Review: W3L Seven Deadly Sins

Sunday 25 May 2014

This was our first visit to W3L and also our first afternoon show.  I had recently heard of W3L but their recent show in Edinburgh was on a Friday and thats my day with my nieces and nephews and we missed the start time so gave it a miss.  Funnily enough, it was while I was out with my nieces in Penicuik that I saw a poster stuck to a lamp post advertising their Seven Deadly Sins Tournament in Penicuik on a Sunday...except that was the date we were supposed to be visiting Rob's gran.  Luckily for us, the visit was postponed by a week which meant we were free to check out what W3L had to offer.

The afternoon started with an appearance by Euan Mackie and "The Head of Francois Martin" who took the microphone to address the crowd.  Unfortunately the microphone kept cutting out and he ended up giving his speech without it.  He talked about how the people did not appreciate those who were different and how cliches and groups were taking over W3L and that the underappreciated, undervalued and outcasts needed safety and he was the Hierophant of Sanctuary and that after tonight he would have brought us the King of Scottish Wrestling.  As he left ringside, I called out "we love you Euan" to which he replied "I'm glad, you may be the only ones, although after tonight you will probably hate me!"  We knew right then it was gonna be a good show.

Ring Announcer Stevie Wizard then came to the ring to tell us about how the Tournament would work.  First there would be a 7 man over-the-top-rope battle royal with the winner progressing directly to the semi-finals.  The 6 eliminated contestants would then be paired up for a one fall match with a strict 10 minute time limit.  The semi-finals would be submission matches with the final being a no-holds barred, last man standing match.  The winner would then get a title shot at their Wrestlution event being held in Musselburgh on 21 November.  There would also be a heavyweight title match between current champion Nathan Reynolds and British legend Johnny Kidd.

The seven man battle royal featured Mikey Whiplash, Joe and Mark Coffey (the current W3L tag champions) and four new faces for us, Mike Musso, Danny Boy Rodgers, Rory Steel and Nathan Black, who was accompanied by Euan Mackie and the masked figure of The Redeemer.  Danny Boy was eliminated almost immediately, quickly followed by both Coffey brothers, Rory Steel and Nathan Black, leaving Mikey Whiplash and Mike Musso to battle it out.  Whilst the others left ringside, the Sanctuary members remained and it wasn't long before they began to interfere in the match, assisting Whiplash.  With The Redeemer and The Pillar Nathan Black attacking Musso, Euan sprayed Musso in the face with his mouthful of black fluid, blinding him.  Whiplash then eliminated him, taking the spot in the semi-final and Musso was helped from ringside by the referee, whilst Santuary took to the ring for Euan to announce that he had indeed delivered and that Mikey Whiplash was the King of Scottish Wrestling.

It was then on to the second round matches, the first of which was between Danny Boy Rodgers and Joe Coffey.  While Danny Boy's entrance was met with virtual silence, Joe got a great reception from the crowd and Danny Boy didn't like it and told us to shut up....I invited him to make me but he didn't bite!  We were treated to some great wrestling with both guys scoring near pins, however it was Joe Coffey who had the upper hand for most of the match, much to the crowd's delight, and with less than a minute of the 10 minute time limit left, he took the pin and moved into the semi-finals.

Next up was Nathan Black, again accompanied by Euan Mackie and The Redeemer, against Mike Musso.  With Musso out for revenge after the earlier attack by Sanctuary, he tore into Black immediately and, appearing to have the upper hand, climbed the turnbuckle only to have Euan Mackie jump up onto the ring apron, grab his leg and bite him!  The momentum swung back and forth but it was Nathan Black, with further assistance from his Sanctuary cohorts, who took the victory and a place in the semi-finals.  They then proceeded to attack Musso after the match, leaving Musso to once again be helped from ringside by the referee while Sanctuary gloated!



The final match in the second round was Rory Steel versus Mark Coffey.  Steel played the heel beautifully and gave a great response to my heckling.  After first getting into my face at ringside, he finally got into the ring and when I called him a big jessie, he replied he was perfection.  I told him I had a perfect match for him - his face and my arse!  Mark Coffey's face was a picture and Rob managed to capture it all on video which you can see here.  This was a really good, fast paced match which had the crowd going.  The action spilled out onto the floor where Steel grabbed an inflatable hammer from one of the kids and hit Coffey.  Coffey was quickly back on his feet and returned the favour, inviting the kids at ringside to take their shots too.  Unfortunately this ringside entertainment resulted in both men being counted out and neither moving into the semi-finals, giving Mikey Whiplash a free ride into the final.  Not a popular decision with the crowd, including myself, who wanted to see this match continue!

