Pro Wrestling Chaos - Everyone Must Stand Alone

Mr Bananas vs Bison Brody

 Squash for Brody, who looks impressive in victory. Massive gutwrench suplex looks terrific, before Brody hits a press-slam into a World’s Strongest Slam to win.

Ian Williams vs Grado

Williams is playing the role of snivelling cowardly heel, so it’s fun to watch Grado messing with him. The weedy loudmouth vs the lovable everyman is a perfect dynamic. Williams blocks off Grado’s bionic elbow twice before taking control, so it gets a nice reaction when Grado eventually hits it during his comeback. Williams is fine of offence, if not especially exciting, but he left Grado get sympathy. Williams tries to escape after taking a trio of bionic elbows, but gets blocked off by Gideon. Williams re-enters the ring and Grado nails a F5 to win.

Gideon vs Big Grizzly

Fun big man bout here. Williams has stayed at ringside to assist Grizzly, and is a constant presence during the bout. Grizz has some nice offence in his repertoire, with a big legdrop and Samoan drop both looking impressive. I liked the German suplex Gideon hit during his comeback – it wasn’t based around him improbably picking up the big man, but instead he allowed Grizz to rebound back from the ropes, and took him over using momentum. Still looks impressive without diminishing Grizzly’s size. Dug the finishing stretch too – Williams’ interference allowed Grizz to remove a turnbuckle pad whilst the ref was distracted, but a kendo shot from Williams accidentally hit Grizz, Gideon got into position and flatlinered Grizzly into the exposed buckle and finally hit a GTS to win. Made Gideon look smart to get into position for the turnbuckle flatliner, and helps keep Grizzly’s aura – it took three big shots to the head to keep him down. Good stuff.

Massive Party (Chuck Cyrus & Robbie Caine) vs Steele Dragons (Alex Steele & Eddie Dennis)

Decent enough match, which although maybe not technically perfect, is carried along by the fun nature of the stooging, goofy heels, the popularity and amiability of the Dragons and sticking to standard tag formula. Massive Party are working a meathead partying gimmick, and I dug them having a celebratory dance when a Dennis clothesline doesn’t faze them, only to receive two double eyepokes. Dennis plays FIP, and I dug Steele as the hot tag, using his speed advantage to outsmart Massive Party. Dennis hits his ever-impressive fallaway slam/Samoan Drop combo on the heels, and the stereo dives by the faces looked good. Massive Party get to blitz Steele with a few nice moves in a good finishing sequence, but a Steele superkick into a Next Stop Driver gets the win.

Mike Bird vs Trevor Lee

This was really good. Just felt like these two worked well together, both in character work and in the ring. Bird’s increasing frustration at Lee’s pre-match dancing led to an early strike exchange, with Bird nailing a nasty looking headbutt. Bird lures Lee into charging at him and nails a hot shot to take control, before wearing him down with some basic, but well executed offence. Bird takes too long threatening a clothesline however, and eats a uranage for two. Loved how Lee kept hold of Bird’s arm on the pin attempt and rolled through into a Fujiwara armbar, nice fluid sequence. Also a big fan of Lee’s penalty kick on the apron, he gets a full exaggerated extension on the leg to really emphasise the move. Lee gets the sudden win with a moonsault slam, which feels effective as a flash move to get the pin from nowhere. Could easily have watched another 5 minutes.

Panda Cub vs Flash Morgan Webster

Webster attacks Cub from behind to start, as this one kicks off with some real intensity. Webster in particular just lays in the headbutts to Cub. Hadn’t seen much of Panda Cub before, but I dug him here, nice flip senton and a reverse rana for a really nearfall. Webster is really good at being unlikable, so much so that you wonder how he ever gets booked as (a really likable) face. Cub misses a top rope splash and Webster locks in the Strangler to win. Webster is higher up in the hierarchy than Cub, but he really made him look good in defeat.

Pete Dunne vs Johnny Kidd

This is being fought under Mountevan’s Rules, which means that once a wrestler loses control of a hold, they have to yield and let their opponent back up, with best 2/3 falls rules. Really excellent bout to watch, with the matwork being really crisp. Because punches aren’t allowed, both guys have to be really clever with reversals, and most times a hold is countered it’s due to a shift in body weight or leverage creating space to escape. Have to give credit to the commentary too, really puts across how clever both wrestlers have to be, highlighting how Dunne escapes a bodyscissors by putting his legs over Kidd’s ankles, forcing Kidd’s knees down and giving Dunne room to drive his elbows into Kidd’s knees to escape. Just beautiful stuff, and the pinfalls almost feel irrelevant to the enjoyment of the match (Pete wins the final fall by luring Kidd into the ropes and quickly schoolboying him for the win), as it’s a real treat to watch. I’ve got the Chaos show where Kidd takes on Jack Gallagher under the same rules, and I’m very excited to watch that now. Top stuff.

Wild Boar vs Jeckel

This is for Boar’s King of Chaos title. Jeckel is accompanied by Pariah Khan, kayfabe owner of Chaos, giving him a huge advantage. Thus, even though Boar is on it to start, controlling Jeckel after a suicide dive early on, Khan’s interference allows Jeckel to dominate for the most part, with the ref unable to stop it. Jeckel’s pumphandle slam and 2^nd rope legdrop both looked good, before Boar changes the momentum by rolling into Jeckel’s legs when he’s running the ropes. Really crafty counter, and it’s followed by a big senton from Boar. Jeckel is really condescending to Boar, knowing his advantage with Khan, and seems to be toying with him, which ends up backfiring as a recovered Boar is able to avoid a chairshot and instead hit a big senton which drives Jeckel into the chair face first. Sadly, we get a bullshit ending, as Khan pulls the ref out of the ring, and Jeckel tries a chair sneak attack, only succeeding in hitting the chair into his own head. The ref sees an unconscious Jeckel and Boar holding a chair and disqualifies Boar. Disappointing ending to a decent match.

VII: Fight Forever (16/09/2016)

So, there I was browsing through YouTube, when this little beauty popped up on my recommend section. VII Wrestling carried on the good work of the Shropshire Wrestling Alliance (whose Summer Blowout 2014 I reviewed last year on this very blog), before announcing they'd folded just over a month ago. Obviously, a big shame, especially as their YouTube channel looks to have a host of great matches which I'm looking forward to ploughing through in the coming weeks. This is a full show, with a loaded line-up, and it's an actual treat to watch all the way through. Check out the link at the bottom for the full show.

Wild Boar vs Travis Banks

I’ve heard a lot about Banks, but this was the first I’ve seen of him in ring. Enjoyed what I saw, loved the quick flurry of blows he hit to take advantage early on, dug him taking Boar on a tour of the ring by rolling him around in a bodyscissors to disorientate (with amusing dizzy selling by Boar) and a rolling corner kick looked great. For his part, Boar was reliably good. He’s not the biggest, but his offence always looks like it would hurt. Big forearm shots, nice running slam and a wicked exploder suplex (Boar’s lack of height and stocky frame allows him to get right under his opponent, makes suplexes look really good). The finish was kind of blown, with Banks slipping on the rope for a springboard kick, but this was a good opener.

