Leon Slater was born for nights like these.

After a handful of matches either side of the pandemic, Slater experienced a meteoric rise during his first full year of in-ring competition.

In 2022, the Youngest in Charge won the NORTH Tag Team Championships alongside Man Like Dereiss. He competed for the RevPro Undisputed Cruiserweight Championship, the OTT World title, the BWR Cruiserweight Championship and the PROGRESS tag team titles.

He shared a ring with talents like Robbie X, Mark Haskins, RKJ, Michael Oku, Luke Jacobs, Konosuke Takeshita, Speedball Mike Bailey and Zack Sabre Jr., to name a few.

That momentum has shown no signs of stopping. Slater became the longest reigning NORTH Champion with a reign that spanned almost two full years (728 days). He signed with TNA and equalled Austin Aries for the longest single X Division Championship reign.

He’s been given the green light by the Hardy Boyz and AJ Styles. Due to the working relationship between TNA and WWE, Leon has been showcased on NXT and as part of an instalment of Saturday Night’s Main Event which was headlined by John Cena’s retirement match.

It is an open secret that both WWE and AEW are courting his services for when his current TNA deal expires in the autumn.

Leon Slater was made for performing in front of the thousands in attendance and the millions watching around the world. He was made for nights like this Saturday at Wembley Arena when Revolution Pro Wrestling celebrate their 14 Year Anniversary.

Liam Slater’s journey to Wembley has been a little bit different.

The Head Coach of the Slater Dojo didn’t have a rocket strapped to him from his first moments in the sport. He wasn’t a teenage prodigy. He’s been through name and personality changes and there were probably times where he doubted that he’d make it to a stage like the one he’ll experience on Saturday night.

My first experiences of Liam, then known as Liam Lazarus, were rooting for a scrappy underdog that (almost by accident) won the Tidal Championship in Stylus – one of the rooms in Leeds University’s Student Union.

It was Vengaboys, it was the Thermos mug, it was fun and that’s all it should have been but a groundswell of fan support helped push Liam into becoming the flagbearer of the promotion.

Every month he would defend the championship in nightclubs and leisure centres against some of the finest wrestlers on the indie scene – including Johnny Gargano – learning from them and blossoming into a fantastic wrestler in his own right. He had a proclivity for analysing his opponents even then.

However, the more defences he wracked up and the stronger he got, so did his obsession with the title itself. It’s a darkness that has often crept in during pivotal points in his career.

As his career moved on, the VengaBoys and Thermos mug were shelved, in favour of shaping the man who would eventually become known as “Coach”. There have been bumps in the road, with time away from the sport, but the only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.

A key figure in the growth of NORTH Wrestling, Slater has also been integral to bringing through the next wave of British wrestling starlets, after opening the Pursuit Pro Wrestling training facility alongside Nathan Black in 2021.

Many of the faces that you see on the UK independent scene today started or elevated their wrestling journey under the PPW banner. Wrestlers like Will Kroos (now Mason Rook), Gene Munny, the Vanity team of Judas Grey & Ronan King, Natalie Sykes, George Hunter, Kemper, Hard Man Dan and Ian Skinner have all honed their craft at PPW.

Liam Slater’s biggest achievement as the head trainer at PPW might be the very man who stands across the ring from him at Wembley; Leon Slater.

Leon Slater’s rise has been intrinsically linked to the man who, until recently, he called coach and not just because they share surnames.

Leon’s history making run at NORTH started when he won the belt from Liam. Every step up the ladder and every nasty bump will have been celebrated or recovered from within the walls of the PPW facility. Every opponent on Leon’s globetrotting journey will have been broken down and attacked via a Liam Slater gameplan.

The coach and the star student have been closer than family but even the tightest of bonds can become frayed and worn.

It started with little things. Leon trying to take the reigns in tag matches. Liam speaking over Leon during promos. Cameron Khai seemingly being more receptive to Leon than his coach.

Then it began to boil over. Liam caused friction between Leon and the Young Guns. He drove a wedge between Leon and Lykos II. He “cashed in” Leon’s Trios Trophy for a shot at the Young Guns tag belts, without Leon’s knowledge.

When star players and managers start to fall out, it can tear dressing rooms apart and it felt like we were headed in that direction until Liam Slater pulled off a masterstroke.

At the Revolution Rumble, with the Slaters challenging for the Undisputed British Tag Team Championships, Leon went for his patented 450 Swanton. As he twisted and turned through the air, Luke Jacobs started to put his knees up, ready to knock the air out of Leon’s lungs.