It was then time for the only semi-final between Nathan Black and Joe Coffey to be determined by submission.  Again Black was accompanied by Euan Mackie and The Redeemer.  This was a brutal match between the two big guys and a series of running shoulder blocks with neither man going down just proved how well matched these two guys were.  When Euan attempted to interfere from the top turnbuckle, Joe got hold of him and threw him at The Redeemer, taking the outside interference out of the equation and allowing Joe to spin Black around before getting the submission win.  When The Sanctuary attempted to attack Coffey after the bell, Mark Coffey appeared to help even the numbers and the brothers sent them fleeing!

 

During the interval there was an opportunity to have your picture taken with The Coffey Brothers and Rob was right in there!  We had expected to see David Wilson taking the photos, however when I saw Stevie Wizard with a polariod camera I was a bit disappointed and quickly ran round the side of the ring and managed to snap a couple of pics myself and after they had finished their photo op, both guys signed the mask Rob had made.

The first match after the interval was a heavyweight title match between British wrestling legend Johnny Kidd and the current champion Nathan Reynolds.  This was a much slower paced match with a lot of technical mat-based holds and the crowd were more subdued, although there were a few breakouts of chanting for Reynolds.  While a fantastic example of mat wrestling, I felt it was a bit out of place in an afternoon show where a large portion of the audience were kids who wanted to see wrestlers flying from the top rope and had never heard of Kidd.  Despite Kidd dominating the majority of the match with some great examples of holds, it was ultimately Reynolds who took the win to retain his title.


It was then time for the final of the Seven Deadly Sins Tournament, the No-Holds Barred match where the only way to win was to beat your opponent to the point that they failed to get up before the 10 count.  Having seen these two face each other in a steel cage before, I knew this would be brutal.  Mikey Whiplash came to the ring first, accompanied by Euan Mackie and Nathan Black.  He then took the microphone (which hadn't worked properly throughout the show) and announced that he was the King of Scottish Wrestling (to which I responded that I was Miss World and got the full Whiplash death stare in return) and that as much as he appreciated the support, he did not require the presence of the Sanctuary members at ringside and asked them to leave.  Joe Coffey then arrived to huge cheers from the crowd.  As expected, it was a brutal match, with both men pulling out all the stops to get the win.  There were several times when both men were down and being counted but managed to get back to their feet before the count out.  The match spilled out onto the floor, where Joe introduced Mikey to a chair face first, then sat him on the chair before knocking both him the chair flying.  With the action back in the ring, Mackie and Black made their way back to ringside, taking up places on either side of the ring.  With both Whiplash and Coffey down and the referee counting both men out, they made their move.  As the count reached 7, both men made it to their feet but with the referee's back to Coffey he did not seeing him rise.  Black pulled on Coffey's leg, dropping him back to the canvas and still holding the leg to stop him getting back up, the referee continued the count and Whiplash scored the win and the title shot.  Black and Mackie then both entered the ring to join Whiplash in attacking Coffey, before Mark Coffey and Nathan Reynolds appeared to make the save.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first W3L show.  Although some of the matches were time-limited, they did not disappoint.  With some of the guys appearing in more than one match, they could have appeared lacklustre in the later matches, however this was not the case, with Joe Coffey in particular putting just as much into his last match as he did the first.  I would love to see Nathan Reynolds in a faster paced match and Rory Steel has made my top 3 favourite heels list!  I won't be able to make their next Edinburgh show on 19 July as I already have tickets for another event, however I hope to make it to their show on 21 November!

For more information on W3L and future events, check out their facebook page or website.

Review: Pro Wrestling Elite - No Turning Back

Saturday 17 May 2014

I always enjoy going to PWE shows - PWE was my introduction to the Scottish wrestling scene and for a while was the only promotion we went to...how far we have come in such a short time!

Once we had met up with some good friends we have made in Ayrshire and got our seats sorted, Rob and I were on the lookout for Adrian "Lionheart" McCallum, the owner of PWE - I wanted to ask him if he was willing to do a "spotlight" on PWE for me and Rob had created a Tag Team belt design he wanted to give to Adrian.  Adrian liked Rob's design and told him "it's funny you come to me with Tag Team designs tonight...."  And I better get my ass in gear and sort the questions for the spotlight piece cos he said yes to that!!

The show started with a lovely video intro on the late, great, Ultimate Warrior, dedicating the show to his memory. 

The first match was billed as Instant Classic II, the tag rematch of  Project Ego, Kris Travis and Martin Kirby versus Andy Wild and Noam Dar... and what a match it was.  Andy Wild appeared in his new ring gear, looking considerably bigger than last time I saw him.  Noam was his usual cheeky self, starting off messing around with the ref while Martin Kirby lay across the ropes in the corner waiting for him to get on with the match.  The Dar/Wild combination took the upper hand early in the match, isolating Kirby for a while.  When Travis finally got into the ring, he went wild and I was gobsmacked to see him take a boot to the face from Andy Wild, then a boot to the head from Dar, a powerbomb and still kick out of a pin, only to then bulldog Wild and clothesline Dar at the same time.  Pic is a bit blurry but still... 

