It’s finals time as the winner of British Boot Camp 2 was crowned!
We open up with footage of Rampage, Kay Lee Ray, and Mark Andrews arriving at the arena. They’re at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina at a show that was used to tape a bunch of episodes of Xplosion… we get a montage of the series so far, as we’ve got three “final” matches that will go some way to influence the winner of the series. Jeremy Borash and Spud are on commentary, as ever.
Bram vs. Rampage Brown
Oh hey, we get some ACTUAL Hatebreed! After overdubs and whathaveyou, this caught me totally by surprise.
Bram (in a past life) had wrestled Rampage plenty of times, and wrestled as a team when they were both in WWE developmental a few years earlier, so these guys aren’t strangers to each other. We’ve got shoving to get us going, as I laugh at the “generic fan sign” in the background. Shoulder tackles from Bram led to him getting dumped with a back elbow, before Rampage forced a way in, landing some forearms to take Bram into the corner. Bram recovers and pulls Rampage to the outside, and stayed on top of the Yorkshireman from there, at least until he got caught with a dropkick.
The pair trade shots, until a clothesline from Rampage found a way through… a shoulder tackle off the middle rope nearly puts Bram away, but a comeback sees Bram pull Rampage down for a near-fall. Bram heads up top, but got caught by Rampage and was superplexed back into the ring for a near-fall… but Bram’s right back and puts Rampage away with an implant DDT. Decent enough, with Rampage getting plenty in before he came up short. ***
After the match, both Bram and Rampage put each other, with Bram suggesting Rampage should be brought in with him as a team.
DJ Z vs. Mark Andrews
We start this one with DJ Z taking Andrews into the corner, stomping a mudhole in him as Spud brought up their different tastes in music.
Some misdirection on the ropes saw Andrews catch DJ Z with an elbow, before armdrags and dropkicks took DJ Z outside. A dive to the outside misses its mark, as Andrews instead rolls up the apron to ‘rana DJ Z on the floor. Inventive! Back in the ring, DJ Z hangs up Andrews on the top rope as he tried a springboard, before a baseball slide caught Andrews on the floor. A stomp from DJ Z back inside gets a two-count, as Andrews gets stretched, before some running knees in the ropes trapped Andrews. After a break, Andrews fights back with forearms, only to get pancaked on the mat as DJ Z looked for a springboard moonsault… but landed in Andrews’ knees! Andrews fights back with a springboard armdrag, following up with a wheelbarrow bulldog and a standing moonsault as Andrews almost snuck out the win.
Andrews takes too long to follow up with a shooting star press though, and gets crotched on the top rope by DJ Z, who looked to bring him back in with a superplex. It backfires as Andrews shoves him down, only to miss with a shooting star press as a turntable DDT gets DJ Z the win. Great stuff here given the time – a fun TV match, with Andrews more than holding his own. ***¼
Gail Kim vs. Kay Lee Ray
It’s a tough test for Kay Lee Ray, as the only finalist facing one of the judges…
The pair share a handshake at the bell, before the opening lock-up saw Gail grab a headlock, then a wristlock that forced Kay Lee Ray to try and roll free. Gail keeps it on though, before catching Kay Lee with a wheelbarrow roll-up after the Scotswoman had gotten free. A ‘rana follows from Kay Lee, as does a springboard forearm out of the corner as she got a near-fall. Gail tries a diving crossbody after she sent Ray into the corner, but Kay Lee side steps as Gail crashed and burned onto the ring steps. Measuring up her next move, Kay Lee doesn’t rush out with a dive, instead waiting for Kim to get to her feet before leaping outside with a tope.
After a break, we join the pair back inside as Kim elbows away Kay Lee, before she rushed in with some headscissors into a mounted armbar… which turned into a sunset flip for a near-fall. Gail stays on Kay Lee with bodyscissors, but Kay Lee hit back with a seated surfboard a la Liger. She lets go when the submission wasn’t forthcoming, and instead heads up to the top rope for a missile dropkick… but Gail hits one of her own as the pair crashed into each other in mid-air. Gail’s back up with a clothesline and an armbar DDT, before a crossbody nearly got Gail the win. Eat Defeat’s blocked as Kay Lee countered into a Gory bomb, but she can’t make the cover as Gail rolled outside… where she swatted away another tope from Kay Lee!
