Having really enjoyed HOPE's June show in Mansfield, I was more than a little disappointed that my required attendance at a birthday party meant I missed their July show. I wasn't going to let this happen twice, mind you, so last Friday I went back for what was another fun show.
Chris Brookes vs Zack Northern
This was a great opener, and these two guys are a real good match personality wise. Northern is a great, likable face whilst Brookes, despite not using the nickname here, is a man often billed as "a bit of a cunt", which provides a nice contrast. The opening stages were nice, despite a slight slip by Northern reversing a backdrop, but it got really good when Northern suffered a leg injury, which Brookes focused on for the rest of the match. What I loved was Brookes' arrogant demeanour as he worked over the leg, knowing he was in control, which allowed time for Northern to make great spirited comebacks and nearly steal the win. In the end, the injury was too much and Brookes retained total control with a single leg crab. Northern looked set to tap, until his girlfriend Nixon came in to attack Brookes, earning him the DQ win. The postmatch was also great, as Brookes threatened Nixon, which drew a one-legged Northern to come to her aid. His reward for this was a low-blow from Nixon, who then went off with Brookes. Really loved this, kept Northern looking good as he wouldn't tap out, but put over how deadly (and how much of a dick) Brookes is.
Danny Chase vs Barricade
I like both guys, but I expected this to be a bit better. It felt like a match of two halves, with the first half being a bit plodding, and the second half being more exciting. With Chase being a lot smaller than Barricade, a lot of the early stage revolved around him getting beaten down by Barricade in a methodical fashion, with a few hope spots here and there. When Chase made his comeback, things improved and there were some really nice sequences, including one which ended with Barricade getting sent into the ring post to make it seem like Chase might pick up the win. I also really liked Barricade blocking a monkey flip to nearly hit his two-handed chokeslam finisher, only for Chase in turn to block that. The end saw a typical Raw finish, as Ruffneck's music played, causing Barricade to turn his attention from Chase, who rolled him up for the win. I thought this was actually more logical than when I hate that finish on Raw each week - it makes sense for Barricade to be fooled, as he's a monster who lets his manager Harvey Dale do the thinking for him, and Harvey was busy shitting himself at the thought of Ruffneck attacking him again.
Paul Malen vs Stevie Mitchell
This was supposed to be Malen against "Flash" Morgan Webster, who is one of my favourite guys to hate in wrestling. Sadly, Webster was injured and so was replaced by House of Pain wrestler Mitchell. I've seen Mitchell a few times and, whilst he's got potential, he's not there yet, and obviously doesn't have the "fuck, I hate this mod twat" factor that Webster does. Mitchell's nickname is "Rough House", and it's probably not unfair to say he needs to be a bit nastier in his strikes to live up to that, though I liked a few of the grittier things he did to Malen. A full nelson with Malen forced into the corner was pretty choice. Malen looked great here and guided the less experienced Mitchell through a decent bout, before picking up the victory with a Twist of Fate. I do wish Flash had been there though...
Ashton Smith vs Kris Travis
Smith made his debut in the June show, and left then to a standing ovation. Two months later and he's still massively over and having a really fun match with one of the UK's best. I really enjoyed this, it was impressively hard-hitting and, due to Travis' willingness to heel it up, got a really good reaction from the crowd. Smith's match in June with Bam Bam Barton was a short, sharp shock of a match, so it was good to see him work a longer match here. At one point, Smith took a mental dive to the outside that looked like it landed hard. Smith eventually picked up the win with a cradle DDT.
LJ Heron vs Ryan Smile
Having seen heel LJ Heron at the last show and a couple of HoP shows, it's amazing how they've taken something I like and made it even better. This was a really good match, with Smile's high-flying giving him the advantage, before a missed corner splash sent him high into the turnbuckle. Heron took advantage of this to work over the mid-section of Smile, which was logical to set up Heron's spear finisher. It also had an effect on Smile's high-flying, with a missed 450 causing even more damage to the torso. Smile made a comeback using his speed advantage, and nailed a mad suicide dive into the crowd to wipeout Heron. The end saw Smile firmly in control before Heron hit a low blow before nailing Smile with a spear (complete with 360 sell by Smile)
Nixon vs Violet Vendetta vs Ruby Summers vs Felony
Can I be brutally honest? Not really being familiar with any of the competitors in the match, I really worried this match was going to be terrible. You know what? I quite enjoyed it. Sure, some of the execution was a little weak and it got a bit messy at times, but it was never dull and kept moving at a decent pace. Felony was billed as the "living dead girl" and totally had a female Onryo thing going on here, all white gear and ghostly body movements. Give her some Onryo zombie dust to fly off her when hit and she'll be my favourite thing in wrestling. Nixon pretty much had to win following her earlier heel turn, and she got the pin on Summers. The other two couldn't break it up as Felony had pulled a screaming Vendetta under the ring, like the end scene of "Drag Me To Hell".
Joseph Conners vs Martin Kirby
This was the main event of the night. It started with a bit of sportsmanship between two face wrestlers, with some nice matwork and handshakes. Kirby took a spill to the floor which led to Conners holding the ropes open for him, before Conners also took a spill, a nastier one, where Kirby returned the favour. Kirby was letting a little frustration seep through, especially when Conners seemed to be suffering a back injury from the fall to the floor which caused the ref to tend to him rather than letting the match continue. This frustration would manifest itself in a heelish side for Kirby which gave the match it's dynamic. Like Brookes/Northern and Heron/Smile, the bodypart work was really good, generating sympathy for Conners and giving Kirby a way to quickly cut off any Conners comeback attempt with a swift body shot. For a guy who is a nasty shit of a heel in Southside, Conners does great fired-up comebacks, and I love the big leaping clothesline he does to regain the advantage. The match ended with Conners picking up the win following a slingshot DDT, and this was a really satisfying match.
Showing posts with label Danny Chase. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Danny Chase. Show all posts
Thursday, 14 August 2014
Sunday, 22 June 2014
House of Pain: Evolution 9 - Our Lawyers Made Us Change The Title Of This Show To Avoid Getting Sued
House of Pain: Evolution (or HoP:E) are an off-shoot of the Nottingham academy promotion House of Pain, this time using more experienced BritWres workers with a sprinkling of their own guys. They've been running for nearly a year now, but this is the first show I've been to since the debut last July. The reason is that I wasn't too impressed with the debut show. There were too many lengthy promo sessions, and too many odd booking decisions that I didn't get. For example, the second match saw Battle Squad: Awesome beating Project Ego in a tag bout. Now, whilst putting your own guys over the established team makes total sense, Kris Travis of Ego still had to compete in a main event against three other big names, so having him on the losing side of a comedy tag match seemed misguided. Despite some good matches, the show seemed to go on forever, and by the end I was feeling pretty bored and burned out. However, based on some of the recent show results, I wanted to give them another go. Honestly? I'm really glad I did, as this was a fantastic show - based on this, it wont be another year before I return.