Anyway, Project Ego took the win again and after all shaking hands, they left ringside, while Dar decided to take the mic and state that while this tag team thing was cool, he was ready to go back into singles competition and the title scene.  Wild reminded Dar that he had a title rematch to claim and that he became the first ever PWE Heavyweight Champion after defeating Dar and challenged him to a match at Gradomania, which Dar accepted.  Having seen these two guys face each other before, this one is not to be missed.

There was then a promotional video of Iestyn Rees "a heavyweight powerhouse set to make his debut in Scotland this Autumn" I googled him and checked out some of his matches on YouTube and can say I am looking forward to seeing him wrestling live!

Next up was billed as a 2 on 1 handicap match with Davey Blaze and TJ Rage taking on Joe Coffey.  Blaze and Rage appeared, accompanied by "The Manager of Champions" Charles Boddington, who took the mic and informed the crowd that Joe Coffey had failed to show and set up an open challenge to anyone brave enough, answered by Lou King Sharp.  There are two things I have learned about Sharp, 1) he is tiny, and 2) he is fast!  It's really hard to get a good pic of him cos he literally flies about the ring so damn fast, he is either completely out of shot or a blur!  His speed worked for him at the start, when he caught both of the bigger guys napping, but it was just a matter of time before he succumbed to the brutality of Rage and Blaze.  Give the wee guy his due, he didn't give up and kept trying but there was no coming back from the spear from Rage and after the big guys took the win, Boddington was back on the mic, spouting off about how the team of Blaze and Rage were not only the best team in PWE, they were the best in the whole of the UK...only for the words "Card Subject To Change" to ring out of the PA system and the lights dim...enter NAK members BT Gunn and Chris Renfrew who immediately tear into Blaze and Rage.  As they are battling, Project Ego reappear in the ring with Kirby taking the mic and saying that Ego are not only the best team in the UK, they are the best tag team in the World and if the other guys want to find out just how good they are, then they should have a triple threat match at Gradomania.  The crowd love it and the card for Gradomania just keeps getting better!

The first half main event pitted "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson against Uhaa Nation.  This was by far Match of the Night.  It also produced a first for me - after antagonising Thomson as usual and getting told to shut up, Uhaa Nation leans over he ropes and says "Love your hair" - my first ever compliment!!  Anyway back to the match - bloody incredible. To be honest, I don't think anything I could write could accurately describe just how bloody incredible it was so instead I will just say PWE have uploaded the full match on YouTube and you NEED to watch it....The double standing moonsault finish Uhaa pulled off on Liam was utterly astounding!!!  If you ever get the opportunity to see this guy in action live, take it - he is amazing and you won't regret it.  I also have to say hats off to Liam Thomson because he really put in the effort in this match (and as I have said in a blog about another show, it doesn't matter how good a wrestler is if his opponent doesn't put in the work too.)

During the interval, we were able to have photos taken in the ring with Uhaa Nation by the ever lovely Mr David Wilson....Rob and I were in there like a shot!  We were really lucky to catch the man again at the end of the show and have him sign the photo!

The second half kicked off with another video, this time announcing The Fallen Angel, Christopher Daniels would be coming to PWE in September.  This news had the crowd buzzing and Rob immediately told me "We are going!"

Next up were fan favourites Wolfgang and Joey Hayes facing each other.  Joey came out in new Marvel themed ring gear...but Rob noticed he was wearing a superman armband which was not only upside down, it was DC and apparently Marvel and DC should not be mixed!!  The match was good, with the crowd split and both guys getting cheers, Hayes kept trying to lift Wolfgang and after going back and forward a while, he finally managed it, but it was Wolfgang who took the win.  Wolfgang extended his hand and with the crowd chanting to shake his hand, Hayes shook it but then attacked Wolfgang from behind.  He appeared to be leaving the ring, but returned moments later with a chair and continued his attack.  When he finally left the ring, it was to boos from the crowd - heel turn complete!

The raffle was then drawn and normally the ticket directly after mine tends to get pulled, so I was shocked to actually win something - two tickets to Gradomania!

It was then time for the contract signing for the main event at Gradomania, Grado and Dave Mastiff.  Grado came out to a fantastic reception, taking the microphone and telling the fans that it was thanks to them he was getting to live his dream but he really wanted to win a title to validate everything and that he was coming back in July with his sights set on taking that belt home with him.  Mastiff appeared on the big screen and began berating Grado and saying he wasnt worth the effort to travel to sign the contract and that if Grado chooses to sign, he will in fact be signing his own death warrant.  Of course, Grado goes ahead and signs....and suddenly Kid Fite's music starts to play and out he came along with Charles Boddington, Davey Blaze and TJ Rage.  Fite then berated Grado too, saying that the "wee chubby chancer" who started out putting videos on YouTube did not deserve a title shot, that Kid Fite was a real wrestler who had worked his way up over the last 10 years and was more deserving, before he, Blaze and Rage attacked Grado.  Enter El Ligero to help even the numbers.

