Grand Pro Wrestling


Grand Pro Wrestling is one of the UK's most established and long running British professional wrestling promotion based in the North West of England.
The promotion was founded in February 2003 by former British wrestler "The Middleman" Lee Butler. Butler's association with the promotion ended shortly after in March 2004. Butler died in 2017 following a battle with cancer.
Since January 2005, GPW has been run by British wrestler Johnnie Brannigan.
The first event took place at the Monaco Ballroom, Hindley in July 2003. Events have been run regularly at the same venue ever since Making Grand Pro Wrestling the only wrestling promotion in the UK who have run the same venue for over 20 years.
The promotion is recognised for strong story telling and characters, building much of its own stars through its training school, whilst using a mixture of more recognised British talent and lesser-known names.

Overview

The promotion runs events at The Monaco Ballroom in Hindley Wigan.
It has developed a large, passionate fan base and gained a reputation for one of the best storytelling wrestling companies on the independent scene. Its shows are known for addictive, progressive storylines and strong characters.
Grand Pro have established several flagship shows, such as: Crazy Cruiser-8, "Only The Strong Survive" "Thunderbrawl", "A Night To Remember" to tribute to former British wrestlers linked to the promotion who have died. Namely Dom Travis and Kris Travis. This event also features the Grand Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. "Back with a Bang" is the promotions traditional show to start a new year.
The promotion is credited with having started and developed many of big names in the world of wrestling since 2003.

History

The promotion's first show was in July 2003 and called "Defection" due to the number of wrestlers who had jumped ship from small time now-defunct promotion, NPWA. It was held at the Monaco Ballroom, Wigan. Wrestlers that night who are still active now are Johnnie "Heresy" Brannigan, "Dangerous" Damon Leigh and Joey Hayes.
In November 2003 GPW: promoted "Nemesis", It was considered a breakout show for the promotion with ground breaking production.
During a tour of Cumbria in 2004, GPW crowned their first singles champion when Chris Hero defeated JC Thunder for the then International Title. in March 2004, the company ran a much hyped event originally promoted by a rival company who pulled out weeks before. GPW took over and renamed it "Hostile Takeover" with a main event featuring Chris Hero v. Claudio Castagnoli.
During GPW: "Last Orders At The Legion" in January 2005 there was a well documented riot involving both wrestlers and audience. The storyline became very real to the passionate fan base and occurred when Alex Shane stole the British Title from then champion Damon Leigh. Local papers featured the events as headline news.
GPW: "Saturday Night Showdown" in July 2005 JC Thunder faced El Ligero in a main event hardcore match. The match was possibly the most controversial in British wrestling history and resulted in the venue banning professional wrestling from the Greater Manchester area. However, the following year GPW were allowed to return.
April 2006, GPW promoted "A Few Good Men", the only 30 Man Rumbles in the UK at that point.
GPW promoted Europe's first ever Survivor Series dedicated show in 2007.
July 2008 was the sellout 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 GPW shows and still a show that no one else in the UK has used.
In August 2010, GPW re-branded as Grand Pro Wrestling.
GPW presented its landmark 500th match in June 2011 at "Heroes & Villains". The special match was given to Zack Gibson and Jack Gallagher who fought for the British Title.
In 2012, the company entered into an inter-promotional feud with Morecambe-based promotion XWA in what many consider to be the best inter-promotional feud in British Wrestling history. GPW eventually won and XWA closed down as a result.
January 2013 saw the start of the company's 10th-year celebrations. July 2010 brought a sell-out audience to attend GPW: "X", the official 10th anniversary. The show featured a Past, Present, Future 15 Man Battle Royal. 5 names from the present roster, 5 names from the past and 5 debuting new characters. A match which typifies the promotions values.
Grand Pro Wrestling opened up their Hall of Fame in 2015. The year also saw the first ever tag team Dumpster Match.
2016 saw one of the most acclaimed British feuds of the year involving T-Bone, Bubblegum, Lana Austin, Dylan Roberts and both the British and the Heavyweight Titles, 2016 was also the first time the promotion launched their "Fast Track 4-Way" match, a match exclusive to GPW. The rules are that 4 competitors enter a 4-way rules match, the winner of the match is allowed to cash a title shot in on any of the titles but it has to be done that night.
In February 2017 the promotion announced its first ever Women's Tournament to take place throughout the year.
In July 2018 the promotion celebrated its 15th anniversary and it was on this night that Joey Hayes ended Dylan Roberts unprecedented 694 day Heavyweight Title reign.
In July 2023, the promotion celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Championships

There are three championships in the promotion. The heavyweight title is regarded as the main title, the British title as the mid-level title, and a tag team trophy.
Johnnie "Heresy" Brannigan, "Dangerous" Damon Leigh, Joey Hayes, Sam Gradwell, Tyson T-Bone and Ste "Bin" Mann are the only grand slam winners, i.e. have held all three titles at different times.
In 2012, there was a fourth, now defunct title. Jack Gallagher introduced Gallagher's Gold, his own title which he eventually lost to Ste "Bin" Man in November 2012, who disposed of the title. Prior to the loss, Gallagher had successfully defended the title against Joey Hayes and in a High Stakes 4-Way Match featuring Martin Kirby, Cyanide and Dirk Feelgood.

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

    GPW British Championship

GPW Tag Team Trophy

Hall of fame

Without Brannigan's knowledge, on 19 June 2015, after 12 years of business, roster members organised for Grand Pro Wrestling to opened its doors to a hall of fame. Welcoming owner Brannigan as its first inductee.
Other inductees have included: Bubblegum, Damon Leigh, Tony Knox, Martin Kirby, Joey Hayes.

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 their title the following year.

2006

The first CC-8 tournament was 3 November 2006 and the final eight men were:
  • Kris Travis
  • El Ligero
  • Joseph Hayes
  • Emil Sitoci
  • Darkside
  • Bubblegum
  • "The Model" Danny Hope
  • "Juice" CJ Banks
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 eight men were:
  • Jack Toxic
  • El Ligero
  • "The Model" Danny Hope
  • Jiggy Walker
  • "Juice" CJ Banks
  • "Super" Sam Bailey
  • Chris Echo
  • Voodoo
CJ Banks 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. 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 eight 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 eight 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.

2018

The fifth Crazy Cruiser tournament was competed on 30 November 2018. The final eight participants were:
  • CJ Banks
  • Jack Griffith
  • Lana Austin
  • LA Austin
  • Soner Dursun
  • Isaiah Quinn
  • Sandy Beach
  • Jet Fashion
Sandy Beach was the eventual winner after defeating Lana Austin in the final.

North West Rookie League

GPW have always championed their own trainees and in 2011, they launched a first ever North West Rookie League that would give a stage to perform on for eight brand new characters from not just their own school, but nearby schools as well.
The NWRL was very well received, and in 2015, they ran it again in a different format. Historically, the winners of the league have received a shot at the British title.