Chris Brookes vs Drew Parker

Brookes is defending his Young Lions title here. Bell rings, and Brookes’s CCK partner Kid Lykos immediately levels Parker with a weapon for the DQ. Chris Ridgeway makes the save, leading to…

Chris Ridgeway & Drew Parker vs CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos)

Parker immediately kicks off the match, following the Ridgeway tag challenge, by hitting a big flip dive on CCK. I’d not seen Ridgeway until he suddenly hit a few local shows last month, and he was really impressive (as well as his ring music helping me get into Slaves). Was interested to see him work face here, and he looked great, really nice on-point strikes. Parker plays FIP early, which makes sense as he was taken out with a weapon in the original match. Nice teamwork by CCK to get to that point, a Lykos flyingheadscissors landing Parker on the middle rope for a Brookes kick to the temple. Brookes looked fantastic here, all his little bits of offence looked nasty. He drops really sharp kneedrops and did some nasty joint wrenching to the downed Parker. After Ridgeway becomes FIP following an outside trip, Brookes hits these painful looking kidney punches in the corner. Parker is a guy I’d never seen, but his hot tag work was great, firing up the crowd with a springboard dropkick to Lykos and hitting a backwards flip to the outside on Brookes. In fact, this is a really great match, until Lykos brings in his weapon to draw another DQ. Felt like a bit of an anti-climax, stick a finish on this and it’s a great match.

Chuck Mambo vs Isaac Zercher

Zercher attacks Mambo at the bell and doesn’t really look back, flinging his opponent into the corner. He also hits a great capture suplex and a snap Samoan drop, which both look brutal. Mambo’s offence doesn’t look as good, but he’s a really sympathetic seller and his timing on a hope spot superkick is perfect, getting a really effective nearfall. Zercher tries for a second Samoan drop, but gets caught in a Mambo crucifix for the win.

Nixon Newell & Dahlia Black vs Jinny & Sierra Loxton

Interesting contrast, as the opening Nixon/Loxton segment sees them take it to the mat, whereas Black and Jinny go straight to the impact blows as soon as they tag in. Jinny is really good here, manages to get across a really nasty character, but also having the ring chops to back it up. Her catching a boot from Black, swinging it backwards and driving a knee into Black’s face in one swift motion looked vicious. I’d only previously seen Black at the BEW/Stardom show in London, where her and Toni Storm basically got destroyed by Alpha Female and Kairi Hojo for 10 minutes, so I knew she could take an effective beating, and she does the same here, with great rubber-legged selling. A Loxton headbutt looks really nasty the way Black sells it. Newell gets the hot tag, making her entrance with a great missile dropkick, before everything breaks down. Nice to see Black give Jinny a receipt for her beating with a stiff kick before Nixon Rolls The Dice on Loxton to win.

Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate

Two long-time favourites here, with Pete defending his heavyweight title against Bate. Dunne’s transformation over the past 12 months has been a revelation, he’s rightly become one of the leading lights in the UK. This match is worked very evenly, with the two almost being portrayed as mirror images of the other. The opening matwork sets the tone, both guys really selling the struggle and working the holds, forcing the other to thing practically about escaping. Bate’s fighting spirit really comes across here, as even when on the mat he finds time to blast Pete in the legs with a few big kicks. They exchange suplexes, in a state of one-upsmanship and showing off, and I love how, even though they both get up after the moves, it takes a bit longer each time, both guys showing the effects. The same happens later as both are worn down, but both try and counter German suplexes, the suplexer holding on partly to hit another and partly to prevent his opponent getting up before them. Bate hits a vicious looking thrust headbutt to send Pete out of the ring to give a moral victory. Loved Pete taking the low road in what had been an even contest by choking Tyler with a towel, and the pair of pump kicks to a kneeling Bate looked on-point. Bate shows his superhuman strength with a Backlund lift to escape a triangle, before Pete rolls him up for two. 15 minutes in, and I hadn’t realised there had been no pin attempt to that point. Bate gives a big airplace spin, but this allows Dunne to quickly roll him up again, this time with feet on the ropes for the win. Excellent match.

Pro Wrestling Chaos - Rhynos, Boars, Birds & Beards 2015

Feels way too long since I've reviewed a Pro Wrestling Chaos DVD on here, especially as I loved To Crown A King which I wrote about last year. This DVD came courtesy of Wrestlecrate UK, which I signed up to last month, and this was a real treat to find in the box.

Morgan Webster vs Mark Andrews

Andrews is a mystery opponent, as Webster has challenged any graduate of the Dragon Pro wrestling academy to face him. Webster is heel here, and he’s so much better cast as a snotty, whiny heel. What’s great about heel Webster is how he tones down the high-flying so as not to get pops, which also allows the opponents high-flying to shine. This is especially true against a guy like Andrews, who’s arguably Britain’s best high-flyer. After fighting off a sneak attack by Webster, Andrews hits a lovely standing moonsault. I loved the camerawork as Webster throws Andrews out, and the camera follows Webster so the audience discovers Andrews landed on the apron at the same time as he hits an enzuigiri to the head of Webster. Webster takes control as he throws his t-shirt at Andrews as he stands on the top rope, and I enjoyed his control work, including some nasty repeat headbutts to Andrews in the corner. He takes too long going to the top rope for the 450, and this allows to move for the comeback. A standing corkscrew moonsault by Andrews is off target, as he only hits the legs of Webster, but the rest of his offensive run looks great. Loved the victory roll swiftly transitioning to a standing stomp, and a swank reverse rana gets two. Webster, being a great cunt heel, uses the ref to block a charge, pokes Andrews in the eye and hits a cradle neckbreaker for two. Great nearfall. He goes to level Andrews with his helmet, but Panda Cub comes out to stop him. Webster goes to yell at him from the inside of the ring, but this puts him in place for an Andrews 619, and the shooting star press finishes for Andrews. Super opener.

Jeckel vs Tommaso Ciampa

Both guys have a similar look, with bald/cropped hair and beards. Some fun opening hijinks sees Ciampa end up with Jeckel’s manager’s jacket, dropping some Flair-esque elbows on it. However, this gives Jeckel an opening to attack. It doesn’t last long, as Ciampa nails a perfect knee to the face. I loved the outside brawling segment, and thought the spot where Ciampa got fans to hold Jeckel over the railings so he could hit a long-run-up running knee was great. Engages the fans and means Jeckel doesn’t look like an idiot lying in place for 20-30 seconds. The Jeckel control section was decent, enjoyed him just wearing down Ciampa without doing anything to pop the crowd. Both guys use strikes, but by Jeckel using less of them, it allowed Ciampa’s to look more impressive. Jeckel tries a rebound lariat, but totally telegraphs it with Ciampa staring at him for the full cycle, so I loved that Ciampa just clotheslined him right away. Jeckel’s manager sacrifices himself after Ciampa hits two running knees in the corner, as Ciampa murders him with a chop and three running knees to the face. However, this buys times for Jeckel to hit a low blow and a Michinoku Driver for the win.

