Tuesday 16 September 2014

Review: SWE Hell For Lycra XI

Saturday 30 August 2014

Hell for Lycra...it was last year’s event that introduced us to SWE and we almost didn’t go back.  Thankfully, their Hart & Soul event in October was amazing and we have been regular visitors to Dundee ever since.

So we arrived at 2pm and joined the queue for the autograph session with Road Warrior Animal and Dennis Stamp.  After paying £20 for the “Animal Package”, which included an autographed promo picture and a professional photo which would also be signed, we were excited but unfortunately Animal seemed bored.  He picked up his studded shoulder pads, dumped them on Rob for the photo and that was it – no chat.  Talk about disappointed (well I always liked Hawk better anyway!)  After the signing we went off for something to eat before returning to the Bonar Hall for the show that evening.

Ring announcing duties for the evening were split between Chris Duke and Amy Anderson.  Chris has taken some flak in the recent past but this is a guy who really knows how to get a crowd going from the outset.  He employed his "Mexican wave style" cheer by selecting people sitting either side of the entrance and having one start a cheer and have the crowd work it round the room until reaching the other - works really well for getting everyone warmed up!

The first match of the night featured Steven Magners and Chaz Phoenix in a steel cage match.  Based on their actions toward each other during their long running feud, I was expecting all kinds of brutality but from the outset, both men only seemed interested in climbing out of the cage.  This ended with both men atop the cage, Phoenix pulled a length of material fashioned into a noose from his pocket, put it around the neck of Magners and proceeded to hang him as Phoenix dropped to ringside to win the match.  I am not entirely sure how to feel about the way this match ended.  The wrestling fan part of me thinks based on their previous encounters and the infamous "poly bag incident" it was a natural progression, however the mum in me thinks there were too many young kids in the audience for this and that after the match, when they announced a short break to remove the cage, they could easily have included a "do not try this at home/school" message. 

While the cage was being removed, the recent match between Martyn Stallyon and Damian O'Connor was shown on the big screen and there was an opportunity for those who were unable to make the earlier autograph session to meet Animal and Dennis Stamp.

The action restarted with a “World of Sport” legends match.  Originally billed as a tag match with Marty Jones and Jay the Jackal v Johnny Saint and Felix Fortune, this match now featured two of my Reckless Intent buddies.  Team Jones featured Jay the Jackal partnered with Rawlins and Team Saint had Felix Fortune paired with Mikey.  I do not wish to appear biased in any way, but Rawlins and Mikey were the standouts in this match.  In my opinion, Fortune's inexperience is usually covered by his opponents but there was no way to cover his miss on the attempted dropkick on Rawlins.  There was a lovely springboard flip from Mikey and he also delivered a rather devastating kick to the face of Rawlins.  The match ended a bit chaotically with Fortune hitting Marty Jones before being rolled up for the pin - win for Team Jones.  Both teams then seemed to face off in the ring with Fortune and Jones looking like they wanted a piece of each other.

Next was a 4 on 4 tag match with the Trident and Scott Renwick facing the team of Mr News, Claymore, LJT and Scotty Riccio.  I don't normally like matches like this as there are just too many people involved and its hard to keep track of what's going on but this one actually worked.  There was a nice wee bit when the heels were making their entrance and one by one, Mr News, LJT and Scotty Riccio launched from the ring to knock them down like skittles.  LJT took a serious amount of punishment from his opponents once the match got started, however it was Riccio who took the final punishment, being slammed by MDK before being on the receiving end of the 450 splash from Steven "Air" Myles before MDK pinned him for the three count.

A close contender for match of the night was the face off between Joe Hendry and Doug Williams.  Hendry was accompanied to the ring by Marty Jones however Jones kinda disappeared at some point - to be honest I didn't notice him leave as I was so enthralled by the match.  I think this might have been because Hendry is usually heel at SWE however in this match the crowd seemed to be evenly split and he didn't play up the heel image, making the heel legend surplus to requirements.  Anyway this match was just pure class - these guys don't dazzle with high flying stunts, they just wrestle.  Hendry took the advantage at the start but Williams soon fought back and seemed to be in complete control and about to take victory when Hendry got him in a cross armbreaker to take the win by submission.   In a very sportsmanlike manner, Hendry then held out his hand to Williams and both men shook hands to cheers from the crowd.