There was then battles in the crowd, with Grado tackling Kid Fite and TJ Rage amongst the crowd on the other side of the ring, while El Ligero was kicking seven shades of something nasty out of Davey Blaze right behind me!  When they finally got back into the ring, a 3 on 2 handicap match is announced.  The heels take the upper hand, isolating El Ligero after TJ Rage caught his crossbody attempt and subjecting him to some serious punishment.  While chanting for El Ligero, Kid Fite tells me to shut up, I tell him to come and make me and he says he will swing me around by my blue hair - I love it!!   Finally Grado gets tagged in and shows Kid Fite he does actually have some wrestling moves.  Then all 5 men are in the ring and it gets hard to work out who is doing what, but Blaze ended up at our feet ringside, Rage hit Ligero with one of those devastating spears but took a boot from Grado, who then scored the pin.

The heels gather together with Blaze asking what happened as he missed it before Charles Boddington jumps into the ring and confronts Grado, who promptly decks the "Baldy Midget" before attempting a superfly splash from the top rope - Boddington moves out the way, Grado lands on his feet and does the splash from the mat instead.  Boddington is carried away from the ring on the shoulders of Kid Fite, while Grado and El Ligero entertain the crowd with their celebrations.

The next PWE show is their 3rd Anniversary show, Gradomania on 19 July and the card is already shaping up nicely.  Tickets are available from Skiddle click here to check availability.

Platinum packages are also available for PWE Fallen Angel on 13 September, priced at £40.  While this price might appear a little steep, they are limited to just 50 and gets early entry and a meet and greet with Christopher Daniels....and with numbers limited there is not a rushed feeling that you get at some of the big show fan interactions.  Rob & I have ours booked already and last I heard 50% of the platinum tickets had gone so if you want to take advantage of this, be quick and click here now. Going by past events, I assume the silver and general admission tickets will go on sale just after Gradomania.

Links to the promo and intro videos mentioned in the blog and information on future events can also be found on the Pro Wrestling Elite Facebook page

Review: Source Wrestling School Showcase 2

Sunday 11 May 2014

A last minute decision saw Rob and I racing to Glasgow to see this event.  The ring announcer Stevie Wizard was already doing his thing when we arrived, but we made it in time for the first match ... only just... a tag team gauntlet to decide the number one contenders for the SWA Tag Team belts, currently held by The Forgotten.  I was still unpacking my camera as the first team were making their way to the ring!  The first match up was my favourite SWE heel, 'All Night' Ian Ambrose partnered by Martyn Stallyon against Robbie Solar and Celtic Arrow.  This match went back and forth before Solar scored the pin, eliminating Ambrose and Stallyon.  Immediately the next team  appeared, Christopher Saynt and David Conrad with Saynt giving me a "two fingered salute" when he saw me....I really don't think he likes me!  These guys work well together and it was not long before they took advantage and using a front neckbreaker double team move, they took the victory.  Next team into the ring were Manlon and Daihlan Hendry.  With Saynt already in the ring, Manlon demanded to face "The Big Guy" with Saynt responding that Conrad "eats meals bigger than you", before stepping out and letting Manlon have what he wanted.  Conrad dominated and despite a good try from Hendry, it was Saynt and Conrad's neckbreaker that would seal the win again.  The final team of DCT and Adam Carrell then took to the ring.  There appeared to be some tension between these two, with DCT tagging himself into the ring as soon as Carrell had taken the upper hand, then immediately losing the momentum to Saynt and Conrad.  This culminated in Carrell attempting to kick DCT in the head, only for DCT to drop and Saynt took the kick instead, with DCT quickly moving to score the pin and the No 1 contenders slot.  Not sure how this team will work out in the future, but they were fun to watch.

Joe Hendry then made an appearance and told the fans that his life had completely changed in the last 16 months, culminating in him winning the Laird of the Ring title at Clan Wars.  With the crowd cheering for him, he then announced that later that night he would be defending the title against Lewis Girvan.  After initially complementing Girvan on his ability at such a young age and saying how much he respected him, which the crowd appreciated, Hendry then announced that Girvan would never take the title from him as Girvan was just not good enough and that in fact no-one was as good as Joe Hendry .... and with that attitude, the crowd sentiment turned and the chants of Joe Hendry Local Hero became Joe Hendry Local Zero!  Heel turn complete!

The next match saw Jam O'Malley take to the ring to announce the arrival of Glen Dunbar, who faced the newest Source graduate, Cobra Carr.  Cocky as ever, Dunbar assumed this would be an easy match, however Carr put up a good fight.  Carr had plenty of support in the crowd and gave them plenty to cheer for but unfortunately Dunbar did take the win after rolling up Carr and putting his feet up on the ropes for extra leverage.  He then followed up his win by laughing in the face of Carr and giving him a slap for good measure.  Carr wasn't having any of it and smacked Dunbar, knocking him to the canvas, much to the delight of the crowd.

