Beyond Wrestling - To Greektown & Beyond

Sonny Kiss vs RJ City

This starts hot, with City sneak attacking before the bell. Kiss is able to come back, moving really nicely around the ring, but gets hit with a slingshot belly-to-back suplex. Fun spot where City slaps Kiss in the face, but takes too long posing afterwards and gets sent into a corner where Kiss repays the favour with a handspring slap. City has a kind of goofy charisma and Kiss is an exotico, so their personalities mesh really well in this match. City tries to steal a win with a ludicrously over-the-top tight pull, which gets caught by the ref, but he does end up picking up the win after rolling through a crossbody, again with a handful of tights. Fun opener.

Anthony Greene vs Brent Banks vs Josh Alexander vs Kobe Durst vs Seleziya Sparx

This was a decent spotfest, feels like everyone brought something to the match. Fun spot with Sparx early doors, as she shows off her leg strength by getting into a handstand and using a headscissors to ram opponents headfirst into her muscular glutes (and a move that Alexander powers out of, via highlighting to the crowd that he’s married). Sparx continues to impress with a big crossbody to the floor and a nice Widow’s Peak on Durst. This didn’t have much substance, but the big moves were fun: nice mid-ring leaping rana by Greene, Alexander avoiding a pump kick and hoisting up Greene for a big slam, Greene grabbing Banks by the feet in the corner and lifting him into a powerslam in one fluid motion, before Durst hits a piledriver on Greene for the win. Fun fast food of a bout.

Jock Samson vs Puf

I hated this. Really overlong, uninteresting comedy match. Samson is a portly guy in jeans and a too short t-shirt, whilst Puf is an obese chap who dances to the ring. They do some basic comedy wrestling which is executed well enough, before we get a dance off. I did appreciate Samson using it as a lure to attack Puf from behind, and him hitting a back elbow into a dab raised a smile. Puf’s offense is unbelievably bad, with his punches looking soft and choreographed. He felt like one of the worst wrestlers I’ve ever seen. Puf only gets 2 on a splash as I beg for this to end. Samson gets a low blow, before some bloke comes out and leads the crowd through a rendition of the Canadian national anthem, distracting Samson enough to allow Puf to roll him up for three. Shite.

Josh Briggs vs Trent Gibson

The only Gibson match I’ve seen before was a three-way tag match from Smash where he’d impressed, so I was looking forward to seeing what he could do in a singles match. Thought this was a really good match, they played up the size difference between Gibson and the larger Briggs really well. Gibson attacks to try and get an early advantage, but he gets caught on a suicide dive and chokeslammed onto the apron. Briggs easily controls as they fight on the floor, but back inside Gibson slips out of a reverse Razor’s Edge and clips the knee to give him an opening. Gibson hits a successful dive to the floor, sending Briggs flying, and I loved him rushing into the ring, imploring the ref to start counting Briggs out. Briggs just about beats it, so Gibson attacks him as he enters, slingshotting him into the ringpost on the floor, and goes for another countout attempt. This again only gets to a 9 count. Gibson rolls the dice for two and tries to hit Briggs with a cricket bat. The ref stops this, but the distraction allows Gibson to hit a low blow for two. I liked Gibson selling his frustration and goes to the top rope in desperation. However, he only meets a big boot and Briggs hits a chokeslam into the backbreaker to win. Really nicely worked, they told the story really well.

Alexia Nicole vs Kris Statlander

Bits of this were really good, but there were also bits of this that weren’t very good. Statlander has been getting a lot of praise recently, but I’ve not quite seen that performance from her yet. Here, I thought she was pretty solid, she did the lions share of the entertaining stuff. I liked her early cartwheels after escaping an armbar, which lured Nicole into missing a kick to give Kris an opening. Nicole misses a double-knees to the corner and I really liked how Statlander focused her offence on the legs, felt like an organic gameplan. She works the leg with a dragon screw and some kicks before locking in a nice bridging leglock and a reverse figure four. Nicole comes back with a really slow victory roll, then does a load of offence totally ignoring all the work done to her legs, running around with no ill effects and even standing up with Statlander  on her shoulders. Just makes the preceding minutes pointless. Nicole hits a terrible looking spear to really compound the horror, before they brawl to the floor for a double count out.

John Atlas & Space Monkey vs MJF & Stokely Hathaway

This was enjoyable stuff, felt like a classic old school tag with a heel manager on one side and a plucky undersized babyface on the other. The heels sneak attack before the match starts, hiding either side of the entrance, and we get a brawl on the floor. Space Monkey is quickly the face in peril, and Stokely hits some good looking offence, with a big kneedrop and a great DDT that Space Monkey sells like death. MJF works over Space Monkey’s tail for no reason other than to be a dick, yanking it to keep Monkey in their corner. We build to the hot tag, and Atlas seems decent enough. Good press slam into a powerslam. I liked him no selling Stokely’s spear and hitting a huge powerbomb. Monkey comes back in, but MJF hits him with a burning hammer. However, Stokely tags himself back in, giving Space Monkey to opportunity to reverse a fireman’s carry into a small package for three.

Channing Decker vs Chris Dickinson vs Kobe Durst

This started well, but turned into a bit of a mess by the end. Decker was Trent Gibson’s partner in the Fraternity, but here he’s working solo with a hardcore gimmick. This start 1 vs 1 with Decker and Gibson, and these parts are really good. Dickinson is really good at working people into his kind of match, whilst also letting them shine. He’s a really fun mat worker, using his size and strength to overwhelm Decker on the mat. Dickinson batters Decker with some strikes, but Decker gets a sudden Finlay roll and moonsault to gain control, and then just hurls himself with reckless abandon through the ropes with a cannonball. Absolutely insane dive. We get a ref bump as Decker sets up a door in the ring corner, and he hits a DVD on Dickinson through it, causing the table to just explode. Great visual. Here’s where things start getting messy. We get a new ref and suddenly Kobe Durst arrives, attacking both and the match becomes a triple threat. All structure goes out of the window and we just get a few big spots. Durst piledrives Decker off the apron through another door on the floor, which in a sensible match would put him out for good. Durst tries to open a step ladder on the floor, but is unable to do so, resulting in an embarrassing scene of officials trying to open the ladder for what feels like ages. Decker is somehow back on his feet, climbing the ladder to the balcony as the rest of the roster appear as if on cue to allow him to moonsault onto the pile and pin Durst on the floor. Dickinson basically became a non-factor by the end, which feel ridiculous. 

