International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom released the following statement on their official Instagram accounts regarding future events.
The statement reads, “I’d like to start this by saying we are acutely aware of what has happened across the wrestling industry in the last few days. It has been difficult to put in to words, and we wanted to make sure we were speaking from the right place when we did. We commend the bravery of those who have been able to speak out, and hope that positive steps can be taken to make the wrestling business a safe space for this and future generations. Which brings us on to this statement.
When we purchased IPW:UK at the beginning of this year, our intention was to eventually run wrestling shows that the whole family could attend and honestly believed that we could continue the legacy that IPW:UK had built over its 16 year history for putting on high standard entertainment showcasing the best wrestlers in the world. The support we received from inside the business and especially from wrestling fans after it was made public that we had purchased IPW:UK was overwhelmingly positive and for that we will always be grateful. We honestly believed we could make the name IPW:UK mean something again – we had a venue booked, merchandise made and were ready to go.
We are aware of the history of the company and how some see it due to name who were attached, and this list has significantly increased in the last few days. We also cannot be sure that this is the full list whilst people continue to speak out about what they have endured. We were hoping it would not be an issue, however in light of current events and additions to the list, we believe the name has now been tarnished beyond repair by the alleged new and repeated deplorable actions of some of those involved in the history of IPW:UK and many other promotions. However much positive there has been in the company’s history, these issues will always stand out.
This is now not just about a couple of people from the company’s past. It is now about so many people that are involved in the business that it is mind blowing, many of whom have appeared for various promotions around the world including IPW:UK in the recent past. We find these sickening actions outweigh anything we can or want to do with the brand, so as it stands now and with immediate effect, IPW:UK will no longer be an active promotion and we will not be looking to run the planned shows under the company banner. All social media accounts will be hidden over the coming weeks whilst we work out exactly what to do and eradicate from them. We will continue to own all assets associated with International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom, including all the name, media, show footage, master copies and any other products associated with the company that we purchased at the start of the year.
With regards to the On Demand service, we will be assessing this as soon as possible and taking down what footage we feel is necessary. We may have to take the whole service down, however are trying to avoid that and will update those subscribed accordingly when we have worked through the issue.
As a family, we are 100% behind all those that have been brave enough to come forward and make a stance agains the people that have subjected them to all different types of abuse, most of which is sickening to read. All we an hope for is something good comes out of this and the wrestling business we all love moves forward and it becomes a safe and enjoyable place for people to work and for people to attend without fear or prejudice or abuse of any kind.
This post will stay here for 14 days and then the page will be hidden. Stay safe, and again we stand 100% behind all those that have come forward and have nothing but respect for you all.
– Paul and Deborah”
