World of Sport Wrestling #2 04/08/2018

Rampage vs Joe Hendry

Basic, but well worked opener to establish Rampage as champion, and highlight the dangers of his entourage of CJ Banks and Sha Samuels. Rampage is a really good offensive wrestler, not doing anything fancy, but everything looks like it would hurt. At one point, Hendry looks to be on top with a series of pins and roll ups, but Rampage just stops him dead with a thrust to the throat. Loved Rampage clambering up Hendry’s body to lock on a sleeper. Hendry gets a nice fallaway slam and looks to have the match won with an ankle lock, but he gets distracted by Banks, and Rampage hits a DDT for the win.

Liam Slater vs Gabriel Kidd vs Robbie X vs Lionheart

This is a ladder match, with the winner getting an unspecified opportunity. This ended up as a real Robbie X showcase. I mean, he must have been disappointed that they’ve seemingly decided he doesn’t have a face for TV and slapped a mask on him, but he’s the standout here. He moves like a cat, slinking in and out of the ring to evade Kidd, then later hits a big moonsault from the ladder, hits a lovely springboard cutter, then takes the biggest bump when Lionheart pushes him to the floor from the ladder. The others don’t really get much chance to stand out, though I dug the elbow Kidd hits from a ladder. This doesn’t really play to his strengths, as on recent performances he’s reinvented himself as a hard-hitting hoss, and here he’s playing athletic babyface. He’s still good at it, but it needed more big boots and lariats. He ends up picking up the win after knocking Lionheart off a ladder to leave himself a clear run to the top.

Adam Maxted & Nathan Cruz vs Doug Williams

Decent tag match here. The team of Maxted and Cruz look good here, seemed to complement each other well. The heels work heat on Drake after Cruz distracts him from the apron, leaving him prone to attack. Loved Cruz hitting a slingshot back suplex on him, and really dug Drake diving for the tag, and Cruz pulling Williams off the apron. Timed perfectly. Williams was fun on the hot tag, hitting a nice exploder on Cruz, then moving when Maxted tried to break the pin, so he ends up dropping an elbow on his partner Cruz. Dug the ending too, as Williams is sent to the floor, Maxted springboards into the ring to hit Drake with a blockbuster, then continues his momentum to the floor to stop Williams getting in, as Cruz gets the pinfall. This was fun.

Kay Lee Ray vs Viper vs Bea Priestley

Triple threat for the WOS women’s title. This was a total Viper showcase and, even though she lost, the overwhelming impression you get is that Viper would demolish either lady in a one-on-one match. Even two-on-one, she’s in total control, slamming KLR onto Priestley, then crushing both with a diving crossbody. The massacre continues as KLR tries a rana and Viper powerbombs her into Priestley in the corner. The other two finally get control on Viper by double teaming her, but Viper is still able to stop a KLR pin by hitting a huge senton. Even when Priestley tries a rana from the apron on Viper, she gets caught and planted with a powerbomb on the floor. However, KLR hits a suicide dive then an impressive Gory Bomb to pick up the victory. Enjoyable stuff, but Viper was robbed.

RoH Invades Japan Vol 1

This is a compilation I bought years ago from IVP Videos, which features a load of matches with Ring of Honor alumni wrestling in Japan. I bought it because it felt like a nice way to ease me into Japanese wrestling, which was a weak point of mine at the time, but I hardly ever watched it. I think it's still for sale on the site, though it's now called USA Invades Japan (even though two matches feature no American wrestlers), and it's well worth a pick-up

Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi

Pretty much a non-stop tag match that opens with typical tag formula, but has all broken down by the end. I liked the way the Aries & Strong team had differing roles, with Strong played up as the muscle and Aries the daredevil. Their teamwork early on is really fluid, all quick tags and double teams as they work over Doi. Aries, in turn, is soon isolated by Doi and Yoshino, with a high-speed corner cannonball from Doi looking brutal. It’s after the hot-tag to Strong that things break down, and the concept of having to tag in-and-out is forgotten. It’s one of those things that you have to accept as a condition of the style (this being a Dragon Gate match), even though on a personal level traditional tag formula is one of my favourite things. As a high-speed spotfest, the rest of the match does deliver and is pretty exciting in the final stages. Some really nice spots here – loved Roddy hitting a Northern Lights suplex that throws Yoshino onto Doi and I loved the way that the corner train run by Yoshino, Doi and their entourage was TOO successful, as Aries collapses to the mat before Doi gets to him, in turn leaving Doi open to Strong and his entourage running in on him. A missile dropkick/powerbomb combo by Aries & Strong seems to fold up Doi, who looks legit hurt – his kick out from the following pinfall looks more like Roddy just getting off him. Aries eats a fireman’s carry slam on the top of his head, before Yoshino accidentally gets a face full of powder from his teammate, and takes a Strong backbreaker and a match winning Aries 450.

Rocky Romero vs Mushiking Terry

There’s a moment 4 minutes into this match where I realise it’s already terrible and isn’t going to get any better. It’s when the two guys start exchanging German suplexes where the person receiving the move is on his feet before the guy giving it, before both go down from a simultaneous head kick. It marks it straight away as one of those matches where moves happen but none of them matter. It’s especially galling when Romero had done some respectable arm-work on Terry – kicking out the arm on a handstand into the ropes, locking on a cross-armbreaker – that is undermined by these suplexes. Romero does keep going back to the armbreaker, but drops it in the second half of the bout and Terry doesn’t sell any of it anyway. There are a few nice moments here, as I liked a tornillo Terry hit, and I enjoyed Romero breaking a suplex attempt with a knee to the head whilst in the air only for Terry to grab the knee on a second reversal to hit a fisherman buster. Ultimately though, this is just moves, culminating with Terry winning with a top rope hiptoss.

