The 2013 UKFF UK50

[Big Benny HG]

No. 35: Sam Bailey

Score: 42 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2013 votes: 0

Previous UK50 Rankings: 2012=35th, 2011=41st, 2010=35th, 2009=29th, 2008=48th, 2007=NL, 2006=NL, 2005=NL

Twitter: @SamBailey58

Entrance theme:

- Cheryl Lynn / 'D.I.S.C.O.' - Ottawan

 

Photo credit - Gordon Harris & Preston City Wrestling

 

Manchester's Sam bailey makes it into the UKFF UK50 for the sixth consecutive year, equally the ranking of 35th that he hit both last year and in 2010. While Bailey is a popular babyface in promotions like FutureShock Wrestling and PCW, he is also starting to perform under a darker heel persona in more organisations than ever before, including NGW, GPW and Infinite Promotions.

 

In Preston City Wrestling, 'Disco' Sam Bailey is half of 'Disco Madness', the entertaining tag team with mad Man Manson. The duo fought for thr PCW Tag Team Titles on both the August and September 2012 events, but on each occasion were defeated by Fight Club (the former in a 3-way with The M.O.B., the latter where Noam Dar stood in for an ill Liam Thomson to partner Kid Fite). At December's 'Festive Fury' supershow, Bailey pulled double-duty when flight problems meant ROH stars Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards were late getting in from Germany. First, he faced

for PCW's Money in the Bank briefcase. Bailey & Manson then defeated Bubblegum & T-Bone in a bonus tag bout later on. After an appearance in the 30-man rumble in April, Bailey was back for PCW's second 'supershow' in June. On the afternoon show, Disco Madness went down to the newly formed combo of T-Bone & Rampage Brown, while the feature evening show saw Bailey collide with Dean Allmark, El Ligero and Danny Hope in a splendid 4-way.

 

In FutureShock, Bailey teams with Sean Daniels to form the popular Notorious BAD, who won the 2012 8-team tournament to receive a crack at the Tag Team Championship, beating Ring of Horror, the Bhangra Knights and the Blackpool Blondes in the process. That shot came at the 'International Supershow' in August, where they were defeated by The Models (Danny Hope & Joey Hayes). They joined forces with Wristlock Rovers to beat the Models and the Blondes in an 8-man tag in October, and came close to lifting the tag straps in a 4-way elimination contest involving those 4 teams in November, beaten by the Blackpool pairing in the final fall. BAD collided with the Models again on the January and March shows, then failed in further shots at the belts as the Blackpool Blondes defeated them on FutureShock's first card in Prestwich and then at 'FutureShock 69'.

 

Notorious BAD also made their debut as a unit in GPW, marking Bailey's return there after an absence of nearly 2 years. Bailey & Daniels were beaten by The Island Brothers (Rio & Tabu) in January, but were seen leaving with Dave Rayne and the Blackpool Blondes after Rayne had some private words for them. At 'Romance is Dead' the following month, Bailey and his new associates helped an oblivious Zack Gibson beat Danny Hope for the British Championship. At 'ThunderBrawl' in April, they were successful in recruiting Gibson to their number, as the now-named faction of The Cause beat down Damon Leigh. That evening's main event was a 30-man rumble, during which the GPW vs. The Cause issue dominated. One of the surprise entrants in that match was the returning Ricky J McKenzie, sidelined through injury for over a year and with a deep-running issue with Bailey dating back to Sam's previous run in the promotion when they were partners. The pair engaged in a hate-fuelled brawls as part of that rumble, during McKenzie's match with William Gaylord the following show, and then as part of the 6 vs. 6 GPW vs. The Cause Torneo Cibernetico elimination match at 'X', GPW's 10th anniversary event in July. During the latter, McKenzie eliminated Bailey, but Bailey returned to assault Ricky with a cricket bat. A first time ever singles grudge match between Bailey and McKenzie is currently set for 'Battle At The Ballroom' later this month.

 

Bailey's heel persona has also come to the fore in Infinite Promotions, where his Manchester origins make him a natural heat magnet in the Liverpool outfit. There, he has feuded with Liverpool's own Zack Gibson, the two fighting on cards throughout 2012 and then in a Renshaw Street Fight in May 2013, Gibson coming out on top. After the end of the 2013 eligibility period, Bailey attacked Bubblegum during his Steel Cage match with CJ Banks at 'In Your Scouse', setting up a tag bout to headline the next show. Over in Hull, East Yorkshire, Bailey and Gibson are partners in the dastardly Team GB. Their feud with Los Amigos (El Ligero & Dara Diablo) has been a feature in the promotion over the last year plus, including Team GB reliving Los Amigos of the NGW Tag Team Titles in October, them colliding as part of a 4-way Ladder Match in December and then Bailey & Gibson beating Ligero & Diablo in a Tables match in May.

