PCW/GFW Global Conflict 2016

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

Lionheart vs Kenny Williams

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

Joe Hendry vs Dave Rayne

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

Sonjay Dutt vs Bubblegum

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

Johnny Moss vs Chris Dickinson

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

Jeff Jarrett vs Noam Dar

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

Team Single vs Jack Baron & Jack Garvin

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

Sha Samuels vs Dave Mastiff

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

WWE Battleground 2016

Bizarrely, this is one of the few times I've written a review of a recent WWE PPV on the blog since I did Battleground 2013 a few years back. I'm normally to lazy to write up thoughts on a show, as there's usually one match I fancy skipping, but this year, the entire show looked decent. As it turned out, it was a good show all in all.

Dana Brooke & Charlotte vs Sasha Banks & Bayley           

Huge pop for Bayley as the mystery partner. Bayley and Sasha milk the audience reaction, so the heels jump them to start, which makes sense. I also liked the ref checking with a beaten-down Bayley if she wanted him to ring the bell, made it look like she was a fighter. The match was a really hot opener, and I think all four women contributed to that. I’m not as high on Sasha as a lot of people, and there were a few sloppy moments here (including a terrible looking flying headscissors), but I think she did a good job on the apron waiting for the hot tag. Likewise, I’m not as down on Dana as a lot of others, I think here she showed she’s got a brain for how wrestling works. Loved her petty little kicks in the corner after a few stomps, and her trash talking is on point. Bayley takes a few nasty bumps here, including hitting the back of her head on the turnbuckle, and both here and Dana really collide on a double clothesline spot. Sasha nails a beautiful looking knee to the side of Charlotte’s face. It all breaks down before Bayley wipes out Dana with a nice leaping kick through the corner of the ring, and Banks locks in the Bank Statement on Charlotte for the win.

The Wyatt Family vs The New Day

A nice reminder of WWE circa 2014, where there were great 6-man tags on a near weekly basis. This was the best the Wyatt’s have looked in a long time, with Rowan and Bray both looking great. Rowan really laid in his blows here, whilst Wyatt looked dynamic, getting great height on his senton. Kudos to Kofi here, he made the Wyatts look gold, with a big bump landing him on his head off a Wyatt clothesline. Big E looks great coming in off the hot tag – he’s so athletic and his size makes him look like a missile as he runs the ropes. His overhead belly-to-belly on Rowan was superb. The match had a fun underlying story, with Xavier Woods still scared of Bray and showing signs of falling under his spell, before Kingston attacking Bray snapped him out of the trance. However, Bray does the spider walk to put Woods off his game for a second and Sister Abigail gets three. Really fun.

Rusev vs Zack Ryder

Hard not to love Rusev’s trunks having “US Champ” on the waistband. This was fought just about right for the respective levels of these two. Rusev is so good right now, he was portrayed here and the dominant force, with Ryder getting some well timed comebacks. Loved the brutality of Rusev just laying into Ryder on the mat. I thought Ryder did well to show some spirit here – for example, when Rusev caught an attempt at a boot, Ryder kept punching Rusev in the head to try and get him to drop the foot, rather than just standing like an idiot. I also loved Ryder hitting a desperation missile dropkick from the barricades after getting dumped there by Rusev. In the ring, Zack hits the Rough Ryder, but hasn’t worn down Rusev sufficiently, so the El-Bro hits knee. Ryder still looks strong in defeat as Rusev is forced to use the super-Accolade for the tap. Good filler.

Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens

It’s nice to see a feud ending match without any stipulations for a change, just two guys finally sorting out who is the best. Loved Owens immediately escaping the ring when the bell rings, suckering Sami outside to hurl him into the barricades. Owens is great at making stuff look natural – for example, after crotching Zayn on the top rope, Sami lands in the corner and Owens seizes the opportunity by quickly going for a cannonball. It’s the look he gives as if he’s just realised where Sami is, and that he can hit a big move if he just goes for it quickly. Really enjoyed how Owens worked the chinlock, including grinding his stubbly beard into Sami’s head just to be a dick. Sami takes a nasty looking spill on a moonsault press, landing on a shoulder which Owens then works on. There are some really big bombs thrown here, and a lot of stuff kicked out of, but it works here in the context of two guys who know each other so well and hate each other laying it all out in one last grudge match. Zayn hitting a brainbuster on the apron looked sick, and Owens sells it perfectly. Owens preventing the corner tornado DDT and hitting another cannonball to the back of Sami’s head was a lovely twist on a familiar move. The end is suitably climactic as well – Zayn nails the Heluva kick, but instead of trying the pin, he looks at the beaten frame of his once-best friend, and quickly nails a second knowing that one wont be enough to finish Owens off. Really great match, really felt like a suitable ending to their feud.

Becky Lynch vs Natalya

Hard not to feel bad for Becky being stuck in a feud with Natalya, whilst Bayley and Banks soak up the adoration of the crowd in the opener, especially as she’s now stuck on a show with no women’s title. Fun start to the match, with Becky outwrestling Nattie and keeping her grounded. Natalya is a bit robotic in her movements, but I enjoyed her heel work here, as well as her focused legwork. Combining the two by posing whilst standing on Becky’s leg is terrific. Hard not to love Nattie’s trash talking of “my cat is better than you”. Becky showed great fire on her comeback, still selling the legwork, and I loved Natalya just ramming her hand into Becky’s face to allow her to put on the sharpshooter. Becky escapes, but Natalya kicks her leg out from behind the official on a rope break and locks in another sharpshooter for the win. You can tell Natalya raised her game working with arguably the best woman wrestler on the roster, and this was her best match in years.

Darren Young vs The Miz

I’m so ready for this Darren Young mini-push, and it feels like he is as well. Loved him throwing some big forearms, hitting great looking overhead suplexes and still taking big bumps to the floor. Miz’s control wasn’t particularly interesting, which is a shame as he’s been good this year, but it felt a bit lacklustre here. Still, the good vibes I’ve had from the quality of the show so far meant I was into this enough that I actually cared about the outcome of a Miz/Young backslide struggle in 2016, so this did it’s job. Terrible ending though, with both men disqualified after Bob Backlund and Maryse get involved outside, but I did like Darren Young’s crazy eyes after he’d snapped.

The Club vs John Cena, Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady

Enzo cuts a decent promo before the match, followed by a pretty wretched effort from Cassady. His delivery is terrible. Luckily for the match quality, Cassady doesn’t spend much time in the ring, and when he is in there he’s mainly just throwing Enzo into their opponents. Luke Gallows may have the worst ring attire in the company, but I really enjoyed him here, hitting a nice Jackhammer on Amore and later hitting a Baldo Bomb on Cassady which looked impressive. The Club work a long heat on Enzo, and AJ in particular shows an impressive nasty streak. Loved him hurling Enzo into the barricades. There’s a great cutoff of a hot-tag as Anderson just throws himself at Enzo to prevent him reaching his corner. The match does break down a bit towards the end, with it kind of degenerating into people entering the ring, hitting a finisher, then turning around to get hit by the new guy entering the ring. Also, there’s a horribly clunky moment when Cena sort of catches Enzo in the air, and Gallows has to stand staring like a twat before Cena uses Amore as a weapon. Still, this was pretty good, Cena finishing off AJ with a top rope Attitude Adjustment

Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns

Despite a few nice moments, this really is a match that didn’t feel like it added up to the sum of it’s parts. It starts well, with Reigns and Ambrose teaming to repeatedly eject Rollins from the ring, and I liked the work by both Ambrose and Reigns here. Roman felt like a big brick wall of an opponent, ploughing through both guys on offence and standing up to a lot of Rollins’ attacks. With this in mind, it made sense that mortal enemies Rollins and Ambrose teamed up to powerbomb him through a table to take him out of the match. Ambrose really felt like the scrappy underdog champion, and I loved the spot where the other two were so preoccupied with fighting each other that they failed to spot Ambrose running along the announce tables to hurl himself at them. Two things let the side down: firstly the typical triple threat format which required one person to be predisposed at any one time whilst the other two fight. Secondly, I didn’t enjoy Rollins’ contribution to the match as much as I did the other two. Hate his superplex which he chains into a falcon arrow, it takes away all the impact of hitting a big top rope move. He also has a dreadful looking pedigree, which he needs to bin off ASAP. The callback to the Shield split with Rollins chairshotting both guys in the back was a nice touch, but this match didn’t wow me. Still, good to see the champion put over strongly with a clean win, leaving both opponents down for the count.

