Review: Eros Comedy presents Rowdy Roddy Piper: The Tour To Settle The Score

Wednesday 16 July 2014

So this was my first ever Q&A show, although Rob had seen Mick Foley's with his dad, but certainly will not be my last!

Back in December, Eros announced a tour with Diamond Dallas Page in March.  I checked with the promoter about age restrictions then called the venue to make sure there would be no problem as the ticket agent said 18+ and once I knew there would be no problem with Rob attending, I booked VIP Tickets for the Glasgow show for Rob's birthday.  Now anyone who knows me well will know that when I buy a gift for someone, I can't wait to give it but this time I managed it...and just as well because a week before Rob's birthday I got an email saying that due to poor ticket sales, the show was being cancelled - I was gutted - I had even had a special card made up by Moonpig with the event poster and it was dispatched that very day - begin "operation post interception" - and I booked SWA tickets instead!!

When Eros announced their next big tour was Rowdy Roddy Piper, I knew I wanted to go but with dates in Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh, was concerned that I might once again be disappointed and asked what guarantees I would have that the event would not be cancelled again.  Eros contacted me directly and assured me that what had happened in January was not a regular occurrence and they promised me I would be happy...and they kept that promise!

So with the VIP meet and greet advertised to start at 5.30pm, we arrived at the venue about 5.20pm and ended up waiting outside until 6pm when the doors opened.  I thought Studio 24 was a great choice of venue for this, big enough to be filled and small enough to feel part of something and not just another face in a giant crowd.  We got our merchandise (Rob got the Hot Rod shirt and I got the Villain one with an 8x10 thrown in for free) and we waited to meet the man himself.  The photo ops at these shows are usually done by their own photographer then pics are uploaded to flickr for you to download, but with the Edinburgh show being smaller, we were able to have the pics taken on our own devices....and I am so glad because one pic of me with Piper will never see light of day but the people waiting to meet him got a really good laugh!  Roddy was lovely and took time to chat for a few minutes to everyone.  When we mentioned Rob had started training, he was really interested, asked how old Rob was, where he trained and then, after getting my photos taken with him, turned back to Rob and started to give him tips and advice on wrestling and what to work on.  Rob was so happy I thought he would burst!

Being one of the first at the meet and greet meant a bit of a wait until the show began at 8pm, however there were big screens either side of the stage and as we sat in our front row seats, classic matches featuring Piper were played as we waited and the time just flew by.  First there was an introduction and bit of banter from Billy Kirkwood and Chris Brooker - these guys are hysterical.  They were really funny and did a great job of setting the tone for the night!

Then out came the man himself, Rowdy Roddy Piper.  The first half of the show had Hot Rod battling with a rogue mike stand which he ended up sending flying, checking there were no kids in the audience (the venue had a 14+ age restriction for this event), then telling stories about growing up living in youth hostels, how he started out in wrestling, how he ended up being billed as Scottish and some wonderfully scary, funny and emotional tales of his time with guys such as Mad Dog Vachon and Adrian Adonis.  I don't want to say too much as I don't want to spoil anyone else's experience, but his tale about his first ever road trip with Mad Dog Vachon and the diner stop had me in fits....and I am having a wee giggle remembering it now!

The second half of the show was Q&A time and after a quick story to warm up, there were some good questions from the audience - and all about Roddy this time (if you haven't read Billy Strachan's review of the show in Inverness, people there were asking about John Cena - you can read it for yourself here) , well almost!  As Roddy was in the middle of answering a question, this guy in the front row who I actually thought was a decent guy until this point, interrupts and asks Roddy to comment on Owen Hart's death.  Actually the guy accused Vince Russo of being responsible and demanded that Roddy confirm this to be true.  I guess there is a down side to having a bar at events like this and this guy proved to be that downside.  Roddy dealt with the situation really well, defusing things with some well chosen words, then continued to answer the question asked previously. 

He ended the show by playing a wee tune on the harmonica (I broke the no recording rule for this but the video is purely for my own enjoyment and shall not be shared - unless expressly requested by Eros & Roddy) and that was it!  I did wonder if the Q&A had been cut short after the drunk started up, but then again it could just have been that with the smaller crowd there were not as many hands up to ask questions.  I really wish I had put up my hand earlier but I waited to see what other people were asking first and lost my opportunity.  In case anyone is interested, I would have asked who was the person Roddy LEAST liked to wrestle!