 

Over the course of the 2013 UKFF UK50 perios, Bailey has also featured for HXC in Manchester, Great Bear in Cheshire, BWP in north Wales and PW4U in Staffordshire.

 

What did the UKFF think?

"Fantastic in HXC and Infinite, Renshaw Street Fight vs Zack Gibson has to be seen to be believed. Heel Bailey is currently a joy to behold"

 

"Sam knows how to get over. Much like DDL, has the ability to slot into any spot on a card and perform accordingly. Always fun, always likable if playing the babyface, and always ready to put on a top notch match"

[JNLister]

The Wristlock Rovers sound fantastic!

 

Raynaldo once did a plancha to the floor in Futureshock and got a yellow card from the ref for diving.

[Majik]

The Wristlock Rovers sound fantastic!

 

Raynaldo once did a plancha to the floor in Futureshock and got a yellow card from the ref for diving.

 

Win.

[aaron]

No. 35: Sam Bailey

Previous UK50 Rankings: 2012=35th, 2010=35th

 

Found that quite interesting.

[Big Benny HG]

No. 34: Mark Andrews

Score: 44 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2013 votes: 0

Previous UK50 Rankings: 2012=26th, 2011=26th, 2010=NL, 2009=NL, 2008=NL, 2007=NL, 2006=NL, 2005=NL

Twitter: @ManToTheDrews

 

Photo credit - PROGRESS

 

A third consecutive appearance within the UKFF UK50 for Cardiff's Mark Andrews, though he does fall 8 places compared to the 26th he finished in both of his prior rankings. While primarily based in the West Midlands, the south-east and Wales (ATTACK!, TXW/AMP,4FW, CSF, WrestleMidlands, AWW, EVW, the man known as 'White Lightning' has also featured for PROGRESS, RPW and IPW:UK in the south-east, PBW and SWA in Scotland and NWE in Italy. At the time of writing, 'DEFEND INDY WRESTLING' man Andrews was on tour with Pete Dunne in the US across various indies.

 

Mandrews faced Wild Boar, Damian Dunne, the Hunter Brothers and Mike Bird in bouts for ATTACK! Wrestling, as well as Boar, Pete Dunne, Kid Lykos, Nathan Bane and others for the Combat Sports Federation. He beat both Ryan Smile and Zack Gibson

, then returned to

2 months later. Andrews faced CZW's

for Triple-X Wrestling's August 2012 comeback show. He wasn't on the next Triple-X show in February, however, since he was in Wolverhampton main eventing AWW's card against former WWE star Brian Kendrick. He was back in April, though, defeated by Zack Sabre Jr in an excellent slow-burn battle. He has since won a 4-way over Chris Brookes, Tyler Bate & ZERO-1 Hong Kong wrestler Ho Ho Lun, then beat Bate again in August.

 

In SWA/ZERO-1 Scotland, Andrews went to the semi-finals of the Scottish Junior Heavyweight Championship tournament,

before being eliminated by career rival Wild Boar. He's also fought Liam Thomson, TJ Rage and others for PBW, and fought James Scott in ICW just after the 2013 UKFF UK50 deadline.

 

In London for THIS IS PROGRESS (where he is subjected to gentle teasing form the audience for his likeness to a Harry Potter character), Mark beat Xander Cooper at

, then beat Will Ospreay at 'Chapter Four' in a brilliant opening round match in the Natural Progression Series tournament. After a TEAM DEFEND tag defeat to the Bhangra Knights in March, Andrews and Ospreay were rematched at 'Chapter Seven', Andrews putting up his NPS semi-final spot against Ospreay's place on the PROGRESS roster. Another great match saw 'White Lightning' win again, setting up a semi-final against Lord Jonathan Windsor (which he has since won) and kicking Ospreay out of the promotion.

 

What did the UKFF think?

