5 objectives that DEFIANT Wrestling must meet in 2018

DEFIANT Wrestling is a British promotion originally from Newcastle, England founded in May 2016 with the name of What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW), officially renamed to DEFIANT in December 2017.

In such a short time of existence, DEFIANT has managed to make a name in the British wrestling circuit and some of the best talents in the world have come to fight in their shows.

Part of the key to success in DEFIANT has been the availability of their content on YouTube, where fans been able to watch all their episodes for free on Fridays, as well as a contest called Pro Wrestling World Cup, which could also be seen live for free on YouTube, both its qualifying stage and the final stage.

In this article, I present five things that DEFIANT should do in 2018, in order to consolidate in the UK and continue to accumulate fans around the world.

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#1 Make the female division grow

Nixon Newell (today in NXT) was the first female champion in the history of the promotion.

Before current champion Kay Lee Ray, the women's championship was first held by Nixon Newell (today on NXT) and then by Bea Priestley. These two were protagonists of the first great female rivalry with really memorable combats. Despite the quality of the matches, today, the members of the women's division can be counted on the fingers.

With all the emerging British talent (both male and female) it should not be very difficult to increase the number of wrestlers to form a strong female division.

#2 Martin Kirby as Champion of DEFIANT

Martin Kirby was crowned champion in No Regrets 2017. His reign lasted only one day.

In the short history of DEFIANT, Martin Kirby has been involved in some of the most important events and his popularity has catapulted him to be the babyface of the fans. Kirby won the Championship at No Regrets on April 29, 2017, after winning a 30-man Battle Royal, when he eliminated Joe Hendry. A day later, he lost it to Hendry after the referee claimed he could not continue.

Kirby was also General Manager and during his stay in that position, the KirbyMania event took place. His last appearance was in the first PPV, where he fought against Joe Hendry and Marty Scurll in a triple threat match for the DEFIANT Championship, which was won by Scurll.

His popularity is incontestable and his work since the start of the company deserves a true reign.

#3 Second edition of the Pro Wrestling World Cup

Will Ospreay vs. Kushida was the final of the first edition of the Pro Wrestling World Cup.

Pro Wrestling World Cup was the equivalent of the FIFA World Cup for wrestling. This event brought together the best wrestlers on the planet in 2017. It all started with the qualifying stages. The great wrestling circuits in the world (England, Scotland, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Japan and the United States) had their own qualifying phase.

There was also a qualifying stage named Rest of the World that brought together wrestlers from Australia, France, Wales, Hungary, India, New Zealand, the Netherlands and South Africa.

The success of this competition was not only due to all the talent that participated. In the cases of Scotland, Canada and Germany the qualifying stages were carried out in those same countries after collaborating with other local promotions. Also, the entire qualifying stage, as well as the final phase, was available for free on YouTube, as we have already mentioned.

If DEFIANT Wrestling decides to organize a second edition, not only should it propose to overcome what has been done, but its objective should be to consolidate an international contest with fighters from all continents. Countries such as Australia, Chile, Spain, India, Peru, Puerto Rico and South Africa should even have their own qualifying stage.

The fans of each country would not only be interested to see the best wrestlers of their country in an event of this magnitude, but they would also discover what Defiant is and why it has become so famous and known in such a short time of existence.

#4 Stu Bennett's match

Stu Bennett, general manager of DEFIANT, together with former champion Marty Scurll

After the arrival of Stu Bennett as General Manager, it was decided to rename the company as Defiant Wrestling and the first PPV: We Are Defiant was carried out. In that event, the arrival of Austin Aries was announced, who later took the title after defeating Marty Scurll and led an invasion of IPW (International Pro Wrestling) to DEFIANT.

This story of the invasion and rivalry between two promotions sooner or later will lead to a feud led by Bennett. We have to remember that Bennett was, in the WWE, Intercontinental Champion, a winner of King of the Ring, and winner of the first season of NXT.

A possible match between Bennett and Aries could be the main event of a decisive PPV in the short history of DEFIANT. No one doubts Bennett's quality and his return to the ring would attract the attention of many fans around the world.

#5 Consolidate a great PPV

Chain Reaction will be the first PPV of the promotion in 2018 and will be starred by the current champion Austin Aries

Since its founding, the promotion has had a strong pool of talent and has wisely combined great international stars with local British figures. From all this talent we can draw one of many conclusions: DEFIANT came to the world of wrestling to make history and its goal will be to grow and always do better.

This first major PPV could have as main event the first match of current general manager Stu Bennett and could even be the end of the war between DEFIANT and IPW. For those who do not know, IPW is a British promotion founded in 2004. Despite not being very popular all over the world, IPW has accumulated a loyal number of fans throughout the UK.

In short, DEFIANT has had a really incredible growth in such a short time and if the owners of this company maintain the ambition, DEFIANT could become one of the most important promotions in the world. At that time, fans would not have to look only at what WWE does in the United States or NJPW in Japan, but also what DEFIANT does in the UK.