WWE NXT Stars Announce Closing of Their Wrestling School

WWE NXT Superstars The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake, Zack Gibson) have closed their pro wrestling school in Liverpool, England.

Drake and Gibson announced earlier this week that they were closing the doors of their Fighting Spirit Pro Wrestling School.

“Gutted to have to write this but unfortunately Fighting Spirit is having to close it’s doors for the forseeable. This decision has been made with a very heavy heart. Thank you to everyone who came through our doors, stay safe and keep strong. #TeamFightingSpirit [lion emoji],” they wrote on Twitter.

The Grizzled Young Vets are no longer in England working the NXT UK promotion as they were brought back to the United States to work the main NXT brand once COVID-19 travel restrictions eased up.

The school dealt with closings and re-openings for the past year due to COVID-19 restrictions in England. The last time they temporarily closed the doors was in October of last year, but they then announced in early December that they were re-opening. Now the school is closing for good as Drake and Gibson are based in the United States.

Drake and Gibson founded Fighting Spirit Wrestling in 2017, and taught more than 300 students from around the world. They also hosted several live events to help their students progress. The school had been open 3 days per week and offered classes for students at Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels.

Drake and Gibson were the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions, and have recently declared that they will soon capture the NXT Tag Team Titles, currently held by Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. Sunday’s NXT “Takeover: Vengeance Day” event will see The Grizzled Young Veterans battle MSK (Wes Lee, Nash Carter) in the finals of the 2021 Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The winners of the tournament will earn a future title shot, and the Dusty Classic trophy.

Stay tuned for more on Drake and Gibson. You can see their Twitter announcement below, along with a few related posts from the past year:

https://twitter.com/FSWrestlingUK/status/1359272797885857792

First Fighting Spirit Zoom session compete, everyone working hard even in Lockdown #TeamFightingSpirit 🦁 pic.twitter.com/neJ3JizedW

— Fighting Spirit (@FSWrestlingUK) May 8, 2020

pic.twitter.com/ugqd2fHd1Q

— Fighting Spirit (@FSWrestlingUK) April 24, 2020

Great night at @FSWrestlingUK under @AlsoSamBailey. Proper fun session 🦁 pic.twitter.com/s1hSPjosgh

— HARRY MCKENNY (@THEHARRYMCKENNY) March 12, 2020