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The second series of TNA British Bootcamp has ended, and the winner has been revealed as: Mark Andrews.
Mark Andrews is a high-flyer from Cardiff, Wales with several years of experience. He is the second Welsh performer to sign with TNA after The Freak. He was almost eliminated in the tryouts when he botched several basic moves. However, he saved himself by pulling off complicated moves expertly and making others look good. He faced DJ Z in the finals. DJ Z commented that he was impressed by how good Andrews was now considering his young age. He also said that he had the potential to be one of the best X-Division performers. This went against Dixie Carter's opinion, who is worried that Andrews cannot keep pace with the X-Division on a daily basis.
Also in the finals were Rampage Brown and Kay Lee Ray. Some speculated that the contest was rigged because Brown admitted from an early stage that he was friends with one of the judges, Samoa Joe. Brown also said on a few occasions that Joe had asked him to enter the contest. He almost blew his first audition by giving a rather poor promo. He also faced Bram in the finals, an opponent that he has worked with before. However, it should also be noted that Brown was the second most experienced applicant (after Martin Stone) and nearly qualified for the WWE in the past. Bram suggested that Brown would join him and Magnus in a stable if Brown got hired. Throughout the whole competition, Brown has lacked charisma and personality. Dixie indicated that he would have trouble becoming a draw because he couldn't connect with fans.
Ray is a women's wrestler from Scotland. Due to the lack of competition, Ray found herself working mainly as a valet so does not have much experience. However, she has worked multiple matches with male performers. At multiple points during the contest, she upstaged the male contestants. Her final match was against judge Gail Kim. Gail said that Ray belonged in the Knockouts' division, but Dixie said the opposite. If Ray had won, she would have been the first Scottish wrestler to have a TNA contract (Roddy Piper is from Canada).
Brown and Ray have already been booked for all 3 shows on the Maximum Impact tour in the UK in 2015. British wrestlers Noam Dar, Dave Mastiff and Grado were told the same. All 5 were told that if they put on a good performance, then they would be offered developmental deals. This was how Hannah and Helen Blossom got signed. Gail mentioned on the show that the Blossums quit wrestling when they were called up onto the main roster.
While British Bootcamp 2 gained higher ratings than the first season, the show was heavily criticized for focusing too much on Grado. Grado passed his first audition, but was then booted off the show by judge Al Snow. Grado showed up an hour late into the physical audition, and this was taken as an act of disrespect by the judges. Grado was offered a second chance after impressing Rockstar Spud and Gail Kim by doggedly showing up at the other auditions and begging for another chance. However, he upset several people with his unprofessional conduct after getting that chance. Episodes 5 and 6 focused heavily on how much Grado alienated himself to the other contestants and even TNA wrestlers. When he was finally eliminated from the competition, he mouthed off to Snow and challenged him to a match at the Maximum Impact tour. Dixie later told Grado that this match had been booked for TNA's next event in Glasgow, Scotland.
Andrews will be appearing on the Maximum Impact tour, but he will likely go straight to developmental. This also happened to Rockstar Spud when he won series one.
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Brief synopsis of every episode</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
Episode 1 - These were the Glasgow, Scotland auditions. Grado passed the initial audition, but showed up an hour late into the physical audition. He was then removed from the contest by Al Snow. Among the qualifiers was Kay Lee Ray.
Episode 2 - The Manchester auditions. These auditions focused less on male singles wrestlers. Grado showed up and was kicked out by Snow. Noam Dar and Mark Andrews were among the qualifiers.
Episode 3 - The London auditions were clearly the biggest. Grado also showed up, and was allowed to participate in the physical auditions. Everyone given the physical audition qualified for the next round. Rampage Brown and Dave Mastiff were among them.
Episode 4 - The quarter finalists were booked into a one-off show. The 6 best performers would go to the US. Noam Dar did not initially qualify, but advanced when another finalist pulled out.
Episode 5 - The finalists visited Washington and met with Dixie Carter. Dixie announced potential future opponents for the 6. She also agreed that all of them would be on the Maximum Impact tour. The semi-finalists who did not win would be allowed to try again for a contract. This episode focused mainly on how Grado annoyed Mastiff, Brown, Andrews and Ray.
Episode 6 - The finalists had an in-ring training session with Snow, DJ Z and Austin Aries. Ethan Carter III and Magnus supervised. Dar and Ray were picked out as particular favourites to win. ECIII teased Grado because the pair were potentially scheduled to have a match together. Grado took it too seriously and challenged ECIII to a real fight. ECIII took the high road.
Episode 7 - The finalists participated in an Intergender 8-person tag match. Rampage Brown, Dave Mastiff, Noam Dar and Angelina Love fought Mark Andrews, Grado, Al Snow and Kay Lee Ray. Andrews, Ray and Brown were all moved forward to the finals. Grado insulted Snow and challenged him to a match at Maximum Impact. (Note: A spot in which Grado knocked teammate Snow off the apron was a scripted part of the match).
Episode 8 - The finalists had matches against TNA stars. Brown took on Bram, Andrews fought DJ Z and Ray battled Gail. All 6 semi-finalists were booked on the Maximum Impact tour. Dixie told Grado that his match with Snow had been booked. Andrews was picked as the winner.
