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Kris Travis dies aged 31


IANdrewDiceClay

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I'm from Creswell (yep I admit it)

 

I went to my 1st GNP show featuring Tracy Smothers, but it was the efforts of Travis and the like that kept me coming back.   There were hits, and misses, but Travis always put his best into it everything he did, and it showed.  

 

I maintain that Heel Bubblegum vs. Trav really emphasised what was great about wrestling.  

 

Maybe if I'd been five years younger, and not a clumsy tub of goo, I'd have actually enrolled in his training group. 

 

31 is no age either.   :(

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Got to work with him obviously on the comedy videos we used to with PCW. Always a super nice guy. As an in ring talent he was absolutely brilliant. His series with Chris Masters is absolutely required viewing. Devastating news.

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Gutted by this. Travis was a great talent. I only saw him wrestle once and that was at a RevPro show where he teamed with Kirby to face Paul Robison and Will Osperay. It was an absolute corked of a tag match and it's so sad that he's gone :(

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I saw him once at a Pro EVW show in December 2013. He was in a TLC match with Kirby against the Alpha Males (Iestyn Ress & Charlie Garrett) I went up to them at the merch stand before the show where they were selling their stuff. Got a Project Ego wristband and the first of what would be many promo pics in the collection. They brought the house down that night. Was a real gent at the M&G even though they were playing heel that night

 

I remember going to the 2015 Manchester TNA Impact taping which he also went to. They even played 96 Quite Bitter Beings by CKY as house music in his honour as Jeremy Borash pointed him out a couple of times during the show which was nice to see.

 

He will be sorely missed.

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Something I wrote today... 
 

 

Memories of Kris Travis featuring The World's Worst Run-In.
 

I can't claim to be a close friend of Trav's. In all honesty I can't have had more than a handful of conversations with him. For the most part I tried to keep myself to myself at shows at not bother the wrestlers.
 

By the time we'd become a bit more familiar he'd already had his first bout of Cancer and the clock was ticking. Not that we knew of course. Our handful of chats during his all too brief remission revealed that we shared a similarly dark and delicious streak to his sense of humour.
 

At a Progress show Trav had made an appearance to thank the crowd for their support. He mentioned that he was feeling a bit tired from standing. I jokingly suggested that he could have a seat any time he wanted by standing next to a fan, groaning and clutching his middle. And a beer too probably. "Enjoy it while you can." I said, still not 100% sure if it would be taken in the spirit intended. It was. We went from handshake to hug that day. A milestone I'm glad I passed.
 

Last year I was lucky enough to be present for two of the biggest bouts of his, again, all too brief comeback. One in Progress against Marty Scurll and one in PCW against Sha Samuels. Two fine bouts where one of Britain's best performed at a level that many folk with a full digestive tract and peak health will never achieve. Great. Emotionally charged. Packed with meaning. The essence of pro-wrestling as it should be.
 

My one in-ring encounter with The Shooting Star rests squarely at the opposite end of that spectrum.
 

At a PCW show last summer an angle had been booked between Trav and Sha, essentially a promo that would tease his retirement but eventually lead to the announcement of his return and subsequent bout with the East End Butcher. PCW's most loved verses PCW's most hated. Simple right? How could that go wrong.
 

Well...
 

Over the course of the night El Ligero had been doing the rounds of the locker room asking everyone to be part of the huge pull-apart brawl that would inevitably ensue. Wrestlers, trainees, staff and even me. The theory being that the back would empty and the ring would fill with bodies. All about the spectacle and the scale. Think Gary Oldman screaming 'EVERYONE!' in Leon when asked who they should send in for the eponymous assassin. Chaos.

The time came. I made my way to the curtain as part of the mob. I was excited about being part of it but more than a little nervous that I'd fail to get in the ring with the efficiency needed.
 

Trav & Sha hit their cue and we burst through the curtain with purpose. An impromptu posse ready to keep these two blood rivals apart, ready to contain the violence. As we charged the ring I heard someone express surprise at my presence. Good. Chaos, confusion... That's what we wanted. Red hot crowd, this was going to be awesome.
 

I managed to roll under the bottom rope and up to my feet in a much smoother fashion than I had any right to. Generally I move like a futon cushion. To my right Dave had pounced on Sha and wrestled him to the ground. I positioned myself between the two pugilists and waited for the ring to fill up.
 

And waited.
 

And waited.
 

Fuck my life.
 

Sha Samuels, the evil bastard, had laid his hands on Kris Travis, the cancer survivor. The brawl started. The posse was there to keep them apart.

The posse of Dave Rayne, El Ligero, Ashton Smith and some bell end of a comedian. That's right. FOUR PEOPLE! In a mob I could have lost myself to the chaos. As 25% of the run-in I couldn't have looked like more of an attention-seeking tool. I say that as a man that's made a living from being an attention seeking tool as well. "Who's this mark pretending to be a wrestler?"
 

I suddenly became painfully aware that under these circumstances I had no business whatsoever putting my hands on a wrestler. Especially jarring considering that my 6'2", seventeen stone frame made me taller & heavier than at least half of the folk around me. I let Dave handle Sha. Sha, upon realising that he was essentially being pinned down by one man had no choice but to buck around like an angry mule on PCP. Sorry Dave. Ashton tried to salvage the situation by aiming a kick at Sha. Missed. Left a footprint on Dave's head. I stood in the middle like a prize bell end waving my hands like a Scouse stereotype shouting calm down. 'Come on lads, we've all had a drink.'
 

I decided my best course of action was to go and help Trav to his feet. I made sure to crouch as I did so. In the end the angle was back on track and the comeback match was announced to a huge reaction. I was out of the ring and in the back faster than I was at getting to the ring. My run out was a lot faster than my run in.
 

Trav was a character, in the ring and out of it. One of the vanguard behind the recent resurgence of British wrestling, his legacy will be felt for generations to come. The fans he made and drew to shows that will keep coming. The talent from abroad that worked with him as their gateway to seeing how phenomenal the standard had become in this country. The wrestlers in the UK that will be better for having worked alongside him and will benefit from the contributions he made to the growth of the circuit.
 

Rest easy Trav, say hi to Roddy for me. I suspect you'll get on.

 

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One of the young regulars from the Creswell Shows came up to me in the street as I was walking home, and once I'd realised he wasn't a teenager taking the piss or wanting me to buy him fags, asked me if I'd heard the news..  

 

 

Shows how well thought of he was round here.... its been at least five years since there were any shows here I think.

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Awful news, 32 is no age. There's no good age for cancer to come along, but 32? Horrible shit cancer.

 

I've somehow never crossed paths with him over the years, other than the odd friendly message over Facebook. Have plenty of mutual friends though and seeing their grief today just goes to show immensely popular the guy was. Everyone has always had good things to say about him. His battle against cancer and wrestling comeback just showed how much spirit he had. Truly inspiring.

 

RIP

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