Rolling Kay Lee back inside, Gail gets another two-count, before Kay Lee hit back with an enziguiri… only to see a second Gory Bomb countered into Eat Defeat for the win. I absolutely loved this – like the other finalists, Kay Lee Ray had time to shine, but in the end her own style cost her as that second dive proved to be her downfall. ***¼
After the break, we’re taken to Dixie Carter’s place as she welcomes the final three to talk over their run in the competition so far. There’s “one other surprise”… somehow, Grado, Dave Mastiff and Noam Dar found there way there, which makes it awkward as Mastiff and Andrews are matching again.
Dixie tells us they only meant to bring four across originally, but they brought all six instead for the US-portion of the show. They’re all booked for 2015’s Maximum Impact tour (I mean, Grado’d already talked his way into a match on the tour, which Dixie confirmed here). Before Dixie announces the winner, she asks the three finalists individually to plead their cases.
Mark Andrews wants to reinvent the X-Division to give back to the wrestling community… Kay Lee Ray says that “working for TNA will be the biggest thing I’ll ever do” (ahem!), while Rampage Brown was pushed to react to the situation, as he told Dixie he was here to make money in wrestling. That didn’t seem to sit well…
We then get the final reveal, as Dixie deliberated before announcing that Mark Andrews won the contract. Cue “Mark on the phone to his mum”, seemingly at stupid o’clock in the morning in Wales, before we got a montage of Andrews to close the show out as he looked forward to his newly-contracted life…
Compared to the first season of British Boot Camp, this was a much better format – and one that didn’t feel like it had as much dead air to it. The opening episodes, which introduced the characters, gave just about enough of an idea of who everyone was, while putting plenty of spotlight on the guys who would ultimately go the distance.
When this aired in 2014, I remember there being a bit of backlash over the Grado storyline and how that meshed into the supposedly-real contest that was going on. In the end, it didn’t really matter to the result, but for some it was comic relief that quickly wore thin.
Like in season one, here’s “where everyone is now” from those who were identified on the show (at least, as of May 2020, with thanks to Cagematch), and my word, this looks interesting in hindsight.
Mark Andrews: After appearing on the 2015 UK tour in matches that also included Rockstar Spud and Jeremy Borash, Andrews relocated to America and became a part of the full-time TNA roster, skateboarding his way to the ring. His two years in TNA saw him appear on TV somewhat infrequently, and after returning to the UK became a regular with PROGRESS and ATTACK! once again before signing for WWE as part of their 2017 United Kingdom Championship Tournament, and he remains there to this day.
Kay Lee Ray: Appeared on Xplosion matches taped during the 2015 UK tour… but didn’t make any further appearances for TNA, instead working tours of STARDOM while staying mostly in Europe working for ICW, EVE and Southside, before appearing on TV as part of the World of Sport reboot… which then led to her signing for WWE, where (at time of writing) she’s the NXT UK Women’s champion.
Rampage Brown: Much like Kay Lee, Rampage only ever worked those 2015 tapings, and hasn’t been brought back. Post-TNA, Rampage has remained in the UK, working for the likes of PROGRESS, PCW, Defiant/WhatCulture and NGW, and even had a spot in the ITV WOS Wrestling reboot as well.
Grado: Ironically, out of the six finalists, Grado perhaps had the best TNA run of them all. Beating Al Snow in their big grudge match in Glasgow, Grado would appear on the main roster in the summer of 2015 as part of TNA’s World Heavyweight Championship Series. He’d return in 2016, “winning” the Feast or Fired match that caused him to, erm, be fired, before returning under a mask as “Odarg the Great”. He’d stick around until late 2018, last appearing on the Impact tapings in Mexico, losing to Maximo Sexy. A pretty good run for a guy who Al Snow wasn’t convinced “had it”…
Noam Dar: Same story as almost everyone else – did the 2015 UK tapings, then nothing else for the company. Noam really landed on his feet though, appearing in the Cruiserweight Classic (qualifying by beating Josh Bodom at Rev Pro) the following year, and ended up getting signed full time for the launch of the cruiserweight-only show 205 Live. He’s since been moved to the NXT UK brand, being a regular before the pandemic hit.
Dave Mastiff: You know what happened next with TNA. Nothing. It wasn’t like the veteran Mastiff would be hurting for work though, appearing regularly for PROGRESS, Rev Pro and IPW before getting signed up for the launch of NXT UK.
Simon Lancaster: “The One”’s Cagematch looks a little light – but at least as of last year he was still working, appearing regularly for the British Wrestling Revolution promotion in Lincolnshire.
