The British Beat – Ricky Cortez Passes Away
*** Ricky Cortez, son of former star Dave George, has died at the young age of 38. While not widely known among the mainstream public, Cortez had become a regular on the holiday camp circuit working for grappler-turned-promoter Brian Maxine.
*** The annual British Wrestler’s Reunion is set for August 10. Among the honorees this year is Ray Plunkett, a long-time fan and historian whose collections of posters and results have proven invaluable for those tracking the British industry’s past. The event, as usual, takes place at The Bridges pub (run by Wayne Bridges) in Horton Kirby, Kent.
*** The XWA promotion is running a two-day course teaching wrestling production skills, including camera work, editing and storylines. The 14-hour course takes place in Morecambe on the weekend of 13-14 September and costs £70. It will combine the wrestling know-how of XWA staff with the technical experience of film company Workshop Productions.
*** The UK Pitbulls, strong contenders for Britain’s leading tag team of recent years, have announced their retirement from in-ring action. The brothers, ‘Big Dave’ Waters and Bulk (Mike Waters) were regulars for the WAW group along with countless other promotions. While normally playing the role of monster heels, with a billed combined weight of 900 pounds, the pair did pull off working as babyfaces on their own shows run to raise funds for charity. Dave also competed in strongman contests and a serious injury to both knees in a recent contest led to the retirement.
*** Mark Sloan, who has trained many of today’s up-and-coming stars, has announced he will no longer charge a booking fee to work matches. Instead he will only require travel expenses and instead asks promoters to make a donation to charity in return for his services. Sloan, who promoted the recent NOAH show in Coventry, wrote “Wrestling has granted me such opportunity and through hard work has provided me with a living and a lifestyle that I am lucky to posses and after consideration it is time to give back.”
*** The recent Lucha Libre London show proved a great success with reports crowds approaching 2,000 at all four events. Promoter Ruben Cordero told Britwres.com that a return visit is looking likely.
*** All Star Promotions have cancelled their show scheduled for Bournemouth next Thursday (31 July). The group will now run two replacement dates at the Pier Theatre venue on 4 August and 21 August. They’ve also added a dozen dates across the country for next February.
*** The Dropkixx promotion runs its annual all-shoot show this Sunday. Unlike traditional pro titles, the group’s championships are not ‘defended’ on its live events in worked matches. Instead, the titleholders win their belts in a legitimate tournament held at the group’s gym each summer. Matches are held along the lines of amateur wrestling rules, but with submission holds also allowed. Bouts ending with no pin or submission are scored on points; a drawn result leads to a sudden death decider where the opponents both take a bear-hug style hold which must not be broken, and the first to hit the floor loses.
*** Doug Basham is currently touring the UK. After a bout with Martin Stone (for IPW-UK) last weekend, his next major date is this Sunday when he takes on Doug Williams for WAW-UK. The match takes place at the Marina Centre in Great Yarmouth where the promotion will run every Sunday until 7 September.
*** Premier Promotions is to hold a four-man tournament under the Mountevans rules on its 4 September Worthing show. Mark Haskins, Marty Scurll, Wade Fitzgerald and Joel Redman will compete for the Ian Dowland trophy, named in honour of fan Ian Dowland who is celebrating 50 years as a ringside regular.
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