After missing the June show due to being on holiday, it felt good to get back to another Triple X show. There was a decent sized, pretty vociferous crowd on hand for what turned out to be another really fun show
Dave Mercy vs Local Jobber #2
Super fun opener. Mercy wasn't scheduled to wrestle because, as host Omer Ibrahim advised, no-one wants to get in the ring with him. Even the Jobber seemed pretty reluctant to tangle with the sleazy Mercy, though he actually got a fair run of offence here. Due to Mercy's trunks being pulled down, we saw more of his backside than we would really want to, though not as much as Jobber, who got a horrifying closeup with his sunset flip. Despite Mercy taking control, Jobbermania soon ran wild as LJ2 Hulked up, and hit a big boot and legdrop for a two count. Sadly, his run was short-lived, as Mercy rolled him up with a handful of tights to win.
Keiron Young vs Chase Alexander
Alexander is the former Local Jobber #1 and is accompanied by the former Professor Lex. His new gimmick is that of a former child star, with Lex pretty fun as his entourage. I liked Young's series of dives he hit early doors, starting by going between the middle and bottom ropes, then the top and middle, then finally over the top. He's still the "Indy Guy", so this fits his character perfectly. Alexander worked over the leg to take control, with a decent bridging leglock. Young made his comeback and got a two count from the ever-so-indy combo of a Canadian Destroyer and a superkick before a distraction by Lex allowed Alexander to take his leg out and grab the pinfall victory. Both guys worked hard, despite being a little green, and luckily their characters and antics kept the crowd entertained.
Morgan Webster vs Mike Bird
The storyline logic behind this match was that Triple X were fed up of Webster, so brought in his trainer Mike Bird to teach him some respect. I mentioned this in my last HOPE review, but Webster is absolutely great at making me hate him. Seeing him here, sunglasses on indoors with a surly face just made me want to see someone give him a smack. Thankfully, Bird was on hand to smack the shit out of him, as he treated Webster to a series of chops in the ring. I'd enjoyed Bird's previous appearance at the April show, and he was really good here, just seeming really natural and comfortable in the ring. I liked the long heat section Webster worked on Bird, before Bird was able to come back and tie up his former student with an STF that had me believing Webster would tap. He didn't and in fact managed to pick up the win by faking injury, then grabbing Bird into a guillotine choke that he calls the Strangler (as I l found out on Twitter).
The Hunter Brothers vs Chris Brookes & Tyler Bate
Last Sunday, after seeing them have back-to-back great matches for Southside Wrestling vs the Young Wolves and Flip & Forearms, I excitedly took to Twitter and proclaimed the Hunters the best tag-team in the UK. This match backed up that claim, as this was another excellent bout. However, whilst the two Southside matches saw them work as fast-paced, high-flying faces, here the Hunters showed how good they are as heels too, keeping Chris Brookes isolated as face-in-peril, cutting him off and being generally unlikable. There were some really fun moments in this match: I loved Brookes scurrying along the piping that hangs from the Club M ceiling to crashland on his opponents below outside the ring (which apparently played off his match at the June show), and Bate showed off his remarkable strength by hitting a giant swing on one Hunter whilst giving the other an airplane spin at the same time. Bate nailing a big boot in the corner with a cry of "This is Sparta" was great too. The end saw a Hunter grabbing a wrench outside the ring but, whilst he remonstrated with the ref, Brookes' attempt to throw powder at the remaining brother backfired, instead hitting Bate and leaving him easy prey for a Hunter Brothers pin. Great match.
The post-match antics were fun too, with Brookes telling Bate he needed to lose his trademark moustache, or their friendship was over. Of course, the crowd weren't happy with this ultimatum, and, despite Brookes bringing out a bag of cheap disposable razors, Tyler kept the 'tasche. Brookes tried a cheapshot, but Bate instead nailed him with a massive clothesline. A chokeslam to the razor was the icing on the cake. Super fun segment.
Damian Dunne vs Gideon
This was scheduled to be Eddie Dennis taking on Damian as part of a "Pick Your Poison" deal with Damian's brother Pete. However, Dennis was injured, providing a doctors note, and instead getting his "close, personal friend" Gideon to take his place. It's always fun to see how debutants will fare at Triple X, partly to see how they cope with the (never mean-spirited) heckling from the crowd. With his bald head and bushy beard, Gideon was always going to get some piss-taking (I enjoyed the "Uncle Albert" chants especially), and he coped well with it. A chant of "He's got his head on upside down" was greeted by Gideon replying "You want his head on upside down?" and neckcranking Dunne. The match itself was plenty fun, with some nice looking offence from both. I dug Gideon greeting a suicide dive attempt with a big kick to the face, which meant that Damo nailing the same move later in the match got a big cheer. Dunne picked up the win after a low-blow by Gideon, and Eddie Dennis helped lay in a beating until Pete Dunne turned up for the save.
The New Henchmen (Jim Diehard & Rob Terry) vs Titans of Terror (Big Grizzly & Scott Grimm)
When I saw this match advertised in the build-up, I knew exactly what I wanted from it - the spectacle of four massive guys nailing each other with fun power offence. It didn't disappoint. I will forever love Jim Diehard hitting moves that a man his size rarely tries, flipping both Grizz and Grimm over with a headlock/headscissors and nailing a Shining Wizard later in the bout. Likewise, Grizzly hit a big dropkick on Diehard ("You weren't expecting that, were you?") and a big cannonball in the corner. I liked the fact that the big moves were built up to mean something, with a Rob Terry slam on Grimm getting a huge reaction. The New Henchmen won after a Diehard sitout powerbomb on Grizzly, and this was a highly entertaining match. After all, with all due respect, what was the last Rob Terry match you saw get a "This is awesome!" chant?
Pete Dunne vs Doug Williams
Williams was Eddie Dennis' choice to fight the number one contender to his Triple X title. Williams cheap-shotted Dunne to kick off, but this soon developed into a fine technical affair. Williams was dominant on the mat in the early going, which makes sense given his experience advantage, but Dunne was able to get back into it with some tough-looking strikes, and locked in a cloverleaf for a near tap. Dennis distracted Dunne mid-match, and Williams attacked from behind to fully complete his heel turn. Despite this, Dunne was able to pick up the victory. as Dennis lambasted Williams after a two count, and this distraction allowed Dunne to get a roll-up for the victory. After the match, Williams and Dennis put the boots to Pete, until brother Damian came in to make the save. Pete seemed a little put out that Damo didn't make the save sooner, but they left united. Fine main event, and I liked the way that Williams' initial superiority made Dunne look even better when he was able to fire back and take over himself.
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