A 21-year-old wrestler from Middleton has made history as his company's youngest ever male, solo champion. Luke Jacobs has followed in the footsteps of some of professional wrestling's elite by winning Progress Wrestling's Atlas Championship.
Luke defeated former WWE wrestler Jonah in the final of an eight-man tournament to take home the title. He had previously beaten English wrestler Warren Banks and another WWE alumni in the form of Big Damo, in earlier rounds.
The championship was originally introduced for competitors weighing over 205lbs (93kg) and current WWE Raw tag team champion Riddle is one of just five other wrestlers to hold the title, along with fellow WWE stars Gunther, Trent Seven, and Rampage Brown. British wrestling legend Doug Williams also held the gold.
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Being in such esteemed company at such a young age could be daunting but former Middleton Technology School and Hopwood Hall student Luke has completely taken it in his stride. Speaking to Manchester Evening News , he said: "It's been busy but it's been good.
"My social media has blown up a bit. I'm getting constant notifications. I feel like it's matured me, given me more confidence and just elevated me to the next level.
"It was quite surreal working with a guy like Jonah. Although I'm perfectly confident in my own ability, this is a guy I've sat on my couch watching at 3am in the morning.
"It's mental now being in that lineage of people [to win the title] because a few of them are wrestlers I've really looked up to and guys like Walter (Gunther) have completely inspired me as a wrestler.
"I'm really fortunate to be in the position I'm in so early on because there are people who have been doing it 20-odd years and other up-and-coming wrestlers and now I'm a flag bearer for the biggest promotion in the UK. I'm really proud of it.
"When I'm in a promotion where one of the champions is the Ring of Honor world champion (Jonathan Gresham) who wrestles in AEW (All Elite Wrestling) and I'm another one of the champions, it's a great place to be in."
Luke started his wrestling training in 2016, when he was aged just 15, at FutureShock in Failsworth. He later trained at Fighting Spirit, in Liverpool, under the tutelage of current WWE tag team James Drake and Zack Gibson.
In the past, the North West has been a hotbed of wrestling talent, producing stars such as Giant Haystacks, William Regal and the British Bulldogs. Luke believes he can be the next to make the step up.
"That's exactly the plan," he added.
"I want to go and make a name for myself. It's totally doable, you've just got to put the work in. I can't remember a time in my life where I didn't like wrestling. Since I was about three-years-old, my brother loved it and introduced me to it.
"I was blown away by it the first time I ever saw it on TV and I spent my childhood wrestling my teddies and having toy belts."
Manchester Evening News can also exclusively reveal that Luke's first title defence will be against Roy Johnson at Progress Wrestling's upcoming show 'Chapter 134: No Mountain High Enough' on May 15, at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.
Of his upcoming opponent, Luke said: "Roy's wrestled in the WWE as well. I don't have any experience working with him but I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Tickets for the show are available to buy from the Progress Wrestling website.
