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World of Sport Wrestling

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This article is about the UK TV series of the late 2010s. For the wrestling segment of the original World of Sport programme, see World of Sport (UK TV series) § Features. For the traditional style of Professional wrestling in Britain, see Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom.
World of Sport Wrestling
File:World of Sport (2018) - Titlecard.jpg
GenreSports entertainment
Professional wrestling
Developed byITV
Directed bySimon Staffurth
StarringWOS Wrestling roster
Narrated byAlex Shane
SoCal Val
Stu Bennett
Theme music composerPaul Farrer
Opening theme"ITV World of Sport Wrestling 2018 - Main Theme"
ComposerPaul Farrer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10 (as of 10 January 2025) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersSimon Marsh
Tom McClennan
Production locationsDock10, MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, Greater Manchester (2016)
Norwich (2018)
EditorsNikki Chang
Matthew East-Jones
Phillip Lindsey-Cooke
Camera setupMulticamera setup
Running time60 minutes[1]
Production companiesITV
Top Rope Sports
Original release
NetworkITV
Stadium (US)
Release31 December 2016 (2016-12-31) –
present

World of Sport Wrestling (frequently shortened to WOS Wrestling) is a British professional wrestling television series and occasional promotion. It is promoted as a re-launch of the popular wrestling segment of the World of Sport sports programme which ran on ITV between 2 January 1965 and 28 September 1985. The present programme was launched on New Year's Eve 2016. It was formerly associated with the United States-based promotion, Impact Wrestling. A six-date live tour of the show's stars took place in January/February 2019.[2][3]

History

Background

ITV transmitted British professional wrestling for over 33 years from November 1955 to December 1988. The bulk of this was screened on Saturday afternoons or lunchtimes (although other slots including midweek late evenings, midweek lunchtimes and bank holiday Monday afternoons were also utilised).[4] Throughout World of Sport's lifetime, the Saturday afternoon coverage was generally incorporated into the package show as a slot. Joint Promotions held exclusive rights to ITV television coverage until the end of 1986 when they rotated with tapings of All Star Wrestling and occasional WWF special editions.

Despite the cancellation, professional wrestling in the distinct British style has continued in the United Kingdom to the present day. Additionally, since the early 1990s, a second strand of wrestling promotions has emerged, producing more American-styled shows. The two genres have become known commonly as "Old School" and "New School", respectively, after the names used in an invasion angle run by the FWA promotion around 2001. Over the years, numerous attempts were made to relaunch televised British wrestling, with various promotions covered on local television or satellite/digital channels and often touted as the "revival" of British Wrestling. Although ITV screened WCW in the early hours and from 1992 to 1995 in British wrestling's old Saturday afternoon slot, no homegrown promotion ever received regular syndicated coverage on the network.

In the 21st century, vintage ITV coverage was repeated as World of Sport on digital channels such as The Wrestling Channel and Men and Movies, resulting in the name "World of Sport" becoming a frequent retronym for the Traditional/ Old-school style.

Development and pilots

The mid-2010s saw an increasing drive to return British Wrestling to ITV. A pilot for World of Sport Wrestling (branding itself as a direct revival of the old slot on the World of Sport programme) was filmed at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon in 2013 but rejected by ITV. This was eventually posted to YouTube in mid-2015.[5]

On 17 October 2016, ITV announced that they would be bringing back professional wrestling and would be recording another pilot episode on 1 November 2016, being filmed at dock10 in Greater Manchester. The show featured independent wrestlers such as El Ligero, Grado and Sha Samuels. ITV also announced that former WWE commentator Jim Ross would commentate on the pilot episode. It aired on New Year's Eve on ITV.[6] A storyline running through the show was Grado's quest for the WOS championship, falling short in his match with Dave Mastiff to become inaugural champion before eventually winning the belt in a rematch at the end of the broadcast.

The following year, on 23 March, Impact Wrestling announced that they would be teaming with ITV to yet again bring back the show with Jeff Jarrett as an executive producer for a ten-episode series. The show was announced to be scheduled for taping at Preston Guild Hall on 25 and 26 May. Impact Wrestling talents such as Grado, Rockstar Spud and Magnus along with independent wrestlers such as El Ligero, Dave Mastiff and Sha Samuels, were confirmed to be part of the roster.[7] The tapings were cancelled in April,[8] and were eventually rescheduled for 2018.

