And I am DELIGHTED that we have four British reps on it.

Friend of TOWIS Marty Scurll told me last week: “I’ve always loved America, and wanted to work out there, and get contacts and a contract out there.”

This looks like a first step towards doing that.

The Blossom Twins have been working in OVW, TNA’s development territory, for a while, with both of them holding the women’s championship, so this is progress for them too.

More news when we have it!

I am not sure what this article is. It is sort of a hybrid mishmash of a show review, a DVD review and a load of rambling about a trip to London with my mate. I’m not sure anyone has written in this style, probably because it is ridiculous. Hopefully it works mind and gives you the “full package” so to speak. Anyway….

It was billed as the biggest show in Britain for over 7 years, and one that would revolutionise the British Wrestling scene. Standout UK promotion IPW:UK had agreed a deal with European powerhouse NWE to run a one off show on April 28^th 2012, in the prestigious Troxy venue in East-London, called “Revolution”. IPW:UK have built up a solid reputation since their debut in 2004, back in the days of “the wrestling channel”, and boast a roster of top UK names such as Marty Scurll, Noam Dar, Sha Samuels, PAC, Zack Sabre Jr, Rockstar Spud and many more. NWE (Nu Wrestling Evolution) are an Italian company, renowned for running large shows across Europe, including ‘that’ show in Madrid, Spain, that featured the return of The Ultimate Warrior. With the phenomenal roster of IPW:UK at hand, the money of NWE to add production value and some top foreign imports to a show being ran in a fantastic London venue, this was set to genuinely be a supershow. But did it work out that way?

I found out about this show through an advert in UK based wrestling publication FSM (the shows event partners) and was immediately excited at the idea of it. However, living in Newcastle upon Tyne makes it difficult to get to shows in London. Time went on and IPW started announcing some of the names that would be brought in for this show: Carlito, Chris Masters, Sami Callihan, M-Dogg-20 Matt Cross and then their final announcement, Kevin Nash. Brilliant! I now know for a fact that I will be going to the show. Not because of the technical master class that is now guaranteed (note: Nash is genuinely one of my favourite of all time, probably because I grew up on WCW and the NWO) but because now I had a plan. Me and my pal had been planning a trip to London for the WWE Raw and Smackdown TV tapings a few weeks before this event was to happen. My mate isn’t a massive wrestling fan, in fact I think he kind of hates it, but he used to be back in the Hasbro action figure days and again for roughly the same period that D-Lo Brown wore that ridiculous chest protector. So with that in mind, Nash was more of a “draw” and an attraction to him than the likes of Brodus Clay. Anyway, he bought into it and we purchased our tickets over Wrestlemania weekend and the trip was sorted.

On a side note (I am about to digress quite a bit here, so feel free to skip this paragraph, dedicated solely to an anecdote) we tried to make this weekend free of charge thanks to Wrestlemania. Irish bookmakers Paddy Power were taking bets on Wrestlemania. That’s right real bets with real money on pre-determined wrestling. Hmmm. I was very excited for this and spent most of my time at work convincing people that work for me that they should spend their hard earned wages on this. Just before Wrestlemania we placed an accumulator of Sheamus, Orton, Punk, Cena and Cody. It would have won us a couple of hundred quid had it came in, which it didn’t, but at least we had fun. Unlike one of the lads on my team who text me after 18 seconds into the first match to informing me his whole £20 bet was off thanks to Sheamus.

The week before the show, I wake up one morning and notice on my Twitter feed that IPW have announced some news about the show. NWE (the ones with all the cash) have pulled out of the show and left them up shit creek. So, good news. As the day goes on, IPW and their entire roster take to Twitter to promote the show and rally fans to support British wrestling. More announcements continue throughout the day, most importantly the fact that the show will still go ahead although it is expected to take a loss financially. Luckily, most of the imported talent committed to still working the show despite the company being forced into offering them revised deals for less money, but then I hear the news I was dreading. Kevin Nash has not accepted his revised offer and is off the show. Fuuuuuuu…my mate was only duped into going because Nash. I give him a call to inform him and he tells me that he had a dream the previous night, in which Kevin Nash cancelled. That’s a bit weird. So now my pal is being vocal about not looking forward to the show and suddenly I’m having flashbacks of a terrible show we went to in a social club a few years back. I had tricked him into attending that one too. Nash was later featured on a shoot interview, in which Sami Callihan mentions he will see him in London next week. Nash replied with “I ain’t going. The fuckers didn’t send me the rest of my money. Thanks for the deposit motherfuckers. I ain’t flying over to London for some guy to say ‘we don’t have the other half of your money’”.

The train ride down was a bit weird. My mate wasn’t excited and the woman next to us looked like the grudge. Getting to our hotel was no better. They had called me the day before to advise that, due to a gas leak, we would have to stay in their flat. I was starting to have visions of getting there and eating falafel with them and their kids in the living room. In all fairness, that would have been better than what we actually got. It was basically a glorified flat, we couldn’t open the room door properly because the bed was in the way and there was dirty underpants hanging up in the shard bathroom. Get me to the wrestling!!!

We get to the Troxy and it is a nice venue, very classy looking, much like an old theatre. That said though, turns out they think it’s acceptable to charge £4 for half a pint. That’s £8 for a proper pint. Even by London standards, that’s ridiculous. Our seats are front row of the 2^nd tier and are absolutely superb. Some kids next to us have been separated by poor seat planning, so we swap with them because we are both nice blokes. The ring is set up with scaffolding around it and a large monitor above the stage. In all fairness it looks fantastic for a UK Indy show.

The show kicked off with a money-in-the-bank-style ladder match featuring Noam Dar, Matt Cross, Leon Britanico, Lion Kid, Martin Kirby and Kris Travis. My mate proclaimed that Noam “looked like an underwear model” until Travis came out. Not sure that’s appropriate banter for a wrestling show. The atmosphere was electric at the start of the show, this comes across on the DVD really well, especially as all the entrances are on the DVD. Noam Dar’s little cat-claw gestures to Lion Kid are caught on camera, which is just super. Unfortunately this is about the highlight of his night. Perhaps it’s that he has set his standards so high, or that the match was a bit cluttered, but he seemed to take a background role for the contest. The match itself was underwhelming, given the talent involved, due no small part to the fact that of the two ladders available, one buckled at the start of the match and the other was a one sided ladder which couldn’t stand up without leaning on something. A sneaky trip to B&Q next time guys. There were some impressive high spots as expected, the pick of the bunch being a sick Leon Britanico senton bomb onto the ladder. Kris Travis came out the victor with his tag team partner Martin Kirby holding up the one sided ladder. If this spot was planned then perhaps we will see Project Ego contending for the British tag titles down the line. If not then, mates or not, why would Kirby just watch his pal win the match?

Next up we were treated to a match featuring two legitimate future stars in Mark Haskins and Joel Redman. Former partners now at war, the match was introduced with a video package on the big screen to hype the rivalry. Great idea but the execution wasn’t so good, with cheesy 80’s soft-core porn music spoiling the vibe. The two made up for it in the ring however, with a nice clash of styles and an awesome smash-mouth finish that saw TNA’s Mark Haskins pick up the win. My mate loved this one. It would turn out that this would be Redman’s last match before heading off to Florida to join up with the WWE feeder territory FCW. After the match it was announced the Haskins would be facing Japanese star of DragonGate Akira Tozawa at the next IPW:UK show. I always find that crowds tend to have a lack of enthusiasm for announcements for shows that they may not even be at.

Following this we were treated to a woman’s tag match. Only one of them was fit, until she abused a disabled fan during her ring entrance, then she didn’t seem that fit anymore. At this point I went to the bar for another £8 pint. I didn’t last much longer while watching the DVD either, but did last long enough to hear the commentator come out with this gem: “The Blossom Twins have known each other for their whole lives”. Genius, now skip scene. The next proper match featured the first of two reality TV stars with Hot Like Us’ (a show that was 50% about modelling, 50% about being a good couple and 100% brilliant…or so my missus says) Leroy Kincaide taking on WWE cast off Carlito. Carlito did his usual apple routine before the match, having a decent little verbal spat with Leroy. The match was decent, Leroy is very athletic for a tank of a man and came out victorious with a twisting senton from the top. He left the ring for Carlito to cut a heel promo on the UK (teeth, get a tan, ugly women, you know the drill) and got some heat for telling a fan to “keep it PG…for the kids”.

A short interval gave me time to go and leave some flyers for my fanzine near the bar. What a dick, eh? After the break we had the next, and more recent, ex-WWE guy, Chris Masters, taking on Stixx. You couldn’t fight Stixx, but Chris Masters is HUGE in real life, an absolute beast and totally shredded. The opening minutes to the match were met with chants of “we want Nash”, who was originally scheduled to face The Masterpiece before the NWE drama. I’m not sure what I was expecting from Chris Masters, who in my opinion was a bit of a shock release from WWE last year after really developing into a solid worker over on Superstars. He put in an absolute shift and clearly gave 137% to the UK fans. For a big man match, it was very, very good and turned my mate into the world’s second biggest Chris Masters fan in the world. The bloke who is top of that list was the bloke who chanted “we want Masters” all night, even when Chris Masters was wrestling. Watching this match back was fun because I could see myself in the crowd lots. How sad is that?

6 way elimination match featuring Sha Samuels, T-Bone and Rockstar Spud taking on Martin Stone, Dave Mastiff and Terry Frazier was the penultimate match. The whole match was built around Spud being snide and eventually Mastiff kicking his arse when nobody else was left and taking an absolutely brutal combination finish which may have been the worst 30 seconds of his life. This was also the first time I have seen Sha Samuels who looks like a star and has made me keen to see more.

The main event was a mouth watering contest between Marty Scurll and Sami Callihan. The match was presented with an excellent promo video showing the route both man had taken to this match, which was the final of a tournament to crown a new British Cruiserweight champion. During the pre-match introductions, the ring announcer lists both men’s accomplishments, my favourite being that Marty is the lightweight champion of Denmark. DENMARK, how does that even happen? The match was excellent, seeing both men brawl outside and Marty flipping off the stage, before getting into the ring for Sami to work the leg. Seeing Sami lock the stretch muffler while booting Marty in the head with his spare foot was superb. We had another high impact finish with two harsh looking back suplexes followed by an attempted stretch muffler into a roll-up pin for a Scurll victory. The two men shook hands to a standing ovation for a great match.

