Rampage Brown is making a welcome return to PROGRESS for this year’s Super Strong Style 16 tournament. He joins Travis Banks, Jon Gresham, Chris Ridgeway and Sonico as the field fills out further. Rampage was last seen in a PROGRESS ring at Chapter 100 where he teamed with Dan Moloney in a losing effort to Trent Seven and Tyler Bate. That appearance marked the first time in well over a year that the big man had wrestled for PROGRESS. The last time Rampage was entered into the Super Strong Style 16 tournament was 2016, which is the event I am currently reviewing in my weekly column The PROGRESS Prerogative.
Rampage has a long and storied history with PROGRESS and it will be tremendous to see him playing a big role in the May event. Alongside Nathan Cruz and Mark Haskins, he was a member of the anti indy faction Screw Indy Wrestling. During his time with that group, he would hold the PROGRESS Championship for several months. Before being unseated by Mark Andrews. A babyface turn saw the Leeds man soar in popularity. And he would remain near the top of the card despite a noticeable lack of titles.
That would all change when PROGRESS introduced the Atlas Division, specifically created for wrestlers over 205 lbs. Created as a piece of counter-programming to WWE’s new Cruiserweight division, the Atlas matches would affectionately be termed ‘big lads wrestling’. In September 2016, Rampage would become the inaugural Atlas Champion by defeating Joe Coffey at Brixton Academy. He would host an Open Challenge at each Chapter until he would drop the belt to Matt Riddle.
Rampage’s appearances since that loss to Riddle have been sporadic, dropping in when needed. A fantastic wrestler and presence, hopefully, his entry into SSS16 marks a full return to PROGRESS for Brown. I wouldn’t bet on him winning the whole shebang, but a good run would be good news for all concerned. Super Strong Style 16 takes place at Alexandra Palace from May 23rd until the 25th.
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