By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
2017 started off as a potentially difficult year in the burgeoning career of Flash Morgan Webster. With seven years under his belt and an increasing resume of promotions looking to book him, the events of April 2016 appeared to have a knock-on effect with regards to Webster’s potential future in the industry. Not medically cleared to compete in the United Kingdom Championship Tournament following an injury in a Cruiserweight Classic qualifier against Zack Sabre Jr. at a PROGRESS show, Webster was forced to sit on the sidelines as many of the best wrestlers in the country were able to showcase themselves on the grandest stage available for some time. This might have shaken the resolve of many a wrestler trying to take the occasionally limited opportunities as they come, and understandably so.
Not Flash, however.
Fast forward a year and Webster was now able to call himself a full time professional wrestler (as of September), as well as threaten to lead the next pack of wrestlers from this sceptred isle who would break out across the world and show that the wrestling scene in the UK continued to produce global-level talents. When you end up touring with PROGRESS in America, as well as picking up bookings for promotions such as CHIKARA and PWG, your stock is definitely rising.
Unfortunately, Webster’s most recent US tour didn’t get off to the best of starts.
“My luggage went missing on the way out unfortunately. I had a new jacket and new boots for the trip and unfortunately they just got misplaced. I did the first night without anything; I also did the React fest without any of my gear as well.”
Thankfully for Webster, the issue was resolved by the second night, allowing him to focus on his own performances rather than his luggage, as well as giving him a chance to “see how much PROGRESS has grown and how the fans are appreciating and following the product.” Alongside his chances to wow the American PROGRESS audiences, Webster – like many a wrestling fan – took it upon himself to indulge in some of the other promotions that had turned the Wrestlemania weekend into a celebration of the sport in all its forms.
Citing the closeness of his hotel to where Beyond and GCW held their events over the course of the weekend, Webster was able to use this proximity to enjoy some of the finer shows that New Orleans had to offer. “We got to watch Joey Janela’s Spring Break, we got to watch the intergender show with Beyond Wrestling and me and Eddie popped out to Lucha Underground vs TNA…it was great to see everyone, all the houses were up, everywhere was full, it was great to see.”
As the questions continued to flow, this answer was indicative of Webster’s excitement for the health of the business as a whole. When speaking later about the impact of the United Kingdom Championship Tournament on the national independent scene, Webster was similarly effusive in his enthusiasm for how many fans were coming to shows, supporting their favourite wrestlers through buying merchandise, and allowing many promotions to thrive at this moment in time. Webster’s workload at times has been nothing short of impressive and testament to the excitement surrounding the British wrestling scene at this moment: “I’ve had it where I’ve done two weeks in a row where I’ve only had one day off…they’ve all been British shows, and they’ve all had incredible houses as well.”
It was a tournament that Webster had unfortunately missed; redemption of a sort found its way in terms of matches at Wrestlemania Axxess that allowed Webster to showcase his talents in front of a very different audience, whilst also getting a chance to peek behind the curtain of a WWE-branded event as he took the opportunity to learn from the biggest show going today.
“It meant a lot as they came to me/PROGRESS and asked for me to be a part of it, so it meant I was someone they were looking out for. It was good as well to be backstage and see how that works: I’ve had a try out in the past, but I’ve never been there during a live show going on … so it was interesting to see how that works…how instructions were given, and how agents worked backstage, and how it all came together.”
As well as getting an education backstage, Webster was able to take to the ring in front of a much more WWE-centric crowd than he would be tasked with engaging at a PROGRESS event. “It was good to go out there as an unknown, and by the end of the match they were all chanting ‘Flash Morgan Webster’, so it was a real test in that case.” A test that, like many of the challenges over the past two years, Webster had risen to. With continued discussions about WWE UK and an increased profile through his work with some of the premier USA independents, the likelihood of Webster wrestling more times under the banner of the WWE is one that seems an inevitability, rather than a stretch.
With Super Strong Style 16 around the corner – back in the UK which has ‘the best crowds in the world’ in Webster’s opinion, though American fans were incredibly receptive for a product they have limited chances to see – things turn to the next chapter in his career. A loss in the opening round of the tournament in 2017 then saw Webster tag with Mark Andrews on Night Two and make a hilarious addition to a Roy Johnson ‘Wasteman’ Challenge’ at the final show, with the latter two both being described as a lot of fun. However, with Webster still in and around the PROGRESS World Title picture, his sights are unsurprisingly set higher this year.