After leaving the venue, we went to a bar next door where I was mistaken by a punter for Rockstar Spud. I should have just gone with it. Luckily I didn’t as Sha Samuels came in not too longer after. After the show we went into a taxi “call centre” manned by a man that was the epitome of shit customer service, shouting at people who called and telling them the reasons why there was no point in waiting for a taxi. The next day we experienced the kings cross phenomenon that is “the chase”. The chase is where hundreds of people are waiting at the announcement boards to find out which platform their train is departing from so that they can sprint/fight their way there to ensure they get a seat even though they have bought a cheap ticket. It was intense, but I think we won.

The show was good but perhaps the expectation was too high. Ticket prices had been inflated due to the high expectation of the show from its promoters which could have been a contributing factor to the low attendance. This is even more apparent on the DVD with many ringside seats empty and almost all of the balcony seats unoccupied. The trip was fun, my none-wrestling-fan mate absolutely loved it, it’s just a shame that it left me wondering – what if NWE hadn’t pulled out? Or what if they hadn’t got involved in the first place? What could IPW:UK have done is they had been able to promote it was they wanted to from day 1? Good show, some great talent, London is weird.

Thanks for reading guys, hope you enjoyed it and sorry for not being as active recently as I would have liked. WR’s sister project has eaten up all of my time (i feel a plug coming on) so echeck it out if you like. The Calling Spots Pro Wrestling Fanzine is a magazine (not an internet thing, an actual thing that you hold in your hand and comes with free presents and stuff in the envelope) that has loads of articles, comic strips, banters, drawings, reviews and even some poetry. Its only £2/$3 so check it out at callingspots.com for more details. There is also a competition on there to win a free WWE or Progress wrestling DVD.

Cheers guys – Rich x

The card for this DVD is as follows:

6 Man Ladder Match
Lion Kid vs. Kris Travis vs. Martin Kirby vs. Leon Britanico vs. Noam Dar vs. Matt Cross

Singles Grudge Match
Mark Haskins vs. Joel Redman

Pro Wrestling EVE Tag Team Match
The Blossom Twins vs. Perfect Storm

International Challenge Match 1
Carlito vs. Leroy Kincaide

Internation Challenge Match 2
Chris Masters vs. Stixx

6 Man No DQ Elimination Tag Team Grudge Match
Sha Samuels, Rockstar Spud & T-Bone vs. Terry Frazier, Martin Stone & Dave Mastiff

Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship Match
Sami Callihan vs. Marty Scurll

As you can see, the card is jam-packed full of top talent,  both home-grown and international. Callihan and Scurll had a blinder of a match which I really enjoyed, but it’s the 6-man tag that I really think is a must see; Dave Mastiff makes one of the most awesome yet unlikely babyfaces I’ve ever seen, and I’d urge you all to check it out for these two matches alone.

As I said, it’s currently available to pre-order for just £11.99 over at this link:
https://apps.facebook.com/payvment/product/view/3mkrz?ctref=1_30_4_11.2T9Nj.0.wCh

Please check it out, and I’d love to know what you think of this event and DVD so please let me know any opinions you may have.Thanks for reading,
That Wrestling Dude

This is progress – A catchy marketing slogan or genuine ethos of brand-spanking new London-based wrestling group Progress Wrestling? Progress have made quite the impact on the British wrestling scene already in 2012 and it is hard to believe they have, to date, only ran one show. Much like ourselves, Progress have already put heavy emphasis on doing things a little bit differently, in the name of having fun. The company is ran by professional comedian and self confessed “professional idiot” Jim Smallman as well as comedy promoter Jon Briley. The fact that both men have a wealth of experience in their field, and by their own admission very little knowledge of running a wrestling promotion, is a refreshing change to the British wrestling scene, and something that comes across prominently in their product. That’s not to say that progress wrestling feels like a comedy show, as that would be an inaccurate and unfair summary. What Jim and Jon have done is create, in a very short space of time, an atmosphere in which wrestling fans can immerse themselves and just have fun. This comes across even in their DVD, Chapter 1, which we will be reviewing later in this article.

Progress Wrestling resides from “The Garage” venue in Islington, Central London – a venue that absolutely oozes character. Once the lights are dimmed and Jim (who also acts as ring announcer) informs the live crowd to shout and chant “whatever they ‘kin want”, the intimacy of the venue becomes apparent and the atmosphere that the owners have cultivated shines through. The aim for Progress Wrestling is to help develop and, as the name suggests, help to progress the British wrestling scene. To do this they have enlisted the services of some of the hottest young talent in the UK, such as Marty Scurll, Noam Dar, Zack Sabre Jr and El Ligero, and then complimented this by bringing in worldwide indy superstar Colt Cabana. The in ring product lives up to its “strong style” label, but more importantly has a very distinct British feel to it. Their shows are aimed at a more mature audience, with shows restricted to over the age of 14, however unlike other companies this does not mean a ultraviolent product or unnecessarily vulgar promos. In essence they are a thinking man’s wrestling promotion of sorts.

To continue their march towards progressing British wrestling, Progress Wrestling have pledged to showcase one match on each of their shows featuring up-and-coming wrestlers currently training with the British Wrestling Council. The BWC is a recognised way of governing wrestling schools in Britain to ensure that trainee wrestlers receive a certain standard of safety, ethic s, assistance, training and mentoring. For Progress to pledge to support young workers from the BWC is a massive credit to them for providing a high profile platform for less-seasoned wrestlers to learn their trade.

Jim and Jon have utilized the social media phenomenon of twitter to their advantage in putting over Progress Wrestling, but not in a ‘trending worldwide on a Monday night’ way, more to make sure that they make a personal connection with anybody who wants to be a part of the progress. This is where Progress Wrestling really stands head and shoulders above other promotions as they will instigate genuine conversations with their fans on topics such as the pros and cons of British wrestling companies aiming to win a TV deal and how not to get lost in London. The payoff from utilizing this tactic, or for just being 2 genuinely nice blokes who want to talk to fellow wrestling fans, is that there was a real buzz in the days building up to the release of their 1^st DVD and all of the feedback I have read has been nothing but positive. Whether this is a masterfully applied strategy or not (some may even say “a work or a shoot”) is somewhat irrelevant when it comes to the success of the company, but from my interaction with Progress Wrestling I am a firm believer that they are 100% genuine and would like to thank them for their personal contribution to this article and my fanzine.

Chapter One – DVD Review

As mentioned, by time the DVD came in the CallingSpots mail box there was a high level of anticipation and, dare I say it, excitement to sit down and review the inaugural show of Progress Wrestling, mainly down to the hype that they had generated prior to the release. The packaging of the DVD epitomises what Progress Wrestling are all about, simple and slightly different. There is no DVD case simply a white slip cover with their logo on the front. A nice touch is the fact that each DVD is individually numbered. Ultimately the packaging is irrelevant, it’s the content of the DVD that is important, so I flip the case over to see what I have in store. Looking through the card there are two stand out matches – Noam Dar vs El Ligero and the mouth watering prospect of seeing the leaders of the new school, Zach Sabre Jr and Marty Scurll, go one-on-one.

Now, let me get this out of my system before we delve into the meat of this review. There are some issues with the DVD that become apparent from the get go. On first glance they could seem off-putting to fans that are more used to WWE’s silky smooth Blu-Ray releases, but write this DVD off at your own peril. I wanted to discuss these issues so that you can get over them, buy the DVD and ENJOY IT. On my Samsung Blu-Ray player, the DVD does not simply play in logical order (Chapter 1, then 2, then 3 etc). I press start and Chapter 3 plays first, then once the match is over returns to the main menu. Pressing play again will take me back to chapter 3 meaning after each match I have to manually restart and skip to the correct scene. A bizarre issue but possibly just a compatibility problem with my player. As soon as the DVD starts you notice that the mixing desk and computer screens are in camera shot, this is something Progress Wrestling have addressed but there was no other location for the hard camera and editing out in post-production would have been detrimental to the quality of the product. There is also around 30 seconds of audio problems during the main event. These issues are nothing more than slight irritants in the opening minutes of the show and quickly become unnoticeable when the show kicks off and the action starts.

The show starts with Progress Wrestling owner Jim standing in as ring announcer (as well as, to the best of my knowledge, play-by-play commentator) and sporting a sweet pair of Nike air max. As a stand up comedian, Jim is very comfortable on the microphone and this comes across as he is able to play with the crowd and get them fired up for the show. That Justin Roberts bloke should take notes. Our first match is a tasty little number between Noam Dar and El Ligero which is the first of four matches to decide who will go into the 4-way elimination match later for the Progress Wrestling title. Two fine young performers here, with Noam especially impressing in almost every outing for the last 12 months. With a strong look, oozing charisma and technically very good, this boy is going to be a big star on day soon. But more on that in our feature on him later in the fanzine. Before the two lock up starts there is a brief promo shown in the bottom corner of the screen in which Noam Dar states he is going to “nut El Ligero in the face and win the title”. Brilliant! The two have a very solid match, keeping it simple for the curtain jerker with Noam working El Ligero’s leg. SPOILER ALERT. A chant of “deep fried mars bars” breaks out to try and put him off his game and encourage en El Ligero comeback. This crowd is absolute quality. No real spoilers, I don’t want to ruin the DVD for you like other publications.

Next up we have Nathan Cruz vs Colossus Kennedy in the second qualifying match of the evening. Anyone who does not follow British wrestling, or is not sure who these guys are, the best crowd in wrestling history provide the following (rather accurate) descriptions. “Shit Zack Ryder/Woo Woo Woo” vs “Funkasaurus”. Cruz is sporting Ryder-esque one-legged-tights. Apparently he had them first. They are still rubbish. The match was fine between two men with different ring styles, although the highlight has to be the Jim, on commentary, with the line “the crowd are pointing out that was most definitely naughty”.