Jurgen Heimlich vs Danny Chase
Two local House of Pain guys here, and a pretty fun opener. I first saw Heimlich two years ago, and whilst decent then, he's certainly improved since in that time. Despite the fact I suspect he's no more German than I, there is something convincingly Teutonic about his ring work, with some crisp efficient execution of his matwork. Chase spent a lot of this match on the defensive, with a few hope spots peppered in here and there, but he ultimately picked up the win with a springboard splash.
Danny Hope vs LJ Heron
Heron is a guy I've always liked from HoP, a good face worker who always puts on a good showing. Here, however, he was working heel and, hey, it turns out he's even better as a heel. This the first time I'd seen Hope and though I confess I didn't really get his gimmick (lots of tassles, garish pink tights, strutting), I did enjoy him in the match. The match started with a lengthy comedy bit, as Hope has this "strut across the ring" bit he does which he was attempting to get Heron to imitate. This went on forever, to the point where I was starting to wish Heron would just hit him instead....and then he did. An aggressive side really suits Heron and you can tell he's having a good time with it. The two of them worked well together, including a great spot where they kept reversing go-behinds until Hope suddenly nailed Heron with a perfectly timed superkick for two. The end was slightly off, with Heron reversing a rollup into one of his own for the win not looking too crisp, but this was a fun match.
Ashton Smith vs Bam Bam Barton
Smith was pretty much unknown by the crowd and Barton, despite being a heel, is a local guy, so Barton was getting some good reactions from the audience. This is the point where the show went from good to great. This was a pretty short match, but it went over brilliantly with the crowd. What we had was two guys hapy to lay it into each other with some nice blows and some crisp strikes. Smith totally won over the crowd with his performance here, winning with a lovely superkick that caught Barton great. This was short and sweet, and ended with a standing ovation for Smith.
Dave Mastiff vs Joseph Conners
This was the main match that had convinced me to come to this show. I love Dave Mastiff, he's the perfect example of a big guy who can move, look dangerous, but also make his opponent look good and their offence look credible. Conners meanwhile, is one of the more underrated guys in the UK, and you can tell the next year is going to be huge for him. Despite being possibly the best heel in Britain, Conners worked face here, and this was a perfectly executed dominant-heel-vs-popular-face match. They built this slowly, with Conners trying to find an opening and Mastiff not rushing in and giving it to him. Mastiff dominated the early going, wearing down Conners with the air and confidence of a man who knew he was going to win. Conners got a few hope spots, but it was mainly Mastiff shutting him off and taking over again. The trick with this sort of match is how to effectively and credibly give the face his real comeback, and this was done by a vicious offensive flurry by Conners in the corner. He'd hit a combo of short clotheslines and elbows to the head, get separated by the ref, then go back in with another flurry. I loved that, as no matter how much bigger Mastiff is, repeated blows to the head are still going to take you out meaning a diving shoulderblock from Conners was able to take Mastiff off his feet. They also teased a slam spot, which got paid off by Conners hitting a sitout slam for a nearfall. Both guys got really credible nearfalls (love the Mastiff crossbody as always), before a missed cannonball left Mastiff prone to a chickenwing DDT for the Conners win. Absolutely fantastic match, and it's neck-and-neck with ZSJ/Pete Dunne for my match of the year so far.
T-Bone vs Barricade
I'd only ever seen one Barricade match before, and I hadn't been that impressed to be honest, so I wasn't sure how good this would be. The answer is that this was tremendous and both guys deserve a lot of credit for the abuse they were taking from each other. Essentially, they just beat the tar out of each other, levelling their opponent with stiff weapon shots. I had a brief warning to grab my hoodie and leave my chair before a flying T-Bone was hurled into the spot where me and a large chunk of the audience had been sitting. The match looked to be won by T-Bone, before a distraction by Bam Bam Barton allowed LJ Heron to sneak in and pummel T-Bone with a series of chairshot to gift Barricade the win.
Grado vs Flex Buffington
Good pacing here, as this was a fun comedy match before the main event. Both guys were very popular with the crowd, who ate up everything here. We got a repeat of the "gym equipment fired into Flex's crotch" spot from last months Flex/Manson match in Southside, some "Flex is scared to pull off top rope moves" comedy and Grado riding him round the ring like a pony. The nice thing is that Flex's character is such a goofball that it gave us the rare sight of Grado outsmarting somebody. Grado picked up the win with an F5, but the audience were the real winners here. In the last two months, Flex has worked arguably the two premier comedy wrestlers in the UK, and kept up with both, which bodes well for him (Oh shit! I've just realised that Flex vs Dave Mercy is a match I now need to see happen. Promoters of the UK, get on this!!)
Jack Jester vs Kris Travis
This was our main event, fought under no-DQ rules. I'd never seen Jester wrestler before, and the only thing I knew about him was from his appearance on Insane Fight Club, where he came across really well. In person though, he's a proper scary guy, and came across as convincingly unhinged during this match. This was another insane brawl, and they upped the ante from the T-Bone/Barricade bout, leaving the ring, then the room, leading to a Pied Piper-like string of wrestling fans following them outside to watch them fight on the stairs down to the football pitch near the venue. I've watched enough bad hardcore matches over the years to know that crowd brawling is often a lazy way to fill time in matches unless the hate is convincing, and that was certainly the case here. Things didn't calm down in the ring, with some nasty chairshots before Jester picked up a win with a tombstone onto a chair.
Jurgen Heimlich vs Danny Chase
Two local House of Pain guys here, and a pretty fun opener. I first saw Heimlich two years ago, and whilst decent then, he's certainly improved since in that time. Despite the fact I suspect he's no more German than I, there is something convincingly Teutonic about his ring work, with some crisp efficient execution of his matwork. Chase spent a lot of this match on the defensive, with a few hope spots peppered in here and there, but he ultimately picked up the win with a springboard splash.
Danny Hope vs LJ Heron
Heron is a guy I've always liked from HoP, a good face worker who always puts on a good showing. Here, however, he was working heel and, hey, it turns out he's even better as a heel. This the first time I'd seen Hope and though I confess I didn't really get his gimmick (lots of tassles, garish pink tights, strutting), I did enjoy him in the match. The match started with a lengthy comedy bit, as Hope has this "strut across the ring" bit he does which he was attempting to get Heron to imitate. This went on forever, to the point where I was starting to wish Heron would just hit him instead....and then he did. An aggressive side really suits Heron and you can tell he's having a good time with it. The two of them worked well together, including a great spot where they kept reversing go-behinds until Hope suddenly nailed Heron with a perfectly timed superkick for two. The end was slightly off, with Heron reversing a rollup into one of his own for the win not looking too crisp, but this was a fun match.
Ashton Smith vs Bam Bam Barton
Smith was pretty much unknown by the crowd and Barton, despite being a heel, is a local guy, so Barton was getting some good reactions from the audience. This is the point where the show went from good to great. This was a pretty short match, but it went over brilliantly with the crowd. What we had was two guys hapy to lay it into each other with some nice blows and some crisp strikes. Smith totally won over the crowd with his performance here, winning with a lovely superkick that caught Barton great. This was short and sweet, and ended with a standing ovation for Smith.
