Nikki Cross & Big Damo acquire PROGRESS Wrestling, co-ownership of DEFY
Former WWE wrestlers Big Damo and Nikki Cross have taken ownership of PROGRESS Wrestling and co-ownership of DEFY Wrestling.
The official announcement Monday revealed the news as Martyn Best and Lee McAteer are done with the promotion.
“We are delighted to be the new co-owners of PROGRESS. We both started in the UK and Ireland and fully believe this is host to the greatest talent pool on earth and PROGRESS is well positioned to showcase this generation and the next generation,” said Damo.
“We are also very excited to be the new co-owners of DEFY Wrestling. Home to the most feverish fan base in the Pacific Northwest. Nikki and I have an affinity with Seattle, and I always had an incredible experience wrestling on the DEFY shows in front of the Defyance.”
“We would like to thank Martyn Best and Lee McAteer for being wonderful custodians and bringing new levels of professionalism to our industry. They steered PROGRESS after a worldwide pandemic, created an incredible wrestling network in Hooked On Wrestling TV, created a phenomenal working partnership with Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan and DEFY in USA and showed ambition, and an incredible drive to give multiple talented men and women visas to compete in the USA, and opportunities in so many other countries.”
“Our job now is to guide PROGRESS through the coming years, identify new talent and integrate them with the current phenomenal roster. I’m proud to say we have some of the best wrestlers in the world performing for us right now. Our men’s World Champion Cara Noir and Charlie Sterling are performing at the highest level. Our Tag Team Champions Luke Jacobs and Ethan Allen are two of the best wrestlers in the world under 30. Our women’s division is host to some of the best women wrestlers alive. Women’s champion Alexxis Falcon, Rhio, Kanji, Emersyn Jayne and so many more. We also have Hollywood actor Paul Walter Hauser regularly walking the Hollywood red carpets with his PROGRESS Proteus Championship belt. Then there is Gene Munny, Charles Crowley, former WWE star Axel Tischer, Hollie Barlow, Simon Miller, Man Like DeReiss, Spike Trivet, Lykos Gym, and so many more.
“I could go on all day but Nikki and I want to continue to give these amazing athletes a platform to create engaging stories, while also leaving plenty of room for absolute masterpieces in ring.”
“We also want to capitalise on our great relationships with talent and promotions worldwide, and create new partnerships that not only bring phenomenal talent to our shores, but also export our best talent to new ventures abroad.”
Cross’s statement reflected on women’s ownership of wrestling promotions, and plans to elevate PROGRESS and DEFY.
“It is not lost on me that there are few female owners in professional wrestling, so I want to bring my experience and insights to the table and elevate PROGRESS and DEFY to new levels,” said Cross.
“We were deeply encouraged by the first PROGRESS Women’s Super Strong Style 16 tournament. Rhio and Gisele competed in an incredible main event, and Rhio proved to be a worthy winner! We will soon be announcing that next year, in 2027, we will host the first stand alone female Super Strong Style 16.”
“We are also in the process of bringing PROGRESS to new cities across the UK, and will be excited to announce those details soon.”
Cross was among the talents released by WWE in April this year. Her first match since the exit was announced for July in PROGRESS Wrestling.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.