Bryan Danielson vs KENTA

Hey, this is much better. Not entirely surprising. Loved Danielson’s performance throughout this, really feels like a match he’s in complete control off. Early on the two exchange strikes, and Danielson counters KENTA’s forearms with these amazing looking European uppercuts. Danielson controls the matwork, really feeling like he’s wearing KENTA down. Especially loved him grinding his knuckles into the kidneys to gain control of the arms for a surfboard. Not to say KENTA is totally a passenger in this, as his comebacks are nicely timed and feel believable. His kicks all connect with a satisfying thud. It’s just that Danielson feels like an elite performer throughout, like he’s the one driving the direction of that contest. Loved Danielson meeting a top rope stomp with a big boot to the face from the mat, one of the few times that counter has ever looked good. The bridge on Danielson’s German suplex is terrific, showing amazing neck strength. The ending portion sees both guys upping the tempo to try and finally put the other away. A huge top rope back suplex from Danielson sees him just…holding…KENTA…in..the..air, before they crash to the mat, and him wearing KENTA down for Cattle Mutilation with elbows to the head looked great. In the end, KENTA is able to fire back with one last kick combo, hit the GTS and barely escape with the win. Great match.

Jushin Liger, Jack Evans, Matt Sydal & BxB Hulk vs Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Kevin Steen & Magnitude Kishiwada

This was a whole bundle of fun, and it’s interesting to pick out little running stories throughout the match. Loved how, amongst a lot of lithe high-fliers, Kishiwada and Steen stand out as two lads happy to hurl their relative bulk onto their prone opponents, with flipping sentons and flipping legdrops landing with satisfying thuds. Also, it’s fun to see Liger getting bigger reactions from a shoulderblock battle with Kishiwada than most of these guys get from some impressive acrobatics. Evans bumps like a trooper in the match, with my favourite moment seeing him go up top to go for a 630, only for Kishiwada to hurl a chair at him from off camera, sending him to the floor. The camera work is terrific, as we only see the chair flying from nowhere sending Evans flying. Some lovely looking moves in the match too, with everything Sydal does looking really crisp. Evans hits a nutty backflip into a stomp in the corner on Doi that looks terrific. The end run is really fun, as Yoshino eats a face full of powder by accident, before Liger brainbusters him and Sydal gets the pin with a shooting star press. Really fun.

Nigel McGuinness & Doug Williams vs Takeshi Rikio & Kishin Kawabata

Bit of a short match here, but it’s fun while it lasts. The Brits get overpowered at first by the larger Rikio and Kawabata, so switch their tactics accordingly. Liked them doing the WoS equivalent of the Garvin Stomp, circling Kawabata’s body and each wrenching a limb for a 4 count, then moving onto the next one. Rikio feels like the big issue they have to contend with in the match, as he’s pretty dominant in there. Love the big cross body he uses to plough through Nigel. However, Kawabata accidentally hits him with a lariat, and the Brits manage to isolate him, Williams nailing Chaos Theory to win. Good, but would have benefited from another 5 minutes.

The Briscoe Brothers vs Kotato Suzuki & Ricky Marvin

In contrast, this could do with being 5 minutes shorter. There’s a lot in this I really liked, with some early sequences looking great. Loved the insane top rope reverse rana that Marvin hits on Jay Briscoe, and Marvin running the length of the ramp to hit a baseball slide dropkick into the ring on Jay, whilst Suzuki holds him in a Camel Clutch, looked terrific. It’s just that the pacing feels off – Suzuki is already taking 2.9 pinfalls 10 minutes into the match, and it’s a bout that goes 26m. This means that the Briscoes go from nearly having the match won to suddenly just working holds on Suzuki, instead of trying to finish him off. More annoyingly, the hot tag to Marvin comes from nowhere, with no build up. At this point, the match really starts losing it’s tag structure, and all four guys are getting hit with big bombs with not much lasting effect. Jay Briscoe takes a tombstone piledriver, and he’s back on the apron taking a tag inside 30 seconds. Later on, he gets hit with a spinning tombstone and they don’t even bother with a pinfall. Meanwhile, the Briscoes run a huge series of big bombs on Suzuki, all for 2.9 counts that he seems to recover from pretty quickly. In the end, Mark Briscoe is isolated and hit with a double-team Widow’s Peak that finally ends this one, and it’s just a shame that by the end I’m just glad it’s over rather than feeling exhilarated from a hot match.

Chris Hero & Doug Williams vs Ippei Ota & Mohammed Yone

Williams and Hero come off as the great tag team we never got. Really felt like they compliment each other here – both look terrific as they work over the more inexperienced Ota, but in different ways. Williams is just solid, nothing flashy, but everything looks like it connects and feels effective. Hero also has offence that looks good, but he’s adding a bit more flash, like a backward roll into a senton or taking Ota over with a flipping cravate. They don’t have it so easy when Yone is in the ring, working him as a peer, but it’s Ota they try and keep in the ring. Ota does get to hit a long airplane spin into a Samoan drop on Hero that gets a nice reaction, but he’s ultimately the weak link in his team. As Williams keeps Yone occupied outside the ring, Hero nails a huge big boot and the Hero’s Welcome to win. Good stuff here.

Takeshi Morishima vs KENTA     

This is a really great ten minute fight. Basically, KENTA goes into this with a gameplan to beat the shit out of Morishima as quickly as possible, knowing that Morishima has the size and power advantage. Morishima gets in a few blows, but KENTA nails 4 or 5 kicks for every one punch. KENTA goes for broke on the outside, hitting a huge springboard double stomp to the outside. Loved Morishima’s guttural yells after that, makes it feel like KENTA has him. GTS only gets two, and a massive Morishima clothesline changes the entire outlook of the match. A backdrop suplex only gets two, but KENTA is down now, and Morishima just mauls him in the corner like an angry bear. KENTA has enough energy to escape pinfalls, but not enough to make a comeback and Morishima keeps hitting backdrop suplexes until KENTA can’t kick out any more. Really great sprint.

Triple X Wrestling: King of the Royal Summer Mania Series

After missing the June show due to being on holiday, it felt good to get back to another Triple X show. There was a decent sized, pretty vociferous crowd on hand for what turned out to be another really fun show

Dave Mercy vs Local Jobber #2
Super fun opener. Mercy wasn't scheduled to wrestle because, as host Omer Ibrahim advised, no-one wants to get in the ring with him. Even the Jobber seemed pretty reluctant to tangle with the sleazy Mercy, though he actually got a fair run of offence here. Due to Mercy's trunks being pulled down, we saw more of his backside than we would really want to, though not as much as Jobber, who got a horrifying closeup with his sunset flip. Despite Mercy taking control, Jobbermania soon ran wild as LJ2 Hulked up, and hit a big boot and legdrop for a two count. Sadly, his run was short-lived, as Mercy rolled him up with a handful of tights to win.

