Review: Reckless Intent at Blackburn Gala Day

Saturday 14 June 2014

This was a wrestling event with a difference.  I have to admit that I haven't been to a gala day in years.  When Rob was younger, he found the crowds, noise and general chaos too much to handle so it was just another thing to avoid.  As he got older, his ability to deal with the crowds, noise and chaos improved, but his interest in the shows and stalls diminished.  As a result, I had absolutely no idea what a gala day entailed and how a wrestling show could be incorporated into it.

Our day started early and we met up with some of the crew at the RI unit at 8.45am, then it was off to Blackburn to get set up.  The first thing that had to be decided was whether the ring would be set up outdoors or in the local sports centre.  It was very overcast but forecasts said it would brighten up so outside it was.  The next hurdle was to get the van over to where we would be setting up without getting stuck in the muddy sections.  After that it was time to build a wrestling ring....and I think I gave a few of those boys a bit of a shock when I got stuck in - just call me She-Ra!!  Once the ring was up, it was time to get the barriers up and backstage area sorted.  It was then time for a well deserved break and a wee spot of lunch while the boys have their planning session.  Because Rob is training with Reckless Intent, I am a little more involved in their shows than other promotions but my one rule is that I don't want to know what goes on in the ring until it happens.

At 1.30pm the show was ready to start and a small crowd began to gather.  Rather than picking my usual spot to watch and cheer/jeer the lads, I watched to see who I thought were getting into the matches, then made my way to that area and tried to start some chants.  Some folk joined right in, while a few others eyed me warily while staying silent. Another thing that surprised me about the show is that, because it was a small part of the Gala Day,
I assumed that there would be three or four matches to give the crowd a wee taste of the "Reckless Intent Experience" but no, they actually put on a full show with 6 one-on-one matches and a 10 man elimination match for the UK Title.  And so onto the wrestling...although I apologise if this seems like more of results list than a proper review of each match as I was wandering around a fair bit.....

With the General Manager John Long in action, the guest GM and Ring Announcer for the day was my biggest fan, Saint-George Bernard.  As he took to the ring to bore...I mean regale.. us with his musings (and whinging about his broken thumb), the bagpipes of a local pipe band started up, much to his annoyance and the amusement of the crowd!

First up, current UK title holder Jackie Grady faced Juan El Loco Gato in a non-title match.  The crowd were not impressed with Grady's cockiness, however they loved Juan's cheeky and colourful character and were firmly behind him throughout the match.  Unfortunately Grady won the match, but Juan won the crowd!

With the running battle between John Long and Lowblow coming to a head on 28 June at Proving Grounds, both men had "warm-up" matches at this event.  John Long faced Chavi, who came out to the ring with a bottle of Irn-Bru instead of his usual Buckfast (well it was a Gala Day after all).  The crowd loved it, especially the kid Chavi handed the bottle to.  The match went back and forward with the crowd chanting for Chavi, however it wasn't enough to keep Long from taking the win.

 

In the second "warm-up" match, Lowblow faced Venym.  With Saint-George getting in the face of Venym at the start, warning him not to let Lowblow win, the match seemed stacked.  The match saw some good moves from both men, however despite the warnings, it was the crowd favourite Lowblow who took the win...although I didn't actually see the end of this match as I was busy getting my photo taken with another blue-haired phenomenon, Sonic the Hedgehog!!

After a short interval it was back to the action and first up, Disturbed v Disturbed.  This was a really weird match which was very difficult to get into.  With two identical figures in the ring it was impossible to cheer as you were cheering both men and with each making identical moves and making the appropriate counter moves it was more a dance than a match.  With the crowd pretty much silent in their confusion, this ended in a double count out when the Disturbed ones took their battle outside of the ring and backstage!

Next up, Mikey against Darren Lewis.  Lewis appeared without his glittery, feathery robe and looking plain mean.  This was quite a brutal match, with the action taking place both inside and outside of the ring.  Lewis used his size advantage to dominate much of the match, however the crowd were delighted to see Mikey turn the tables and take the win.  However, once again, a mystery figure in a "New Blood" hoodie appeared to attack Mikey.  Will he appear again at Proving Grounds?

