Royal Wrestling Kingdom

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**Royal Wrestling Kingdom**, commonly shortened to **RWK**, is an American professional wrestling promotion based in the United States. The promotion was founded in 2016 in Manchester, England by British businessman David Oliver, who wanted to create a "cutting-edge alternative" to the sports entertainment giants of modern professional wrestling, as well as a diverse roster with a hybrid mix of styles.

The promotion originally ran live events between 2016 and 2018, with these events seen on various pay-per-view platforms. RWK returned to promoting events in March 2022, with a new bi-weekly television show named *RWK Realm* premiering in April 2022.

## History

### Formation (2016-2018)

After watching the success of various titans of professional wrestling rise from the death of the old-school territory system as a child, British businessman David Oliver wished to create his own vision for a wrestling company that he wished to watch. Royal Wrestling Kingdom (RWK) was founded on October 6, 2016. From the very beginning, RWK stylized itself as a "cutting-edge alternative" to the many professional wrestling titans of modern times, and instead wished to follow in the tradition of the smaller, old-school territories of old.

After a month spent creating their headquarters in Manchester, England, RWK would host its first official pay-per-view live event on December 11, 2016, titled *The Grand Coronation* and hosted by the team of James O'Connell & Vincent Baker. With the event, the promotion highlighted its ties to other, similar defunct companies that had come before them, such as NGW and IWT, by showcasing many of the same talents who had made their names in said companies.

In April 2017, funding was suddenly cut from the company following numerous financial backers pulled out of the deal that they had struck with David Oliver months prior. Scrambling to find more funding, several potential buyers met with Oliver in the hopes of bringing the company back from the brink of bankruptcy. English businessman Josh Reed would buy a majority share in the company weeks later.

RWK would hold its final event, *Battle of Belfast*, in September 2018. The promotion shuttered weeks later, citing financial problems.

While the truth behind the promotion's original closure has not been disclosed to the public, many fans believe that Reed's lofty sights for expansion ultimately caused the promotion's downfall. *The Grand Coronation II* has often been cited as a key moment, with the promotion have been seen as 'overstepping its bounds' by managing to promote a show within Fenway Park.

### Revival (2021 - present)

In 2021, RWK announced that it would once again be promoting professional wrestling live events. The tickets for their first live event in four years, *My Life Was Never Eazy*, went on-sale on December 21, 2021, and took place on March 12, 2022. The main event featured former RWK European Champion Will Neilson, now W1LBUR, defeating Tyson Blade to become the new RWK Heavyweight Champion. They would announce a television deal with Vice TV just a week and half later, with their flagship show; Realm, set to air bi-weekly on Friday.

## Touring and Live events

### Monthly pay-per-views (2016-2018)

From December 2016 until September 2018, the promotion hosted monthly pay-per-view events. While most of the events were held in the United Kingdom, various international events were held by the promotion to celebrate certain milestones. *The Grand Coronation II* was the pinnacle of the promotion's international expansion, hosting the event at Fenway Park, in Boston, Massachusetts.

## Championships and accomplishments

### Other accomplishments

 Men's Destiny Royale Match
 Women's Destiny Royale Match