Series 1

On 25 April 2018, ITV announced World of Sport would air as a ten part series later in the year on Saturday afternoons. The shows were taped in Norwich, on May 10, 11 and 12 and broadcast from July 28 until September 29 on ITV and STV.[9] Jim Ross was not involved and neither was Impact Wrestling. Instead, the hosts were Alex Shane and SoCal Val. The main storyline was the championship reign of Rampage and his pursuit by challenger Justin Sysum, the third man in the ring in Rampage's Triple Threat title win from Grado and denied the title in a controversial countout loss in episode 3 before defeating the champion in a tag match in episode 7 and then, in the final two episodes, earning himself a title shot and finally winning the belt. Other storylines saw the establishment of a women's championship and a Tag Team Championship tournament spread over six episodes. Also an ongoing story was Grado's running battles with disapproving WOS executive Stu Bennett. Other repeated characters included masked monster heel Crater, treacherous heel Martin Kirby and his former partner, singing babyface Joe Hendry.

2019 live tour

At the conclusion of episode 6 (transmitted 1 September 2018) a six-date live tour of the show's stars was announced for January/February 2019.[2] The WOS Womens' Championship changed hands four times and Sysum made four defences of his WOS Championship against former champion Rampage. As Davey Boy Smith Jr. was not on the tour, the WOS Tag Team Championship was not defended.[3]

Programme sales

Broadcasting rights to the series were licensed in India to Discovery Communications-branded channel DSport. Series 1 was transmitted on Tuesday nights at 9pm from 26 February 2019.[10]

In the United States, Series 1 was screened on Stadium on Sunday nights 7pm EST, starting 12 May 2019, the first ever purchase of a UK wrestling programme by a US television channel.[11]

Awards

The programme received a nomination for Digital Content for the Royal Television Society's East Awards 2019.[12]

Episodes

New Year's Eve 2016 special

No. Recording date Recording location Transmission date Matches
1 1 November 2016 Dock10, MediaCityUK, Salford Quays, Greater Manchester 31 December 2016

Series 1

No. Recording date Recording location Transmission date Matches
1 10–12 May 2018 Epic Studios, Norwich 28 July 2018
  • Justin Sysum won a Five-Way elimination match over Crater, Sha Samuels, Rampage and Adam Maxted) to win a shot at WOS Champion Grado. After the match, WOS Executive Stu Bennett ruled that instead, Sysum would face Rampage and Grado in a triple threat match for the title as the referee had missed Rampage also beating the count
  • British Bulldog Jr. defeated Will Ospreay
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament quarter final: Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees defeated Martin Kirby and Joe Hendry
  • Rampage defeated Grado and Justin Sysum to win the WOS Championship in a triple threat match
2 4 August 2018
  • Rampage defeated Joe Hendry by pinfall to defend the WOS Championship
  • Gabriel Kidd defeated Lionheart, Robbie X and Liam Slater in a Fatal Four Way lumberjack match to win a contract for "a big opportunity"
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament quarter final: Nathan Cruz and Adam Maxted defeated Doug Williams and HT Drake
  • Kay Lee Ray defeated Viper and Bea Priestley in a Triple Threat match to become the first WOS Women's Champion
3 11 August 2018
  • Grado defeated Sha Samuels
  • Martin Kirby defeated Joe Hendry
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament quarter final: BT Gunn and Stevie Boy defeated Brad Slayer and CJ Banks
  • Crater defeated Gabriel Kidd. (This was the match from the contract Kidd won the previous week)
  • Rampage defeated Justin Sysum to defend the WOS Championship
4 18 August 2018
  • Kay Lee Ray's defence of the WOS Women's Championship against Bea Priestly ended in No Contest after Viper and Ayesha both interfered
  • Will Ospreay defeated Martin Kirby
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament quarter final: Grado and British Bulldog Jr. defeated Crater and Robbie X
  • Justin Sysum defeated Joe Hendry and Nathan Cruz in a Triple Threat Match
5 25 August 2018
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament semi final: Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees defeated BT Gunn and Stevie Boy
  • Crater defeated Liam Slater and Gabriel Kidd
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament second inal: Nathan Cruz and Adam Maxted defeated Grado and British Bulldog Jr.
  • WOS Women's Championship battle royal: Champion Kay Lee Ray defeated Viper, Ayesha, Bea Priestly and Casey Owens to successfully defend her title
6 1 September 2018
  • Rampage defeated British Bulldog Jr. by pinfall to successfully defend the WOS Championship
  • Joe Hendry defeated Martin Kirby in a Submission Match:
  • WOS Tag Team Championship tournament final: Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees defeated Nathan Cruz and Adam Maxted to win the titles. After the match, Cruz turned on Maxted
  • Handicap tag match – Justin Sysum defeated CJ Banks and Sha Samuels to earn a future challenge to WOS Champion Rampage
7 8 September 2018
  • Ladder match, loser leaves WOS, battle of former tag team partners: Adam Maxted defeated Nathan Cruz
  • Fatal four way:Gabriel Kidd beat Crater, Robbie X and Liam Slater. All other three men pinned Crater, Kidd was awarded the win as first man down
  • Martin Kirby used the ropes to pin Grado after both men used a toothbrush as a weapon from Grado's trademark bum-bag
  • Justin Sysum and Joe Hendry defeated Rampage and Sha Samuels
8 15 September 2018
  • Viper defeated Ayesha to win a shot at the WOS Womens' Championship
  • Couple vs Couple Mixed tag team match: Will Ospreay and Bea Priestly defeated Stevie Boy and Kay Lee Ray
  • British Bulldog Jr. defeated Iestyn Rees
  • Robbie X defeated Crater in a match where the goal was to pull off the opponent's mask.
    (The commentary team did not identify the unmasked Crater and he replaced his mask immediately after the loss)
9 22 September 2018
  • Kay Lee Ray defeated Viper to successfully defend the WOS Womens' Championship
  • Crater, Moose, Nathan Cruz, Adam Maxted, Justin Sysum, Gabriel Kidd, Sha Samuels and CJ Banks were the final eight survivors of the 16-man elimination tag team stage of Buzzer Battle, eliminating British Bulldog Jr., Kip Sabian, Iestyn Rees, Grado, Robbie X, Liam Slater, BT Gunn and Stevie Boy to advance to the Battle Royal stage
  • Justin Sysum won the Eight Man Battle Royal stage of the Buzzer Battle to win a shot at WOS Championship, last eliminating Crater
10 29 September 2018
  • Grado and British Bulldog Jr. defeated Iestyn Rees and Kip Sabian to win the WOS Tag Team Championship
  • Justin Sysum defeated Rampage to win the WOS Championship