‘My eyes are really on that prize. I want to make sure I get past the first round and hopefully go on to lift the trophy.”
The challenge in terms of opposition is clear, with a big first round with Keith Lee the very real obstacle standing in the way. However, Webster was also clear about some of the challenges that lie ahead when organising a three day event of this magnitude: the need to offer a variety of grappling action for the tired (and more than likely hungover) fans who often turn up to all the shows if possible. With Flash planning to hit as hard and as fast on Night Three as he will on the opening show, you can expect excitement whenever he steps foot in the ring that weekend, especially as you have to feel he has all the tools to go far in the tournament.
Imagining the worst, an exit from the tournament, is not what Webster will be doing, but he was clear about who he felt were potential dark horses and dangerous opponents that might end up in his way.
“I think I’d be silly if I didn’t say Kassius Ohno. The man comes in with a wealth of experience, not just on the independent stage – he is one of maybe the best independent wrestlers of all time – but also now coming from the big leagues of WWE/NXT…he’s going to use all of his knowledge and all of his experience to make sure he goes very far in the tournament.”
Looking closer to home, Webster’s PROGRESS choices were the Grizzled Young Veterans – whichever one ended taking the spot. Citing Gibson’s run in one of the previous iterations of Super Strong Style as an indication that the Liverpudlian could definitely be an outside contender, Webster was quick to add that they’d have “something up their sleeve”, a belief that will be held by many.
Webster’s exposure to myriad promotions both local and international has seen him work with a variety of different wrestlers, with many vocal of their admiration for PROGRESS and their interest in the Super Strong Style 16 as the premier wrestling tournament and sequence of events. If Jonah Rock, a man who is making waves of his own from coast to coast, a man who has been involved in 16 Carat Gold and the Battle of Los Angeles, has SSS16 on his list, as well as other members of the world wrestling elite, it can only be a further ringing endorsement for a tournament that Webster dubbed ‘one of the biggest tournaments in the world’.
Whilst Super Strong Style 16 is the most pressing concern for Webster and PROGRESS at this point in time, it would have been remiss not to speak about Webster’s challenge for the PROGRESS World Title going forward. Having come so close to winning the gold from Travis Banks at Chapter 65, Flash can definitely still be considered a challenger for the belt, even more so if he makes good and wins the tournament. Who did he see being the champion by the time his possible next match for the title came around, with WALTER and Jack Sexsmith the next hurdles in Banks’ way?
“(Banks) seems to now be willing to do anything to keep that belt around his waist. At the same time, you also have WALTER who has been literally undefeated for almost a year…I’d be very surprised if WALTER doesn’t walk out the champion this weekend. As for Sexsmith, he is someone who is smaller than me, he doesn’t have as much experience as me. The man has heart in bucketloads, but I don’t know if that is enough to overcome WALTER.”
With a knowing sense of what that potentially implied – Webster had recently fought WALTER in a contest for another promotion, with the Austrian hitting him “harder than anyone has ever hit me before” – it was understandable when Webster bookended his predictions with a chilling statement for anyone wanting a shot at the PROGRESS Title: “The thought of WALTER as PROGRESSS wrestling champion is a scary thought… I love the man to pieces, but if I’m to lift the Super Strong Style 16 Trophy this year, I hope to God that WALTER is not the champion when I get the shot.”
No matter whether it is WALTER, Banks or Sexsmith who ends up PROGRESS champion in the future, it is the possibility of a championship belt around his waist that Webster sees as his ultimate goal this year. “I want to continue to build my brand, I want to continue to make sure more fans see me and I build that fanbase, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to lift PROGRESS gold at the end of 2018…I’ve been Thunderbastard winner, I’ve been Natural Progression winner, but I’ve never lifted gold.”
There is a warmth that permeates Webster’s responses throughout, especially as he speaks about the fans, but a noticeable desire creeping in the moment his attention focused on the chance to be seen as the elite wrestler in PROGRESSS. With a full time living being made off of a job he loves, Webster has already shown that his dedication and talent can carry him far. Next stop – Strong Style Super 16 Tournament winner? With the momentum he has built over the past year, I for one will not be betting against him.