Keiron Young vs Chase Alexander
Alexander is the former Local Jobber #1 and is accompanied by the former Professor Lex. His new gimmick is that of a former child star, with Lex pretty fun as his entourage. I liked Young's series of dives he hit early doors, starting by going between the middle and bottom ropes, then the top and middle, then finally over the top. He's still the "Indy Guy", so this fits his character perfectly. Alexander worked over the leg to take control, with a decent bridging leglock. Young made his comeback and got a two count from the ever-so-indy combo of a Canadian Destroyer and a superkick before a distraction by Lex allowed Alexander to take his leg out and grab the pinfall victory. Both guys worked hard, despite being a little green, and luckily their characters and antics kept the crowd entertained.

Morgan Webster vs Mike Bird
The storyline logic behind this match was that Triple X were fed up of Webster, so brought in his trainer Mike Bird to teach him some respect. I mentioned this in my last HOPE review, but Webster is absolutely great at making me hate him. Seeing him here, sunglasses on indoors with a surly face just made me want to see someone give him a smack. Thankfully, Bird was on hand to smack the shit out of him, as he treated Webster to a series of chops in the ring. I'd enjoyed Bird's previous appearance at the April show, and he was really good here, just seeming really natural and comfortable in the ring. I liked the long heat section Webster worked on Bird, before Bird was able to come back and tie up his former student with an STF that had me believing Webster would tap. He didn't and in fact managed to pick up the win by faking injury, then grabbing Bird into a guillotine choke that he calls the Strangler (as I l found out on Twitter).

The Hunter Brothers vs Chris Brookes & Tyler Bate
Last Sunday, after seeing them have back-to-back great matches for Southside Wrestling vs the Young Wolves and Flip & Forearms, I excitedly took to Twitter and proclaimed the Hunters the best tag-team in the UK. This match backed up that claim, as this was another excellent bout. However, whilst the two Southside matches saw them work as fast-paced, high-flying faces, here the Hunters showed how good they are as heels too, keeping Chris Brookes isolated as face-in-peril, cutting him off and being generally unlikable. There were some really fun moments in this match: I loved Brookes scurrying along the piping that hangs from the Club M ceiling to crashland on his opponents below outside the ring (which apparently played off his match at the June show), and Bate showed off his remarkable strength by hitting a giant swing on one Hunter whilst giving the other an airplane spin at the same time. Bate nailing a big boot in the corner with a cry of "This is Sparta" was great too. The end saw a Hunter grabbing a wrench outside the ring but, whilst he remonstrated with the ref, Brookes' attempt to throw powder at the remaining brother backfired, instead hitting Bate and leaving him easy prey for a Hunter Brothers pin. Great match.

The post-match antics were fun too, with Brookes telling Bate he needed to lose his trademark moustache, or their friendship was over. Of course, the crowd weren't happy with this ultimatum, and, despite Brookes bringing out a bag of cheap disposable razors, Tyler kept the 'tasche. Brookes tried a cheapshot, but Bate instead nailed him with a massive clothesline. A chokeslam to the razor was the icing on the cake. Super fun segment.

Damian Dunne vs Gideon
This was scheduled to be Eddie Dennis taking on Damian as part of a "Pick Your Poison" deal with Damian's brother Pete. However, Dennis was injured, providing a doctors note, and instead getting his "close, personal friend" Gideon to take his place. It's always fun to see how debutants will fare at Triple X, partly to see how they cope with the (never mean-spirited) heckling from the crowd. With his bald head and bushy beard, Gideon was always going to get some piss-taking (I enjoyed the "Uncle Albert" chants especially), and he coped well with it. A chant of "He's got his head on upside down" was greeted by Gideon replying "You want his head on upside down?" and neckcranking Dunne. The match itself was plenty fun, with some nice looking offence from both. I dug Gideon greeting a suicide dive attempt with a big kick to the face, which meant that Damo nailing the same move later in the match got a big cheer. Dunne picked up the win after a low-blow by Gideon, and Eddie Dennis helped lay in a beating until Pete Dunne turned up for the save.

The New Henchmen (Jim Diehard & Rob Terry) vs Titans of Terror (Big Grizzly & Scott Grimm)
When I saw this match advertised in the build-up, I knew exactly what I wanted from it - the spectacle of four massive guys nailing each other with fun power offence. It didn't disappoint. I will forever love Jim Diehard hitting moves that a man his size rarely tries, flipping both Grizz and Grimm over with a headlock/headscissors and nailing a Shining Wizard later in the bout. Likewise, Grizzly hit a big dropkick on Diehard ("You weren't expecting that, were you?") and a big cannonball in the corner. I liked the fact that the big moves were built up to mean something, with a Rob Terry slam on Grimm getting a huge reaction. The New Henchmen won after a Diehard sitout powerbomb on Grizzly, and this was a highly entertaining match. After all, with all due respect, what was the last Rob Terry match you saw get a "This is awesome!" chant?

Pete Dunne vs Doug Williams
Williams was Eddie Dennis' choice to fight the number one contender to his Triple X title. Williams cheap-shotted Dunne to kick off, but this soon developed into a fine technical affair. Williams was dominant on the mat in the early going, which makes sense given his experience advantage, but Dunne was able to get back into it with some tough-looking strikes, and locked in a cloverleaf for a near tap. Dennis distracted Dunne mid-match, and Williams attacked from behind to fully complete his heel turn. Despite this, Dunne was able to pick up the victory. as Dennis lambasted Williams after a two count, and this distraction allowed Dunne to get a roll-up for the victory. After the match, Williams and Dennis put the boots to Pete, until brother Damian came in to make the save. Pete seemed a little put out that Damo didn't make the save sooner, but they left united. Fine main event, and I liked the way that Williams' initial superiority made Dunne look even better when he was able to fire back and take over himself.