During the interval, a large pole and flag were attached to the ring, which had us wondering what was going on.  There had been no mention of a flag match.  What had originally been advertised as a scramble match for the Future Division championship had been changed.  The six competitors, reigning champ Christopher Saynt and challengers Viper, Sammii Jayne, Nikki Storm, Glen Dunbar and LJT entered the ring and a strange sort of chaos ensued.  With everyone battling in and around the ring, Storm was the first to attempt to grab the flag but was stopped by Viper and Sammii Jayne.  Then it seemed like each challenger had a turn of going for the flag before being thrown out of the ring by another challenger, who would then make their attempt.  Finally it was LJT going for the flag when Saynt grabbed his belt, jumped up on the ring apron and decked LJT with the belt before grabbing the flag to take the win.  Now I didn't mention the role of the flag...they used a "YES" flag which Saynt then spat on.  Now I do not wish to make my opinion on the referendum public - as far as I am concerned this subject is a matter for each person to decide for themselves and no-one should try to force their opinions on another.  By using this flag, SWE were making a political statement which could easily have caused conflict amongst its audience.  Wrestling is no place for politics and this stunt did nothing more than anger the "Yes" camp.   Maybe a nice "SWE" flag could be produced for any future matches of this type?

Now for the match that had been hyped since it's announcement Damian O'Connor v Road Warrior Animal.  Well talk about a huge disappointment!  Big Damo comes out to the ring and as we are waiting in anticipation of the appearance of Animal, Scott Renwick and the Trident appear instead and proceed to attack Damo.  With Damo making short work of the Trident, Renwick enters with a chair and starts to ram it in the midsection of the big man.  Renwick then starts shouting orders at the Trident and Damo is tied up in the ropes as Renwick continues his assault with the chair into the midsection of the "Beast".  Finally Animal appears, still wearing the clothes from the afternoon signing session, and accompanied by John "The Bomb" Graham to make the save.  There wasn't even a hint of an illusion that there was ever going to be a match between these guys.  WTF - this was one of the big selling points of the entire show - I had driven around for months with a poster advertising this match stuck in my car window - I felt cheated!  Maybe if he had come out in the full ring gear, shucking off the pads at ringside I might have been able to buy into it but it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Another match which had a lot of hype behind it was Bravehart v Euan G Mackie.  With a lot of animosity between these two men, this was never going to be pretty.  Factor in referee Edith Summer, who was on the receiving end of Bravehart's fist the week before at Hellbound, and that Bravehart had Jam O'Malley and Mutt at ringside, and it was never going to be fair either.  Bravehart wasted no time, beating on Mackie before locking in the sharpshooter however the referee refused to acknowledge Mackie tapping out!  An incensed Bravehart dropped Mackie and turned his attention to Summer (who if I remember right had just decked O'Malley).  As Bravehart went in for another punch, Edith ducked, Bravehart swung round and got a faceful of green mist from Mackie, who then scored the win with a fast count from Summer.  As Summer and Mackie made their escape from the ring, Bravehart vented his anger at O'Malley who was on his knees pleading for forgiveness.

Finally the main event and most definitely Match of the Night - SWE Heavyweight Champion Ian Ambrose faced the No 1 contender Martyn Stallyon for the title.  This match featured Dennis Stamp as special guest referee and while it was a nice touch for him to be included as part of the show, there were a few occasions where he was a bit slow to get down to make a count and wasn't as tough as a referee needs to be in a match between these two guys.  This match was brilliant.  There was a scary moment when Stallyon went got tangled in the ropes and smacked his head hard on the floor but he shook it of and got on with the match.  This match could not be contained by the ring....nor the barriers around it.  These guys went over the barriers, through the crowd and continued on the stage area before finally returning to the
ring.  Debbie Sharpe made her appearance, looking stunning in a tight black lacy dress and a pair of killer heels which gave me a nosebleed just looking at them, and strutted around the ringside area with the championship belt.  With it looking very much like Stallyon becoming the new champion, he told Debbie to leave.  Instead, she distracted Dennis Stamp as Stallyon springboarded off the top rope, straight into the title belt Ambrose was holding, allowing Ambrose to score the three count to retain the title, who then left with Debbie.  What is going on between Ambrose and Sharpe?  This story is definitely not over!!