WWE Main Event 08/04/2014

The Shield vs The Wyatt Family

Bit of a C-show treat to have their feud blown off on Main Event. This wasn’t as good as the Elimination Chamber match the same year, but I preferred this to the Raw match. Dean Ambrose was really good here, kicking the bout off by smacking the sheep mask off Erick Rowan’s face. As the smallest man in the match, this made him look tough as fuck. Following a brief heat section on Rollins, the main heat of the match is on Ambrose, and he excels here. Loved his facial expressions as he sold Rowan’s squeezing of his temples, and as a wild, scrappy face, it allowed him to have hope spots naturally interspersed in the bout. You can buy Ambrose as a “going down swinging” type, and it felt totally in character when he’d make his comebacks. Rather than Ambrose actually making the hot tag, things instead break down when Rollins makes a save, as if this match was a powder keg just waiting to ignite. Loved Luke Harper’s wildman tope, which sent Reigns flying over the announce table. With Reigns down, Rollins does some great work as the face saviour, hitting back-to-back dives to take out Rowan and Harper. More chaos ensures before Ambrose hits Dirty Deeds on Rowan to win. Really great match. Also worth pointing out Reigns’ post-match promo, where he’s so natural on the stick and the crowd just eat it up.

Jack Swagger vs Dolph Ziggler

Really like Swagger, so it’s sad to see him weighed down by Ziggler, who is just wretched here. This started really quickly, to the extent that we saw the Swagger Bomb in the first 30 seconds. Things go to shit as Swagger tries to do some basic leg work to set up Ziggler for the Patriot Lock. Swagger chopblocks Ziggler’s leg from under him, but then Ziggler hits a load of offence that is totally dependent on the leg – knee up to block another Swagger Bomb, dropkick, Fameasser – just totally undermining any attempt by Swagger to prepare for his finisher. Thus, when Swagger does lock it in, plucking Ziggler from midair to grab the ankle, it has less impact when Ziggler taps out. Would have been a better match if Swagger has faced literally anyone else on the roster.

Rusev vs Sin Cara

This is days after Rusev was called up to the main roster, so he’s still called “Alexander” here. Sub-one minute squash, with the leaping kick and the Accolade finishing off Cara.

CMLL 23/08/2015

Still not going to pretend I fully "get" lucha, but I enjoyed some of the CMLL I watched last year, and wanted to try to keep on top of my lucha knowledge.

Dragon Rojo Jr vs Rey Escorpion

I liked elements of this match, but it did feel a bit brief, not helped by some clipping. The first two falls are rushed through, Escorpion winning the first after some brief matwork, rolling through a roll-up to lock in Rings of Saturn for the submission. Rojo equalised with a victory roll, before the third fall sees both guys rushing through a bunch of stuff. Lovely flip dive by Escopion, great running stage-dive dropkick from Rojo and a really nice finish with Rojo blocking a rana and turning it instead into a slingshot powerbomb, but it all felt a bit hollow. Momentum seemed to shift too easily, and the end saw both guys on their feet in the ring, seemingly shaking off the previous damage. I liked the move execution, less enamoured with the match layout.