Our third qualifying match sees unquestionably the biggest name on the show – “Classic” Colt Cabana taking on “Loco” Mike Mason. This. Was. Weird. To give you a bit of background on Mason, basically he acts a bit like a dog, with his valet/ owner /missus/bird hanging about to keep him under control. Colt knows how to tame the little doggy though and has brought tennis balls with him. At this point of my DVD home viewing experience I genuinely felt a surge of disappointment running through me at the fact I had not went to this show as the crowd interaction was unreal. Colt ended up throwing the tennis ball into the crowd, who proceeded to throw it around the venue with Mason chasing it around (“this is wrestling” clap clap, clap clap clap). The rest of the match was filled with standard Cabana comedy spots, such as carefully folding his ring jacket only to throw it over the top rope, dancing, and making sure the referee conducts some very thorough pre-match body inspections.

Our final qualifying match looks fantastic on paper, and most certainly the standout match in the build up to the show, with Zach Sabre Jr taking on his tag partner Marty Scurll. The match starts with a kiss, literally, and what proceeds is the finest wrestling match these shores have seen for some time, and that’s saying something. Scurll and ZSJ clearly have excellent chemistry together and this really comes across in this silky smooth match, plastered with stiff shots and some great chain wrestling spots. A brutal sit-down-powerbomb and the sweetest dragon suplex I have ever seen epitomise Progress’ “strong style”. The standing ovation and ring announcer’s words of “what a fucking great match that was” are 137% deserved in this stellar bout. If my random waffling hasn’t convinced you anyway, trust me, buy this DVD for this match alone, if nothing else.

Our final match before the main event was the BWC match showcasing three young wrestlers, Zack ‘Diamond’ Gibson, ‘Dazzling’ Darrell Allen and Xander Cooper. All three put in a good shift and no doubt we will see them again in the future. Next up is our main event, are you ready? Aye man, of course you are. So to avoid spoilers I can’t even tell you who is in the main event (best DVD review ever!!). The match itself is very good, starting as a four way which battles through the venue, with the fans shouting for ‘Party’ Marty to get the round in while he is at the bar. Once order is restored there are some bizarre tag rules implemented until two quick eliminations leave us with a 1-1 match up to crown the new Progress Champion. We have another 7-10 minutes of decent action before the champion is crowned and awarded the Progress Wrestling Championship Staff. Yep, you read that right, the champion does not need a belt (as Jim out it, “even Santino Marella has a belt”) so instead his a huge staff with a Nazi-looking eagle on top. An interesting concept and one that underpins the fact that Progress Wrestling are doing things differently.

For a first show, this is stellar. Yes there are some technical issues but these become obsolete within minutes of the opening match. I think the biggest win for Progress is the fact that they could put this DVD up against any release from companies like PWG or RoH and proudly say that they can match them in all areas. For a first attempt, that is absolutely class. I recommend heading over to www.ProgressWrestling.com and checking out the DVD which would be a fine addition to and collection.

Thanks for reading people. Check out Progress Wrestling – you won’t regret it.

Give me a shout on twitter @CallingSpots and I can now confirm that the WR Sister project, The WrestlingFanzine, will be available on June 1st.

Still, my reason for heading here was the IPW:UK Revolution show. Advertised on the strength of its imports as well as its UK talent, it had been struck by a variety of problems in the weeks leading up to it, so I would have felt bad had I not gone down and forked out my money to support the UK scene.

The Troxy is a lovely venue. It looks thoroughly out of place in the area – beautifully refurbished as it is. However, I’m not convinced it’s a great place to watch wrestling. I had a ticket for the “upper ground floor”, a few feet above the ground floor, where the ring was positioned, and when I was sitting in my seat I couldn’t actually see the ring itself. It’s not a major problem for me – I may have a knackered knee but I’m relatively able-bodied, so I can stand up (even if I have paid £15 for a seat I’m not using), but shorter adults and small children near me had significant issues with sightlines throughout.

The ring announcer reminded us at the beginning that Kevin Nash had been booked for this show but had cancelled, leading to much booing. I’m not sure how I felt about Nash’s non-appearance. Obviously I don’t want to see him wrestle (click, click, click) but it would have been fun just to see him in person (LOL WTF I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD).

To the card, then. It began with a six-man ladder match, which was entertaining if oddly concluded, with a win for Kris Travis. He and his tag partner Martin Kirby seemed to be struggling with knowing which way up a ladder is supposed to go, and Noam Dar was pitifully underused. Still, Matt Cross (he of Tough Enough alumni fame) looked very gifted, and it was good to see Lion Kid back in a UK ring; the little boy behind me (even smaller than Lion Kid himself!) was in raptures over him.

Mark Haskins and Joel Redman battled it out in a grudge match which was nicely set up by a Haskins promo on video. Maybe it would have been nice to hear Redman speak – he’s heading off to the big time soon and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard his voice.

The women’s tag match between the Blossom Twins and Perfect Storm was odd, with the face twins cheating to get the win. To be honest the highlight of this section was Nikki Storm and Shanna coming out to The Final Countdown, triggering loads of YES! YES! YES! chants, as you’d expect from a smarky crowd.

The first half concluded with one of the imports, Carlito, taking on Leroy Kincaid. Carlito is great on the mic but he didn’t really look like he wanted to be in the ring (the disgruntled mutters from fans who met him indicated that he didn’t really seem like he wanted to be in the UK at all). In terms of Kincaid, I’d simply suggest that if he is going to have a duo of female backing dancers, the only way to conceivably make this entertaining is if they dance like dinosaurs and make raptor hands.

To the interval and its main event, the merch shilling. Lion Kid is the master of this, with his table set out adorned with masks and photos and t-shirts, much to the small boy behind me’s delight. I asked him if he was going to meet Lion Kid, and he nodded, looking rather nervous. I reassured him that I had spoken to Lion Kid before, and he is very nice. He looked a bit happier at that, and proceeded to inform me, “He’s really a man, you know. He’s not really a lion,” in case I had been in some doubt about that.

Mark Haskins also had his table set out, with Matt Cross next to him, but other than that it was the usual DVDs, action figures and replica belts, plus the boring black-and-white t-shirts that all UK wrestling promotions are now selling. (I realise that I’m probably a niche market and they have to go with what will sell most, but I’m never going to buy a baggy men’s fit t-shirt. Offer me a ladies’ fitted top in a colour other than black, and I’ll pay for it. I can’t be the only one.)

The second half opened with another of the imports, Chris Masters, taking on Stixx. My attention during this segment was mostly occupied by a gentleman in the second row who really, really loved Chris Masters. I mean REALLY loved him. He was chanting about how much he loved him throughout. At the end of the match, as Masters jumped down into the crowd to celebrate his win, this man ran to the very front and proceeded to follow him around on his victory lap, managing to grab two uncomfortably extended hugs, and then looking ecstatic when Masters took his foam hand and brandished it skywards. I fear that young man may now be attempting to use the Masters sweat residues to create his own clone that can live in his house with him.

I’m not a fan of six-man tag matches – anything that could conceivably have been booked by Teddy Long is never going to be something I like. However, I was impressed by Rockstar Spud’s cowardly heeling it up in this section, running away from Martin Stone and then pleading with Dave Mastiff not to squash him. (To no avail.) He also took what looked like a nasty head-first bump towards the end of the match, so I hope he’s not feeling too sore this morning.

The final and main event of the evening was the title match between Marty Scurll and Sami Callihan – weirdly, this time it was Callihan cutting the promo on video, and it might have been nice to hear from Marty, but hey ho. I think both these guys are terrific wrestlers (and regular readers know how I feel about the LDRS – in fact, I’m typing this while wearing my LDRS t-shirt: pink and ladies’ fit, promoters take note) but somehow I just didn’t get in to this. I don’t think it was the fault of either man – I genuinely think it was the combination of an average-to-good show in a far-too-large venue meaning that the atmosphere was underwhelming, particularly when compared to what you’d expect for a match like this. Marty took the win and the belt, and I headed out into the lashing rain once more.

All in all, a decent night’s entertainment (almost three and a half hours of show) but perhaps not as good as was expected, for a multiplicity of reasons. It’ll be interesting to see how IPW fare on their next show – 3rd June, where Haskins takes on Akira Tozawa (yay!), and where they’re back in their home territory of Sittingbourne.

It all takes place next weekend, and there’s some top UK talent on the bill too, including Friends of TOWIS Mark Haskins, Lion Kid and Noam Dar.

Another Friend of TOWIS, Marty Scurll, is also in the line-up, and he faces a hell of a match against Sami Callihan. “I can’t wait,” he says. “I’m really excited – he’s done so much, he’s one of the best in the world. I’ve always wanted to wrestle him – I was supposed to wrestle him last year – so I’ll go into the ring and try to match him. I’m just delighted – it’s a great platform for the show.”

Scurll is similarly enthusiastic about the bill as a whole. “It’s just some of the best wrestlers in the UK and from the States – you can see how much work has gone into it.”

Support UK-based promotions and some of the best talent in the business – get yourself along to the Troxy if you’re in the London area next Saturday 28th April.

Well, first of all, congrats on becoming the first Progress Wrestling champ and getting your hands on that peculiar staff…how did you enjoy the first-ever Progress show, and particularly that epic main event?

The show was amazing. It’s the first time I’ve had the chance to really perform in front of an audience like that, and I truly loved it. The main event was something I’m very proud of. I’ve always wanted to get the chance to do a big match situation with Marty as I knew it would be something special and it truly was.

As far as the re-match goes [at Progress: Chapter Two], I can’t wait. Marty is a fantastic wrestler and I know he’ll push me again. And with it being two out of three falls, it’s just even more promising for a great match.

Who do you most admire or look up to in UK wrestling?

Rampage Brown. To me, he is the best we have. Incredible work rate, no ego and looks the part. The fact he was signed to WWE then left after eight months because he felt his love for wrestling slip speaks volumes about his passion.

Who are your favourite opponents to work with?

El Ligero, we’ve worked against each other so many times that it just becomes fun to get in there and batter each other.

Is there anyone you’d like to work with in the UK that you haven’t yet?

