Paige Brearley

The Universe Is Theirs    When you look at the landscape of professional wrestling, as fans we’re pretty lucky. As bad as things can be, in and out of the ring, there is a lot of good wrestling can bring; for me one of the best things it’s brought is British Strong Style. Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, and Pete Dunne have been some of the brightest spots in this crazy wrestling world.    Looking back at their beginnings as a trio, they’ve certainly made names for themselves. From taking over Progress Wrestling to their dominance in WWE, British Strong Style has shown why they deserve to be at the top of every card. There is just something about them, together or apart, that screams star power. With a bruiser, a big strong boi, and a don they rather deserve some spotlight.    Of course British Strong Style didn’t start off as a trio. Initially Trent and Pete were out to takeover the world themselves. After being in tag teams for most of their careers and not getting the recognition they thought they deserved in singles competition, it was time to make everyone take notice. British Strong Style was built on the foundation that they were tougher, smarter, and stronger than every other team out there. By any means necessary Trent and Pete were out to prove what British strong style actually was and along the way take whatever gold they could, its just business. You weren’t meant to agree with their tactics, I mean the way they dropped their former tag team partners was pretty harsh, but you weren’t meant to agree with them.    I disliked Trent for a while for punching Tyler in the face the way he did, I mean it was Moustache Mountain! It was a shocking moment, but thinking back on it, Pete and Trent made so much sense to start a new era in Progress, in UK wrestling. They wanted Progress fans to truly know what strong style meant, they couldn’t do that with their original tag team partners or so we thought. Trent and Pete would go on to win the Progress tag team shields at Chapter 36, with the help of a cricket bat. Now the tag team shields were cool and a nice beginning to taking over Progress with the real strong style, but in a takeover you don’t stop with just one division.    Luckily for British Strong Style their opportunity to win the Progress Championship came about due to an injury to Mark Haskins. Three chapters after winning the tag team shields, both Trent and Pete were in an elimination match, winner walking away with the title. Having the numbers advantage is always helpful, but when Trent Seven gets eliminated by the longest reigning champion in Progress history, Jimmy Havoc, that left Pete in a predicament, or did it? Unfortunately for Jimmy, Pete always seems to have a plan and that plan happened to involve Tyler Bate. Tyler’s involvement allowed Pete to become the Progress Champion, his “ticket” to bigger and better things, which we all knew he was destined for.    While Tyler’s involvement was surprising at the time, it definitely made sense. Yes, Trent turned on Tyler that was best for business at the time, but businesses grow and change all the time, chapter 39 was Tyler’s time. The minute Tyler turned his moustache down, he made a deal that completely changed his relationship with the fans, but happened to be the best thing for him. In their promo explaining their actions after walking away from the Electric Ballroom with all the gold, Pete mentioned the  Progress title was well respected and it would be what he leaned on to sign a contract and get the hell out of there. Same could be said with the tag shields, just another step to going to a bigger company. How could Tyler pass up the opportunity to join that, he couldn’t. Whether you liked it or not British Strong Style was making names for themselves everywhere. Bringing Bate back into the fold gave them added strength, youthfulness, and just added back up when it came to the rest of the wrestling world.    With British Strong Style riding on cloud nine in Progress, it seemed like nothing would bring them down. For awhile this held true, they continued dominating and kept their titles;I mean if Trent Seven kept bugging me about getting actual tag titles, I’d finally give in too. We all go through seasons though and as much as it would have been cool, BSS couldn’t stay on top of the Progress world forever; eventually CCK and Travis Banks would take the titles and a little of the spotlight as BSS took care of other business.            In my opinion, if British Strong Style didn’t join forces when they did, they may not be in the positions they are today. Yes, they were always standouts when it came to just fans in the UK and surrounding areas, but now they are globally known. I mean making that WWE money will do that and they absolutely deserve the recognition they are receiving now. Its been a long time coming. With the WWE UK show now in full swing there is more opportunity to snatch up gold and fans wherever they go.    As I look back, Pete’s championship reign in Progress as one of my favorite BSS moments. I know his OTT reign was a big deal, but I didn’t start watching him for that, this Progress reign was where I really decided Pete Dunne was my favorite wrestler in the world. Maybe he’s my favorite wrestler because he truly believes he is the best in the world. He is the best in the world, I mean as he says the world is his. Pete and his desire to be the best have been one of the biggest constants of BSS. Yes, the three men in the stable haven’t changed. Yes, world domination is still what they are all about, but Pete and his constant desire to be the best wrestler in the world have never faltered.    Tyler has grown up so much since the start of British Strong Style. I remember being in the crowd for a match of his at Full Sail University, he was UK Champion at the time and I remember thinking how much he had already changed. It wasn’t that he was older, it was that he was soaking up so much wrestling knowledge and applying it to his craft. He has evolved, while still being this twenty one year old kid.    While Pete may be the constant of the three, Trent Seven definitely brings the fun to the group. He’ll always be serious when necessary, but I can’t imagine a Trent promo without some sort of joke to get a little laugh. Without Trent to cut promos, I think BSS would have lacked a huge part of what makes them, them. There is something about Trent’s voice that makes you pay attention. Now every time I watch a Trent match, I am reminded, yes to take things seriously, but always have a bit of fun too. He’ll always be serious and get things done, but will always make it a fun time.    British Strong Style have continued to grow and make names for themselves in plenty of companies, including: Fight Club Pro, Rev Pro, OTT, etc. The way they carried themselves as being better than everyone and their hard work, got them to WWE’s doorstep. They’ve held titles all over the world, they’ve proven their worth, when it comes down to it BSS time and time again make sure no one forgets them. Something tells me their reign over Progress isn’t done quite yet, find me after Wembley is over and we’ll discuss.    As a fan of BSS, I feel like I’ve gone through a lot with them and I haven’t even been watching for terribly long; looking back at their beginnings to see how far they’ve come is pretty cool. Feeling slightly angry Tyler would go back to them, but loving that Tyler wasn’t seen as just this really young kid at the same time. Watching Pete grow from the dynamite young kid to the bruiserweight to, what I consider, the most dominate wrestler in WWE. Seeing Trent be appreciated by so many people all over the world. All of it has been a really cool roller coaster, that I now feel slightly apart of. No matter what happens with me and my relationship with wrestling, I am always going to be proud of these three lads from the West Midlands and I will always want the absolute best for them.    I have British Strong Style to thank for, well a lot. Before becoming a British Strong Style fan, I didn’t totally know my place in the wrestling community; I don’t have it completely figured out, but getting there because of them. I have friendships I otherwise would have never found, all because I’m a British Strong Style fan. That doesn’t seem like a lot, or may be not even something to thank them for, but without BSS I may not be where I am. They have been a constant source of happiness for me in really rough times, just by pressing play on any of the on demand services their matches may be on. For the past year or so, watching the growth of BSS has been nothing short of amazing. Progress Wrestling tag team champions, Fight Club Pro tag team champions, champions in ATTACK, and of course holding gold in WWE. British Strong Style keeps conquering new things and ticking goals off the list. If you ask me where I see them this time next year, the answer will be the same: The universe is theirs and always will be.