Triple X Wrestling Wrestle*****

Taking place on the same night as a mildly more famous WWE events, Wrestle***** (which we were to find out stood for "WrestleCunts" was possibly the best top to bottom Triple X show I've been to since I started going last February. Sadly, my run will be ending in June, as their show headlined by Zack Sabre Jr vs Low Ki clashes with my holiday (and trust me, I've been trying to work out ways to get back for this...), but in the meantime, here's some words on the WrestleCunts

Dave Mercy vs Terry Seddon
Seddon is currently billed as "Inbetween Gimmicks" after ditching his zombie slayer persona. This was a pretty fun opening bout, with the sexual antics of Mercy (the "Sleazy Bastard") providing a good few laughs. I loved him hitting a Northern Lights suplex, then getting angry with the ref because he'd only gotten 2, despite using an actual wrestling move. He also went for a super sexual version of Sister Abigail. Seddon was coming back into the match, but a low blow gave Mercy the win.

Keiron Young vs Scotty Essex
Scotty Essex, as his name suggests, is a permatanned goon a la TOWIE and other programmes of that ilk. His look is pretty much "rich man's Danny Doring". Young is billed as "Indy Guy", which led to the crowd singing the Indiana Jones theme in his support. This was pretty fun, albeit spotty in places. Both guys only debuted at the last show, so the fact KY opened the match with three dives (after Essex refused to get in the ring) helped warm the crowd up for them. Essex had some nice moves here, with a meaty looking Death Valley Driver being the pick of the bunch. Young got a two count from a Canadian Destroyer followed by a superkick (Indy!) but Essex got the win with a crafty roll-up and handful of tights.

Big Grizzly & Scott Grimm vs Local Jobber #2
This was supposed to be Flash Morgan Webster taking on the two big chaps, simply because Triple X management hate him. However, it was revealed via big screen video that Webster was in New Orleans for WrestleMania, having taken his paycheck and run. Of course, this didn't sit well with the "Two Big Bastards", with Grizzly demanding an opponent. Out came the ever-popular Local Jobber #2, who got flattened in less than two minutes, culminating with a double-team pedigree. A mysterious hooded figure, who turned out to be Gabriel Grey, watched on from the stage, seemingly managing the team of Grimm and Grizz. I'm assuming there is going to be a tag war with the Henchmen at some point, which I can only imagine will be great.

The Henchmen vs The Hunters Brothers
This was the third successive clash between these two teams, this time being a bar-room brawl, essentially fought under last team standing rules. Both teams came dressed to fight, and it was the larger Henchmen who took control at first, brawling with the Hunters all over Club M, but primarily at the bar area. There was a fun mid-match spot involving all four wrestler drinking whiskey, at which point they all passed out from excessive consumption. The Hunters then got a chance to dominate, levelling the Henchmen with chairs (and causing Benton Destruction in particular to bleed heavily), before ultimately the Henchmen finally settled the feud with Jim Diehard throwing one Hunter onto his brother from the bar area to the floor, and the Hunters were unable to meet the count. Maybe not quite as good as last months epic tables match, but still a thoroughly entertaining brawl, and one that was eaten up by the crowd. Plus, how rad were Jim Diehard's cowboy boots!?!

Doug Williams vs Tyler Bate
One of the big success stories in Triple X in the past 12 months has been the rise of Tyler Bate, who keeps getting better show by show, looking like he belongs with the bigger names that he's been put up against. He's been so impressive, it's easy to forget that he's not picked up a win yet since his debut, yet remains massively over with the crowd. Here, he took on one of the biggest names in BritWres and the result was another terrific match. His style gelled perfectly with Williams, as both guys like to work the mat, throw in cutesy spots (there was a repeated criss-cross section here that was a lot of fun) and hit a nice suplex or two, and this was a really good bout. The story here was that the younger, less experienced Bate was having to struggle to keep up with Doug, but was growing into the match as it progressed. Bate managed to block the Chaos Theory and hit his ever-impressive deadlift German suplex for a very close two, but ultimately Williams was able to tie him up for the three count. Another top performance by Bate, who must be the most promising young wrestler in the UK at the moment.

Joe Coffey vs Damian Dunne
Coffey is fast becoming a highlight of Triple X shows. He's clearly not afraid to be the heel, riling the crowd up something chronic here. Coffey is a big guy, and used this to dominate the smaller Dunne. Given the relative size difference, they did well to make the match look competitive, with Damo using his speed advantage to keep up. The crowd were fantastic here too, with a burst of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" designed to motivate Dunne against the big Scot, but in the end Dunne was forced to tap out to a Boston crab. Really good match.

Damian O'Connor vs Mike Bird
O'Connor was apparently part of the first run of Triple X, but this was my first time seeing him, and he was a pretty impressive sight, built like a brick wall with a mighty looking beard. Bird was quite likably funny and, despite being billed as "Flying" Mike Bird, he used some fun matwork to down O'Connor in the early stages. I really liked a good chunk of O'Connor's offence, with a cannonball to the barrier outside looking particularly nasty. O'Connor won a good match with an electric chair into a sitout driver (I'm sure there's a better name for it, but that's the best I could do)

Eddie Dennis vs Devilman
This was chaotic, but really fun chaotic. Dennis was hilarious here, cutting a brilliantly indignant pre-match promo where he ranted about being labelled "Bad Wales" and having to wrestle a street fight instead of a pure wrestling match. His resigned mid-match reaction of "Oh bollocks" as he stood in the ring watching Devilman pull out a Singapore cane wrapped in a chain was great. They went all out here, which did lead to DM seemingly knocking himself loopy off a rana from the stage to the floor. Despite this, they still managed to put on a great match, fighting all over Club M. The end saw Dennis driving DM onto some lightbulb tubes on a chair, but this only got two. Dennis stayed on the offensive, repeatedly hitting DM with a chair and re-pinning him until eventually he picked up the win. I liked the ending, with the idea that it was sustained blows rather than one big move that finished off DM. Devilman looked pretty hurt post match, but eventually got up to a nice round of applause. Great match.

