Leon Slater believes that the independent scene in the United Kingdom is on the rise once again.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Europe has one of the hottest independent wrestling scenes in the entire world. Promotions such as PROGRESS Wrestling, Rev Pro, Defiant Wrestling, Fight Club Pro, and ATTACK! Pro Wrestling were all drawing large crowds and generating a ton of buzz on social media.
That buzz began to die down after many wrestlers in the scene were outed in the Speaking Out movement, which essentially removed them from the professional wrestling scene. At the same time, WWE began to sign many major talents to contracts for their NXT UK brand, which even further haulted the momentum of the scene.
In 2023, the scene has began to pick up steam once again, as new and old companies have started to generate buzz with new talent such as Leon Slater, Michael Oku, Luke Jacobs, along with many others.
In a new interview with WrestlePurists, Leon Slater agreed that the scene is beginning to pick up steam once again, noting that he thinks the people who have been building it from the ground up deserve the most credit.
“For sure bro, 100%. To be honest, I wasn’t too much part of the scene before the pandemic, before everything got swept up by the big companies and stuff, but I watched it was a fan and I could see how the scene was buzzing. Every show was packed to the brim, seating was full, standing was full, venues were packed and I think it is getting to the point where we’re getting those draws back. People are really investing in what we’re doing in the UK and it’s not just because New Japan is coming here, it’s not because AEW is coming here. It’s because people like myself, Luke Jacobs, Ricky Knight Jr, the UK scene is popping bro and it’s not because of the people coming in, it’s the people that have been building it from the ground up and I’m super proud to be a part of that.”
In 2023 alone, Slater has wrestled for Rev Pro, PROGRESS Wrestling, NORTH Wrestling, Over The Top Wrestling, One Pro Wrestling, and TNT Extreme Wrestling.
Slater is set to defend the NORTH Wrestling Championship at an upcoming IMPACT Wrestling event in the United Kingdom. Fans can learn more by clicking here.
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