So all things said, I had a blast - I met a wrestling legend, my son got some advice and I really enjoyed hearing things about Hot Rod straight from the man himself.  The whole setup from the meet and greet to the end of the show was well planned and executed by the promoter and I would have no hesitation in booking a show with Eros again.

For information on the rest of Piper's tour, or to find out about future tours, check out Eros Comedy on Facebook or Twitter.

Follow Rowdy Roddy Piper on Twitter here

Review: SWE Breaking Backs

Friday 11 July 2014

So we have missed the last couple of SWE events in Dundee due to date clashes so we were really looking forward to this show in Cupar.  After a morning of general mayhem and then panic when 4 ambulances zoomed past us on the way to the Forth Road Bridge, we arrived in Cupar.  Unfortunately our plans to grab a bite before the show were scuppered when we found that eateries in Cupar generally close at 2pm after lunch and don't reopen until around 5-5.30pm for dinner....bit of a downer when you arrive in town just after 3pm!!  Thankfully they had a Greggs so we made do with some pizza slices and steak bakes.

Arriving at the venue, we met up with some of our friends from Dundee and had a bit of a catch up which was really nice.  Once we knew we were safe from parking restrictions, we headed to the venue and decided to head inside and bumped into Charles Riddell, co-owner of SWE and asked if it was okay to wait inside where it was cooler and where would the ticket desk be, only to be told that I had won tickets to the event in a competition I had entered with Fighting Spirit Magazine - only the mag hadn't actually notified me!  I was well chuffed and having a little extra cash meant I could get our tickets for both Hellbound and Hell For Lycra in August!

Cupar Corn Exchange was a cracking wee venue for the show with a stage area which the wrestlers used for the entrance and plenty of room for seating.  It was a shame that more people didn't come along but the very small crowd (around 30 people) made plenty of noise.  I may or may not have instigated many of the chants but it was great that everyone joined in and there were a great wee group of kids who really got into it - potentional loudmouths of the future!  Our Ring Announcer for the night was the lovely Amy Anderson, who did a great job!

The first match of the night was Debbie Sharpe v Sammii Jayne.  Bearing in mind we haven't been to SWE since the end of April, there were a lot of changes...and mostly for the good.  Sharpe came to the ring first, having ditched her bouncy Gina G entrance music, using that of her other half, Martyn Stallyon.  She has also ditched her goody, goody persona and had a permanent scowl on her face (when I told her to watch for the wind changing cos it might stay that way, she asked me if that was what happened to me - I like heel Debbie!)  Next Sammii Jayne came bouncing out to the ring, smiling and greeting the crowd but when it came to the action, the sweet act was gone and she was as good, if not better, than heel Sammii.  Within a minute of the bell, the action had already spilled out of the ring.  Sammii then dumped Debbie over the barriers before climbing over herself, proceeding to smack Debbie into everything in sight, chairs, the walls and of course the merchandise table, before getting onto said table and launching herself at Debbie.  The action then returned to the ring where both girls gave as good as they got before Sammii Jayne got the pin, leaving Debbie looking stunned, then angry.  This was probably the best match I have seen between these two girls and while it seemed somewhat wrong to have Sammii Jayne as a face, she did not dumb down her in-ring abilities and seemed almost more vicious as a face than she did as a heel.

Next up was a tag team match featuring two members of the Trident against Claymore and Calum McMinn, now known as Felix Fortune.  It seems that since my last visit the Trident have been given names and tonight featured "the big dour faced one" now known as MDK (I think this is a reference to the movie Demolition Man) and "450" who I think they said was called Steven Myles.  The match started with the Trident attacking Claymore and Fortune as they climbed the ropes to greet the crowd during their entrance and this could have been a really good match, however there were a few really botched moves when it was impossible to suspend disbelief and I just had to laugh (sorry guys but I have to be honest with my opinions).  Unfortunately, for me, those moments totally overshadowed the really good parts of the match.  Fortune put in a relatively good showing in the early part of the match, but when the momentum turned and a desperate Fortune tagged in Claymore, Trident had managed to distract the referee who refused to accept the tag had been made.  Claymore did eventually get a tag in and cleared house before Fortune took over and momentum swung again in the Trident's favour, Fortune was unable to kick out after taking a 450 splash and the win went to The Trident.