TNA World X Cup 2008

With the announcement that TNA are running special stand alone PPV's, including a World Cup tournament, what better time to revisit the 2008 X Cup, which saw wrestlers from Dragon Gate, CMLL and NJPW join TNA for a one month tournament. There is a points system, but essentially the winners of the final Ultimate X match win the whole thing. It's the first blog review of the year and there are two contenders for the year end top 10 already. It's going to be a great year...

Tyson Dux & Daivari vs the Motor City Machine Guns
The initial Dux/Alex Shelley segment is really smooth, and the larger Dux keeps up with Shelley throughout, though he does massively telegraph a top rope Sabin armdrag by standing there with his arm out. Team International are slightly bigger than the Guns, so try to overpower them, but the Guns use some quick tags and a slight speed advantage to control. The heat section on Shelley is really brief and I did briefly think that the match was going to be a glorified squash, but Daivari grabs Sabin on the outside as he tries to springboard in to gain some advantage. Again, the heat section doesn't last too long as Team International, whether accidentally or on purpose, sort of get in each others way, allowing Sabin to come back. Shelley blitzes Daivari, and gets two on a top rope splash. Daivari always struck me as a small guy who didn't do much high-flying, so I was pretty impressed with the top rope rana he hit. Dux is certainly smoother than Daivari in the ring, and I wonder why he never appeared in TNA after the X Cup. The end sees Dux caught in a tree of woe, and Shelley hits Sliced Bread on Daivari to hit the three. Team International are the only team not representing a promotion, so don't expect many wins.

Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino vs Rey Buccanero & Ultimo Guerrero
Team Mexico are a lot bigger than their Japanese opponents. Yoshino & Doi uses their speed to control Buccanero early, as well as some superior double-teaming. The size difference is so great that Guerrero doesn't need a partner to hit a double spinebuster on both of his opponents. Guerrero and Buccanero also use some swank double-teams which pop the crowd. The match is super fast paced, and I loved the spot where Yoshino hit a missile dropkick on Guerrero whilst also landing on Buccanero with a senton. Similarly, I loved Guerrero knocking Yoshino from the ring, and Buccanero sliding out of the ring straight into a splash on him. With Yoshino out, Guerrero drapes Doi over his knees, and Buccanero comes off the top with a corkscrew senton, which is enough for three. Good, high-paced TV match.

Alex Koslov vs Rey Buccanero
As far as I know, Koslov has some lucha experience, so he should work well with Buccanero here. A quick opening section leads to an insane Koslov plancha. Standing enzuigiri gets two and Koslov looks really slick here. Buccanero comes back with a Cradle Driver that lands Koslov directly on his head. Twisting senton gets three. Felt like a good match cut off 3 minutes in.

Milano Collection AT vs Curry Man
Again, Daniels has wrestled in Japan plenty of times, so this is a sensible pairing. Milano does that "roll the opponent 360 degrees round the ring whilst pinning him" spot I always like, leading to an awesome "dizzy" sell by Curry Man. Milano has great flexibility here, bridging out of a Curry Man pin, doing the splits to avoid a top rope dive and generally looking pretty impressive. Curry Man is super-over here, so he keeps the offence simple, knowing everything will get a reaction. It also allows AT an opportunity to shine. Milano hits a sneaky low blow followed by a twisting quebrada to win.

Masato Yoshino vs Doug Williams
You'd think this would be a bit of a styles clash, but this works pretty well. Both play to their strengths: Doug uses his size advantage to make his strikes look really nasty, whilst Yoshino outpaces him and takes control with his flying ability. The layout of the Impact Zone was really good at this time, as it gave a nice, big area for dives. Yoshino takes full advantage of this with a huge tope. I like the comments from Don West, saying Yoshino is so fast that it's harder for him to stop when Doug strikes him. They sort of flub a flying headscissors, but Yoshino wins my heart by putting in an extra burst of effort, as if he realised Williams was blocking it and knew he had to put in a little more to complete the move. Nice top rope buttlerfly suplex by Williams. Nice ending sequence sees Doug hit the Chaos Theory for the win.

Kaz vs Ultimo Guerrero
Of all the matches so far, this one feels the most awkward in the early goings, as you can see both guys aren't quite clicking yet. Love Guerrero hitting a handstand in the corner and holding it to give added momentum when he lets gravity send him into a prone Kaz. Feels like a spot Ziggler should steal. Guerrero dominates a fair bit here, nailing a nice top rope reverse suplex for two. The storyline here is that, as Team TNA captain, Kaz is feeling a lot of pressure to win, which plays into him fluffing (deliberately) a springboard to give Guerrero more advantage as Kaz sells a knee injury. Tenay mentions the looks of concern on the faces of all Team TNA, which is odd as Curry Man is fully masked. Guerrero blocks a top rope rana with a nice powerbomb. Kaz avoids a moonsault and nails the Wave of the Future to win the match. Decent enough, though I thought the knee injury would play a bigger part in the ending.

Masato Yoshino, Puma & Milano Collection AT vs Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Buccanero & Averno vs Doug Williams, Tyson Dux & Alex Koslov vs the Motor City Machineguns & Curry Man
This is an elimination match, and I can only imagine it's going to be nuts.To start, Curry Man challenges Yoshino to a race having seen his speed, but just trips him up instead. Dux and Williams come in to double team Sabin, and they look super slick as a team, with just nice, quick double teams. Even odder when you consider they aren't a tag team. Team Mexico come in, triple team Williams and Dux, and swiftly eliminate Dux with a Buccanero Cradle Driver. Puma and AT come in to attack Buccanero, but Averno is swiftly tagged in and takes care of both guys, eliminating Puma with a spinning facebuster. Thing is, this is a total spotfest, but it's so quick, fluid and crisp that it's really fun to watch.

