Kris Travis (16 December 1983 – 31 March 2016) was a British

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He was a staple of the UK and European independent wrestling scenes, working for companies such as

PROGRESS Wrestling Progress Wrestling (stylized as PROGRESS) is a British professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman, events and comedy promoter Jon Briley, and later, actor Glen Robinson (professionally known as Glen ...

, Insane Championship Wrestling, Preston City Wrestling, Premier British Wrestling,

Revolution Pro Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom. Revolution Pro Wre ...

Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...

British Championship Wrestling British Championship Wrestling (BCW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in East Kilbride, Scotland, UK. It is currently owned and operated by promoter Graham McKay (who also performs under the name Charles Boddington) af ...

One Pro Wrestling One Pro Wrestling (abbreviated as 1PW) was a British professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. 1PW was founded in 2005 by Steven Gauntley. Originally run by the now defunct retail chain 1 Up Games, the company's headq ...

Total Nonstop Action Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

Frontier Wrestling Alliance Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) was a professional wrestling promotion in Britain. Established in 1993 as the Fratton Wrestling Association it soon became the Frontier Wrestling Alliance six years later and until 2007 when it lost a scripted ...

and others, until his death in 2016.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2002−2008)

Trained in Sheffield by Alan Johnson, Travis began competing on shows in the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

in 2002. His earliest successes came in Grand Pro Wrestling, where he held the GPW Tag Team Championship with Scotty Hexx in an early incarnation of the popular Project Ego team, and in Norton British Wrestling, where he held the NBW Cruiserweight Championship. He received further training from Stixx and Keith Myatt, which he believed helped him get onto bigger shows.

Rise to prominence (2009−2014)

In the late 2000s, Travis added Martin Kirby to the Project Ego team. The duo found some notable success, winning the RDW Tag Team Championships, the

1PW Tag Team Championship The One Pro Wrestling (1PW) Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the British promotion One Pro Wrestling. The title was established in 2006, and became defunct upon the company's clos ...

s, the 3CW Tag Team Championships, the IPW:UK Tag Team Championships and the

RPW Undisputed British Tag Team Championship The Undisputed British Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The title was created an ...

. They would also compete for notable promotions like

, Insane Championship Wrestling, Premier British Wrestling and more. Travis also had singles success, most notably in Preston City Wrestling. On 17 August 2012, Kravis defeated Lionheart to win the PCW Heavyweight Championship. In Lionheart's Pro Wrestling Elite promotion, Travis challenged Andy Wild for the PWE World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. He also had the opportunity to compete outside of the UK for

in Germany, in a triple threat with BxB Hulk and

John Klinger John Klinger (14 May 1984 – 20 May 2024) was a German professional wrestler better known by the ring name Bad Bones. Klinger worked internationally as part of independent promotions across Europe, Japan, Israel, and the United States. Pro ...

. He competed on one occasion for

, while taking part in their British Boot Camp television series.

Hiatus and illness (2014)

Travis was forced to take a hiatus from wrestling due to a diagnosis of stomach cancer in September, 2014. Wrestlers such as

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...

Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...

and

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

gave words of support. During this time he worked with cancer charities to raise funds and made a couple of non-wrestling appearances at shows.

Return (2015)

In June 2015, it was announced that Travis had beaten cancer and would be returning to the ring. He wrestled

Sha Samuels Shaaheen Hosseinpour (born 27 February 1985), better known by the ring name Sha Samuels, is an English professional wrestler, currently performing for Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro). He is also known for his time in WWE where he performed on t ...

for PCW in his return match on 7 August 2015, before capturing the PWE Tag Team Championship with Lou King Sharp in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He was victorious in singles competition against Chris Tyler for HOPE Wrestling in Nottingham and against his Project Ego partner Martin Kirby at Attack! Pro Wrestling in

Cardiff, Wales Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. Travis also returned to Southside Wrestling Entertainment alongside Martin Kirby at 9 August 2015 show, where the pair were revealed as the surprise final entrant in a tag-team gauntlet match for the SWE Tag Team Championships which Travis and Kirby won for the first time that night. In one of the bigger singles matches of his career, Travis was defeated by

Drew Galloway Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began his career in 2001 in the United Kingdom wit ...

in an ICW World Heavyweight Championship match in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Travis' final match, was a victory over

Marty Scurll Martin Scurll (born 26 July 1988) is an English professional wrestler. He is known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH). Scurll began his career in 2005, working on the British independent circuit. In 2012, he competed on the TNA's show TNA Wres ...

at PROGRESS' Chapter 21: You Know We Don't Like to Use the Sit Down Gun on 6 September 2015.