With the next match I was again faced with a character change - Joe Hendry had turned heel.  His opponent, Martyn Stallyon was accompanied to the ring by Debbie Sharpe, however before the match started Stallyon sent Debbie backstage (I think this may be because she has been costing him wins by distracting him).  This was a cracker of a match. Hendry initially seemed reluctant to stay in the ring and received the obligatory "Chicken" chant but then took the upper hand in the early part of the match. Stallyon came back at him and they continued to trade blows and holds throughout the match.  There were near pins on both sides and if looks could kill I would have dropped dead from the one Hendry gave me after I sang "Joe Hendry, Total Zero"!  The match ended with Stallyon splashing Hendry from the top rope and securing the pinfall.  Enter Debbie Sharpe, wearing bright red lipstick, who gets into the ring and congratulates her man by planting a smacker on his lips, only to quickly drop to her knees and plant one on the cheek of the still prone Hendry while her man's back was turned.  Loving this Stallyon/Sharpe storyline and yes, I definitely like Debbie better as a heel than a face!

Chaz Phoenix then came out to the ring and addressed his upcoming steel cage match with Steven Magners at Hell For Lycra.  When I started chanting "We want Magners", Chaz yelled that Magners wasn't even here and that I should shut up.  Chaz was upset that someone he used to call a friend would stab him in the back but the crowd loved him - so I told him I was playing the world's smallest violin for him.  He didn't seem to appreciate it and yelled "shut up, you ugly cretin" - I'll give you this Chaz, I have been called a lot of things but that was the first time I have been called a cretin.  He then continued to talk about how once he got Magners in the cage he was going to destroy him and that he didn't care if a single person turned up to watch, he would do it anyway before deciding that we did not deserve his presence, throwing down the microphone and storming out of the ring.

During the Hendry/Stallyon match, Jam O'Malley & Euan Mackie entered the hall and sat quietly at ringside with a bag full of old posters and flyers.  During the interval it became apparent that they had been writing messages on the back of the posters and flyers and went round the hall leaving them on seats, before taking to the announcers table which had been vacated by Randy Valentine and The Grue for the break.

First up after the interval was Jason "The Jackal" Costello v LJT.  As usual, there were chants of "potato" greeting the arrival of Costello, who was wearing trunks with what looked more like a fox than a jackal on them.  I, of course, felt it my duty to point out this fact to him but, like Chaz earlier, I don't think he appreciated it!  LJT got the jump on Costello early on, but Costello soon took the upper hand, often resorting to his usual underhanded tactics.  With the crowd firmly behind LJT, the match continued to swing back and forth.  With LJT looking like winning and being just a fraction of a second short of scoring the win, Costello managed to use LJT's own momentum to roll him up for the pinfall.

Euan Mackie and Jam O'Malley then took to the ring to address recent events between Mackie and Bravehart.  After Mackie spoke about being promised a title shot that didn't happen, losing his group "The Z List" and how Bravehart's attitude had changed, he started a "Low Must Go" chant and started throwing flyers from the ring.  Jam then took the microphone and spoke about how he was robbed of the Future Division championship when Bravehart overturned the referee's decision but did nothing regarding the outside interference.  They then sat in the ring until Bravehart appeared to face them.  After stating there would not be a career v career match as Bravehart was going nowhere, he confirmed he would face Mackie at Hell For Lycra, even if he was not fit to wrestle and could end up in hospital, because Mackie was worth it.  He then turned his attention to Jam O'Malley, telling him that as a current SWE employee, he must show his loyalty by removing Mackie from the premises or he would be sacked on the spot.  After about 30 seconds of shaking his head and saying "I need this job" O'Malley turned to Bravehart and gave a gesture that indicated he would not be carrying out his orders before he and Mackie left the hall.

