Jim Smallman, a founder of Progress Wrestling, wrote the following letter following the news of Kris Travis’ passing earlier today. Travis passed at 32 after a battle with cancer:
It is with deep sadness that we have to report the passing of Kris Travis after a long battle with cancer. He was just 32 years old.
Kris was widely loved across the UK and beyond for both his brilliance inside the ring and his wonderful personality outside of if. You won’t find a single person in British wrestling with a bad word to say about him, and his fight against cancer over the past two years was one of the bravest and most determined that you could ever see.
Kris made his début for us alongside tag team partner Martin Kirby at Chapter Seven and quickly became incredibly popular with our fans, demonstrating a rare ability to be able to do everything in the ring: be technical, high flying and definitely make you laugh. The Project Ego vs Mad Man Manson and Grado match at Chapter Ten still represents the most I have ever laughed at a wrestling match, and I doubt it will ever be topped.
As he fought cancer, we were denied seeing Kris in a PROGRESS ring for a while, but he returned at Chapter 21 and we were all excited that he had beaten the disease. Sadly, his victory over Marty Scurll – in an incredible match, especially for someone who had been away from the ring for so long – would be his last match ever before retiring after his cancer had returned. We wish he could have been wrestling for many years longer, not just for us but around the world. His talents deserved it.
Kris wasn’t just popular in PROGRESS, he has an outstanding legacy around the UK with phenomenal matches in PCW and Southside immediately leaping to mind. And he was always brilliant with newer talent; seeing him give feedback to developing wrestlers was wonderful, he had time for everybody.
Away from the ring he always talked about his family in glowing tones, and I’d always try to get him to come along to comedy whenever I was in his hometown of Sheffield. He was great to chat to about video games and football too (he was a huge Sheffield Wednesday fan), just an all-round good egg. He wasn’t just somebody who we worked with, he was a mate.
PROGRESS and the British Wrestling community haven’t just lost an incredibly talented young man today, the world has lost one of the good guys.
Rest in peace Kris, we all love you.
Jim Smallman – Written on behalf of PROGRESS Wrestling, Jon Briley and Glen Joseph.
#ThankYouTrav