The final match of the first half saw young Ryan Griffin face Mikey Whiplash. Whippy was not happy to see a young girl at ringside holding a "Whippy Sucks" sign.  Appearing to take the upper hand early on, Whiplash appeared surprised when Griffin strung some moves together, with Whiplash going over the top rope and almost taking out the large mirror on the wall!  Despite this, Whiplash managed to get Griffin in a sleeper hold and when the ref dropped Griffin's arm for the third time, it was all over.  This is the second time I have seen Griffin (the first was the pre-show match at Clan Wars) and I think he has a good future ahead of him....also its nice to see a wrestler with good aerial moves who is not wearing a mask!

The second half started with a bit of confusion as what appeared to be the fire alarm went off.  This actually turned out to be a school bell and signalled the arrival of Mr Byers, who handed out punishment exercises to some of the kids who were booing him, then proceeded to call out SWA Zero 1 champion Joe Coffey, who was sitting ringside enjoying the evening.  Coffey began by appearing to make excuses of illness to avoid the match as he made his way to the rear of the crowd, then picked up his title belt from the table at the back and returned to accept the challenge.  The match was pretty much over before it began, with Coffey spinning Byers around the ring several times then hitting him with a running body splash, taking a selfie while he did so, before taking the pin, then issuing Byers with one of his own punishment exercises.

Next up was Private Bobby Roberts against The Beast of Belfast, Damian O'Connor.  Roberts matched up to Big Damo in height and build....and also in strength and agility.  Roberts tried running shoulder blocks from all 4 sides of the ring with neither man going down and the noise when these two giants collided was something else.  When Roberts did finally go down, Damo then stood on him!  This impressive match went back and forward but finally Damo took the win by pinfall and then shook the hand of Roberts, who definitely showed that he is one to watch in the future.

The penultimate match was a ladies tag match with the team of Viper and Sammii Jayne facing Courtney and Debbie Sharpe.  With the exception of Courtney, I have seen these girls several times and was therefore really interested in seeing what Courtney could do - I did see her at Clan Wars but she was eliminated very early on!  The main focus of this match appeared to be the dynamic between Viper and Sammii Jayne, with both girls keen to prove they were the better half of the team.  With Debbie Sharpe isolated in their corner, they kept tagging themselves into the match, with their "tags" getting harder and harder each time!  Their animosity grew when Courtney attempted to pin Sammii Jayne only for Viper to try to make the save, with Courtney quickly moving out of the way and Viper landing on her own partner instead.  With Courtney and Debbie appearing to have control of the match, Sammii Jayne hit them both with an amazing front dropkick and instead of going for the pin, confronted Viper over the earlier move.  This gave Courtney and Sharpe the chance to take control again and, with Sammii Jayne in the corner, Sharpe moved out of the way to allow Viper to once again hit her tag partner, this time with a corner splash.  Courtney and Sharpe then moved in on Viper to score the pinfall.  An irate Sammii Jayne confronted Viper again at which point Viper had enough and knocked Sammii Jayne down with a hard clothesline.  A pretty good match, but I would like to see Courtney in a singles match to fully appreciate what she can do.

Finally it was main event time, and my match of the night, as Joe Hendry faced Lewis Girvan.  I have only seen Girvan twice before but I have to admit to being really impressed by this young talent.  This match was action packed from start to finish, with neither man holding back in their efforts to gain the advantage.  There were some really sweet moves, including an amazing suplex by Joe Hendry on Lewis Girvan which seemed to go on forever.  With both men appearing exhausted after several near pins each, the end finally came when Girvan pushed Hendry into the corner in which the referee was standing - Hendry stopped short of hitting the ref and as Girvan followed him into the corner, moved aside.  Girvan also stopped short of hitting the ref but Hendry got the lowblow in from behind and then covered him for the 3 count and retained his title.  The crowd were not happy with the result but the match was an absolute cracker.  Hendry then approached Joe Coffey and told him that one belt was not enough and that he was coming after Coffey's title.

After the show, I got a chance to see Mikey Whiplash and tell him that he was responsible for the Loudmouth's existence...it was him mooing at me during a PWE show that started it all...and got a photo which Joe Hendry photobombed!!  

I thought the entire show was great.  There wasn't a single match I didn't enjoy and I was really impressed by the new talent the Source Wrestling School has.  When matched against more experienced guys, they did not fall short and I look forward to seeing them in action again soon.

Check out Source Wrestling School on Facebook

There is an event in Livingston on 31 May pitting Reckless Intent against Source which is going to be a belter and you can find details here

Review: Reckless Intent presents Super B.O.W.L - Night Two

Saturday 3 May 2014

After Friday's show, I was really looking forward to the second night and I was not disappointed.  When we arrived, Rob and I were greeted by the people we had met the previous evening, however I was really shocked and surprised when people I didn't know greeted me by name and mentioned the blog.  We had the same seats as the previous night and there was a slightly bigger crowd for the second show which I think is great - more people = more noise.