Death

On 21 September 2015 Travis announced that his cancer had returned and he would be forced to retire from professional wrestling. Travis died on 31 March 2016 at 32 years old. There was a large outpouring of tributes from fans, publications, promotions and wrestlers alike, including

Kevin Owens Kevin Yanick Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. As of April 2025, he is on hiatus due to a neck injury. Steen began his ...

, Paige,

The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...

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Finn Bálor Fergal Devitt (born 25 July 1981) is an Irish professional wrestler. As of May 2014, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Finn Bálor (). He is a member of The Judgment Day stable. Devitt began his car ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

Impact Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...

, Neville and more.

Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...

and

Tommaso Ciampa Tommaso Whitney (born May 8, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Tommaso Ciampa () and ...

began the "Our Ladder" fundraising initiative for Cavendish Cancer Care in Travis' name in April 2016. Donovan Dijak and Mike Bennett helped raise funds for CCC, in tribute to Travis. Fans and professional wrestlers alike began petitioning for Travis to be given the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

" Warrior Award". There was a large number of tributes to Travis in the weeks following his death.

dedicated his qualifying match for the WWE Cruiserweight Classic series to Travis, and

Will Ospreay William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former two-time AEW International Champion. He is also known for his eight year tenure with New Japa ...

both wore ring attire themed after Travis' pink tights in his

NJPW (NJPW) is a Japanese professional-wrestling promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV Asahi and Amuse Inc. owning minority shar ...

debut and dedicated his

Best of the Super Juniors The Best of the Super Juniors (stylized as the BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. and often abbreviated BOSJ) is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), typically in May or June. Originally known as Top of the Supe ...

victory to Travis. At NXT Takeover: Dallas, the day after Travis passed,

Finn Balor The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to Finnish people, a Finnic ethnic group. Finn or Finns may also refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Finnic peoples, various ethnic groups who speak Finnic languages * Baltic Finnic peoples, va ...

paid tribute by painting Travis's trademark stars on one hand and a black love heart on the other.

Championships and accomplishments

* 3 Count Wrestling ** 3CW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Martin Kirby * Elite British Wrestling ** EBW Catch Championship (1 time) *

Fighting Spirit Magazine ''Fighting Spirit Magazine'' (''FSM'') was a monthly professional wrestling and mixed martial arts magazine published in the United Kingdom by Uncooked Media. The publication launched in 2006, becoming the UK's largest professional wrestling magazi ...

** UK Wrestler of the Year (2013) * International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom ** IPW:UK Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Martin Kirby *Gerry Norton Promotions ** GNP Championship (1 time) ** GNP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

Bubblegum Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Composition In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...

** GNP Tag Team Title Tournament (2009) – with Bubblegum ** Elite 8 Tournament (2008) * Grand Pro Wrestling ** GPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scotty Hexx *Northern Wrestling League ** NWL British Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Norton British Wrestling ** NBW Championship (1 time) ** NBW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) *

(1 time) – with Martin Kirby * Powerslam Magazine ** Ranked No. 45 of the top 50 singles wrestlers of 2013 * Preston City Wrestling ** PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** Money in the Bank (2011, 2013) * Pro Wrestling Elite ** PWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Lou King Sharp * Real Deal Wrestling ** RDW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Martin Kirby *

(1 time) - with Martin Kirby * Southside Wrestling Entertainment ** SWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Martin Kirby

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Kris 1983 births 2016 deaths English male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Sheffield 21st-century male professional wrestlers Undisputed British Tag Team Champions 21st-century English sportsmen 20th-century English sportsmen