BCW Live in East Kilbride Review

Friday 14 March 2014

After the stress of the M8 the previous week, we left a little earlier than usual...only for the roads to be clear and we arrived at the Ballerup Hall a full hour before the doors opened.  Thankfully it wasn't wet or too cold (although my fingers were a wee bit numb) and it meant that we were first in the door.

This was the first event we attended since the airing of the BBC documentary on Insane Championship Wrestling "Insane Fight Club" and it was obvious that there were a lot of new faces in the crowd.  Rob and I had a couple of girls sitting behind us who were talking about Grado, but were pronouncing it Grah-do.  When I pointed out the correct pronunciation, they were like "whatever" but by the end of the first half, they were really into it and already talking about future shows!

First match up was a tag match between Lou King Sharp and Saqib Ali against Brendan Cooper and Tommy Marx.  Not originally advertised, this was a fantastic match showing the talent of some of the up and coming trainees from the PBW academy.  It also gave me my first insult of the night when Lou King Sharp said he would slap the fat of my face....if only it was that easy, Lou!!! The match ended with a win for Ali & Sharp but the team of Cooper and Marx put on a good show and the crowd showed their appreciation.

Next up was James Scott against Kenny Williams.  Scott started off by offering Williams the chance to apologise (for what, we don't know) and leave the ring untouched.  Kenny declined said offer and got stuck in.  James Scott was the first of many wrestlers to land on the floor at my feet that night and Kenny took the win.

The next match was fan favourite Wolfgang against the big hairy Irishman Damian O'Connor.  These two monsters are surprisingly agile for their size and there were a few gasps from the newbies in the crowd at some of their moves.  These guys actually moved the ring when they collided and poor Wolfgang had to endure being stood on by Damo.  After some near pins from both wrestlers, Wolfgang took the win.

The first half main event was the BCW Tag Title match between champs Just Uz (BT Gunn and Stevie Xavier) and "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson and Red Lightning.  Following last weeks taunts against Liam being nothing without Carmel, he decided to have a go....at my hair!! (Yeah Liam, I can change my hair anytime, you're stuck with that face though).  Once the entrance music for Just Uz started, the crowd were on their feet, dancing and cheering.  In my opinion, the pairing of Thomson and Lightning didn't seem to gel too well.  They did put on a decent show though but it was just a matter of time before Just Uz took the win to retain their titles.

The second half started with my personal favourite Jack Jester up against Joe Coffey.  This was a cracker of a match with each wrestler gaining the upper hand at times.  I was in the minority cheering for Jester but my extremely loud voice seemed to make up for it.  The funniest moment was when Jester decided to stare down the new girls sitting behind us and tell them to shut up - the poor things looked terrified at first, then laughed nervously. Once back in the ring, the match continued to swing back and forth and for a moment I thought Coffey might actually pick up the win....but fortunately it was to be Jester's night after all!

The penultimate match between Grado and Davey Blaze was cracking.  Grado's entrance had the crowd on their feet and dancing again.  Blaze was sporting the remains of two black eyes after breaking his nose at the PWE event the week before and Grado made sure to tell the crowd "Davey's got a broken nose" before grabbing it and pulling - poor Davey!!  Fan favourite Grado took the win to the delight of the crowd.

The main event of the evening was the BCW Title match between Kid Fite and Mark Coffey.  This match was amazing.  Kid Fite plays the heel so well and the crowd was definitely backing Coffey.  Kid Fite had the upper hand early in the match but after being knocked from the ring (and almost on top of me!!) he decided he'd had enough and was leaving.  Mark Coffey was having none of it and he (and half the crowd) followed Kid Fite out of the hall, where he got hold of him and dragged him back to the ring to continue the match.  Once back in the ring, Kid Fite quickly got the upper hand again and threw Coffey out of the ring, who missed smacking his face off my knee by millimetres!!  After several attempts, Kid Fite finally got the 3 count to retain his title.

After the show, both Jester and Grado were available for autographs and photos and there were plenty of people taking up the offer!

The next BCW event takes place at Kilmarnock Grand Hall on 19 April. Tickets are £15 for front row or £10 each (4 for £30). To book tickets call the Palace Box Office on 01563 554 900. Tickets will also be available on the door.