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.
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