MungoChutney Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Pretty sure he's under 21. I'd say 19/20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callum1993 Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Pretty sure he's 19. Incredible really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Au Posted January 10, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2017 Yeah, he must have been 16/17 when I first saw him and he was still great. Alan 4L mentioned that if he was 4 inches taller he'd be maineventing Mania in a few years and it's an accurate if unfortunate observation. He's got all the skill in the world, decent character work, great physique and he's still so young. But his height will quite likely hold him back stateside. I'd love to be proved wrong though, the lad's fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted January 10, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2017 =No. 22 - Ashton Smith Twitter: @Trent99 Entrance theme: “All Of The Lights” by Kanye West Total 1st place votes in 2016: 0 UKFF UK50 History: 45th in 2014.. 31st in 2009 Regular promotions during period: FutureShock in Manchester... PCW in Lancashire... Grand Pro-Wrestling in Wigan... Just Do Wrestling in St Helens... New Wave Wrestling Alliance in Manchester Graduate of the FutureShock wrestling academy in Manchester, and a regular on the north west scene. Made his PROGRESS debut in the Natural Progression Series, and captured the PCW Cruiserweight title last month. Teamed up with Rampage Brown on the World of Sport revival in a super match. UKFF says: “Fiery babyface... Loathsome heel... Dynamic athlete that wows everyone... Despicable coward that hides behind his partner... I've seen Ashton Smith play almost every conceivable role in wrestling and has been the high watermark for every show he's been on. Finally starting to get a chance to shine in the role he deserves at PCW and FutureShock. Will be part of some big storylines in 2017 and rightfully so. The sort of man that could carry a company.” Linus says: Still in that period of his career where's he finding exactly who he is - somewhere Pete Dunne was a year ago and look at him now! - things could go either way for Ashton. Although there is plenty of work in the north west - and high profile work at that - I feel he needs to spread his wings to really get that career boost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted January 10, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2017 =No. 22 - Tiger Ali Twitter: @Tiger_Ali_Iran Entrance theme: Total 1st place votes in 2016: 0 UKFF UK50 History: First year on the list Regular promotions during period: 4Front Wrestling in the south west... Combat Sports Federation in the south west Lost - and regained - the 4FW title this year in a hot feud with rookie Saime Sahin. Part of the Three Kings faction in 4FW, with Rishi Ghosh & RJ Singh. Has worked in Japan & Mexico, where he headlined Arena Mexico as part of Ultimo Dragon's promotion. Included in the original 18 (now 20) for the WWE UK tournament. UKFF says: “Sure his gimmick is a bit regressive, but Tiger Ali sure knows how to get heat from any crowd. I expect him to go far.” Linus says: It sounds odd to say about a man who works in Mexico & Japan but Ali does so much of his work in such a narrow geographical location that he doesn't appear on many people's radars. I saw his title loss to Sahin earlier this year and he has presence and confidence in the ring, two things that go a long way when mixed to a solid grasp of the wrestling business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted January 10, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2017 No. 21 - Charlie Sterling (fka Charlie Garrett) Twitter: @SterlingC101 Entrance theme: Total 1st place votes in 2016: 0 UKFF UK50 History: First year on the list Regular promotions during period: Over The Top Wrestling in Dublin (and Ireland)... PCW in Lancashire... Pro-Evolution Wrestling in Gloucestershire... RevPro in London (and the south east)... Pro-Wrestling Pride in the south west... Combat Sports Federation in the south west... Ultimate Pro-Wrestling in Weymouth... All-Star nationwide... ATTACK! in the south west A busy year for Sterling - who changed his name late on from Charlie Garrett. One of OTT's top heels but a babyface pretty much everywhere else. Captured the RevPro tag-team titles with Joel Redman, and they beat Los Ingobernables de Japon at Global Wars (albeit by DQ). UKFF says: “A couple of years of working the camps has seen the flashy flippy guy of old become increasingly solid and compelling.” Linus says: Charlie has an impressive look and a startling array of flips for his size, and I've been impressed by his grasp of the fundamentals whenever I've seen him. Still early in his career, but has everything he needs to go further - his team with Redman may be more of a hindrance than a benefit, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted January 11, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2017 And that brings us to the top 20... Which I'll start posting on Saturday! In the meantime, what do you think so far? Who do you think is coming up? Who has topped the list? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Benno Posted January 11, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2017 Only two of my nominations/votes have been named so far (Grado and Tyler Bate), so looking forward to seeing the rest feature highly. The UKFF 50 usually favours the El Ligero's of the world, the types who work lots of promotions, so feature on loads of ballots. Think that'll bode well for Pete Dunne and Trent Seven who've been bloody everywhere this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted January 11, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2017 Outstanding job so far Linus, I think the pacing is perfect (certainly not a knock on your predecessors) so I can only imagine how much time you're spending on this. Marty winning this I reckon, Ospreay 2nd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 11, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2017 Enjoying a lot... especially learning a little about guys I've not seen myself, but keep hearing about. BritWres is in a great position right now, and I say this as a casual who between 2013 and 2015 would only be interested in a show if it had imports or a large number of names from my existing "favourites" - Trav, Kirby, Ligero, Models, Dave Rayne. Today there are so many guys that can sell me a ticket, it's crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted January 11, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2017 The timing is ideal as well, as I'm really looking forward to the WWE United Kingdom tournament this weekend and haven't seen most of them wrestle before. Most of them will be on this list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted January 15, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2017 Apologies for the delay in getting the top 20 up - bought a new PC and it's doing my nut in! Tomorrow, honest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted January 16, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 16, 2017 No. 20 - Jimmy Havoc Twitter: @Jimmy Havoc Entrance theme: "I Hope You Suffer" by AFI Total 1st place votes in 2016: 0 UKFF UK50 History: 8th in 2014 Regular promotions during period: IPW:UK in Kent... ICW in Glasgow (and nationwide)... PROGRESS in London & Manchester... 5*Wrestling nationwide One of the upper echelon of UK talent but spent six months of 2016 on the sidelines with a knee injury suffered in Australia. Worked for TNA early in the year while staying away from PROGRESS for storyline reasons. Held the IPW:UK title throughout his injury, using Joseph Conners as a proxy for title defenses. Has come back from injury without missing a beat. UKFF says: “He hasn't been around much this year but he is still one of the most engrossing guys in British Wrestling. I love the guy.” Linus says: Jimmy's low ranking is entirely down to him missing half the year with a serious knee injury. Before that he was beginning to make strides overseas, and was booked for CZW over Wrestlemania weekend before his knee trouble. Since he came back he's jumped right back into action, ending a short but heated feud with Marty Scurll with thumbtacks, and kicking off something with Chris Brookes in Fight Club: PRO. I am excited for Jimmy's 2017! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted January 16, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 16, 2017 No. 19 - T-Bone (aka Tyson T-Bone) Twitter: @Tyson_T_Bone Entrance theme: Total 1st place votes in 2016: 0 UKFF UK50 History: 25th in 2014... 18th in 2013... 46th in 2012... 21st in 2011... 