Grand Pro Wrestling

Grand Pro Wrestling (formerly Garage Pro Wrestling) or GPW is a British professional wrestling promotion based in the North West of England. The promotion was established up by former British wrestler - "The Middleman" Lee Butler - in February 2003. However, in August 2004, Butler handed over the reins of the promotion to his senior trainees and retired from wrestling. Since January 2005 GPW has been run by British wrestler Johnnie Brannigan. However, the name 'Richard Noble' was used as the public facing name up until Brannigan went public with his role in the company in April 2012.

Overview

The promotion runs shows in the North West of England, mainly in the Greater Manchester area at The Rose Club (formerly known as The Monaco Ballroom) in Hindley Wigan running between 8 and 10 times a year.

It has developed a large, passionate fan base and gained a reputation for one of the best story telling wrestling companies on the independent scene. Its shows are known for their addictive and progressive storylines, strong characters, hard hits, high flying, comedy and a strong connection between their audience and the characters.

GPW has established several flagship shows that it has become known for, such as: Crazy Cruiser-8 (one night 8-man tournament show), Only The Strong Survive (survival themed show) A Few Good Men (a Royal Rumble themed show), Friday Night Thriller, promoted as an "unpredictable night of wrestling" and Back With A Bang, the traditional show to start a new year.

GPW is credited with having started off many of today's British and American independent wrestlers' careers. These names include: Bubblegum, El Ligero, Claudio Castagnoli, Joey Hayes, "Dangerous" Damon Leigh, Heresy, "Juice" CJ Banks, Dylan Roberts, Danny Hope, JC Thunder, Cyanide, Jack Gallagher, William Gáylord, Ricky J. McKenzie, L.A Austin, Ste "Bin" Man and many more.

History

The promotion's first show was in July 2003, GPW: "Defection", held at the Monaco Ballroom, Wigan. Wrestlers on that night who are still active on the roster are Johnnie "Heresy" Brannigan, "Dangerous" Damon Leigh and Joey Hayes.

Other memorable shows include GPW: "Nemesis" which saw a main event tag team tables match between Lee Butler & Heresy vs. The Young Offenders ("Dangerous" Damon Leigh & Joey Hayes). The match featured Heresy and Damon Leigh in a 30 ft balcony stunt.

During GPW: "Last Orders At The Legion" in January 2005 there was a well documented riot, at the now demolished venue in Leigh, Greater Manchester. The riots in the audience were very real and occurred when Alex Shane stole the British Title from then champion Damon Leigh. Local papers featured the events as headline news.

In July 2005, GPW: "Saturday Night Showdown" saw JC Thunder vs. El Ligero in main event hardcore match. The match was quite possibly the most controversial in British wrestling history and resulted in the venue banning all professional wrestling from the Greater Manchester area. However, the following year they were allowed to return.

In April 2006, GPW promoted "A Few Good Men", one of the only 30 Man Rumbles in the UK at that time.

May 2007 GPW promoted Europe's first ever Survivor Series dedicated show.

July 2008 saw its 5th anniversary show; GPW: "V". In October 2008, GPW became the only European company to feature a Torneo cibernetico a match that has gone on to be a staple part of the GPW shows.

In August 2010, GPW re-branded as Grand Pro Wrestling.

In June 2011 at "Heroes & Villains", GPW presented its 500th match between Zach Diamond and Jack Gallagher for the British Title.

In April 2012, GPW wrestler, Dom Travis aka Kastor LeVay died. His last official match was for GPW at "Battlefield" May 2011 but he also made appearances in November (pre-taped video) and December 2011 (run-in during Heresy vs. Voodoo).

January 2013 saw the start of the company's 10th year celebrations.

Championships

GPW Heavyweight Championship

• Between March 2004 and October 2006, the Heavyweight Title was defended Internationally and therefore known as the International Title. Now only competed for domestically, from 2006 it has been known as The Heavyweight Title.
• In August 2010, the then reigning Champion, Juggernaut was forced to retire due to long term injury and there was a 4-man tournament held for the vacant title.
• The Cause (Dave Rayne, Zack Gibson, Sean Daniels, Axl Rage and James Drake w/ Melanie Price) defeated Cyanide in a Gauntlet Match. Dave Rayne announced that the group as a whole would be recognized as GPW Heavyweight Champion.
• Dirk Feelgood made a surprise return at "Thunder Brawl 2014", winning the Rumble and earning a title shot in the process. At FNT8, he teamed with Johnnie Brannigan and RJM to face three members of The Cause with the title at stake. In the closing moments, after the other participants had been eliminated, Dirk pinned Dave Rayne to win the match and an unprecedented third GPW Heavyweight Title.^[3]
• After his title win, RJM claimed he was better than anyone on the roster and would take the title on an upcoming trip abroad.Grand Pro Owner Johnnie Brannigan ordered RJM to defend the title in the main event against Bubblegum, Cyanide, CJ Banks, Joey Hayes and Nate Travis. Bubblegum pinned RJM to win the match and the title for the second time.^[4]
• This was a Double Jeopardy Match. T-Bone won the Heavyweight Title by pinning Bubblegum in the second fall.

GPW British Championship

• This was a Double Jeopardy Match. Bubblegum won the British Title from T-Bone in the first fall and then lost his own Heavyweight Title to T-Bone in the second fall.
• Jackson won the Fast Track Four Way Match earlier in the night which enabled him to challenge for the British Title in the main event.

