British wrestling has never been hotter or more featured than it is right now. WWE are making their mark on the scene with NXT UK, WOS Wrestling is taking place on terrestrial TV every Saturday afternoon in front of hundreds of thousands of new fans, PROGRESS are about to run a historic card at Wembley Arena, and dozens of others promotions around the country are providing some of the best wrestling action anywhere on the planet.
There has never been a better time to be a British wrestling fan, promoter or competitor. However, it was not always that way, with British talent often having to go overseas to make a name for themselves. Here are the top 10 guys who ‘made it’ across the pond.
10. Doug Williams
Current WOS roster member Doug Williams was one of the athletes that helped spearhead the revival of British wrestling in the FWA during the 2000s, winning plaudits for his world-class matches against international opponents such as Jerry Lynn and Christopher Daniels.
The world took notice and Williams became a regular feature on the global independent scene, winning titles in Ring Of Honor and becoming a regular in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH, making him one of very few Brits at the time able to make a living wrestling abroad.
Williams joined TNA full-time in 2009 as part of a British Invasion group alongside Brutus Magnus and Rob Terry, adding several accolades to his already decorated record including the TNA X Division Championship and the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
The veteran returned to the UK ranks in 2014 where he continues to amass an impressive collection of championship gold.
9. Nick Aldis
After half a decade on the British wrestling scene, Aldis was drafted in to play the role of Oblivion on the 2008 reboot of ITV’s popular 1990s smash hit Gladiators.
Following that, Aldis moved to America to join TNA where he competed under the name Brutus Magnus.
Magnus scored some huge victories during his spell with the promotion, including ending the TNA career of Sting in 2014. However, none were bigger than his December 2013 win over Jeff Hardy to capture the vacant TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
Since leaving the promotion Aldis has found plenty of success elsewhere, winning the prestigious NWA World Championship and competing for Ring Of Honor.
8. Chris Adams
Former British National Judo Champion Chris Adams became a feature of WOS in the late 1970s and early 1980s, sharing the ring with British greats Rollerball Rocco, Big Daddy and Davey Boy Smith.
Adams found worldwide fame in Fritz Von Erich’s famous World Class Championship Wrestling promotion in Dallas, Texas where he became a central figure alongside the Von Erich family in their classic rivalry with the Fabulous Freebirds.
After WCCW, Adams wrestler for several other American groups, including the now-defunct UWF, USWA and GWF, before finding his way to WCW in 1997.
Adams is also known for training two of the greatest wrestlers of modern times, Scott Hall and Steve Austin.
7. Fit Finlay
He may be more familiar to modern fans for walking around with a real-life leprechaun never far from his side but before that Finlay was one of the most feared and respected grapplers around.
Finlay was a mainstay on WOS, enjoying title success as British Heavy Middleweight and British Light Heavyweight Champion, title runs which included victories over British greats Marty Jones and Alan Kilby.
Over 20 years into his career Finlay finally broke into the American wrestling scene, becoming the Belfast Bruiser in World Championship Wrestling and feuding with Steven Regal. The Bruiser reverted to Fit Finlay shortly afterward, becoming World Television Champion and a regular feature on popular Monday night TV show Nitro.
Finlay made his WWE debut in 2005 at the age of 47 and soon shocked everyone by defeating Bobby Lashley to become United States Champion. He wrestled for several years before hanging up his boots and taking up a position behind the scenes, which he holds to this day.
6. Lord Alfred Hayes
He may be best remembered by today’s fans as the silver-tongued loveable buffoon who commentated on and presented 1990s WWF home video releases, but the Londoner was actually an accomplished in-ring technician prior to trading the squared circle for the announce booth.
After achieving a judo black belt in his youth Hayes turned to pro wrestling, competing on the thriving British circuit in the 1950s and 1960s as Judo Al Hayes and The White Angel.
Hayes moved to America in the 1970s and became a main event star with both the NWA and the WWWF, challenging greats Dory Funk Jr. and Bruno Sammartino in championship matches across the country.
Hayes joined the WWF full-time in 1982 as a backstage agent and interviewer, quickly becoming a popular personality, most notably on mad-cap talk-show Tuesday Night Titans alongside Vince McMahon. He stayed with the company until 1995.
5. Billy Robinson
The late Billy Robinson wrestled across five different decades in four different continents, winning titles in all of them throughout his career.
One of the most respected wrestlers that ever lived, Robinson was renowned for his toughness and incomparable mat wrestling ability.
Robinson won several titles during British wrestling’s television era, appearing regularly on WOS for over a decade where he often feuded with the great Kendo Nagasaki.
Robinson competed in legendary matches against all of the bigger names of his era, including Bruno Sammartino and Antonio Inoki, and he had a hand in training the future generations with Marty Jones and Johnny Saint counted amongst his trainees.
4. Stu Bennett
The WOS Executive enjoyed a great deal of success around the world prior to taking his current lofty position in upper management.
Bennett did not compete for long on the UK circuit before international talent scouts came calling and persuaded Stu to move across the Atlantic. He found success immediately, winning the inaugural NXT talent competition in 2010 to earn a full-time WWE contract.
Bennett formed a devastatingly effective group known as the Nexus, leading the faction of would-be WWE stars to a memorable invasion of Monday Night Raw during which they wiped out CM Punk and John Cena.
Away from Nexus, Bennett proved that he was more than capable of flying solo, winning the coveted Intercontinental Championship five times and capturing the King Of The Ring tournament in 2015 by beating fellow Brit Neville.
3. Dynamite Kid
An argument can be made that the Dynamite Kid is one of the greatest professional wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots. After cutting his teeth on the British scene in the 1970s, Dynamite moved to Calgary, Canada in 1978 to join Stampede Wrestling.
Dynamite became a global sensation following a legendary series of matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the 1980s against the great Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama), who had previously competed on WOS under the guise of Sammy Lee.
Kid achieved success alongside his cousin Davey Boy Smith in the WWF as the British Bulldogs, capturing the prestigious WWF Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 2 with a victory over despised duo Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake.
The tandem’s subsequent battles with the Hart Foundation will go down in history as some of the finest tag team matches ever held.
2.William Regal
After receiving his break into the business working at a wrestling challenge booth at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Regal soon graduated to the big leagues as a regular on WOS between 1986 and 1988, wrestling as Roy Regal and Steve Regal.
After several worldwide tours, Regal found his way to the United States and World Championship Wrestling, which was also airing on ITV in those days.
Developing a snobbish blue-blood persona, Regal found success as the promotion’s World Television Champion, an accolade he would hold on four different occasions.
Regal signed for the WWF in 2000, changing his name to William Regal but retaining his aloof character. He has been with the promotion ever since, winning a King of the Ring tournament, 11 singles titles, and the World Tag Team Championship four times with three different partners.
1. The British Bulldog
The Wigan-born Davey Boy Smith competed on ITV WOS when he was just 15 years old, going by the alias Young David. He became known throughout the wrestling world one year later when he pushed British Welterweight Champion Jim Breaks to the limit.
Smith moved to Calgary, Canada while still in his teens to learn from the great Stu Hart at the famously tough Hart Family Dungeon, graduating to Hart’s Stampede Wrestling shows soon afterward.
After spells in Japan, Smith joined global powerhouse the WWF full-time in 1984 as one half of the British Bulldogs tag team with Dynamite Kid. The pairing was widely considered the best in the world during their time teaming together.
Smith had several stints with the World Wrestling Federation, with his most celebrated moment coming on home soil at Wembley Stadium in August 1992 when he defeated Bret Hart in front of 80,000 people to capture the Intercontinental Championship.
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