Luke Jacobs is in the middle of a HUGE summer. After winning the prestigious PROGRESS Wrestling Super Strong Style 16 tournament at the end of May. He is now cashing in his opportunity for the world title at the promotion’s next major show on Sunday, July 28th, against former friend, now foe, Kid Lykos.
Headlining the Copper Box during AEW All In weekend, Jacobs is clearly one of, if not the biggest, names in British wrestling.
PWMania.com‘s Lee Tarrier (@leeseedub) caught up with Jacobs and spoke to him about his career leading up to this monumental summer and a career-defining match at PROGRESS Chapter 169 (The Devil On My Shoulder).
You can check out the complete interview below:
Luke, July 28th. PROGRESS Chapter 169. The biggest match of your career to date it could be said. How are you feeling about this massive title shot?
I’m incredibly excited, you know, for this and the rest of the year and what’s to come. But as far as the position I’m in now and what we’ve got coming up over the next few months, you know, I’m really proud to be the in the position I’m in. The PROGRESS world title, it doesn’t get bigger than that in the UK. And to me, it doesn’t get bigger that than that in Europe. And you know, being able to have these title matches coming up, both in PROGRESS and beyond, is sort of a culmination of every bit of work I’ve done in pro wrestling since I started in 2016 so yeah, I feel a lot of pride. And I’m very glad to be at the top of the scene.
You’ve gone from a tag wrestler to headlining major shows as a singles competitor. How has that transition been?
I’m sure, you know, a lot of people’s journeys are similar, but like before covid happened, and that whole fiasco before everything sort of shut down in March of 2020, I think it was me and my partner Ethan Allan, you know, we were really on the uppers, the next up and coming tag team.
And, you know, being only 19 at the time, we’d just been to Germany for 16 Karat Gold and our schedules after that was ridiculous. We were wrestling, like five days on the on the bounce and stuff. And then covid happened, and it all went away. And obviously that was quite crushing, really, you know, sort of losing your whole life, everything that you know that makes up your life is gone, and then coming out of that, we started getting back into our stride. And then my tag partner got injured again.
Then there were definitely times where, in that period of being a singles wrestler, I didn’t know if I had my place. I couldn’t quite find my place yet. I was doing all right but I wasn’t where I wanted to be and slowly but surely, in 2024, I’ve definitely got to the position I want to be in. As there’s been bumps in the road, but we got there in the end, and I think hard work prevails in the end.
How did you realize things were getting better as a singles wrestler and that you found the position you wanted to be in?
It’s a feeling. I think, when you feel your own momentum just building and building. And I feel like I have a lot more of a positive outlook on wrestling when I know I’m doing well. Sometimes when I was feeling a bit down about wrestling, I was a bit hard on myself, but then when I felt like I was on the up and progressing during every show, getting more attention and recognition for my matches. I could just feel it.
Even at the start of January 2024, I just wasn’t quite there and I thought, God, I don’t know what’s going to come of this year. I just have to graft and keep grinding. Then I would say, around February, March, I could feel that momentum building, like I’ve said, and I thought, yeah, I can run with this. I was getting a lot of fan support behind me, and I think people were ready to see me work my way up to the top of the scene.
We saw a very aggressive side of you come out at SSS16. Does that fuel the momentum you’ve built?
I take my pro wrestling very, very seriously, and I always feel like it’s a serious business, and you need a serious head. And I think just, you know, finally letting that side of me come out was from a couple years of frustration, to be honest, with pro wrestling.
I’ve felt a couple of times over the years, it’s got to be my time now, I don’t want to wait around any longer. I’m not here to take part anymore. I mean, you’ve just got to grab it and run with it. So I just thought, I’ll take things into my own hands, and I’ll do this my way. And obviously, it worked out pretty well.
It was PROGRESS Champion Kid Lykos you took it out on. A former friend of yours. Why Lykos and why now?
We were friends. I don’t know if he still considers me a friend in some capacity and if he thinks this is a phase that’s going to pass, but it’s not that’s not, he couldn’t be more wrong. But as I said, it came from a place of frustration being in PROGRESS, it just felt like I was constantly playing second to Lykos when he just got chance after chance after chance at the world title.
And it always just felt like the Kid Lykos and Spike Trivet show and everyone else played second fiddle to them. I just don’t stand for that, you know, I will not be second to anyone. If I can change things, I’ll make sure things change. And, you know, I did that. All it took was hitting him hard a couple of times, giving him a Power Bomb, talking on the mic, and that was it. The whole landscape of PROGRESS changed in an instant.
What response have you had from management, wrestlers and fans since you attacked Lykos and won SSS16?
I couldn’t give a shit what they think of me. PROGRESS fans are too busy cheering for Lykos all the time, loving this supposed comeback story. I think, fuck that. If you really don’t like me that much and want to hate me, then I’ll make you hate me. Do you know what I mean? So whatever the response is, or what people have to say, I don’t really care. It’s not not about them. It’s about me in it.
You know Lykos got chance after chance, getting people to help him. Maybe my tag partner can come in and win me a chance. That’s not how you convincingly win a world title. I haven’t even cashed that title opportunity in, he asked for it. He asked for it. And I think that’s just because, really, he’s scared, and it’s just he wants to get it over and done with.
I think that’s what is ripping the band aid off, because he knows he’s not got a chance. He knows me as a person, and he knows that he hasn’t got a chance. One time, he beat me in a singles match in PROGRESS in February 2023 and the reason he beat me is because I came off the top rope, my arm hit the ring and crushed all the nerves in my elbow, and he rolled me up.
Now I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, fit as a fiddle and faster than I’ve ever been, and more explosive than ever been. Lykos doesn’t stand a chance.
It’s clear Jacobs is confident about a big summer ahead. As Pro Wrestling NOAH arrives on these shores in September, working with PROGRESS Wrestling, Jacobs looks to the future about defending title against the likes of Nakajima and Shiozaki. Will that be the end of a perfect summer? Who knows, but I wouldn’t bet against it.
Be at PROGRESS Chapter 169 on Sunday July 28th. Tickets available here.
Photos & Video: PROGRESS Wrestling