Goya Kong, Marcela & Princess Sujei vs Amapola, La Seductoria & Zeuxis

This was a pretty fun deal following on from Sujei and Marcela claiming the mask of Seductoria in a tag match the previous week. Really enjoyed Zeuxis in this, she blasted Kong with some vicious knees in the corner and hit a lovely moonsault to the floor onto Kong. Actually, all the rudos looked good, with Seductoria hitting a nasty looking seated senton to Kong and Amapola planting Sujei with Angels Wings. This earned a pinfall and Seductoria tied up Marcela for the submission to complete the first caida. The rudos maintained control and I dug them using the size of Kong as a weapon against her partners by using her to sandwich them in the corner. However, Kong was strong enough to plow through the rudos with a corner clothesline and nail Amapola with a guillotine drop for the equalising fall. The rudos still controlled the third fall until Amapola hit the post on a corner charge and Kong followed up with a big apron dive, which looked great. The remaining technicos pick up the win, Marcela hitting a top rope stomp and Sujei hitting a Michinoku Driver for the falls.

Negro Casas, Shocker & Ultimo Guerrero vs Rush, La Sombra & La Mascara

This is a follow-up to Rush low-blowing Casas en route to winning a hair vs hair match the previous week. Casas actually jumps Rush during the entrances, but this is a poor decision as he gets outnumbered quickly. His partner try to help, but are at a disadvantage, and this puts them on the back foot throughout. With Casas eliminated, Rush hits a top rope senton to pin Shocker and a corner dropkick on Guerrero to earn the primera caida. Both falls go to Rush too, making him look great. The second fall sees the captains Rush and Casas face off and end up brawling all over the floor. With this going on, Guerrero gets knees up on a Sombra moonsault and Shocker hits an odd-looking pump-handle slam on Mascara to even the ties. While that felt a bit underwhelming, the third fall is actually pretty fun. Rush and Casas kick off, and it really shows off how good Casas still looks, with his strikes and kicks looking on point. He’s really fluid. As they brawl outside, we get a good bit of ring time from Shocker who, even if he’s bigger and less mobile than 10 years previously, still has some nice moments. Loved him dropping a hefty elbow drop on a drop down. Sombra hits a massive dive to the floor, sending him flying into the railings. The end sees Casas get retribution as he rolls up Rush with La Majistral, only for the ref to get pulled out of the ring by Rush’s teammates. However, this distraction lets Casas hit a low blow on Rush for the winning fall and a bit of karmic revenge. Didn’t really get going until the last fall, but this was ok.

WWF Raw 20/03/1994

The Bushwhackers vs the Quebecers

Oh, this was very much a poor match. This is non-title, the Quebecers still the champions following Wrestlemania X, and for a lot of the match you feel like they’ll put the Bushwhackers over, as they control the majority of the bout. There’s one bit where the tag champs have to stand around like idiots for 30 seconds as the Bushwhackers dance around the ring, then attack them. It feels like the heel/face divide is all wrong, with Jacques having to power out of a chinlock in order to make a “hot tag” to Pierre. Except that Pierre then also gets dominated. The Bushwhackers are an aged comedy tag team and they totally blitz the tag champs. FINALLY, when we get back from the break the Quebecers have control. We get a few nice Quebecer double teams, where Jacques uses Pierre as a weapon, and the champs work over Luke. The hot tag gets made and Pierre has to be saved by Jacques in order to keep from being pinned by a battering ram. It takes a Johnny Polo distraction and a knee to the back from Pierre to give the Quebecers the win. Ridiculous.

Tatanka vs Chris Hamrick

Pretty fun squash. When I saw Hamrick was the jobber, I wondered to myself if he’d take the Hamrick Bump, and I wasn’t disappointed. It comes in the first few minutes, and Vince near loses his mind over it. It even gets a mid-match replay. That aside, Tatanka’s offence looks really good here, more in line with grouchy stiff Tatanka from 2006. Big clotheslines, nasty stiff chops and a bit of added emphasis on all his moves. The End of the Trail gives Tatanka the win.

Diesel vs Ken Lucia

JIP after we watch Diesel’s entrance. Basic, nothing squash with Diesel slowly beating up Lucia. Powerbomb gets 3.

