Jensen Ryan has become the PCW champion after successfully defeating Danny Disorder at CWP Wrestle Jam in Southampton on April 30th.
Jensen will be defending the title at Venom Wrestling- Pride and Honour on May 13th at the Empire Hall, Totton against James Cena.
So its official, 2023 has arrived and another great year is on the cards.
To kick off the new year, I will be appeared on the internationally known Dudes at Ringside Podcast on Sunday January 8th and 2.30pm est in the US and 7.30pm UK time.
It’s my first time on the show but I have followed the podcast for sometime and so excited to be finally joining them on air. Please tune in 🙂
On the 5th of January I will be appeared on That’s TV Solent in a segment at 5.30pm and 6.30pm about my journey in wrestling and the show for Peoples Pride in May. We need your support for this to make it a successful show.
And if that wasnt enough to kick off the new year, I also made my debut on Savage Pro Wrestling with a teaser for Season 2 and making it clear to Savago that I will make an impact!
Thanks again for everyones support….more news soon but as always appreciate the support.
With my last match done and dusted for 2022…and with another win, it’s time to reflect on all the exciting events of 2022.
Let’s go back to this time last year when I made it to 166 in the top 200 LGBTQ+ wrestlers list. A huge achievement just to make it on there.
This year the competition had doubled to over 500 wrestlers considered, but I was incredibly happy to make it into this years top 200 list.
My first match of the year was March as part of Project Venom for Quality’s show. Just being given a chance meant a lot to me and I wanted to make it count. I pulled some epic moves…a tornado DDT, Frog Splash…doesn’t sound much but it’s a long way up! Scoring the win for our team I felt pumped for more.
Later that month, I was filmed as part of a student documentary about wrestling. Becky travelled from London to film the interviews and to join me and James at a training session.
Little did I know that the match in March would make its way on to TV. After having a chat with Lewis from BBC TV, he joined me at a group training session to film a feature about me and my journey in wrestling. I nervously waited for it to be aired later that week. But he did an outstanding job.
Weeks later, Andrew from ITV joined me to film a feature covering the same story. Again, outstanding. I always said that my story about being a gay wrestler was to inspire people to do what they want to do and that wrestling was for everyone.
The features were hugely successful with messages of support from people across the UK, US, Ireland, Australia and even from the parent whose kids train at Quality. The support from other wrestlers was amazing too.
The features lead to radio appearances on BBC Radio and articles in the Metro, Daily Echo and Portsmouth News. I never thought it would spread that far but i was glad it did.
I stepped in the ring for a rumble match for SWF and Kapow and was so happy to see Lewis from BBC had come with his family. On this day I was also joined by David Mitchell who wanted to feature me in his documentary about equality, which is awesome! Make sure you check it out.
But my hardest challenge was yet to come. After having Covid for 10 days I was tested negative and got back in the ring but didn’t realise I was still unwell and that hugely knocked my confidence with thoughts of ‘is this right for me’ and ‘should I give up?’
Those who follow me regularly know I struggle with depression, and this was a bit of a set back but I was determined to get beat it
A week later I had another match for a kid’s birthday party. Feeling a little nervous I decided to go for it and the match was perfect, the kids (and adults) love it and the feedback was amazing which lifted my confidence.
Rolling on I had another match at a charity event with a well experienced wrestler. This would be a test for me but again, we smashed it and the feedback was brilliant and I pulled off a promo.
Things were going well, I did a few more kids shows, and I was testing myself more and more with moves I hadn’t done before.
The character of the Dark Prince, heel of face, had really grown and I travelled to Essex to take on my first match with GBWA. On arrival, the team there were extremely welcoming, and my first match was going to be a three-way match for the Immortal championship with champion Champagne Charlie and Johnny Royal.
What an excellent experience, both exceptional talents. I didnt walk away with the win but full of excitement for the next show.
Joe and the team behind GBWA are phenomenal.
The Quality Wrestling Halloween Show would see me against rival James Cena. This rivalry has spanned across the year and gained a lot of interest. We put on thrilling match with such positive feedback from everyone.