Dave Mastiff vs Joseph Conners
This was the main match that had convinced me to come to this show. I love Dave Mastiff, he's the perfect example of a big guy who can move, look dangerous, but also make his opponent look good and their offence look credible. Conners meanwhile, is one of the more underrated guys in the UK, and you can tell the next year is going to be huge for him. Despite being possibly the best heel in Britain, Conners worked face here, and this was a perfectly executed dominant-heel-vs-popular-face match. They built this slowly, with Conners trying to find an opening and Mastiff not rushing in and giving it to him. Mastiff dominated the early going, wearing down Conners with the air and confidence of a man who knew he was going to win. Conners got a few hope spots, but it was mainly Mastiff shutting him off and taking over again. The trick with this sort of match is how to effectively and credibly give the face his real comeback, and this was done by a vicious offensive flurry by Conners in the corner. He'd hit a combo of short clotheslines and elbows to the head, get separated by the ref, then go back in with another flurry. I loved that, as no matter how much bigger Mastiff is, repeated blows to the head are still going to take you out meaning a diving shoulderblock from Conners was able to take Mastiff off his feet. They also teased a slam spot, which got paid off by Conners hitting a sitout slam for a nearfall. Both guys got really credible nearfalls (love the Mastiff crossbody as always), before a missed cannonball left Mastiff prone to a chickenwing DDT for the Conners win. Absolutely fantastic match, and it's neck-and-neck with ZSJ/Pete Dunne for my match of the year so far.
T-Bone vs Barricade
I'd only ever seen one Barricade match before, and I hadn't been that impressed to be honest, so I wasn't sure how good this would be. The answer is that this was tremendous and both guys deserve a lot of credit for the abuse they were taking from each other. Essentially, they just beat the tar out of each other, levelling their opponent with stiff weapon shots. I had a brief warning to grab my hoodie and leave my chair before a flying T-Bone was hurled into the spot where me and a large chunk of the audience had been sitting. The match looked to be won by T-Bone, before a distraction by Bam Bam Barton allowed LJ Heron to sneak in and pummel T-Bone with a series of chairshot to gift Barricade the win.
Grado vs Flex Buffington
Good pacing here, as this was a fun comedy match before the main event. Both guys were very popular with the crowd, who ate up everything here. We got a repeat of the "gym equipment fired into Flex's crotch" spot from last months Flex/Manson match in Southside, some "Flex is scared to pull off top rope moves" comedy and Grado riding him round the ring like a pony. The nice thing is that Flex's character is such a goofball that it gave us the rare sight of Grado outsmarting somebody. Grado picked up the win with an F5, but the audience were the real winners here. In the last two months, Flex has worked arguably the two premier comedy wrestlers in the UK, and kept up with both, which bodes well for him (Oh shit! I've just realised that Flex vs Dave Mercy is a match I now need to see happen. Promoters of the UK, get on this!!)
Jack Jester vs Kris Travis
This was our main event, fought under no-DQ rules. I'd never seen Jester wrestler before, and the only thing I knew about him was from his appearance on Insane Fight Club, where he came across really well. In person though, he's a proper scary guy, and came across as convincingly unhinged during this match. This was another insane brawl, and they upped the ante from the T-Bone/Barricade bout, leaving the ring, then the room, leading to a Pied Piper-like string of wrestling fans following them outside to watch them fight on the stairs down to the football pitch near the venue. I've watched enough bad hardcore matches over the years to know that crowd brawling is often a lazy way to fill time in matches unless the hate is convincing, and that was certainly the case here. Things didn't calm down in the ring, with some nasty chairshots before Jester picked up a win with a tombstone onto a chair.
Monday, 5 May 2014
House of Pain: Tag Team Warfare 2010
A year or so back, I reviewed a show by the Nottingham based promotion House of Pain, an academy/promotion who put on shows of homegrown talent, with BritWres mainstay Stixx as head trainer. Here is another show which I picked up on DVD at around the same time. As I stated in my initial review, I'm not going to judge these matches as harshly as I would others, knowing that these guys are learning their craft and, given that the shows are kept at a low price, it's a fair and ideal way for them to improve. On the other hand, this is still a product that the public has to pay for, so if I've spent money on something terrible I will say so. Thankfully, that is not the case for the vast majority of this show...
Lucas Black vs Matt Pedin
This is a rematch from the previous HOP show, which saw Pedin pick up the win. We get a few pre-match hijinx from Pedin goofing around on Black before the match gets underway. Some of Pedin's flash roll-ups early on look really smooth. Black looks a little hesitant in places, but he's crucially got the character and his mannerisms down pat. You can just tell that he'll get better with experience. He does little things like a nice cocky pin that really suits the role. Pedin shows good fire on his comeback, and Black catching him on a springboard crossbody into a cradle neckbreaker looks really good. I loved Black's selling of a codebreaker before interference from Black's manager leads to a low blow and Lucas putting a bucket on Pedin's head before hitting a Neutraliser for the Black win. Reasonable opener.
Adil Khan vs Callum Piper
I get the impression these two guys are a bit more experienced, as they seem more polished than the guys in the opener. They both seem more natural in the ring, and there is a nice snap to Piper's offence. They maybe spend a bit too much time with a Khan Camel Clutch, and Piper seems to dip into Ken Anderson's offence list a bit, but this is pretty good. The end sees Khan grabbing his title belt, and nailing Piper's tag partner Jimmy Crash when he tries to stop him using it, only for Piper to hit him with a scissor kick for the win.
Jewel vs Sammy Hope
Apparently, this is the first 1-on-1 ladies match in the House of Pain. There is a notable size difference between the two, which is played up as the story of the match, with Hope having to hit-and-run on the larger Jewel. To be honest, this isn't terribly good, as neither girl seems too experienced in the ring, but they keep it simple with an easy to follow story. Hope appears to be the better of the two, as Jewel's offence seems particularly weak and hesitant, but they stuck to what they knew and, given that nothing was blown and everything made sense, you have to call this a success.
Kaleb Hughes, Joseph Conners, Brian Wright & Zero Tolerance vs Danny Chase, Paul Malen, Dropkick James & Marc Scott
This is an elimination tag team match. The initial story arc sees Conners trying his best to avoid Malen, and it's nice to see that Conners was an effective shit-talking heel even in 2010. It may seem obvious in hindsight, but the four guys who impress most here are the one's who are still working regularly to this day (namely Hughes, Conners, Chase and Malen), with Hughes and Conners looking particularly vicious in ring. By way of contrast, Dropkick James seems to be struggling with keeping his trousers up. Scott is a well-built guy who seems to have good energy and he swiftly pins Tolerance with a sitout powerbomb. However, Hughes superkicks Scott whilst he holds Wright in a press slam, and Wright lands on top for the pin. I'm not a fan of rapid eliminations, as it takes away the advantage element of the match. Sadly, we get two more in rapid succession, as Wright is DQd for choking Dropkick on the ropes, leading to Conners swiftly pinning him to leave both sides down to two men. This leaves us with the four best performers in the match, and we switch to a formula tag team match, with Malen working as FIP. Chase shows some nice fire and energy on the hot tag, but accidentally nails Malen with a missile dropkick. Brilliantly, Conners gets the mic and uses his poison tongue to try and convince Malen, who is on the apron, to abandon Chase. Even better, it works, as Malen rejects the hot tag and leaves Chase to get hit with a running DVD for the elimination. Conners and Hughes win via countout, as Malen walks to the back. Fun match, and really hot angle to close it.
