PROGRESS Wrestling take another stride forward in raising the profile of independent wrestling on these shores when they hold their annual Super Strong Style tournament at the iconic Alexandra Palace in London, this Bank holiday weekend.
It will be the second time the company runs an event at 'Ally Pally' - following on from last year's big September show.
This time, however, in preparation for their huge show at Wembley Arena in a few months time, the best independent wrestlers from around the world will compete in a three-day event - with the winner receiving a PROGRESS world title shot.
The growth of PROGRESS since its inception in 2012 has been nothing short of meteoric and the opportunity to perform at Alexandra Palace once again is one that tag-team champion Zack Gibson, who featured on the very first show six years ago, cannot wait for.
"I'm really looking forward to it," he told SPORTbible.
"I'm one of a handful of guys that was there on the first show that are still there now so I have been with the company and watched them grow to the position they are in now.
"It seems like every year we have to look around and think, 'can it get any better than this?' - for example when we were in the Garage the crowds were mental and then moving to the ballroom we're thinking, 'this is it!'.
"Then we ran Brixton Academy, Ally Pally was amazing the first time but now we're running it for three days back to back.
"And then sure enough we've got Wembley at the end of the year so the company is obviously doing something right and it's just boss to be part of it really."
There's a case for PROGRESS being the hottest independent wrestling promotion in the world today, with there being regular sold-out shows in London, Manchester and Birmingham in addition to events in the United States, as well as a recent tour of Australia.
While Gibson and his cohorts always felt their work warranted a better quality platform, he expresses his delight over the level British wrestling has reached and says the fans have played a pivotal part in PROGRESS 'path to the upper echelons of the indie scene.
"All of us had confidence in the scene and knew that we deserved these levels of recognition, but it's still mental that we are actually getting them. You don't always get the plaudits you deserve whereas for once it feels like it [the UK wrestling scene] really is getting it.
"It's no surprise that shows of this calibre are getting looked at in the way that they are but it's pleasant to see it actually pay off.
"A lot of the time there's some great things that people don't notice, people's attention is elsewhere or due to a lack of marketing and they just get ignored or stay as hidden gems.
"Whereas PROGRESS didn't stay hidden for long at all - that's credit to the guys that run it and credit to the fans who were very vocal about spreading the word. We wouldn't be in the spot we're in without the support of everyone who is so passionate about the company."
'Liverpool's No.1' has been around for a fair amount of time and has been involved in a good portion of PROGRESS' most memorable shows, matches and moments.
But he feels as though his work in the 'Grizzled Young Veterans' tag-team alongside James Drake, his long-time friend with whom, he runs a training school with, is some of the best he has produced.
Some wrestlers may take that as a step forward, but Gibson and Drake have put the work in and are now the promotion's tag-team champions.
"Every year we're trying to push ourselves and try to do something either different or better than the year before. I've been doing this for 12 years now -last couple of years in PROGRESS I was doing some singles stuff and then in the faction with 'The Origin'.
"We were doing some really good business and it just needed a slightly different angle on it to keep it fresh and to keep it relevant - I had just come out with the team after it fizzled out a bit and they offered me the chance to move into this tag-team with Drake.
"The actual main event scene had a couple of moving parts so rather than float around up there, they offered me the tag - and at the time me and James had just set up our training school in Liverpool.
"I've known him for 12 years because we met when we both started so rather than just do a half-arsed team where we splice a few of our moves together and see how it goes, we took a step back, practiced a load of our stuff at training stuff and are constantly putting thought into this.
"We go the gym together four times a week anyway so we just put everything in together and obviously it's paid off. We're carrying the division at the moment, flying out to China and America to defend the belts.
"Some people can see getting put into a tag team as a demotion but it is what you make of it basically and I feel like both of our stock has gone up again."
My first introduction to Gibson came at a 5 star wrestling show in January 2016, where he took on Big Damo, now Killian Dain in WWE, in his hometown at the Echo Arena.
Calling his opponent a "sweaty gimp", he worked as the hometown hero. Yet every time I have seen him since, he has excelled as the villain, generating heat like you've never ever seen before.
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"I think it just comes naturally. I was born with this face so there's nothing I can do about that unfortunately. The way I look, and even the way I wrestle, I think it just translates better as a villain.
"In the UK, with the football culture, it's so easy for someone from Liverpool to be a villain but on top of that my wrestling style better suits being a base and centering the match around that.
"A lot of people can go out there with an accent and get heat but I like to think it's so much more than that. I've been to China and America and still got booed, Denmark, Germany - they don't care about Scousers as much as us so there's more to it than a funny accent
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"But at the same time it makes the job a lot easier when people in Liverpool love you and people who aren't, for whatever reason, seem to get their back up!"
When Gibson gets on the mic to cut his pre-match 'soon to be recognised as the world's number one' promo, his words are drowned out with boos, he's pelted with toilet roll and chants of 'where's my car stereo?!' ensue.
However, the 27-year old laps it up and loves every single bit of it.
"Most places where I go generally really like Scousers and really get on with them. Part of that is that they love taking the piss out of them and it makes for a fun atmosphere.
"When I walk out I can see people jeering and getting riled up but they don't do it in a super aggressive way. This face, this voice and everything lends itself to being a villain but I can work the other way if need be."
Gibson, who has a degree in accounting and finance, had always harboured hopes of working for the WWE and his dreams were realised when he wrestled at Axxess over Wrestlemania weekend in New Orleans.