Current champions

Championship Current champion(s) Reign Date won Days
held 		Location Notes
WOS Championship Justin Sysum 1 May 12, 2018 2435+ Norwich, England Defeated previous champion Rampage to win the title.
WOS Tag Team Championship British Bulldog Jr. and Grado 1 May 12, 2018 2435+ Norwich, England Defeated the previous champions, Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees to win the titles.
WOS Women's Championship Katy Lees 1 February 3, 2019 2168+ London, England Defeated previous champion Viper and Bea Priestley in a 3-way match.

Championship reigns

WOS Championship

WOS Championship
Details
PromotionWorld of Sport
Date established2 November 2016
Current champion(s)Justin Sysum
Date won12 May 2018
(aired 29 September 2018)
Statistics
First champion(s)Dave Mastiff
Most reignsAll champions (1 reigns)
Longest reignGrado (628 days)
Shortest reignDave Mastiff (<1 day)

The current champion is Justin Sysum, who is in his first reign. Sysum defeated Rampage to win the title.

No. Champion Reign Date Days held Days rec. Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Dave Mastiff 1 2 November 2016 0 0 Manchester, England World of Sport Wrestling Defeated Grado to become the inaugural champion. Aired on 31 December 2016 [13]
2 Grado 1 2 November 2016 554 574 Manchester, England World of Sport Wrestling Aired on 31 December 2016 [13]
3 Rampage 1 10 May 2018 2 63 Norwich, England World of Sport Wrestling Aired on 28 July 2018
4 Justin Sysum 1 12 May 2018 2,435+ 2,295+ Norwich, England World of Sport Wrestling Aired on 29 September 2018 [14]

WOS Tag Team Championship

WOS Tag Team Championship
Details
PromotionWorld of Sport Wrestling
Date established10 May 2018
Current champion(s)Grado and British Bulldog Jr.
Date won12 May 2018
(aired 29 September 2018)
Statistics
First champion(s)Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees
Most reignsAll champions (1 reigns)
Longest reignGrado and British Bulldog Jr.
Shortest reignKip Sabian and Iestyn Rees

The current champions are Grado and British Bulldog Jr., who are in their first reign. They defeated the previous champions, Kip Sabian and Iestyn Rees to win the title in episode 10 of series 1.

No. Champion Reign Date Days held Days rec. Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Iestyn Rees and Kip Sabian 1 11 May 2018 1 28 Norwich, England World of Sport Wrestling Defeated Nathan Cruz and Adam Maxted in a tournament final to win the title.
Aired on 1 September 2018		 [13]
2 British Bulldog Jr. and Grado 1 12 May 2018 2,435+ 2,295+ Norwich, England World of Sport Wrestling Aired on 29 September 2018 [14]

WOS Women's Championship

WOS Women’s Championship
Details
PromotionWorld of Sport Wrestling
Date established10 May 2018
Current champion(s)Katy Lees
Date wonFebruary 3 2019
Statistics
First champion(s)Kay Lee Ray
Most reignsViper (2 reigns)
Longest reignKay Lee Ray (253 days)
Shortest reignViper (1 day)

The current champion is Katy Lees, who is in her first reign.