Tony Asbo vs Nate Colt
The match is being refereed by Asbo's son Burberry, who showed some concern about the tactics used by Asbo in a match on the previous show. A pre-match pat down reveals Asbo hiding a baseball bat and pair of wrenches on his person. Asbo takes some quick offence from Colt early, so slows things down with a baseball dropkick to the leg and a half crab. I loved the wicked punts to the ribs Asbo added, as he shows a real viciousness on offence. Colt does a good job selling the beating, even when he gets back on offence. They work the size difference well, with Colt getting a few flashes of spirited offence, only for the larger Asbo to cut him off each time. Burberry puts Colt's foot on the ropes during a pin attempt to mark his official face turn, though this draws a few boos (including from myself, Asbo is fucking awesome here). Asbo tries to get his turncoat son to nail Colt with a wrench and proceeds to argue with Burberry, only to get hit by a snap RKO from Colt for the win. To compound matters, Burberry hits him with a wrench post-match. Really enjoyed this match, thought Colt looked good and Asbo was tremendous.
Stixx, Shane Spyral & LJ Heron vs SC Supreme, Dave Andrews & "Textbook" Dave Breaks
This is another elimination match, and ties together the three feuds of Stixx/Supreme, Spyral/Andrews and Heron/Breaks. "Textbook" is the champion of the promotion. Some heel stalling starts us off. There is a palpable aura of anticipation for a possible Stixx/Supreme confrontation, the idea of these two big bulls squaring off. Breaks heels it up a storm here, loved him coming in, spitting at Heron, then fleeing to tag in a reluctant looking Andrews. Breaks doesn't enter the match until Spyral is in, and in trouble, at which point Breaks becomes a proper magnificent knob heel, all chokes, stomps and vicious looking kneedrops. Between him and Asbo, there has been some great heel work on this show. Andrews draws heat in a different way, as he's got this odd walk that makes him look like a prize twat, and really makes me want to see him get battered. The heels work a lengthy heat segment on Spyral before Stixx gets in and man alive it looks like he'd break Andrews in half. Real size and physique difference between the two. It all breaks down before Stixx hits a Black Hole Slam on Andrews, leading to a Swanton by Spyral for the first elimination. I really like the logic of Spryal not being fully recovered from the earlier heat section, and thus falling prey to a Supreme powerbomb for an elimination (I know this contrasts with my earlier disapproval of quick eliminations, but this one at least makes sense). The Stixx/Supreme section is suitably meaty, with Supreme hitting two lovely overhead belly-to-bellys. Stixx is smarter though, and avoids a corner charge and rolls up Supreme for the pin. ANOTHER quick elimination happens as Supreme nails Stixx with his own chain to gift Breaks the equalising fall. LOVE Breaks' over the top celebration for this. The final fall between Heron and Breaks is pretty good, as they fight in the crowd, including Breaks getting hurled into some chairs. The end sees Breaks locking Heron in a chicken wing, but LJ adjusts his body positioning to counter into a pinning position to win the final fall. Really fun match here, the fact these guys are the more experienced guys in the promotion was obvious with the character work being better and the move execution being crisper.
Lucas Black vs Matt Pedin
This is a rematch from the previous HOP show, which saw Pedin pick up the win. We get a few pre-match hijinx from Pedin goofing around on Black before the match gets underway. Some of Pedin's flash roll-ups early on look really smooth. Black looks a little hesitant in places, but he's crucially got the character and his mannerisms down pat. You can just tell that he'll get better with experience. He does little things like a nice cocky pin that really suits the role. Pedin shows good fire on his comeback, and Black catching him on a springboard crossbody into a cradle neckbreaker looks really good. I loved Black's selling of a codebreaker before interference from Black's manager leads to a low blow and Lucas putting a bucket on Pedin's head before hitting a Neutraliser for the Black win. Reasonable opener.
Adil Khan vs Callum Piper
I get the impression these two guys are a bit more experienced, as they seem more polished than the guys in the opener. They both seem more natural in the ring, and there is a nice snap to Piper's offence. They maybe spend a bit too much time with a Khan Camel Clutch, and Piper seems to dip into Ken Anderson's offence list a bit, but this is pretty good. The end sees Khan grabbing his title belt, and nailing Piper's tag partner Jimmy Crash when he tries to stop him using it, only for Piper to hit him with a scissor kick for the win.
Jewel vs Sammy Hope
Apparently, this is the first 1-on-1 ladies match in the House of Pain. There is a notable size difference between the two, which is played up as the story of the match, with Hope having to hit-and-run on the larger Jewel. To be honest, this isn't terribly good, as neither girl seems too experienced in the ring, but they keep it simple with an easy to follow story. Hope appears to be the better of the two, as Jewel's offence seems particularly weak and hesitant, but they stuck to what they knew and, given that nothing was blown and everything made sense, you have to call this a success.
Kaleb Hughes, Joseph Conners, Brian Wright & Zero Tolerance vs Danny Chase, Paul Malen, Dropkick James & Marc Scott
This is an elimination tag team match. The initial story arc sees Conners trying his best to avoid Malen, and it's nice to see that Conners was an effective shit-talking heel even in 2010. It may seem obvious in hindsight, but the four guys who impress most here are the one's who are still working regularly to this day (namely Hughes, Conners, Chase and Malen), with Hughes and Conners looking particularly vicious in ring. By way of contrast, Dropkick James seems to be struggling with keeping his trousers up. Scott is a well-built guy who seems to have good energy and he swiftly pins Tolerance with a sitout powerbomb. However, Hughes superkicks Scott whilst he holds Wright in a press slam, and Wright lands on top for the pin. I'm not a fan of rapid eliminations, as it takes away the advantage element of the match. Sadly, we get two more in rapid succession, as Wright is DQd for choking Dropkick on the ropes, leading to Conners swiftly pinning him to leave both sides down to two men. This leaves us with the four best performers in the match, and we switch to a formula tag team match, with Malen working as FIP. Chase shows some nice fire and energy on the hot tag, but accidentally nails Malen with a missile dropkick. Brilliantly, Conners gets the mic and uses his poison tongue to try and convince Malen, who is on the apron, to abandon Chase. Even better, it works, as Malen rejects the hot tag and leaves Chase to get hit with a running DVD for the elimination. Conners and Hughes win via countout, as Malen walks to the back. Fun match, and really hot angle to close it.