I’d love to do a big match situation with Mark Haskins, Robbie Dynamite or Mikey Whiplash. All of them are extremely talented and I feel I could learn a lot from the match.

Photo credit: Tony Knox

Nathan Cruz’s next appearances are as follows:

NGW – Eastmount Centre, Hull (April 21st)

All-Star – Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage (April 22nd)

He’ll also be appearing for All-Star on all their events for the rest of the year, and defending his title at Progress: Chapter Two on Sunday June 24th.

Sunday 25th March took me to The Highbury Garage in Islington, where PROGRESS Wrestling presented their first show. The atmosphere was superb, the matches were outstanding, and it’s without a doubt a promotion that I would encourage everyone to go and check out. Throughout the course of the afternoon I had Colt Cabana wear my sunglasses briefly, whilst Marty Scurll began thrusting his crotch in my face after I refused to fist pump with him! Their next event takes place on June 24th, and I’ve already got my ticket sorted. If it’s just half as good as this first show, it’s going to be superb and well worth the money.

We can’t forget that as well as BritWres-Fest, April 1st also featured WWE’s biggest event of the year, Wrestlemania. Most of my predictions for this years event were wrong, and thus I also lost money on my bet, laying out £10 and only receiving £2.51 back. I suppose I should really start to learn my lesson as far as gambling goes, especially on WWE events!

I was massively disappointed with the opening Sheamus/Daniel Bryan bout, as two greatly talented young guys were robbed of their chance of have a classic match, and I was never really able to get into the Rock/Cena main event. I did however love the Hell in a Cell match; a truly brutal and engaging encounter with a strong story to tell, and guest referee Shawn Michaels played his part in this bout magnificently.

On April 4th I once again visited my local promotion at the working men’s club. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I enjoyed this show as much as I did last time. Everyone worked hard once again, but I felt that storytelling and crowd involvement were not as strong as they could’ve been. I’ll check these guys out again when there’s another card advertised, and I’m hoping that next time they’ll improve on what I saw here.

I’ve also done a few bits and pieces for WrestleTalk TV, and have also been playing a part in getting videos uploaded onto WrestleCentral.tv. For those of you that haven’t heard of it, it’s a bit like Netflix, but for wrestling videos. I’ve been recently watching some Futureshock DVD’s, two of which will be available on the site shortly, and I must say there’s some cracking shows being presented by these guys.

This next month will sees IPW:UK present a show at The Troxy in London, featuring Carlito and Chris Masters, whilst WWE present their Extreme Rules PPV on my birthday! There should hopefully be more fun and games happening for me to report on, but until next time, I’ll leave you with Episode Six of WrestleTalk TV, featuring Dave “Fit” Finlay. Thanks for reading,

That Wrestling Dude

However, it was by no means the worst card ever. Some of the top UK promotions put together showcase matches, with titles on the line all round, and it was great to see some of the best British talent on the same bill.

Stand-outs for me were NGW’s opening bout between Nathan Cruz, Rampage Brown and El Ligero and IPW:UK’s tag-team match-up between the LDRS and Dean Allmark and Jonny Storm. (Incidentally, I’m VERY taken with Zack Sabre Jr and Marty Scurll’s recent penchant for kissing each other. This time they extended the smooching to their opponents as well. It’s oddly endearing.)

Elsewhere, Jenny Sjodin lost her ProWrestling EVE title to the Alpha Female (who persists in wearing tops that threaten to fall apart mid-match); and it was good to see RJ Singh back in action after he had to withdraw from last weekend’s Progress show. He faced Rockstar Spud (who came to the ring performing a karaoke version of ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, which bore no resemblance to the key his backing track was in), and employed his usual heel tactics, including using his megaphone-wielding manager to attempt to hobble his opponent.

Zack Diamond Gibson was on a London bill for the second weekend running, and he and Jack Gallagher did well in their FutureShock title match – Gallagher got a submission win and I’m still not sure whether Gibson really was hurt or not. I hope not – Gibson’s impressed me in both the shows I’ve seen him in so far.

The lucha interlude from Lucha Britannia was enjoyable, getting the most crowd engagement of the afternoon. Just a word to the wise, though – not that I want to expose the real identity of masked men, but wrestlers who play different characters might want to think about concealing their very distinctive tattoos if they want to maintain kayfabe…

The result I most enjoyed was seeing Mark Andrews win the BWC Progress Scarlo Scholarship ladder match – partly because, obviously, he’s a friend of TOWIS, but also because he’s a genuinely gifted young man, and it’ll be great to see him defend his title in the forthcoming Progress show at the Garage in June.

I have absolutely no idea what happened in the main event – a six-man tag match is always going to be a bit of a mess unless there’s a strong storyline and a lot of space to perform it in. Still, mostly people were just glad to see returning hero Doug Williams, making a guest appearance as part of ‘The Resistance’ faction. It was also nice to see Joel Redman before he jets off to pastures WWE – he’s got a hell of a look, he’s a great wrestler, and FCW should love him.

So an entertaining afternoon for a good cause, yes, but I do have to point out that the show was mildly shambolic in places – for starters, the two titantron screens on the stage were backlit, meaning that every time anyone walked behind them, their silhouette was projected (and this started well before the show so you’d have thought it might be spotted by the time the first wrestlers came out). There were a few video packages – glossy and well produced, but with spelling mistakes in the captions. And more than once the wrong titantron was played, announcing the wrestlers in the wrong order and creating a great deal of confusion. All minor issues, but for a show this size, in a venue this size, with half-a-dozen cameras filming it for TV broadcast, you’d have hoped for the detail to be picked up.

Still, as I said, the major point is the money raised for Great Ormond Street, and the hard work of the people who got the show together. If you couldn’t make it along this afternoon but would like to make a donation, you can go through to GOSH’s website; and we were told that the full show will be available to watch on WrestleCentral.tv this week, so check it out!

As you can see, it looks to be something VERY different from what’s out there today. I was able to catch up with PROGRESS co-owner/promoter, comedian Jim Smallman, and ask him a few questions about the upcoming show.

What exactly is PROGRESS Wrestling? How does it differ from other wrestling companies in the UK today?

PROGRESS is a project devised by my friend, Comedy Promoter Jon Briley, and myself. We’re both long-time wrestling fans and we wanted to start running a promotion that is geared towards an adult audience like the American companies RoH and PWG, but based more on technical “strong-style” wrestling than deathmatches or anything like that. We’re different to other UK promotions in that we’re run by two fans rather than two guys who are directly involved in the industry, and also that we’re the only promotion running shows in central London.

This is going to be your début show, and is being billed as “Chapter One – The Beginning”. Where does the continuity lie from here on out? What is the future of PROGRESS Wrestling?

The future is hopefully promoting bi-monthly shows from the Garage in Islington, fostering great matches between the brilliant pool of talent we have in the UK and giving rise to rivalries that are based as much on in-ring talent and athleticism as they are on the ability for a wrestler to gain heat from the crowd. We want guys to come and work for us knowing they have a decent amount of time to put on their best work in the ring for a hot crowd to see.

The Garage in Islington is mainly known as a venue for rock bands and club nights, what made you decide to run a wrestling show there? Do you have any plans to run shows anywhere else in London or the UK at this time?

I can’t say too much about any plans to move into other venues at the moment, but we chose the Garage because it is what you say it is: A rock music venue. It’s compact, dark and has a great atmosphere. If we can make the Garage the London equivalent of the ECW arena then we’d be delighted. All I know is that when that place is full it’ll be a great place to watch wrestling, and certainly something different to what the venue has ever put on there before.

You’ve said that every show will have one match featuring students of the British Wrestling Council. Do you feel that it is important to support the BWC?

Absolutely. The British wrestling scene is utterly brilliant, and if we can give newcomers a place to showcase their skills in front of a hot crowd and be in the same locker room as established stars then this is only going to help the industry in the long run. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing a really great talent develop in the ring, and we’ll get chance to see this first hand with the students of the BWC.

You’ve got former ROH World Champion “Classic” Colt Cabana appearing, what is it about Cabana that’s made him the only import on this show? Were there any other imports you were considering for PROGRESS Wrestling?

We never really considered any other imports to be honest.  I feel with established British talent like Zack Sabre Jr, Marty Scurll, RJ Singh, El Ligero and Nathan Cruz (to name just a few) we already have bags of talent on show. The thing with Colt is that not only is he rightfully seen as one of the kings of indy wrestling because of his experience stateside and beyond, he can also work a really great British style too and we know he’s the right guy to be the “big name” of our first card.

Your main event is advertised as a 4-way elimination match to crown the first PROGRESS Wrestling champion. Why did you decide on an elimination style match, as opposed to the first-fall-to-a-finish type 4-way?

Basically because we want all four guys in that final match to be given an equal shot. With a fatal 4 way it’s usually shenanigans that leads to a victory, that’s not what we want here.  All four finalists will get their chance to shine and show the crowd what they’ve got, and the final winner will have definitely earned the right to be called our first champion.

The Extended Trailer for Chapter One has been really well put together, and is very different to what we’re seeing from mainstream wrestling companies today. It does, however, bear some similarities to the trailer for Jeff Katz’ “Wrestling Retribution Project”. Was this intentional at all? What are your thoughts on WRP?

It certainly wasn’t our intention – I think that myself and Jon think about things a little “outside the box” for wrestling promoters due to our backgrounds in comedy, radio and tv. We’re definitely VERY proud of that trailer, that’s for sure – we wanted to highlight the spirit of the competitors rather than just cluster together a 30 second highlight reel of highspots. As for WRP, it certainly looks very interesting indeed.  With the mainstream product in the USA getting a little stale in recent years, I definitely think it’s the right time for something different to break out from the indy scene in the states.

You’ve been a comic for several years now, and I understand that you’ll be handling ring announcing duties on the night. Will the “Tattooligan” be suited and booted for this role?

I probably should dress up a bit, shouldn’t I? I don’t look good in a suit, mind. I look like I’m due in court! At least through being a comedian I’m used to the crowd, and hopefully I’ll be able to warm them up a bit before we get started.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fans, or anyone who maybe hasn’t yet purchased a ticket for PROGRESS Wrestling?

