A British professional wrestler is in talks with potential backers to secure millions of pounds in funding for a revamped European series that will aim to capitalise on the sport’s British fan base.
Sky News has learnt that Ben Webb, who participated in the WWE franchise under the name Trent Seven, is working with advisers to raise about £5m to help build Project Fight into “Europe’s number one televised wrestling brand”.
Mr Webb has enlisted Oakwell, the sports advisory firm which is also working on efforts to attract private capital into British cycling, to advise on the fundraising and the development of the new product.
Money latest: Christmas chocolates nearly double in price but shrink in size
The Project Fight team is said to have held discussions with Sunset+Vine, the production company and Paramount, the owner of Channel 5 in the UK, about collaborating on the new venture.
Talks with prospective investors are understood to have been underway for weeks.
If successfully secured, the new funding would be raised at a pre-money valuation of roughly £10m.
Strawberry fields forever? The West Sussex farm growing berries in December
Average house price falls by around £6,700 in a month; what markets expect from Bank’s rate decision | Money
Blackrock arm in talks to back Six Nations Rugby investor
The capital would allow Project Fight to break even in its third year, according to its architects.
Mr Webb said the project’s ambition was to “transform the UK and European professional wrestling landscape and create a business valued at over £100m over the next five years”.
It comes amid burgeoning interest in wrestling among international audiences, with Netflix drawing nearly 5 million global views for the debut of its RAW wrestling event in January.
Meanwhile, All Elite Wrestling, founded in 2019, has a US broadcast deal with Warner Bros Discovery said to be worth at least $150m annually.
Research suggests that up to six million people in Britain alone consider themselves to be wrestling enthusiasts, with Project Fight aiming to tap into that base and bridge the gap between die-hard and casual fans, while also aiming to support the independent wrestling scene.
“I built a company from a disused scout hut with 40 friends and family in the crowd and grew it organically to thousands at the NEC, all over the UK, Japan, Mexico, USA and the world, and it helped changed the landscape of British wrestling,” Mr Webb told Sky News.
“There is a huge, passionate professional wrestling fanbase in the UK that lacks a domestic promotion to follow and is underserved by existing promotions.”
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Mr Webb is a former two-times Tag Team Champion in WWE with 16 years’ experience wrestling across the world for WWE, AEW, TNA, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and other backers.
He also owns the Fight Club Pro brand, which has staged shows at the Birmingham NEC, as well as in Tokyo, Mexico and the US.
Project Fight’s advisory board includes Roger Draper, former chief executive of Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association, and Peter Angell, the CEO of Sunset+Vine.
The venture is also formulating a broader content distribution strategy aimed at utilising wrestlers’ existing social media followers, and content-sharing partnerships with major wrestling-adjacent influencers.
Mr Webb said Project Fight would have a gender-balanced roster, including female wrestlers from the UK, US, China, Japan, Australia, France, India, and Canada.
The roster of wrestlers being lined up is said to have a combined social media following of more than 12 million.
A premium pilot event is expected to take place next year, depending upon the successful completion of the fundraising.