 

The penultimate match saw Rawlins face Johnny Lions.  I had only seen Lions a couple of times before in SWE shows and the last time was in October 2013.  The first thing I noticed is that he had bulked up some and was looking really good.  This was another great match which saw several near falls for both men and a foot on the rope saving Rawlins from losing his title.  There were some cracking moments, such as Lions holding Rawlins in a suplex for what seemed like forever.  This was a cracking match and scores my vote for Match of the Day (because it was an afternoon show).  Despite his best efforts, Lions was unable to take the win and Rawlins retained the gold....and got a faceful of silly string to boot.  I really hope I get the chance to see Lions in action again soon.

Finally we had a ten man elimination match for the UK Championship.  It as an over the top rope battle royal style until down to the final four when pinfalls and submissions would also count.  The start of the match was utter chaos and much of the action took place outside of the ring....and even over the crowd barriers.  At one point, with the majority of the wrestlers outside of the barriers in a massive battle, one of the Disturbed jumped on them from the roof of the van.  Controversy reigned again as once back in the ring, Lowblow eliminated John Long and Venym, only to be eliminated himself when
Saint-George got into the ring and threw him out!  Jackie Grady tried to reprise his trick of hiding under the ring, but this time Mikey was having none of it, dragging him out and making him compete properly.  Things settled as we got down to the final four, Jackie Grady, Mikey, Johnny Lions and Darren Lewis.  Johnny Lions and Mikey got the pin on Lewis before Grady eliminated Lions over the top rope, leaving Mikey and Grady to fight it out for the title.  Mikey took the upper hand and kept it, finally delivering the Go To Sleep and pinning Grady to become the new UK Champion.  Click here to watch a highlight video of it - seriously, do it, it's damn good!!

Then it was time to strip everything down (once again I got stuck in), pack up the van then head back to the RI Unit to unload again.   I tell you, I have a whole new appreciation for all those guys in all the promotions I visit.  There was a lot of heavy lifting and carrying...and then the boys had to get into the ring and entertain too!  I decided I had earned the right to a few beers when I got home and that's exactly what I did....only after 2 beers I was wiped out and in bed by 10pm....but I had an absolute blast and I hope the lads will let me help out again when they appear at next year's event!

Reckless Intent have their next event "Proving Grounds" on Saturday 28 June in Livingston.  For more information, check them out on Facebook or their website.  Also you can see matches from previous events on their YouTube Channel

Review: Pride Wrestling - We Aim To Misbehave

Saturday 7 June 2014

This event was on the same date as a PBW show but our decision to make our first visit to Pride Wrestling was based mostly on the fact that the main event was a title match between Glen Dunbar and Mikey Whiplash (although I think Nikki Storm v Viper would have sealed it for Rob)  When it was announced that Glen Dunbar had sustained an injury that would keep him out of the ring for 12 weeks and would not be able to compete, I was totally gutted.

So the show starts with Glen Dunbar addressing the crowd, saying that you cannot start a Pride Wrestling show without "your Champion and a true hero" and that while we would see a fantastic show, we would not see him defend his title tonight, although he would at the next show on 16th August.  He then took a seat in the audience to watch the night's action.

First match up, Jackie Polo v DCT.  Once again Polo worked the crowd during his entrance - he must have one of the longest entrances but it just never gets boring.  Once in the ring, he took the microphone and told Dunbar he was looking at the No 1 contender for his championship before turning on one of the crowd.  DCT then arrived and had Rob come over to the ring to tell Polo that DCT had better hair than Polo (seemed random at the time and still does!).  Polo held the advantage through most of the match, however it was DCT who scored the pinfall, much to the shock of Polo and the delight of the crowd.

Next up was the team of Street Justice (Chris Renfrew & Mark Sweeney) v Bobby Roberts & Daihlan Hendry.  This was just brutal... Renfrew and Sweeney isolated Hendry for much of the match and with the referee stopping Roberts from entering, took the opportunity to double team the young Source graduate, even going as far as removing their belts and using them to whip him.  When Roberts finally managed to tag in, he was also double teamed and belt-whipped before Renfrew hit him with the stunner and scored the pinfall.  Street Justice then continued to beat and whip Roberts and Hendry after the bell.