Limitless Wrestling - The World Is Ours

Jeff Cobb vs Darby Allin

Really nice match up here, with Cobb as the all-powerful bull being frustrated by a fly that he just can’t seem to swat away. Allin has to use his speed here, hitting a suicide dive in the first few minutes, but due to Cobb’s size he can take control with just one big forearm. Allin manages to hit a tope con hilo on Cobb through a chair, but he takes too long getting into the ring, and Cobb basically sucks him through the ropes from the apron and just hurls him. Watching Cobb manhandling an insane bumper like Allin is so much fun. Cobb hits a stalling superplex and a vicious forearm to the face, and Allin looks done. Cobb gets cocky though, holding a suplex with one hand, and Allin knees him in the head to escape. I like how Allin almost seems to accept this is his last chance, hitting a Coffin Drop from the top and tying up Cobb’s legs on a roll-up for the upset win.

David Starr vs Martin Stone vs Fred Yehi

All three guys are faces here. Because of these guys' styles in the ring, we get some gnarly three way grappling spots to start, instead of the usual string of moves. Yehi uses his stomp based offence to good effect here, first stomping on Stone’s foot to hold him in place for a back elbow, then stomping on the fingers of David Starr which Stone had broken moments earlier. All guys get time to shine, loved Starr’s succession of big dives on alternate sides, wearing down both men, and I liked the nice touch of Stone holding down Starr’s arm on a pin so, when he kicked out, he rolled straight into a Stone crossface. Also have to appreciate Starr making an effort to sell his fingers throughout. The end sees Stone break Yehi’s Koji Clutch on Starr, and lock Yehi into a crossface for the tap.

Maine State Posse (Danger Kid, Alexander Lee & Aiden Aggro) vs Allie Kat, Ashley Vox & Kris Statlander

Intergender six-man here, with each of the ladies having a silly gimmick (Vox comes from the sea, Statlander is an alien and Kat is….well, guess). Didn’t take to this, too much goofy shit especially from Allie Kat whose gimmick seems to take over a lot of the early part of the match. There’s too much clunky comedy mixed with out-of-place moments of violence. Aggro hits some big forearms and Lee hits a nasty looking complete shot, then moments later Statlander will do some “hilarious” alien mind trick comedy. It doesn’t work and disrupts the flow of the match. There’s some poor looking offence too, unfortunately, with a really clunky dive train and Vox hitting a terrible looking DDT on Lee. The end sees all six in the ring in and it’s a mess of bad timing and bad execution. Kat finally gets the win following a piledriver. Yeah, didn’t like this.

Dick Justice & Troy Nelson vs DL Hurst & Brett Domino

Match of two halves here. Dug the first half, where the heels Hurst and Domino control. They’ve got good swagger and nice heel control, keeping Nelson contained in their corner. Domino hits a lovely dropkick right to Nelson’s face. Then Hurst misses a moonsault and it’s like the match resets, with the heels having to stooge for a load of comedy offence. The faces basically run wild from the moment Justice gets in and win with a Heart punch/neckbreaker combo.

Matt Cross vs MJF

After the last two matches, this was like a cool glass of water in the desert. Just well executed stuff, with MJF as a truly unlikable heel. After a run of control by Cross, MJF pulls the ref in the way of some Cross offence in the corner, forearms Cross in the face and throws him into the ringpost. From there, we get smug heel control, with petty little touches like stomping on Cross’s ankle. MJF works the arm, with a slingshot Divorce Court, and a really painful looking Quackendriver focused on the limb. Cross does ruin the effect by hitting a cartwheel elbow, but he does at least pay lip service to it for the rest of the match, limb dangling limply by his side as he tries to fire back with chops. MJF stopping a barrage of strikes by spitting directly in Cross’s face, a perfect way for such a dick to take over. Cross gets a cutter from nowhere, but misses a shooting star, landing on the arm which MJF instantly locks into a crowbar for the tap. Really good stuff.

Tessa Blanchard vs Deonna Purrazzo

Thought Blanchard was excellent here, just comes across as having a nasty mean streak and her offence looks great. Loved her barrage of offence when she had Purrazzo leant against the ropes, running at her with elbows to the back and dropkicks to the neck. Not overtly heelish, just aggressive and determined. Purrazzo gets a short shine period, luring Blanchard into going up top and suddenly catching her with an armbar. Purrazzo wisely uses Blanchard’s aggression against her, moving out of the way to avoid charges and using this to take her openings. However, Blanchard hits a killshot, a top rope Codebreaker, which is enough for the win. Really neat little sprint.

Eddie Kingston vs Chris Dickinson

Absolutely loved this, two of my favourite wrestlers beating the tar out of each other. They open in a really fun way, jockeying for position on the mat before Dickinson suddenly hits a huge overhead belly-to-belly from nowhere. Eddie soon retorts by pump kicking Dickinson off the apron and hitting a huge suicide dive. Kingston is a really smart offensive wrestler, here putting Dickinson in a neck crank, with the result that it leaves a wide open spot for him to hammer repeated elbows into the side of Dickinson’s face. The viciousness of Kingston’s control manages to make a brute like Dickinson fighting from beneath seem viable. They exchange strikes, and for once it doesn’t feel awkwardly slotted into the match – Kingston is a man who won’t stop fighting if he still can, whilst Dickinson is a man who’s too meatheaded to know he’s in pain. Dickinson hits a huge German suplex, an enzuigiri and a Death Valley Driver in quick succession, and you can sense Kingston doesn’t have much left. Another strike exchange sees neither body willing to give in, until Dickinson throws a thudding kick into Kingston’s head and hits the Pazuzu Bomb to finally put him away. I loved this.