The main event pitted SWE Heavyweight champion Ian Ambrose against Mr News for the title and was my pick for Match of the Night.  Ambrose revelled in the jeers from the crowd as much as Mr News did in the cheers.  News quickly took the fight to Ambrose and when outside of the ring he even took requests, slamming Ambrose face first into the barrier right in front of me after I asked him to!!  This ended up being an action packed match with both guys putting it all out there and the momentum swung back and forth with each having several near falls.  Each time News seemed in control, Ambrose would fight back using whatever it took and when caught in a submission hold and unable to reach the ropes, he manouvered News' hand and bit him in order to get the hold released.  With both men exhausted, News hoisted Ambrose across his shoulders but as he turned, Ambrose's boot caught the ref on the back of the head, sending him out of the ring so when News dropped Ambrose on his face then rolled him over for the pin, there was no ref to count the fall.  As Mr News tried to grasp what had happened, Ambrose crawled to the corner of the ring, picked up the title belt, threw it to News then kicked the belt into him, cutting his head.  Pinning the prone News, Ambrose screamed for the referee and a second ref appeared but News managed to kick out after a 2 count.  It was not to be Mr News' night however as, grabbing a handful of tights for leverage, Ambrose managed to get the pinfall.  While a bleeding Mr News was helped backstage from the ring, Ambrose revelled once again in the crowd's jeers, still SWE Heavyweight champion.  As Ambrose celebrated, Martyn Stallyon appeared and announced that he was cashing in his title shot and would face Ambrose for the title at Hell For Lycra XI.

Despite not having the crowd they would normally have at one of the Dundee venues, the wrestlers still put on a good show and I was really glad we had decided to go.

SWE have several events coming up, two shows on 26th July, "Uprising" in Dundee and "Battle Stations" in Perth, followed by "Hellbound" on 23rd August featuring Colt Cabana and Grado and then their big annual Hell For Lycra show on 30 August, featuring  WWE legend Road Warrior Animal and Dennis Stamp.  Tickets are available now.  Check out their Facebook for details on events and tickets.

Review: Reckless Intent presents Proving Grounds

Saturday 28 June 2014

Another early start so Rob could help out left me sitting outside finishing some signs for the show!

Unfortunately Ring Announcer Jason McKinlay was ill, so we had to endure Saint-George Bernard as both the announcer for the night as well as acting General Manager.  The show started with Saint-George and John Long coming out to the ring to remind people that it was Armed Forces Day and that Reckless Intent were running a special raffle to raise money for the armed forces charity, SSAFA https://www.ssafa.org.uk/. (Tickets for this raffle are still available and the draw will take place at the next event, Cruel Summer on 9 August so if you plan to come along, remember to bring some money for raffle tickets too.)

And onto the show....first out to ringside was Manlon who called Hardcore Champion, Wee Jimmy into the ring and promptly pinned him to take the title under the 24/7 rules.  Then Juan El Loco Gato came out and pinned Manlon to take the belt, only for Wee Jimmy, who was still standing in the ring to quickly roll up Juan to regain the title before quickly exiting the ring with his belt.  A stunned Juan and Manlon then faced off against each other in what had to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. First Juan grabbed referee Westy and took his ref shirt and tried to instigate a match between Manlon and Westy.   Manlon was having none of it and quickly took the action to Juan, who eventually returned the ref shirt to Westy.  The match
continued in a comedy vein with Juan asking the crowd who was more manly, Manlon or Westy, then hugging Manlon during grappling sessions.  After smacking Manlon's face against his thigh several times, Juan jumped down and had the audience rub it better....and I was one of those "lucky" people!!  The fun continued when, using a remote control, Juan "paused" Manlon before hitting him with a low blow then hit play to watch Manlon writhe in agony.  Then Manlon grabbed the remote and returned the favour, before Juan used it for a final time to have Manlon punch himself in the face.  There was then a period of serious wrestling during which Manlon attempted his submission hold but Juan got to the ropes.  The match ended with Juan executing a frog splash from the top rope and scoring the 3 count!

Next match pitted Venym against Disturbed.  This match started off fairly straight forward with the crowd cheering for Disturbed against a very vocal Venym but then got a bit confusing as a second Disturbed appeared, knocking both the original Disturbed and Venym down with a crossbody from the top rope.  Venym was knocked from the ring, leaving the two Disturbeds to fight each other..and the confused crowd almost silent.  When Venym grabbed Disturbed 2 and dragged him outside the ring, Disturbed 1 did a suicide dive through the ropes to take both men out.  Back in the ring, Venym took the upper hand over Disturbed 1 going for a submission when Disturbed 2 made the save and attempted to pin Disturbed 1.  The match ended when Disturbed 1 ripped the mask from Disturbed 2 and left the ring, and while Disturbed 2 tried to cover his face with his hood, Venym rolled him up and took the win. Where the "Disturbed Saga" is going, I haven't a clue but I am sure it will become apparent soon!

