How did it end up like this (brit wres scene)

[Kfogg1991]

Now I know full well the mixed reactions I'm going to get with this but I need to talk about this properly.

5 years ago the British scene was bleak and filled with companies that were alright to very good and some shows filled with imports to get people interested....then everything changed and the mindset of our top level talent was were just as good if not better than the imports that keep coming over to main event our shows and the scene was buzzing and finally we had something so special and a country filled with wrestlers that were being looked at as hot properties..... we had defend indy wrestling a whole brand and group of wrestlers that were proud to be an independent wrestler and we all felt sorry for those amazing/hard working wrestlers getting signed to wwe and being used like shit and only getting 6 minutes on tv if there lucky.

I think this has genuinely upset me because I was done with wrestling...I couldn't stand the crap wwe was and continues to put out week in week out.... and now they have made NXT-UK and we were told that nothing would change apart from those amazing talent that we have supported and stuck by for years, Nothing would change they would just be put on the network and given a bigger platform for the world to see them.....and now what's happening, Those wrestlers aren't allowed to work in certain places or there are some heavy restrictions on them.

The guys that came together to create punk rock pro wrestling  (a heavily marketed anti wwe and we are the brand that is proud to be a British independent promotion) are now head writers for nxt-uk (no matter how you like to sugar coat it its wwe) and now our huge striving scene has been raped and pillaged by those who we were fighting to be an alternative too and it just seems like a really down and all together much less punk rock and way more radio 1 pop punk...

This might seem like just someone moaning about something that dosent really matter but I was in a really dark and horrible place a few years ago where my main job in music had become abit of a toxic place and my depression was seriously out of control and I don't remember how or why but I saw a clip of progress and jimmy havoc winning the belt and I was hooked straight away and for the first time in years I was excited and couldn't wait too see the next chapter. It gave me something anything to be happy and look forward to and really helped me out in that bad time. 

The whole fuck the corporate giant that is serving us crap each week and us having to take it because we love wrestling and there's nothing else once again really spoke to me and gave me something to support and get behind.

All in all those who said they stood for British wrestling and we're here to give something else to the fans quickly changed there mindset and jumped onto the other ship.

Do I think British wrestling is dead no. But I think in the next year with this new tiered pricing packages coming to this he network we are about to see a huge change in the scene and i can't see it being positive for those who aren't a fan of wwe. Those signed to contracts will have a massive crackdown on who/what/where they can work.   Im really happy for those who did sign they are obviously on better money and that isn't something I resent but I find it so difficult to look at those who were support indy wrestling and making out that this would never happen and have that same feelings and respect for.

[King Pitcos]

I too prefer everyone’s earlier work before they became a sellout etc. At least we have AEW.

[Kfogg1991]

It's not so much about branding everyone a sellout....what really leaves a sour taste in my mouth is the way that places like progress shoved down our throats were the company for the people britwres britwres britwres....Sorry were going to sign a contract with wwe that states they can buy out our company at anytime 

[WyattSheepMask]

End of the day, Jim Smallman has a family he needs to look after, I don’t know about the other guys but maybe they do too. If WWE come along and make an offer that’s going to provide security for your family, whether that’s putting you on the payroll or buying your company outright, it’s hard to say no to that.

I respect any promoters that do try and make a go of it, but getting by on “love for the business” will only take you so far and last you so long.

Edited July 29, 2019 by WyattSheepMask

[PunkStep]

49 minutes ago, Kfogg1991 said:

It's not so much about branding everyone a sellout

The rest of your post after this is essentially complaining that they sold out, just reworded.

[Jazzy G]

It is a shame to see a company like PROGRESS ostensibly becoming NXT UK's feeder system. It's interesting to kind of see a WWE Vs New Japan mini feud playing out between PROGRESS & Rev Pro, though. 

[Liam O'Rourke]

I can't help but think back to a few years ago when we were talking about the UK "indy boom" on the podcast, and came to the conclusion that it would be on its arse within five years.