Once that match was over, I would run in to the 24/7 anywhere championship match where I delivered an RKO that Randy Orton would be proud of to win my first championship title.
I was extremely excited to be returning to GBWA to face Johnny Royal in a no DQ match. I was lucky enough to score the victory in hard fought battle.
I look forward to continuing to work with GBWA in 2022.
That winning streak continued with an epic win over James Cena in my final match of 2022
So, this year really has been an amazing year with so much progress that so many people commenting on how good my wrestling has become. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always room for improvement and still so much more to learn but those comments inspire me.
Each week I continue to go to wrestling training and work hard to improve be it at group sessions, private sessions or ring hire. I like to learn moves thoroughly before doing them firs time and hey, I may not get it perfect first time, but I will!
But that’s what training is all about, learning! We all have moves we do stronger than other moves.
One thing I learnt is that high flying moves are me. Tornado DDT’s, Springboard DDT’s, Frog splashes, Huriccarunners, triangle drop kicks….ive got them!
Those who follow me regularly will know I have battled body dysmorphia for many years. This year challenged me and wrestled in trunks…. apparently, they suit me! Still the doubts in my mind continue.
Rounding off the year was the Quality Xmas Party! Hugely fun as always. I got a little trophy for my efforts this year.
I was gutted to have not made the top 8 for 2022. These awards go to the top 8 who attend the most sessions each year.
But overall, what an amazing year it’s been. I can be incredibly proud to have achieved so much this year.
There were plenty of people who said I couldn’t do it but…. here I am! Giving it my all and challenging myself!
What does 2023 have in store, a few more promotions, wins and championships? We’ll see but until then, a huge thank you to everyone who continues to support me.
Its fair to say that no matter how much you prepare yourself and no matter how hard you try things can be slightly challenging.
Earlier this week I enjoyed being a part of the Quality Wrestling show in Havant. Having had Covid for two weeks it was touch and go to if I would be able to do the show but just 48 hours to go and I got the all important negative.
Anyone who knows me knows that I always give a million percent behind anything and I was raring to go, stepped in the ring but in any sport like this, theres always a chance you may get injured, but you know that when you do it and thats the risk you take to provide great entertainment.
All was going so well until a bit of an accident resulting in the back of my neck/ head taking one heck of a knock. It was an accident but left me dizzy and blurry eyed but somehow I still gave the match a shot, worse for wear and its fair to say looking back on it, you could tell something was wrong. It wasnt that I had forgotten anything at all, it was just a result of an accident.
But as they say, the show must go on and yes, there were a couple of slip ups which only a couple of peers noticed but in true Jensen spirit, I still continued with the match with no idea who or where I was! even I have no idea how I continued! Some how you find the fight to continue.
The important message here is that accidents happen in wrestling, but you continue through it. Yes I was disappointed with some of the slip ups but considering the condition I was in and still feeling the affects of Covid I still gave a decent match and a good shot no matter the slip ups!
Thanks to everyone who noticed something had happened. I appreciate it and the support as always has continued to be amazing.
This July I will be back in action with Quality Wrestling at the Superheroes and Villains day where I will be the Prince of Pride against Alexander Murdock.
It all takes place on July 3rd at Havant Leisure Centre and you can get your tickets directly from http://www.qwrestling.com
As lock down continues, many of us are struggling with things. Whether its financial, jobs or mental health, the pandemic has probably impacted everyone in one way or another.
These strange times give us time to reflect on things and one of the things that I have always supported is anti-bullying. No matter the reasons, no matter who you are, bully is never OK and never justified!
Most importantly, I wanted to do something I have never really done is share the accounts that I have suffered personally in the hope that in some way, I can help others.
As a child I experienced years of bullying for no apparent reason. Many people will probably think that this was at school, but actually it was the street I lived in. For years, teenagers who were much older than me felt it was justified to bully me and family. The relentless bullying, name calling every time we left the house and even from them outside the house shouting names and threats and over the fence whilst we were in the back garden were constant, but not just one person but by many!
