The FWA returns to Nottingham on Sunday 20th June in the midst of an increasingly serious crisis that now seems to have embroiled every one of the country’s top wrestling stars. A sharp dividing line has emerged between those who dismiss the UK industry as a mere shop window for the major American promotions, and those who believe that British wrestling can once again become the pride of the wrestling world. These two rival camps will cross paths again at The Art of War.
World Heavyweight Champion Martin Stone lit the touch paper for this escalating feud in the moments after he won the title last February. Addressing the entire FWA roster, the “Guv’nor†explained that his intention was to showcase his talents to potential American employers by crushing every one of the top stars in Britain. Most of Stone’s peers were outraged by his willingness to tread on them for his own personal gain, but it soon emerged that his words struck a chord with three other big names. At Battle Lines, the East Londoner’s first defence of the belt was interrupted by Dave Moralez, â€Irresistible†Iestyn Rees and Joel Redman, who all came to Stone’s aid when he appeared to be in danger of losing the belt to Leroy Kincaide. The champion quickly declared that the newly-formed faction had an “agenda†and would steamroll over every other competitor in the country to get what they wanted.
The so-called “Agenda†is an intimidating prospect for a locker room that was largely taken by surprise by the betrayals of Stone, Moralez, Rees and Redman. Amidst the chaos that has ensued while the remaining FWA stars have scrambled to respond to this new threat, Kincaide seems to have emerged as the leader of a cobbled-together resistance. While no matches have been formally announced yet for The Art of War, rumours are flying that the Agenda has challenged Kincaide to form a team and face them in front of the crowd at Sport Nottingham. This match, if indeed it is to happen, would surely be one of the most heated clashes in recent history.
While that match is still in question, at least one part of the night’s action has been officially announced. Officials have now confirmed that Sunday 20th June will see the start of a tournament to crown FWA tag team champions. With the likes of The Leaders of the New School, Northern Xposure, Project Ego, Stixx and Malen and many other teams vying for position in recent months, the FWA’s tag team division is already unmatched across Europe. But with the chance of wearing championship gold thrown into the mix, the intensity of competition between these duos will surely crank up another few notches at The Art of War.
Another title tournament is already in full swing – the four-man round robin to decide the Flyweight Title reaches its third night in Nottingham. The tournament has been thrown into disarray by a potentially career-ending attack by Moralez on Bubblegum after his match with El Ligero at Battle Lines, and it is now extremely unlikely that Bubblegum will be able to continue in the tournament. There is still no word on who will be chosen (if anyone) to act as his replacement for the two remaining matches he is scheduled to wrestle, but FWA management is nonetheless expected to confirm shortly that Rockstar Spud will still face off against RJ Singh next, as was originally planned. These two brash youngsters spectacularly failed to co-exist when they were tag team partners in Wolverhampton a few weeks ago, and now surely any pretence of an alliance can be set aside – Singh has already won his opening match so a victory here would put him within touching distance of the championship and would seriously damage Spud’s claims of being the new “Wonderkid†of British wrestling.
At this early stage then, there are many more questions than answers about what might happen at The Art of War. But with so many rivalries coming to a head at the same time, it feels as though the FWA is currently one giant powder keg that could explode at the first hint of a spark. Keep checking back to www.fwauk.com for more news as it is announced on what promises to be a tense night in the developing battle for British wrestling’s soul…