Joe Vega: Was last seen training for a comeback, having last wrestled for RISE in Leeds in June 2018.
Priscilla: Having been wrestling since 2004, Priscilla’s last “big” appearance came towards the end of 2019, getting some coverage from the BBC while working on Rev Pro’s contenders shows.
Sebastian Radclaw: No longer wrestling (last appearing for ATTACK! in 2016), the man who used to have a Skat Monkey now works in the media, appearing on local channel Bristol TV.
Nikki Storm: While TNA may not have happened, things worked out alright for Nikki Storm, as she remained in the UK working for the likes of ICW, EVE and IPW. She even had a tour of STARDOM. Oh yeah, then got signed by WWE in 2016, being renamed Nikki Cross as she’d become part of SAnitY in NXT, before moving up to the main rosterm where she’d go on to win the women’s tag team titles at WrestleMania in 2020.
Mr. Tank: Still going strong, per a sparsely-updated Cagematch page, with Cumbria’s Target Wrestling being his most recent destination.
Viper: That knockback from TNA is pretty much a distant memory, especially given how big a part of ICW Viper became. Frequent tours of STARDOM would follow, but Viper’s career would follow a similar story in this piece. No, not winning the EVE title at WrestleQueendom 2 (and losing it moments later)… she’d get WWE attention, appearing in 2017’s Mae Young Classic, before being a part of ITV’s WOS Wrestling… and then got signed permanently in 2019 to the NXT UK roster.
Melanie Price: Still a part of the UK scene, regularly appearing last for Ironfist Wrestling.
El Ligero: Impact may not have called, but Ligero certainly didn’t go quiet, becoming the iron man of Britwres with an absurd number of booking every year, appearing for the likes of Southside, PROGRESS and WCPW before… yep. He got signed to WWE in 2018 ahead of the launch of NXT UK.
Heather Schofield: While I’ve not been able to find anything about her in-ring career, Heather trained with Futureshock, then with Marty Jones, before taking part in a WWE tryout in the summer of 2019.
Matt Fox: While mostly appearing for the RWA in the north-west of England, Fox is still going strong – even if there’s no Cagematch profile for him.
Pyro: Still going, but has tweaked the character slightly as part of the TNT roster in Merseyside as “Black Pyro”…
Baby Face Pitbull: Also still going, but according to his Cagematch page, mostly appears in Wales and north-west England for the likes of Britania Wrestling.
Kris Travis: Originally one of the final six, Travis was forced to withdraw from the competition after being diagnosed with stomach cancer weeks after the York Hall tapings. While Travis initially beat cancer and made a comeback – to the point where he produced an audition tape for WWE’s reboot of Tough Enough in 2016 – the cancer sadly returned, and claimed Kris’ life in March 2016.
Cyanide: In spite of the TNA knockback, Cyanide’s still going strong today – and has travelled the world in doing so. While the north west is his base, Cyanide’s appeared in Germany (for NEW and GWP), Pakistan and Holland… and has also made it to TV as the masked Crater as part of the WOS Wrestling reboot.
Nordic Warrior: “Sorry, but this profile has been removed at the request of the worker.” Fair enough. Apparently hasn’t been active since 2017, having largely appeared for Futureshock until then.
Lana Austin: Still going strong, as the current FutureShock women’s champion at time of writing. Lana’s 2020 saw her take a brief trip to Japan before the pandemic shutdown, working some matches for Tokyo Joshi Pro against Yuka Sakazaki, after having gone to a time limit draw with her for EVE earlier in the year.
Unnatural Disasters – Bulk & Karn: A veteran of the British scene, albeit probably not a name many “Internet fans” will have heard of, Bulk’s still going in 2020 as one half of the UK Pitbulls. Karn, on the other hand, I’ve not been able to find any sort of trace of…
Martin Stone: A slight variation on the regular story – while Stone didn’t work that UK tour, his hopping between the US and the UK meant that he stayed on TNA’s radar, and appeared as part of their 2015 Gut Check pay-per-view, beating Jessie Godderz before losing in the five-way final that featured (among others) Dalton Castle and the future Tanga Loa. Continuing to go back and forth across the pond, Stone found himself in the weird situation of being somewhat of a regular on NXT house shows, while also working indies. That came to an end in 2018 when he signed full-time with WWE, and after initially appearing on NXT UK, is currently hopping around WWE as part of a tag team with Oney Lorcan, using his WWE name of Danny Burch.