No. Champion Reign Date Days held Days rec. Location Event Notes Ref.
1 Kay Lee Ray 1 10 May 2018 253 167 Norwich, England World of Sport Wrestling Defeated Viper and Bea Priestley to win the title
Aired on 4 August 2018		 [13]
2 Viper 1 18 January 2019 1 1 Southampton, England WOS Wrestling UK Tour 2019 This was a 3-way match also including Bea Priestley [15]
3 Bea Priestley 1 19 January 2019 7 7 Newport, Wales WOS Wrestling UK Tour 2019
4 Viper 2 26 January 2019 8 8 Blackpool, England WOS Wrestling UK Tour 2019
5 Katy Lees 1 3 February 2019 2,168+ 2,168+ London, England WOS Wrestling UK Tour 2019 This was a 3-way match also including Bea Priestley

Roster

Male wrestlers

Ring name Real name Notes
Adam Maxted Adam Maxted
Brad Slayer Brad Ingram
British Bulldog Jr. Harry Smith WOS Tag Team Champion
BT Gunn Thomas McGowan
CJ Banks Unknown
Crater Alexander Walmsley
Gabriel Kidd Gabriel Kidd
Grado Graeme Stevely WOS Tag Team Champion
HT Drake Howard Drake
Iestyn Rees Iestyn Rees
Joe Hendry Joseph Hendry

Justin Sysum

Justin Sysum WOS Champion
Liam Slater Liam Slater
Martin Kirby Martin Kirby
Nathan Cruz Nathan Irwin
Rampage Oliver Biney
Robbie X Robert Bell
Sha Samuels Shaaheen Hosseinpour
Stevie Boy Stephen Kerr
Will Ospreay William Ospreay

Female wrestlers

Ring name Real name Notes
Ayesha Ayesha-Michelle Ray
Katy Lees Katy Lees WOS Women's Champion

Other on-air personnel

Ring name Real name Notes
Alex Shane Alexander Spilling Commentator
Phil Seymour Phillip Seymour Ring announcer
SoCal Val Paige Mayo Commentator
Steve Lynskey Unknown Referee
Stu Bennett Stuart Bennett Commentator
Storyline WOS executive
Tom Scarborough Tom Scarborough Referee

Off screen personnel

Music department

Ring name Real name Notes
Paul Farrer[16][17] Paul Farrer Composer

Alumni

Real name Ring name Tenure
Rebecca McMonagle Alexis Rose 2016
Ashton Smith Ashton Smith 2016
Daniel Woodward Danny Hope 2016
David Minton Dave Mastiff 2016
Simon Musk El Ligero 2016
Joseph Coffey Joe Coffey 2016
John Moss Johnny Moss 2016
Alan Niddrie Kenny Williams 2016
Mark Coffey Mark Coffey 2016
Samuel Bailey Sam Bailey 2016
Jack Rea Zack Gibson 2016
Kimberly Benson Viper 2016–2019
Douglas Durdle Doug Williams 2018
Kelly Robinson Kasey Owens 2018
Adrian McCallum (deceased) Lionheart 2018
Beatrice Priestley Bea Priestley 2018–2019
Kayleigh Rae Kay Lee Ray 2018–2019

See also

References

  1. ^ "WOS Wrestling - Episode 1". www.itv.com. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Events | World of Sport wrestling".
  3. ^ a b WOS Results, Cagematch.net, last accessed 15 February 2019
  4. ^ uk2.net. "ITV Wrestling". www.itvwrestling.co.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "411Mania - New Information on World of Sport Wrestling's Revival Pilot". New Information on World of Sport Wrestling’s Revival Pilot.
  6. ^ "World Of Sport Wrestling". "ITV Press Centre". Retrieved 2016-10-19.
  7. ^ "Iconic 'WOS' British Wrestling to Return to ITV". IMPACT Wrestling. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  8. ^ "ITV World of Sport tapings postponed". 28 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Pro-wrestling to return to British TV". 25 April 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ^ https://sportzpower.com/node/6126
  11. ^ https://prowrestlingpost.com/news-wos-wrestling-reach-u-s-broadcasting-deal/
  12. ^ https://rts.org.uk/award/rts-east-awards-2019
  13. ^ a b c d Kreikenbohm, Philip. "CAGEMATCH » Events Database » World Of Sport Wrestling". Cagematch.net. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  14. ^ a b "WOS Wrestling Results (9/29/18): New WOS Heavyweight Champion, WOS Tag Team Titles Defended, More | Fightful Wrestling". www.fightful.com.
  15. ^ https://www.cagematch.net//?id=1&nr=220993
  16. ^ "Paul Farrer". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  17. ^ "Clients - Paul Farrer". www.paulfarrer.com. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
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