Both Machine Guns end up in the ring with Milano, who evades both of them and rolls them both up in a double single leg crab. Awesome. After the escape, Milano shoves the ref, then grabs Sabin's leg between his own legs to pretend he's taken a low-blow, but the ref outside the ring prevents the DQ. Sabin gets the Cradle Shock to pin AT for 3. Milano has undoubtedly been the star of the match so far. Yoshino is the last member of Team Japan left and the Guns smell blood, blitzing Yoshino to try and eliminate him. Averno comes in and continues to hammer Yoshino. However, Yoshino comes out of nowhere with a high-speed roll up to eliminate Averno. Team TNA and Team International ignore the knackered Yoshino and start going for each other, with frantic results, so Guerrero and Buccanero dive off the top to take out Curry Man and Williams. A top rope powerbomb eliminates Curry Man mere seconds after West highlights that all of Team TNA are left in the match. Williams is swiftly pinned too after a twisting senton from Buccanero.

After the Machine Guns wipe out on a missed pescado attempt, Guerrero and Koslov wind up in the ring together, with Koslov hitting a low blow on Guerrero, followed by an Anaconda Vice variation for the tapout. Sabin swiftly focusses on Buccanero , nailing a top rope hurancanrana and a kick to the face to fully eliminate Team Mexico. The Guns double team the two remaining opponents, Koslov and Yoshino, but somehow Yoshino keeps surviving. He's like the Conquistadors from the second Survivior Series. Koslov manages to survive long enough to pin Sabin for three with his feet on the ropes to leave a final three of Yoshino, Koslov and Shelley. After Koslov nails Shelley with an insane plancha, Yoshino ties up Koslov in a ridiculously complex submission hold for the tapout. Yoshino, the ultimate survivor, tries his best to eliminate Shelley, but gets caught with the Sliced Bread...which only gets 2! A swank Shelley Tiger Suplex only gets two. Eventually, a Kryptonite Krunch gets the three. Absolutely unreal spotfest, and they made Yoshino look awesome in defeat.

This leaves the scores as:

Team TNA - 6
Team Japan - 4
Team International & Team Mexico - 3

Which means that whoever wins Ultimate X for 4 points, wins. Convenient.

Volador Jr vs Kaz vs Naruki Doi vs Daivari
I was really impressed with Volador when I saw him in the CMLL DVD I reviewed a month or so back, so looking forward to seeing him here. I like the way Kaz shows his experience edge by going for the X right from the start and goes for it any chance he gets. Volador slips slightly trying to climb the ropes, but I like his awareness as he realises Doi is about to pull him off the wire, so drops into a hurancanrana to maintain his advantage rather than take a blow. I did Daivari's gameplan of working over Kaz's injured arm to hinder his climbing ability. The 3 opponents all then zero in on Kaz's arm, which makes sense due to his experience edge. This leads to Kaz clearing them all away, but slipping off the cables, as he can't support himself with one arm. Volador takes a huge bump after Doi elevates him over the top rope, before Doi nails Kaz with a cannonball in the corner. Doi climbs, then takes a nutty bump from the supports to the floor. A really fun spot follows as Volador takes advantage of Doi fighting Kaz to go for the X, only for Kax to elevate Doi headfirst into the hanging crotch of Volador for a lowblow that sends the luchador to the mat. I like the way that on Kaz's next attempt to climb, he uses his legs to support himself on the cables, knowing his arm is still too injured. Daivari only just stops him. Volador takes Doi out of the match with a beautiful top rope moonsault to the floor. Daivari gets right up to the X, only for Kaz to leap from the top of the structure to hit a legdrop in an absolutely insane spot. However, this leaves the path totally free for Volador, who climbs to the X totally unhindered for the win. Team Mexico win the X Cup. Terrific match, a great mixture of logical storytelling, high drama and insane spots. Even in defeat, Kaz got to look great with the most memorable spot of the match

TNA Maximum Impact Tour, Nottingham Capital FM Arena 2012

So TNA decided to open their UK tour with a show in my home city. Getting there, the atmosphere already seemed pretty good. There was a good sized crowd there and already there were fliers going round advertising that they'd be back in Nottingham in 2013, so the advance sales must have been pretty promising. My last TNA show was at the Cov Skydome in 2008, but the set up was a fair bit nicer than back then, with the tron in particular being a nice addition.

Douglas Williams vs Gunner
Decent choice for the opener, with Williams getting a sizable pop. Gunner pulls back the floor covering outside the ring early doors, in a nice reference to the Impact match which ended with him DDTing Williams on the floor. Interestingly, Williams seems to work as an underdog babyface here, busting out a bit more highflying than we usually see from him, hitting a nice tope suicida. This slight shift in style allows Gunner to build some heat by dominating Williams, locking in a bearhug and making Williams fight back from underneath. Williams gets a nearfall from a diving uppercut, before a sequence of reversals ends with the Chaos Theory for a popular win.

Samoa Joe vs Crimson
I have a principle of trying not to cheer for heels at live wrestling events, but I really didn’t feel like cheering for Crimson over Joe here. Luckily, most of the arena agreed, and the wrestlers wisely reacted to this with Crimson busting out a choke on the ropes and throwing Joe into the ringpost to heel it up. Joe was really on here, hitting his offence with a nice bit of snap and looking visibly more motivated than on your average episode of Impact. He even dragged the Ole kick from out of the mothballs to a big reaction, but Crimson hit a spear on him from the chair on a second try. The match ended with a double DQ outside the ring, but this was better than I’d expected, and Crimson actually looked pretty good here.

Austin Aries vs Alex Shelley vs Mark Haskins
This was an X Division title match. Shelley and Aries got decent reactions, with the crowd slow to warm to Haskins, despite him being (falsely) billed as being from Nottingham. Aries went to the outside quickly, letting Shelley and Haskins work each other over. They worked a pretty smooth series of moves in there, albeit with Aries sneaking round the ring looking for an opportunity to seize an advantage, where Haskins started to win over the crowd with some nice highflying. He hit a nice tope suicida on Shelley, which Aries followed up with an even better one. Shelley did some goofy selling on the outside, whilst Haskins got the chance to impress against Aries in the ring. He even got a close nearfall, which fooled me into thinking they were about to put the title on him (in retrospect, a stupid thing to fall for). Shelley got back and the three worked an impossibly smooth section before Aries hit Haskins with the brainbuster for 3. Good match.