The Thick Boys (Jay Freddie & John Silver) & Ethan Page vs Austin Theory, Christian Casanova & Mr Grim

Reasonable six way action here, with the Thick Boys having some neat offence. Loved Freddie’s pop up powerslam and their flapjack into a big uppercut. Theory also puts in a good performance here, with a brainbuster and a standing moonsault looking great. He hits a lot of moves from forward rolls, which you know will be his downfall later in the match, so it’s no surprise when a heat section on Page is ended up Theory rolling straight into a cutter. Silver is a blog favourite and he looks predictably good here, snapmaring Casanova into a cannonball on Theory in a great spot. Casanova hits a nutso twirling bulldog on Silver, to keep up the run of fun offence. Even the guy I knew least about, Mr Grim, gets a fun moment, hitting a full weight DVD on Silver. However, Grim accidentally hits a pounce on Casanova, and the Thick Boys hit a big slam to get the win. Just enjoyable stuff.

Anthony Henry & James Drake vs Dorian Graves & VSK

This starts off feeling like a squash, with the team of Henry and Drake decimating their massage-gimmicked opponents. Henry stomps the shit out of Graves, but Grave’s hits an unlikely tornado DDT on Henry, really forcing him down to the mat. There’s a little bad comedy as VSK gives Drake a shoulder massage to stop an offensive run, but aside from that he looks really good, and I thought them using massage oil to create a slip-n-slide for a cannonball was a neat way to incorporate the gimmick. Drake misses a standing moonsault, and the faces hit Shatter Machine for the unexpected victory.

Anthony Greene vs Ace Romero vs JT Dunn vs Josh Briggs

At some point, the bottom rope has fallen off, so this match kicks off with only the top two sets of ropes. This doesn’t seem to hold them back though, and this ends up being a big, daftly entertaining four-way. Briggs sets the tone early, hitting a big overhead suplex on Dunn before hitting an insane dive over the turnbuckle. Romero hitting a devastating senton to Greene also is pretty neat, before we get a big crowd brawling section that ends with a super-high Dunn crossbody from the top of the lockers. We get utter chaos in the ring, with Briggs eating a superkick to the face from Dunn whilst he tries hitting a moonsault. Hurst and Domino, who had been sent to the back by the ref earlier when they came out with Greene, come out and punch the ref, assumingly to allow them to interfere freely, but they get squashed when the enormous Romero hits a dive to take them out. However, Greene still gets the win when he lets Dunn hit a big elbow to Briggs before rolling JT up for the win. These matches rely on a minimum of resting and some big well-executed spots, and this was really good stuff. Greene maybe had the least moments to shine, but then he’s also the shitbag heel who pulls out a cheap victory, so that kinda makes sense. Josh Briggs, who had seemed merely fine first time I saw him, looked great here, in many respects the rich man’s Baron Corbin, hitting all sorts of big throws and that incredible dive. Excellent main event.

Limitless Wrestling - Hybrid Moments

Ace Romero vs Sami Callihan

Really hot opener. Romero is a really big guy, with a sort of Dusty Rhodes physique. The story here is that Romero has gone from main eventing the last show to opening this one, so he’s got something to prove. Proper hard-hitting back and forth contest, with Callihan seemingly trying to use his pace advantage early, hitting and running. Romero bumps big for a guy his size, missing a top rope senton to the apron, as well has connecting with a big senton on the floor. He maybe needs to leave visible air when hitting big boots, but he impressed here. Both got to kick out of some big moves – Romero hits two more sentons on Callihan inside the ring, whilst Callihan hits an unlikely DVD on Romero – but that worked for the story they were telling. An exchange of slaps ends with Romero hitting a big lariat to win.

Jordynne Grace vs Jessicka Havok

Really fun power battle between these two, kicking off with a shoulderblock battle that Havok wins. Grace finds herself in the rare position of being overpowered, so she has to resort to using her speed advantage instead, attacking with sudden bursts of energy. Loved her running elbow in the corner to a seated Havok. In turn, Havok looks great using her size advantage, really liked the standing Full Nelson she locked, which had Grace completely off the mat. The end was a bit sloppy, as Grace couldn’t fully get Havok up for a top rope powerbomb, but this was decent.

Josh Briggs vs Darby Allin

Briggs comes across as one of those guys who’s very tall, but not particularly imposing. He seemed fine, but it’s Allin who does all the noteworthy stuff in this match. He gets great height on a springboard armdrag, does a lovely move where Briggs kicks out of an O’Connor Roll and Allin deftly leaps to the bottom rope and flies back with a crossbody to the seated Briggs, as well as taking some big bumps when he gets posted outside the ring. Allin impressively flips out of a chokeslam and gets in a rapid chop combo, but the power advantage pays off for Briggs, as he wins with a huge facebuster slam. Allin looked great in defeat.

Maine State Posse (Danger Kid & Alexander Lee) vs The Thick Boys (John Silver & Jay Freddie)

The commentary seemed to suggest that this incarnation of the Posse didn’t seem to be gelling very well, referring to a third member who apparently works better with Danger Kid. Loved the huge flip dive Danger hit early on, seemed at odds with his unimpressive look. Alexander Lee didn’t really impress, seeming a bit tentative on his kicks, but I loved how Silver worked with him here, rolling into his legs to send Lee crashing into the ropes and hitting a big rebound German suplex. Things break down with the commentary highlighting that Danger Kid still hadn’t tagged into the match, and as soon as Kid accidentally kicks his partner, the result is pretty obvious, as the Thick Boys hit a double Rubix Cube on Lee to win.

Matt Cross vs Petey Williams

Two elder heads of the indy scene colliding, and this is a comfortable, amiable match. Nothing fancy, but both guys are experienced enough that you suspect they could work this bout in their sleep. Petey does some token legwork, but you don’t really watch a Matt Cross match for his selling, so it’s not a huge surprise when he starts his comeback with cartwheels and springboards. Petey locks in a decent looking sharpshooter, and I loved the smarts in him leaning back to grab Petey’s hand to try and prevent a rope break. Cross does two moves in a row that end with a double stomp, just to make sure you know his leg is totally fine. The Canadian Destroyer is reversed into a Jig’N’Tonic for two, before a springboard cutter gets three for Cross. Pretty easy going stuff.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs Jonathan Gresham

Nice change of pace here, as both guys decide to work a load of character-based schtick rather the big-move workrate style seen in other matches here. It’s a fun dynamic, the loudmouth vs the technician, and they work it well here. Gresham gets every opportunity to make MJF look foolish, including trying him up in his own trunks in order to hit a move on his prone opponent. Friedman gets a run of control and starts focusing on the arm and shoulder of Gresham, sending him into the ringpost. Gresham fires back with a nice sequence, hitting a jawbreaker, an enzuigiri and a German suplex in quick succession for a 2 count. MJF takes advantage of a distracted ref, however, to hit a low blow and tie up Gresham with an armbar for the win.

