In news that will have many of the world watching, PROGRESS Wrestling announced today that the dual championship reign of WALTER (current World and Atlas Champion) will come to an end.
The PROGRESS Wrestling Atlas Championship has been retired. In its place is one of the most unique championships in all of professional wrestling today…..The Proteus Championship.
This championship is unique as the titleholder will be able to set the stipulation of the title match every time they defend said championship. In the tweet that announced this earth-shaking news, PROGRESS Wrestling co-owner Jim Smallman explained that the champion could turn the championship into “a hardcore title, a hybrid rules title or even a dance-off title”
So… about that landscape-changing announcement we promised you… 15th Sept. @yourallypally. Tickets: https://t.co/ApY6UIrL2s #ThisIsPROGRESS pic.twitter.com/q8YJkBYX6O
— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) July 21, 2019
The first-ever Proteus champion will be crowned at Chapter 95: Still Chasing, on September 15, at the Alexander Palace, London, in the first-ever Rumble to be held in PROGRESS Wrestling history.
There have only been five Atlas Champions in the company’s history. Rampage Brown was the inaugural champion, winning the title in September 2016. Current NXT star Matt Riddle dethroned Rampage and carried the championship across the globe. WALTER and Riddle played hot potato with the championship over the summer of 2017. The Ring General vanquished Riddle in September 2017 and held the belt for eight months before vacating it.
British legend and veteran Doug Williams won the championship in a four-way in May last year and carried the title all the way to the biggest show in PROGRESS’s history….Chapter 76: Hello Wembley, held at Wembley Arena in London. There he dropped the title to NXT UK star and member of British Strong Style, Trent Seven.
Trent called out current PROGRESS Wrestling World Champion WALTER for a unification battle over the Super Strong Style weekend in May of this year. Seven lost the match and the championship to WALTER.
Blake’s Take: Although the news is big, the news of the Atlas championship being retired isn’t. It’s been kicked around online for a few weeks now. What is huge news is the concept of this new Proteus title. Personally, I like it. It’s a revamp of the “champions advantage” isn’t it? The “champion won’t lose the title on a DQ or countout decision”. Here the champion calls the shots (as they should) and makes everyone step up to his level. Chapter 95 is shaping up to be very good already!