The first half main event was a triple threat match for the N7 Championship between current champ Lewis Girvan, Christopher Saynt and Joe Hendry.  With Girvan and Saynt in the ring, Hendry arrived and announced that he was not 100% fit and that it would be unfair to the others to bring down what would be an amazing match, before taking a seat in the crowd to watch.  With a pretty even split of the crowd cheers, Girvan and Saynt pulled out all the stops to win and Joe Hendry was right - it was an amazing match.  With Saynt prone on the canvas, Girvan took to the turnbuckles ready to capitalise when Street Justice reappeared at ringside.  Girvan leapt from the turnbuckles to knock down Street Justice and while all three were lying on the floor at my feet, Hendry snuck into the ring from the other side and pinned Saynt to take the title.  Girvan and Saynt then watched as Hendry handed an envelope of cash to Chris Renfrew and walked away with the belt. 

The first match after the interval featured Rob's favourite, Nikki Storm against Viper.  This was a great match with several near pins.  Storm tried everything she could to win, including standing on Viper's hair while arguing with the referee, but Viper was not going down to the self proclaimed "Queen of the World" and nailed Storm with the V bomb to take the win.  Viper then turned her attention to Dunbar sitting in the crowd and stated that having pinned him already in the past made her a contender for his title.  Enter Mr Byers, the new Scientific Adviser to the Founders, holding his clipboard and giving a whole slew of reasons why Viper, as a female wrestler, was not up to the challenge of competing in the superior men's division.  With the crowd booing him, Viper showed him just how inaccurate he was, by taking his clipboard and nailing him with it.

Next up was Jam O'Malley who had challenged Dave Conrad to face "Sideshow Jam's House of Fun".  Once the two men had got to the ring, O'Malley took the microphone and said that as he was undefeated, he was not going to wrestle until he got a title shot but that Conrad would still have a match - he had already lined up a replacement, "The First Follower" Alex Cavanaugh.  With the odds stacked against him, Conrad fought bravely and even managed to get a pin on Cavanaugh, however O'Malley had the referee distracted and as he attempted to regain the ref's attention, Cavanaugh was able to turn the tables and take the win.  O'Malley then decided he would wrestle after all, climbed into the ring, pinned an already prone Conrad and forced the ref to make the 3 count.  O'Malley and Cavanaugh then began to beat Conrad until Christopher Saynt came out to even the numbers.

Finally it was time for the main event, Mikey Whiplash facing Jack Gallagher.  After seeing them both in action against Japanese wrestlers the previous night, I was looking forward to this...and I was not disappointed.  The biggest shock was seeing Mikey Whiplash as a face!! I saw him smile and laugh and I almost lost it completely when some kid was making fun of Gallagher's gumshield saying he looked like a vampire, only for Whippy to come over and pop out his front teeth and say it's better than this!  The match started with Whiplash focusing on the left elbow of Gallagher, however Gallagher managed to turn the tables and worked on the left knee of Whiplash, however it was the more experienced Whiplash who finally took the win in what was an amazing match, a total joy to watch and if I didn't rate Gallagher before, this weekend definitely made me sit up and notice him.  The match of the night by a mile!  Whiplash took the microphone and thanked his opponent for an amazing match, calling Gallagher one of the best wrestlers that Britain has ever seen, before turning his attention to Dunbar in the crowd and saying as soon as Dunbar was fit, Whiplash would be ready to face him.  This match is set for the next Pride event on 16 August....and I will definitely be there to see it!

So, despite my initial disappointment at the change to the main event, I really enjoyed my first visit to Pride.  The matches were great and the crowd were noisy - what more could you want?

On a side note, congratulations to Pride owner James St James, who had changed the date of this show as he was expecting a new arrival the following week, but babies never arrive when you hope/expect and his new son decided to appear on show day.

For information on upcoming events, check out Pride Wrestling on Facebook or their website

Review: SWA Zero 1 Scotland - The Next Chapter - Cumbernauld

Friday 6 June 2014

After the cracking Clan Wars show in Motherwell back in April, Rob and I were looking forward to seeing another SWA show and it was just pure luck that we were able to get to this one, despite the obstacles that seemed to rear up at us all through the day trying to stop us!!

Our MC/Ring Announcer for the evening was David Campbell Thomson, more commonly known as DCT and a fine job he did too. 