Cam Zagami vs Chris Dickinson

Zagami cuts a fun heel promo, offering an open challenge, before getting blindsided by Dickinson, who hits two Pazuzu Bombs for the quick win. This was really more of an angle to let Dickinson call out Eddie Kingston on the mic afterwards, but it was fun enough.

Christian Casanova vs Ethan Page

Probably the weakest of the featured matches. Casanova seemed fine, even if he spends a lot of the early stages re-tying his hair, but there’s definitely some sloppy moments. They even blow the spot where a heel pretends to be about to throw his opponent through the crowd but instead throws them back into the ring, as Casanova accidentally throws Page into the camerawoman by the apron. Page is a guy with a lot of hype, but it felt like there was good and bad to his performance. I liked his cross-armed iconoclasm, but his through-the-ropes stunner looked poor. Page’s swanton looked decent, before we get a ref bump. Mr Grim comes out, seemingly to attack Casanova, but instead levels Page with a Pounce, and Casanova hits Page with a gold chain to win. Not great, but this was fine.

Skylar vs Willow Nightingale vs Davienne vs Ashley Vox vs Kennedi Copeland vs Terra Calaway

Pretty fun little match, basically non-stop action. There’s a nice dive sequence on the floor, highlighted by an unlikely second rope moonsault by Nightingale. Copeland hitting a series of sloppy cutters is the only questionable bit, but there’s lot to enjoy here. Dug Calaway hitting a series of big cannonballs in the corner, liked Davienne following that by dropkicking people into the ringposts in the corners, before Calaway ends up alone with Copeland, hitting a full Nelson slam to win. Evenly worked to give everyone a little shine, fun spotfest to break things up before the main.

JT Dunn vs Anthony Greene

Though this was really good, both men really impressed me here. Dunn was really good working from beneath, as he works most of this match selling a leg injury. His selling is believable, firing off his good leg when hitting punches on his comeback and really stretching to hit a blow when Greene is JUST out of range. Greene had really nice execution to his stuff, real snap to his moves. His roaring elbow looked great, and I loved his instant focus on the leg when Dunn goes down injured. Both guys get convincing nearfalls, with Greene hitting a top rope cutter and Dunn nailing him with Death By Elbow. The end sees a double count out, as Dunn hits a tombstone on the apron, sending both men tumbling to the floor. Dunn is on the brink of getting back in, but Greene holds onto his leg, ensuring the match ends a draw. Really enjoyed this, thought Dunn was far more effective as a face than in the previous match I’d seen where he was a heel, and for a guy I’d never heard off Greene was a really fun discovery.

Beyond Wrestling - Bye Bye Beautiful

Mike Verna & Ryan Galeone vs EYFBO (Mike Draztik & Angel Ortiz)

Fun opener here, really liked the heel team of Verna and Galeone. Though the smaller EYFBO hit a pair of dives to kick things off, the power of the heel team soon becomes apparent. Verna hurls an opponent off the top rope onto Galeone’s knee then shows off his power by hitting a slingshot suplex that sees him go around all four sides of the ring. Wasn’t so taken with EYFBO, some of their offence like a slingshot double stunner by Ortiz looked a little corny, but this goes along at a decent pace, albeit a bit too short before the heel team get disqualified thanks to Rex Lawless using a crutch as a weapon on the floor.

Martin Stone vs JT Dunn

This was slightly disappointing, I think maybe I expected a bit more from them. Quite liked the early mat work, with Stone controlling after working over the hand of Dunn. Some nasty digit manipulation and I liked some of the big blows both guys hit. The kicks of Dunn looked nasty and Stone hit some beautiful European uppercuts and a massive clothesline. What I didn’t like was the early pointless strike exchange, and a cutter by Dunn looks a bit sloppy. The end was also pretty poor, featuring a sequence where both guys hit a finisher (Tower of London for Stone, big elbow for Dunn) only for the other guy to kick out at one. Ridiculous shit. Dunn ends up winning with a roll up and a grab of the ropes.

Brandon Watts vs Zenshi

Hadn’t seen Zenshi before, and I’m still not sure how I felt about him. Some of his stuff looked pretty goofy, but he hit some unique high-flying offence that actually worked with the goofiness. Liked his flipping cannonball headbutt from the apron and the way he slipped out of a tornado DDT attempt looked great. Didn’t come off as rehearsed, Zenshi felt more like someone naturally flexible just sliding out of the move. Even a bottom rope 450, which sounds stupid, was really effective thanks to how Zenshi whipped himself into the move. For his part, Watts was reliably good, really liked his STO on the apron and how smoothly he caught a handspring into a backcracker. The end was nice too, as Zenshi tries a 630, misses but tries to roll through, only for Watts to pin him to the mat as he tries, getting the win.

Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) vs Matt Riddle & Jeff Cobb

Some absolutely hard hitting big boys here, and this match doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. The fun part was how well the early matwork was thrown in as Riddle and Dickinson tussle on the ground. Felt like the Steiners/MVC matches where you expected big blows from the off, but you got to see collegiate athletes showing their mat skills first. When we do get to the suplexes, the sheer size of these guys makes everything look impressive. It’s probably lucky for Riddle that his lovely rolling gutwrenches on Jaka get highlighted first, because the ease with which Cobb just hurls Jaka around is mindblowing. Dickinson and Jaka can’t compete with that, so they work some big strikes instead. Dickinson’s legs are like tree trunks, so his big kicks look and sound vicious. Riddle isn’t one to back down from a strike battle, and soon both Riddle and Dickinson have bright red chests. At one point, Riddle hits a series of chops to Dickinson’s chest that just sees a sheen of sweat fly off his body. The end run is pretty hot, but the Doom Patrol win through smarter tag team tactics, as Dickinson takes out Riddle with a bucklebomb, which leaves Cobb isolated for a high/low to give them the win. Really great match.