He had done bits of extra work previously but this was him in a WWE ring as Liverpool's No.1.
"It kind of goes without saying, I would imagine 99 per cent of wrestlers would admit that their goal when they first got into wrestling, especially in the modern era, was to wrestle for the WWE.
"That was my goal. I've been extra talent on a couple of shows - there's a few pictures of me and a few of the lads as Rosebuds.
"But this was the first time I stepped into a ring as Gibson in my own gear and wrestled on a WWE event. It was a massive step in the right direction for me and a big landmark in my career. It was a bit unreal really - I've rubbed shoulders with these guys before but not in that capacity.
"I'm hoping that this leads to bigger things and hopefully this is just the first step and hopefully you can ask me in a few years what it was like debuting on a main show."
While he wasn't able to officially confirm he had signed with WWE's UK brand, Gibson did say that he is looking forward to working with them again in the future.
He penned a deal with ITV as a part of the 'World of Sport' reboot in a bid to raise his stock and get firmly on WWE's radar, but WWE launched their UK project at the same time and things didn't play out how he would have liked.
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"The deal with ITV was for nine months so in wrestling nine months just flies by, it's no time at all. Since I hadn't heard of any concrete plans with WWE UK, I thought I'd use ITV to raise my stock and then hopefully - because I knew I was getting quite close - that would be the catalyst that forces their [WWE's] hand and gets me in.
"The timing couldn't have been worse. I'd signed with ITV and almost moments later they announced they wanted to do it and I missed out. It was never promised to me but I'm fairly confident I would have been involved in the first tournament - I've had conversations with a few people.
"When they were talking about making it a series, it was still along the lines of, 'let's make the most of this' - get as much exposure as we can, with the ultimate goal being using it to elevate my stock and then jumping ship. That was always what I was going to do and I wouldn't keep that a secret from anyone.
"Unfortunately that isn't how it worked out. They got in to bed with IMPACT wrestling, communication between the two didn't go well and it all broke down. The ITV roster were just sent back to the independents with nothing, we didn't get any sort of compensation whatsoever - not that we were promised it.
However, in a way it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Gibson as he set up his training school alongside Drake and has got the point where WWE are keeping a close watch and he's now one of the leading contenders to be in the UK King of the Ring tournament in June.
"You can sit at home and moan that you've missed out or you can just get out there and try and do something else.
"The original 5 star tour was lined up around the same time so in one swoop quite a few of the roster lost ITV and a good pay-check from 5 star. A lot of people were gutted about that so I just went back to the drawing board.
"It was actually the cancellation of ITV and 5 star which caused me to set up my training school in Liverpool with JD so out of that came one of the best things I've ever done - that's now a really healthy business and it's also improved my own wrestling through it.
"Now I work two or three days a week there and even though ITV was cancelled, I went on to have the best year of my wrestling career and that's put me into a position where WWE are knocking on the door.
"Hopefully when WWE UK comes around, and the tournament comes around, I'll be one of the names in the tournament."
One of the most impressive aspects of the UK brand is that they are giving the talents a lot of freedom and letting them project themselves as the wrestlers they are - not making unnecessary tweaks and changes to their characters.
For Gibson, it's a big factor as to why WWE's product was received so much better than the ITV 'World of Sport' New Years' Eve special.
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"I think it's massively important. All you need to do to see the importance is look at the two previous shows - look at the original ITV product and the WWE product. From a wrestling standpoint, I think there was a clear winner from all the feedback I saw.
"There was a lot of hype surrounding WWE UK because it was a much more wrestling-centered product; it was more authentic. Even with casual fans, people aren't stupid - they see through acts and recognise what's real.
"It just comes down to WWE having the best wrestling brains in the back, where they can look at someone like Pete Dunne and realise that he's a star on his own. They don't need to change him.
"Lesser minds may have thought, 'we can stick a leather jacket on him, that'll be funny' - whereas WWE have recognised that he has his whole persona down to a tee; it's Pete turned up to 11. That alone is money and it's paying dividends. The top five [wrestlers] over there are doing some amazing business and can do no wrong at the minute."
When asked the clichéd but key question of who his dream match in WWE would be, it's a toss-up between a guy who he came up with in Jack Gallagher, signed to the Cruiserweight division, and his childhood favourite Jeff Hardy.
"I never thought that when I got into wrestling I'd be backstage with a load of my friends so now I'm in a position where we rode the NXT talent bus to Wrestlemania.
"If you would have told me that 10 years ago, I would have been thinking I'd be trying to integrate into an American locker room whereas I was sat there with guys I've known for years - the current NXT champion is Aleister Black, who toured the UK and indie scene for a good two or three years.
"So half of the roster we know now. I would consider matches with guys that I've known to be on that platform and be a bit of a dream match.
"One in particular that I'm looking forward to working with is Jack Gallagher. We both came up together, I was one of the groomsman at his wedding last year and we've had a little storied series of matches. That is one of my dream matches; to work with Jack in that environment.
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"And then just ticking off my favourites from when I was 10-years old - my three favourite wrestlers for whatever reason were Billy Gunn, Jeff Hardy and Rob van Dam.
"I've wrestled Billy Gunn in London, I've wrestled Rob van Dam three or four times now so I guess the one left, and he's back working singles, would be Jeff Hardy. Then I've sort of completed wrestling."
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