Attack! Pro Wrestling - Teenagers With Attitude

The wonder of the modern age is that a show like this can take place on a Saturday, and I can buy it and watch it online on the Sunday (via the Attack! Vimeo page). I'm really a newcomer to the world of Attack! after attending their joint show with Fight Club Pro earlier this year, but even though I can't really afford to travel across the country to attend their shows, a swift turnaround and very reasonably priced shows like this make it easy to keep up

Dan Moloney vs ECDrew vs Kyle Fletcher vs Love Making Demon

Short sharp shock of an opener, with a fun cast of characters. Love Making Demon is essentially a bemasked pervert, something Fletcher finds out to his cost when he tries a wheelbarrow, only to find the Demon enjoys it a little too much. ECDrew is Drew Parker, currently suffering the after-effects of an injury that has convinced him he’s one of any number of ECW alumni. Today, he’s coming out as Paul Heyman, complete with rabble-rousing speech before the bout. Drew hits a massive dive early, which looks great. Also loved his torture rack into a GTS on the Demon towards the end. This goes less than 10 minutes, but is non-stop for it’s running time, with Moloney booting Fletcher in the face to win.

Elijah Dahl vs Ryan Smile

My only previous exposure to Dahl was in a tag match at AMP in April, so I was looking forward to seeing more of him here. Really physical bout here, with both exchanging big strikes, highlighted by a vicious looking smack-to-the-face/headbutt exchange. Smile hits this awesome looking bullet suicide dive early, which sends him hurtling into Dahl. Smile also hits a huge Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Dahl is less flashy, but his offence looks effective, designed to hurt. Smile picks up the win with a frog splash.

Chief Deputy Dunne & the Brothers of Obstruction vs Tyler Bate, Lloyd Katt & Splits McPins

This feels like one of those things that’s going to be difficult to explain to those with no prior knowledge of Attack! The heel side here are Damian Dunne and the Hunter Brothers, members of the Anti-Fun Police. Their mission, as the name suggests, is to stop there being any fun in Attack! Unfortunately, they fail miserably here, as this is supremely fun. Loved Tyler escaping a Jim Hunter wristlock with an over-elaborate series of flips, roll-throughs and kip-ups before just casually freeing himself. McPins, unsurprisingly, has a bowling gimmick, and there’s a great spot where he gets prevented from using a bowling ball as a weapon on Dunne…so Tyler rolls himself into a ball to get “bowled” into Damian in the corner. Aside from being a lot of fun, the actual wrestling is really good too. The heels isolate Tyler and work a series of triple-teams on him to wear him down. Lloyd Katt is also really impressive, moving well for a big lad. He has a nice crossbody, hits a good second-rope moonsault and hits a big dive. The end sees Bate nail Lee Hunter with the Tyler Driver 97 to win.

Post-match, Tyler rolls up Katt from behind, winning Katt’s 24/7 title (essentially a belt with the same rules as the old WWF Hardcore title), leaving with both that belt and the WWE UK title.

Sgt Travis Banks vs Flash Morgan Webster

The underlying story here was that Banks, another member of the Anti-Fun Police, was making his return and was concerned that Dunne may have swung his affection towards another member of the force, the masked Spaniard Los Federales Santos Jr. It certainly didn’t help when Dunne got knocked off the ring apron into the waiting arms of Santos, much to Banks’ dismay. This was a good bout, again mixing some nice looking moves (Webster’s vicious headbutt always looks incredible, partly because he himself sells it so well) with some well-balanced comedy. It’s really impressive how Banks can balanced being so intense and focused in the ring, then instantly hamming it up to pull off the comedy too. His stooging when promising not to headbutt Webster on a high-five, then loudly proclaiming he was going to do so was legitimately amusing. Banks manages to pick up a cheap win, as Webster forces him to tap to the Strangler, only to find the ref distracted. Webster locks the hold on an interfering Dunne, but this leaves him prone to the springboard kick from Banks for the win.