Tony Asbo vs Nate Colt
The match is being refereed by Asbo's son Burberry, who showed some concern about the tactics used by Asbo in a match on the previous show. A pre-match pat down reveals Asbo hiding a baseball bat and pair of wrenches on his person. Asbo takes some quick offence from Colt early, so slows things down with a baseball dropkick to the leg and a half crab. I loved the wicked punts to the ribs Asbo added, as he shows a real viciousness on offence. Colt does a good job selling the beating, even when he gets back on offence. They work the size difference well, with Colt getting a few flashes of spirited offence, only for the larger Asbo to cut him off each time. Burberry puts Colt's foot on the ropes during a pin attempt to mark his official face turn, though this draws a few boos (including from myself, Asbo is fucking awesome here). Asbo tries to get his turncoat son to nail Colt with a wrench and proceeds to argue with Burberry, only to get hit by a snap RKO from Colt for the win. To compound matters, Burberry hits him with a wrench post-match. Really enjoyed this match, thought Colt looked good and Asbo was tremendous.
Stixx, Shane Spyral & LJ Heron vs SC Supreme, Dave Andrews & "Textbook" Dave Breaks
This is another elimination match, and ties together the three feuds of Stixx/Supreme, Spyral/Andrews and Heron/Breaks. "Textbook" is the champion of the promotion. Some heel stalling starts us off. There is a palpable aura of anticipation for a possible Stixx/Supreme confrontation, the idea of these two big bulls squaring off. Breaks heels it up a storm here, loved him coming in, spitting at Heron, then fleeing to tag in a reluctant looking Andrews. Breaks doesn't enter the match until Spyral is in, and in trouble, at which point Breaks becomes a proper magnificent knob heel, all chokes, stomps and vicious looking kneedrops. Between him and Asbo, there has been some great heel work on this show. Andrews draws heat in a different way, as he's got this odd walk that makes him look like a prize twat, and really makes me want to see him get battered. The heels work a lengthy heat segment on Spyral before Stixx gets in and man alive it looks like he'd break Andrews in half. Real size and physique difference between the two. It all breaks down before Stixx hits a Black Hole Slam on Andrews, leading to a Swanton by Spyral for the first elimination. I really like the logic of Spryal not being fully recovered from the earlier heat section, and thus falling prey to a Supreme powerbomb for an elimination (I know this contrasts with my earlier disapproval of quick eliminations, but this one at least makes sense). The Stixx/Supreme section is suitably meaty, with Supreme hitting two lovely overhead belly-to-bellys. Stixx is smarter though, and avoids a corner charge and rolls up Supreme for the pin. ANOTHER quick elimination happens as Supreme nails Stixx with his own chain to gift Breaks the equalising fall. LOVE Breaks' over the top celebration for this. The final fall between Heron and Breaks is pretty good, as they fight in the crowd, including Breaks getting hurled into some chairs. The end sees Breaks locking Heron in a chicken wing, but LJ adjusts his body positioning to counter into a pinning position to win the final fall. Really fun match here, the fact these guys are the more experienced guys in the promotion was obvious with the character work being better and the move execution being crisper.
Sunday, 30 December 2012
HoP Shockwave 2010
House of Pain Wrestling is a small Nottingham-based promotion run by BritWres standout Stixx, who also trained the majority of the roster. Both their shows and DVD's are nicely-priced, and the roster contains plenty of guys who are on the cusp of breaking out on the UK scene. Quite a few, in fact, have wrestled for SWE or NGW over the past year or so. Whilst the fact that a lot of these guys are still learning means I wont be over-critical of these matches, there would also be no point in me commenting on them if I just whitewashed everything. On the whole though, this is a fun card...
Shane Spyral vs "Diamond" Dave Andrews
Andrews goes for the cheap shot slap before running from the ring, but Spyral dons Andrews' jacket to lure him back in. They work a nice opening segment, pretty high paced and really smooth, which leads to Spyral nailing a plancha. Also Andrews is more than happy to make a fool of himself in comedy spots. He also has some nice looking forearm blows. Some of Spyral's strikes are a bit milky, but on the whole he looks good here. Andrews looks really decent on offence and worked a nice little combo of moves leading to a leaping neckbreaker. Spyral comes back, but a 450 only hits mat. Spyral makes another comeback, but a distraction at ringside by SC Supreme allows Bam Bam Barton to crotch Spyral on the top and Andrews nails a leaping DDT to win. Solid opener
Lucas Black vs Matt Pedin
Pre-match, Black cuts a lengthy promo, which Pedin interrupts by bringing a sleeping bag and pillow into the ring for a nap, before telling Black he's boring. Pedin plays things for comedy, taking into account the ass-punch as one of his early moves. However, Black gets a cheapshot in, allowing him a brief spell of offence. Black's offence is basic, yet effective, and I liked him threatening a legdrop, only to stand on Pedin's head instead. The middle rope falls down mid-match and, to their credit, neither guy seems put off because of it. Some of Pedin's offence is a little hesitant in places, but then some of it has a really nice zip to it, so you have to attribute a bit to his inexperience. Pedin hits a nice looking Shining Enzuigiri for two. Black starts getting a bit cocky, and uses a very arrogant cover for two. Black sets up a bucket, wedged in the corner, but Pedin reverses leading to Black getting the bucket stuck on his head, and Pedin nails a Codebreaker to win.
The Asbos vs Nate Colt & Mike Wyld
The Asbos are working a chav gimmick, which they play really well. They consist of the larger Tony Asbo and a smaller lad whose name I didn't catch. It sounded like they called him Burberry and, seeing as how he is wearing a burberry shirt, that is what I'll call him. Regular readers might remember Nate Colt from the Awesome Wrestling show reviewed in June last year. He was pretty much just stooging for Mad Man Manson there, so this should be a better showcase for him. Nate starts off with Burberry and, though they blow a leapfrog spot, they bring some good energy to the early stages. They shake hands, which doesn't impress Tony much and provides the storyline for the rest of the match. Tony tags in only to get plowed down by the larger Wyld. Tony wisely goes for the legs of Wyld, and both Asbos focus on that, which is good strategy. With Wyld as face-in-peril, they work a formula tag match until Colt gets the hot tag. Colt looks really good as a fired-up face, until falling prey to a Tony swinging Rock Bottom. Wyld tries to get involved, but gets tangled in the ropes. Burberry tries to broker some peace between Tony and Colt, but Tony shoves Burberry into Colt from behind, and rolls Colt up with a hand of tights for the win.
