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Brawl disrupts 5 Star Wrestling press conference in Sheffield
Violence erupts at historic TV series launch
American star’s fury after rival stands up for Brits
Big matches signed for Liverpool and world class roster announced for FreeSports show
New Plymouth date added to historic arena tour also visiting Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Belfast, Aberdeen, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Dundee, Blackburn and Cardiff
Former WWE superstar Jake Hager was unveiled as 5 Star Wrestling’s big new signing and within minutes ended up in a fight with his first opponent.
The dual sports superstar formerly known as Jack Swagger brawled with Eddie Ryan at a press conference in Sheffield after ‘The English Lion’ was riled up by the American’s disrespectful attitude towards British wrestlers.
Former World Champion Hager, who has also signed for Mixed Martial Arts group Bellator, and Ryan went nose-to-nose before violence broke out.
Fists flew and Plymouth wrestler Ryan had to be dragged out of the media room as Hager was left trying to regain composure in front of the assembled press.
The 35-year-old from Oklahoma will make his in-ring debut for 5 Star Wrestling against ‘The English Lion’ live on FreeSports at the Liverpool Echo Arena on February 1. Also on the bill is 5 Star Champion John Morrison vs Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio vs 'Liverpool's Number 1' Zack Gibson.
Hager was unveiled at Monday’s press conference at the Fly DSA Arena and verbally?? tore into his British rivals, leading to violent scenes. Adam Maxted, Love Island reality TV star and pro wrestler from Belfast, was also caught up in the drama.
Richard Webb, operations director at FreeSports.
“It’s a really exciting time for us,” said Mr Webb.
“In September we launched our free-to-air sports channel. It’s currently in 18 million homes. Sky Sports are in six million homes and BT Sport are in six million homes but we can reach 18 million of the 26 million UK homes. We have a whole range of sports and will be live this year with more than 1,000 events - ice hockey, pool, rugby, football and wrestling. And it’s all free.
“The really great thing about this product is to have a live wrestling promotion every Thursday with big arenas and big budgets, a three-hour show. What’s not to like about it?
“We will also air repeats and cut the show down into a one-hour highlights programme to air on Saturday and Sunday mornings which I think will work really well.
“It’s a great opportunity for the channel. The audience figures are positive. Things are going in the right direction and it can only get better by adding 5 Star Wrestling. There is a huge wrestling following out there. The posts we have put on social media about 5 Star Wrestling, we’ve been blown away. We’ve had about a quarter of a million views. That really bodes well for strong viewing figures.
“We also plan to sell this product abroad. There isn’t a lot of live wrestling televised and there are literally hundreds of sports channels around the globe so this is a great opportunity to get this brand across the globe as time goes on.
“I can’t wait for the first show to happen in a few weeks’ time!”