For the love of god, buy a ticket. WWE shows cost up to £100 to watch either a shoddy TV recording or a house show where everyone other than CM Punk is just going through the motions. Our tickets start at £7, it’s in such a cool venue that you can see brilliantly from wherever you are AND you’re going to see some amazing wrestling from guys that – if we have anything to do with it – will be household names one day. We’re at www.progresswrestling.com and on Twitter at @thisis_progress. March 25th, it all begins. Come and see what we can do.

With all that being said, I’m now even more excited than I originally was for this show. PROGRESS Wrestling hits the Garage on Sunday, 25th March, and you can get your tickets from www.progresswrestling.com.  I’ll see you all there.

That Wrestling Dude

“It was lots of fun,” says Zack Sabre Jr, incredibly diplomatically. “It’s always eventful. There are always some antics.”

What a great word. “Yes. Well, there are more Brits there now, plus some Americans like Sami [Callahan] – it’s kind of at the point when you’ve basically got a group of mates in a foreign country, climbing into guinea pigs’ cages…I’m trying to think of something embarrassing that Marty [Scurll] did, but I can only think of things I did…”

Sounds like a great trip, but how did the in-ring work go? “I was very pleased. It’s the second time I’ve been in 16-Carat – last year I had a fun match with Colt Cabana, and I had a lot to live up to. I was pleased with my match with Jon Ryan, who’s my trainer, and obviously I’ve wrestled him before but it was great to wrestle him in the show too. wXw really upped everything thing year – we were in the biggest hall in the arena, we had pyro, a big entranceway, and it was just great to see that.

“I ended up going out to Tommy End, but it was just fantastic to have two European wrestlers working together on such a big stage – there were lots of kicks, and there was a bit of fistpumping too.” He pauses. “And crowdsurfing. Apologies to anyone there who got bum and sweat in their faces. But it was a great weekend.”

The fistpumping isn’t something you normally associate with ZSJ – his LDRS partner, Marty Scurll, on the other hand, is the kind of extrovert who revels in that kind of stuff. Would it be fair to say that when they were initially paired together, it was because he wasn’t entirely happy with the showmanship side of pro wrestling, and working with Scurll and gaining more experience has helped to bring that out?

“Yes, I think that would be a fair summary,” he admits. “I’ve always styled myself and the way I wrestle deliberately – that’s how i want to be perceived. But professional wrestling is entertainment at its core, and yes, I’ve gained confidence working with Marty. We were initially seen as the entertainer and a guy who wrestled but perhaps didn’t interact as much as you might want. Now, though, I’m infinitely more confident, and my trips to the US and to Japan have helped with that too. It’s a neverending evolution of how I feel as a wrestler.”

Of course, he and Scurll are facing each other in Progress’s debut show on March 25th. That must be weird, facing a close friend who you work alongside the rest of the time. “No, it’s very natural. Marty and I are completely different in so many ways, and we end up meeting in the middle. We’re both traditional British school as far as mat work goes, though, and when you team with someone for so long, there’s not so much a conscious effort.”

The Progress show is now his focus for the month. “I’ve been to gigs there and always thought what a cool venue it is. I’ve got friends in bands who haven’t played there, so there’ll be no holding back. Plus I know how much effort the Progress boys are putting in.”

Jim Smallman told me earlier in the week that they’ll be encouraging the wrestlers to adopt a strong ROH/Japan style at the show, pretty much allowing the likes of ZSJ free rein. “That’s so appreciated. But that is the beauty of indy wrestling, being able to adapt. If I’m working somewhere where the audience is more family-focused, I might not come down so hard, but I still wrestle my way regardless.”

Yes, speaking of which – what was with that heel promo at ICW? It was a heck of a surprise. He laughs. “I’ve only been up there once, that one time, but I will be there again. They’ve just created their own niche within a niche – they’re all casuals, everyone is there to have fun. It’s actually one of my favourite atmospheres to wrestle in; there’s so much noise and it’s just a barrage of drunken crazy Scots. I’m sure I’ll have more chats with my Scottish friends in the future!”

They might throw haggis at you. He considers. “Actually, they might.”

Also, what was with your accent in that promo? It was rather…BBC English, shall we say? He laughs again. “I do that all around America too! Like, <puts on odd high-pitched voice> ‘Ooh, I’m the prince!’ You’ve basically got the choice of speaking like a member of the aristocracy or speaking like something out of Oliver Twist and asking for gruel. It’s more fun being faux royalty.”

I’d been told not to ask about it, but I can’t resist - that match with KENTA, one of the most brutal, hard-hitting things I have seen. What was that like? “It was phenomenal. KENTA is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever been in the ring with.”

I confess that I find it hard to rewatch, having seen it once and just thinking, “Wow, Zack’s getting the hell kicked out of him.”

He pauses, and then sounds slightly concerned. “Well, it’s OK, there’s nothing to worry about. Spoiler alert – I don’t get hurt! Guys like KENTA just want to show who is most dominant, and it’s such an honour to be on the show and to be put against guys like that.

“Actually, I try not to think about it too much, and it flies by. You just think I want to be on these shows, and when you get the chance, you could get overwhelmed but there’s so much to concentrate on it’s just nice! I’ve never actually had an injury, and I put that down to the quality of my opponents. But your entire body aches after that sort of weekend. I won’t go to the gym on a Monday morning after that.”

You can follow Zack Sabre Jr on Twitter, and catch him at Progress Wrestling on Sunday March 25th.

Established by two long-term wrestling fans, comedian Jim Smallman and comedy promoter Jon Briley, they decided to set up their own promotion when they realised that instead of discussing their actual work in meetings they were talking about wrestling.

“I got into British wrestling as a kid in the mid-1980s, then American wrestling as a student,” says Smallman. “This was when WWE was taking off and was cool, with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin.”

Progress intends to recapture the excitement and atmosphere of those halcyon days of British wrestling, giving UK-based talent a chance to showcase their abilities. “For example, we want to let someone like Zack Sabre Junior come out and do the kind of stuff he does in Japan, rather than sending people out to clown around,” he says. “I’m really excited about his match against Marty Scurll – basically, here’s one of your best friends, now go out there and beat the living daylights out of each other!”

The British element is a key factor. “We’re not going to be import heavy,” he promises. “We wanted to get Colt Cabana on board because he is the uncrowned king of indy wrestling, but the promotion is about the progression of british wrestling: that’s what we want to do.”

Smallman is excited just as much as any fan looking forward to the event. “I’m really looking forward to seeing these guys live,” he says. “We’re just fans who want to put on a good show, and create a fanbase for the future.”

Progress is most definitely a long-term venture. There’s a date reserved for their second show already, with plans in place for the booking. “We’re looking to ECW and Chikara: you don’t have to work every week to get ppl coming back for more – you just need awesome matches, and there is no danger of these matches not being awesome.”

Though the main event will be a four-way, there will be four singles matches preceding it, giving the talent a chance to show what they can do, and establish their characters and the psychology of the match.

And with the talent on display, they are hoping to demonstrate that British wrestling can be better than a lot of the televised promotions. “Everyone here is booked based on talent, and that brings people in. We know that people are travelling to see the show – we have people coming from Cheshire, Wales, France – and we want to get people who once watched, who have maybe forgotten about why they liked wrestling, and get that excitement back by watching a great show in a cool place with guys who are talented.”

To find out more about Progress Wrestling, have a look at their website. Their first show is at the Garage in Islington on Sunday 25th March – and you can download a poster right here.

This trailer is fantastic, it promotes the wrestlers, it starts to show the companies direction but most of all it begins the feuds building anticipation for the matches.

In their 8 person tournament to crown the first ever Progress Champion you have friends and tag team partners Zack Sabre Jnr and Marty Scurll “The Leaders of The New School” turning against each other. This angle should help engage the audience as they will want to see if one-upmanship really comes to the fore. Also a chance for Marty and Zack to show strong story telling skills, captivating the audience with the will they/won’t they turn on each other angle.

The Culture Clash with the flashy showman Colt Cabana vs the Bombay technician RJ Singh. Keen to see how this one plays out and hope RJ Singh is given time to truly showcase his talent. Colt Cabana is the headline act for this event which is understandable but RJ will be a great heel to get the best out of him.

You also have Dar vs Ligero and Cruz vs Colossus with the winners entering a fatal 4 way for the title!

Finally really pleased to see a Scarlo Championship Match put on the card. Looking forward to seeing some new British talent given a decent platform to perform.

All in all as mentioned really can’t wait for the event. Let us know if you’re attending and look forward to seeing you there!

More info here

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE – FRONT ROW ALREADY SOLD OUT!

PROGRESS Title Tournament Round One: Mike Mason vs Colt Cabana

PROGRESS Title Tournament Round One: Zack Sabre Jnr vs Marty Scurll

PROGRESS Title Tournament Round One: Noam Dar vs El Ligero

PROGRESS Title Tournament Round One: Nathan Cruz vs Colossus

BWC Scarlo Championship Three Way Title Match: Allen vs Cooper vs Gibson

PROGRESS Title Tournament FINAL: 4 Way Elimination Rules Match!

Still, I’m very glad that I took the risk this weekend, motivated by the card at Future Pro Wrestling’s show.

The entertainment started right from the off – even if you’d not been to an FPW show before, you picked up the history of Terry Striker aka Kidd Pride with his railing against the company and the powers-that-be, Snare (like the insane version of Sting), and Rob Cage  (who was the face in this particular match and showed this by throwing “You sound like a GIRL!” insults at his adversary. Le sigh).

I was very taken with ‘The Warden’ Phil Ward, who worked the crowd brilliantly (what a fantastic gimmick – like Mr McKay in Porridge, except younger, with more hair and with sunglasses) and, despite towering over his tiny jungle-dwelling opponent Bagheera, put on an entertaining match – one would have expected it to be a bit of a squash with the big heel destroying the pre-verbal high-flying face, but it was evenly contested with some great engagement.

