James Mason (wrestler)
Encyclopedia
James Atkins is a British
professional wrestler
best known under his ring name
James Mason.
, Atkins began wrestling for All Star Promotions in 1993, adopting the ringname James Mason, after the film actor of the same name
at the behest of ring announcer John Harris. Early in his career, he also wrestled for Welsh promoter Orig Williams
under the name Jesse James (as Williams felt the actor in question was "boring" and this would reflect poorly on Atkins.) In 1995, Mason was named by All Star as "Young Wrestler Of 1995" and was interviewed by Simon Garfield
for his book The Wrestling. In early 1996, he won a tournament promoted by Rumble Promotions for the World Middleweight Title left vacant by Danny Collins when he moved up the weights. Mason lost the title to Mal Sanders a month later.
Mason, Dean Allmark
and Doug Williams
all faced and lost to Kendo Nagasaki
in a December 2001 four way match at the Victoria Hall in Hanley
, promoted as Nagasaki's retirement match. Mason was the final opponent eliminated by Nagasaki to win the match. In 2002, he and Sanders feuded for the British Middleweight Title in TWA with the belt passing back and forth between them.
During the early 2000s he tag-teamed with Chad Collyer in Japan for Michinoku Pro. In 2003, while going through a temporary heel
phase, Mason reached the final of a tournament for the vacant World Heavy-Middleweight title before losing to the American Dragon
in the final at Croydon
.
James Mason is perhaps best known as being the Captain of Team Britain
in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
during America's X-Cup Tournament in 2004. Team Britain consisted of Mason, Robbie Dynamite
, Dean Allmark
, and Frankie Sloan
. Although Mason had several victories in America's X-Cup, Team Britain ended up being in last place. The Tournament was won and virtually dominated by Team Mexico
. After America's X-Cup ended, Team Britain did not return for the TNA 2004 World X-Cup Tournament.
Mason is currently wrestling in All Star Promotions usually as a blue-eye
, using the name James Mason, and as a heel
often on the same event, under a mask, using the name Tagori. In November 2006, Mason defeated three former champions Drew McDonald
, Doug Williams
, and Robbie Brookside
in a 4-way elimination match to win the vacant British Heavyweight title
which he later lost to Brody Steele in 2007. In November 2008 Mason competed for World Wrestling Entertainment
at the Manchester Evening News Arena
, defeating Montel Vontavious Porter.
Mason won a six-man one-night tournament at a Welsh Wrestling's King of the Castle in Harlech
, Wales
on 1 May 2010 to become the first Welsh Heavyweight Champion, as recognized by the Union of European Wrestling Alliances. He defeated JD Knight in a semifinal match, then defeated Kade Callous and Danny Garnell in a three-way final. Mason lost the Welsh Heavyweight Championship to Kade Callous on the 23rd October 2010 in Builth Wells after a six month title reign. Mason has continued to wrestle for Alan Ravenhill's Welsh promotion on a regular basis, and is regarded as one of the most popular and polished performers in Welsh Wrestling.
Alongside promoting his own shows and hiring out his ring, Mason also wrestled for IPW, LDN and several other promotions.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
best known under his ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
James Mason.
Career
A childhood fan of Big DaddyShirley Crabtree
Shirley Crabtree, Jr, better known as Big Daddy was a British professional wrestler famous for his record-breaking 64 inch chest...
, Atkins began wrestling for All Star Promotions in 1993, adopting the ringname James Mason, after the film actor of the same name
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
at the behest of ring announcer John Harris. Early in his career, he also wrestled for Welsh promoter Orig Williams
Orig Williams
Orig Williams was a Welsh professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. Williams spent his wrestling career in the persona of a villainous heel under the pseudonym "El Bandito", and after retiring as a fighter he became a promoter, manager and television presenter...
under the name Jesse James (as Williams felt the actor in question was "boring" and this would reflect poorly on Atkins.) In 1995, Mason was named by All Star as "Young Wrestler Of 1995" and was interviewed by Simon Garfield
Simon Garfield
Simon Frank Garfield is a British journalist and non-fiction author. He was educated at the independent University College School in Hampstead, London, and the London School of Economics, where he was the Executive Editor of The Beaver....
for his book The Wrestling. In early 1996, he won a tournament promoted by Rumble Promotions for the World Middleweight Title left vacant by Danny Collins when he moved up the weights. Mason lost the title to Mal Sanders a month later.
Mason, Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark , is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in All-Star Promotions and his appearance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Doug Williams
Doug Williams (wrestler)
Douglas Clayton Durdle is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Doug Williams. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Douglas Williams...
all faced and lost to Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis...
in a December 2001 four way match at the Victoria Hall in Hanley
Hanley
Hanley, in Staffordshire, England, is one of the six major towns that joined together to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910. Hanley was the only one of the six towns to be a county borough before the merger; its status was transferred to the enlarged borough...