Jinny vs Martina Kirby

The Martina gimmick is ridiculously over for Kirby wherever he goes, and though he plays it for laughs, it’s never played by his opponents as just being Martin Kirby in a dress, but as an actual woman wrestler. To begin, Jinny demands a walk-off, with a fan, wrestler Robbie Caine and Mr Bananas as judges. Unsurprisingly, Kirby wins, so Jinny attacks him from behind. Kirby hits a nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and enzuigiri, but he bumps so well that it becomes a bit of a Jinny showcase. Big DDT sees Kirby planted on the top of his head, and I loved Jinny dropkicking Kirby’s legs as he stood on the second ropes to then hit an X-Factor from height. She makes the mistake of yelling at the ringside judges, and this lets Kirby hit the Sable Bomb for the win. Fun deal.

The Doomsday Killers (Ian Williams, KillBane & Big Grizzly) vs Gideon, Mikey Whiplash & Rhyno

Really great 6-man tag. The underlying thread sees Williams playing chickenshit heel, desperate to avoid facing Gideon. The fans are really hot for the Rhyno/Big Griz face-off, especially after Whiplash had failed in the ring against Griz to really put over his dominance. Rhyno downs Grizzly, but takes 3 shoulderblocks to do so. Really loved Whiplash’s armwork on KillBane, really vicious looking snap to it. The heels work over Whiplash following a KillBane tilt-a-whirl, and do it really well. All quick tags, hitting their offence, then tagging out to a fresh guy right away. Loved Williams’ chickenshit work, as he misses a corner charge to let Gideon tag in, and immediately sprints from the ring to avoid facing him. The heels soon work over Gideon, with Griz looking great at using his strength and size to dominate. You really buy him as an unmovable object. Everything breaks down after Williams misses an elbow on Gideon, and we end with Williams in the ring with a downed Rhyno. Williams does this great cocky celebration…too cocky as Rhyno gets up. Rhyno misses the Gore, runs into a big punch from Griz and gets rolled up by Williams, with his feet on the ropes for the really cheap heel victory. Love it, the total chickenshit of the match beats the big star in the cheapest way possible. Aside from the great ending, loved how this kept moving, and was geared up to make everyone look good.

No 1 Contendership Rumble

Really appreciated the way they rounded off some storylines in this bout. Jeckel getting eliminated in 5 seconds by El Ligero and Mark Andrews was a fun start, and obviously watching Jim Diehard come in and squash both Ligero and Mandrews was fun to watch. Both Henchmen end up in the ring at the same time and have a fun run of dominance. Loved the way they paid off the last match as Rhyno is in the ring when Ian Williams is announced. Williams doesn’t want to get in and is in the aisle so long, the next contender comes out…that being Gideon. Gideon throws him in the ring, Rhyno Gore’s him and presses Williams over the top to the floor. Gideon eliminates himself to hit an ax handle from the top to the floor. Loved that all going full circle.

There were a few other fun spots throughout: loved Sam Wilder using the railings to stop his feet hitting the floor, really enjoyed Scotty Essex hitting a DVD on Big Grizzly, then hitting a DVD on Bunny The Buff ONTO Grizzly. A mysterious masked man enters and eliminates Mikey Whiplash, but gets pulled out from the ring by Whiplash to fight to the back. Morgan Webster runs from the back to eliminate Panda Cub, paying off the earlier match, and that leaves Alex Steele in with Big Grizzly. Steele manages to get Griz out to seemingly win, but the mysterious masked man comes back to throw him out and win. Good Rumble.

Wild Boar vs Mike Bird

This is a 30 minute Iron Man match for Bird’s King of Chaos title. Bird stalls a bit to start, before Boar tires of it, and tries a dive, which Bird meets with a punch to the face. Boar is portrayed here as having more heart and will to win, whilst Bird is cunning and trying to win in a devious manner. Bird hits a low blow and crowns Boar with a chairshot to give Boar a 1-0 lead via DQ. Bird swiftly pins Boar to level things at 1-1, then hits a cradle piledriver for a 2-1 lead. Nice psychology. Bird throws Boar out of the ring to try and get a countout win, whilst buying himself time, but Boar gets in on 9. Bird throws him out again, but this just buys Boar more recovery time so, when Bird tries another piledriver, Boar jackknife pins him to tie things up at 2-2. At this point, Bird starts to lose his focus, getting more and more angry at Boar’s refusal to stay down. Boar is slowly, but surely shaking off the cobwebs, and there’s this awesome moment when he’s finally fully-charged, and just EXPLODES with offence. Great suicide dive, and his corner cannonballs always look great. Loved the moment when Bird tries to headbutt him, and Boar just blitzes him with a flurry of headbutts. Bird takes control again, but can’t put Boar away, and this drives him crazy in the final minutes. Loved the Bird crossface, where he grabs Boar’s free arm as he goes for the ropes and turns it into a sort-of Regal stretch. Bird hits a piledriver, but Boar kicks outa two. Bird tries a second, but Boar reverses it to the Trapper Keeper for the 3-2 lead with a second remaining to win the title. Absolutely loved this, and they did a great job of filling 30 minutes without it dragging. Loved the underlying story of Bird being too cocky, then not being able to take control when he needed to. Loved how both guys sold their desperation at the end, and this was a great feel-good moment. Afterwards, the mysterious masked man attacked Boar and unmasked as Jeckel to set up the next show.

Pro Wrestling Chaos 6: To Crown A King

Pro Wrestling Chaos are a company who run shows down in the Bristol area, and have a roster that features quite a few of my favourite British wrestlers. Seeing as how I live a good 2 hours+ from Bristol, I decided the easiest way to check them out would be by DVD instead. This show is based around a four-man tournament to crown the King of Chaos champion, and is a really fun show from start to finish.

 

JD Knight vs Dave Mercy

This is the first semi-final tournament match. Given that I've only seen him before as an amusingly perverted heel, the one thing I wasn’t expecting is to see Dave Mercy as a fired-up, white-meat babyface. It really suits him too, he looked really good at working over Knight in the early going. Knight takes over after snapping Mercy’s neck over the top rope and starts grounding Mercy. His covers looks pretty nonchalant, which allows Mercy to make a comeback with a flurry of blows and a swank looking Northern Lights suplex. Knight hits a chokebomb, which only gets two, and he seems frustrated at this, going outside to grab the ringbell. The ref stops him, but it turns out to be a distraction, as Knight instead nailed Mercy with a wrench from his tights to get the win. Or so it seemed, as the ref raises his hand before he has a chance to hide the wrench, which leads to it’s discovery. The ref restarts the match, and Mercy hits a quick RKO to win. Fun opener.