As ring announcer Jason McKinlay was about to announce the first match, the door opened and in ran Jimmy who jumped into the ring and out the other side, quickly followed by Tavish MacPherson who then chased him back round the ring and out the door! GM John Long came out and started yelling at Jason McKinlay asking why he let Tavish into the building and yelling that he had better not let it happen again before disappearing backstage again.

The first match of the night pitted Saint George against Scott Renwick in the first semi-final of the Battle of West Lothian (B.O.W.L) tournament. After the attack on Renwick the previous evening, there was speculation that he would not appear....and this was played on by having his entrance announced 3 times before he appeared.  Saint George went straight to work on the ribs of Renwick, however no matter how hard he tried and how close he got to the pin, Renwick just kept on kicking out.  Despite taking a huge amount of punishment, mainly to his ribs, Renwick finally rolled up Saint George for the 3 count and a place in the final, although he needed to be helped from the ring after Saint George continued to attack Renwick after the bell had rung until Mikey came out to make the save.

Next up was the second semi-final between "The Superstar" Darren Lewis and AJ Russell, who was accompanied to the ring by his brother JJ.  Lewis came out to a crowd chant of "slightly average" but once again I gave Lewis a chant of "Ric Flair wannabe" and this time I was rewarded when he got right in my face and yelled "whoooooooooo".  This match gave us a chance to see just what Lewis was capable of and I have to admit I was impressed.  Lewis is a great heel and pretty much dominated the match with a combination of power moves and underhanded tactics, while still engaging with the crowd, encouraging the jeers and chants against him.  While Lewis antagonised JJ outside the ring, AJ took advantage and came back at Lewis, however it was not to be and it was "The Superstar" who progressed to the final.  GM John Long entered the ring and called for Scott Renwick to return to ringside for the finalists to see the trophy they would be fighting for later in the show and while Lewis taunted Renwick about the attack the previous night with the chair, Renwick simply told Lewis that by the end of the night he would have dropped Lewis on his head!

The third match of the night was the Hardcore title match with Wee Jimmy defending against Syco and Mike Hawke.  Hawke came out first dressed in a black suit to music from the Blues Brothers.  It appeared that he was about to sing but this was interrupted by the arrival of Syco, who immediately attacked Hawke.  With two masked wrestlers in the ring out came Jimmy, also wearing a mask!  Jimmy cleverly stayed out of the ring, occasionally racing across from one side to the other when Syco made to go for him.  Syco put a table top into the ring, slamming Hawke onto it, before making up the table and ending up going through it himself when jumping off the top rope.  Hawke attempted to knock out Syco with a dustbin lid but this had no effect and he took a rebound shot to his own head.  A legdrop attempt on Syco also failed when Syco moved out the way and then hit Hawke with a legdrop of his own.  A second table top was set up against the far corner of the ring and Hawke went through this when attempting to spear Syco when the lights went out.  When the lights came on Syco had left the ring, leaving a prone Hawke to be pinned by Jimmy to retain the title.

First up after the interval was the Losers Battle Royal.  This was originally supposed to be to win a shot at the UK Title, however John Long appeared and announced that Drake Titan had been fired and that as the title was now vacant, the winner would be the new UK champion and that the 5 men eliminated from the tournament would be joined by a mystery 6th competitor.  I thought this was a good move as Drake Titan had put on such a poor show the previous night.  The first man out to the ring was Jackie Grady, who immediately hid under the ring as the other competitors, Syco, JJ Russell, Saint George, AJ Russell appeared.  Then the mystery competitor was revealed, none other than Mikey!  As is usual in these type of matches, its hard to keep up with everything going on and even with only 5 men in and 1 under the ring, there was plenty going on.  The Russell brothers started off working together and assisted Mikey in eliminating Syco but before long AJ had once again turned on his brother. Wee Jimmy made an brief appearance, assisting Mikey against Saint George and I thought that maybe the 24/7 Hardcore rules might be taken advantage of but Jimmy left with his title.  After George hit Mikey with a stunner, he turned his attention to the Russells, eliminating both of them at once only to have Mikey then execute the Go To Sleep before eliminating Saint George.  As Mikey's music played and he celebrated his win, Jackie Grady crawled out from his hiding place, sneaking in behind Mikey and knocking him over the top rope, making Grady the new Champion. 



 

After chasing Grady from the ring and out the door, Mikey returned to the ring to be told that his title match against Rawlins was to start immediately.  Despite having already competed in an extremely physical match, Mikey went at Rawlins from the start.  We were then treated to fifteen minutes of non-stop action, with both men almost scoring the pinfall, showing skills in both their technical and aerial moves.  At one point Rawlins got right into my face telling me to shut up so I invited him to kiss my ass!  The match ended in disappointment for the fans and Mikey when Rawlins scored the pinfall after executing a nasty looking piledriver from ropes, leaving Mikey prone in the ring and having announcer Jason McKinlay pour water over him to revive him before he and referee Westy helped him from the ring.

