British Wrestling to return to British TV?!

It’s been a good long while since we’ve been able to watch any British Wrestling Promotion on free-to-air TV here in the UK, but thanks to Challenge TV and the British Wrestling Coalition that’s all about to change…

For years British Wrestling has languished in the backwoods of the Sky TV planner, relegated to channels that only ever seemed to last around 6 months themselves. Ever since the death of the Wrestling Channel/Fight Network, British TV has been conspicuously absent of homegrown talent…until now. Freeview channel Challenge TV have released a statement on their website informing us that not only is there a 2^nd series of relatively popular wrestling chat show Wrestle Talk TV, but they have also confirmed there will be a monthly TV show focused primarily on promotions who are part of Alex Shane’s brainchild, the British Wrestling Coalition.

Here’s an excerpt from their press release:

“Returning to Challenge TV for a second season, Wrestle Talk TV is now available worldwide via YouTube.

With the latest series running weekly, in a new, faster-paced 30-minute format, Challenge TV are pleased to announce details of a new, separate show coming to the Challenge Late Zone, that will quench the thirst of British wrestling fans.

Beginning on March 31, BWC British Wrestling Round-Up is an assembly of all the great happenings on the UK wrestling scene, including footage from the top companies in the country. The show will air immediately after Wrestle Talk TV, at 11.30pm on Challenge, initially on a monthly basis.”

So what does that mean for British Wrestling? Well, if you’re a part of Alex Shane’s BWC then this news has to be exciting. A TV deal with a channel that everyone with Freeview has access to instantly guarantees you a potentially larger audience than any British Wrestling show has been able to reach since the World of Sport glory days. Finally the many talented workers in this country could have a platform upon which they can show that we can do anything the Americans are capable of.

Even if you’re a promotion not directly involved with Alex Shane and the BWC, this is still good news. Anything that will draw attention to British Wrestling has to be a good thing, right?

But is there a downside? Will casual fans immediately be deterred by the (I’m assuming) inferior production values (because let’s face it, no company in the UK can afford to make their show look as good as WWE)? Will all but the diehard fans struggle to connect with wrestlers who are going to be (for the most part) unknown to most casual fans? Or could we potentially be about to witness a long overdue resurgence for wrestling in the UK?

Well, we’ll have to wait for the show itself to start before we can comment, but I cross my fingers and hope beyond hope that this brings good things the way of some very deserving talent in this country.

But that’s enough from me, what do you think? Are you interested in watching what the best of British have to offer, or are you only interested in what the large American companies have to offer? Drop us a comment below, or on the TalkWrestlingOnline forums to let us know your thoughts.