First match of the night pitted young Lewis Girvan against Eric Canyon.  I have only ever seen Eric Canyon in team action before so I was looking forward to seeing what he could do in singles competition.  Canyon comes off as cocky with an "I love me, who do you love" attitude which had me asking for a sick bucket!  Girvin took the advantage early in the match but Canyon used his size to gain the upper hand, even calling out his moves and blatant cheating, including using his wrist tape to choke Girvan.  Girvin impresses me more every time I see him.  Tall, lean and pale, he is the complete antithesis of the wrestler image of big, bulky and tanned but, bloody hell this boy can hold his own against those bigger guys and usually get the better of them too.  This was proved once again when he took the win against Canyon.

Next up was Rob's favourite, Nikki Storm against Courtney.  Storm really does heel well, turning her nose up at the crowd and really inciting them to boo her.  Rob decided to disown me when I called her a poison dwarf.  Storm asked Courtney what she did that was so special, so Courtney did the splits - Storm tried and failed, blaming her tight trousers for her inability to do so!  The wrestling itself was not bad.  Courtney was obviously fan favourite and underdog to the experienced Storm, but she gave as good as she got, with Storm retreating to the ringside area to escape more than once.  There were several near falls, with Storm arguing with the ref about whether they were 3 counts or not.  Storm finally rolled up Courtney, and with her feet up on the second rope for leverage, took the pin.

The next match was scheduled to be fan favourite, Grado against Christopher Saynt.  Grado came out to his usual pop, while Saynt appeared, accompanied by Dave Conrad, to a chorus of boos and catcalls.  The match started with the usual comedy routine, including Grado patting down ref Stevie Wizard before giving his bum a wee nip, then riding Saynt like a donkey, but just as things looked like getting serious, Conrad jumps into the ring and the two heels start beating on Grado....until the Beast from Belfast Damian O'Connor appears and suddenly we have a tag match on our hands. 

Dave Conrad squares up to big Damo in the centre of the ring...big mistake...within seconds he is on the canvas with Damo standing on his chest, before jumping off and dropping those massive shoulders on Conrad.  Grado tags in and it's not long before Saynt and Conrad have the upper hand, double teaming Grado while Damo is held back by the referee.  Finally Damo manages to get the tag and after doing his cannonball into the corner on both Conrad and Saynt, invites Grado to have a go too. Grado attempts an F5 on Conrad which fails, however a second attempt, this time on Saynt succeeds and with Damo holding Conrad outside of the ring, Grado gets the pin.  Cue the celebrations...however Damo decided not to join Grado in his traditional celebration dance and invited Grado to join him in "The Slosh" instead (although I don't think Grado really knew how to do "The Slosh").

The final match of the first half was Mikey Whiplash against Ryoji Sai from SWA's sister promotion Zero 1 in Japan.  This was an absolute treat to watch.  This started off as a real lesson in technical mat based wrestling, with Whiplash focusing mainly on the left knee of Sai.  Sai then took the upperhand, hitting Whiplash with a dropkick, then telling us "look at this, this is Samurai Brainbuster"!  Whiplash once again went for the knee of Sai and nearly scored the pin after a cracking suplex then took to the ropes, where Sai got him in a Superplex before finally putting him down for the 3 count with a gutbuster.  A win for Sai....and for the crowd who got to witness probably one of the best matches I have ever seen.

 

After the match, Whiplash gets the microphone and starts complaining that he should have been given a rematch against Joe Coffey for the title and he was going to sit in the ring and stage a dirty protest until he was given his title shot.  Out comes John "The Bomb" Graham to tell him he doesn't deserve a title shot and he is now at the bottom of the ladder.  Whiplash retorts that he was the one to put Graham into retirement and he can see that Graham wants nothing more than to get back into the ring and try to beat Whiplash one more time....setting up a match between the two at Battlezone in October and of course with all the talk of ladders, it has to be a TLC match - take my money now!!

 

After a short interval, the action resumed with another belter of a match between Jack Gallagher and another of the Japanese Zero 1 stars, Obata.  After a slow start, this really got moving with both guys showing us just what they were capable of ... big forearms, standing dropkicks, you name it.  After a good show of mat wrestling (although not as good as the previous match), they took it to the ropes, having a wee battle on the turnbuckles with Gallagher attempting a suplex before Obata pushed Gallagher off the ropes, following up with a cracking missile dropkick.  It was Gallagher who was victorious however after connecting with a beauty of a dropkick himself, followed by a swanton which was just amazing to watch.

