Anthony Ogogo Reveals He Was Originally Groomed To Join AEW’s Blackpool Combat Club

Anthony Ogogo was set to be in the Blackpool Combat Club.

After signing with AEW with no prior professional wrestling experience, Anthony Ogogo began training under Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall in October 2019. However, after the Brit made his pay-per-view debut at Double Or Nothing 2021, he was taken out of action for six months with eye surgery, with the former Olympian being unable to build momentum with AEW in the years since. Now, Ogogo has revealed how it almost could’ve been very different for him in the promotion.

Speaking to ITR Wrestling, Ogogo offering praise to Bryan Danielson and William Regal, revealing he was once being groomed to join the Blackpool Combat Club.

He [Bryan Danielson] taught me so much, again, not just wrestling stuff, but how to get over. He got this thing [the Yes chants] over. And when someone does a move, or a quote and it transcends outside of wrestling, that guy knows what he’s talking about. Tremendous guy, wonderful man. Really really nice guy as well. Super nice guy. At that point I was being groomed to join the Blackpool Combat Club, before it became the Blackpool Combat Club and it never really materialized. So I trained all this time with Danielson and Regal and put in all those hard work in to learn. And Regal, as well, someone who knows how to get over. People remember Regal’s time in the Attitude Era, putting in the funny faces. The man could work, he could work with anybody. He was really good. Yes they had the entertainment side of things, but as a true professional wrestler, that guy put the real back into wrestling. Taught me loads and loads. I haven’t been able to get to wrestle on TV, but when I get the go ahead, I am ready.”

-Anthony Ogogo

The Blackpool Combat Club was originally formed as an alliance between Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson, with William Regal as their manager. The group later added the likes of Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, and PAC to their ranks, helping them to become a dominant force in AEW.

Nowadays, Ogogo is a member of Shane Taylor Promotions, having aligned with them in 2024. He still remains active in Ring Of Honor, while also continuing to make appearances on the independent scene.

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As always, we’ll provide any further updates on AEW’s plans for Anthony Ogogo as soon as we hear more.