 

Mike Bird vs Wild Boar

I really like both guys, so I had high expectations for this one. Boar is working face here, and it’s nice to see that he’s still plenty vicious on the mat in this role, working the fingers of Bird. I liked Boar’s punches in the corner, pummelling Bird to the ground, then picking him up to deliver more punches. There was a lovely little sequence to change the momentum, as Bird avoids a charge, and rolls Boar up with a schoolboy, then hits a double-stomp right away. Bird starts slapping Boar around the head, which seems a foolish thing to do to rile up his opponent, but then he brilliantly follows it up by running the ropes at the same time as Boar to hit a big clothesline from the side, which looked great. Boar’s corner senton looks great as ever, but Bird picks up the win with another big clothesline and a cradle piledriver. Really great match.

Dick Morgan, Alex Steele & Eddie Dennis vs The Doomsday Killers (Gideon, KillBane & Ian Williams)

This starts off as a singles match between Gideon and Morgan, before Williams attacks Morgan from behind. This leads to Steele and Dennis making the save and proposing this six-man tag. I quite like the initial structure of this match where, despite an initial flurry of offence by the faces, the Doomsday Killers are able to take over following a big Gideon kick to Morgan, capitalising on his still being groggy from the pre-match assault. I thought Gideon looked terrific in this match, with just nasty, vicious looking blows that looked convincingly painful. I also dug his offence on Steele following a hot tag, with him holding Steele in a standing chokehold which he then turned into an overhead butterfly suplex, which looked ace. Things break down after another hot tag to Dennis, and things get a little sloppy until they head to a hot end sequence. A big series of dives by Steele, Williams and Gideon culminates in a big flip dive by Dennis. The action returns to the ring with a series of moves, before Morgan finishes Williams off with a Northern Lights suplex, which he rolls through with into a brainbuster. Decent match, really made me want to see more of Gideon.

Big Grizzly vs Rampage Brown

The box has this match down as “Steve Griffiths vs Rampage Brown”, but it wasn’t until I got to the menu screen that I realised “Steve Griffith” is blog favourite Big Grizzly, and this became a match I was super excited to see. This was a really good big man bout, with a fun story. Rampage Brown is a big bruiser of a man, but for once he’s out-sized by his opponent. Rampage tries a couple of shoulderblocks without shifting Grizzly, and Grizzly meets him with a running knee as he hits the ropes for the third try. They trade some big blows on the outside of the ring, and back inside Rampage tries to pick up Grizzly onto his shoulders with no joy. This is teased a few times in the match, and I like that, strong as Rampage is, he isn’t able to just lift Grizzly on the first try. Grizzly can move for a guy his size, and I really like the way that he uses this size as a weapon, smashing into Rampage like a demolition ball with a running shoulderblock. Grizzly gets a two count off a big sideslam, before Rampage hits a big lariat and finally hoists Griz onto his shoulders for a running Samoan drop, which gives him the victory. Loved this.

Chris Masters vs Jeckel

Masters is quite a regular on these shores nowadays, and it’s fun to see how he matches up with different opponents, and if he works a heel or face. Here, he was working as a face, which involved him overpowering Jeckel, until receiving a poke to the eye. He managed to catch Jeckel on a pescado attempt, but ended up getting rammed into the ring post. Jeckel looks to be a decent size, just not as big as Masters, so it made sense for him to use these little shortcuts. Jeckel heeled it up a storm when in control, with chokes and boot scrapes to wear down Masters. Jeckel gets a bit too over confident and spends ages going for a top rope legdrop, which he somewhat inevitably misses, and Masters gets him with a lovely Sky High powerbomb. Masters locks in the Masterlock, but Jeckel pulls the ref to him to hide him giving Masters a low blow, which allows Jeckel to pick up the cheap roll up victory. This was fun.

Mike Bird vs Dave Mercy

This is the final of the King of Chaos title tournament, and the other wrestlers comes out onto the stage to watch the match, which is a nice touch. I liked Bird pre-bell trying to wind up Mercy and get under his skin, which leads to Mercy attacking him with a flourish at the bell. They brawl outside  the ring and through the crowd to the stage, before getting back to the ring, where Mercy misses a top rope splash. Bird takes over, and hits a really cool looking running legdrop in the corner. Mercy tries firing back with some really great looking punches, but telegraphs one which gives Bird time to block it. Bird misses a top rope moonsault, giving Mercy enough time to get his second wind, hitting a Northern Lights suplex and a Michinoku Driver for two. Bird is able to hit a fucking Dragon suplex on Mercy, which sends him from the ring, and Bird follows him out with two suicide dives onto the dazed Mercy. Bird is fully in the ascendancy here, but is caught diving into the ring by a RKO from Mercy, and only getting his foot on the ropes prevents Bird getting pinned. They battle on the top rope, and Bird tries for a top rope cradle piledriver (which it really looked like he was going to hit) before Mercy breaks free. This does lead to a really great end sequence. They fight on the ring apron, and Bird DOES get to hit the cradle piledriver on the ring apron. Mercy is pretty much out, but does just about get back into the ring before the 10 count…only for Bird to immediately hit another cradle piledriver for the clean victory. Really loved this,  both guys managed to look stronger coming out than going in, which is surely the aim of matches like this.

Triple X Wrestling Untitled Festive Season Tie-In Event

As I check Facebook and see that Triple X are already announcing matches for their next show, it dawned on me that I probably needed to get my lazy arse round to making sense of the jumble of notes I wrote on their festive show one-and-a-half weeks ago. A show that rather magnificently ended with a roster of wrestlers singing "Do They Know It's Christmas". Tearjerking...

Dave Mercy vs Pollyanna
After a ludicrous introduction, including chasing host Omer Ibrahim round the ring to the Benny Hill theme, we were "treated" to Dave Mercy taking on the debuting Pollyanna, who looked good throughout the match, despite what Mercy put her through. Mercy has really found his calling as the opening match guy for Triple X, with his frankly disturbing antics seemingly perfect for warming up the crowd. He's also really good at finding new lows to plumb in each match. Here, despite being out-wrestled in the early parts of the match, he seemed to be in his element fighting a woman, threatening a "boobplex", before the tables were turned and he got taken over with a "ballplex" for a near count. A punch to Pollyanna's breasts brought her to her knees, low blowing Mercy as she fell, who in turn took out the referee in a fun spot. Pollyanna looked to have the match won with a leglock, but Mercy reached into the well-padded bulge of his groin and pulled out a sock that he attacked her face with to break the hold. Mercy eventally got the victory with a rather horrible-looking teabagging pin.

Santa Paws vs Flash Morgan Webster
Santa Paws was a chap in a panda mask dressed as Santa, who unfortunately got assaulted by a not-booked Morgan Webster. This was a quick little match, won by Webster, to lead onto the next angle...