                                         

Jeff Jarrett vs Koko B Ware

Nice to see Koko still appearing in 94. Unlike the Bushwhackers earlier, Koko can still go and this is a good little bout. Jarrett’s character work is terrific, so cocky at the start just by virtue of hip-tossing Ware twice. Then, as soon as Koko takes over, Jarrett stooges about, dizzily putting over his offence. Koko misses a corner splash, and an angry Jarrett is all over him, viciously wearing him down. What’s great is how Jarrett slowly regains his arrogance as the bout continues. Ware gets a brief flurry of offence, but ducks his head to allow Jarrett to nail a DDT for the win. 

WWE Main Event 01/04/2014

Been away for a couple of weeks watching the Euros in France, so thought it best to get something posted quickly. Not coming back to the best episode of Main Event however, as most of the show is dedicated to WMXXX hype, with only two matches on the show. Not a banner episode, I'm afraid

Sheamus vs The Miz

Good dynamic between these two here, Sheamus being the big, overwhelming face and Miz being the smaller sneakier heel. Loved some of Sheamus’ offence here, like his catching a boot attempt from the Miz and just pushing him backwards. Miz takes a big bump as Sheamus fallaway slams him into the ringside barricades. Sheamus is dominant for the opening parts of this match, with Miz unable to gain a prolonged advantage, until Miz is finally able to post Sheamus and cause some real harm. Miz isn’t great offensively, but Sheamus sells it well enough to carry this portion of the match. Wasn’t a big fan of Miz going for a 2^nd corner clothesline in the match, as it pretty much telegraphed that he was going to miss. Sheamus wins a decent bout with the Brogue Kick.

Tamina vs Nikki Bella

This wasn’t so good. This is before Nikki got really good and started throwing big shots, whilst Tamina has never really put it together. Nikki’s offence looks shaky early on, with her leaping corner kick and a flying headscissors not looking crisp. I did enjoy Tamina on the outside attacking Brie Bella unprovoked, before getting in a pretty much squashing Nikki with a superkick and a top rope splash. The dominant clean win was a surprise, the match being bland was not.

WWF Raw 07/03/1994

The Smoking Gunns vs Owen Hart & Crush

All four guys cut quite a quick tempo to start, including Bart Gunn hitting a moonsault crossbody on Crush, which looked good. The Gunns do a few bits here that I really liked, with Billy trying to take Crush over with a crucifix and, when Crush proved to be too strong, transitioning to a sunset flip instead. Loved Owen tagging in, but his ego causing him to rush into a hiptoss right away. Owen takes over with a leg lariat on Billy, but we miss almost the entire heat section due to commercial break. We actually come back right on the hot tag. Terrific. The end sees Crush clip Bart’s leg as he has Owen up for a powerbomb, and Owen locks on the Sharpshooter for the win. What we saw was fine, but they really missed the heart of the match.

Virgil vs Jeff Jarrett

Man, whoever laid out this match deserved firing. Virgil takes 80% of this match, which is ridiculous considering which of the two was getting a push, and it’s not even compelling domination. It’s mostly Virgil working a wristlock on Jarrett with nothing to pop the crowd. The only entertaining thing about Virgil’s domination is Jarrett’s stooging: yelling “I got him” before Virgil reverses a hammerlock, and having this hilarious look of total shock as he goes over on a sunset flip. JJ breaks the wristlock and things speed up a bit….for 30 seconds before Jarrett DDT’s Virgil for the win. A match that helped no-one.

Doink vs “Iron” Mike Sharpe

In many respects, the comically loud Sharpe is the perfect foil for the hijinks of Doink. Sadly, there is very little of note to this squash, as a missed corner charge by Sharpe leads to the Whoopie Cushion for the Doink win. Missed opportunity.

IRS vs Matt Thomas

An IRS squash is not the exciting main event that would have kept me tuned in in 1994. Thomas looks in good shape, but isn’t much cop in the ring, as IRS holds his hand through an armwringer reversal before Thomas almost botches a roll-up. Not that IRS’ offence is much better. He works a dull abdominal stretch section that goes on too long, before pointlessly working over Thomas’ leg for about 30 seconds. I say pointlessly, as the very next move after releasing the leglock is the matchwinning clothesline. Not a good episode of Raw.