 

The next match had been scheduled to be a Laird of the Ring Title Match between champion Joe Hendry and challenger Mark Coffey, however the day before it was announced on the SWA Facebook page that Joe Hendry had not been medically cleared to compete and that Kenny Williams had been booked to face Mark Coffey instead.  I was therefore a wee bit confused when Hendry appeared in his pink suit and announced that he was refusing to defend the Laird of the Ring title until he got a title shot against Joe Coffey for the heavyweight belt.  Maybe they should have held off on the FB post??  Didn't stop the chants of "chicken" and "Joe Hendry Total Zero"!

Anyway Mark Coffey v Kenny Williams.... this turned out to be a really good match. With Coffey standing steady and Williams bouncing off the ropes and flying around, it was quite a display. Coffey took the upper hand using his strength, only for Williams to come back at him with some flying kicks. The match ended with Coffey rolling up Williams for the three count by using a handful of shorts for extra leverage!  Williams was obviously unhappy with the way the match ended and while remonstrating with the referee, Coffey hits him from behind.  Obviously unhappy about losing his title shot, he takes his frustration out on Williams and there you have it, Mark Coffey turns heel! 

The night's main event was the Scottish Heavyweight title match between Joe Coffey and Jackie Polo.  This was also my Match of the Night, although it was a very close contest between this and the Whiplash/Sai match for the honour!  Jackie Polo's entrance is a little piece of comedy gold in itself - prancing through the crowd with his neck brace and polo mallet, singing along to his entrance music and posing for every camera he spots (and boy does that man know how to find a camera lens).  Joe Coffey appears with the belt round his waist and his face painted and the crowd just love him!  The battle commences and its not long before there is more paint on Polo's singlet than on Coffey's face.  After taking a bit of a beating from Coffey and leaving the ring to escape to chants of chicken, Polo brings in his polo mallet. 

Referee Stevie Wizard grabs the mallet off him and turns to put it out of the ring when Polo hits Coffey with a low blow and follows up with a couple of scoop slams.  Polo then decides to do a little strut around the ring, giving Coffey a chance to recover and get him into that awesome move he does by swinging him around the ring before dumping him on his back and then flipping him over into a Boston Crab.  This time Polo managed to get to the ropes and the hold was broken and Polo managed to pull Coffey's head off the top rope from the ring apron to catapult him back across the ring - you can see a wee video here - believe me its good!  Polo has a wee turn of being top dog and it's actually starting to look like we might get a new champion but eventually Coffey's second attempt at the Boston Crab has Polo tapping out.

 

A damn good show and some amazing displays by some very talented guys and girls.  We will definitely be looking for VIP packages for Battlezone.

 

Check out SWA on Facebook and their website for details of their upcoming events.

Review: Reckless Intent presents Taking Over

Saturday 31 May 2014

I was not supposed to be reviewing this show...I was supposed to be reviewing the latest SWE Uprising but the card for this show just grabbed me.  Reckless Intent vs Source Wrestling..some of the best new talents facing each other.  I have attended several of the SWE shows and am really familiar with the roster but I have only been to a couple of RI shows and after the recent Source showcase, I really wanted a chance to see some of these new guys in action again - so to have both promotions showcase on the same show - it was a no-brainer!  (Don't panic my SWE friends, I still love you all and will be back in Dundee soon!!)

The event actually started a few days earlier when Saint-George Bernard decided to have a go on the Loudmouth Facebook Page....poor deluded Englishman actually thought he could win against me...but then again, he has not had to deal with me as often as some wrestlers and I am sure he will learn in time.  He did, however, inspire me to make some signs for the show - something I have never done before (it was actually quite fun and I plan to make more for visits to other promotions now!)

With Rob now training with Reckless, we arrived early so he could help with the pre-show setup while I stayed in the car with my cross stitch and kindle.  We have a rule that no matter what he hears regarding the shows, I do NOT want to know as it would spoil the show for me.  And so onto the show...

First up General Manager John Long takes to the microphone to say that he has suspended ring announcer Jason McKinlay for failing to keep Tavish MacPherson out of the building during the Super B.O.W.L. Tournament and that he will doing the announcing to show how it should be done.  He then continues to say that he had been in talks with someone better to replace Tavish within the company and this "Real Lowblow" will be making his debut later tonight.