Gail Kim vs Madison Rayne vs Tara vs Mickie James
Second title match in a row and, whilst the least memorable match of the night, it was still an enjoyable one. Kim and Rayne paired off against Tara and James, until the faces threw them out of the ring (which led to a high five, which Mickie sold in a nice touch). We then got a Tara/James section as the heels refused to get back in the ring. Of course, they waited for the right moment to return and soon took control on the faces, focusing on James after sending Tara into the ringpost. The harmony couldn’t last though, and Kim got in Madison’s face after Rayne tried to pin James for the title. This allowed James and Tara to take over, but a distraction to the ref allowed Kim to nail Tara with the title for the pinfall. Weakest match of the night, but still a fun affair.

Bully Ray vs AJ Styles
We kicked this off with a heeling masterclass from Bully Ray. First he ran down the audience in classic fashion, before luring a fan over the barrier to fight him in the ring (of course, the second he climbed over the barrier, Ray screamed for security). He then tried to compete with AJ for the loudest pop from the crowd when climbing the buckle, which he predictably lost. He then took on Earl Hebner, who’d been getting booed throughout the night, and lost to him too, before finally challenging Christy Hemme, who also beat him. Ray then stalled, avoiding locking up with Styles for as long as possible. Honestly, the Ray heeling act is spectacular live. He ran through his whole repertoire, spitting in the air and catching it in his mouth, before his own version of the Flair strut. Of course, in amongst all this was a wrestling match, and it was a darn good affair for a houseshow. They worked a solid brawler vs flyer match, with Ray using his strength to wear down AJ with a bearhug, whilst AJ outpaced Ray, getting a nearfall from a flying forearm. They also had a nice spot where AJ ran Ray around outside the ring and got fans to put their feet on the railings to ram Ray’s head into. The end came when Ray went for the Bully Bomb, which AJ reversed into a rollup for the win. Bully hit AJ in the head with a chain postmatch which I thought was odd, but made sense with the events to come...

Bobby Roode vs James Storm
This was our main event and, whilst I thought it would be a good match, it felt anticlimactic when the posters had advertised Sting, Angle and others who hadn’t been seen (though I was maybe the only person there disappointed by no Anarquia...). Especially so as it was highly unlikely we’d see a title change and thus we’d have a heel winning the main event. Still the match was progressing nicely, until Roode ducked a superkick and lowblowed Storm for the DQ....

....this drew out Sting to a huge pop, who said the match would restart. This in turn brought out Angle to challenge Storm and Sting to a tagmatch. A pretty good choice for a main event, but then Bully Ray returned to make it a 3-on-2 match. I was waiting to see who the inevitable third man in the face team would be. I thought it might be Anderson, Hardy or Magnus. Hell, when Sting reminded us we were in Nottingham, home of Notts Forest and Robin Hood, I thought he might bring back “Nottingham’s own Mark Haskins”. But he didn’t. With the arrival of Eye Of The Tiger sounding over the tannoy, he brought out no other than Hulk Hogan!

James Storm, Sting & Hulk Hogan vs Kurt Angle, Bobby Roode & Bully Ray
Unsurprisingly, Hogan’s first match in the UK in 18 years brought a huge reaction. The match itself? The best possible match you could have got from this line-up. Hogan didn’t take any bumps, but the heels pinballed around for his every move to a great series of cheers. The faces hit pretty much a greatest hits set of moves, with Storm and Sting working face in peril for large parts in between. I think booking a 6 man tag was the perfect way to headline the show, as it didn’t require guys like Hogan, Sting (who looked terrific here) and Angle to exert themselves too much yet still put on a match the fans really reacted to. Bully Ray added some nice character touches from ringside, including a great sell of a nutshot, made even more impressive when you consider it was a sympathy sell for a lowblow on Roode. In the end, Hogan hit the big boot on Roode (in all honesty, to Roode’s midsection, but I don’t expect miracles) and Storm hit the big legdrop on his former partner for the win. A terrific, terrific way to end a great show.

TNA Destination X 2011

Kazarian vs Samoa Joe
The crowd here are VERY pro-Joe, with a smattering of boos everytime Kaz gets some offence in. Joe dominates the vast majority of the match after Kaz makes the poor decision to attack him at the bell. Joe beats him up inside the ring and out, including casually moving out of the way when Kaz tries a dive from the apron. Kazarian does a good job of fighting from underneath, landing occasional blows to show he’s still alive, but it’s not until he nails Joe with a high springboard dropkick that he gets some real offence in. Kaz loses a strike exchange with Joe, so wisely decides to use his speed to stay ahead, nailing Joe with a few springboard moves. Joe regain control though, and nails his still-impressive suicide dive. Joe locks in the Kokina Clutch, but Kaz makes the ropes. A second attempt, delayed by Joe arguing with the ref, is reversed by Kaz and leads to a victory roll for the Kazarian win. Decent opener, with Joe getting to look like a killer, but Kaz getting the win by surviving.

Douglas Williams vs Mark Haskins
Haskins is the mystery opponent for Williams, an opponent none of the crowd have heard off. Still, this shouldn’t give them the right to be total dicks, which unfortunately, they are. For despite putting in a good performance, they shit all over Haskins. The opening sequence is particularly fun, with Williams slightly dominating on the mat, but still falling prey to a couple of pinfall attempts. Williams is larger and more experienced, so it makes sense he controls much of the match, but Haskins does some really nice stuff. I especially like the way that, when Williams hits him with a forearm to break a hold, Haskins replies with a straight headbutt. Haskins also takes a nasty looking bump on the ring apron. Haskins does slip a couple of times (which the crowd shit on him for), firstly in the middle of an otherwise smooth sequence of offence whilst trying a springboard clothesline, and secondly when trying for a Shooting Star Press, though this plays into the finish: having wasted a few seconds by slipping, he misses the SSP and Williams rolls him up for 3. A pretty good match, a terrible crowd.

Generation Me vs Eric Young & Shark Boy
Pretty much pure filler, though it does provide a timely reminder of just how good Eric Young is. He works a terrific sequence with Max Buck, before GenMe take over on Sharky. GenMe’s double-team offence is pretty fun, but this is just short fun and, after another excellent display by EY, Max falls prey to a Chummer and a wheelbarrow cutter for the win.