"I think this guy has the potential to go anywhere he wants. Charismatic with a great in-ring style, Mark Andrews is probably the best high flyer in Britain today. He's not just another spot monkey, he puts on great matches with good storytelling. He's also an impressive entrepreneur"

 

"A great talent in the ring with a ton of charisma who brings plenty of action and humour to his matches. Never saw him put in a bad performance including two knockout matches with Will Osprey and a fun tag team contest teaming with Eddie Dennis against RJ Singh and Darrell Allen. No denying this young man is exciting to watch in the ring and I look forward to seeing more of him over the next voting period"

 

"Genuinely excited about this lad for the future. Great match against zsj for triple x"

 

"I'm a huge fan of high flying, jaw dropping action and some of the stuff Andrews does in the ring doesn't grab enough attention from people. Will throw out some absolutely amazing moves that keeps me watching"

[Big Benny HG]

No. 33: Jim Hunter

Score: 45 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2013 votes: 0

Previous UK50 Rankings: 2012=45th, 2011=NL, 2010=NL, 2009=NL, 2008=NL, 2007=NL, 2006=NL, 2005=NL

Twitter: @LeeNJimHunter

Entrance theme:

- Glenn Frey

 

Photo credit - Brett Hadley & Southside Wrestling Entertainment

 

A second appearance within our rankings for one half of the Hunter Brothers. Together with sibling Lee, the Tipton twosome work regularly for the myriad of promotions across their native West Midlands, but have continued the trend from last year in that they can now be seen in more corners of the country than at any other point before. Indeed, they have featured for PROGRESS and RevPro in the south-east, SWE in Cambridgeshire/Hertfordshire, BWP in North Wales and GPW in Wigan. As with 2012, Jim finishes below Lee in the UKFF UK50 again this year. As with last year, it seems sensible to cover both Hunters at the same time (though Lee's individual ranking will be revealed at the appropriate time)...

 

It was Wolverhampton's underground Fight Club PRO that first brought the Hunters to the attention of internet fans on a national level, and Lee & Jim have continued to be a key part of that promotion. After

in a highly anticipated bout at 'Die Harder' last July, the Hunters have since faced Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham in September, former ROH wrestlers

, Gresham & Mark Haskins in February, Brookes & Haskins in March, then Tyler Bate & Dan Moloney in back-to-back matches in May and July. They also saw singles competition, each entered once again into FCP's annual 'Infinity Trophy' tournament, Jim and Lee going down to Clint Margera and Trent Seven respectively in individual 4-way elimination semi-finals. The Hunters were also entered individually into ATTACK! Wrestling's '2012 Elder Stein Invitational' tournament,

and

. Lee and Jim lost to Ryan Smile and Morgan Webster in further singles matches on ATTACK!'s October bill, before the pair reunited to beat Webster & Mark Andrews in December and Smile & Dennis in February.

 

In Coventry, the Hunters have battled with fellow brother tag team Pete & Damian Dunne. Lee & Jim won a tag match at AMP in September, but the Dunnes evened the score by beating them in a 6-man tag (with Mark Andrews and Wild Boar) on the November card. After beating Eddie Dennis & Delta Rush on the February show, the Dunnes feud moved over to AMP's own brother Triple-X Wrestling the following night,

. While Pete Dunne was away in Japan, April saw Lee Hunter supposedly take on Damian Dunne in a singles match. I say supposedly, since the Hunters switched behind the referee's back at will, which backfired when Damian won by pinning the 'wrong' Hunter. The night before that, Lee & Jim were beaten by Zack Sabre Jr & JeKKel on the AMP show. After the end of the 2013 UKFF UK50 period, the Dunnes beat the Hunters again on the July Triple-X event, before getting the better of ZERO-1 Hong Kong duo Ho Ho Lun & Jason New in a fine contest on the August nightclub show.

 

Down south, the Hunter Brothers collided with the London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) and Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) in both Islington-based THIS IS PROGRESS and Sittingbourne's Revolution Pro Wrestling. The Riots won their first bout at PROGRESS 'Chapter Four', but the Hunters won the rematch at RevPro's 'Christmas Cracker' a week later. Due to the nature of the PROGRESS bout, the teams went to battle in a Weapons Match at 'Chapter Six - We Heart Violence', with the Riots again coming out on top. As for Project Ego, Travis & Kirby beat Lee & Jim at RPW 'No Holds Barred' in February, then repeated the trick at PROGRESS 'Chapter Eight - The Big Boys Guide To Strong Style' in July.

 

Over the course of the year, the Hunters have also appeared for Britannia Wrestling Promotions (for example,

), AWW (such as their bout against 4FW's Eddie Ryan & Jason Larusso), for Grand Pro Wrestling (against the Island Brothers) and in Southside Wrestling Entertainment against The Predators (Paul Malen & Joseph Conners),

and the Sumarian Death Squad (the WXW team of Tommy End & Michael Dante).

 

What did the UKFF think?

