TNA’s British Boot Camp Debuts New Year’s Day on Challenge TV; Contestant Profiles Revealed

TNA has issued the following press release:

TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp begins on Challenge TV on New Year’s Day. The first episode will be at 10pm on Tuesday January 1, followed by the second episode immediately afterwards. The show will then continue at 10pm every Tuesday throughout January.

ChallengeTV announces TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp a new series which marks the channel’s first full commission with TNA Productions. The thrilling six-part entertainment series follows four aspiring professional British wrestlers, who are trying to make it big in the ultra-competitive world of American impact wrestling.

TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp will go behind-the-scenes of TNA Wrestling’s search for a UK superstar. Exclusive to Challenge TV, the series documents the story of four aspiring home-grown wrestlers as they pursue a professional wrestling contract with TNA Wrestling.

Challenge viewers will experience the triumphs and tribulations of Manchester-based female tag-team wrestling twins Hannah and Holly Blossom, along with two male wrestlers Marty Scurll and Rockstar Spud from Cambridge and Birmingham, as they embark on their ambition to join TNA’s wrestling roster. Cameras follow them as they travel from their homes in the UK to the USA and get trained and mentored by famous names from the world of UK and US wrestling.

At the end of the series the successful candidate(s) will get signed to a contract by TNA and have the chance to appear in front of a home crowd on the TNA World Tour which travels to London’s Wembley Arena in January 2013.

“TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp really is compulsive viewing,” adds Dominic Wilkins, Acting Director of Challenge TV. “TNA Wrestling has a huge fanbase in the UK and it’s great to be able to commission exclusive original content which cements Challenge TV as the UK home for TNA Wrestling. This series will provide unmissable entertainment content which resonates with our viewers.”

John Jelley, Sky Commissioning Executive for factual and features said: “We are confident that this show’s focus on four of Britain’s most promising wrestlers will inspire Challenge’s passionate TNA fans, and draw in a new audience to professional wrestling, as we track their daunting journey from the UK, through TNA boot camp to the high pressure finale in Florida.”

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TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp marks Sky’s first non-game show commission for Challenge TV since it re-launched on Freeview last year. It aims to compliment the burgeoning success of the TNA Impact series which is one of the top performing series on the channel and aims to enhance the channels late night male-skewed audience. The series supports Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in home grown content to £600m by 2014, and will let viewers see first-hand what it really takes to become one of the superstars of TNA Impact Wrestling.

For further information visit: www.challenge.co.uk

BOOT CAMP PROFILES

ROLLERBALL ROCCO

The word ‘legend’ is overused these days, but Mark “Rollerball” Rocco is one man who truly is a legend of the wrestling business. The son of British star “Jumping” Jim Hussey, Rocco trained in secret away from his father but grew to become one of the greatest British wrestlers of all time.

Rocco held numerous titles while based in Great Britain, including the World Heavy-Middleweight Championship, but also became a star in Japan, under the mask of the original Black Tiger. Rocco’s clashes with the original Tiger Mask in Japan, and Dynamite Kid in both the UK and Japan, were a generation ahead of their time. Rocco pioneered a fast-paced daredevil style of wrestling, and if it was not for the likes of him, there may not be an X Division today.

Rocco also toured the United States, wrestling in the world famous Madison Square Garden. Among his opponents in the States was a young rookie called Terry Bollea, who later became Hulk Hogan. In the late 1980s, Rocco mentored a young Japanese wrestler called Keiichi Yamada, both in Japan and the UK. Yamada, like his mentor, later donned a mask and became a worldwide superstar as Jushin “Thunder” Liger.

Rocco was forced to suddenly retire in 1991 on doctor’s orders but has never lost his interest and passion for this sport, a passion which can still be seen to this day as he helps to develop a new generation of global stars.

ROCKSTAR SPUD

BORN IN: Birmingham, England

BIRTHDAY: January 30th

AGE: 29

The British love an underdog in any kind of sporting competition. You only have to watch the tennis at Wimbledon each summer to witness this. And British wrestling fans loved the biggest underdog of them all, Spud…..until a couple of years ago.

When he made his professional wrestling debut in 2002, a young, fresh-faced Spud was billed as the smallest wrestler in the UK, taking on all comers, including, believe it or not, TNA’s monster, Abyss! Influenced by people such as Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Rollerball Rocco and the late Brian Pillman, his never-say-die attitude won over the fans.

Success soon followed, with Spud capturing lighter weight titles around the country, but this success sadly went to his head. Out went good old Spud, and in came Rockstar Spud. Donning sunglasses, leopard print accessories and basking in his own self-importance, Rockstar Spud does NOT stop talking!

Spud has also found fame on national television, appearing on BBC TV’s ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid’ show. This led to a bitter war of words on Twitter with Marty Scurll which has escalated into a violent feud spanning the entire UK, and now perhaps even further!

MARTY SCURLL

BORN IN: Cambridge, England

BIRTHDAY: July 26th

AGE: 24

Marty Scurll is a young man who’s been turning heads in more ways than one all across the UK. Establishing himself initially as half of one of Britain’s premier tag teams, Scurll’s high-impact, spectacular style easily translated into one-on-one competition. He found further fame on a national basis by appearing on a prime-time Saturday night TV show, “Take Me Out”, making him something of a celebrity in and out of the ring.

He was trained by former British star Tony Scarlo, and debuted in 2005. Scurll cites his influences as World of Sport era British greats like Jim Breaks and Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco, as well as modern British TNA star Magnus, and international legends like Eddie Guerrero and Yoshihiro Tajiri.

Scurll has wrestled international opposition on several occasions, including TNA stars Robbie E, Douglas Williams and Magnus, as well as Generation Me and Japanese stars CIMA and Akira Tozawa. He has wrestled in the UK, the USA and six countries in continental Europe, including Germany, Italy and Spain.

Coming from the famous university city of Cambridge, it’s almost inevitable that Scurll would have an academic string to his bow too. He’s currently studying for a marketing and advertising degree at the University of Chichester.

Scurll is a crowd-pleaser who respects the rules and traditions of this great sport. His career ambitions are to become a huge star in the USA, to become world champion, have his own action figure and be featured in a video game!

THE BLOSSOM TWINS

BORN IN: Stockport, Greater Manchester, England

BIRTHDAY: February 18th

AGE: 24

Twice as nice, or double the trouble? That’s the question that everyone in Impact Wrestling will be asking themselves when they see Hannah and Holly, The Blossom Twins.

Making their professional wrestling debuts together in 2005, the identical twins hail from Stockport and are, naturally, tag team specialists.  They have an understanding of one another that beats any other tag team in the world hands down.

Hannah and Holly are no strangers to wrestling in the United States at all. The twins have made several trips Stateside since 2009, where, among others, they have faced TNA Knockout Mickie James, and Hannah has held the Ohio Valley Wrestling Women’s Championship, proving that the girls are just as effective in singles competition.

With a background in gymnastics and trampolining, a love of travel, and growing up as huge fans of Jeff Hardy, it was almost inevitable that the twins would eventually find their way into the wrestling business. Away from the ring, both girls have a BTEC National Diploma in Early Years Childcare. They both love to bake, something they credit their Italian grandparents for, with cupcakes being a Blossom Twins speciality. And just like their baking, these girls are hot, fresh and a little bit naughty!