John Silver vs Zack Gibson

Really nice mix of characters here. Gibson’s pre-match promo sees him getting booed constantly, he’s barely audible. For his part, Silver is a little pocket rocket, and I love that after all Gibson’s big talk, Silver just blasts him at the bell, nearly picking up the win right away. Match was really nicely worked, with Gibson focusing heavily on the left arm of Silver in preparation for the Shankly Gates. The hammerlock slam on the apron was nasty looking. Silver peppers in a few nice comebacks, and something about his compact frame makes his strikes look more forceful. Superkick to a kneeling Gibson looks great, as does a pump kick, but Gibson always has the arm as an opening. Eventually, Silver hits a Batista Bomb (should be ridiculous from a guy so small, but he whips Gibson down with real force) and a knee to the head to win.

Travis Banks vs Tracy Williams

This was good, but not without flaws. For starters, I couldn’t tell if either guy was playing heel or not. Banks seems to be early on, going for a kick when offering a handshake and kicking Williams from a rope break, but after that he wrestles the match pretty straight with the crowd supporting him. Williams, as I’ve felt in previous matches, has strikes that don’t look particularly effective, but are sold as being on a par with Banks’, which look much stiffer. Banks hits a corner cannonball at speed that looks great. Williams applies a crossface that I initially thought looked sloppily loose, but when Banks rolls out to escape it, Williams is there to meet him and hook him into a piledriver, so it works. Banks ends up winning with the Slice of Heaven.

Donovan Dijak vs WALTER

This was a really interesting match, really well worked. This is Dijak’s last match for the promotion before heading to NXT, and he really takes a beating here. Despite his size, Dijak is the underdog throughout as WALTER just keeps on him like a bear. There’s one lovely spot where Dijak breaks a sleeper hold by making the ropes, but before he can turn around WALTER launches him with a big German suplex. Even though you suspect Dijak rarely works from beneath in matches, he’s really good at timing his hope spots, but he doesn’t get too many. The corner combo, as Dijak turns and levels WALTER with a series of shots including a rolling big boot, looks great, but soon his comebacks feel like they’ve got less and less behind them as WALTER wears him down. Dijak flipping out of a powerbomb attempt is super impressive, but he promptly eats a WALTER lariat. Even when Dijak gets to hit Feast Your Eyes, WALTER hits a massive clothesline as he falls to stop any momentum. In the end, Dijak uses his last scrap of energy to power up from a sleeper, hit a second Feast Your Eyes and barely win. Really great bout.

PCW/CZW/WXW/Beyond Wrestling World Championship Show 3

Axel Dieter Jr vs Da Mack

I’ve been far more impressed with Dieter Jr in these shows so far, and that trend didn’t buck here. Didn’t buy that Da Mack had hurt ADJ enough to perform a stupid moonwalk into a penalty kick without ADJ trying to block it, as it occurred 30 seconds into the match, though the kick itself looked nasty. I did love Dieter Jr blocking a flying headscissors by just dumping Da Mack face first onto the mat midway through, and his running cross chop is great. It felt like another match where Da Mack was facing someone better than him, as highlighted by a shitty cutter he uses to catch an ADJ dive with. Most annoyingly, Dieter Jr had been targeting the arm of Da Mack earlier in the match, but it was Da Mack who got the win with a Fujiwara armbar from nowhere.

Danny Hope vs Dave Crist

Hope had injured himself in the afternoon show that day, and I assume it must have been pretty bad, as they just work this as a shitty comedy match. More to the point, they recreate the Goldberg/Lesnar match from Survivor Series the previous week. Only here, Hope hulks up at 2 and hits a big boot (complete with 360 sell from Crist) for a nearfall. Seconds later, Crist does a springboard armdrag into a cutter, slipping on the way, for the win. Understandable if Hope was hurt, but possibly would have been better to just sub him out?

Chris Dickinson vs Tracy Williams

Good little match. Liked the opening matwork, nothing too flashy, just felt like two guys trying their best to wear the other one down. Every hold looked like it would hurt. Wasn’t as keen when they got up and started exchanging strikes – Dickinson is substantially bigger than Williams and his blows looked far bigger, so Williams winning the exchange with a clothesline was hard to buy. Williams blocks a top rope superplex by dropping down and giving Dickinson a DDT on the top turnbuckle in a nice spot. Williams is really good here at timing his counters so they fit the match – when Dickinson is giving him mounted punches in the corner, he waits for Dickinson to yell to the crowd as his opening to counter. In the end though, they are very evenly matched, but Dickinson has the size advantage, and he picks up the win with a big spinning kick.

T-Bone vs Iestyn Rees

Dug the start, with Rees taking advantage of T-Bone taking his eye off the match and spearing him. This is quite a methodically paced power match, not especially exciting, though I did like T-Bone’s fallaway slam before Rees gets a sudden win with a kind of Jackhammer slam. Very brief.

Scarlet & Graves (Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier) vs Martin Kirby & Joey Hayes

This was a fun match, really enjoyed to start where both teams were isolating one guy and hitting some nice fluid double teams. Kirby and Hayes ending a Dream Sequence with an eyepoke was a nice touch. Wentz is singled out for Hayes and Kirby to work over, which allows Xavier to look terrific on the hot tag. He’s a very fluid wrestler, moves almost effortlessly, so it gives him a nice opportunity to showcase that. Loved Xavier slingshotting Kirby into a Wentz leaping double-stomp, it looked great. Wentz has a lot of success hitting some springboard moves, but goes to the well too often, getting caught in midair and spiked with a double team DDT to give Kirby and Hayes a win.

Jurn Simmons vs Dave Mastiff

This is the final of the Openweight tournament and is a real prick tease of a match. It starts out brilliantly, as Mastiff spoofs Simmons’s overblown entrance by playing air guitar to his own theme, then air drums, before finally recruiting audience members to bean air band for him. This infuriates Simmons, who complains to the ref, allowing Mastiff to sneak in, hit a German suplex and the corner cannonball….only for the ref not to count because the bell hasn’t rung. Simmons stalls outside, then blocks another German suplex with a low blow and hits a running kick to win. Really promised to be a great match, and ended up as nothing.

