10 Most Important Non-WWE Wrestling Moments Of The 2010s
It's been a huge decade for the wrestling world outside of WWE.
It's been quite the decade for wrestling, hasn't it?
In WWE alone, the past ten years have seen the rise and decline of stars such as CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Brock Lesnar, the creation of NXT, and a brand new deal with Saudi Arabia that has come to define the company's public image.
It's been one of the most interesting and exciting times ever for the industry, but the biggest changes in the wrestling business have come outside of the largest company in the game.
The world of wrestling beyond the WWE bubble has exploded over the past decade. Companies have come and gone, grown and shrunk, and completely changed the landscape of the entire business. These changes have often risen up the food chain and affected things in WWE too.
Choosing just ten moments from ten years of incredible achievements wasn't easy, but the following headlines all changed the wrestling landscape for one reason or another and will be looked back on by wrestling historians as truly iconic.
So let's put on our obscure t-shirts and turn our noses up at the casuals, because we're about to dive head first into the world of hardcore wrestling fandom and pick out the ten most influential wrestling moments from outside WWE this decade.
10. Progress Wrestling Forms
We start in the good ol' U of K with a company that changed the game for British wrestling.
Formed by stand-up comedian Jim Smallman and Jon Briley, Progress Wrestling was founded in 2011 after Smallman and Briley noticed a lack of strong style wrestling being promoted in London.
Progress has helped develop some of the biggest names in British wrestling over the last ten years. Their first show featured the likes of Noam Dar, El Ligero, Zack Sabre Jr., and Marty Scurll, and over the next few years, they would generate names such as Toni Storm and the trio of Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and Trent Seven.
Following their first show in 2012, Progress grew from a tiny promotion working out of a music venue in London to a global brand that has toured Australia, Germany, and the United States.
The company now works closely with WWE. It hosted qualifying matches for the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016 and contributed several wrestlers to WWE's inaugural UK Championship tournament.
Progress is now one of the biggest "small" wrestling companies in the world and it all started because two British dudes wanted to watch some good wrestling.