The highlight of the evening for me was the LDRS (Zack Sabre Jr and Marty Scurll - for whom there were a lot of fangirls and Take Me Out-related signs) vs the Bhangra Knights (RJ Singh and Darrell Allen). Weirdly, I’ve only ever seen Zack and Marty in singles action, so even though they’ve been a tag team for ages, this was the first time I’d seen them working together, and what a joy it was. A terrific match, including much cheating and inept refereeing, plus the Bhangra Knights’ manager wielding a megaphone. You know as well as I do that having a megaphone equals immediate win points.

During the interval I got the chance to nip backstage and say hello to some of the talent, including Official Friend of TOWIS Mark Haskins, bearing a scarred nose from you-know-what. (Yes, I am a name-dropper.)

The second half began very brightly, with Haskins and Greg Burridge facing eXodus and Da Big J Dizzle, and Burridge in particular bringing the “fun and games”, mostly in the shape of thrusting his groin in people’s faces. Mid-match there was a very odd clank from the ring as someone (I can’t remember who) was running the ropes, which, unsurprisingly, seemed to change the direction of the battle (there was a lengthy interlude where three of the four corners were being covered as the referee and two of the wrestlers were discreetly checking the rope tension). It still ended with eXodus, a surprisingly nimble monster, performing a top-rope finish, even though by that stage the top rope was sagging noticeably.

As you’d hope and expect, there was then a short break as the ring was checked, and when Jimmy Havoc and Joel Masters came out for the main event I certainly got the feeling that they’d quickly thought of some alternative plans for the match that didn’t involve too much rope work. It was still a great match-up, though; Masters is a terrifying giant and Havoc is hardcore and reminds me of a lot of emo boys from indie-rock bands back in the day, if the emo boys had no fear and risked the integrity of their necks on a regular basis.

I think the thing that I enjoyed most about the show, talent notwithstanding, was the atmosphere. Call me a misery, but I have no problem with wrestling shows being PG – I’m not a fan of the hardcore stuff, I don’t enjoy seeing people bleed, I like seeing the athletic feats and the storytelling.  I loved seeing children cheering and booing and ecstatic about getting to interact with their heroes – I loved the small child Jeritrolling the crowd and then suddenly getting all starstruck about the possibility of meeting Haskins – I loved people just generally engaging with what was going on and having a great time.

For me, that’s the beauty of professional wrestling, and FPW seem to have it down to an art.

Check FPW out on Twitter – you can also click through to their website from the links on the right, and you can see their upcoming events featured on our calendar.

“I thought that maybe I’d get recognised by a couple of people,” he says. “But I’m going out and loads of people recognise me, and want pictures, and they’re talking to me on Twitter…”

This series’ contestants have had much more media attention than those on the previous two; with immense understatement, Scurll confesses: “I didn’t think it’d blow up in the way it has.”

His appearance on Take Me Out also included a classic rib from his friend and fellow wrestler Jimmy Havoc, who recorded a deadpan VT revealing to the world that Scurll is a massive fan of boy-bands. “The entire show is trying to stitch you up! I had no idea that was coming!” he laughs.

One suspects that the average viewer of Take Me Out is not a regular attendee of indy wrestling shows – can we expect the audience at Scurll’s next bookings to be significantly more female and high-pitched? He chuckles. “Yeah, maybe! A few of them have said they’ll be coming to see when I’m on next.”

They won’t have long to wait. Scurll is one of the hardest-working indy wrestlers on the circuit, as far as I can see. Every indy show I’ve been to in recent months, he’s been somewhere on the bill. “I am busy at the moment,” he agrees. “And I do work hard. I spend every weekend wrestling, and then the rest of the week I’m in the gym.”

That’s a slight exaggeration, though; Scurll is also studying for a degree. “I think it’s important to get an education. I’m passionate about that. I don’t want to be like some of those old wrestlers who haven’t got any money left and who don’t have anything else apart from wrestling. Contrary to what some people believe, wrestling hurts, and I don’t want to be doing it when I’m old. I’d like to have a wife and kids; I don’t want to be an old, broken man with nothing.”

One of his old friends, Nick Aldis aka Magnus, has already risen to the big time, first with Gladiators and then with TNA. They met and trained together as teenagers, and Scurll describes Aldis as ”like a big brother”. Another close pal of Scurll’s is Zack Sabre Jr, his tag-team partner. I venture the suggestion that they bring very different things to the partnership: Scurll is clearly the talker of the two of them. He laughs again. “Yeah. I think that’s why they put us together in the first place – Zack was always a great technician, but he needed to work maybe a bit on his showmanship. Now he’s very charismatic, but we still enjoy working together.”

With Scurll’s packed diary, is there anyone on the UK scene he’s not worked with yet but would like to? He thinks. “I think I’ve wrestled Noam Dar in a four-way or something, but not one-on-one, so I’d like to do that. There are a few Scottish lads – Lionheart as well.” He thinks some more. “And Johnny Moss.”

So is his long-term plan to hit the world scene just as Aldis has done? “Absolutely. I want to wrestle on the world stage. I want to travel the world. And I don’t want to settle for second-best.”

Follow Marty on Twitter – @MartyTakeMeOut.

His next bookings include:

Friday Feb 3rd: New Scene Wrestling, Aston University

Saturday Feb 4th: All Star Wrestling, Victoria Hall, Hanley

Sunday Feb 5th: All Star Wrestling, Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Saturday Feb 11th: FPW, Wallingdon, Greater London

Sunday Feb 26th: IPW UK, Sittingbourne

Sunday Mar 25th: This is PROGRESS, London

This lower-brow Blind Date, full of single entendres, fake tan and desperation, featured UK wrestling’s very own Marty Scurll as a contestant on Saturday night.

And Southside Wrestling have obligingly recorded it for posterity.

Look out too for a good old-fashioned rib from Jimmy Havoc.

I started going to wrestling shows 36 years ago in the days when every Saturday would feature 45 minutes of wrestling entertainment on World of Sport on ITV, with the likes of Johnny Saint, Jonny Kidd, Kendo Nagasaki and Bert Royal gracing the screen. I’d attend local shows in Peterborough and remember these trips with great fondness as this was one of the few activities I remember doing with my Dad,  hence the special place wrestling has always had in my heart.

I was an avid fan of the big federations as a ‘grown up’, with first WWF (it’ll never be WWE to me despite what the people with the panda say) , then WCW but gradually my interest waned as storylines became too preposterous and eventually I gave up on it altogether. Then, whilst in converstion with one of my shop regulars I was pointed in the direction of ROH, specifically a matchup between Aries and McGuiness and thus the avid fan I am now was reborn, phoenix like, to plague my wife with my obsession. ROH only kept my interest for a while as I found the shows pacing to be wrong with too many high spots, but during this time I did discover Chikara, which I genuinely believe to be the best wrestling federation in business today, as well as Dragon Gate, EVOLVE & PWG 

Anyway, earlier this year I attended my first IPW:UK event and was suitably impressed. You can read a review of that show, the Summer Sizzler, here , so I was looking forward to their 7th anniversary show with real high hopes, especially considering the card announced. Read on to find out why I believe the 7th Anniversary show tops ANYTHING I have seen in person in all those years and stands up favourably to the hundreds of DVD’s I have purchased over the last few years.

IPW:UK 7th Anniversary Event
I made the trip to Sittingbourne, along with Jack, Adam, Greg and my son and after a short wait in the queue, found our front row seats to be situated in the same place as the last event. A couple of rounds of beer ordered and we were ready for the event to start.

The show opened up with Martin Stone coming out to the ring, mike in hand. My initial response was, “oh crap, he’s back on the card”, but fortunately he was just there to say how he wasn’t in a fit shape to wrestle, which was good news as I’ve yet to see him put in a decent performance in any of the DVD’s I’d watched. However he put over the rest of the roster well and we then got Andy Quildan announcing the opening bout.

‘Party’ Marty Scurll vs ‘X-Treme’ Dean Allmark
Both of these guys put in good performances at the last event so I was expecting great things from this bout and I wasn’t disappointed. High octane wasn’t the word with the work rate from both guys being played out at an insane tempo. No botched moves, constant back and forth, it really didn’t matter that there was no heel to boo. Marty was over more, obviously, what with him an IPW regular, but Deano frequently got cheers and applause, entirely based on his in ring skills. The match finished up with Marty delivering a second, better executed, torture rack dropped to double knees, followed by the pin, advancing him to the Cruiserweight final. I genuinely hope that IPW continue to use Dean and I’d particularly like to see him in the tag division (McKinnan would be a good pick for partner). Marty took his applause well, with my custom Scurll shirt getting picked up by the camera’s (art below). Great opening bout 7.5/10

Project Ego (Travis and Kirby) vs Tempest Warriors (Jason Larusso and The Saint)
Again, Project Ego entertained no end at the Summer Sizzler, so much so that I can’t bring myself to boo them despite them being heels. They just make me smile too much. Not as good a match as their last showing but this wasn’t down to them. Larusso spent most of the bout being squashed, whereas The Saint pulled off some power moves (including an impressive double suplex) and then tagged out as soon as he was on top, only for Larusso to hand it back to Project Ego. Blatant cheating, ref manipulation and shenanigans were rife, making for great entertainment, but Team TW as most of the audience were calling them didn’t deliver in the same way as the rest of the nights card.
5.5/10 (although thoroughly entertained by Travis and Kirby plus the lower key match emphasised how good the rest of the card was).

Nigel McGuiness vs Joel Redman
Joel, as an IPW regular, got a good welcome from the crowd, though nothing like the one Nigel got. The crowd were well behind Nigel (including me), even when he turned heel he had at least half the crowd cheering him (not me) until the latter stages when they finally turned. It was a necessary heel turn though as a second face vs face match may not have worked. Both wrestlers put in strong performances although there wasn’t quite the intensity from McGuiness that was seen in his amazing series of ROH defences, but all things considered, that’s hardly surprising. I had no idea which way the result would fall and felt that either man could win at anytime, which is just the way you want things in a match of this nature.  When Nigel hit the Tower of London I presumed it was all over, but no, Joel kicked out and the bout continued, with Redman eventually getting the pin with a surprise folding press. McGuiness then got on the mike putting over Redman and the rest of the IPW roster and also discussed his time in the business. A class act that got the standing ovation he rightfully deserved.
7.5/10

Noam Dar vs Eddie Edwards
To say this one was hard hitting would be an understatement. Dar took a huge amount of ferocious chops, one of which we held him down at Edwards request and we could feel the force of the connection through him. I also got a huge glob of his mucus on my leg after a punishing move by Edwards literally knocked the snot out of him. As Greg said, it was a bit of a matrix moment as it flew from one side of the ring to land on me. Don’t think for a second that Dar was just a punching bag, he delivered numerous stinging kicks and matched Edwards blow for blow for the majority of the match. Great performance from both guys with Edwards, who’d been the face for the matchup, getting the win with the achilles lock. Dar would also make a welcome addition to the roster as I’d love to see him versus either of the LDRS.
8/10

 So going to the interval we’d had three seriously OUTSTANDING matches and one lower key, but entertaining one. Could the second half deliver matches deliver the same sort of quality. Well being as it’s now 2.05am, I guess I’ll have to let you know tomorrow.