Next out to the ring was Jackie Grady, who took the microphone to address the fact that he had issued a challenge to DCT who had been training in Romania and that as DCT had failed to show up and told referee Westy to start the match, count to 10 and then name Grady the winner.  As the count reached 7, the music blared and out came DCT.  A flummoxed Grady was then subjected to chants of "chicken" as he refused to re-enter the ring.  DCT took the advantage in the early part of the match, however Grady soon resorted to underhand tactics to get back into it.  As the momentum swung back in the favour of DCT, Grady managed to execute a swinging neckbreaker, following it with a sleeper hold but DCT managed to reach the ropes.  After nailing Grady with a DDT which sent him out of the ring, DCT lifted him back into the ring and after an unsuccessful pin attempt, was rolled up by Grady who, with his feet up on the second rope, scored the pin.

After a short interval, the action continued with a UK Title match between current champion Mikey and Dave Conrad.  Conrad first addressed the crowd and said that what had happened at the last event was a misunderstanding and that he wanted a fair match with Mikey for the title, then offered his hand for Mikey to shake and promptly kicked him in the gut.  With Conrad dominating the early part of the match, Mikey showed great heart, getting some hits here and there but Conrad would quickly subdue him again with a hard clothesline or slam into the corner.  A superb missile dropkick from the top rope started the momentum swing into Mikey's favour, followed by a standing dropkick in the corner then the "coast to coast".  After failing to score the pinfall, he was unable to get the bigger guy up for the "go to sleep", allowing Conrad to hit back with a massive powerbomb but when Mikey kicked out, Conrad started on Westy (and not for the first time) for not counting quickly enough before starting on a kid at ringside, allowing Mikey time to recover and finally execute the GTS and score the 3 count, retaining his title.  As Mikey celebrated in the ring, a masked man in a New Blood hoodie entered the ring, attacked him and quickly left.  Mikey then took the microphone and reminded the crowd of Jackie Grady's underhand tactics at the Super Bowl, hiding under the ring during the match then eliminating Mikey to take the title and how Mikey had then taken the title from him at Blackburn Gala Day after stopping him from pulling the same stunt.  He then offered Grady a rematch at the next event, Cruel Summer on 9 August.

Just before introducing the next match, Saint-George Bernard decided to get into a spat with a guy in the audience as his ego was obviously feeling it was not getting enough attention.  He then started on me again - the poor deluded Englishman still hasn't realised he will never win a war of words with me.  He then introduced John Long, who was to face Lowblow, with each man's job on the line.  Long started mouthing off, berating Lowblow with support from Saint-George.  It was around this time that I had to leave the unit for a few minutes to deal with an injury I had received to my foot earlier in the day so I missed Lowblow's entrance and the very start of the match, however I was told that when he was attacked by Saint-George while Long distracted the referee. After a stunned Lowblow was shoved back into the ring, Long took full advantage, using choke holds and yelling that Westy worked for him and that he better do as he was told.  I returned to the unit to see Lowblow being attacked again by Saint-George while Long was yelling in Westy's face before slapping the young referee. While Lowblow kept fighting, Long continued to use underhanded and illegal tactics and illicit the additional outside interference throughout from Saint-George.  Finally Lowblow started to gain the advantage, managing to get some revenge on both men both in and out of the ring, however Saint-George was not got going to allow this to continue and pulled Westy from the ring and knocked him down to the floor and second referee Adam was also subjected to the same fate.

Saint-George stripped the referee shirt from Westy and putting it on himself, declared himself the new referee.  Lowblow nailed Long with a kick and went for the pin but Saint-George carried out a slow count, inciting Lowblow to attack him.  Saint-George then hit him with a stunner, placed Long on his chest and made a fast count, declaring Long the winner.  With Long's job now safe, he then announced that Lowblow would have a final chance to secure his position in Reckless Intent, by winning a match at Cruel Summer against Rawlins!

