ARMBAR Wrestling

ARMBAR Wrestling logo

**Armbar Wrestling** (stylised as ARMBAR) is a British professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2014 by retired professional wrestler Marc Gomez and his business partner James O'Reilly.

## History

In 2007, independent wrestler Marc Gomez was forced into retirement due to a severe knee injury that left him unable to compete. However, his love for the business remained, and so he decided to explore a new avenue.

In 2008, Gomez opened up a small wrestling school called Armbar Academy (ARMA), which he did so in conjunction with his own pro wrestling trainer, Jonny Corvus. It was run out of the same building as Corvus' school in London and received some local attention upon opening. The school only had around five trainees in the beginning, but all of them were dedicated and flourished under Gomez's training. It wasn't long until news spread of Armbar, and soon the classes grew in size. Gomez was eventually teaching a lot more students on a regular basis, and enlisted the help of Corvus and other trainers in the area to keep up.

Since 2010, ARMA has continued to grow. Students from across the world were travelling to London to train at the school, with many exports from Europe joining the British students on excursions. The majority of students from the school went on to be successful in the UK, Europe, and even international wrestling scenes.

With the UK wrestling scene growing more and more, Gomez wanted to showcase his own brand of wrestling, and he began to make some plans for the future. In December 2013, Gomez announced that he and his business partner James O'Reilly had founded ARMBAR Wrestling, with the first show set to take place in January 2014. The company was a success and continued to host shows, increasing the number in their schedule. As of 2018, they now host bi-monthly events.

In 2017 the company began working with other promotions. Many of ARMBAR's talent have made appearances in the German promotion The Overground and vice versa. Dickie Hyde was one of the most notable ARMBAR wrestlers to appear at The Overground after winning the Online Championship within his first year in the company. ARMBAR has hosted many Overground Online Championship matches ever since, signalling a working relationship between ARMBAR and The Overground. Recently, Overground Tag Team Champions ZSP-05 have made appearances for ARMBAR, and a number of Overground talents have appeared on Chapter and RISE shows since the beginning of the working agreement.

## International expansion

May 2017 saw ARMBAR promoting a show for Germany-based promotion The Overground in London, with Overground helping with ARMBAR's début German show in Munich in July. In June 2017, ARMBAR also held their first official show in North America, holding the 'ARMBAR Does America' show on the Saturday of the WrestleWorld weekend in New Jersey. ARMBAR also co-ran a show on the following Sunday with American promotion Black Label Wrestling, where a number of ARMBAR regulars competed against some of BLK LBL's own talent.

## ARMBAR on Demand

In January 2015, ARMBAR launched ARMBAR on Demand, their own video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service. February 2015 saw the first episode of RISE, ARMBAR's monthly developmental show which features recent graduates from Armbar Academy as well as established ARMBAR talent. In June 2016, owner and founder Marc Gomez debuted a new podcast series named Above the Bar, which features interviews with ARMBAR talent and a look at the current state of ARMBAR kayfabe-wise, as well as reviews of major wrestling shows that happened that month. In December 2017, it was announced that ARMBAR had begun taping episodes of Welcome to the Armbar, a new series which would feature matches taped specifically for the show and have a heavy focus on characters and plots. The show would be released as a series, with twelve weekly episodes in one season. The first episode is set to air sometime in April 2018.

ARMBAR on Demand also hosts shows from smaller independent promotions in order to give them exposure, and contains archived shows from the now-defunct Lionheart Wrestling, with events dating back to 1999 and ending at 2012. The VOD service also uploads individual title defences whenever an ARMBAR title is defended on another promotion's show, allowing fans to keep up with all title matches.

## Championships

### **ARMBAR British Championship**

Introduced at Chapter 1, ARMBAR's first show, the British Championship serves as their primary title and has been contested for across the UK as well as in Europe. The title is open to both male and female competitors, with no weight limit. Though it technically is a world championship, the name remains the British Championship to reflect ARMBAR's British roots.

### **ARMBAR Underground Championship**

The ARMBAR Underground Championship is ARMBAR's secondary title and is often competed for in the midcard, usually being the first title that Armbar Academy graduates challenge for. Introduced on August 16, 2015 at Chapter 12, the title was won by Aiden Everheart after he won a gauntlet to determine the inaugural champion.

### **EXCEL Cup**

The EXCEL Cup is an annual sixteen-man single elimination tournament, where the winner earns a cup trophy and a briefcase that entitles them to an ARMBAR British Championship match at any time of their choosing. It has been emphasised as a major tournament for the promotion, with main eventers and rising stars often competing in it. In recent years, international talent has also competed in the tournament, highlighting its importance to the worldwide wrestling scene and providing more competition for ARMBAR's roster.

### **Evolution Series Tournament**

A tournament designed to show off Armbar Academy graduates and propel them into the main event scene of the promotion, the Evolution Series is an annual eight-man single elimination tournament where the winner earns a shot at any ARMBAR championship of their choosing. Whilst it was initially limited to recent Armbar Academy graduates only, the tournament has since expanded to include rising stars from the UK and European independent scenes, regardless of their affiliation with ARMA.