Difference between revisions 878504102 and 897585360 on enwiki

{{primary sources|date=May 2007}}
{{Infobox Wrestling promotion
|name        = NWA UK Hammerlock
|image       = NWAUK.png
|caption     = NWA UK's logo
|acronym     = NWA UK
|established = 1993
|folded      = 2012
|style       = [[Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom|British Wrestling]]<BR>with modern influences
|location    = [[Kent]], [[United Kingdom]]
|founder     = Andre Baker
|owner       = Andre Baker
|parent      =
|sister      =
|formerly    =
|website     =
|}}
'''NWA UK Hammerlock''' was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[professional wrestling promotion]] based in [[Kent]].

==History==
Established in 1993 by former wrestler turned promoter Andre "Sledgehammer" Baker, it is one of the [[National Wrestling Alliance]]'s territories. For many years the [[National Wrestling Alliance|NWA]] had shunned [[Europe]] because it recognized a rival World Heavyweight Championship based in the UK (recognized by [[All Star Promotions]]), but in the late 1990s, the UK Hammerlock became a member of the NWA, opening Europe to its influence. The Hammerlock wrestling school has produced some of the top names in England ranging from former NWA World Heavyweight Champion [[Gary Steele]], [[Doug Williams (wrestler)|Doug Williams]], Johnny Moss, [[Fergal Devitt]], [[Rebecca Knox]], [[Katie Lea]], [[Zack Sabre Jr]], Danny Garnell, Kenny Rock, Danny Williams (Andrews) and many more.
 
Probably the biggest event in Hammerlock's history came in 1999, when the promotion's top star, Gary Steele, defeated [[Naoya Ogawa]] to win the [[NWA World Heavyweight Championship]]. Gary Steele also made appearances for the Japanese promotion [[Pro Wrestling Zero1|Zero-One]] on their PPV supercards "Fighting Athlete" in March 2001 and True Century Creation II in March 2002. NWA-UK Hammerlock generally run shows around the Kent area, but have been known to put shows on around the Essex area, Wales, Cumbria etc. The promotion also has training schools in Kent, Coventry, Scotland and Dublin.

The promotion would also branch out after the turn of the century, setting up a sister operation, known as '''NWA Ireland''' as well as gain a working relationship with the Scottish Wrestling Alliance.

Hammerlock training school graduate [[Fergal Devitt]] is their biggest success currently a member of [[WWE]] under the name of Finn Balor. Devitt currently competes within the Raw brand and is a one-time Universal Champion. Prior to this, he wrestled for several years for [[New Japan Pro Wrestling]] (NJPW) under the ring name of Prince Devitt, winning their singles and tag team junior heavyweight titles on numerous occasions. Graduates Paul Tracey and "Rudeboy" Peter Jay have also embarked on campaigns to the [[United States]] both taking notable stays at New Japan's L.A Dojo.

UFC Hall of famer Dan 'The Beast' Severn also held the promotion's [[NWA United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship]] while on tour with the promotion before losing it to Johnny Moss.

The NWA-UK Heavyweight title's biggest exposure in recent times was when Scottish Wrestling Alliance presented the Gathering from the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena in Glasgow, Scotland in front of 1,700 fans. Conscience retained his NWA-UK Heavyweight title against [[Doug Williams (wrestler)|Doug Williams]] in the main event. Also on the show was a [[NWA Scottish Heavyweight Championship]] match, [[Jack Jester]] defeated "Vigilante" Johnny Moss by pinfall to capture the title. Jack becomes the 8th champion.

Hammerlock stopped running events in 2007 and officially folded in 2009.  In 2010, Hammerlock Wrestling founder Andre Baker committed suicide, aged 45.

In June 2011 NWA UK Hammerlock officially reopened its doors with a memorial show to its late founder Andre Baker, run by Hammerlock graduates Tony McMillan and Dean Champion. They ran primarily in Essex and in Tonbridge, Kent. 

In 2012 Hammerlock Wrestling left the NWA and the promotion ceased operations in the same yearUK Hammerlock was established in 1993 by Andre "Sledgehammer" Baker. For many years the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA) had shunned [[Europe]] because it recognized a rival World Heavyweight Championship based in the UK (recognized by [[All Star Promotions]]), but in the late 1990s, UK Hammerlock became a member of the NWA, opening Europe to its influence.

NWA-UK Hammerlock generally ran shows around the Kent area, but have also put shows on around the Essex area, Wales, and Cumbria. 

The promotion also branched out after the turn of the century, setting up a sister operation, known as '''NWA Ireland''' as well as gain a working relationship with the Scottish Wrestling Alliance.

The promotion stopped running events in 2007 and officially folded in 2009. In 2010, Hammerlock Wrestling founder Andre Baker committed suicide, aged 45.

In June 2011 NWA UK Hammerlock officially reopened its doors with a memorial show to its late founder Andre Baker, run by Hammerlock graduates Tony McMillan and Dean Champion. They ran primarily in Essex and in Tonbridge, Kent. In 2012 Hammerlock Wrestling left the NWA and the promotion ceased operations in the same year.

==Training school==
The Hammerlock wrestling school has locations in Kent, Coventry, Scotland and Dublin. It has trained many wrestlers including [[Gary Steele]], [[Doug Williams (wrestler)|Doug Williams]], [[Fergal Devitt]], [[Rebecca Knox]], [[Katie Lea]], and [[Zack Sabre Jr]].

==Championships==
{| class="wikitable"
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Championship:
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Last champion(s):
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Previous champion(s):
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Date won:
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Location:
|-
|[[NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship]]
|Pat Guenette
|Stew Korvus
|July 09, 2016
|Rivier du Loup, QC
|-
|[[NWA United Kingdom Heavyweight Championship]]
|Phil Boyd
|Danny Garnell
|November 10, 2012
|Tonbridge, Kent
|-
|[[NWA United Kingdom Junior Heavyweight Championship]]
|Beau "The Show" Jacks
|
|April 4, 2009
|
|-
|NWA Ireland Heavyweight Championship
|Paul Tracey
|
|
|
|-
|NWA Ireland Junior Heavyweight Championship
|[[Jordan Devlin]]
|
|May 28, 2006
|
|-
|NWA Ireland Tag Team Championship
|Adam Abz & Ross Browne
|
|
|
|-
|[[NWA Scottish Heavyweight Championship]]
|Eric Canyon
|
|February 26th 2011
|
|-
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Professional wrestling}}
*[[List of National Wrestling Alliance territories]]
*[[List of professional wrestling promotions in the United Kingdom]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nwahammerlock.com NWA UK Hammerlock home page]

{{National Wrestling Alliance}}
{{Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom}}

⏎
⏎
[[Category:British professional wrestling promotions]]
[[Category:National Wrestling Alliance members]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:2009 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]