Wild Boar vs Keiron Young
.....as Webster took the mic and claimed he knew what Triple X were trying to do, turning all his friends against him. He highlighted former friend Mark Andrews, his trainer Mike Bird, then claimed that the reason Wild Boar was back in Triple X was to turn Boar against him. The Boar came to the ring as Webster cut a promo essentially asking Boar to be his friend, a request that was met with a simple "no". The match itself was pretty much a squash, but just because a face turn seems imminent, it didn't mean Boar was letting Young off lightly. I've missed Boar in Triple X, he's not the biggest guy, but everything he does looks violent. Young did get to hit his trifecta of dives to the outside, but ultimately Boar won with the Trapper Keeper. Boar ignored Webster's offer of friendship again afterwards, and face Wild Boar is totally something I can get behind.

Jim Diehard vs Big Grizzly
This was a pretty fun battle of two massive bearded men. Grizzly had tag partner Scott Grimm at ringside, so you knew that he was going to get involved at some point. This started pretty slowly, but got better as the match went along. I alway love Big Grizzly's cannonball in the corner, it always looks like he's just rolling straight through them. Diehard took a bit of a beating from Griz, but was making his comeback when Grimm grabbed his leg to prevent him going to the top rope(!). The Titans of Terror beat down on Diehard, until a returning Benton Destruction made the save and challenged the Titans for the next show. Griz may have responded to the challenge with "Fuck off", but I suspect it will happen and will be terrific.

Chris Brookes vs Tyler Bate
This was an absolute treat. Bate has rightly become one of the shining lights of British wrestling in the past year, but it's worth pointing out how great Brookes has been in that time period too. Both guys have an inate charisma that makes an audience want to react to them, albeit in different ways. After Bate's Sandman-inspired entrance, these two beat on each other with a viciousness that only guys who know each other really well can get away with. There were lots of nasty spots and loud cane shots that belied the fact this feud blew up over Tyler's facial hair. Bate took out Brookes with a huge dive from the top rope over the safety barrier, and then put him in a 40-second airplane spin inside the ring. Tyler got two very close nearfalls with a deadlift German suplex and a big lariat, but got knocked from the top rope when Brookes shoved the ref into the ropes. The match ended with Brookes hanging Bate over the top rope with a thick bunch of electrical cable, really yanking back on it, until Bate passed out and couldn't continue. Next month, they're competing in a deathmatch, and I'm almost scared to see how they'll top this awesome brawl.

Eddie Dennis & the Hunter Brothers vs Mike Bird & the Dunne Brothers
Triple X wisely put a Chase Alexander in-ring promo before this match, to give the crowd (and the choked-out Bate) a chance to catch their breath. This was a total change of pace, a really fast-paced six man tag with the following stipulation: If Dennis' team won, Pete Dunne would lose his #1 contendership for Dennis' Triple X title, but if Dunne's team won, he'd get his title match that night.

Trying to recap all that happened would be a fools errand, but this was a good long match, spiced up with the odd moment of chaos. The Dunnes and Bird had some really smooth teamwork as a trio, and dominated the early stages, but the heel team would find ways to isolate individual members throughout the match. I loved the hanging of the Welsh flag in the corner as a heel tactic. As things broke down, Dennis brought the Triple X title belt in the ring to use as a weapon, but it ended up in the hands of Pete Dunne. Unfortunately, his attempts to level Dennis missed, and instead took out Damian Dunne, leaving him prone for the three count and losing Pete's #1 contendership. The fun thing is how this leaves the Clusterfuck match next month. This isn't the first time some tension has been hinted at between the Dunnes and, whilst winning the Clusterfuck match would give Pete his title shot back, but a win for Damian would really put the cat amongst the pigeons. Can't wait.

Triple X Wrestling: Clusterfuck III

Arriving at Club M in Coventry for this show, we were treated to something a bit different before the wrestling started...stand-up comedy. After an opening set I arrived midway through (which was fun, though I didn't catch the name of the guy doing it), we got regular Triple X ring announcer Omer Ibrahim recounting stories of his wrestling days, the highlight of which involved a rather horrible training drill involving a rear waistlock... With the crowd suitably warmed up, the action began.

Keiron Young vs Dave Mercy
So we kicked off with two guys I've not seen before. Young bills himself as the "Indy Guy", whilst Dave Mercy is the delightfully named "Sleazy Bastard". And what a sleazy bastard he was, grinding his way to the ring to the sound of "Bump & Grind". With his posh voice, pervy moustache and yellow singlet hanging down to his waist, Mercy was perversely entertaining. He used a lot of sexual spots, going for the pinfall with his crotch over Young's face and choking him with the straps of the singlet, as if to pull it down. Young looked decent, if a touch inexperienced, and he hit a few nice kick combos to Mercy. The ringwork here maybe wasn't perfect, but this was a lot of goofy fun. Mercy won with a roll-up, which meant he qualified for the Clusterfuck match later.

Devilman vs Wild Boar
This title match was a bit of a slow burner, with the opening moments based around DM grounding the Boar with a headlock. Things started to heat up however, with Boar looking good on offence. What I love about Wild Boar is how everything he does looks designed to inflict pain, especially how he clawed at DM's face during holds. He also seems happy to hurl himself with reckless abandon towards his opponents, with a dive from the ring being particularly choice. Devilman looked good in his comebacks, and looked set to make the Boar tap with a crossface. Boar got a couple of nearfalls towards the end, but Devilman was able to pick up the win to retain the title.

Clusterfuck III - Damian Dunne vs Chris Brookes vs Tyler Bate vs Terry Seddon vs Big Grizzly vs Local Jobber #2 vs Scott Grimm vs Scotty Essex vs Dave Mercy vs Eddie Dennis
The Clusterfuck match follows the same format as the Royal Rumble, except that, upon reaching the final four, it becomes a fatal fourway match, with the winner here becoming the no. 1 contender for the Triple X title.

This was a whole heap of fun. I wont try and recap everything that happened as, frankly, my memory isn't that good, but there were plenty of highlights. Tyler Bate has adapted his gimmick, fully embracing the "tiny Gotch" chants to portray himself as a throwback to the black-trunked grapplers of the early 20th century. With a dapper moustache and a smattering of aeroplane spins throughout the match, he made this new character work. His semi-reunion with former Slapdash Tagteam partner Chris Brookes ("he's a bit of a cunt") was one of the fun running themes throughout the match. Also impressing here was Big Grizzly. The first time I saw him back in July he was a competent, but green, big man. Here, he looked great, levelling opponents with Samoan drops, a proper good spinebuster and two massive cannonballs in the corner, which put cult hero Local Jobber #2 out of action (of which more later). Damian Dunne, who was the first entry, provided a good base for the match, as he's able to work well with everyone on the roster, and his elimination of Grizzly was a nice bit of payback for his loss to the big man back in August.

Dave Mercy returned, having qualified for entry with his earlier win, and got thrown out straight away. The other newcomer in the match was "Mr Reem" Scotty Essex, who riled up the crowd as soon as he came out. He didn't really get a chance to show much, but did take a big bump for a Bate deadlift German suplex which was impressive, so hopefully he'll get a chance to impress in the future. We got down to a final four of Dunne, Dennis, Bate and Brookes, but before a winning pinfall could take place, it was revealed that Local Jobber #2 had never been eliminated. Dunne hit him with a quick springboard codebreaker, but Dennis swiftly threw Dunne over the top rope and pinned Jobber to win the match and a title shot at Devilman next show. There was never a dull moment here, and it felt better laid out than last years match.