What did we do to cause this…..the simple answer is nothing. On regular occasions it resulted in not just name calling but things being thrown and physical contact. There were times my parents would come out to take us in to stop it and would also get abuse thrown at them.
This went on for years and even people who were ‘friends’ soon jumped ship to join in. There were times where I wanted to move away to get away from it all. One of the biggest events was an unprovoked attack by one of the bullies who jumped me whilst I was doing my paper round. Luckily, someone saw it and came out the rescue.
There was the next problem, the bullying then became a feature of my paper round which wasnt even in the area that I lived in, although not overly far off.
For much of this it would be hard to go anywhere for fear of abuse, being followed whilst having names thrown. There was one nickname which they felt was necessary to insult us with time and time again to the point where they would mimic sounds and behaviour of that animal in a bit to bully.
As a child it was hard to comprehend why they did this, the reasons and why our tears and having to stay indoors didnt make them realise their actions were causing hurt. But it made life as a child particularly hard no matter how hard my parents tried, it just never stopped.
The next fear I has was that it would be spread to school and people would find out. Luckily, I went to a different school so that didnt appear to happen.
I am sure that many have experienced something like this but in addition to this I want to remind everyone that some times bullying isnt as obvious as it seems.
In year six I had a teacher who also felt that it was OK to bully and she was the deputy head! In this instance she felt it was OK for me to rub the board clean each day. OK, so that not so unusual right?
How about this, this teacher made me sit at a desk facing away from the rest the class looking out the window. She then put me on different levels of subjects with no support and no time given to help.
Whilst everyone else was able to answer questions, check if they were correct for us three it was entirely different. We were clearly treated differently and for no reason. She then said that I wasnt worth teaching because I would never get anywhere. Why would you say that!
I decided to write about my accounts because I want those who did this to understand just how hurtful it can be and that despite everything, the pain, the upset and everything else I was determined not to let it hold me back.
I hope that responsible read this and understand that what they did was not OK and it was not right and to realise how it felt to be treated in such cruel ways but ultimately, it hasnt stopped me going out there, having a successful career in L&D, Radio, event management and wrestling.
So, if you are being bullied you’re not alone and dont hold yourself back no matter how hard it may be. If you have bullied or you are doing it think about your actions and the trauma it causes.
So 2020 has been erm….well need I say? But despite all the events in the world there have been some positives!
2021 will be another challenging year and it will be the year I build muscle, continue to develop wrestling skills and get out there and do shows!
Fitness and wrestling are my passions and I will achieve them, it just takes times, support, patience, hard work and a good diet! But I have plans for that too!
Let’s make it work! Keep the support going! Thanks all!
As you know, I have been on a mission the last few years to get fitter and that journey has been fruitful.
There are many who doubt I could do this but they journey isn’t stopping. It’s progressing and it’s getting better everyone!
From going for runs to weight workouts I’ve got to keep pushing myself more more!
Achievement never came easy!
In the past few years I have become somewhat of a fanatic about fitness. It’s something many of us strive for but it’s easier said than done right?
Busy lifestyles leave us little time, bust work lives and well, just the year of 2020 need I say more!
Still, I have continued to challenge myself with at least one gym session….and often two and I feel the progress is starting to show!
It’s hard work and now as I continue my challenge I want to try to build the muscle meaning a stricter diet and a whole lot of support.
After all, without support can you really do it? It’s going to be tough but with the support of my husband this is something I want to do and want to win and I’m going to keep you updated on my like page and YouTube page!
At the end of the day, we all have different goals we like to hit in life. This is mine, to beat body dysmorphia!
Lockdown has been a huge test for all of us and it’s til not over! My challenge was to keep active and workout.
I have continued to workout, even in the heat of the sun and tried to maintain a healthy diet.
Now, I want to push myself further and do thinks like never before. Tougher weights, tougher challenges and so much more.
This month I challenge James (Raphael) to a wrestling match. It was our first match together and proud to say that I won.
Getting in the ring was a major mission for me and I have enjoyed it. There’s so much more to to but I am looking forward to it.
Jensen Ryan 