Robbie E vs Alex Shelley vs Amazing Red vs Shannon Moore
I’m going to be honest from the start here: Robbie E has swiftly become one of my favourite guys to watch in TNA. For an average-decent worker saddled with a goofy lower-midcard gimmick, he’s really making the most of it to become really fun to watch. He’s a really good seller, as well as using the goofy D-Von Dudley “seizure” sell when he takes harder bumps, which he does plenty of here. I also appreciated a bit early on where Shelley smugly pushes Red, who is tied up in the corner, only for Red to spit back at him, showing a bit of hate in what could otherwise be simply a spotfest. Moore is a bit dull, but wins me over by stealing the Finlay “apron grab” spot to stop some Robbie E offence. This isn’t quite as non-stop as previous Ultimate X matches, but is still pretty fun. Robbie earns some bonus points with me by stopping midway across the cables for a quick fistpump. He gets knocked down from the cables, prompting another seizure-sell, and Red and Moore both climb up looking to grab the X. Moore actually climbs to the top of the X rigging and kicks down to knock Red off the cable, but this has given Shelley ample time to make his own way to the centre and he drags Moore down to claim victory for himself. Not the best Ultimate X, but as the PPV wasn’t sold around this match (which they often are), it’s not as important. This felt more like a fun, midcard match than a show-stealer, but is still worth a watch.

Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn
The first few minutes of the match consists of very little offence, more a series of reversals and counters to put over how well these two know each other. This ends in a total stalemate, which allows Lynn to show just a little frustration. RVD opens the ropes to let him back in following a trip to the outside, but Lynn attacks him on a handshake to become the defacto heel for the match. This makes sense to me, giving the match a bit of intensity rather than it being an exhibition. Also, as RVD has to wrestle here every week, making Lynn the heel is the right thing to do. Lynn hits a nice cannonball from the apron, which is pretty nuts for a man in his 40’s with a bad back. RVD regains control and looks for the 5*, but Lynn recovers quickly and sends him off the top to the barricades. Lynn’s continued frustration leads to him grabbing a chair and a nice spot where Van Dam ducks the chair shot, but Lynn uses his familiarity with him to avoid the legsweep and drop a leg on RVD’s head, sending him face first to the chair. Lynn tries another chairshot, but this time RVD hits the Van Daminator and the 5* for the win. It’ll come as no surprise to learn that 10 years of injuries and knocks have slowed the pace of this match-up down, but this was still plenty good and Lynn looked especially good considering how worn down he is.

Austin Aries vs Zema Ion vs Low-Ki vs Jack Evans
I always struggle to write up matches like this, so don’t expect too much play-by-play. This is a terrifically fast match up where stuff is going on at all times, but crucially is all arranged in a way that make perfect sense. The added bonus is that the spots are all really crisp. No-one really gets an advantage to start, until Aries manages to hit flying nail-rakes on all three guys. Because the winner gets a TNA contract, we get a lot of quick pinfall attempts getting broken up, the best example being a rolling bridge from Low Ki on Aries, which gets broken by Evans leaping from off-screen onto the exposed Low Ki. There is also a terrific moment where Low Ki is outside and the other three all want to hit a dive on him. Evans gets cut off by Ion, who in turn gets cut off by Aries. Aries then tries a dive himself, by which time Low Ki has recovered and greets him with a big kick to the head. Aries is subtly positioned as the heel through his arrogance and posturing. After 10 minutes of action, we get to the ending sequence which includes Ion hitting a 450 splash on Low Ki, Evans getting knees to the back while attempting a 630 on Ki, before Aries hits Low Ki with a brainbuster for the win. I like the fact that they didn’t use the least known guy (Ion) as the guy to drop the fall, instead putting him on a level with the other three. Very fun match.

Brian Kendrick vs Abyss
Kendrick bounces like a pinball off Abyss on a crossbody attempt right at the start, putting across pretty clearly the size difference. Abyss soon dominates and actually gets to look like a monster for a change, while Kendrick keeps trying to fight back, which nicely shows his fighting spirit. The whole Sun Tzu bit is slightly silly, but it does provide a realistic opening for Kendrick to make his comeback, dropkicking Abyss and busting him open. Kendrick shows some real fire on his comeback, including a nice suicide dive, but Abyss smoothly reverses a Sliced Bread attempt into Shock Treatment. A slightly telegraphed ref bump leads to Kendrick hitting Sliced Bread before the inevitable chicanery. Bischoff comes down, only to get knocked out by Kendrick, before Gunner, Scott Steiner and Bully Ray come down to beat up Kendrick. The X Division guys come to make the save, and Kendrick reverses a chokeslam into a victory roll to win the X Division title. I actually enjoyed this and feel the interference didn’t hurt Kendrick here: he clearly had Abyss beaten before the ref bump and he’s the one who got beaten up by Immortal while the X Division guys never touched Abyss.

AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels
Following the RVD/Lynn match, we get another face/face respect match. Jeremy Borash makes a nice point on commentary, highlighting how both guys have children named after the other one. Like RVD/Lynn, both guys know each other very well and a nice sequence where both manage to evade a dive attempt by the other highlights this. Also, neither guy hits any high impact offence in the opening parts of the match, instead trying to outwrestle the other. As you’d expect, there are some very smooth sequences, including AJ rolling out of the ring to escape a hold, only to be met straight away with a Daniels suicide dive. Daniels gets a little more aggressive than AJ when he gains the advantage, hitting three back suplexes in a row. AJ takes this a a cue to start hitting a bit more vigourously, nailing a pescado to Daniels’ back, where Borash highlights how AJ will know about the broken bone in Daniels’ back. It’s in ways like this that the match slowly evolves from exhibition to full-on match and, while it may not reach the classic status TNA hoped for, it’s still a great main event. The end sees a BME attempt meeting AJ’s knees, leading to a Styles Clash for two. Daniels then gets knees up on a springboard 450 attempt, but Angels Wings only gets two for him. Styles manages to knock Daniels from the top rope and hit a spiral tap for the win (a move, Borash points out, won him his first X Division title. Seriously, get JB back every month). A fitting way to end what has been, surprisingly, a really good PPV.