"Flash" Morgan Webster vs Mark Andrews
The stipulation here was that Webster would get a contract with Triple X if he beat Andrews. Webster has been running rampant in the past 12 month, interferring in matches and specifically targetting Andrews, but this was his first actual match since Clusterfuck 2 last year. The result of this build is that the crowd absolutely HATED Webster, who kept the heat up with his antics throughout the match. This also meant that we saw a slightly more aggressive side to Andrews, but without him shortchanging the crowd on his ever impressive aerial skills. Webster looked more impressive here than he did 12 months earlier (in a reasonable match against Eddie Dennis), and was clearly revelling in the heat from the crowd. A good, if slightly short, match ended with Webster taking advantage of a distracted ref to crack Andrews in the head with his scooter helmet for the win.
　

The Henchmen vs The Hunter Brothers
This was a tables match, and ended up being a pretty fantastic brawl around Club M. The Henchmen pretty much destroyed the Hunters to start, but the Hunters' gameplan of surviving and then isolating one Henchman was pretty smart. The first fall went to the Hunters on Jim Diehard, as a top rope superplex attempt was cut off and the brothers hit a double powerbomb from the second rope through a table. This put Diehard out of commission for a while, and let the Hunters concentrate on Benton Destruction. I loved Benton pulling down the straps of his singlet before trying to ward off both Hunters. The Hunters set up a table near the bar area, but by this time Diehard had recovered, and a resurgent Henchmen powerbombed one Hunter off the stairs through a table in an insane bump to even things up. Back in the ring, there was a ref bump before the remaining Hunter got thrown through a table, but his brother returned and levelled both Henchmen with chairshots, leaving Destruction lying in the broken remains of the table. A recovering ref called for the bell to give the Hunters the cheap win. Really fun brawl here, with the Hunters bumping and stooging magnificently, and all four men putting in a good effort.

Zack Sabre Jr vs Pete Dunne
Going into this match, I had high hopes. ZSJ was part of two of the best matches I saw live last year (vs Mark Andrews for Triple X, and vs Tommy End for Southside), whilst Dunne has been a constant highpoint of the Triple X shows I've been to over the past year. Yet somehow, this match still surpassed expectations. All the matwork here was excellent, and it always felt like it was leading somewhere, instead of being matwork for the sake of matwork. There were nice little touches throughout, like Sabre simply letting go of Dunne's leg when he could tell Pete was about to try and counter a hold, or the way he tried to keep his legs moving when sat in a prone position to try and stop Dunne grabbing one of them. As is often his gameplan, Zack went on the attack on Pete's left arm to soften him up for an armbar, and both his attack plan and Dunne's selling of the injury were terrific. I loved the fact Dunne kept protecting his arm, even whilst on offence. Whilst the result was never really in doubt, it was kept competitive, with a few moments where it looked like Dunne might win. In the end, ZSJ picked up the win with a Dragon suplex, but it's fair to say this was a stormer. Possibly the best match I've seen in person.

Triple X Wrestling: The Nov 24th Show

Regular readers, in the unlikely event there is such a thing, will be aware by now of my love of Coventry's Triple X Wrestling, who put on a constantly entertaining show every time. Having been to every show this year, you could imagine my horror as the M69 leading from Nottingham to Cov was shut as I headed to the imaginatively titled "November 24th Show". Diverted through random parts of Warwickshire, I was genuinely concerned that I was going to miss this show, but thankfully I got there just in the nick of time. Which is lucky, as I think this was the best top-to-bottom show they put on this year. Ending old stories, continuing and starting new ones, the pieces are in place to make January's upcoming "Clusterfuck III" show an absolute belter.

Pete Dunne vs Chris Brookes
Brookes' new intro video proclaims him to be be "a bit of a cunt", which earned him a few choice chants during the match. Real nice back-and-forth match here, with everything looking crisp in execution. Brookes had impressed smaller roles in previous matches, but it was nice to see him get a longer chance to show what he could do. His Dragon suplex on Dunne was really good. Dunne is always good value, and the "On your head, son" enzuigiri never gets old. Dunne picks up the win with a swank pumphandle into a DDT.

We got a bit of an angle here, as cult hero (and my girlfriends favourite wrestler) Local Jobber #2 came to the ring, only for Flash Morgan Webster to come out and destroy him, asking again for a match with Mark Andrews. This was eventually agreed to, so hopefully this will happen at the next show. It's been building nicely for month, and it should be a great match when it happens.

The Hunter Brothers vs The Henchmen
Though not advertised as such, this was a battle of Coventry vs Birmingham, so the Henchmen were the clear hometown favourites. The Hunters are great at stooging for their opponents, raising a laugh when a blindside attack failed and claiming "it was the ref". The Henchmen dominated early, but a cheapshot to the leg of Jim Diehard gave the Hunters control. This was a classically worked tag match, with a lengthy heat section on Diehard coupled with the Hunters cutting off a hot tag attempt by attacking Benton Destruction. I loved Benton's combined shock and horror at his tag partner hitting a shining wizard ("Have you been watching those skinny boy tapes?"), before Diehard managed to motor through both Hunters to make the tag. The Henchmen had nearly completed the Five Moves of Doom for the win, before Diehard got nailed with a chair before he could hit the senton to get the DQ win. Destruction also got levelled with a pair of chairshots after, so I assume this leads to a rematch at the next show.

Tyler Bate vs Joe Coffey
Bate has been more and more impressive on the past few shows, but this felt like a real breakthrough match for him. Coffey was a guy I'd not seen before, but he came with a good reputation, and he was a really good opponent for Bate here. Coffey was a really unlikable heel here, and that also helped rally the crowd behind Tyler. I liked the mat exchanges throughout the match, especially as both guys actively worked the holds they were applying, with little touches to make them look more painful. I loved Coffey pulling out his chewing gum and rubbing it in Bate's face during a hold, which only made him seem more of a dick. Though smaller, Bate still got to use a few of his impressive strength spots, with the deadlift German suplex getting two. In the end, however, Coffey picked up the win with a giant swing, which he chained to a Boston crab. Tyler tried to power out, but when that failed, tapped right away. Really great match, debuting Coffey with a good win, but Bate also came out better than when he went in.

Adam Shame & Grado vs The Wrestling Dead
After leaving the last show with "Zombie Slayer" Terry Seddon, Michelle Thorne is now out managing the zombie team. Something to do with them always being stiff... Anyway, this was as absurd and ridiculous as you'd expect. Grado is always entertaining, especially his puzzlement at the idea of having to wrestle some zombies and Shame seems to fit well with him. I love Chris Stone's out-of-control commitment to the character, as he acts more zombie than wrestler, with Steffan Hard carrying the wrestling side of things. Grado gets distracted by Thorne flashing her wares at him to give the zombies the advantage and it doesn't help when his partner also gets enticed by Thorne when Grado reaches for the hot tag. Eventually, Shame does get tagged in, and a combination big boot\faceplant combo give them the pin on Hard. Really fun.