First match of the night is between my biggest fan, Saint-George Bernard and Source Wrestling's Bobby Roberts, who I was really impressed with after seeing his match with Damo at the Source Showcase.  First out was Saint-George who, as expected, was not impressed with my wee poster and tore it to pieces.  He took the microphone and announced that he had challenged Roberts to a no disqualification match and that as Roberts had not responded, he was obviously too scared and would not be appearing.  This seemed to be backed up when Roberts music played but the man did not show.  As Saint-George began gloating, the music started up again and this time Roberts came out to huge cheers from the crowd and accepted the challenge.

The match started normally and Roberts quickly took the upper hand. I especially loved it when they were outside the ring and Roberts asked me to do him a favour and, whilst holding Saint-George in front of me said "Slap him"....and I did!!!  Once back in the ring, Saint-George managed to knock the wind from Roberts and took the opportunity to start bringing in the weapons, first a kendo stick, sledgehammer and dustbin lid.  After beating Roberts with the kendo stick, Saint-George then brought in a metal chair and a bag of thumb tacks which he emptied onto the mat.  Attempting to slam Roberts onto the tacks, Roberts reversed it and it was the Englishmen who became the walking pinboard!  Finally a wooden table was set up in the corner of the ring and when Saint-George tried to throw Roberts into it, the move was again reversed.  With Saint-George stopping short of slamming into it, he turned around and was immediately speared by Roberts straight into the wood and knocked senseless, allowing Roberts to get the pin.  The crowd were ecstatic with the result.  Roberts held out his hand to Saint-George but unsurprisingly the Englishman brushed past him and left ringside.

Once the ring had been cleared of debris and tacks, Source Wrestling's "Manliest of All Men" Manlon came to the ring and announced to the crowd that as no-one from Reckless had accepted his challenge, he had issued an open challenge and still had no-one accept.  Enter Reckless Intent Hardcore Champion Wee Jimmy.  As Manlon knelt down to "get down to Jimmy's level", Jimmy pushed him onto his ass and pointed to the curtain,  where John Long's "Real Lowblow" appeared....none other than Tavish MacPherson.  There was then a comedy segment with John Long looking sheepish ringside, Manlon and Tavish did a tango in the ring, followed by some bouncing across the ring off the ropes until one would shout "Stop" and Tav would slap Manlon.  There was actually some wrestling toward the end of the match however when Tav had Manlon pinned for the 3 count, John Long interfered and stated that Manlon's shoulder was off the mat.  Whilst he continued to distract Tavish, Manlon managed to get a submission hold on him and Tav passed out - an unpopular decision with the crowd - and the feud between Long and Tavish continues.

Next up was Reckless Intent's Venym against Source Wrestling's Celtic Arrow.  While Venym had the upper hand in size and strength, Celtic Arrow had the upper hand in speed and agility, making this a great match.  Venym dominated the early part of the match, using his size and strength to ground the smaller guy, however Arrow would not be kept down and after knocking Venym from the ring, flew between the ropes to knock him to the floor.  Back in the ring, Venym once again used his size and power advantage and continued his trash talking thoughout which incited the crowd to cheer louder for Celtic Arrow.  Finally we were shown the Arrow's flying skills from the top rope and he scored the pin to the take the win.


The first half ended with a match for the Reckless Intent UK Title between champion Jackie Grady and Source Wrestling's Lewis Girvan who, in my opinion, is the best young wrestler in Scotland at the moment and has an amazing future ahead of him.  A cracking match from start to finish, we were treated to both great mat work and aerial moves from both guys.  My personal favourite was when Girvan had Grady hangin upside down from the turnbuckles to my right, then scaled the ropes on the left and leapt from the turnbuckle, across the length of the ring and actually connected with Grady - amazing to see!  The momentum swung back and forth between these two, both scoring near pins however with Girvan taking the upper hand again, Grady obviously realised he was about to lose the match and grabbed the title belt, intending to use it as a weapon.  Referee Westy grabbed the belt and a struggle ensued between him and Grady.  As Girvan turned away in disgust, Grady let go of the belt and caught Girvan off-guard, rolling him up and scoring the pin to retain his title.