The main event, and my Match of the Night, was the final of the Battle of West Lothian tournament between Scott Renwick and Darren Lewis.  With Renwick nursing his injured ribs, Lewis had to be the on-paper favourite but the crowd were firmly behind Scotty!  When Lewis demanded silence before he would start the match, the crowd made plenty of noise.  As expected, Lewis went straight for the rib area of Renwick but Renwick just refused to be pinned for the 3 count, however as soon as Renwick appeared to be getting the upper hand, Lewis would once again attack the ribs. The match continued in this brutal vein until Renwick had Lewis pinned and John Long appeared and ordered the referee to stop the count, saying that he paid the wages and that Westy was not to allowed to count against Lewis.  Renwick solved this by decking Long and then continuing the match, finally executing The Angels Wings on Lewis to take the win and be crowned the first ever winner of the Battle of West Lothian Tournament to the delight of the crowd.



Scott Renwick - first ever winner of the
Battle of West Lothian Trophy

My overall impression of Reckless Intent Wrestling is really good.  As I said in my review of Friday's show, I didn't have high expectations but I was very pleasantly surprised.  In my opinion, Saturday night outdid Friday. These guys put on two great shows and, with the exception of the Drake Titan match on Friday, all the matches were action packed and fun to watch.  The wrestlers were great to cheer/jeer and the heels, especially Lewis, were really good at working the crowd.  I can honestly say I am really looking forward to seeing these guys in action again.

Their next show "Taking Over" is on 31 May in Livingston and they will be appearing at the Blackburn Gala Day on 14 June.  Further information is available on their website and Facebook and you can also check out some of the matches on their YouTube Channel

Review: Reckless Intent presents Super B.O.W.L. - Night One

Friday 2 May 2014

After seeing a couple of guys from Livingston promotion Reckless Intent in the Battle Royal at SWE's Kirkton show and meeting some of them at Uprising, I decided to check them out and what better way to do that than to go to a double header, especially as I have learned that sometimes the second show is much better than the first you attend.

To be honest, I didn't have huge expectations.  This is a new promotion, just into their second year and there were a lot of young wrestlers I had never heard of.  The couple of guys who had appeared at SWE were kinda lost in the melee of bodies in the ring and I was not able to establish what they were capable of.  They did have Damian O'Connor, Scott Renwick and Joe Hendry on the card though, so at least I knew that there would be a couple of good matches.... however by the time we got to the mid show interval, I have to admit that I was already hugely impressed...and so on to the show.

When we took our seats there was a strange man sitting to the side wearing a false nose, beard and specs. As the show started and General Manager John Long came to the ring, accompanied by Darren Lewis and Joe Hendry, this strange man got verbally abusive towards then and while throwing him out, he was unmasked as a former member of the RI roster Tavish McPherson who had recently been instrumental in "Wee Jimmy" winning the hardcore title from Jackie Grady.  Obviously popular with the crowd, there was a chant of "Tavish" after he was removed from the premises.  Not sure where this story is going, but I have a feeling we may see Tavish again on Saturday!  John Long then showed the crowd the Super B.O.W.L trophy while saying that either Darren Lewis or Joe Hendry deserved to win (although Hendry's match was not even part of the actual tournament).  He then turned his attention to "Wee Jimmy" and began berating him before Scott Renwick and Damian O'Connor came out to the ring, causing Lewis and Hendry to run for cover.  Long accused them of trying to intimidate him but said he was offering the hand of friendship out of respect, however he scarpered pretty fast when Big Damo shouted "boo" in his face!

The first match of the night was Saint George against JJ Russell.  George, playing the heel Englishman to a T came out to a chorus of boos and decided to have a go at my hair..."Scottish and Proud" I told him!  His opponent JJ Russell appeared holding a scorched and stained shirt, which he said George had left at his place after he broke in!  The match swung back and forth with each man looking to have the win within his grasp before the tide turned and suddenly be facing defeat but it was Saint George who finally took the upper hand and scored the win to progress to the semi-finals. 

With JJ Russell still lying prone in the ring, his brother AJ Russell came out but rather than help his brother, he berated him and told him he just wasn't good enough and rolled his brother out of the ring.  AJ's opponent Syco then came out to the ring.  This heel turn by Russell caused a bit of confusion with the crowd because with Syco as an obvious heel, they did not know who to cheer for and the first few minutes of the match proceeded in silence....at which point I decided that anyone who could publicly berate their own brother deserved to be beaten and started cheering for Syco..and some of the crowd joined in!  There were some brutal moves in this match, with Syco nailing AJ with a legdrop on the ring apron looking particularly nasty.  There was an echo of The Undertaker with Syco walking the top rope but his second attempt at this move did not come off so well and AJ began to work his way back into the match.  With the action moving outside of the ring, a slugfest ensued and AJ managed to push Syco out the door, then grabbed a set of keys he had hidden in his baseball cap at ringside, locking the door while the referee continued to count both men out of the ring.  As the referee reached 9, AJ returned to the ring and Syco bust the door open as the ref called the 10 meaning AJ took the win and his place in the semi-finals.