Eddie Dennis, Damian Dunne, Devilman & Omer Ibrahim vs Big Grizzly, Wild Boar, Scott Grimm & Gabriel Grey
This is an elimination tag match, with Gabriel Grey promising to disband the Damned Nation if they lose. This was pretty chaotic, but never less than entertaining, and managed to include some great storyline strands as well. Omer finally got his revenge on Grey after a year of abuse, nailing a huge spear to eliminate him, before Grimm nails a Black Hole Slam on Omer right away to even the score. Everyone here got a chance to shine, with even Grimm looking good dominating the champion Devilman. Dennis shows some impressive strength to suplex Grimm over for a pin, while a fun sequence of offence ends with Boar nailing a package piledriver on Dunne to even up the sides again. In the end, the Damned Nation is forced to split, as Devilman and Dennis take out Grizzly and Boar and hit simultaneous pins to be the two survivors (and I'd be remiss not to mention Dennis showing sick strength again by hitting a crucifix bomb on the enormous Grizzly). After the match, Dennis went from Good Wales! to Bad Wales! by nailing Devilman with the title belt, almost certainly setting up a match between the two in the future.

Triple X: Club M In Your Face

After running the last few shows at the Coventry Sq Club, the latest offering ran from the newly revamped Club M, a venue that has seen a slick £500,000 facelift. As a venue, it looked really swank, and with the ring in the middle of the dancefloor, it felt like a really exciting step forward for the promotion. With a line-up including my second Sabu match of the weekend, I was greatly looking forward to the show

Damian Dunne vs Big Grizzly
We have an open challenge to kick off the show, with Gabriel Grey challenging anyone to take on the latest member of the Damned Nation. Dunne answered the challenge, and we ended up with a decent big-vs-small match as opener. Dunne took the fight to the big Welshman early, using his speed and strikes to wear him down. Grizzly's size soon became too much and he took control with power moves, looking pretty impressive whilst doing so. This was a much better showcase for him than the tag match last month, as fighting a smaller opponent allowed him to look more dominant, and he played the big monster role well. Damian managed to regain control, using Grizzly's weight against him to hit a backcracker, but Grey grabbed the ropes as he went for a springboard codebreaker, and Grizzly used the distraction to hit a sitout powerbomb for the win.

The Hunter Brothers vs Ho Ho Lun & Jason New
Ho Ho Lun made quite an impression on the last show in a four way match, and this time he returned with another Zero-One Hong Kong star in Jason New. The Hunters are a curious case, being one of the premier teams in the UK, but one I've never seen win live. This was a fast-paced tag match, with the Hong Kong team clearly the crowd favourites. They struggled with the low ceiling in Club M though, playing up to it with an attempted double team suplex on a Hunter, who they couldn't get all the way over due to the ceiling, then Lun became face-in-peril after leaping from the top rope into a lighting rig. The Hunters ran a nice heat section on Lun, preventing New from getting in, until a hot tag was made. Despite this, the Hunters were still able to pick up the win following a roll-up with pulled tights, a point the Zero-One guys amusingly tried to point out the ref in vain after the match. Fun match.

Tyler Bate vs Mark Andrews
Bate is swiftly becoming one of my favourite guys in Triple X to watch, looking more and more impressive with each show. He's got a nice blend of decent looking strikes, freakish strength spots, an inate charisma and the ability to keep pace with the quicker guys too. The latter is lucky here, as Mandrews is one of the better high fliers in British wrestling, with everything in the match looking crisp in execution. The two of them paired up well here, with both guys being pretty evenly matched in the initial stages. Bate started to wear down Andrews, and got in his traditional scary strength spot, this time hitting a slow, deadlift German suplex for a two count. Andrews, unlike the Zero-One HK boys, was comfortable with the low ceiling and actually used it to his advantage, hanging off the rigging to get into position for a Code Red for the win. Really fun match, which I could happily have seen go on for longer.

Money In The Wank Bank Match - Stefan Hard vs Zombie Chris Stone vs Scott Grimm vs Local Jobber #2 vs Andy Krae vs Terry Seddon vs Zombie Stefan Hard
The reason this is the "Money in the Wank Bank" match is because the winner gets a date with adult entertainment star Michelle Thorne. This is largely played for laughs, but succeeds in being entertaining throughout. First out is Stefan Hard, defending the honour of his wife, against zombie Chris Stone. Hard is in control, until he gets distracted by Henchman Benton Destruction trying to get some porn signed by Thorne, and he falls prey to a zombie bite to be eliminated. Scott Grimm is in next, and he powers through Stone, Local Jobber #2 (complete with awesome "jobber" themed video and a massive pop from the crowd) and Krae, before Triple X's resident zombie slayer Terry Seddon pins him with a crucifix. To bring things full circle, Stefan Hard returns, having turned zombie from the Chris Stone bite, only to eat a Diamond Cutter from Seddon for the win. Seddon also plants Professor Lex with a cutter to end a ludicrous, but fun, segment.

The Henchmen vs Grado & Adam Shame
A battle of the cult heroes here, with the magnificent "80's legends" the Henchmen taking on a team including slightly camp, chubby Scottish grappler Grado. The odd man out here felt like former Triple X champion Adam Shame, who didn't meet with the same positive reaction as his opponents, having been a long time heel. That said, he more than played his part here, showing immense strength to lift up the massive Benton Destruction for a Shellshock, complete with Ryback-esque march around the ring. This one soon broke down, with all four guys brawling outside the ring. In fact, they got a little too into the brawl, with Grado beating on Shame and the Henchmen punching each other, until a moment of realistation took hold of all four guys. An entertaining brawl ended with Shame reaching for what seemed to be a bag of tacks, but was infact a bag of Skittles, which saw all four guys hitting moves onto the tasty fruit sweets. In the end, the Five Moves of Doom on Grado saw a win for the Henchmen.

Sabu vs Wild Boar
This was my second Sabu match of the weekend, following the Jimmy Havoc match in Nottingham, and I have to say I enjoyed this one more. Despite the fact that the tables here were flimsy, and seemed to take away from what Sabu hoped to do it the match, this was a more competitive affair, and I think Boar came out of this looking better than Havoc did on the Friday. Although the outcome was never in doubt (due to the storyline having Triple X bringing in Sabu to take out Wild Boar to stop him interferring in stablemate Majik's title match), Boar (appropriately) looked like a beast here, keeping up with Sabu and keeping him from being able to wrestle a formula Sabu match. I loved Boar using a chair to hit a leaping headbutt into the midsection of Sabu and by the end, when Sabu won with an Arabian facebuster, it felt like Sabu had been forced to put in a real effort to keep the Boar down. Sabu was really over here, and deserves credit for letting Boar look like a real force.