Bam Bam Barton vs LJ Heron
Heron sneaks in from the backside of the ring to nail Barton on the outset. These are two of the better guys in HOP, so this should be real good. We get some brawling outside the ring from the get go, with Barton taking control after spitting water in Heron's eyes. Heron fires back, but Barton avoids a corner charge to retain control. Heron's hope spots are pretty good, with a sudden crossbody coming out of nowhere. The heel faction of SC Supreme, Jewel and Dave Andrews come out to support Barton, which draws out a face trio of Shane Spyral, Stixx and Max Angelus to counteract them. They must provide good motivation, as Heron manages to fire back with a powerslam. The camera does spend a bit too long focusing on the guys outside the ring to the detriment of the action inside. Heron avoids a running kick and hits a Sky High, but as he prepares to finish Barton, Supreme comes in for the DQ finish. We soon get a big melee, ending with the faces standing tall.
SC Supreme, Brian Wright & Jewel vs Sammy Hope & Punk Jock
The Punk Jock team consists of Callum Piper and Jimmy Crash. Crash is a punk and Piper is Scottish, you see. The two women competitors start off the match, and they keep it simple with the larger Jewel using her size advantage to control, whilst Hope is quicker and uses this to take Jewel to the mat. The section with the male competitors is a bit more advanced. Admittedly, Crash hits a poor looking diving headbutt from the second rope, but him and Piper combine nicely to hit a top rope stomp/powerslam combination on Wright for two. Piper looks really good here, with some nice explosive energy and he looks pretty slick on offence. My admiration of Supreme has been expressed on the blog before, and he's just a tank on offence here, nailing his swank overhead belly-to-belly on Piper. We don't really get to see much of Wright on offence before the hot-tag to Crash, and he and Supreme get down to business in a battle of the big men. Crash has some fun looking "high energy fat man" offence that makes me forgive him the terrible headbutt earlier, as he nails Supreme with an STO. It breaks down and Piper nails a cannonball from the apron on the other men to leave Hope and Jewel in the ring. However, the camera focuses on the men fighting, so we only just catch Hope rolling up Jewel for the win. This was fun.
Danny Chase vs Kaleb Hughes
This is for Chase's Cruiserweight title, and this should be good stuff. I like how evenly they work it to start, with both hitting strikes at the same time to send each other down. Hughes takes control on the outside, then brilliantly trolls the small kids at ringside, by getting them to move as if to throw Chase into their chairs, only for him to throw him into the ring cackling instead. Despite their similarities, they keep the face/heel divide clear, with Hughes trying to wear Chase down with strikes, whilst Chase makes high-flying comebacks. Chase makes one comeback with a springboard crossbody, but when he tries a second Hughes is prepared, and kicks his legs out to retain control. Hughes hits two top-rope ax-handles on Chase, but spends too much time taunting the crowd, and gets caught with a top-rope rana as he attempts a third. Chase sends Hughes to the floor and hits a swank moonsault to follow him down. They brawl outside the ring, which suits Hughes' style more, but his attempt to send Chase into the wall fails, as Chase runs up the wall and hits a moonsault in an awesome spot. Back in, Chase gets a super-close 2 count on a springboard kick. The ref gets bumped, leading to a Hughes low blow, but his attempt to nail Chase with a chair fails, as he manages to kill the ref instead. This comes back to haunt Hughes, as he nails Chase with a Death Valley Driver, but by the time Stixx comes in to replace the ref, Chase has recovered and kicks out at two. Chase is dead weight on the mat, but it turns out he's playing possum, reversing another Driver attempt into a rana for the three count. Deserved main event, both guys put in a great showing.
Shane Spyral vs "Diamond" Dave Andrews
Andrews goes for the cheap shot slap before running from the ring, but Spyral dons Andrews' jacket to lure him back in. They work a nice opening segment, pretty high paced and really smooth, which leads to Spyral nailing a plancha. Also Andrews is more than happy to make a fool of himself in comedy spots. He also has some nice looking forearm blows. Some of Spyral's strikes are a bit milky, but on the whole he looks good here. Andrews looks really decent on offence and worked a nice little combo of moves leading to a leaping neckbreaker. Spyral comes back, but a 450 only hits mat. Spyral makes another comeback, but a distraction at ringside by SC Supreme allows Bam Bam Barton to crotch Spyral on the top and Andrews nails a leaping DDT to win. Solid opener
Lucas Black vs Matt Pedin
Pre-match, Black cuts a lengthy promo, which Pedin interrupts by bringing a sleeping bag and pillow into the ring for a nap, before telling Black he's boring. Pedin plays things for comedy, taking into account the ass-punch as one of his early moves. However, Black gets a cheapshot in, allowing him a brief spell of offence. Black's offence is basic, yet effective, and I liked him threatening a legdrop, only to stand on Pedin's head instead. The middle rope falls down mid-match and, to their credit, neither guy seems put off because of it. Some of Pedin's offence is a little hesitant in places, but then some of it has a really nice zip to it, so you have to attribute a bit to his inexperience. Pedin hits a nice looking Shining Enzuigiri for two. Black starts getting a bit cocky, and uses a very arrogant cover for two. Black sets up a bucket, wedged in the corner, but Pedin reverses leading to Black getting the bucket stuck on his head, and Pedin nails a Codebreaker to win.
The Asbos vs Nate Colt & Mike Wyld
The Asbos are working a chav gimmick, which they play really well. They consist of the larger Tony Asbo and a smaller lad whose name I didn't catch. It sounded like they called him Burberry and, seeing as how he is wearing a burberry shirt, that is what I'll call him. Regular readers might remember Nate Colt from the Awesome Wrestling show reviewed in June last year. He was pretty much just stooging for Mad Man Manson there, so this should be a better showcase for him. Nate starts off with Burberry and, though they blow a leapfrog spot, they bring some good energy to the early stages. They shake hands, which doesn't impress Tony much and provides the storyline for the rest of the match. Tony tags in only to get plowed down by the larger Wyld. Tony wisely goes for the legs of Wyld, and both Asbos focus on that, which is good strategy. With Wyld as face-in-peril, they work a formula tag match until Colt gets the hot tag. Colt looks really good as a fired-up face, until falling prey to a Tony swinging Rock Bottom. Wyld tries to get involved, but gets tangled in the ropes. Burberry tries to broker some peace between Tony and Colt, but Tony shoves Burberry into Colt from behind, and rolls Colt up with a hand of tights for the win.
Bam Bam Barton vs LJ Heron
Heron sneaks in from the backside of the ring to nail Barton on the outset. These are two of the better guys in HOP, so this should be real good. We get some brawling outside the ring from the get go, with Barton taking control after spitting water in Heron's eyes. Heron fires back, but Barton avoids a corner charge to retain control. Heron's hope spots are pretty good, with a sudden crossbody coming out of nowhere. The heel faction of SC Supreme, Jewel and Dave Andrews come out to support Barton, which draws out a face trio of Shane Spyral, Stixx and Max Angelus to counteract them. They must provide good motivation, as Heron manages to fire back with a powerslam. The camera does spend a bit too long focusing on the guys outside the ring to the detriment of the action inside. Heron avoids a running kick and hits a Sky High, but as he prepares to finish Barton, Supreme comes in for the DQ finish. We soon get a big melee, ending with the faces standing tall.
