Alex Shane will steal the show in 5 seconds, steal the show in 4 seconds, 3 seconds, 2 seconds, Now. Something British fans of wrestling have grown used to over the last 10 or so year, is the figure of Alex Shane. The 2 time FWA champion, is one of the pinnacle points of the revival of British wrestling, and continues to light up FWA tapings with his no nonsense attitude and his barrage of moves. Though Shane’s career has not always been plain sailing, its to his credit that he is a 2 time FWA Heavyweight champion and one of the finest heavyweights to grace this country since the late 70’s. Under the watchful eye of the great Dino Scarlo, and fresh from a spell with the prestigious NWA Hammerlock promotion, Shane, then under his real name of Alex Spilling, was approached by the newly formed Frontier Wrestling Alliance promotion. Along with his tag team partner Guy Thunder, Spilling appeared on the 2nd ever FWA show and from there on out, he never looked back.
His success with the FWA, allowed Shane to open his very own wrestling school, where he could mould the future stars of the business. As CCPW (Capital City Pro Wrestling) grew, it became the official London home of the FWA, but also opened doors for Shane, allowing him to move into the booking side of the sport, helping run the 1st FWA event in 2001. It was later in the same year, that Shane would adopt his most successful and well known persona, as the “Showstealer” he would become key to the development of the FWA and its success.
By the beginning of 2002, due to events in and out of the ring, Shane had seized majority control of the FWA which meant he was helping making British Wrestling a formidable force once again. As arguably one of the top face persona’s in British Wrestling at the time, Shane was loved by fans, culminating in he and former rival Ulf Herman winning the FWA tag titles in late 2002. This was huge success for Shane, but soon things would change, as just months later, Shane would turn on Herman, and become one of the most hated figures within the sport at the time. This was the beginning of the rise of Alex Shane, taking his status to the top of British Wrestling, and leading to him to notable feuds with the King Of Oldschool Steve Corino and the Anarchist Doug Williams, the latter of whom Shane would defeat for his inaugural FWA Heavyweight Title.
During the boom period of British Wrestling, Shane put his booking skills to the ultimate test, Shane presented International Showdown live, with a star studded card including Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Raven, Sabin, Daniels, Styles and the list goes on and on. In what was dubbed “As Good As It Gets” by British media, it was a showing of what British wrestling could do, and what it had achieved since its rebirth.
As a showing of the acclaim Shane was gaining, he was named Ring Of Honor’s head of European marketing, where he would promote ROH events, promoting the companies 1st ever overseas tour with huge draws and financial gains overall. Shane worked off of this success, to promote his own “King Of Europe Cup” later in the same year, featuring talent such as Doug Williams, Nigel McGuiness, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli and the late great Trent Acid to name a few. Again it met with huge success, as it closely followed the ROH events, and built off the hype they had created. It simply showed that Shane as a booker had gained tremendous fans and backing from companies like the FWA & ROH and was showing his skills with his booking.
By now the name Alex Shane was big in the world of wrestling booking, both in the UK and in the US, which is why it was no surprise when TNA wrestling approached Shane to promote their 4 day tour of the UK in 2008.
The name Alex Shane, held respect, honour, and dignity by 2009, so it was no surprise that he was the man who put forward to the idea to bring back the FWA, which had folded 2 years earlier in a storyline feud. By August of the same year, the FWA made its comeback, to wide acclaim and enormous praise for Alex Shane. Although he remained backstage mostly, he did make his return to the ring in 2010, with yet more success, helping lead the newly formed “Agenda” faction into the New Year as the most dominant unit in European Wrestling.
As the FWA returns this weekend, with their Memorabilia event at The Birmingham NEC, i feel it only necessary to thank Alex Shane for his countless work and enthusiasm for both the FWA and British Wrestling as a whole. Id personally like to say that he has done so much for the sport, and that i congratulate him on past, present and future success. He embodies the determination that kept alive one of the countries real great sports. Again i thank Mr Shane for his prolonged involvement in British & European wrestling, and wish him & the FWA success in the future.
Never forget your passion for wrestling people
Hit me up on twitter @WholeKirknShow
Wherever you read this article, it originates from http://wrestlingslasthope.com
The picture that accompanies thi article is Alex along with Colt Cabana, try and check out Colt's podcast The Art of Wrestling with Alex as his guest, it can be found on iTunes or http://welovecolt.com
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