4 Front Wrestling

4 Front Wrestling[2] (Sometimes acronymed as 4FW) is a pro wrestling company based in the South West of England, established in 2004 by former professional wrestler Dave Sharp, and JD Knight. Since 2005, the company has promoted a range of shows; utilising events through England, primarily in the Swindon and Oxford areas.[3]

4 Front Wrestling
Acronym4FW
Founded2004[1]
Style
HeadquartersUnited Kingdom
Founder(s)UCW Alumni
Owner(s)
  • Dave Sharp
Website4FW-Online.com

Style and partners

4FW is well known for its use of United Kingdom wrestlers, but also its partners with international promotions. The promotion has a high puroresu vibe, and has had its own wrestlers appear in Japan[4] and Mexico.[5] The company has a working relationship with Michinoku Pro wrestling, as well as Wrestle-1. It is also a regular occurrence for high-profile wrestlers from Japan and United States of America to have one-off matches in the company. 4FW also has a 'Junior Heavyweight' Championship, which is common in Japan, rather than a more traditional cruiserweight, or light heavyweight in the rest of the world.[6]

Synopsis

4FWs first show was held at Pinehurst People's Centre in 2005 'and so it begins'[2] They had opened a wrestling school held at Cheney Manor, training wrestler's such as Saime Sahin, Tiger Ali and Eddie Ryan. In 2011, Owner and Promoter Dave Sharp retired from Pro Wrestling due to neck injuries,[7] which lead to the promotion running more events.

Perhaps 4FWs most well known was 4FW Ultimate Supremacy 2015[8] which held an event featuring recently released from WWE Wrestlers Rey Mysterio[9] against Alberto Del Rio[10] in the main event.[2] The event brought around 1,000 fans into Swindon for the event held in Swindon MECCA. 4FW also has an on-demand video service for all of its previous shows library in the same vein as the WWE Network[2] on Powerbomb TV.

4FW has also reached out to new fans by using other international talent such as Cody Rhodes,[11] however, Rhodes was unable to make the show, so Kenny Omega[12] took his place in the match, flying from Japan to the UK for the match against Tiger Ali.[13]

Junior Heavyweight Championship

During its tenure, 4FW has had a number of notable Junior Heavyweight Champions. Due to the unique nature of the championship, it has been defended in Hong Kong and Japan. The championship was first won by Gino [14] in July 2006, winning an 8-man tournament and who held the championship for 91 days, before losing the belt to El Ligero. Ligero would lose the championship to Ashley Reed, before being vacated (presumed forever), until its reintroduction in 2010.

The championship would be now won by Dave Sharp himself defeating Benham Ali in 2010. He would lose the championship to Owen Phoenix who would hold it for a record 731 days (Two years). The championship would be won by Jason Larusso, Benham Ali, and Pete Dunne until 2013. Dunne would hold the championship for almost half a year. Kenbai would defeat Dunne for the gold at Ultimate Supremacy 2013, and would defend the belt against Hiromu Takahashi, Taro Nohashi for Michinoku Pro in Japan and Ho Ho Lun in Hong Kong, before being won by Ken45. The title would later be returned to the company, when Tiger Ali won the championship during a tour of Japan.

Owen Phoenix would return to wrestling, after an absence and win the championship back,[15] and hold it for 167 days, holding the championship for a total of 898 days.[16] At the start of 2015, the former Tiger Mask; Koji Kanemoto, would defeat Phoenix for the title, but would later have to vacate the championship. Kenny Omega [17] and Mark Haskins would battle for the vacant championship at 4FW New Years Wrestleution 2016, with Omega winning the vacant championship. He would hold the championship shortly; and vacate the belt after, stating that he was not a Junior Heavyweight, an angle that he had been working in New Japan Pro Wrestling.[18] To date, Omega is still undefeated in 4FW, with 5 wins from 5.[19]

Less than a month later, Haskins would win the championship, this time defeating PJ Black, but would have to vacate the championship himself due to nagging injuries.[10] Bubblegum would then win the vacant championship against Mega Pegasus in Swindon on 21 January 2017.

Championships and accomplishments

4 Front Wrestling Champion
  • Current champion:Chris Bronson[1]

4 Front Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Champion
  • Current champion: RJ Singh[1]

4 Front Wrestling Tag Team Championship
  • Current champion: Saime Sahin & Tiger Ali[1]
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See also
  • Professional Wrestling
  • List of professional wrestling promotions in the Great Britain and Ireland

References
  1. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "4 Front Wrestling (4FW) - Cagematch". Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. "Big Names head to the MECA". Swindon Advertiser. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  3. ""British Wrestling Unites On 18 November"". Wrestle View. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  4. "Two Matches Announced for 4Fw". Wrestle Ropes UK. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  5. "The Interview with 4FW Champion: Saime Sahin". Kayfabe Today. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. "4FW Junior-Heavyweight championship". Hashtag Wrestling. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  7. "The interview with David Sharp Owner/Promotor of 4FW". Kayfabe Today. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  8. "Championship Gauntlet Announced for 4FW Ultimate Supremacy". Wrestle Ropes UK. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  9. "It's seconds out for two of Pro Wrestling's Superstars". Wirral Globe Newspaper. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  10. "This Week in British Wrestling: Mark Haskins Vacates His Titles Due to Injury". Figure-4 Wrestling Online. 4 November 2016. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  11. "Night of Pro-Wrestling to Bring Excitement To school". Oxford Mail. 14 January 2017. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  12. "Kenny Omega 4FW Q&A". Wrestling Inc. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  13. "Kenny Omega Wrestles Match in England as fill in for Cody Rhodes". Wrestle Zone. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  14. "Junior Heavyweight Championship". Wrestling Data. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  15. "Junior Heavyweight Championship to be defended". Wrestle Ropes UK. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  16. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Statistics < 4FW Junior Heavyweight Championship". Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  17. "British Wrestling: Progress Welcomes back two". Figure 4 Wrestling Online. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  18. "This Week in British Wrestling: Shibata Defends against Riddle". Figure-4 Online. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  19. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Kenny Omega < Match Statistics per Promotion". Cagematch.net. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
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