SC Supreme, Brian Wright & Jewel vs Sammy Hope & Punk Jock
The Punk Jock team consists of Callum Piper and Jimmy Crash. Crash is a punk and Piper is Scottish, you see. The two women competitors start off the match, and they keep it simple with the larger Jewel using her size advantage to control, whilst Hope is quicker and uses this to take Jewel to the mat. The section with the male competitors is a bit more advanced. Admittedly, Crash hits a poor looking diving headbutt from the second rope, but him and Piper combine nicely to hit a top rope stomp/powerslam combination on Wright for two. Piper looks really good here, with some nice explosive energy and he looks pretty slick on offence. My admiration of Supreme has been expressed on the blog before, and he's just a tank on offence here, nailing his swank overhead belly-to-belly on Piper. We don't really get to see much of Wright on offence before the hot-tag to Crash, and he and Supreme get down to business in a battle of the big men. Crash has some fun looking "high energy fat man" offence that makes me forgive him the terrible headbutt earlier, as he nails Supreme with an STO. It breaks down and Piper nails a cannonball from the apron on the other men to leave Hope and Jewel in the ring. However, the camera focuses on the men fighting, so we only just catch Hope rolling up Jewel for the win. This was fun.
Danny Chase vs Kaleb Hughes
This is for Chase's Cruiserweight title, and this should be good stuff. I like how evenly they work it to start, with both hitting strikes at the same time to send each other down. Hughes takes control on the outside, then brilliantly trolls the small kids at ringside, by getting them to move as if to throw Chase into their chairs, only for him to throw him into the ring cackling instead. Despite their similarities, they keep the face/heel divide clear, with Hughes trying to wear Chase down with strikes, whilst Chase makes high-flying comebacks. Chase makes one comeback with a springboard crossbody, but when he tries a second Hughes is prepared, and kicks his legs out to retain control. Hughes hits two top-rope ax-handles on Chase, but spends too much time taunting the crowd, and gets caught with a top-rope rana as he attempts a third. Chase sends Hughes to the floor and hits a swank moonsault to follow him down. They brawl outside the ring, which suits Hughes' style more, but his attempt to send Chase into the wall fails, as Chase runs up the wall and hits a moonsault in an awesome spot. Back in, Chase gets a super-close 2 count on a springboard kick. The ref gets bumped, leading to a Hughes low blow, but his attempt to nail Chase with a chair fails, as he manages to kill the ref instead. This comes back to haunt Hughes, as he nails Chase with a Death Valley Driver, but by the time Stixx comes in to replace the ref, Chase has recovered and kicks out at two. Chase is dead weight on the mat, but it turns out he's playing possum, reversing another Driver attempt into a rana for the three count. Deserved main event, both guys put in a great showing.
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Southside Wrestling Speed King @ Rushcliffe Arena, Nottingham 22/04/12
Southside Wrestling is a fairly local promotion that seems to run a lot in the East Midlands/Cambridgeshire area, but I've never gotten round to going to one of their shows before. That is, until last Sunday when they ran a show 5 minutes from my house, a one-night tournament to crown the first Speed King champion. After enjoying last years Awesome Wrestling show at the same arena, I went along hoping it would be as good as that show had been. It ended up being far better...
Mark Haskins vs Ego Dragon
Haskins is billed as a TNA star, so it’s nice to see him making the most of his few TNA appearances. Ego Dragon wore a mask that looked near identical to Super Dragons. Haskins got the crowd into the match early, popping them with the Tiger Mask feint followed by a tope suicida. The crowd remained hot for the rest of the night, so that was a good idea. Dragon looked pretty good, but Haskins really impressed, showing some brute strength by picking Dragon up from the mat straight into a powerbomb. The end saw Haskins hit a top rope rana, but Dragon rolled through with it for the win
Max Angelus vs Danny Chase vs Bubblegum
Angelus and Chase are both local, whilst Bubblegum is a slightly bigger name on the circuit with a fun chav gimmick. Angelus impressed me a lot last June, and he was great here, he’s really got the look, talent and charisma to go places. Chase also seemed pretty good, being slighter but pretty crisp in the air. This was an elimination match and Max was first to go after Stixx came to ringside with a chair and, following a tussle between Max and Stixx, Chase accidentally got hit in the ribs, whilst Bubblegum fell to the floor to get Angelus DQ’d. This left Bubblegum with an injured Chase and, whilst he got a few comeback hope spots, Bubblegum picked up the win with a top rope stomp.
Marty Scurll vs Robbie X
Robbie reminded me of Lionel Messi – totally average looking with floppy hair who is actually able to do some incredible things. Some of the high-flying he did in this match was terrific, like hitting a flawless Code Red on Scurll. As well as being absolutely loaded with charisma, Scurll is bigger than Robbie, so used strikes to wear down the smaller man, including an insane lariat that turned X inside out. Scurll followed this with a torture rack into a backbreaker to pick up the win.
Rockstar Spud vs Noam Dar
My friends and I were huge Spud fans back in the day. Nowadays, he seems to do less high-flying (probably wise with his tiny frame) and instead used more character-based stuff to get over. His entrance, him standing on the ring apron, horns aloft, not moving to Living On A Prayer was great. Dar is also pretty small, but had a vicious selection of kicks, and really dished it out to Spud here. There was a nice little bit of storytelling where early in the match Spud hammered Dar against the ringpost, but when he tried again later on in the match, Dar moved which left Spud crotched on the post. Dar stomped on Spud’s leg from the top rope, then got the tapout via an ankle hook.
El Ligero vs Martin Kirby
This was also the opening match of the Awesome Wrestling show I watched in the same arena last year. However, whilst that was a fun opener, this far outshone it, being a tremendous wrestling match. Kirby especially has improved markedly in the last 10 months, during which he worked a match against Finlay that was supposed to be very good. He looked really crisp here, including a delayed suplex that he held for ages. You get the impression these two have worked together a number of times, as the chain wrestling section between the two was very well worked and there were a number of convincing false finishes before Ligero won with a backslide. Really good.
Pac vs Kris Travis
Pac is the big star of the show, and was noticeably much physically bigger than the other guys on the show. Travis attacked Pac pre-bell to start and, while this match started slow, it soon began to pick up pace. A standing shooting star by Pac woke up the crowd, before a twisting corkscrew moonsault to the floor which sent them into raptures. Travis held up his end of the match well, and looked comfortable against a guy who is an international star. In fact, this match was really even throughout, as Pac let Travis get in a load of offence, the highlight of which was a swank Northern Light suplex, which Travis rolled through with before kicking Pac in the head. Indeed, Travis picked up the clean win, as Pac hit knees on a shooting star press, before Travis nailed a double-underhook piledriver for the victory. Fine match, and a total star-making performace by Travis.
