Nikki Cross and Big Damo acquire Progress Wrestling

[Zaheer]

Interesting 

 

 

https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/nikki-cross-and-big-damo-acquire-progress-and-defy-wrestling/

[LaGoosh]

Didn't even know Progress was still running. Good luck to them I guess? Don't think anyone really cares either way. Probably be better off starting up a new company than buying one with a tainted out of date reputation.

[Jolly LovesASando]

It still does good numbers, has an overseas appeal for those big Mania weekend shows/AEW and having Deriss as a main guy meant they could use the viral publicity recently from his Grans Vegas story. It's a better idea than ploughing money into something new to get the same results a few years later but with a back catalogue and a bunch of archives of WWE and AEW people recorded in good quality. Same with purchasing Defy alongside it, makes more sense for a supershow weekend twice a year (one each side of the pond) and using branding history there. 

Good luck to them, the bubble isn't as big as it was but anyone contributing to the scene who isn't awful is always a positive. 

[BomberPat]

I doubt the back catalogue is worth much, and I did find it odd that they would invest in an existing troubled promotion with a fair amount of debt over starting from scratch, but I don't know enough about the business side of things - there may be existing contracts with venues, streaming providers, sponsors and so on that appealed more than starting over. It will take a lot to win people over who had already given up on the brand, but it has to be an improvement you'd have thought. 

They have a Manchester show coming up that was apparently largely booked by Damo and Nikki even before the buy-out, but I imagine if there's a full-blown relaunch planned they would save that for the end of August when they're back at the Ballroom. Though that's an All In weekend show, so risks being overshadowed by other things going on.

[westlondonmist]

Is this basically so she can do her own non wrestling thing while still having fun in wrestling with Progress? 

 

I get the idea of just using an existing promotion, especially one you have relations too. I might even give Progress a go. 

[Your Fight Site]

I saw the company name changed on Tuesday, and then that announcement on LinkedIn. There’s been no official change in directors since, though.

[BomberPat]

2 minutes ago, Your Fight Site said:

I saw the company name changed on Tuesday, and then that announcement on LinkedIn. There’s been no official change in directors since, though.

So the original company have rebranded to Absent Mark Ltd per Companies House, but Damo's company (previously Beast Wrestling Ltd) are now Progress Wrestling Ltd. So it looks like it's on paper a different company rather than Damo and Nikki becoming new directors of Progress - I don't know nearly enough about business to know what the difference would be there.

[MB1975]

23 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

So the original company have rebranded to Absent Mark Ltd per Companies House, but Damo's company (previously Beast Wrestling Ltd) are now Progress Wrestling Ltd. So it looks like it's on paper a different company rather than Damo and Nikki becoming new directors of Progress - I don't know nearly enough about business to know what the difference would be there.

Many different ways of purchasing a company.  Most common one is to create a new company and acquire all the assets of the old company and the old company usually changes its name.  I can confirm all assets etc were purchased and really its just a case of handing the baton over to Nikki and Damo and wishing them luck