How the British scene is changing perceptions of professional wrestling

Tom Dawkins himself appears to be an integral part of that change.  Described by fans as being “an amazing talent with a brilliant wrestling brain,” Dawkins’s contributions to the British wrestling scene in the past few years are compelling.

He said: “When I first started out, over 12 years ago now, wrestling was taught as a sport and not as an art form.” His artistry and background in both ballet and mixed martial arts birthed his in-ring character and alter ego Cara Noir, a mysteriously grandiose embodiment of everything beautiful and tragic.

He comes out to the ring performing a famous pas de trois from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and unfurls his black wings as if to embrace the audience. And to warn his enemies. His in-ring explosiveness and methodical offensive style are the peak of professionalism and are instrumental tools in completing the Cara Noir character. From his high-impact corner dropkicks to his deadly package piledrivers, Cara Noir is a must-see wrestling sensation.

In regards to who or what Cara Noir is, Dawkins remarked: “Cara Noir as a character is the best and worst parts of me as a person and I am allowed to express myself fully on this stage that we call professional wrestling.”

Dawkins and Noir’s breakthrough came in 2019 at Riptide Wrestling in a slobberknocker of a match against Newcastle superstar and current All Elite Wrestling World Trios Champion PAC. Dawkins remembers the match fondly. In September of that same year, The Black Swan would fly into PROGRESS Wrestling and embark on a series of hard-hitting and grueling matches with current WWE superstar Ilja Dragunov where they traded victories back and forth. In January 2020, at PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 101, Cara Noir would vanquish Dragunov, Kyle Fletcher and Paul Robinson to become the PROGRESS World Champion. He would go on to hold the title for 791 days, the longest reign in the company’s history. 

As live audiences slowly returned, Noir’s wings in PROGRESS were finally clipped. Last year, he would lose the PROGRESS World Championship to Ring of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham and the looming, ever-present shadow of the Sovereign Lord Spike Trivet would eventually consume him. After losing an “I Quit” match to Trivet, Dawkins was stripped of his Cara Noir character and forbidden from using any of his moves as Trivet would go on to capture the prestigious gold himself later on.

Black Swan no more, Dawkins’s story in PROGRESS is up in the air. Will he give up and walk away or will the wings of Cara Noir grace the ring again? 

One can never be sure with professional wrestling.

Outside of the busy schedule of a professional wrestler, Dawkins spends time with his family, works with an APPG set on bringing change to the UK wrestling industry and runs courses as a trainer at PlayFight Wrestling School in Woolwich, London.

He speaks about the latter with immense pride.

“We’ve only been open for about a year and a half. We’ve had Nina Samuels and Anthony Ogogo train with us regularly. A lot has changed. I felt there was more opportunity to help the UK brand of wrestling during the pandemic.” 

In regard to his students, Dawkins was adamant: “Give it a couple years, they will be the main event.”

Among PlayFight’s trainees is The Suplex Merchant Alf Edwards, “a small angry fella who just likes to throw people around.” 

Only in the world of British professional wrestling will you find such an interview introduction.

Edwards began his professional wrestling career at 18 and has been training for 4 years, making waves in UKPW and has ambitions to wrestle for some of the country’s top promotions later on. 

His impressive grappling, explosive wrestling arsenal and powerful suplexes make him a joy to watch in the ring. You would not want to be launched across the ring by him. 

On the public perception of the art form, Edwards echoed the ideas of his trainer: ‘’Wrestling is the only thing there is of its kind. People believe that wrestlers and fans think it’s real so they have this inherent need to tell you it’s fake.

“It is as real as anything else! You have to condition your body to take bumps and to be able to last in the ring.” 

The Suplex Merchant then proceeded to elaborate on some of his biggest bumps, including an example of taking a superplex off the top rope through a table which refused to break. 

Despite the demanding lifestyle of wrestling and hitting German Suplexes left, right and centre, Edwards would not have it any other way.

He said: “Honestly I think it’s one of the best decisions of my life. I’m really enjoying it and since I’ve started, I have never looked back!’’

PlayFight is also home to Dalton Harfield, AKA Aiden Whyte, The PT of Professional Wrestling. 

Aiden Whyte is here to make all of us everyday losers a little less pathetic. He has wrestled for UBW, Square One and will be appearing at TIDAL Wrestling this year.

He’s a braggadocious villain with an immensely effective striking background that makes your toes curl. Having done boxing in the past, Harfield has successfully incorporated his conditioning and lifestyle into his wrestling persona. 

He happily said: “I’m a heel through and through! It’s fun being booed out of the building! It means I’ve done my job right!’’ 

In similar fashion to his peers, he stressed out the crushing demands of the lifestyle and the reality of pro wrestling beyond the public perception. 

“I’ve been at PlayFight for a year now and I’m driving from Surrey to attend classes. I’m extremely lucky to have my fiancé by my side who has always supported my ambitions in the business.

“I don’t see why anyone would take this up without being 100% serious about making it.”

Harfield would go on to elaborate on the status of the UK wrestling scene and its focus on long-term storytelling, bringing up the PROGRESS storyline between Cara Noir and Spike Trivet as an example. 

He said: “No one knows what’s gonna happen there! They are keeping that under lock and key. Long term storytelling is mainly for the fans! It’s a surefire way to get someone invested.” 

And despite his heelish antics in the ring, The PT had nothing but praise for his fellow wrestlers: “The talent you see is unbelievable right now. It’s a new chance for everyone to show what they got and the future is looking very bright!”

As the UK comes out of a pandemic and into a cost-of-living crisis, its professional wrestling scene is attempting to restructure itself to provide a compelling and accurate reflection of everyday life through its brilliant personalities and magnanimous antics by slowly and surely changing the way that people view the medium. It’s not the 80s anymore and wrestling knows this. In this way, it has become similar, relatable and human. Humans love nothing more than a compelling story. If you’re a fan of Swan Lake, you might just also be a professional wrestling fan.