PROGRESS & Defy Wrestling announce merger

Independent wrestling promotions PROGRESS Wrestling and Defy Wrestling are joining forces.

The two promotions issued a press release on Friday announcing that they are merging together. PROGRESS is based in the United Kingdom, while Defy is based out of Seattle in the United States.

“The merger will create a truly global presence for both organisations with mutual benefits for both parties and aid further expansion plans that will offer something really exciting for wrestling fans around the world,” the press release said.

The announcement was made in advance of Defy’s seventh anniversary show taking place tonight (February 9). PROGRESS has existed since 2012 and was sold to Lee McAteer and Martyn Best at the end of 2021.

With the merger, Defy content will soon be available on PROGRESS’ Demand PROGRESS Plus streaming service.

Friday’s press release included a statement from Best:

Lee and I really welcome Jim [Perry] and Matt Farmer joining us at PROGRESS, and this is a major step in our wider plans for more international collaborations. We previously had a strong content partnership with WWE, and we have a developing relationship with Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH. With DEFY joining us, I am sure that our many combined fans will be very excited to see what happens next.

We will be continuing our closeness in Philadelphia with us both having shows at The Collective immediately prior to WrestleMania 40, and we are planning our second joint show in London later in the year. DEFY will also soon be seen on DEMAND PROGRESS PLUS, our content and live streaming platform, in the very near future and we have some fascinating ideas to highlight the great wrestling talent we both work with.

Defy’s Jim Perry said:

I’ve been an admirer of PROGRESS from the start, and in some ways, they helped inspire the creation of DEFY. We have known each other for a number of years, and been working on many collaborations, including our successful double-show in London last August. I’m very excited about the opportunities of our more formal coming together, and the fans can expect to see some really neat ideas emerging.