The Coach is always watching. Always scouting. Always analysing. Having picked up on this particular habit of Jacobs’, Liam reached in and pinned down his legs. Leon came crashing down on Luke’s torso and covered him for the 1, 2, 3.

Like a prime Jose Mourinho, at the moment his team were ready to mutiny, “Coach” had come up trumps once again to restore faith.

However, you can only paper over the cracks for so long. When it was revealed that Young Guns would have to relinquish their opportunity at a rematch due to Ethan Allen’s injury, Cowboy Way appeared and made a challenge of their own.

The Coach didn’t want to accept. He knew that without Young Guns in their way, there was a clear path to a high-profile match at Wembley. Leon did accept.

During the match at Sheffield, Leon attempted his 450 Swanton and had to readjust, landing on his feet. The impact on the mat jarred his knee.

When he lined it up again, minutes later, Liam begged him to get down from the top rope and preserve himself. Even though he hit it, that moment of indecision led to Thomas Shire being able to roll Leon through into a successful crucifix pin as Cowboy Way became champs.

The reasoning for Liam’s pleas became apparent when Michael Oku came to ringside, offering Leon a shot at the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship the following week in his home of Bradford, as a favour to Liam and RevPro.

It should have been the homecoming befitting a burgeoning global superstar, overcoming a career rival to claim the biggest prize in independent wrestling in front of his friends and family.

It was, for a fleeting moment.

Leon Slater pinned Michael Oku at Summer Sizzler. Referee Oscar Harding counted the 3 and the crowd erupted. Leon Slater was the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion and then he wasn’t.

Reminiscent of the scenes in Doncaster, Liam had tried to hold down Oku’s feet as Leon made the cover. Whether intentionally or accidentally, in doing so, he’d placed Oku’s foot under the bottom rope. Oscar reversed the decision, the match continued and Michael Oku came away victorious.

In the aftermath, Liam was beside himself. He’d cost his star student the big one. So he tried to attack him. Leon defended himself from his mentor (and HMD) before denouncing Liam and firmly stating that he doesn’t need a coach anymore.

Maybe that’s the point of all of this. With it being widely accepted that Leon Slater is mere months away from being signed to a major deal with either of the two biggest companies in the world, maybe this has been Liam Slater’s endgame.

Away from being a supremely talented in-ring technician, Liam Slater has become one of the sharpest minds and best talkers in the wrestling industry. Everything is played out in 4D. The analysing, the tactical breakdowns and the concept of being a coach isn’t just a clever trick.

There is a possibility that the breakdown of the Slater Dojo is simply a classic wrestling rivalry fuelled by jealousy and bitterness. Maybe Liam is sick to the back teeth of Leon crowing about the Hardy Boyz and AJ Styles when it’s Liam that has sacrificed the hours away from his family to coach The Youngest in Charge, to travel with him to shows and to study tape on his opponents.

Maybe, like a Mourinho, his coaching achievements have overinflated Liam’s ego. Coach Knows Best and all that. Maybe Liam has snapped, tired of trying to direct Leon and being disregarded.

After all, Leon didn’t want to cash in his Trios Trophy, but it got them the tag belts. Leon wanted to put the titles on the line against Cowboy Way, risking an opportunity at Wembley. Leon wanted to compromise his damaged leg for another go at the 450 Swanton in that match, though Liam knew he’d arranged an opportunity at singles glory the following week.

Maybe Coach Does Know Best.

That could be what this is. There’s also a possibility that these are Liam’s final teaching moments for Leon Slater before he jets off into the big, wide world, the final drops of knowledge to be imparted.

In a kill or be killed business like professional wrestling, you can’t trust anyone wholeheartedly. Not your childhood heroes like the Hardys or AJ Styles. Not your peers you may share a locker room with like Will Ospreay, Mason Rook or Pete Dunne and now, Leon Slater knows that he can’t even trust his coach.

Also, when Leon Slater bellows “I don’t need a coach”, isn’t that what every single teacher wants? They want you to move on. They want you to take everything they’ve taught you and take it to greater heights.

From experience, you haven’t done your job properly if a student can’t eventually do something on their own. As the American author Jim Rohn said, “it’s not dependency that creates your future. It’s independence that creates your better future”.

That could be Liam Slater’s endgame. To show Leon that he’s finally ready to move on.

The best are always teaching and always learning.

Image Credits: Revolution Pro Wrestling, Stomp Photography