#CCK (Mondai Lykos & Chris Brookes) & Shay Purser vs FSU (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews) & Pete Dunne

This was ridiculously fun, one of the most enjoyable matches I’ve watched in a long time. Honestly, I smiled from ear-to-ear throughout almost the whole contest, starting from the moment the normally-grouchy Dunne emerged as a surprise competitor, holding aloft a cake for hated ref Purser. (Brief backstory – the show was the day after Shay’s 18^th birthday, hence the cake, but Purser is a hated figure in Attack!, after turning heel during the feud between Dunne and ring announcer Jim Lee, a feud that ultimately saw Dunne lose a “loser leave Attack!” match). Dunne was absolutely on fire in this match. What worked really well was that he still used all the moves he does as a heel, but here was doing them on the heel team to a big pop. Picking up referee Chris Roberts to use as a weapon on the CCK members, viciously stomping the arm of Lykos on the mat, feigning a move from the ropes only to drop down and bite Lykos’s hand….all eaten up by the crowd. What really helped here was the interplay of the characters and personalities involved. There’s almost something touching about the relationship between Lykos and Brookes, with Lykos plaintively calling for Brookes to help him in moments of danger, but at the same time they’re sticking spit-covered fingers in Mark Andrews’ ear or yelling at the crowd to shut up. I loved how CCK incorporated Purser into some of their signature spots, Brookes throwing him into a senton on a prone Andrews, or Lykos roping him in to help hit a (failed) brainbuster (incidentally, as soon as Lykos went for the brainbuster on Andrews, you just knew it was going to get reversed into the Stundog Millionaire, but watching all the set up just made it that much more enjoyable). By the time Dunne blocked an ill-advised attempt by Shay to low-blow him, and instead hit a pedigree onto the birthday cake, 20 minutes had flown by. Cannot explain enough how much I loved this match.

SWA Summer Blowout 2014

The SWA is the Shropshire Wrestling Alliance, who run shows (unsurprisingly) in the Shropshire area. I saw on Twitter they were having a DVD sale, and picked up this interesting looking show. It turned out to be very good.

 

Damian Dunne vs Mark Andrews

This is for Dunne’s British Lions title. Dunne is working heel here, which he’s really good at, throwing in nice little touches like forcing Andrews to clap hands whilst in a hammerlock. Andrews is the quicker of the two, and when he starts to use his speed, he’s able to take control, which in turn forces Dunne to slow the pace down. So whilst Andrews uses a quick standing moonsault in his offence, Dunne prefers to choke his opponent over the ropes, as well as nailing his ever-sweet kneedrop (honestly, Dunne might have the best kneedrop in BritWres). I enjoyed the story they told here, which was simple yet effective: Andrews always has the advantage when they speed things up, so Dunne will cut off his offensive flurries at any opportunity. Dunne gets a backcracker for two, before Andrews is able to rebound. He hits a top rope rana and a standing shooting star press for two. Dunne gets two when he catches a springboarding Andrews with a spear for two. Looked great. Dunne brings his title belt in, which the referee stops him using. However, this seems to have been Dunne causing a distraction, as he punts Mandrews down below unseen, and rolls him up for the win. Great opener

Sebastian Radclaw vs Marshall X vs Robert Rochester Rose

Interesting mix of characters, with Marshall being a white wannabe gangster, Rose being an aristocratic snob and Radclaw being a unique oddball. Radclaw is accompanied by Skat Monkey, his frankly ugly looking puppet, and Marshall decides he wants the Monkey. Not for any real reason, but to bully the naïve Radclaw. The two heels gang up on Radclaw and wear him down. I loved Marshall X filming the beatdown on his mobile happy-slapping style. Rose is a big lad, but some of his blows looked a bit milky, especially the elbows to Radclaw’s head. The two-on-one beatdown continues with Marshall hitting a nice double-underhook suplex. Eventually, the heels union dissolves when Rose is the first one to try a pinfall on Radclaw, to the chagrin of X. This argument gives Radclaw time to recover, and he springboards in with a nice rolling clothesline. Radclaw hits a nice split legged moonsault on X, and rolls up the charging Rose for the victory. Good fun.