Googling it the next morning, I found out that Zack Sabre Jr and Marty Scurll were the main event – good enough for me, I decided, and rang the ticket line (a mobile number), which went straight to voicemail. I found their Facebook page, and left a message there asking if they were doing any press tickets or if any of the talent would be available for interview. The page admin was helpful, and gave me the promoter’s number – the same number I’d rung for tickets and hadn’t had an answer from. I rang again, leaving two messages in total, and heard nothing back.

Hey ho. Support indy wrestling, kids – I practise what I preach. We paid for full-price tickets on the door to take our seats in the Irish Centre’s function room, still liberally festooned with 70th birthday balloons from a previous party, but now also with a wrestling ring in the middle of the ballroom floor.

The funny thing about shows this small is the number of fans who know the wrestlers, whether they’re real-life mates or have just seen them a lot of times before. Andy Wild, the face in the opening match had loud support from a crowd of irritatingly noisy student types, but he was still crushed comprehensively by Tango Tim Wylie, a ridiculously muscular figure of a fella (“THIS IS WHAT A REAL MAN LOOKS LIKE!” he roared, much to the delight of the barmaids, who suddenly took an interest in the action).

I very much enjoyed the tag match between two Welshmen (one of whom was Wild Boar and one of whom, Eddie Dennis, was brilliantly hilarious) and a Jeff Hardy wannabe (BT Gunn) and another ludicrous giant (Shaun The Hammer Davis). The Welshman who did the talking refused to get in the ring with Hammer – “I’m only getting in if the guy with long hair is in too!”

Mark Andrews and Noam Dar didn’t really have enough time to fully explore the scope of their falls-count-anywhere match, but it was an entertaining little insert. I’ve seen Dar twice now and can easily imagine him in the X Division; and Andrews is a sparky little face who you can imagine kids adoring, particularly with his thunder and lightning-styled gear.

The one women’s match on the card was not brilliantly worked – champion Shanna (a petite, slender, smiling Mickie James type) faced the statuesque Alpha Female (a tall, muscular Beth Phoenix type, but with shorter hair). The German woman unsurprisingly battered her little Portuguese rival, but to no avail – somehow the champion managed to pin her and somehow she did not have the strength to kick out.

This is one of the things that always bugs me about women’s matches – often it’s when they don’t have enough time to think it through properly – but it just doesn’t make sense. Tamina and AJ had a similar match on Monday night but AJ managed to pin her bigger opponent after Tamina had injured herself showing off an incredible feat of strength. That’s logical. Just getting her to the ground and pinning her when she’s twice your body weight? That’s not.

There was another tag match – the Hunter Brothers (Eighties throwbacks but not putting enough effort in on the nostalgia front – come on, boys, at least get yourselves some Adam Ant jackets) versus the Second City Collective. This was a match with something at stake – the number one contender position for the wXw tag titles – but it all seemed rather thrown together and tough to follow if you didn’t know their history.

Marty Scurll v Zack Sabre Jr I’ve already written about – good on technique, low on engagement and interactivity would be my summary.

But for eight quid it was a decent evening’s entertainment with some great talent on show and some more names for me to follow. Have you been to any indie shows recently and think there are some young stars out there I should be watching or talking to for the site? Let me know in the comments.

There can be no denying the talent of Zack Sabre Jr. His record is impressive, and all achieved at such a young age. I’d seen him on DVDs and YouTube clips before, and was incredibly excited to see him at New Scene Wrestling on Sunday evening, facing off against his tag-team partner Marty Scurll in the main event.

And let’s face it, this was a tiny show, with its main event not making a great deal of sense – why were Sabre and Scurll opponents, other than that it was going to be a terrific match? There was no title on the line, no feud to spark. So it left even more for the wrestlers to do to get the crowd engaged when their only storyline was “tag-team partners taking each other on in a singles match”.

Now, Marty I HAD seen in person before, tagging with friend of TOWIS Mark Haskins at the Dragongate UK show in Nottingham a few weeks ago. He’s brash, ebullient, vest-wearing and fist-pumping – he’s seen a niche for a British Colt Cabana and gone for it, and good luck to him.

So Marty came to the ring first on Sunday, working the crowd (such as it was, but he treated the 80 or so attendees as if they were a baying arena full of marks), slapping hands, posing for pictures.

And then Zack came out. Head down, skulking to the ring as quickly as he could, and perching on the turnbuckle, while Marty continued to pose and posture in the middle of the ring.

Odd, I thought. The match began, and while Scurll tried to get a dialogue going, Sabre was silent. Scurll’s good at the comedy (a well-timed “bloody Nora!” had even the hecklers at the back giggling) but he also knows that there needs to be some form of interaction between opponents other than moves, and in a show this small it needs to be verbal, it cannot just be mimed.

But Sabre didn’t even mime. Even Scurll’s fervent “FUCK YOU, ZACK!” failed to get a reaction from him. Perhaps he’s just a generally shy kind of lad who doesn’t like the talking part of his job (which would explain why he tags with Scurll, who revels in it).

If that’s the case, he’s going to have to deal with it, because to make it at the highest level of pro wrestling with any kind of consistency, he’s going to have to do some talking – and he’s going to have to get a hell of a lot of fans on his side. However good you are as a wrestler, you also need to have a character and some charisma – we all know that those qualities can get you very, very far, even if your technical ability isn’t that good.

Perhaps Sabre should take a tip from Haskins. Neither of them is the biggest; both seem to be relatively and comparatively reserved outside of the ring; but Haskins can take on a character and work the crowd, which is why he’s been signed to TNA. Whatever you think of TNA as a promotion, it’s got an audience and a profile – and it pays.

Sabre’s in-ring ability speaks for itself. And now Sabre has to speak for himself as well.

So, looking at the cards, which main event would you rather see? Bear in mind that it’s £12 for guaranteed front-row seats at the Irish Centre, and £50-odd for bog-standard positions at the LG Arena.

Vote now! And if you’re heading off to any of the WWE shows, let me know what matches you saw and what you thought of it altogether.

T-Bone vs ‘Special Edition’ Joseph Conners

T-Bone defeats Joseph Conners with an FU.

Robbie X vs Ego Dragon
Ego Dragon hits Robbie X with a super kick for the win.

Pro Wrestling Eve Match – Rhia O’Reilly vs Super Janey B
Janey B taps out Rhia O’Riley after she transitions from a head scissors into an arm bar.

Kris Travis vs Marty Scurll
Kris Travis hits Marty Scurll with a low blow then small packages him for the 3 count.

NEWS British Championship Match – Lowthian vs El Ligero (c)
El Ligero retains the NEWS British Title after Lowthian was disqualified following interference from Ego Dragon. After the match Lowthian hits El Ligero with No Further Action.

Prince Ameen & Cameron Kraze vs Mad Man Manson & Martin Kirby
Manson & Kirby defeated Kraze & Ameen when Manson rolled Kraze up for the 3.

Southside Title Match – Greg Burridge vs Valkabious (c)
Greg Burridge defeats Valkabious after reversing the KabiousDriver into a sunset flip to become the NEW Southside Champion. After the match Valkabious challenges Burridge to a rematch.  Before Burridge can respond T-Bone comes out and states he is currently the No1 Contender, so he is next in line for a title shot, not Valkabious.  To settle this Burridge gets on the mic and makes it a Hardcore Three Way Dance at the SWE 1st Anniversary Show.

Pre-Show: Spots blew so first half was in full light.

Bout 1: Terry Frazier vs T-Bone
Frazier def T-Bone via roll-up 8.24
Surprisingly good first bout, which surprised me as T-Bone had been somewhat underwhelming at the Andre Baker show. He played a good heel turn and his in ring skills were solid. Having watched the recent Frazier/Fish match on IPWondemand this match this match followed a similar pattern. It would appear that Frazier, whilst not amazing himself as there were a few poorly executed moves, has the ability to make his opponent look good, which sometimes is more important. As the momentum went from one combatant to the other, I was well into the fight as I had no clue as to how the fight would end. The beatdown issued by T-Bone post match will, no doubt lead to further story line developments.
Overall a good solid opener 6/10

Bout 2: Jon Ryan and Shinya Ishikawa vs Project Ego (Travis and Kirby)
Travis def Ryan via pinfall 14.43
Just a note IPW, Jon Ryan does not work well as a face.
Fortunately however, Project Ego played a great camp, cowardly heel turn, complete with running for exits, excessive and inappropriate hugging and over enthusiastic responses to in-ring successes. Ishikawa, who I’ve loved watching in his Global Gauntlet tag bouts vs the Osirian Portal and the Colony, didn’t really get over with the crowd, despite my best efforts to start up Ishikawa chants, however the limited action he was granted saw him prove he was up to the task, although we didn’t get to see a real solid Dropkick (from Hell), although we did get a nice twin dropkick. Ryan spent more time in ring and it genuinely felt weird cheering him, especially being as Project Ego proved, not only good comic skills, but slick tag moves and good technical prowess, once the shennanigans stopped.   They stole the show to be honest and made this bout one of the two most entertaining of the evening. 6.75/10

Bout 3: Marty Scurll vs Jonathan Gresham
Scurll def Gresham via pin to advance to the Cruiserweight Championship semis
I came to the show to see Jonathan Gresham, Hieracon in Chikara, even bringing a comissioned piece of art to get signed by him. Pre-bout we had JG dissing MS on the mike, saying how he wanted to fight Zack Sabre, not his sidekick. Marty replied in the best way possible, with lively in-ring action. Although you had a feeling that Gresham would be expected to drop the match to facilitate the advancement of Scurll to the semis, there were plenty of times when you weren’t sure that would be the case as his offense was impressive and he held the upper hand for long periods, even during the frenetic last few minutes of the bout. Some Gary Coleman and Hobbit chants echoed around the hall due to JG’s diminuitive size but the best interaction between him and the fans came when one fan called that he missed with a kick whilst Scurll was slumped in the corner. Gresham replied ‘really, not this time’ , then delivered a stinging kick to Scurlls uper thigh. There was a brief period around 4-5 minutes when the fight lagged a little but overall the pace of the fight was fast with a truly blistering pace of move/countermove maintained in the closing minutes. Best fight of the night finished by Scurll with torture rack dropped on to double knees, closely followed by a kick to the face and pin. 7.25/10

Interval: Bought the previous IPW Sittingbourne show DVD for £10, got more beer, went outside to cool down. Interval = five minutes too long, although we did get the spots back.