31st in 2010 Regular promotions during period: PCW in Lancashire... FutureShock in Manchester... Grand Pro-Wrestling in Wigan... HOP:E in the east Midlands... Pro-Evolution Wrestling in Gloucestershire... Just Do Wrestling in St Helens... PROGRESS in London & Manchester... IPW:UK in Kent Tattooed brawler broke into PROGRESS this year as part of the Atlas Division tournament. Involved in a long-running storyline with Bubblegum in Grand-Pro over T-Bone's real-life girlfriend Lana Austin. Picked to be a part of the WWE UK tournament after a tryout at the Glasgow tapings last year. His reign as PCW tag-team champion - with Rampage Brown, as Team Single - ended after 3 years in 2016. UKFF says: “Has evolved into one of the best natural performers in the country. Can do everything from cheerleading holiday camp blue-eye to vicious thug and is entirely convincing at both ends of the spectrum. Steel chain match with Zack Gibson to end their FutureShock title feud was simply terrific. Was a great headliner in Grand-Pro, where his increasingly-distrustful rivalry with Bubblegum was the best British wrestling storyline of 2016. I’ve said all this for Bubblegum, but I’ll say it again here. As the 2 singles champions of the promotion, they came out of a great competitive rivalry established as complete equals, then banded together as close pals to fight off the threat of Dylan Roberts and his Hate League. While all of this was going on, there was the simmering tension and increasing jealousy on the part of T-Bone towards the friendship between his girlfriend Lana Austin and Bubblegum. It started subtly, so subtle in fact many probably missed it, but every time there were more looks, more scowls, more annoyances and more jealously. In short, it was ‘Gum, ‘Bone, Lana & Hate League cast as Hogan, Savage, Liz and the Twin Towers respectively. ‘Gum and ‘Bone ended up costing each other their respective singles belts to Roberts and Jimmy Jackson, accidentally on Bubblegum’s part but on purpose by T-Bone to “make them even”, then the Mega Powers exploded in a heated war, leading to a super streetfight on the final show of the year. Tremendous stuff all round.” “Believeable badass that knows how to tell a compelling tale under any circumstances. A mainstay of FutureShock in 2016 and part of an epic feud with Zack Gibson that culminated in an incredible chain match for the championship. Also part of my favourite Atlas Tournament match in Progress opposite Big Daddy Walter. Good, evil, dominant, fighting back... Bone is simply fantastic and seeing him acknowledged as such in the WWE UK tournament warms my heart. He's going to have an epic 2017.” Linus says: At first look, T-Bone is nothing but a big man with a look but his character work in PCW and Grand-Pro has been strong this year. Surprisingly effective in PROGRESS against some much bigger names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted January 16, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 16, 2017 No. 18 - "The Bastard" Dave Mastiff Twitter: @DaveMastiff Entrance theme: "Denim & Leather" by Saxon Total 1st place votes in 2016: 0 UKFF UK50 History: 6th in 2014... 5th in 2013... 10th in 2012... 3rd in 2011... 2nd in 2010... 6th in 2009... 11th in 2008... 25th in 2007... 24th in 2006... 32nd in 2005 Regular promotions during period: PCW in Lancashire... PROGRESS in London & Manchester... Vertigo Pro-Wrestling in Cardiff... Pro-Wrestling Elite in Ayr... 4Front Wrestling in the south west... IPW:UK in Kent... Over The Top Wrestling in Dublin (and Ireland) A Kev O'Neill trainee who refined his trade with Rip Rogers, Mastiff is moving into the veteran stage of his career but still has lots to offer. Heavily featured on the World of Sport revival, where he won - and lost - the title. Part of The Origin in PROGRESS, and latterly the Banter Edition with el Ligero. Wrestled Dick Togo on the latter's comeback for 4FW, and is a prized import for OTT in Dublin. A sponsored athlete with SPLX Apparel. UKFF says: “Mastiff has been around the UK scene for some time now but still manages to impress with his athleticism for a man of his size. Mastiff can be genuinely scary and genuinely funny depending on what the situation calls for. Has taken a bit of a backseat in 2016 due to his association with The Origin where he has become its least used member but is impressive when given the chance and could become a huge part of the Atlas division. The man has an impressive look which is no doubt the reason he figures to be a big part of the ITV World of Sport revival.” “A year or two ago I wouldn’t have hesitated in putting Mastiff among the top 2 or 3 in the entire country. He’s definitely gone off the boil since then, but remains a stellar in-ring performer. Natural evolution of the ‘banter’ gimmick (gimmick?) in PROGRESS and, to an extent, PCW, has seemingly resparked things and is, to be frank, BRILLIANT.” Linus says: One of the first names on any booking sheet, Dave is a joy to watch, whether working babyface or bantering heel. World Of Sport didn't use him to his strengths but he still looked superb, and he could be this generation's Giant Haystacks if they and he decide that going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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