, promoted as Nagasaki's retirement match. Mason was the final opponent eliminated by Nagasaki to win the match. In 2002, he and Sanders feuded for the British Middleweight Title in TWA with the belt passing back and forth between them.
During the early 2000s he tag-teamed with Chad Collyer in Japan for Michinoku Pro. In 2003, while going through a temporary heel
Heel
In human anatomy, the heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.- Human anatomy :...
phase, Mason reached the final of a tournament for the vacant World Heavy-Middleweight title before losing to the American Dragon
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
in the final at Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
.
James Mason is perhaps best known as being the Captain of Team Britain
Team Britain
Team Britain, or Team UK, was a professional wrestling stable brought together to compete in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's 2004 America's X-Cup Tournament.-2004:...
in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
during America's X-Cup Tournament in 2004. Team Britain consisted of Mason, Robbie Dynamite
Robbie Dynamite
Robbie Dynamite is a British professional wrestler. He is the current and five-time British Mid-Heavyweight champion and has also held the British Open Tag Team Championship with Mikey Whiplash.-British Wrestling:...
, Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark , is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in All-Star Promotions and his appearance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, and Frankie Sloan
Frankie Sloan
Frankie Sloan is an English professional wrestler from Liverpool. He appeared under his wrestling name on BBC quiz show The Weakest Link broadcast on 3 May 2011.-Total Nonstop Action Wrestling:...
. Although Mason had several victories in America's X-Cup, Team Britain ended up being in last place. The Tournament was won and virtually dominated by Team Mexico
Team Mexico
Team Mexico is a professional wrestling stable that was first formed in 2004 to compete in TNA Wrestling's America's X-Cup Tournament and has since returned to compete in other TNA X Cup Tournaments.-2004:...
. After America's X-Cup ended, Team Britain did not return for the TNA 2004 World X-Cup Tournament.
Mason is currently wrestling in All Star Promotions usually as a blue-eye
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
, using the name James Mason, and as a heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
often on the same event, under a mask, using the name Tagori. In November 2006, Mason defeated three former champions Drew McDonald
Drew McDonald
Drew McDonald changed his name by deed poll to Drew McDonald is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling on the independent circuit in the United Kingdom since the 1980s.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Doug Williams
Doug Williams (wrestler)
Douglas Clayton Durdle is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Doug Williams. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Douglas Williams...
, and Robbie Brookside
Robbie Brookside
Robert Edward Brooks , better known by his ring name Robbie Brookside, is a British professional wrestler. He has toured all over the world during his career including such countries as the United States, Japan, Germany, and Mexico...
in a 4-way elimination match to win the vacant British Heavyweight title
British Heavyweight Championship
The British Heavyweight Championship is a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit.Many versions of the British Heavyweight Championship exist in the independent circuit of the United Kingdom at any given time but the scene is usually dominated by one companies...
which he later lost to Brody Steele in 2007. In November 2008 Mason competed for World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
at the Manchester Evening News Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...
, defeating Montel Vontavious Porter.
Mason won a six-man one-night tournament at a Welsh Wrestling's King of the Castle in Harlech
Harlech
Harlech is a town and seaside resort in Gwynedd, within the historical boundaries of Merionethshire in northwest Wales. Lying on Tremadog Bay and within the Snowdonia National Park, it has a population of 1,952, of whom 59% speak Welsh...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
on 1 May 2010 to become the first Welsh Heavyweight Champion, as recognized by the Union of European Wrestling Alliances. He defeated JD Knight in a semifinal match, then defeated Kade Callous and Danny Garnell in a three-way final. Mason lost the Welsh Heavyweight Championship to Kade Callous on the 23rd October 2010 in Builth Wells after a six month title reign. Mason has continued to wrestle for Alan Ravenhill's Welsh promotion on a regular basis, and is regarded as one of the most popular and polished performers in Welsh Wrestling.
Alongside promoting his own shows and hiring out his ring, Mason also wrestled for IPW, LDN and several other promotions.
Championships and accomplishments
- All Star WrestlingAll Star WrestlingAll Star Wrestling is a British Professional wrestling promotion also known as All Star Promotions, Superslam Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling and originally known as Wrestling Enterprises , run by Brian Dixon and based in Liverpool, England...
- ASW British Heavyweight ChampionshipBritish Heavyweight ChampionshipThe British Heavyweight Championship is a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit.Many versions of the British Heavyweight Championship exist in the independent circuit of the United Kingdom at any given time but the scene is usually dominated by one companies...
(1 time) - European Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
- British Wrestling Alliance
- BWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Rumble Promotions
- World Middleweight Championship (1 time)
- Welsh Wrestling
- Welsh Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- The Wrestling Alliance
- British Middleweight Championship (1 time)