Finally it was time for the Main Event, a match for the Reckless Intent World Title between Rawlins and Bobby Roberts, a fantastic confrontation which scored as my Match of the Night.  With the crowd firmly on "Team Bobby", Rawlins was unhappy with the chanting and, unable to get them to stop, took his frustrations out on the heavily strapped elbow of Roberts.  The momentum swung back and forth, with Roberts using his size and strength advantage, only for Rawlins to use his cunning and returning to the injured elbow.  When the action spilled out of the ring I took that as my cue to move out of my seat to protect my injured foot...and a good call it was! Rawlins knocked Roberts to the ground, jumped back into the ring and dived out between the ropes onto Roberts, only the big guy caught him and slammed Rawlins into the ringpost.  Back in the ring, momentum once again swung back and forwards, first Rawlins regained the advantage by again focussing on the elbow of Roberts then Roberts swung Rawlins from one corner to the other, slamming him into the turnbuckles.  The match ended when, after Roberts hit Rawlins with
a massive clothesline and went for the pin, Dave Conrad appeared at ringside distracting Roberts.  As Roberts turned to referee Westy to ask what was going on, Conrad slid a metal tray to Rawlins who slipped it inside his vest.  Roberts then turned his attention back to Rawlins, hitting him with a spear which knocked both men down.  As the referee count reached 7, Rawlins managed to roll over and get an arm across the chest of Roberts, taking the 3 count and retaining the title.

And so ended another great night of action.  Most of the matches are available to view on the Reckless Intent YouTube channel.  The next event "Cruel Summer" is on 9 August and matches have already been announced on the Facebook page so check it out and come along and watch some fireworks!

Review: BCW Live in East Kilbride

Friday 27 June 2014

After the last BCW show in April, I didn't know how they could top it.  Well maybe this time they didn't but they came close...and the next show....well I will get to that at the end....

The first match of the night was Switch against Tommy Marx.  Switch managed to reduce a young girl at ringside to tears during his entrance when he suddenly turned to face her and shouted boo!  Tommy Marx got a great reception from the crowd throughout the match but it was Switch who dominated most of the match.  Despite pulling off some great moves, Marx was not able to overcome the size and strength advantage and underhand tactics from Switch, who eventually took the win.

Next up was Red Lightning v El Technico.  Red Lighting took the microphone and starting whinging about hurting his shoulder at the last event and that the crowd were unsympathetic before threatening to go “El Technico” on El Technico, whose mask still reminds me of the Predator movies.  Obviously the masked man did not take kindly to this and went straight for the shoulder of Lightning, before Lightning escaped to the ringside area to chants of “chicken”.  Once back in the ring, Lightning managed to gain some momentum and began working on the leg of El Technico in an attempt to keep the big guy grounded, but this was not successful and it was El Technico who scored the pinfall.

The next match was a very close contender for Match of the Night – “Bad Boy” Liam Thomson v Joe Coffey.  Coffey is becoming one of my favourite wrestlers and I have developed a grudging respect for Thomson after his recent match with Uhaa Nation at PWE and this match did not disappoint.  Their chops echoed around the hall, the slams into the corners moved the ring and neither man held back in their bid to win this match.  It was action packed from start to finish.  With the advantage going back and forth and both scoring near falls, it really was too close to call.  Both pulled out their usual finishing moves, but Coffey kicked out of the pin and Thomson got to the ropes breaking Coffey's Boston Crab hold.  Finally, Coffey delivered a devastating clothesline on Thomson and pinned him for the 3 count to the delight of the crowd.  This really was an amazing match and Rob even commented that he could not believe this was NOT the first half main event!! A video showing the climax of the match is on the Loudmouth Facebook page and is most definitely worth a wee look!

The first half main event pitted fan favourite Grado against Noam Dar for the Openweight Championship.  This match was hysterical from the start and I have to admit that I probably laughed more during this match than at most comedy movies!   It would appear that Grado has toned up recently and while still retaining his “Chubby Chancer” character, seems to be working on both his physique and his wrestling ability.  Anyway, rather than tell you about the match, why not watch the entire match for yourself!

First up after the interval was my favourite, Jack Jester against Kenny Williams.  Jester’s entrance included the BCW debut of his lizard, Gallus (there’s a wee video clip on the Loudmouth Facebook page) and now Rob is pestering me for a pet lizard!  With the majority of the crowd firmly on "Team Kenny", Jester took a lot of abuse from the kids in the audience and spent some time chasing a large group of kids from one side of the stage to the other and managing to reduce another child in the crowd to tears.  Once in the ring, Jester dominated Williams for much of the match, even dumping him in the laps of the ringside crowd before taking him over to introduce Williams face first to the merchandise table.  Back in the ring again, Jester continued his assault, including a legdrop on the ring apron and a suplex.  Williams seemed to gain a little momentum and scored a near pin but Jester caught him off the top turnbuckle, delivering a piledriver and scoring the win.