"the amount of effort these two have put into the last year to be recognized as one of the top tag teams in the UK has definitely paid off"

 

"Painful indy spot fest are attractive to some voters, but I cannot fathom why. I've seen them get up from double spike piledrivers within thirty seconds, in order to hit their own finisher, with the opposition promptly kicks out from"

[robbo9292]

Great to see Jim has moved up the rankings and likewise will be the same when Lee's ranking is posted

[Southside crew]

Great to see Jim has moved up the rankings and likewise will be the same when Lee's ranking is posted

 

 

Agreed , I think both of them have reakly improved a lot over the last year or so , I really think it is because they have been working some amazing talent.

[Big Benny HG]

No. 32: Kay Lee Ray

Score: 47 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2013 votes: 0

Previous UK50 Rankings: 2012=NL, 2011=NL, 2010=NL, 2009=NL, 2008=NL, 2007=NL, 2006=NL, 2005=NL

Twitter: @Kay_Lee_Ray

Entrance theme: 'Light Up The Background' - The LaFontaines

 

Photo credit: David J Wilson & PBWwrestling.com

 

2013 marks the first time UKFF members have voted women into the final 50 for a number of years, returning with an impact as no less than 3 competitors made it through this year. On of those, making her first ever appearance in the UKFF UK50, is Scottish Pro Wrestling Academy product Kay Lee Ray. Kay Lee has performed for the usual Scottish promotions such as Insane Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Elite, Premier British Wrestling, British Championship Wrestling and W3L, but has also been a regular face in England through her appearances for Pro Wrestling EVE, Preston City Wrestling, Southside Wrestling Entertainment,

, Bellatrix, New Breed Wrestling Alliance, New Generation Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Evolution and more. She also appeared in France and embarked on a tour of Japan for JWP and Stardom over the turn of the calendar. And competed in tournaments... lots of tournaments...

 

Tyneside-based promotion RAD:PRO held an Inter-Gender Tag Team Title tournament, kicking off in December 2012 when Kay Lee & Jainus Centurion (masked Roman soldier gimmick) beat Vulture & Viper in their quarter-final. This was followed by a semi-final win over Jimmy Havoc & Rhia O'Reilly in January, before the pair were beaten by Rubix Roach & Kirsty Love in the final later that same night. In March, she headed to France for the ABC organisation, entered into their Women's Title contendership tourney. She defeated Lady Lory in the first-rounder, but was beaten by Alpha Female in the 3-way final (also featuring Carmel Jacob) later on. Ray had more success in ICW's 'Fierce Females' (the name given to their all-female offshoot shows) Championship Tournament in May, beating O'Reilly in the semis then getting the better of Viper in the final to take the title. In yet more tournament action later that month, it was back to England for Pro Wresting EVE's annual 'Queen of the Ring' series. This time, she beat Alpha Female in round one, only to lose to 'Portugal's Perfect Athlete' Shanna at the semi-final stage.

 

As well as tournaments, KLR's year has also been notable for her continuing brutal feud with fellow Scot Carmel Jacob, already established as the top series in women's British wrestling. Initially scheduled to face Micky James, an unwanted interruption to the match ended with her teaming with the former WWE, TNA and ROH star to beat Carmel & Nikki Storm at Pro Wrestling Elite's September 2012 event. Carmel then beat Ray in a Last Woman Standing bout for ICW 'Fierce Females' later that month, but Kay Lee got even in a No Disqualification match on PCW's Halloween special. Back to Scotland, and an intriguing mixed tag bout at PBW's 'Maximum Impact' supershow saw KLR team with El Ligero in defeat to Carmel & Liam Thomson. After her return from Japan, Kay Lee and Carmel fought again for PCW, Carmel again coming out on top in a wonderful venue-wide scrap. The next day, still in Preston, the continuing heated brawl between the warring rivals as part of a 13-woman elimination match was one of few highlights of an otherwise dismal Pro Wrestling EVE card. Both Ray and Jacob went down to Nikki Storm in a 3-way at the next PWE show 2 weeks later, then were on opposing sides again on ICW's bill the following night as Kay Lee teamed with Jack Jester to beat Carmel & Mikey Whiplash in an Inter-Gender Deathmatch. March 2013 saw them clash in another mixed tag for PBW, an all-women's tag for NBWA and a 3-way for BCW, before

and a Kay Lee Ray victory over Carmel in a 2-out-of-3 falls singles match at Pro Wrestling EVE's 'Special Edition III'. Since then, there have been more tags, mixed tags, 3-ways and 8-person tags between the two enemies, as well as another Last Woman Standing match for ICW and a W3L Women's title victory over KLR for Carmel.

