Revolution British Wrestling

Revolution British Wrestling
Acronym RBW
Founded 2002-2007
Headquarters United Kingdom
Founder(s) Adam Mumford
Aaron Spencer
Owner(s) Adam Mumford - 2002-05
Aaron Spencer - 2002-04
Ron Sands - 2005-07
Sister See Branches

Revolution British Wrestling (RBW) was a British professional wrestling promotion, that governed over smaller branches across the United Kingdom.

History

Revolution British Wrestling was originally formed in early 2002 by Adam Mumford and Aaron Spencer, with the sole intention of providing fans in the Nottinghamshire region of the England with a source of quality British wrestling live events.

RBW also launched a sister product, WrestlingUK, at the same time with the same aim, but focusing on the Southern area of England. Months of preparation took place leading to the debut events of both promotions, with the first WrestlingUK event taking place in August 2002 and the first RBW event taking place in September 2002. It was decided shortly afterwards that WrestlingUK, which was only used once would come under the RBW banner, and promote events under one name, rather than two.

By November 2002, RBW formed a relationship with fellow UK company G.N. Promotions. A schedule of 2003 joint live events began, with the first being a near sell-out event at Sports Nottingham, part of the Notts County Football Stadium, which starred some familiar faces in British wrestling such as Johnny Kidd and Alan Kilby, and American Jake "The Snake" Roberts which saw the crowning of an RBW Commonwealth Champion, and the merging of the G.N. Promotions Middleweight Championship which then became the RBW British Mid-Heavyweight Championship. Following this event, further shows took place in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and more, all of which saw talent from all over the country appear.

July 2003 saw the launch of the first ever RBW Training Centre located in Nottingham, training a new generation of potential wrestlers in the hope that some would go on to be successful as professional wrestlers. Three months later, in October, the second RBW Training Centre opened, this time further south in London, which was the first sign of RBW in the south of England for over a year.

Before the year ended, the start of a tournament to crown a new British Heavyweight Champion took place, as well as the first joint event with the United Kingdom Wrestling Alliance.

As 2004 dawned, a huge expansion into the South of England took place, seeing monthly events take place at the Celbic Hall in Enfield, London/Middlesex, next door to the London-based training centre, coupled with other events in Chingford (London), Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire) and Hitchin (Hertfordshire).

With action not just down South, RBW maintained regular events in Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and other locations. RBW also became the first promotion in a long time to bring back British-style wrestling to the infamous Civic Hall in Wolverhampton and also take part in a five-day event at the annual "Yorkfest" event in York.

May 2004 saw the crowning of the first British Heavyweight Champion, World of Sport legend Alan Kilby, who managed to narrowly defeat James Mason in one of RBW's classic encounters. Along with RBW's growth, RBW would appear in the media on various occasions, including TV appearances on BBC, Channel Four and Channel Five, as well as on BBC radio a number of times. There were also articles in newspapers and magazines ranging from local town newspapers to the Daily Star to the World of Wrestling (WOW) magazine.

July 2004 saw a significant change in RBW, when it announced that the Nottingham promotion, primarily ran by the G.N Promotions group, would no longer be part of RBW. This was due to RBW wishing to maintain its original focus on British-style wrestling, and not follow the American trend that has become so common in other British promotions.

Following this, the RBW management team concentrated on expanding elsewhere in the country, with the opening of a new RBW Training Centre in Hampshire, shortly followed by another in Exeter in early 2005. RBW again saw new areas entered with live events in Cambridgeshire, Devon and Hampshire, plus monthly events in Chingford, London replacing the monthly events in Enfield that finished in 2004.

In July 2005, the RBW management team changed over with Adam Mumford moving on to other projects and selling on the company to ex wrestler Ron Sands, who attempted to keep RBW running during 2005. However, this would not work out as planned with only two more shows soon after the takeover, while training in East London lasted until January 2007, when RBW's official closure was announced.

Branches and sister promotions

This is a list of RBW's previous regional promotions. Some of its branches still operate today but have reemerged under new names.

  • Running joint shows with G.N Promotions;[2] a promotion which now runs under the Norton British Wrestling banner
  • Exeter
  • Hampshire
  • London (Enfield, Plaistow & Beckton)
  • Nottingham

Championships

This is a list of titles recognised within the RBW promotion:

RBW British Heavyweight Championship

This was RBW's version of the British Heavyweight Championship, which would be recognised within the RBW branches; including, United Kingdom Wrestling Alliance, and G.N. Promotions. The title was decided in a tournament that began in November 2003, and ended in May 2004.

Quarterfinals
Killamarsh on 22 November 2003 		Semifinals
1Nottingham on 27 December
2Sheffield on 22 February 2004 		Final
Sneinton, Nottingham on 8 May[1]
         
Alan Kilby Pin
Blondie Barratt
Alan Kilby1
Stixx
Stixx
Domino
Alan Kilby Sub3
James Mason
James Mason Pin
Keith Myatt
James Mason2
Jorge Castano
Jorge Castano Pin
"Golden Boy" Cameron Knite
3Best two out of three falls match ending 2-1; Alan Kilby picking up the third and final fall via submission.

In July 2004, a decision was made to vacate Alan Kilby's Championship, due to changes within RBW.

A new tournament was first announced to take place which spanned through the later part of 2004 and early 2005. A decision was later made for one match to decide the Championship, rather than continuing the tournament, which at this point had seen many changes. The two wrestlers who would receive this honour would be decided by RBW officials in relation to their in-ring performance, professionalism and effort. Before the two wrestlers could be announced, the promotion went into closer and the title was abandoned.

RBW Commonwealth Championship

In November 2002, RBW formed a working relationship with fellow UK company G.N Promotions, and put on a combined show in Southwell, Nottinghamshire which saw the crowning of the first RBW Commonwealth Champion. This event saw Andy "The Pigman" Hogg defeat "MTX" Jem Brown become the first Champion. World of Sport star, Alan Kilby would defeat Hogg for the title in March 2003. The title would be vacated by Kilby on 8 May 2004, four days after he won the companies British Heavyweight Championship.

RBW British Mid-Heavyweight Championship

After the working relationship was formed, G.N Promotions' Middleweight Championship was the only surviving Championship continued from the company, with Matt Jarrett holding the Championship when the merger took place. On 16 November 2002 while in Southwell, Nottinghamshire Jarrett would lose the title to Keith Myatt, after this the belt was renamed the RBW Mid-Heavyweight Championship.

Three other men would hold the title before the title was declared defunct; "MTX" Jem Brown, Scott Future (on 4 October 2003 in Lincoln), and Blondie Barratt, who would be the last person to be declared Mid-Heavyweight Champion in RBW. G.N.Promotions would split away from RBW in July 2004 coming under the RBWA (Revolution British Wrestling Alliance) then NBW (Norton British Wrestling) banners during this time the company would declare a new Middleweight Champion though it is unclear whether or not the two titles are related.

Other Titles

References

  1. 1 2 "Live Wrestling Action in Nottingham On Saturday 8th May 2004" at pressnewsnetwork.com
  2. ↑ "Revolution British Wrestling (Nottingham)" at talkwrestlingonline.com
  3. ↑ "VPW School Of Excellence Tryout Weekend In January!" at ukff.com
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