Kasey Owens: Impact might not have worked out, but Kasey’s gone from strength to strength, appearing regularly for ICW and EVE, winning the women’s titles in Southside, BEW and ICW, along with EVE’s International championship before the big shutdown…
Leah Owens: While Leah’s had a tour of STARDOM with sister Kasey, her career’s been on pause for the last few years, having blown out her knee in a ladder match at EVE’s first WrestleQueendom show in 2018. Before then, Leah had largely been teaming with Kasey, but had enjoyed a long run with the Spanish RCW promotion’s women’s title.
RJ Singh: Still wrestling and teaching in 2020, RJ lost a career vs. career match to Stixx in PROGRESS not long after that TNA tryout… and after commentating for PROGRESS for ages, returned to the ring in 2016 for the likes of IPW and Rev Pro. Another brief retirement followed at the end of 2017, but RJ returned months later, and still appeared somewhat regularly for London’s Battle Pro.
Jerry Bakewell: One half of the Fabulous Bakewell Boys, Jerry has since carved out a niche for himself as a wrestling/singing/comedian. Once part of the Buffet Club with, among others, Gene Munny, his Cagematch looks deceptively light, but has wrestled Timothy Thatcher and David Starr in recent years, and after appearing on PROGRESS’ Unboxing show at the end of 2019, won the Pro Wrestling Clash championship on their final show.
Steakly Bakewell: The other half of the Bakewell boys may well have gone under some other names and characters, like a darts player beloved in Ireland. He last appeared in 2017, and was killed off by OTT in Ireland as he “swam the Irish sea” and was never seen since.
William Eaver: While his British Boot Camp appearance came in his rookie year, Eaver’s gone on to some degree of notoriety. A former PROGRESS champion, Eaver’s floated around that promotion and was last part of the DNR faction before he was unbooked from the promotion.
“Buff Daddy” Johnny Rocket: The only trace I could find was that he was working Rev Pro’s Contenders-level shows up until 2017.
Scorpion: Having mostly done smaller shows, Bill Duffy seemed to wind down his career, ending with Norwich’s WAW in 2017…
Chuck Cyrus: Actually, some idea here. Cyrus is still going strong away from the higher profile UK indies; he was last a part of WrestleTalk’s “No Fans Monday” card at the start of the pandemic.
Louise Jane: At least on the promotions that Cagematch tracks, Louise Jane has popped up in recent years, beating Jayde in Pro Wrestling EVE in June 2018 as part of their short-lived SHEVOLUTION “developmental” shows, before appearing in the Rumble at WrestleQueendom 3 in January 2020.
Richard Parliament: While he was one-and-done with TNA, Parliament stayed around the British scene, mostly appearing in promotions in the south-east such as DOA, FPW and the XWA, Parliament has stepped away from wrestling and is now produces regular YouTube videos as the Top Hat Gamer.
Joel Redman: Staying in the UK for many years after his appearance in British Boot Camp, Redman would go on to be a fixture in Rev Pro, holding the tag titles there on three separate occasions, and was mostly working on the holiday camp circuit before a surprise tour with All Japan in April 2019 for their Champions Carnival. He impressed enough to be brought back twice more that year, and was to have appeared in 2020’s Champions Carnival before it was cancelled.
Sha Samuels: Last, and by no means least, Sha Samuels is another one that’s been around for a while but is still going strong. He’d been around for a decade when TNA called, but since then he put his roots down in Europe, having held the Rev Pro tag titles for a combined total of over 500 days, while also winning tag team gold in ICW, OTT and PCW. Having done NXT UK dark matches, Sha ended up being ordered to rest to heal up injuries, and was moving into commentary before the big shutdown.
So there you have it. That’s everyone who either got a name check or was at least identifiable in some way…
There was to be no third season of British Boot Camp, despite it drawing pretty solid ratings (reportedly around 100,000 viewers a week), as TNA’s focus began to shift. 2015 would be their last regular tour of the UK, with 2016’s UK tour being a mixture of tapings for TV and PPV as crowds began to dwindle (to a respectable 4,000 inside Wembley Arena, compared to over 7,000 some six years earlier). Of course, back home in the States, TNA was in an absolute mess, changing their name repeatedly (from TNA, to Impact, to Global Force, then back to Impact), while similarly channel-hopping around five channels in as many years as the promotion looked to stay alive.