British Wrestling took another step forward this week as Revolution Pro Wrestling made its TV debut on FreeSports.

The channel has commissioned the acclaimed Portsmouth-based promotion for a series which now airs every Friday at 9pm.

RevPro is not the first company to broadcast on FreeSports, with the now defunct 5 Star Wrestling having a brief tenure earlier this year.

But this show immediately felt slicker and more professional than 5 Star, with hard hitting matches, slick production values and mainstream audience appeal.

With the first show in the bag there were definitely more positives than negatives and it will be interesting to see how the episodes evolve over the coming weeks.

Here’s what we learned from RevPro Presents: World Of Pro Wrestling episode one.

(Image: Beyond Gorilla - Robyn Goding)

Fan loyalty shone through

It was very clear from the opening bell that the fans at York Hall were truly invested in the product. From the duelling "Liger/Brookes" chants to the deafening boos for Lord Gideon Grey, the RevPro faithful were certainly in full voice. The support that the promotion has been able to attract certainly helps and is a credit to both fans and promotion alike.

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While the TV product is clearly used to attract a new audience, the hardcore RevPro fans are the heart and soul of the promotion and while it may not have been a sold-out York Hall, the atmosphere definitely came across well on the show.

Match variety is the spice of life

The first instalment in the series had a total of three matches, all of which were very different in style and that came across well on TV. The opener saw Liger and Brookes in a competitive match-up, with Brookes ultimately turning on Liger much to the dismay of the York Hall crowd.

The second match was a squash but importantly highlighted just how devastating the 'Dominator' Great-O-Kharn has been since emerging on British shores. Finally Zack Sabre Jr and KUSHIDA put on a technically brilliant match, which really was the cherry on top of a great hour of wrestling.

It will be important for RevPro to continue to mix things up in regards to match style, as too many of the same "high spot indy matches" may detract audiences.

(Image: Beyond Gorilla - Robyn Goding)

Foundations laid for future shows

In the space of a one-hour show, RevPro did a great job in promoting some of its upcoming matches on future TV shows. From an interview with Colt Cabana, to Dan Magee and Sha Samuels getting into a brawl, the foundations for the next few episodes have been laid and will be a hook to bring back viewers.

It will be interesting to see how these segments continue to evolve, as it isn’t particularly something which RevPro has had to focus on in the past, but credit to bookers for what they managed to achieve in show number one.

Appealing to new fans

While it is anticipated that a majority of fans who watched the show had some background knowledge of the promotion, its wrestlers or wrestling in general, you can’t overlook the fact that some people who tuned in may have never watched wrestling before. Adding in the rules of the matches was a nice touch and showed that RevPro's bookers had looked to cover as many bases as they could.

The commentary team (Kevin Kelly and Andy Boy Simmonz) looked to fill viewers in with as much background about the wrestlers as possible and both did a very good job. Another small extra, which may have been overlooked, was the 'tale of the tape' prior to the Sabre Jr/KUSHIDA match, which was a real touch of class and would appeal to a crossover audience of boxing/MMA fans.

Wrestling doesn’t appeal to everyone, but RevPro put its best foot forward in regards to getting those who may be sitting on the fence to tune in again next week.

(Image: Beyond Gorilla - Robyn Goding)

Too much too soon?

With the first episode in the bag, RevPro should view the inaugural show as a success. The only potential concern I have is whether the first show was overloaded with too many big names.

The episode had three huge Japanese stars in Liger, Great-O-Kharn and KUSHIDA, arguably one of the best wrestlers in the world in Zack Sabre Jr, and one of the hottest British talents in Chris Brookes.

I appreciate the need to come out of the gates strong and they definitely achieved that, I just hope that in future shows the lack of such notable names does not deter some viewers from tuning in.

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You can watch Revolution Pro Wrestling’s World Of Pro Wrestling show on Fridays at 9pm on FreeSports.

FreeSports is available on the following channels: Freeview Ch 95, Sky Ch 422, Virgin Media 533, Freesat Ch 252, Talk Talk TV Ch 95 and BT TV Ch 95.