The next match was supposed to be a tag team title match between Damian O'Connor & T J Rage and Just Uz, however the team of Damo & Rage attacked Stevie Xavier with the belts before the bell had rung and it was declared a no contest with Just Uz still champions.  With Rage and Damo trying to claim the belts in the ring, BT Gunn then said if they wanted a tag match, they could have one as he would take them both on himself.  While Damo and Rage did work well together, they did not have the chemistry Damo shares with his "Britain's Most Wanted" tag team partner Scott Renwick.  The match itself was short but very, very sweet, with Gunn unloading on the two big guys and proving that he is a force to be reckoned with.  Despite the obvious disadvantage, Gunn took it to Rage initially before landing a dropkick on Damo.  He also landed a cracking suicide dive through the ropes onto both his opponents which almost had Damo landing on me!  Back in the ring, Gunn then took some punishment from both guys before finally landing a superkick to the head of Rage and scoring the pin to retain the titles.

Finally, the main event - Kid Fite v Davey Blaze for the BCW Heavyweight title – and this won Match of the Night for me.  This match started in the ring but spilled out into the ringside area, before heading off to the merchandise tables and back again and despite warning Fite that I didn't want him landing on me again, he very nearly did.  It was, in a word, brutal!  Within minutes of the match starting, Blaze was in the ringside area checking his nose wasn't broken, only for Fite to come out and slam him into the ring post.  Back in the ring, Fite kept the advantage, attempting to use a sleeper hold to defeat Blaze but Blaze rallied before his hand could fall for the third time.  The match then spilled out of the ring again and headed over the to the merchandise table, where Blaze had the advantage but Fite was not going down easily, regaining the advantage and driving Blaze into the chairs which had quickly been vacated by the crowd, before grabbing a hoodie from one of the chairs and using it to choke Blaze (upsetting the young owner of said hoodie and causing more tears!).  Back in the ring again, Fite kept the upper hand but it took several attempts before he was able to keep Blaze pinned for the 3 count.  Another fantastic match to end the night's entertainment.



Rob & Leah Owens

Rob & Kasey Owens

After the show, Jester and Grado signed posters in the foyer while Rob got photos taken with Leah and Kasey Owens and got up close and personal with Gallus!

This was a great evening's entertainment with a very noisy crowd, which meant I did not have to work to get them going.  In my opinion, BCW have definitely raised the bar as far as wrestling shows go.

As promised at the beginning of this blog, here is the scoop on the next BCW show - it will be held at Kilmarnock Grand Hall on 29 August and features the first Scottish appearance of Drew Galloway (aka Drew McIntyre) since his release from WWE.  Guaranteed to sell out, tickets go on sale on 10 July so check out BCW's Facebook page to keep up to date with all the information.

Review: Source Wrestling School Showcase 3

Sunday 22 June 2014

Another visit to see some of the new talent coming out of the Source Wrestling School and I enjoyed it as much, if not more, than the last one.

First up was a tag team match pitting The Gatecrashers (Christopher Saynt and Dave Conrad) against against Manlon and Daihlan Hendry.  With Saynt and Hendry kicking off the action, it wasn't long before Manlon was tagged in and demanded to face "the big guy", then challenged him to an arm wrestling contest.  With both men lying on the canvas, Manlon didn't pick his spot well, allowing Saynt to drop an elbow on him from behind and begin a period of "Manlon Bashing" with the Gatecrashers keeping him from tagging in Hendry while dealing out a serious amount of punishment.  Hendry finally made it into the ring and attempted to swing the momentum but it was just a matter of time before he succumbed to the Gatecrashers finisher "The Party Crash" (I asked Dave Conrad during the interval what it was called and this the name they came up with).  Despite already taking the win, they then "Party Crashed" Manlon for good measure.  There is great chemistry between Saynt and Conrad - they work really well together and just seem to gel....I look forward to seeing them progress to bigger and better things in the future.

