Breakout Scottish wrestler Leo Ironside, the former Leo King, is due to embark on a return to Scottish soil in the coming weeks after a successful two-year period competing overseas in the United States.
Ironside, now 23 years old, has been based around the Tampa, Florida area ahead of an Orlando move, bringing his brash demeanour to such promotions as Grind Time Wrestling, Full Impact Pro, and American Combat Wrestling – the latter two of which are affiliates of World Wrestling Network, the governing body that oversaw the now-defunct EVOLVE promotion. Appearing on WrestleMania weekend shows in Tampa Bay in April 2021, Leo Ironside grappled with the best of them at midnight, competing against ACW regulars Corey Kreese, Juan Jeremy, and D’Lo Jordan, to name but a few.
A proficient technical grappler, Leo has trained under the tutelage of a number of British wrestling legends, including current WWE Performance Center coach Johnny Moss, former NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint, and the recently-returned-to-WWE William Regal, as well as US indie stars Chris Silvio and AEW’s Matt Sydal, the former Evan Bourne. Chief amongst them, though, has been Len Ironside, who Leo branched out to at the start of his wrestling journey. Saying to Scottish Wrestling Network in a Starter For 10 interview:-
“I first started my wrestling training at a local wrestling company, I branched out and contacted Len Ironside who is well known around Scotland for being one of the best Scottish technical wrestlers. I have always admired the style and Len gladly accepted to train me at a gym. Three years on, him and I have traveled throughout the world and competed against some of the best with him in my corner.”
Jaunting to America made Leo Ironside one of the only active Scots on the North American independent circuit, with standout Scottish stars as Drew McIntyre, Big Damo, and Kay Lee Ray having also made the journey from Scottish community halls to the grand arenas used by WWE and AEW. At present, WWE has a pantheon of Scottish names under contract, including McIntyre, KLR (now known as Alba Fyre), the Gallus trio, Piper Niven, Nikki Storm, and Isla Dawn.
With bright aspirations ahead of him, Leo explained where he wants to see himself by 2025 in an interview released ahead of his time in Florida:-
“Well as of next year I will be moving over to the United States to work with WWN and hopefully gain a full time contract with them and work on Evolve shows by the end of the year. In 2025, I would hopefully like to still be living in Florida with a NXT contract and living my dream.”
In Scotland, Leo Ironside was well-known to supporters of World Wide Wrestling League, where he won the company’s inaugural Breakout Championship at the 2019 Wrestlution card in a four-way contest. Though he ultimately vacated the title upon setting his sights on Florida, Leo enjoyed a three-month reign before giving the title up in December 2019.
Leo will be returning to W3L shows once landing back in the country, as well as a handful of shows around England. Keep an eye on W3L socials for details in due course.
🆂🆆🅽 | Scottish Wrestling Network 