 

Away from Carmel, Ray faced CJ Banks and El Ligero in inter-gender matches for PCW and SWE respectively, lost (with Pollyanna Peppers) to Alpha Female & Nikki Storm

, won a Battle Royal for Pro Wrestling EVE and faced former TNA Knockouts Champion Angelina Love at PCW 'Invasion!'.

 

What did the UKFF think?

"Fantastic feisty babyface performer that captured my attention from the first time I saw her wrestle. Inventive brawler too"

 

"Takes some sick bumps at times but again like others on the list capable of great matches in different environments"

 

"Great flyer with amazing guts as shown by her bump from Whiplash at ICW Edinburgh. Her feud with Carmel has built and built really well to their upcoming Last Women Standing match in ICW in August"

[Big Benny HG]

No. 31: Lee Hunter

Score: 48 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2013 votes: 0

Previous UK50 Rankings: 2012=44th, 2011=NL, 2010=NL, 2009=NL, 2008=NL, 2007=NL, 2006=NL, 2005=NL

Twitter: @LeeNJimHunter

Entrance theme:

- Glenn Frey

 

Photo credit - Tom Lancaster (visit WrestlingPhotos.co.uk)

 

Lee Hunter finishes 2-places ahead of brother Jim in this, his second ever appearance in the UKFF UK50. As previously explained, I covered both Hunter Brothers together during Jim's reveal at #33, so won't repeat myself here.

 

What did the UKFF think?

See Jim Hunter at #33

[cobystag]

Apologies Ben if you were already going to do this, but this means a top 30 of:

 

April Davids (NL)

Bubblegum (16)

CJ Banks (22)

Cyanide (43)

Damon Leigh (NL)

Dave Mastiff (10)

Dave Rayne (23)

Dean Allmark (29)

El Ligero (1)

Grado (NL)

Jack Gallagher (6)

Joey Hayes (15)

Kris Travis (4)

Mad Mad Manson (8)

Mark Haskins (12)

Martin Kirby (7)

Marty Scurll (14)

Mikey Whiplash (13)

MK McKinnan (20)

Nathan Cruz (18)

Nikki Storm (NL)

Noam Dar (2)

Rampage Brown (27)

Robbie X (38)

Rockstar Spud (5)

Stixx (9)

T-Bone (46)

Wolfgang (31)

Zack Gibson (30)

Zack Sabre Jr (3)

 

Last years top 10 (Ligero, Dar, Sabre, Travis, Spud, Gallagher, Kirby, Manson, Stixx & Mastiff) all make it through to this years top 30 at the very least. I could see maybe Gallagher and Manson slipping out of that top 10 personally this year.

 

I think in the 20's (and technically 30th) you'll start seeing April Davids, Cyanide, Damon Leigh, Nikki Storm and Wolfgang.

 

I'm surprised to see Cyanide and Damon Leigh so high, but maybe I'm just not seeing them on their right performances.

[Polish Dad]

Where've you seen Cyanide? I'm a huge fan of his, and genuinely think in the past year he's become one of the best big guys in the country. (NB: I didn't vote due to not watching enough wrestling within the voting period, so it may be me that's biased in thinking that).

[patiirc]

I'm surprised to see Cyanide... but maybe I'm just not seeing them on their right performances.

 

Cyanide has had a fantastic year. His exploits as enforcer for The Council in Infinite, his quality matches for Futureshock and great stuff at HxC (Not seen any BWP) He is an agile big man and can wrestle a number of styles. He has really impressed with his in ring stuff this year and he has a great look to boot. He even rocked up in PCW as replacement for Johnny Moss, he is certainly getting himself more widely seen that's for sure.

[GPW Kristian Zane]

I'm surprised to see Cyanide... but maybe I'm just not seeing them on their right performances.

 

Cyanide has had a fantastic year. His exploits as enforcer for The Council in Infinite, his quality matches for Futureshock and great stuff at HxC (Not seen any BWP) He is an agile big man and can wrestle a number of styles. He has really impressed with his in ring stuff this year and he has a great look to boot. He even rocked up in PCW as replacement for Johnny Moss, he is certainly getting himself more widely seen that's for sure.

He's currently the Grand Pro Champion AND Futureshock Champion and at one point he was BWP Champion as well, so plenty of opportunities to see him in action!

[cobystag]

I'm going to be seeing him at Infinite next month. Haven't been to GPW or FSW in a while but what I saw from Cyanide back then, I wouldn't have considered him one of the best big men in England.