PROGRESS and DEFY Wrestling co-owner Big Damo has provided an update on the future of the Seattle-based promotion following its acquisition earlier this year.
Back in April, Damo and Nikki Storm were announced as the new owners of UK independent promotion PROGRESS Wrestling and Seattle-based promotion DEFY Wrestling. However, there has been a stark contrast in the amount of activity and information coming from the two promotions since the acquisition. While PROGRESS has held multiple shows under the new ownership and has a UK tour coming up, fans in the US have been left waiting for an update on DEFY.
DEFY currently has no upcoming shows announced, while its social media accounts have been inactive since June. The lack of activity has led to some concern among fans about the promotion’s future. However, when asked about DEFY Wrestling, Damo indicated that an announcement could be on the way soon.
Big Damo Says “Very, Very Exciting News” Is Coming For DEFY
Speaking with Features of Wrestling, Damo stated that there will be updates soon, but he was unable to provide more information at this time. The DEFY co-owner noted that there have been some issues behind the scenes, but the team are excited to announce what is next for the US independent promotion:
“There’s updates coming really, really soon. I can’t actually talk about them right now, but there’s some very, very exciting news coming with regards to DEFY. So that has been something that’s been a little more difficult. There’s been different law changes in the state of Washington, but it looks like we’re about to announce a breakthrough on that very shortly. So that’s been one of those kind of frustrating parts of the U.S. style, you know, licensing and everything else. So there’s had to be a few other hurdles that had to be crossed. But news is coming with DEFY. We’re very excited for it, and we think it’s going to be brilliant and for the betterment of the area as well, so we’re very excited.”
DEFY was founded in 2017 by Matt Farmer and Jim Perry before merging with PROGRESS in 2024. The aim of the merger was to “create a truly global presence for both organisations.” The promotion has previously featured several notable names, including AEW stars Swerve Strickland, Darby Allin and Nick Wayne.
The last DEFY show took place in Portland, OR in April 2026 as part of a crossover with Dragongate. The main event of the show saw AEW star Bryan Keith defend the DEFY World Title against Susumu Yokosuka. Fellow AEW star Marina Shafir is the reigning Women’s Champion for the promotion.
Featured image: DEFY