Next out to the ring was a very angry Joe Hendry, having been stripped of his SWA Laird of the Ring title the night before, to face Robbie Solar.  Solar is one of those guys who looks too skinny and pale to be a wrestler, but over the last few months I have seen a great improvement in his wrestling ability, although there was still a point during the match when Hendry had him pinned in a corner and I couldn't even see him!!!  Despite Solar's speed and great aerial moves, Hendry used his superior size and strength, catching Solar's attempt at a crossbody and then tossing him across the entire ring, before finishing with what looked like a Crucifix Powerbomb to take the win.

As the next match was about to be announced, an alarm bell rang out and out came Mr Byers with Sammii Jayne for a mixed tag match against Cobra Carr and Viper.  After handing out a punishment exercise to Carr's mother for "making such a terrible son", he got back into the ring and starting mouthing off about the lack of respect he got - and when I heckled him he produced a punishment exercise he had prepared especially for The Blue-Haired Loudmouth!  He then turned his attention to his partner Sammii Jayne, telling her she had to prove herself and earn an A+ (not a good idea to demean your partner, but then we are talking about Mr Byers).  Viper and Sammii Jayne started the match, with Byers shouting instructions to his partner the entire time.  It was then the turn of the men to enter the ring and Carr quickly dominated Byers.  Unfortunately for Byers, he had annoyed his partner so much, that she jumped down from the ring apron when he tried to tag her in and left him to the mercy of Viper and Carr, who took the win and left.  When Byers again berated Sammii Jayne for her actions, she showed him exactly what she thought of him, giving him a slap followed by a swinging neckbreaker.  Byers was then carried out by John "The Bomb" Graham.

The first half main event was scheduled to be Bobby Roberts v SWA Heavyweight Champion Joe Coffey in a non-title match, however Coffey took the microphone and acknowledging Roberts match against Damo at the previous showcase, asked that this be made a title match.  What followed was just awesome.  Evenly matched in size and power, both men went all out to win this one, using such force that the ring actually moved!  The momentum swung back and forth during the match with Roberts showing he was worthy of the title shot and he so very nearly took the belt, however it was Coffey who was victorious on this occasion.  The match ended as it started, with Coffey on the microphone giving Roberts serious props and both men shaking hands.

Making his debut in Scottish Wrestling this weekend, Tucker faced fellow Irishman big Damian O'Connor in the first match after the interval.  While Tucker is a pretty solid looking figure, Damo makes almost everyone look small!  Using speed and agility, Tucker was doing well but Damo seemed to absorb most of his momentum and used his size and strength to gain the upper hand.  Tucker was not going down easy though and fought back, knocking Damo off his feet on more than one occasion - a feat not easily achieved.  With both men giving it there all, it looked like Damo was going to take the win, but Tucker knocked him from the turnbuckles and nailed Damo with a swanton to score the pinfall.  An impressive showing from Tucker, who I hope decides to visit Scotland more often as I would love to see him in action again!

 

The next match up of  Nikki Storm and Bete Noire v Courtney and Debbie Sharpe started with a dance-off!  After Courtney & Sharpe did a wee routine, Nikki Storm busted a few moves of her own, much to the amusement of the crowd.  Once Noire pulled her back into line, the match was on, however it was all too short.  Both Noire and Storm focused their attention on Courtney early on. Once Sharpe got into the ring, she was distracted by Noire and Courtney outside of the ring, giving Storm the chance to hit her with a swinging neckbreaker and get the pin.  Although a cracking wee match, I would have loved it to have gone a bit longer as I have not had much chance to see Bete Noire in action and what I did see here was pretty impressive...and on a side note, I love her leg tattoo!!

Finally, the Main Event!  Lewis Girvan was scheduled to face Celtic Arrow, however the day before a card change was announced - Lewis Girvan would now face Mikey Whiplash!  This was an incredible match - with Girvan normally using his speed and agility in his matches, he truly held his own against the experience of Whiplash.  Instead of lots of spectacular aerial manoeuvres, we were treated to a masterclass in the technical aspect of wrestling, with plenty of leg and armlocks. 

In one of the few moves from the turnbuckles, Girvan managed to score the win over Whiplash.  While this was most definitely match of the night, the star of the show had to be young Casey, Cobra Carr's daughter.  She heckled Whiplash throughout the match and did it so well that the crowd even started a "Let's Go Casey" chant.  She even offered Whiplash a match against her dad next time round!

And so ended another successful showcase.  Congratulations to all the guys and girls for another incredible night and I look forward to seeing the next one!

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