The only entry on this list whos not a wrestler, Leicester-born stand-up comedian Jim Smallman is the co-founder, co-owner, face and voice of the UKs fastest rising and probably most successful professional wrestling promotion: PROGRESS Wrestling, which runs with the tagline punk rock pro wrestling. Based in London, PROGRESS has been putting on sold out shows since spring 2012, featuring the best and brightest of Britains homegrown talent - Paul Robinson, Jimmy Havoc, Stixx, Tommy End, Marty Scurll, and many, many more. Thats not to say that they dont sometimes bring in international imports whove made their names in bigger promotions, simply that (unlike many of their peers) they dont rely upon gimmicky cards topped by semi-famous Americans to sell tickets. PROGRESS shows sell out faster than playwrights in Hollywood, and theyre all - all - absolutely bloody brilliant, featuring strong-style, exciting matches as part of angles that are planned and crafted well in advance, creating stories that mean something, that lead somewhere. You know pro wrestling like its supposed to be. From running four shows in 2012, theyre running sixteen next year - not including the developmental shows, ENDVR, run from their training school the PROJO. Two years in, they moved to the 700 capacity Electric Ballroom in Camden, which they continued to sell out with every subsequent show. Theyre branching out from the capital, too - their first event in Manchester is scheduled for December 6th, and is already sold out with no card yet announced. Thats the power of word of mouth, right there. Jim Smallmans a heavily tattooed punk of the old school, straight edge for half his life since abandoning drink and drugs at twenty years old, and PROGRESS feels like a DIY thing: its clearly someones baby, not a generic business proposition, but a project created by someone with an abundance of love for the industry and a desire to put on the kind of wrestling show that excites him... because he knows that itll excite you too. That passion and commitment extends to each and every one of the fans that ensure that PROGRESS shows are like no other wrestling show today: its far more like being part of the crowd at a big home game for your local team, or on the periphery of a mosh pit as your favourite band kill it on stage. And make no mistake, the PROGRESS crowd is an alternative crowd, culled from the audience of punk gigs and rock festivals - PROGRESS worked three nights at Sonisphere festival in 2014, and five nights at Download this summer. Smallman gives the whole undertaking a punk rock vibe, a feel like an underground activity, a guerilla movement. Their DVDs are numbered, their merchandise limited edition and constantly evolving, like the kind of in-house cottage industry that Black Flag was back in the eighties - and tickets for their shows are initially offered via mailing list, to make sure that committed fans dont miss out. The other people in this article have, to varying degrees, adopted a punk rock ethic and perspective to their lives, becoming living testaments to that ethos: Jim Smallman and his partners have taken that a stage further and made a massive impact upon the British wrestling scene, becoming an inspiration to the business and to wrestling fans across the country. He still performs as a stand-up as his main line of work, however, working several shows a week to feed his family (coming up with ideas and stories for PROGRESS on the long drive from place to place). It helps that hes genuinely hilarious, his delivery locomotive, propulsive yet keenly intelligent and self-deprecating. A self-starter, suspicious of assumed authority, highly motivated and imaginative: Jim Smallman is a one-man punk rock band, living the dream and inviting everyone along for the ride.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