Joey Janela vs Keith Lee

This was really fun, both guys blended well as personalities as well as in ring. Janela has real goofy charisma that makes him really endearing to watch, but also leaves plausible openings for him to exploit in this match. At first, he’s getting totally overpowered by the massive Lee, failing with shoulderblocks and getting caught on a cannonball outside the ring. However, with Lee not expecting it, he’s able to turn that cannonball into a rana, sending Lee into the ringpost and giving him an opening to strike with two quick suicide dives. Lee is not just huge though, he’s also quick, and he stops a third dive by leaping into the ring and nailing a shoulderblock. Huge Samoan Jackhammer gets two, before Janela hits an unlikely Canadian Destroyer and a totally ridiculous DVD on Lee for a two count. While Joey plots his next move, Lee suddenly bursts up and nails a MASSIVE Spirit Bomb to win. Really great stuff.

The Hooligans vs Sha Samuels & Lionheart

Super spirited brawl here. Lionheart and Samuels jump the Hooligans outside the ring, but are soon under attack, with Zak Knight hurtling over the top rope towards them on a huge flip dive. The Hooligans are really fun, they’ve got an enjoyably reckless looking way of hurling themselves at their opponent, but not in a way that makes them look untrained. Love Roy nailing a top rope elbow whilst Samuels is prone on a chair. Zak coming off the top with a diving punch also look great. The heels weather the storm and steal a win as Lionheart grabs Zak’s leg on a suplex, causing Samuels to fall on top for the win.

AR Fox vs Bubblegum

This is the final of the cruiserweight tournament, and thankfully goes a bit longer than the openweight match. Thought this went just the right length, as they got to the point of kicking out of a few big moves by the end, but none that you’d call a definite finisher. They start with a little matwork, throwing in nice little touches like Bubblegum pushing at the knee of Fox with his feet to gain extra leverage on a wristlock escape. The kind of details that make it look like a struggle, rather than holds just being given up. Fox increases the tempo with an insane dive over the turnbuckles to the floor. The commentary plays up the fact that the two men had faced each other just 7days previously, so were aware of the moves the other might try. This is highlighted by Fox blocking a satellite DDT by Bubblegum, turning it into a brainbuster. Bubblegum hits a huge bulldog that Fox bumps huge for, and the 619 gets a nearfall. By the end, both guys are selling their fatigue, and this costs Bubblegum, as he takes a little too long going up top and gets caught with a split-legged Spanish Fly and a brainbuster to give Fox the victory. This was really good, great main event.

PCW/CZW/WXW/Beyond - World Wrestling Championships - Day 2 Afternoon Show

Second show from the Wrestling World Championships. Bit of a shorter show - I know the PCW day shows are sometimes known as the "hangover" shows after the Friday night drinking, which might explain this, but still a fun selection of matches.

Danny Hope vs Axel Dieter Jr

Shortened match, as Hope seems to legit injure himself early door. Dieter hits an uppercut as soon as the bell rings, but Hope lands awkwardly after taking a cross-chop to the throat, and the match is called off. An ominous start

Jurn Simmons vs T-Bone

Bit of a big lad sprint here, though not in the form of Simmons’ never-ending entrance. By way of contrast, T-Bone bursts to the ring in less than 10 seconds to kick this off.  This doesn’t go long, but see some nice big shots from both guys. Ultimately, this comes down to a battle of the finishers, with both guys using piledriver variations. T-Bone goes for one early, but Simmons reverses and hits his own for the win. Would have been up for a longer version of this.

Bubblegum vs Tracy Williams

This was a good step forward. Williams is terrific on the mat, but Bubblegum matches him early doors, chaining holds with Williams, which soon moves onto the two chaining pinfall attempts. I liked how this built up, with Williams slightly ahead on the mat, so Bubblegum starts to quicken the pace to swing things into his favour. Williams controls Gum with some big suplexes, but misses a corner charge after showing off. There’s a few awkward moments of miscommunication, but they’re soon forgotten with both guys hitting some nice sequences. Williams going from a brainbuster into a crossface looks killer, and I dug the finishing section, Bubblegum hitting a satellite DDT and the 619 to win.

Joey Janela, Dave Crist, Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs Sha Samuels, Joey Hayes, Lionheart & Martin Kirby

This was just a big goofy match designed to warm up the crowd with comedy spots. Not much of a match to call, but there’s some enjoyable sequences – Xavier goes through a sluggish exchange with Kirby until he downs a can of Red Bull to re-energize himself. Janela works a section against an invisible man, just in case you weren’t sure how seriously to take this. The CZW team hits a nice dive series, and it all breaks down in the ring, before Crist nails Kirby with a diving stunner and Wentz hits a standing moonsault to win. Forgettable but enjoyable.

Da Mack vs AR Fox

This was fine, but I get the impression that Da Mack may not be my kind of wrestler. His dancing kicks still look goofy, and nothing he does convinces me it’s going to help him win a match – all looks a bit wimpy, despite Fox bumping about for him. He keeps going for these uppercut/palm strikes which never come close to connecting. Fox looked good though, loved the height he got on a big dive and his match winning fisherman’s buster was choice. Brief match, but that might well be for the best.

Iestyn Rees vs Keith Lee

Non-title match here, with Rees not defending the PCW title. Two big boys here, though Rees decides to stall a good chunk to kick this off. Lee is a force of nature, so I dug Rees’s use of cheapshots to seize control – nothing fancy, just not breaking cleanly and eye-gouges. Loved the massive slingshot crossbody Lee hits, such agility for a guy his size and it’s an impressive visual. Rees isn’t able to get the Alphalock on Lee and instead gets caught in this insane Samoan drop into a Jackhammer by Lee, which looks killer. This persuades Rees to take the count out loss. Felt like the first half of a good match, but it needed a better finish.

Dave Mastiff vs Chris Dickinson

Another pair of big lads, but they defy convention by having a clean, technical bout to start off. This is something both are surprisingly adept at, with Mastiff hooking out Dickinson’s ankles from the mat and locking in an impressive straight-jacket sleeper. Dickinson tries to cheap shot on a hand shake, which ups the match pace, but this doesn’t give him the control as Mastiff still dominates. Loved the enzuigiri that Dickinson hits, looked really impressive for a big guy and he gets great height on it. Despite his skulduggery, the crowd seem pretty pro-Dickinson, especially when he powers up Mastiff for a huge death valley driver. Ultimately though, Mastiff has the advantage in power and technique, as he rolls through a sunset flip attempt and locks in an unlikely sharpshooter to win. Enjoyed this.

