Garage Pro Wrestling Garage Professional Wrestling ( or GPW ) is a British professional wrestling promotion based in the north west of England . The promotion was set up by former British wrestler - " The Middleman " Lee Butler - in February 2003 . However , in August 2004 , Butler left the promotion and wrestling for good . It is now run by Johnnie Brannigan , but with Richard Noble being the public facing name . Overview . The promotion runs shows all over the north west of England , mainly in the Greater Manchester area . It has developed a large , passionate fan base and has gained a reputation for one of the best story telling wrestling companies in Europe , with second to none character development . Its shows are known for their addictive and progressive story lines , superb production values , mixed with hard hits , high flying , comedy and a very strong connection between their audience and their characters . On average , it runs between 10 and 12 shows per year with the main story line shows taking place in Wigan at The Monaco Ballroom . GPW has established several flagship shows that it has become very well known for , such as : Crazy Cruiser - 8 ( one night 8 - man tournament show ) , Only The Strong Survive ( survival themed show ) and A Few Good Men ( a Royal Rumble themed show ) . GPW is credited with having started off many of today ' s British and American independent wrestlers careers . These names include : Bubblegum , El Ligero , Claudio Castagnoli , Juggernaut , Joey Hayes , " Dangerous " Damon Leigh , Heresy , TJ Cain , Juice , Dylan Roberts , " The Model " Danny Hope , Jiggy Walker , JC Thunder , Cameron Knite and many more . GPW shows . GPW shows have a passionate following of fans who follow all story lines and characters religiously . This creates a wonderful atmosphere that the promotion have become renown for wherever they perform . GPW has a rich vein of main events , and to be part of a main event match is held in high regard within the company . The promotion has also gained a reputation for some of the best 4 - Ways and 6 - Man Tags in the country . With such an emphasis on good storylines and strong characters , there is not a show that goes by where the headlines are not grabbed in some way or other . Here are some of the most memorable shows : GPW : " Defection " . The first ever GPW show was held in June 2003 at The Monaco Ballroom . The card was a mix of GPW trainees and established UK talent . The card on the night was : GPW : " Hostile Takeover " . In a departure from what has become known as a more traditional GPW show , April ' s " Hostile Takeover " saw the promotion bring in an abundance of established talent from both the European and American independent circuit , as well as using tits own roster . The show was an important one for GPW as , arguably aside from the GPW : " Nemesis " main event , the main event at " Hostile Takeover " really set a standard for future ones . The original main event was advertised to be Chris Hero vs . B - Boy , however B - Boy ended up not being able to make the show and a last minute replacement had to be found . An unknown by the name of Claudio Castagnoli flew in from Switzerland to take his place , after a 2 / 3 Falls Main Event with Hero , Castagnoli was no longer unheard of . In a match that had every fan on their feet both Hero and Castagnoli have both moved onto do great things in America . GPW : " The Return " . GPW ' s " Return " show was named as such as it returned to The Monaco Ballroom after a six months absence in July 2004 . The show featuerd the return of Claudio Castagnoli as part of Swiss Money Holdings with his tag team partner , Ares . The duo took on " Dangerous " Damon Leigh and Joey Hayes , The Young Offenders . But the night was all about the fabulous main event that is still talked about today as Robbie Brookside took on Johnny Kidd in a British Rules match . GPW : " Revelations " . GPW : " Revelations " took place in August 2004 at a sold out British Legion in Leigh and saw the debut of Mike Quackenbush as he battled with TJ Cain for the No . 1 Contendership to the International Heavyweight Title . The match was considered by many to be one of the best ever GPW matches . The main event was a bloody climax to a brutal , long running feud between Heresy and " Dangerous " Damon Leigh as the two clashed in GPW ' s first ever street fight for the British Championship . GPW : " Last Orders At The Legion " . An historic night in December saw the last ever event at the Leigh British Legion take place . A sold out audience was witness to one of the most memorable nights in GPW history . The night not only saw the fans ' darling Joey Hayes turn his back on them and join Heresy ' s SIN stable along with Minx , but the main event saw British Champion Damon Leigh cheated out of his title . Corrupt referee Mike Bishop rung the bell when challenger Alex Shane had Damon in a basic submission hold . Damon had not given up and both Bishop and Shane fled from the venue in an waiting car . Riots followed in the audience between rival fans and wrestlers alike ; such scenes have never been seen before or since . GPW : " Salvation Is Near " . One of the highest attendances at The Ballroom packed in to see TJ Cain and Heresy clash for the International Heavyweight Championship in May 2005 . It was an emotional end to a hard hitting feud that had been the main feature of GPW shows since TJ Cain had won the title in September 2004 . In another first ever , the stipulation to the match was that the loser had to leave British wrestling and was dubbed as a " Winner Take All " match . TJ Cain was eventually victorious in one of the matches that has defined what the promotion is all about . This event also saw the third member of Heresy ' s SIN faction make his GPW debut , Johnny Phere joined Minx and Joey Hayes . GPW : " Saturday Night Showdown " . As previously covered in the History section , this show will always be remembered for one thing . . . the brutal main event . The Street Fight between JC Thunder and El Ligero got the promotion banned from all wrestling events in the Greater Manchester area due to its violent and bloody content . Perhaps remembered for all the wrong reasons , the truth is this match was excellent . GPW : " Back With A Bang 2006 " . January 2006 saw " Dangerous " Damon Leigh finally got revenge on the man that had cheated him out of the British Title , Alex Shane as the two met for the first time since December 2004 for the title . The night also marked the retirement of former International Heavyweight Champion , TJ Cain who retired following an aggravated neck injury suffered in a match against Heresy in Holland for the title . GPW : " Salvation Is Here " . GPW : " Salvation Is Here " will be remembered for the superb Double Main Event . Two perfect examples of why the main event spot at GPW has such a great reputation . July 2006 saw the climax of two emotional feuds as Mark Kodiak took on Damon Leigh for the British title in a first ever Blindfold Match and International Heavyweight Champion Heresy took on challenger and Rumble winner Bubblegum . Voted one of the best shows of the year . GPW : " Keep The Faith " . In September 2006 , GPW promoted GPW : " Keep The Faith " - one of the most highly rated GPW shows ever featured Tracy Smothers , the first ever Crazy Cruiser - 8 qualifiers , one of the best 4 - ways in the country and a 6 - man tag to rival the best in the world . The full card was : GPW : " Only The Strong Survive " . In May 2007 , GPW broke the mould with the first ever show in Britain dedicated to Survivor Series style matches . The show received critical acclaim and having already promoted a tournament themed show and a Rumble themed show to great priase , the promotion ' s reputation skyrocketed . The teams on the evening were : Chris Echo , Rupert Holmes , Dylan Roberts & " Easy " Ernie Benson vs . " Iron " Mike Holmes , Lethal Dose & Kev Noir El Ligero , WKD & Roxi vs . Juice , The Mil - Anfield Connection & Kelly Adams Dirk Feelgood , Si Valour , Dom Travis , " Dangerous " Damon Leigh vs . Mark Kodiak , Johnny Phere , Heresy & Darkside In addition to these matches Joseph Hayes battled " Retro " Dave Rayne for the No . 1 Contender ' s spot to the British Title . GPW : " Collision Course " . GPW : " Collision Course " featured one of the highest rated matches of 2007 when Heresy faced " Dangerous " Damon Leigh and Joey Hayes for the GPW British Title in a main event 3 - Way . The three men who were part of the first ever show , battled it out in one of GPW ' s most memorable matches and feuds to date . An emotional " passing of the torch " from Damon to Hayes , Hayes eventually won . Pinning Heresy signified the end of the SIN faction and the start of a Joey Hayes British Title run . The show also featured Juice vs . El Ligero in a Los Sanchos Street Fight . Up there with one of the best matches you ' ll ever see , this match saw Juice ' s career take off . There was also another title change as Mil - Anfield Connection ' s long hunt for the Tag Team Trophy came to an end when they defeated WKD to lift the cup . GPW : " Supercharged " . In November 2007 , GPW brought their season ender - " Supercharged " - to the Monaco Ballroom . The show saw the climax of all major storylines in a fanatic finale . In a dramatic main event that will live in the memory of every GPW fan for a long time bitter enemies Heresy and Joey Hayes did battle in a " Loser Leaves Town I Quit Match " for the British Title . TJ Cain returned to GPW for the first time since his retirement and offered his support to Joey by staying in his corner throughout the match . However , in several cruel twists Hayes left the building the loser . A main event match that summed up everything a main event should be . In an epic encounter Mil - Anfield successfully defended their tag team trophy against El Ligero and Bubblegum . Damon Leigh took on a tough challenge in Johnny Phere for the British title , but managed to overcome the self - proclaimed " Psychotic Warrior " . GPW : " V " . GPW : " V " was the promotion ' s fifth year anniversary show , and considered by many to be one of the very best in the UK , and one of the best GPW shows ever . The historic night took place on 5 July 2008 and saw many faces from the past return as well as current storylines continuing . The card on the night was : GPW : " Back II School " . September 2008 saw a monumental occasion when both Joey Hayes and " Dangerous " Damon Leigh reformed the Young Offenders after more than four years apart on the UK circuit . The re - united tag team took on GPW Tag Team Champions , The Mil - Anfield Connection in a wonderful , dramatic tag team main event . GPW : " Only The Strong Survive 2008 " . In October 2008 , GPW promoted Europe ' s first ever Torneo Cibernetico . The main event match lasted just short of an hour before GPW Heavyweight Champion , Bubblegum was crowned the last man standing . The show also saw the debut of Johnny Moss as he took on and was defeated by Juggernaut . WKD also took on two members of the Eastern Bloc in a traditional tag team match . The teams for the Torneo Cibernetico were :