News And Notes From Progress, UK Scene, More (Patreon)

Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has learned the following notes from Progress Chapter 169: The Devil On My Shoulder.

- UK Comedian Ed Gamble was in attendance for the event.

- Luke Jacobs’ dominant Progress World Title win was an idea that both Jacobs and Kid Lykos collaborated on with the promotion creatively, with all parties involved said to have been happy with the final result. Those we spoke to in Progress noted that talent are set to be far more involved in their own creative in the promotion going forward.

- Session Moth Martina’s heel turn was said to be long in the works, and once Alexxis Falcon’s injury was announced, Martina was the only candidate to be Charles Crowley’s surprise partner at the event.

- Speaking of Alexxis Falcon, she has been working as an agent backstage with Progress since her injury.

- Charlie Sterling was cleared for his spot in the show recently, but wasn’t ready for more than a standard run in at this time. 

- Multiple talent and backstage names we spoke to noted the positive atmosphere backstage at recent shows.

- Skye Smitson and L.A. Taylor received praise from several sources we spoke to, with one source noting their belief that the pair had their “breakout performance” on Sunday. There was also praise for the debuting Lena Kross.

Sha Samuels Interview Notes

Fightful’s Corey Brennan recently sat down with British Wrestling staple Sha Samuels on a variety of topics, including the return of WOS, his time in NXT UK and his views on British Wrestling as a whole.

On the topic of WOS’ return in September, Sha noted that the difference between this iteration and previous ones is a real focus on what the product should be with Sha believing it will be a family friendly product at the tapings. On the talent announced, Sha feels that family friendly talent now includes top workers in wrestling, as that’s what has become the new norm in WWE and AEW.

Sha noted that he wasn’t sure if WWE would launch NXT Europe in response to WOS possibly achieving a TV deal, with Sha noting that a NXT Europe launch would be great for the UK talent. Sha noted that he feels like the British scene is now rising to the levels it was at prior to Speaking Out and NXT UK, with the younger generation leading the charge.

On the multi man scramble match that featured an International Title defense from Orange Cassidy earlier this year at RevPro High Stakes, Sha noted that Orange’s involvement was “last minute” and was told about Cassidy’s appearance an hour before doors for the event. Sha also had nothing but good things to say about Michael Oku and Will Ospreay’s match at the event, praising Ospreay for putting Oku over on the way out.

While discussing the Revolution Rumble earlier this year, Sha talked about his spot in the match with Spike Trivet, which involved both men leaving and returning to the match, which caused Sha quite a bit of stress as he wanted to get it right.

On NXT UK, Sha discussed his release from the company, and the dread on the day of his release, knowing other talent had already been released by the company. Sha did note that he enjoyed his time coaching at the WWE Performance Center, and noted that Hank and Tank and Kelani Jordan both stood out to him when he coached at the PC last year.