Shanna vs Holly Rocamora
Both girls were out there to represent all-female promotion Pro Wrestling: EVE. The match was pretty short and forgetable, but broke things up a little bit before the tournament final. Shanna was the more polished of the two and won quickly with a reverse DDT
Ego Dragon vs Bubblegum vs Marty Scurll vs Noam Dar vs El Ligero vs Kris Travis
This was an elimination match for the Speed King title. One of my favourite indy matches ever is a 6-man elimination from IWA-MS back in 2005, so I was very much looking forward to this. The match started with Bubblegum on the mic, demanding not to get hit in the face and threatening to blow El Ligero’s lucha gimmick. However, before he could do so, Ligero rolled him up for a flash elimination. Following a fun five man in-ring section, that saw the three faces suplexing Travis and Dragon together, the two masked men, Dragon and Ligero soon squared off and went through a strike exchange before Dragon decided to simply kick Ligero in the groin getting disqualified. This left the face/heel split very uneven, so Travis quickly pinned the downed Ligero. Travis, Scurll and Dar worked a fun triple threat sequence from this point, including a 3-way kick exchange that ended with all hitting simultaneous kicks to the head. Dar locked a leglock onto Travis, who tapped out quickly. This left Scurll and Dar, and the ending section for these two was really good, with some convincing strikes from both on the ring apron. Dar started to slightly heel it up, viciously working over Scurll’s leg for the leglock. He locked it in, but Scurll refused to tap. He started to pass out, but gots his arm up when the referee tested his arm for the third time. After a bit more action, Scurll managed to hit the backbreaker to pick up the win. Really fun main event, which managed to revive a crowd that had started to flag a little. Scurll put over Dar after the match and, considering Dar is only supposed to be 18, he looked like a major prospect. Satisfying end to a really good show.
Mark Haskins vs Ego Dragon
Haskins is billed as a TNA star, so it’s nice to see him making the most of his few TNA appearances. Ego Dragon wore a mask that looked near identical to Super Dragons. Haskins got the crowd into the match early, popping them with the Tiger Mask feint followed by a tope suicida. The crowd remained hot for the rest of the night, so that was a good idea. Dragon looked pretty good, but Haskins really impressed, showing some brute strength by picking Dragon up from the mat straight into a powerbomb. The end saw Haskins hit a top rope rana, but Dragon rolled through with it for the win
Max Angelus vs Danny Chase vs Bubblegum
Angelus and Chase are both local, whilst Bubblegum is a slightly bigger name on the circuit with a fun chav gimmick. Angelus impressed me a lot last June, and he was great here, he’s really got the look, talent and charisma to go places. Chase also seemed pretty good, being slighter but pretty crisp in the air. This was an elimination match and Max was first to go after Stixx came to ringside with a chair and, following a tussle between Max and Stixx, Chase accidentally got hit in the ribs, whilst Bubblegum fell to the floor to get Angelus DQ’d. This left Bubblegum with an injured Chase and, whilst he got a few comeback hope spots, Bubblegum picked up the win with a top rope stomp.
Marty Scurll vs Robbie X
Robbie reminded me of Lionel Messi – totally average looking with floppy hair who is actually able to do some incredible things. Some of the high-flying he did in this match was terrific, like hitting a flawless Code Red on Scurll. As well as being absolutely loaded with charisma, Scurll is bigger than Robbie, so used strikes to wear down the smaller man, including an insane lariat that turned X inside out. Scurll followed this with a torture rack into a backbreaker to pick up the win.
Rockstar Spud vs Noam Dar
My friends and I were huge Spud fans back in the day. Nowadays, he seems to do less high-flying (probably wise with his tiny frame) and instead used more character-based stuff to get over. His entrance, him standing on the ring apron, horns aloft, not moving to Living On A Prayer was great. Dar is also pretty small, but had a vicious selection of kicks, and really dished it out to Spud here. There was a nice little bit of storytelling where early in the match Spud hammered Dar against the ringpost, but when he tried again later on in the match, Dar moved which left Spud crotched on the post. Dar stomped on Spud’s leg from the top rope, then got the tapout via an ankle hook.
El Ligero vs Martin Kirby
This was also the opening match of the Awesome Wrestling show I watched in the same arena last year. However, whilst that was a fun opener, this far outshone it, being a tremendous wrestling match. Kirby especially has improved markedly in the last 10 months, during which he worked a match against Finlay that was supposed to be very good. He looked really crisp here, including a delayed suplex that he held for ages. You get the impression these two have worked together a number of times, as the chain wrestling section between the two was very well worked and there were a number of convincing false finishes before Ligero won with a backslide. Really good.
Pac vs Kris Travis
Pac is the big star of the show, and was noticeably much physically bigger than the other guys on the show. Travis attacked Pac pre-bell to start and, while this match started slow, it soon began to pick up pace. A standing shooting star by Pac woke up the crowd, before a twisting corkscrew moonsault to the floor which sent them into raptures. Travis held up his end of the match well, and looked comfortable against a guy who is an international star. In fact, this match was really even throughout, as Pac let Travis get in a load of offence, the highlight of which was a swank Northern Light suplex, which Travis rolled through with before kicking Pac in the head. Indeed, Travis picked up the clean win, as Pac hit knees on a shooting star press, before Travis nailed a double-underhook piledriver for the victory. Fine match, and a total star-making performace by Travis.
Shanna vs Holly Rocamora
Both girls were out there to represent all-female promotion Pro Wrestling: EVE. The match was pretty short and forgetable, but broke things up a little bit before the tournament final. Shanna was the more polished of the two and won quickly with a reverse DDT
Ego Dragon vs Bubblegum vs Marty Scurll vs Noam Dar vs El Ligero vs Kris Travis
This was an elimination match for the Speed King title. One of my favourite indy matches ever is a 6-man elimination from IWA-MS back in 2005, so I was very much looking forward to this. The match started with Bubblegum on the mic, demanding not to get hit in the face and threatening to blow El Ligero’s lucha gimmick. However, before he could do so, Ligero rolled him up for a flash elimination. Following a fun five man in-ring section, that saw the three faces suplexing Travis and Dragon together, the two masked men, Dragon and Ligero soon squared off and went through a strike exchange before Dragon decided to simply kick Ligero in the groin getting disqualified. This left the face/heel split very uneven, so Travis quickly pinned the downed Ligero. Travis, Scurll and Dar worked a fun triple threat sequence from this point, including a 3-way kick exchange that ended with all hitting simultaneous kicks to the head. Dar locked a leglock onto Travis, who tapped out quickly. This left Scurll and Dar, and the ending section for these two was really good, with some convincing strikes from both on the ring apron. Dar started to slightly heel it up, viciously working over Scurll’s leg for the leglock. He locked it in, but Scurll refused to tap. He started to pass out, but gots his arm up when the referee tested his arm for the third time. After a bit more action, Scurll managed to hit the backbreaker to pick up the win. Really fun main event, which managed to revive a crowd that had started to flag a little. Scurll put over Dar after the match and, considering Dar is only supposed to be 18, he looked like a major prospect. Satisfying end to a really good show.
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