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Mark Andrews is a high-flyer from Cardiff, Wales with several years of experience. He is the second Welsh performer to sign with TNA after The Freak. He was almost eliminated in the tryouts when he botched several basic moves. However, he saved himself by pulling off complicated moves expertly and making others look good. He faced DJ Z in the finals. DJ Z commented that he was impressed by how good Andrews was now considering his young age. He also said that he had the potential to be one of the best X-Division performers. This went against Dixie Carter's opinion, who is worried that Andrews cannot keep pace with the X-Division on a daily basis.
Also in the finals were Rampage Brown and Kay Lee Ray. Some speculated that the contest was rigged because Brown admitted from an early stage that he was friends with one of the judges, Samoa Joe. Brown also said on a few occasions that Joe had asked him to enter the contest. He almost blew his first audition by giving a rather poor promo. He also faced Bram in the finals, an opponent that he has worked with before. However, it should also be noted that Brown was the second most experienced applicant (after Martin Stone) and nearly qualified for the WWE in the past. Bram suggested that Brown would join him and Magnus in a stable if Brown got hired. Throughout the whole competition, Brown has lacked charisma and personality. Dixie indicated that he would have trouble becoming a draw because he couldn't connect with fans.
Ray is a women's wrestler from Scotland. Due to the lack of competition, Ray found herself working mainly as a valet so does not have much experience. However, she has worked multiple matches with male performers. At multiple points during the contest, she upstaged the male contestants. Her final match was against judge Gail Kim. Gail said that Ray belonged in the Knockouts' division, but Dixie said the opposite. If Ray had won, she would have been the first Scottish wrestler to have a TNA contract (Roddy Piper is from Canada).
Brown and Ray have already been booked for all 3 shows on the Maximum Impact tour in the UK in 2015. British wrestlers Noam Dar, Dave Mastiff and Grado were told the same. All 5 were told that if they put on a good performance, then they would be offered developmental deals. This was how Hannah and Helen Blossom got signed. Gail mentioned on the show that the Blossums quit wrestling when they were called up onto the main roster.
While British Bootcamp 2 gained higher ratings than the first season, the show was heavily criticized for focusing too much on Grado. Grado passed his first audition, but was then booted off the show by judge Al Snow. Grado showed up an hour late into the physical audition, and this was taken as an act of disrespect by the judges. Grado was offered a second chance after impressing Rockstar Spud and Gail Kim by doggedly showing up at the other auditions and begging for another chance. However, he upset several people with his unprofessional conduct after getting that chance. Episodes 5 and 6 focused heavily on how much Grado alienated himself to the other contestants and even TNA wrestlers. When he was finally eliminated from the competition, he mouthed off to Snow and challenged him to a match at the Maximum Impact tour. Dixie later told Grado that this match had been booked for TNA's next event in Glasgow, Scotland.
Andrews will be appearing on the Maximum Impact tour, but he will likely go straight to developmental. This also happened to Rockstar Spud when he won series one.
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Brief synopsis of every episode</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
Episode 1 - These were the Glasgow, Scotland auditions. Grado passed the initial audition, but showed up an hour late into the physical audition. He was then removed from the contest by Al Snow. Among the qualifiers was Kay Lee Ray.
Episode 2 - The Manchester auditions. These auditions focused less on male singles wrestlers. Grado showed up and was kicked out by Snow. Noam Dar and Mark Andrews were among the qualifiers.
Episode 3 - The London auditions were clearly the biggest. Grado also showed up, and was allowed to participate in the physical auditions. Everyone given the physical audition qualified for the next round. Rampage Brown and Dave Mastiff were among them.
Episode 4 - The quarter finalists were booked into a one-off show. The 6 best performers would go to the US. Noam Dar did not initially qualify, but advanced when another finalist pulled out.
Episode 5 - The finalists visited Washington and met with Dixie Carter. Dixie announced potential future opponents for the 6. She also agreed that all of them would be on the Maximum Impact tour. The semi-finalists who did not win would be allowed to try again for a contract. This episode focused mainly on how Grado annoyed Mastiff, Brown, Andrews and Ray.
Episode 6 - The finalists had an in-ring training session with Snow, DJ Z and Austin Aries. Ethan Carter III and Magnus supervised. Dar and Ray were picked out as particular favourites to win. ECIII teased Grado because the pair were potentially scheduled to have a match together. Grado took it too seriously and challenged ECIII to a real fight. ECIII took the high road.
Episode 7 - The finalists participated in an Intergender 8-person tag match. Rampage Brown, Dave Mastiff, Noam Dar and Angelina Love fought Mark Andrews, Grado, Al Snow and Kay Lee Ray. Andrews, Ray and Brown were all moved forward to the finals. Grado insulted Snow and challenged him to a match at Maximum Impact. (Note: A spot in which Grado knocked teammate Snow off the apron was a scripted part of the match).
Episode 8 - The finalists had matches against TNA stars. Brown took on Bram, Andrews fought DJ Z and Ray battled Gail. All 6 semi-finalists were booked on the Maximum Impact tour. Dixie told Grado that his match with Snow had been booked. Andrews was picked as the winner.
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