I hadn't been to any live wrestling since watching a TNA show at the SkyDome in Cov back in 2008, so when I saw a banner advertising this show a mere 5 minute walk from my house and the day before my birthday (but sadly after a heavy day of drinking), it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. For a mere £8,and surrounded by a loud crowd of kids who really didn't care about my hangover, I got to witness this show...
El Ligero vs Martin Kirby
Ligero is announced as being Mexican, but looks suspiciously Caucasian to me. Kirby comes to the ring looking like a poor man’s Zack Ryder, but is very entertaining in his own right. He uses all the cheap heat in the book to get the crowd reacting for the opener, stalling and demanding cheers from the fans. Ligero gets himself over in a different way: simply by being a very good wrestler. He hits a loud of flashy spots that not only look crisp, but get the crowd going too. He even uses the spinning headscissors move that Jimmy Jacobs used to do, clapping with every rotation, which was pretty cool. Kirby isn’t as flashy, but everything he does looks good, and they do have one cool spot I’d not seen before: Kirby stands on the second rope, gargles water and spits it over Ligero, but when he tries it again, Ligero gets up and punches him, causing Kirby to spray the water everywhere. This left Kirby prone for an insane looking tornado DDT for the Ligero win.
Jemma “Inferno” Palmer vs Darcy Steel
Hey kids, it’s Inferno from TV’s Gladiators! It’s odd, as she’s not great at doing the things I thought she’d be good as (her power offence looks a bit ropey, especially some very wooden looking clotheslines) but she bumps really well and worked in some surprisingly good chain-wrestling at the start. At this point, my hangover started to feel worse so I don’t recall too much about the match, though it might be that the match made me feel worse. It wasn’t particularly good, Steel wins with her feet on the ropes
Mad Man Manson vs Nate Colt
Manson is working a lunatic gimmick, as a lovable face. He’s sort of like the missing like between Sheamus and Dave Gorman. This is a comedy match and it’s actually pretty funny as far as comedy wrestling goes. So we get spots where the referee slams Nate Colt, where Manson and Colt give each other nipple-twisters, where Colt misses elbow drops repeatedly when Manson pretends to get in the ring. Colt doesn’t get much to work with, but is pretty good at being the stooge for Manson’s comedy bits (though I did like Colt threatening to “smack the blonde off you” to a shocked mother at ringside). Manson gets the win with a sunset flip after pulling Colt’s trunks down.
T-Bone vs Blake Warning
Warning is accompanied by Darcy Steel from earlier to mark him out as a heel. T-Bone is heavily tattooed and, after some initial misgivings, the kids seem really into him, presumably through some mild form of childhood rebellion. This is a decent power-vs-power match, T-Bone is pretty explosive on the attack, but Warning is slightly bigger (though deceptively athletic) and has the advantage of Steel outside the ring to attack T-Bone behind the referees back. The use of Steel here is pretty good, as the kids really reacted every time they saw Steel closing in on T-Bone, like a prettier version of the shark in Jaws. This is leading up to the inevitable return of Jemma Palmer and, when the ref finally found himself distracted by Steel’s antics, Palmer ran in and slapped Warning in the face, who turned around into a T-Bone Death Valley Driver for the win and a piece of revenge for earlier. Good, sensible booking
Max Angelus vs Stixx
This was the main event and was a falls count anywhere match. Stixx is a big fella, and I can remember him from some of the FWA TV shows on TWC, so he’s been around a bit. Angelus is a bit smaller, but still big enough for me to be impressed with his performance in this match, as he bust out some impressive highspots throughout. He’s also very charismatic and good at engaging the fans, who chanted “Max” throughout the match. I really dug this match, it went 20-plus minutes, but was very well worked and didn’t drag, crucially keeping the young audience interested throughout. They made use of the falls count anywhere stip, including an awesome Yakuza kick by Angelus to a seated Stixx, which sent him flying at least two rows back, plus some nice brawling on the entrance ramp. They also built up to the spots really well: at one point Stixx’s chain is wrapped around the top turnbuckle, and they battled for a few minutes to use it, building the anticipation until eventually Angelus was sent face first into it. They also didn’t make the mistake of cramming too many possible finishes into the match, which meant that the near falls actually meant something. The ending was pretty creative as well: Stixx wrapped the top and middle rope with his chain, but got knocked into the ropes by a recovering Angelus, who hit a chain assisted 619 and a springboard moonsault for the win.
So, all in all, an enjoyable show and well worth the money. They will be back on Sept 11th and, barring any disasters, so will I.
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