After a short interval, the action started again with Source Wrestling's Ryan Griffin facing off against Reckless Intent's Mikey.  Another amazing match between two very evenly matched guys.  Griffin appeared to have brought some fans with him as the crowd were very vocal in support of "Flying Ryan" and at times drowned out the cheers for local boy, Mikey.  There were with some fine examples of submission holds during this match, as well as fast paced flying from ropes.  There were a few laughs and a chant of "Janet" when Mikey's mum yelled at Griffin during the match too!  Neither of them big guys, they still managed to cause the ring to move with the force of hitting the ropes! With both guys giving absolutely everything they had, this was one of those matches where either man would be a deserving winner and this time it was Ryan Griffin took the win after blocking Mikey's superplex attempt and dropping Mikey to the canvas, splashed him from the top rope to score the pin.

 

The penultimate match was the World Title match between champion Rawlins and Source Wrestling's Dave Conrad and was my Match of the Night. This was the first time I had seen Conrad without Christopher Saynt either as his tag partner or standing in his corner so I was interested to see what he could do in his own right. The answer is actually quite a lot.  Facing off at the start of the match, it was easy to see that Conrad was the younger, bigger guy but Rawlins had the experience.  After antagonising the crowd, Rawlins set to work on Conrad's knee.  Conrad kept on trucking and when Rawlins attempted a crossbody from the top rope, Conrad actually caught him!  Time and again Rawlins went for the knee but each time Conrad managed to reach the ropes, forcing the hold to be broken and then retaliated, using his strength to knock Rawlins to the mat again and again.  Another first for me....I actually started a pro Conrad chant!  This was a brutal match, both for the competitors and for me....Rawlins outside of the ring in true heel format continued to antagonise the crowd and after screaming into Rob's video camera, gave him a slap and Rob scudded me on the forehead with his camcorder!!  Rawlins retained the title but Conrad proved that he is a talented wrestler and I look forward to seeing his career develop in the future.

The final match of the night was billed as an elimination tag match between Team Reckless (Mikey, Rawlins, Jackie Grady, Tavish, Saint-George and Venym) and Team Source (Bobby Roberts, Lewis Girvan, Ryan Griffin, Dave Conrad, Manlon and Celtic Arrow)  Before the match even started, it was obvious that there were tensions within Team Reckless.  The match started with Mikey and Manlon facing off but when Mikey tagged Rawlins in, the tensions erupted and John Long made the call to change the match to an over the top rope battle royal with the winner being named No 1 contender for the World title.  At that point chaos reigned with all 12 men battling each other and it was impossible to keep track of who was doing what to who!  Several times I moved from my seat to avoid flying legs as they came over the ropes.  Jackie Grady was eliminated first, followed by Venym before John Long entered the ring and eliminated Tavish.  
Celtic Arrow, Ryan Griffin and Lewis Girvan were next to be eliminated before a masked man in a black hoodie ran into the ring, eliminated Mikey and then disappeared back behind the curtain. Some members of the crowd began to chant "slightly average", assuming the man to be Darren Lewis. Since the show I have discovered that the hoodie worn by the masked assailant referred to a clique called New Blood but who was under that hood and mask remains a mystery!  Manlon, Conrad and Saint-George were soon eliminated,  leaving Bobby Roberts and Rawlins in the ring.  With Rawlins already holding the title and a No 1 contender spot on the line, it was at this point obvious what the result would be but the crowd still wanted to see it....Bobby Roberts eliminated Rawlins to become No 1 Contender and the two men will meet on 28 June to battle it out for the belt.

A great showing by all the guys from both promotions and, although there were major shenanigans in Dundee, I stand by my decision to see this show over the SWE one (sorry Bravehart). 

The next Reckless Intent show, Proving Grounds is on 28 June with tickets at just £5 per person.  Several matches have already been announced, including a match between GM John Long and Lowblow with their jobs on the line.  Saint-George, who broke his thumb during his match with Bobby Roberts, is sidelined and will be the special guest GM for the night!  Once again SWE have their Uprising show on the same night, so their card will have to be impressive to entice me to Dundee!

The Reckless Intent crew will also be appearing at Blackburn Gala Day on Saturday 14 June at Murrayfield Neighbourhood Park so feel free to come along and get a wee taste of what the Reckless Intent boys have to offer...and its totally free of charge!!

For more information on Reckless Intent and updates on their shows, visit their Facebook page