Match 3 pitted Scott Renwick against Jackie Grady.  Playing the heel to the max, Grady got in my face for taking his picture!  He got into the ring, grabbed the mike and started telling the crowd how it was a special day for someone special - himself (his 19th birthday!) but his speech was interrupted by the arrival of Scott Renwick.  So young Grady could talk the talk, but faced with The Butcher, could he walk the walk?  Unfortunately for Grady the answer was no. While he did have a few good moves and some speed, Renwick had the power and was the next to progress to the semi-finals.  After the match, John Long, Darren Lewis and Joe Hendry reappeared and Lewis proceeded to attack Renwick with several shots of a steel chair to the ribs before Joe Hendry hoisted him into the air into a suplex that he seemed to hold forever before dropping him to the canvas!  The punishment ended when Mikey and Damian O'Connor came out to make the save, however Renwick did not look good and had to be helped from the ring and backstage.  Will he be able to take his place in Saturday night's semi-final???

After a short intermission, the final tournament match of the night took place between "The Superstar" Darren Lewis and current UK Champion Drake Titan.  Lewis came out in a feather trimmed blue robe which was just screaming out for me to chant "Ric Flair Wannabe" - his response was come up with something original. Got to laugh at the irony of a guy imitating someone else and telling me to be original!!!  The only positive thing I can say about Drake Titan is that his gear was colourful (obviously uses persil colour in his wash!)  Despite the crowd being behind him, Titan just didn't seem to care.  The match was 100% Lewis with Titan just taking everything that was dished out and not appearing to even try.  After a thankfully very short match, Lewis took the win and the final spot in the semi-finals.

Next up, and very close contender for Match of the Night, was Joe Hendry against Mikey. Seeing Joe as a heel was hard, especially not being able to chant "Joe Hendry, Local Hero" throughout the match but I have to admit he actually does heel pretty well!  Coming out to huge cheers from the crowd, Mikey was a new face for me and definitely one I look forward to seeing again.  This match was action packed from start to finish and there were near falls for both men.  Hendry treated us to another of his never ending suplexes.  Mikey was resilient and came back at Hendry though, with Hendry leaving the ring more than once to try to escape and having to endure the crowd chants of "chicken".  It looked like Mikey would take the win after nailing Hendry with a move from the top rope, but Hendry put his foot up on the ropes on the two count.  The win finally came when Hendry used the ropes to his advantage again, this time getting his feet up on the ropes while pinning Mikey.  A very unpopular decision but a brilliant match all the same.

The final match, and my Match of the Night, was a non-title match between current Reckless Intent World Champion Rawlins and "The Beast of Belfast" Damian O'Connor.  Damo was the obvious crowd favourite and definitely had the size advantage over Rawlins.  Damo picked him up and threw him across the ring before standing on him and then jumping off landing his huge shoulders on the prone Rawlins.  After Damo had caught Rawlins outside the ring and rammed him into the ring post, Rawlins somehow managed to get hold of Damo's arm and smacked it on the ring post.  He then continued to work on the injured wrist of Damo to try and gain an advantage.  Unfortunately this did not work as well has he had hoped and after climbing onto the turnbuckle, Rawlins found himself across Damo's shoulders before Damo somersaulted across the ring.  The tide turned again when Rawlins managed to get out of the corner of the ring as Damo cannonballed into the turnbuckles. Still Damo fought hard but Rawlins managed to roll him up and pulling on his trunks, made the pinfall.  An irate and disgusted Damo then hit Rawlins with his big boot, before hoisting him on his shoulders for a second somersault before leaving the ring, only for Mikey to appear and hit Rawlins with the "go to sleep" before announcing that Saturday would see a title match between them. 

GM John Long returned to the ring with Saint George, Darren Lewis and AJ Russell and after crowing about Scott Renwick being injured, proceeded to make the draw for Saturday night's semi final matches - pitting Renwick against Saint George and Lewis against Russell.  With the three heels hoping Renwick has already been taken care of, Renwick is going to have an uphill battle to win if he even makes it to his match! 

Also announced was a "Loser's rumble" with the winner getting a shot at the UK title, with the main event being the title match between Mikey and Rawlins.

Who will win the B.O.W.L trophy? Will Mikey take the title?  Will Tavish be making an appearance again?  At just £5 a ticket, £3 for kids, this is definitely worth making a wee trip to Livingston to find out!

For more info on Reckless Intent and their future events, check out their website and facebook .