to the extreme. Whilst with his character and mic work, Spud didn't really have to attempt to be the great cruiserweight wrestler he once was back in his babyface days, but in his last matches in England against MK McKinnan and the feud ender against Marty Scurll he was busting out stuff I hadn't seen him do in years and having some of the best matches I have ever seen him have live. In fact that weekend Fight and RevPro both enjoyed spikes in the audience numbers as the Rockstar Spud had attracted new fans as a result of his Bootcamp victory and Wembley appearance and Spud really did seem like one of the biggest star's in England that weekend. I do hope this is the last time we see him eligible for this list as he really does deserve all the success in the world and he has the character to take on the world.

 

Stixx - Nottingham's "Heavyweight House Of Pain" has had yet another strong year and another wrestler who has met the challenge of facing some of the top American Indy stars like Davey Richards, Jigsaw and Kevin Steen and passed with flying colours. Steen even praised Stixx online as one of the best wrestlers he's ever wrestled after their bout. Stixx really has been the driving force behind Southside's Heavyweight division as well as the story arc between Southside and the House Of Pain and really has justified his main event position. His main event match with Mark Haskins at their August event, Supremacy, came at a time when I thought the worst for the match. The show had contained the prior mentioned LDR's vs MK/Gresham, Noam Dar vs Davey Richards and Marty Scurll vs Zack Sabre Jnr matches, and I felt like the unannounced Stixx/Haskins match as the main event to that show would have ended the night on a damp squid. I'm a man who can throw his hands up when he's wrong as the two had a fantastic, heated, drama filled main event that really put a stamp on Supremacy being my favourite show by a UK promotion last year. Their rematch at the end of November whilst not as good as the first match was still a great match in it's own right, and he followed that up with a series against Johnny Storm in both DG:UK and SWE and then a great big man/little man match against El Ligero the night before he faced Steen. On the last day of the eligibility period he won back the Southside Heavyweight Championship so will start the next years voting period as a champion.

 

T-Bone - The man from the trailer park is the only one on my list who can claim to be a regular with all four of my main promotions and has held the main Heavyweight belt in two and involved in title contention for the other two. With his distinct look he can stand out on any roster with his size, build and tattoo's. I think the main reason I had to include him in my list is his consistency. He may not be the best wrestler in England but he has intensity, presence and is a great brawler. His bull rope match against Kris Travis in which he won the PCW Heavyweight Championship back may be the best match I have ever seen him have. It does feel like T-Bone, Mastiff and Stixx are the "go-to" heavyweights in English promotions and so the three have faced each other up and down the country. Definitely better as a ruthless, viscous heel than a clap-happy All Star-esque blue eye and PCW and SWE are booking him to his advantage. His newfound team with Rampage Brown as Team Single really did get off to a roaring start in PCW as they got to face and defeat The Steiners. I don't usually see T-Bone vs X and get excited for a match up in advance, mainly due to T-Bone, but I'll be honest in that I can't say I saw T-Bone in a bad match up all year and on the day he more than holds his own on his side of the match.

 

Zack Sabre Jnr - When it comes to match quality I don't think there's a better wrestler in England than Zack. I only saw him in 11 matches on 10 shows last year and when I made a list of all the matches I saw last year that I would rank from great to excellent, Zack had 10 of those matches in it and the 11th would have been ranked at "good" at worst. If I was only ranking my list on the performance inside the ring, no one else comes close to matching Zack. The LDR's are for my money the best tag team in England but it's due to their infrequent appearances in England that has allowed Project Ego to step up and take that mantle from them over the past year. I know I've said it a lot but the match between those two teams really was spectacular and should be seen by everyone. Zack has had stand out singles matches against the likes of Marty Scurll, El Ligero, Mark Haskins and a stunning series of matches against MK McKinnan that really were worth six months of my begging and pleading for that match to finally be booked. His matches against current Open The Dream Gate Champion, Johnny Gargano, and then Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion, Fujita Jr Hayato, are two prime examples of everything I look for and love in pro wrestling. I don't know if I can justify Zack as #1 in my list like he has been in previous years as he spent several months of the year in Japan and I only saw him on less than a quarter of shows. But after his matches over the past 12 months, eventhough I only saw him 10 times he really proved why he is one of England's greatest wrestlers.

 

So there's my 2012/3 list of 15.

 

Only 11 from my list last year found their place in this years list so I dropped Jack Gallagher (eventhough his match against Davey Richards this year was one of last years best matches), Trent Seven (his performances had dipped in quality this year in my opinion), Max Angelus (eventhough his match against Michael Elgin was incredible and a very worth Southside Heavyweight Champion, his injuries just caught up with him and caught up with him quickly) and Mad Man Manson (still the most entertaining man in BritWres but my list was more based on match quality this year) so see's debuts for Dean Allmark, Joey Hayes, Robbie X and T-Bone.

 

If I was to book an all UK promotion tomorrow, these 15 would definitely be on my roster. But with quality promotions already booking said talent, I don't think there's any need for my promotion. Promotions like RevPro, Southside, Preston and Fight Club already give me what I want and need.

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Can I ask cobystag, if you regard Manson as the most entertaining man in Britwres how come he did not make your list? Wrestling is all about entertainment isnt it and there are only so many kicks, dives, and side suplexes you can see in an evening. Manson is easily in my top 3 guys in the country right now.

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