GPW Tag Team Trophy

• On April 1st at GPW "Only The Strong Survive", Cyanide replaced Dursun for one night only.

Crazy Cruiser-8 Tournament

The Crazy Cruiser-8 is an eight-man one night tournament, and one of the shows GPW has become synonymous with. The eight entrants into the tournament are cruiserweights. Heavyweights are not permitted entry into the tournament. Qualifying matches are contested months prior to the tournament either in traditional one on one matches, 4-ways, 3-ways or in a "Last Chance Saloon Battle Royal". Byes passed the preliminaries have been given in the past to established foreign entrants, eligible reigning Champions and "The Fans Choice".

The eventual winner of the tournament would have not only been successful in the preliminaries, but have won three times in a row on the night of the tournament itself. The winner does not defend his title the following year.

2006

The first CC-8 tournament was 3 November 2006 and the final 8 men were:

• Kris Travis
• El Ligero
• Joseph Hayes
• Emil Sitoci
• Darkside
• Bubblegum
• "The Model" Danny Hope
• Juice

The eventual winner was Bubblegum after he defeated Joseph Hayes in the final.

2008

The second Crazy Cruiser tournament was known as CC-08 and competed on 2 May 2008. The final 8 men were:

• Jack Toxic
• El Ligero
• "The Model" Danny Hope
• Jiggy Walker
• Juice
• "Super" Sam Bailey
• Chris Echo
• Voodoo

Juice was the eventual winner after defeating Chris Echo in the final.

2009

The third Crazy Cruiser tournament was competed on 13 November 2009 and saw new rules on qualifying. 2 top seeds were selected as automatic qualifiers (Joey Hayes & Bubblegum). Other qualifiers were decided through a first ever Fan's Choice, a 4-Way Qualifier, The Last Chance Battle Royal and the return of the International Entrant. The final 8 men were:

• Max Damon
• Joey Hayes
• Fox Carter
• The Juice
• Bubblegum
• Martin Kirby
• Ricky J. McKenzie
• Dylan Roberts

Joey Hayes was the eventual winner after defeating CC8 2008 Champion, Juice in the final.

2013

The fourth Crazy Cruiser tournament was competed on 29 November 2013. The final 8 men were:

• El Ligero
• Joey Hayes
• Jack Gallagher
• Kris Travis
• Bubblegum
• Zack Gibson
• Jim Nastic
• Dylan Roberts

El Ligero was the eventual winner after defeating Zack Gibson in the final.

North West Rookie League

2011

In 2011, Grand Pro Wrestling introduced the North West Rookie League. The first League featured two teams, one captained by Axl Rage and one captained by The Great Suzuki. Each month,the two teams would square off and the loser in each match would be eliminated. The Great Suzuki's team triumphed in the final when Ste "Bin" Mann, (the sole survivor on Team Suzuki) defeated Jason Logan, (the sole survivor on Team Rage) at GPW "Night of the Brave" in November 2011.

Team Suzuki

• Action Jackson
• Jynx
• LA Austin
• Ste "Bin" Mann (Winner)

Team Rage

• JD Sassoon
• Ken Zen
• Skull Crusher
• Jason Logan (Runner Up)

2015

In 2015, GPW reintroduced the North West Rookie League with a revised format. This time, instead of two teams of 4, GPW Pro's would team with GPW Rookies in a points based tournament. Below are the current standings as of July 24, 2015.

On September 18, 2015 at GPW "Back To School", Dylan Roberts and Danxig defeated The Circus via pinfall. As a result of their victory, Danxig was declared winner of the North West Rookie League 2015.^[13] Earlier in the night, Alex Jones-Casey defeated Matthew Brooks and Jimmy Jackson to finish in third place.

2015 Rookie League Final Standings

Winner: Danxig

Second Place: Nicholas Cartier

Third Place: Alex Jones-Casey

GPW Training School

Established when the promotion first started in 2003, the training school has turned out some of the best wrestlers on the European circuit today.

The training facility is based in the heart of Manchester with regular classes. Head trainers are Johnnie "Heresy" Brannigan and Damon Leigh. However, other graduates and established British wrestlers are also involved in the development of trainees.

References

External links

• GPW official website

Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom
National promotions	All Star Wrestling Insane Championship Wrestling New Generation Wrestling Preston City Wrestling Progress Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling WhatCulture Pro Wrestling (WCPW)
Notable independent promotions	Dragon Gate UK Extreme World Wrestling Grand Pro Wrestling International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom LDN Wrestling Live Pro Wrestling Lucha Britannia Premier British Wrestling Pro-Wrestling: EVE Real Quality Wrestling Revolution British Wrestling Scottish Wrestling Alliance Welsh Wrestling XWA Other promotions
Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances	Allied Independent Wrestling Federations National Wrestling Alliance Pro Wrestling International Union of European Wrestling Alliances
Defunct Notable Promotions	British Wrestling Association British Wrestling Federation (1960s version) British Wrestling Federation (Orig Williams version) ChickFight Frontier Wrestling Alliance Joint Promotions NWA UK Hammerlock One Pro Wrestling Revolution British Wrestling
Defunct Governing bodies and interpromotional alliances	Wrestling Superstars Live