Bout 4: X-Treme Dean Allmark vs Max Angelous
Allmark def Angelous with the one-man spanish fly at 12.52 to advance to Cruiserweight semis
Two debutants to IPW with Angelous playing the ‘pretty boy’ heel turn. Dean-O chants abound, with lots of ‘kick him in the face’ shouts after Angelous made a big deal about protecting the face. Decent performances from both, although nothing outstanding. Crowd got into the interplay between the two so both did their jobs.  6/10

Bout 5: Joel Redman vs Drew Gulak
Redman def Gulak after folding press for the pin.
I was disappointed that Gulak didn’t get to take the mike pre-bout. Initial physical shows of strength showing Redman with upper hand. Then he got to show the upper hand throughout, technically as well, getting a lot of laughs with his tying up of Gulak in knots, along with the ref, plus Gulak failing to replicate some of Redman’s moves. It went down well with the crowd so i guess thats what counts but I felt that Gulak should have been allowed a little more offense. Also with him having trained at wrestle factory I did call for a chikara special at one point, only to be told, “I don’t want to do that move”. I would give it a 5.75 but the fact the crowd seemed to enjoy it means it gets a 6.25/10

Bout 6: Sha Samuels & Rockstar Spud vs Lion Kid & Dave Mastiff
Although the headline bout, probably the least interesting in ring. Without the quality heel antics of Rockstar Spud, refusing to get in ring with Mastiff and dissing all around, It appears I am a ‘knob’ because I have long hair, just because I asked how ‘looking like Limahl makes him a rock star’, the bout barely got out of second gear. In the end Spud did a runner, pursued by Dave leaving Lion Kid to defeat Sha Samuels, who’d of thought, I certainly didn’t. The 619 prior to the 450 splash was a bit botched, but he nailed the splash for the 1-2-3. Nice finish to a fairly poor fight. 4.5/10 although I’d like to give Spud a 7/10 for the entertainment factor. my son really enjoyed the lion kid raaarghing though, so perhaps I’d better up it to a 5/10.

After show got a signed Scurll photo for my son, got to meet Jonathan Gresham, getting my artwork signed which you can see here and bought a dropkick from hell t-shirt off Ishuikawa. All in all a good show with no terrible bouts and all the matches and something positive to talk about. Will definitely be going to the next Sittingbourne event and I’ll probably go to the Chatham events as well.

Now while I expected this DVD to be good I was wasn’t expecting it to be this good & was in-fact amazed at the quality of the in ring action. The card for this DVD had two international bouts featuring talent from the UK and the major standout to me in these was Marty Scurll, who I think will have a bright future in this business & look forward to see him competing in some of the US independent promotions. The remaining bouts involved Dragon Gate talent, such as Masato Yoshino, Shingo, BxB Hulk, Cima, Pac & Naruki Doi.

Once again BxB Hulk was very impressive, as was Yoshino (who’s speed never ceases to amaze me), but this time the two main standouts for me were Pac & Shingo. Shingo’s match was very hard hitting and had the crowd on the edge of their seats towards the end, what is even more impressive (if it wasn’t a work) was that the commentary noted that prior to the match Shingo was suffering from flu symptoms but was determined to work through the sickness to entertain the crowd, which he did by putting on the match of the night. This was my first time watching Pac perform and I was very impressed with his ability in the squared circle and think he would make a great addition to Impact Wrestling’s X-Division & would fit perfectly into the Destination X tournament they are currently running.

That’s all I have to say for now, hopefully I will be able to get a hold of some more Japanese wrestling DVD’s in the future. Thanks for reading and if you like my blog please follow me on twitter or leave a comment below I would love to hear from other wrestling fans, especially regarding Destination X & the X-Division tournament.

I headed off on my journey in the pouring rain, some directions scribbled on a bit of paper to make sure I ended up in the right place. That place being The Regal in Oxford. Unfortunately the directions I had scribbled down were, while correct, not particularly easy to follow. I knew I had to be on the A34 and take the junction for a particular road. The problem was that the road itself was not signposted, so I missed the turning. Fortunately I’d given myself so much time to get there that I could turn around further up the road and make my way back by a different route.

I pulled up to a very convenient parking space about 150 yards up the road from The Regal at about 3.20pm. Spectacular timing considering the reason I got there was to start at 3.30. That reason was the Dragon Gate Invasion show.

I’ve wanted to see Dragon Gate live for a few years, ever since I first came across their style of wrestling in 2007 when watching a few Dragon Gate stars appearing on a Ring of Honor show. So when I heard they were planning a UK show I was like a kid on Christmas morning, I couldn’t wait to get my ticket. I’d also wanted to see Pro Wrestling NOAH for a long time but sadly missed their 2008 UK show as it clashed with one of my best friends wedding. This time I was determined not to miss out.

I bought my tickets on the first day of release, and booked my place at the meet & greet session too. Now, at 3.30pm on Sunday 1st November 2009, the meet and greet session was about to begin as me and 40 or so other people were shepherded into The Regal.

The first thing that struck me was the venue. It’s not the biggest of places but it felt right for this type of show. I got stuck straight into the merchandise tables and picked up the “Official Pamphlet” as well as a Dragon Gate towel and a couple of DVD’s.

Then it was time for us to move into the next area and meet the wrestlers themselves. They were mostly very friendly and all happy to sign autographs and pose for pictures. Shingo was visibly under the weather while Naruki Doi and BxB Hulk looked bored and lost. But then after what’s been a long trip and busy weekend for these guys it’s totally understandable. The rest of the Japanese guys were more chipper, as were the English guys. I had the chance to have a brief chat with Marty Scurll, who I’ve never seen wrestle before, and he seems like a nice bloke. I could tell that he, as well as the other UK talent, were very excited at the prospect of wrestling on the show.

BcB Hulk, me & Naruki Doi

I got pictures with all the Dragon Gate guys and autographed photos of them all too. Plus I got them all to sign the towel I’d just bought. It was a nice and relaxed meet and great and put me in a good mood after a hectic morning.

The show itself was superb. From the all English dark match through the UK against Dragon Gate matches and the full on Dragon Gate matches. Every match was entertaining. I think there were many highlights, too many to list them all. But I’ll fill you in on the ones I will remember the most:

During the dark match (Stixx vs. Lion Kid) some guys in front of me tried to get everyone singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. It didn’t catch on, sadly, but hearing a bunch of blokes going “awimbaway, awimbaway” was funny. As were the chants of “You tried your best” to a defeated Stixx.

The first proper match of the show was Real Hazard (Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito) against Jonny Storm & Marty Scurll. There were three things in this match that I remember well. The first being the ability of Scurll, he really impressed me. Also the way he sold the top rope foot stomp from Saito was quality. Now either Scurll is the king of selling moves or Saito really busted a couple of his ribs. Scurll sat bolt upright, went a nice shade of purple and let out a primal “FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK”.

The thing that I loved most about this match was when Genki & Saito shouted “Fack you England” at us. The crowd laughed then inexplicably started to chant “Fack you England” back at the bemused pair. Priceless.

KAGETORA versus Mark Haskins was an ok match. I liked the move Haskins used to win with as well as the chants of “Haskins is a Hobbit” which KAGE also seemed to find funny. Other than that the match was a pretty average affair.

Then came the match that I was looking forward to the most. Dragon Kid against Yoshino. I’d seen their previous matches, each time getting better and better. Yoshino is simply the fastest person I have ever seen in a wrestling ring. And Dragon Kid was the reason I got into Dragon Gate in the first place. To get to see these two go at it live was a privilege. I don’t think this match was as good as their match from Dragon Gate USA but it was a delight to watch and brought a standing ovation from the crowd.

After the interval it was time for Shingo to take on Susumu Yokosuka. I wasn’t expecting much from this match, especially having seen how ill Shingo had looked at the meet and great. My concerns evaporated during the match as the two men went at it hell for leather. I found myself yelling, clapping and stamping my feet like a man possessed as they continued to build the match more and more. A truly brilliant example of Dragon Gate that was many peoples match of the night.

The main event of the night was another I was excited about witnessing. The World-1 team of Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk (my favourite DG star) and the homecoming PAC were taking on CIMA and the Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson). A 6-man tag match, a staple of Dragon Gate wrestling. And this match was a superb example of how a 6-man tag should be. It was fast paced, lots of exciting spots that had me and the rest of the crowd leaping out of their seats. CIMA is comedy gold, getting the crowd to chant “CIMA Jackson” and challenging PAC to a press-up contest two of his highlights. And it was good to see a solid performance from Doi, considering his injury, he didn’t hold back. Plus seeing BxB Hulk’s ring entrance (complete with dancing girls) is always cool to see.

After the show the whole roster came out into the ring to pose for pictures and PAC got on the microphone and promised that Dragon Gate would be back. Something that really got us all excited. Personally I can’t wait til they come back. I’ll be there, hopefully front row this time! For anyone who likes Dragon Gate, or thinks they might, I recommend getting the DVD of this event when it’s released!