PCW/CZW/WXW/Beyond - Wrestling World Championships Night 1

So, this is the first night of a 3-show tournament that PCW booked to replace their annual Supershows of Honor after differences with RoH. This involves WXW, CZW and Beyond wrestling, and has openweight and cruiserweight brackets. The line up of wrestlers is really good too, so it promises to be a good show

Da Mack vs Zachary Wentz

This is a WXW vs CZW match. Pretty decent opener, without setting the bar too high for the following matches. I wasn’t a big fan of Da Mack’s goofy dancing kicks, but he had some other strikes that looked a lot better. The opening matwork was a bit perfunctory, but it allowed Wentz to speed things up a bit to get a bit of personality over. Loved Wentz’s through-the-ropes codebreaker and handspring leaping knee, but the end was a bit weak, with Wentz going to the top to hit a diving nothing right into an RKO to give Da Mack the win.

Tracy Williams vs Martin Kirby

Beyond vs PCW. First time I’ve seen Williams, who I know is pretty hotly tipped. They work a really nice sequence of counters on the mat, which isn’t something you always see from Kirby, though he is capable of doing so. Williams is pretty slick on the mat though, and is always one step ahead. When they get off the mat, Kirby’s running shoulderblock in the corner looks typically great. I liked the way they built up to the strikes too, culminating in a big Williams clothesline that puts Kirby on his head. The end was pretty good, as Williams only gets 2 off an Emerald Frosion, so chains into a crossface right away to focus on the neck. Despite the best efforts of Kirby’s partner Joey Hayes to interfere, Williams is able to get the tap from a second crossface to win. Good stuff.

Axel Dieter Jr vs Bubblegum

WXW vs PCW. Was really impressed by Dieter Jr here. Loved his controlled armwork early on, making Bubblegum work to escape. Dieter catching a Bubblegum dive and hitting a European uppercut instead was pretty choice, and I loved how he had Gum in control in the corner, casually sauntering up with his arms behind his back. Just tremendous character stuff. Sliding diving elbow looked great, and Bubblegum also looks good on the comeback, with a top rope stomp looking good. I liked how the ending saw both guys upping the tempo, but both of them made their offensive openings by reversing the other’s move, not just randomly recovering from the last move hit on them. Bubblegum wins with a 619

Dave Crist vs Jurn Simmons

CZW vs WXW. Simmons takes a ridiculously long time to get to the ring – we’re talking Undertaker levels here – so Crist pump kicking him out of the ring as soon as the bell goes feels fair enough. Crist makes a rookie mistake by trying to chop Simmons against the ringpost, but only hurts himself when Jurn ducks. From there, it’s all one way traffic, and Simmons looks great throughout. Great looking power offence, with a power slam looking terrific and I loved him whipping Crist to the turnbuckle with real force. Crist seems to be a better seller than on offence, as a lot of his stuff looks sloppy here, but him taking a 360 bump from a Simmons shoulderblock is impressive. Simmons hits a big piledriver and wins a borderline squash.

Joey Janela vs Chris Dickinson

CZW vs Beyond. This is worked around Dickinson having a power advantage over Janela, and Janela having to work on a hit and hope basis. This is established early when Janela hits a cannonball from the apron, but Dickinson rolls through with it and hoists him up to powerbomb Joey on the apron. Janela manages to create some distance and dives on Dickinson from a balcony, as this is the only way he’s able to hurt him. When Dickinson does have Janela in his grasp, he does blitz him, with his kicks looking immense – his legs are nearly the size of Janela. Joey has to keep taking risks to try and stay in the match, but when they don’t pay off, he’s really in the shit. He sits Dickinson in a chair and goes for a top rope flip, but Dickinson moves and sends Joey ploughing through the chair. Janela is really winning the fans over here pretty much by killing himself. Joey does manage to hit a tilt-a-whirl tombstone, but gets caught by Dickinson and takes a face-planting version of a burning hammer on the apron. Janela kicks out, which makes him look amazing, but he’s basically out and a Dickinson lariat gives him the win. Really good bout here, with Dickinson looking unstoppable and Janela gutsy and fearless in defeat. Both guys left the bout looking great.

Dave Mastiff vs Keith Lee

PCW vs Beyond. These are two big boys here, but both guys who are able to move about. They work this really smartly, building up to the big spots. They exchange really thunderous looking blows early on, moving to running the ropes before Lee snaps off an impressive looking running rana. He makes the mistake of shit-talking though, and Mastiff whiplashes him into the ropes and hits the bathtub senton. What’s great is, both guys are agile enough to bump and make the other guy look immense, with Dave taking a huge powerbomb from the corner. Lee misses a moonsault and Mastiff hits a German suplex into the buckles and the Bastard Bomb for three. Enjoyed this.

T-Bone vs David Starr

PCW vs WXW. Starr plays the early stages as a smart-ass, outwrestling T-Bone and trying to make him look stupid. T-Bone responds by just beating him up. They brawl outside, and there’s a fun spot with Starr getting fans to hold T-Bone in place while he takes a run up, but by the time he reaches him, T-Bone is free and superkicks him. Starr hits this really cool looking DDT to the apron, with T-Bone draped over the ropes from the inside. Starr tries going to the top, but gets caught with a draping DDT and a tombstone for 3. This was fine.

The Hooligans & Danny Hope vs Sha Samuels, Lionheart & Iestyn Rees

Odd deal this. The vast majority of this is a big brawl on the outside of the ring that’s pretty entertaining, highlighted by a big suicide dive by Roy Knight. They take nearly 5 minutes to reach the ring, which is when Rees and Hope make it there. They have a brief sequence, ending with Hope trying his own version of the Alpha Lock, getting hit by a Rees low blow and Rees getting his own Alpha Lock for the anti-climactic win. Very strange.

