Keeping Up With The Indies is an on-going series that explores the reality, challenges and triumphs of independent wrestling through in-depth interviews.
For Portuguese migrant David Francisco, pro-wrestling in the United Kingdom is vitally important.
“British wrestling has brought me every single good thing I have in my life, right now”, Francisco told Wrestle Inn. “I have so many great experiences that even if this ends tomorrow, everything I’ve done so far was worth it.”
Francisco made the leap to the UK in the summer of 2015, having spent a reputable eight years wrestling in Portugal; “When I moved here it was the Electric Ballroom being sold out every time and RevPro running York Hall, as big as they were.”
Francisco has an experience edge over most his age; at just 14 years old he laced up his boots for the first time and started training. “In Portugal, wrestling exploded in popularity in 2006. There was a promoter who tried to capitalise on that and run local shows.” He didn’t hesitate to jump in the ring to help that explosion keep burning.
Before he was old enough to wrestle he made sure he was already part of the wrestling furniture, taking up the role of a referee to officiate matches involving the likes of El Generico (WWE’s Sami Zayn) and Colt Cabana, during Portugal’s pro-wrestling boom.
However, Francisco reached a point where he had achieved all the Portuguese wrestling scene had to offer. Seeking further success was the catalyst for his move to the UK.
“The thing that I enjoy the most about British wrestling is the variety of experiences that you can have, and the ability you can have to adapt to them.” Interestingly, he continued: “There isn’t a wrestling scene [in Britain], there is a wrestling culture. You don’t have to explain what wrestling is to someone to sell them a ticket.”
Wrestling is built into the fabric of culture in Britain. It’s something that grew from the World of Sport era, of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, from millions watching larger than life characters jump out of the screen to 80,000 people packing out the world-famous Wembley Stadium in 2023 for AEW’s All In.
Credit: British Wrestling Pictures
However, despite success back home, life in pro-wrestling hasn’t all been plain-sailing for David.
“There’s definitely some challenges. My main challenge was migrating. However, when I moved it was a similar time to austerity being used around Europe, so a lot of people in my country left the country.”
Francisco continued, “I went from living with my mum and having a job to having all my own rent and responsibilities, but I think those personal challenges have been eased compared to others because the second day I came here I went to a training session.”
His passion for pro-wrestling persisted despite life throwing it’s best lariats at him, wasting no time in attending PROGRESS Wrestling’s ProJo for training. “It was like I was starting again. I went from being at the top in Portugal and teaching others to being at the bottom, a smaller fish in a bigger pond.”
Francisco’s time in British wrestling has been undermined by a series of bad luck, though. Just as he felt ready to take the next step, the BritWres boom inadvertently swept the carpet from under him. Imports from the rest of the world found themselves wanting to compete in the red-hot UK scene and it reduced the potential opportunities for home-grown talent such as Francisco.
Then, the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic struck as he was ready to advance again.
“Some of it was unluckiness, but some of it was my own unpreparedness”, David explained. “The pandemic was just bad luck, there were a lot of things lining up in 2020 to make my brand bigger. I’m not coming from a bitter place, it’s just the way it is. Unlucky moments, and downfalls and set-backs are part of life. What matters is in front of me and not what’s happened.”
That was a theme of my conversation with David Francisco. His positivity. His happiness. Despite the challenges and ups-and-downs, he presents a level-headed, optimistic outlook.
Perhaps one of the reasons he has such a positive feeling about his career is that he has found solstice in Revolution Pro Wrestling.
In RevPro he is known as a “contender”, the equivalent of being a Young Lion in NJPW. Francisco can be seen at every RevPro show in some capacity, but he might not always be competing in the ring. But, much like the promise of a Young Lion in NJPW, the same holds true for Francisco in RevPro.
“I think I’ve found a home in RevPro. There’s a long-term investment. It can be weird for people that I’m a Contender in RevPro, but I welcome it because it means there is a long-term vision from RevPro towards me and what I mean in their roster.”
He’s a grounded but ambitious man, with big plans to make RevPro history: “I want to be the first Contender to become British Heavyweight Champion. I’m striving for it.”
Credit: Mat Raven
Francisco spins a lot of plates, a self-described workaholic. Running his own wrestling promotion, Purpose Wrestling based in Wimbledon, has been somewhat of a “thankless job”, but he believes it has helped him grow.
“I’m wrestling, training to develop as a wrestler, training in the gym to be a better athlete, working at the London School of Wrestling, I run Purpose Wrestling and I do it all while having a full-time job. It’s intense. The first two years have been a big learning experience in terms of running it as a business. I learned a lot about dealing with promoters by being a promoter.”
David hosts Purpose Wrestling events in the unusual environment of library, putting together shows that have seen the likes of Michael Oku and Jordon Breaks shine. Francisco himself had a gruelling unsanctioned match against Oku in September 2023, a bout that saw Francisco crashing through a table from the top rope to the floor.
David Francisco’s journey in pro-wrestling has been one of sacrifice; migrating to Britain in search of the next step and leaving the comfort of his home, running his own wrestling company all whilst tackling the every day challenges life throws at us.
Through it all he remains a steady, positive force, perhaps summed up by one thing he said:
“I don’t have a lot of free time, I’ve moved from the comfort of my country to chase professional wrestling. But, I’m okay with that. I want to be 100% for wrestling.”
You can follow David Francisco on Twitter @ImDFrancisco.
Wrestle Inn 