Devilman vs Majik
This one seemed a bit muted at first, despite the long-term rivalry between the two. I think they suffered from having to follow a huge star in Sabu, which had slightly worn out the audience. It also took them a little while to find their rhythm, with the opening stages seeming a little slow for a hate-filled blood fued. Things picked up throughout the match though, and they slowly, but surely swung the crowd round, with a sick Majik Death Valley Driver on the ring apron near the end getting a huge "Holy Shit" chant. We get a big, all-action ending with ref bumps, interference from Big Grizzly and Damian Dunne, and finally Omer Ibrahim getting into the ring to count the victorious Devilman pinfall, after he wiped Majik out with a blow from Gabriel Grey's cane. Through all this, plus Majik working the crowd like a heat magnet, they turned an initially apathetic crowd into a really strong reaction, and put on a satisfying main event.

Triple X Wrestling: The Only Way Is SQ

Before making their debut at the Coventry Club M next month, Triple X had a show at the SQ Club last Sunday, which promised contract signings, scrambles, no holds barred matches and many more. Here's how it went...

The show started with a contract signing for the next show, where Devilman will face Majik for the Triple X title. However, Majik seemed more concerned with getting jovial MC and former wrestler Omer Ibrahim to say he respected him. Omer, however, wouldn’t back down, telling Majik he didn’t respect him, and getting in the champions face. After both Devilman and Majik signed the contract, Devilman rammed Majik’s head into the table and things looked like breaking down before the familiar ring music of Teddy Long hit over the speakers. Out came Professor Lex, who announced the four men in the ring (Devilman, Omer, Majik and his manager Gabriel Grey) would meet in the main event in a Holla Holla Tag Match. A fun start to the show. 

The Dunne Brothers vs The Hunter Brothers

This is the 3^rd show in a row for Triple X to feature some Dunne/Hunter interaction, but luckily it’s a pairing that never fails to entertain. It’s odd, the first time I saw the Hunters was as faces and, as good as they were in ring, they seemed a little bland personality wise. However, as heels they really seem to excel and they’re plenty of fun here heeling it up against the Dunnes. As the younger Dunne, it was Damo who got focused on for the heat section, which featured some quick tags and nice double teams by the Hunters. To be honest, so much happened in this match that I’m struggling to recall everything that happened, but the end was a fun series of saves and reversals which ended with Dunnes reigning triumphant. Really good opener. 

Scott Grimm vs Dave Mastiff

This is a no-holds-barred rematch from last months show. This provides a nice change of pace from the opener, as both are massive guys. They run through a long series of stalemate shoulderbarge attempts, before Grimm takes control. This wasn’t a huge war like I was expecting, but instead featured Grimm trying to wear Mastiff down with repeated blows. Mastiff’s comeback was great, as his offence always looks good. He got a real high leap on a rolling firemans carry, and he got great air on a senton as well, which only got two. Things heat up at the two fight outside and over the merch table, before Grimm steals a win back inside with a low blow. Started slowly, but this was a decent big man match. 

Mark Andrews vs Tyler Bate vs Ho Ho Lun vs Chris Brookes

Again, this was a change of pace from the previous match, advertised in advance as a “Get Your Shit In” match. It lived up to the billing as all four guys got a shitload of action into the match, with all four managing to look good here. Lun is on tour from Zero-One HK, and was bursting with physical charisma, and the fans took to him instantly. One spot, which saw him sit Bate on a chair, repeatedly asking the audience if he should take a longer run up to kick him in the face got a great response. Brooke and Bate had impressed at the last show as the SlapDash Tagteam, but they sadly had broken up here, with Brooke cheapshotting Bate after a handshake. Bate has crazy strength, here catching Andrews in mid air and planting him with a German suplex, which looked awesome. Andrews is a super-crisp high flier, and everything he did looked slick here, with a massive Asai moonsault providing the perfect punctuation to a great dive sequence by all four men. Finally, after a ton of action, Andrews pinned Brooke with a sunset-flip bomb. This was loads of fun. 

The Henchmen vs Local Jobbers

The local jobbers, who entered to “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”, are fast becoming cult favourites in Triple X, though not as much as the Henchmen, whose arrival prompts a chant of “So Fucking Hench”. This was billed as a forgone conclusion, and there was no surprise here, as the Henchmen destroyed the jobbers. At one point though, local jobber #2 gets in some offence, working over the leg of Jim Diehard...a flurry which comes to an end with a huge Diehard lariat. The Henchmen hit the Five Moves of Doom (World’s Strongest Slam, forearm, clothesline to the back of the head, gutwrench powerbomb, senton) on #2, before #1 makes the save. However, he also gets hit with the Five Moves and the jobbers get put out of their misery.  

Eddie Dennis vs Wild Boar

Dennis is also getting a good following, with yells of “Wales!” coming in support. However, it was pointed out that Boar is also Welsh, so we got chants of “Good Wales!” and “Bad Wales!” depending on who was on offence. Dennis mocked the diminutive Boar to start, and we got a nice chain wrestling sequence, which was something we’d not really seen from Dennis before. When Boar got on offence, he lived up to his name, attacking with a real feral ferocity. There was a really nice looking spot where Boar hung Dennis upside down in a tree of woe to savage him then, as Dennis tried to free himself, Boar leapt across the ring with a vicious looking diving headbutt. Dennis fired back, and nailed Boar with a powerbomb, but it only got two, before Boar finished him off with a double underhook piledriver in a good match. 

Devilman & Omer Ibrahim vs Majik & Big Grizzly

Before the match, Majik got on the mic and announced that, due to Grey being taken ill, he’d been forced to replace him with new Damned Nation member Big Grizzly, an enormous man who towered over everyone in the ring. This may not have been the slickest match of the night, but it probably featured the best story-telling and got some of the best reactions of the night. Majik is terrific at getting negative reactions from the crowd, and the segments with him and Omer got some of the best responses of the night. Omer is really popular with the crowd, so he was the sympathetic choice to play face in peril, and when he landed his first blow on Majik, it got as big a reaction as any highspot in the night. They nailed the story of the match brilliantly, and I loved little bits like Majik staring directly at Devilman on a pin attempt on Omer. A battle over a backslide between Omer and Majik got another great reaction, which proved they were doing everything right. Grizzly didn’t get to show much, but he had a great presence and every blow he landed on Omer looked like it killed him. Finally Devilman got the hot tag and cleaned house, but a pinfall attempt wasn’t spotted by the ref due to Omer and Grizzly fighting outside the ring. This allowed Wild Boar to sneak in and nail a double underhook piledriver on Devilman, but it only got two. As things broke down, Omer nailed a spear on Grizzly and Devilman finished the big guy off with a Swanton. Really satisfying main event, with everything making sense, even down to Boar’s interference leading to Omer announcing postmatch he’d face Sabu at the next show to stop him ruining the main event.