AR Fox vs Dezmond Xavier

Beyond vs CZW. This is the final match of the night, and as such you get the sense that they’re going out to steal the show, especially as they aren’t exactly the biggest names of the evening. This is a full on spotfest, and those live and die on how good the spots are. Well, the spots here are really fucking nuts. Fox hits a huge inverted somersault to the floor that just looks nuts, and Xavier flies out with an insane handspring somersault. These guys both look like they’re actually trying to hurt each other, with a minimum of superfluous flipping, whilst still hitting some bonkers stuff. I could really have done without the piss-poor strike exchange in the middle, but that aside, this was really fun. Xavier escaping an RKO attempt by just slipping out looked great – it looked like he was going down, but his head slips out at the last moment. Fox gets the win with a brainbuster, which oddly means CZW have lost all four of their matches on the show, which is odd. This was a worthy main event though.

PCW/GFW Global Conflict 2016

This is a co-promoted Preston City Wrestling/Global Force Wrestling show, though only 3 Global Force guys wrestle on the show. Still, it's quite a fun line-up and a pretty decent show all in all...

Lionheart vs Kenny Williams

Williams is quite a gangly looking guy, and his offence doesn’t look like it could cause too much damage. I enjoyed Lionheart’s control here, as he’s prepared to use his size advantage to outman Williams. Loved him putting Williams on the top rope only to punch him in the face. Williams further disappoints me by taking a superkick flush in the face, only to hit a rebound lariat. Still, Lionheart looked good, with the end seeing him superkick Williams in the head on the top rope then absolutely plant him with a Rock Bottom for 3.

Joe Hendry vs Dave Rayne

There’s more time spent here on angle than match, but it served to get a debuting Hendry over, so it served a purpose. Hendry’s schtick sees him singing a lot (including coming out to his own version of “In The Air Tonight”, with lyrics referencing his own name) and promising to sing in lieu of his match with an injured Joey Hayes. This prompts Rayne out to face him, but first lead the crowd through a singalong of “Sweet Caroline”. Being a true heel, Hendry attacks Rayne from behind before he even gets to the chorus. This was brief, but Hendry was pretty solid. Loved his fallaway slam before he hits a dominator for the win.

Sonjay Dutt vs Bubblegum

This is for Dutt’s GFW Next Gen title, which is a huge belt. Some really nice matwork to start, with Bubblegum maybe a little ahead on points. The pace picks up, and Dutt nails a massive baseball slide dropkick. Dutt’s octopus stretch looks nasty. Bubblegum is good at fighting from underneath, but he doesn’t get a whole load of offence here, mainly limited to hitting some swank kicks on his comebacks. They botch a backslide, but that aside everything looked good here. Dutt picks up the win following a tornado DDT and a top rope splash, before attacking Gum after the bell to cement himself as heel. Maybe a little too one sided, but this was fun.

Johnny Moss vs Chris Dickinson

Two big muscle-bound lads here. Their similar looks (bald heads, black trunks, ripped torsos) see the crowd yell Mitchell brothers references, which must have baffled Dickinson. Enjoyed the opening matwork and roll ups, as both guys strength made it look like they could power the other one down for a win and hold them there. Moss looks great here, nasty elbow drop and a lovely capture suplex. Dickinson for his part has some great footwork, with his standing kicks to the torso thudding like logs into Moss. They trade rolling German suplexes at one point, which is the kind of thing I normally hate, but it works here, as both guys show the effects of being worn down, getting up slower and slower each time. The end sees Dickinson maybe getting up a bit too quickly from a tombstone (though Moss takes his time getting to the top rope)and hitting a top rope falcon arrow to win. Really good big man match.

Jeff Jarrett vs Noam Dar

The commentary points out that Jarrett is 48 to Dar’s 22, so it’s probably no surprise that Jarrett brings out a whole heap of schtick. Loads of stalling at the start with Karen Jarrett getting into arguments with fans. Jarrett hits a pair of armdrags, both followed by a strut, so predictably Dar follows with one of his own after his first piece of offence. Jarrett actually keeps up with Dar pretty well – normally in matches like this the younger wrestler has to noticeably hold back to not show up the veteran, but Jarrett still moves well. Plus, he’s also wise enough to fall back on a load of cheap moves, poking the eyes and choking behind the ref’s back to maintain control. Dar’s comeback offence is a little flurry of quick, crisp offence that looks nice, before they pay off the continued Karen interference by having her accidentally slap Jarrett instead of Dar. Dar locks in the Champagne Superkneebar, but more Karen distraction allows Sonjay Dutt to sneak in and nail Dar with his oversized belt for the Jarrett win. A masterclass in cheap heat and stalling by Jarrett.

Team Single vs Jack Baron & Jack Garvin

Team Single are supposed to be fighting the Hooligans, but an injury to Roy Knight means that they instead offer an open challenge, answered by two rookies from the PCW academy. There’s a big size difference, and I’ve seen plenty of matches where the big veterans just guzzle up the rookies, but Team Single give a surprising amount to the two Jacks. Baron and Garvin seem green but have the fundamentals down. They logically focus on T-Bone’s arm and use their speed to try and avoid Rampage, but Brown catches Baron in midair on a Poetry in Motion attempt, dropping him on Garvin. Despite a decent period of control on Baron, Team Single still let the rookies back in, as Baron hits a nice tilt-a-whirl DDT to tag out. It’s played up that Team Single have underestimed the rookies, but it still lets Baron and Garvin look good. The end sees T-Bone German suplex Baron into the corner, crotching a climbing Garvin on top. Brown hits a superplex on Baron, with T-Bone following with a top rope splash for three.

Sha Samuels vs Dave Mastiff

For Samuels’ PCW title. Love the start with Samuels getting into Mastiff’s face, and getting grabbed with two overhead suplexes. They fight in the crowd, including some stiff headbutts from Mastiff. The camera does lose them a bit as they brawl in the audience, before Samuels suddenly reappears, thrown through a load of chairs from the back of the room. Samuels takes control by ramming Mastiff into the ringpost 3 times, before locking on a sleeper in the ring. He makes the mistake of jawing with the crowd though, which lets Mastiff break free and hit two big German suplexes. He looks set to hit the cannonball, before 3 masked men come out, causing a distraction for Samuels to hit the match-winning low blow. This was good, but felt too short and we missed a chunk of the crowd fighting due to the camera losing them, but what we did see was fun.