Where things are now was always going to happen. The UK "boom" was about mobilising the diehard wrestling fanbase to congregate for shows that seemed big time by the standards of what we knew over here. But it was always going to plateau because no new fans are being made, and once people have seen it and experienced it for a while, the novelty goes and the relevance dies off. At that point, it's only going to go one way. Worse, once the market or the talent is spotted, it'll get cherry-picked or inhabited by WWE, which will only convince people that the UK indy, which felt like a cool cult deal, was actually bush league in reality, when the myth was that it was rising above that level when it really wasn't.

Companies are still existing, doing well enough (I hope), some can even build up a big show and do a really good number, so it isn't all doom and gloom. But it was never going to sustain at the level it was, and the people who thought it could, or that it was going up and up, were kidding themselves from the start.

[HarmonicGenerator]

How did it end up like this? It was only BritWres, it was only Britwres.

Now I'm falling asleep, and WALTER's the champ

And we're having a look at the new training camp

Now they're all selling out, Kfogg's stomach is sick

And it's all in his head but they're chopping their chests now

No more old PROGRESS now, let it go...

And he just can't watch, it's killing him and taking control.

NXT, signing guys into the 'E

Wrestling through sick corporate lies

Choking on Trips' alibis

But it's just the price you pay, destiny is calling 'em

Open up your smart mark eyes

To the UK Fan Forum.

[mim731]

It took me a minute to figure out what the hell that was @HarmonicGenerator, but very nicely done. Still a terrible song though.

[Arch Stanton]

Fucking hell HG, that's brilliant! 

[Accident Prone]

1 hour ago, mim731 said:

It took me a minute to figure out what the hell that was @HarmonicGenerator, but very nicely done. Still a terrible song though.

 

'Mr Brightside' is perfectly acceptable radio rock. Much better than 'Somebody Told Me' and 'I've Got Ham But I'm Not A Hamster'. Besides, The Bravery would've been in The Killers spot had they released 'Honest Mistake' a couple of years earlier.

As for Kfogg1991's post, I agree for the most part. I'm not angry at the British wrestlers for "selling out" (which has always been a silly term, going back to bands signing with major labels), but the restrictions imposed on them halted the progress that BritWres had made up until that point, pun definitely intended.

Now you can't have so-and-so working where, that guy can't wrestle against that guy, this one can't lose clean against whoever, and folks are being pulled from shows at the last minute left, right and centre. What used to be a vibrant scene is now lukewarm and over-exposed. It's killed my enthusiasm to go to any show these days.

I'm not going to watch NXT-UK, as it's a stale product with no momentum that exists to serve as a WWE placeholder. It's good for the boys and girls though; they get a contract with WWE, guaranteed money and unlimited networking connections.

But it's bad news for the fans, and ultimately that's all I'm concerned about; myself and the quality of the show. I went to a show that originality had Pete Dunne advertised, where he was pulled at the last minute for "WWE Obligations", where we weren't told until the show started and I'm meant to smile and go, "Yeah but he's making money though!". Get to fuck.

Now you've got Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews defending the massive the corporation they work for against the threat of David fucking Starr and Pro Wresting EVE, and NXT-UK taping their TV in front of dead crowds. PROGRESS, Rev Pro and Fight Club: Pro, the holy trinity of modern BritWres, are a shell of their former selves. I really hope AEW or New Japan succeed in their global expansion efforts, because maybe it'll wake Paul and Jim the fuck up.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Accident Prone

[Guest]

The under promotions in Scotland are doing great business for their size as have talent reset and using those likely to be there each show and have built consistency. It seems to me that it’s the icw and progress of the world affected more than those under it. 

[DavidB6937]

I often wonder how these NXT UK guys and girls actually feel about working for the brand. Like if they've dreamt of working for WWE their whole careers, do they actually feel like they've made it now? While they are putting on solid feuds etc, it's not like anyone's really talking about it.

[TildeGuy~!]

I doubt they think they’ve made it as all this is really is just developmental, they’re wrestling the same people that they did on the indies whilst also working the indies.

 

[WyattSheepMask]

Could be completely unrelated to what we’ve been talking about, or maybe it’ll sheaf some light on things