The Vulture Squad vs Pete Dunne & Ryan Smile

The Vulture Squad consist of Chris Brookes and Nixon Newell, so we’ve got an intergender aspect to this match. Pete Dunne is apparently in the process of turning heel, which leads to an explosive start. Dunne cuts a promo essentially saying that if Newall is in the match, she needs to be prepared to be hit like a man…then blindsides her with a stiff forearm. Brookes hurls Dunne into the crowd in response, only to get taken out by a Smile plancha. Quite the start. Things slow down a touch, with the Squad working over Smile, until Dunne cheapshots Newall from the apron. Dunne gets big heat by viciously working over Newall, slamming her knees into the mat. Really nasty looking stuff, and Nixon looks tougher for holding on and making the hot tag to Brookes. Everything breaks down, and Dunne hits a vicious backbreaker and facebuster to Newall for two. I loved Brookes sacrificing himself to absorb a corner charge meant for Nixon, in part because it allowed a fresh Nixon to hit a big tornado DDT and a Shining Wizard for a close two. Makes it a good strategic move by Brookes. Dunne’s nasty side really helps the ending run look great. First, I loved him catching Newall during Poetry In Motion and powerbombing her onto the prone Brookes. Then, after a ref bump, he low blows Brookes and locks a cloverleaf on Newall. Even though she makes the ropes, the ref being down allows him to stomp on her until she releases the ropes and drag her back into the middle for the tapout win. Just brutal heel aggression. Really well worked tag match.

Joey Sanchez vs Marc Morgan

This was set up earlier in the night, with heel manager G John Chase promising a mystery opponent for SWA champion Sanchez. Now, call me cynical, but I’m always suspicious when a promotion is full of guys I’ve heard of, but the champion is a complete unknown. Makes me worry that they’ve booked some good talent in order to promote some no-mark they’ve made champion. So I’m happy to eat my words and say this was a good little match. This was non-title, so it’s always more than likely that the champion loses, but they did a fun job of keeping the result in question. I liked Sanchez’s fire after Morgan did a lot of stalling, going outside to hit him with some stiff shots. Some Chase interference gave Morgan an opening and he worked over Sanchez’s left arm. I dug him using Old School, ending with a leg drop to the arm, felt like a good smug heel move. Morgan tried it again, however, and got caught, leading to Sanchez hitting an enzuigiri to take control. Sanchez’s selling of the arm was really good, firstly only hitting offense like superkicks that didn’t require use of the limb, then not being able to lock in a sharpshooter due to the pain. When he’s able to grit through it and lock in the hold, a distracted ref doesn’t notice Davian Vayne enter to hit him with a low blow, leaving an opening for Morgan to hit Soylet Green for the win. Surpassed my expectations, a pleasant surprise.

Dan Moloney vs Edwards

So, with two unknown guys putting on a good bout, I had high hopes for a match featuring a guy I like in Moloney against another guy I didn’t know in Edwards. This…wasn’t so good. I enjoyed Moloney hiding in the crowd during his entrance to ambush Edwards, but it went a bit downhill following that with some sloppy brawling on the outside. Edwards in particular didn’t look particularly impressive here. Back inside the ring, Edwards hits an admittedly decent uranage and a swanton, but Moloney no-sold right away and hit a monster clothesline for the win.

Tyler Bate vs Jay Lethal

This is for the RoH TV title, so the result is never really in doubt, but this is one heck of a match. I’m no big fan of Jay Lethal, he seems to fill too much space in matches with your-turn-my-turn strike exchanges (which happens three separate times here), but he was a good match for Bate here. I saw Lethal one year previously taking on another 18yr old in Robbie X, and the difference between Lethal’s muscular frame and the less in-shape Robbie made those strike exchanges feel very unbalanced. Bate, however, is in very good shape, stocky and with a big European uppercut that makes him competitive against Lethal. Tyler was ON IT from the bell here, catching an unsuspecting Lethal with a superkick and a dive to show he meant business. Lethal threw in some fun bits, loved his crucifix surfboard on Bate. The commentary team raise a good point about it being easier for Bate to scout Lethal than vice-versa, with Bate proving this by countering the Lethal Cutter into an airplane spin (with an insane number of rotations). Bate also got to hit a few of his great strength spots, reversing a Lethal suplex into a deadlift one of his own, while later hitting a lovely German suplex for two. The end to this was so heated, as Bate hits an insane running backflip out of the ring onto Lethal, throws him in the ring to try a corkscrew moonsault, but misses and is left prone for the winning Lethal Cutter. Fantastic match, the crowd were into it every step of the way and surround the ring, banging the apron in appreciation at the end. Splendid stuff.

House of Pain: Evolution 12 - Everybody Stay Cool, This Is A Robbery

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.