Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Chris Ridgeway Breaks Silence on PROGRESS Return After Three-Year Absence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QRV32NkUzo
Former PROGRESS World Champion Chris Ridgeway has officially broken his silence ahead of his in-ring return at Chapter 181: Far From Ordinary People, marking his first match for the promotion in over three years.
Ridgeway was last seen in a PROGRESS ring during his 2022 Super Strong Style 16 victory, a weekend that culminated with him holding both the PROGRESS World Championship and the GHC Junior Tag Team Championship. While it was a defining moment in his career, Ridgeway has now revealed that his personal life at the time told a very different story.
“Some of my best memories, some of my best matches – they’ve happened in a PROGRESS ring,” Ridgeway said in a recent video statement. “But at the height of it – after I won Super Strong Style 16 and stood there with two championships – the reality was, I was living out of a suitcase. I was at rock bottom.” Despite the success, Ridgeway admitted he was battling privately through a difficult period in his life.
Following his title run, he stepped away from PROGRESS, travelling internationally to compete in a wide variety of wrestling environments. In his words, this journey allowed him to "rebuild" both as a performer and as a person. Ridgeway now returns to face the man who won this year’s Super Strong Style 16 tournament, Man Like Dereiss, in what is already being billed as a clash of eras and attitudes at Chapter 181.
“You know what it’s like to be on top of the mountain,” Ridgeway said of his upcoming opponent. “You’ve got that fight in you. That fire. I respect that. I see that.” “But don’t mistake honesty for weakness. I’m more dangerous than ever. More scientific. More clever in the ring than I’ve ever been.”
Ridgeway vs. Dereiss takes place on Sunday 29th June at the Manchester O2 Ritz — a city that Ridgeway calls home. For Dereiss, the match is a chance to assert his status as PROGRESS's present. For Ridgeway, it’s a shot at proving he’s still very much part of the company’s future.
Updated Card for PROGRESS Chapter 181: Far From Ordinary People
PROGRESS World Championship: Luke Jacobs (c) vs. Cara Noir
PROGRESS Tag Team Championship: The Sunshine Machine (c) vs. Lykos Gym
Pick Your Poison Match: Lana Austin vs. Kanji
Pick Your Poison Match: Nina Samuels vs. Shotzi Blackheart
Four-Way Match: Simon Miller vs. Jack Morris vs. Ethan Allen vs. Charles Crowley
Singles Match: Alexxis Falcon vs. Hollie Barlow
Singles Match: Man Like Dereiss vs. Chris Ridgeway
Chapter 181: Far From Ordinary People takes place Sunday 29th June at the O2 Ritz in Manchester. Bell time is 3:00 PM BST. Tickets are on sale now at progresswrestling.com/tickets