There was one other negative thing but this had nothing to do with SWE.  One of the crowd members had to be ejected after getting into physical altercations with two wrestlers at ringside, Euan Mackie and Debbie Sharpe.  She had also been making some rather nasty comments about people while in the queue outside of the venue earlier and had been warned to shut her nasty mouth.  Hopefully we will not have to deal with her again.  There were actually some people who thought that the person involved was me.  I can assure you it was not.  I am a loudmouth - I get verbal but I do not get physical.  Even when invited to enter the ring during a spat, such as the one I had with Bravehart at Hellbound, I will not cross that line.

Overall, Hell For Lycra 11 was a better show than Hell For Lycra 10, but there were elements that really disappointed me too.  There were some really good matches and the announcement of next year's event being held in Dundee's Caird Hall went a good way toward outweighing the negatives.  Although the show ended on a high with a fantastic match between Ambrose and Stallyon, I have to admit that the whole Animal v Damo fiasco really bummed me out.

SWE have their next Uprising event back in the Ardler Complex on 25 October and have announced Brian Kendrick, Paul London and Leah Von Dutch to appear.  Tickets are priced at £10 for adults and £7 for kids (an increase of £3 per ticket since their event in July) and are available via their Facebook event page


Friday 5 September 2014

Review: BCW Homecoming

Friday 29 August 2014

Travelling through to the West for shows on a Friday is a nightmare and this was no exception. The traffic was a nightmare from the start, with an accident and a breakdown on the Bypass then slow moving traffic on the M8 and frequent heavy downpours reducing visibility, it took forever to arrive in Kilmarnock.  We had front row seats booked which gave early entry to the venue at 5pm. We didn't actually arrive until 5.10pm but things were running a wee bit late and the doors opened a few minutes after we arrived and just before another heavy downpour!

Photo by David J Wilson
First up was a wee meet and greet with Drew Galloway (aka Drew McIntyre) who would be competing in his first match in Scotland since his release from WWE - the reason for the show being called Homecoming.  I think due to the slight delay and in order to keep the rest of the night on time, there was no "photo op using your own camera" at the meet and greet but there would be photos taken by David Wilson during the interval at a cost of £15.  Rob and I both had special event posters signed and also met Joel Redman from WWE NXT who signed Rob's book and had a pic taken with him.  We got our BCW shirts and Rob got a very nice Drew Galloway one.

After all the front and second row ticket holders were seated, there was a special pre-show bonus match featuring Tommy Marx and Aaron Echo against Lou King Sharp and Switch. I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed with this match - I am used to seeing Tommy Marx and Lou King Sharp flying around the ring and struggling to get pictures that are not blurred but the match seemed to lack energy.  This may have been due to the slower pace of Echo and Switch.  Marx and Echo took the win after Echo delivered a powerbomb on Sharp then scored the pin.  Although a decent warm-up match and good experience for the young guys, I feel that it would have been totally out of place as part of the main card.

The main show started with BCW owner Graham McKay coming out to the ring to announce that Kilmarnock Grand Hall had never sold out for a wrestling show, even back in the days of World of Sport, but that night, for the first time ever, BCW had done it - the Homecoming show was sold out!  He also announced that Galloway would be back for the annual No Blood,  No Sympathy double header on 5 and 6 December and that also appearing would be Chavo Guerrero, Hardcore Holly and Paul London - take my money now!!!!

The first match of the night was for the BCW Heavyweight title between champion Kid Fite and Davey Blaze.  This was a bit of a surprise as usually the title matches are the main event (or at least first half main event) and not show openers.  These guys faced each other in East Kilbride back in June and that match was an absolute belter....and this one was just as good.  With Blaze determined to take the gold and Fite just as determined to keep it, they both pulled out all the stops.  Fite took an early advantage but no matter what he threw at Blaze, Davey just kept coming back at him and the crowd let him hear their appreciation.  There were some cracking moves and a belter of a double clothesline that threatened to decapitate both men!  While Blaze did have a couple of pin attempts, it was not to be his night and eventually Fite hit the challenger with a DDT and took the win to stay champion.

Next up was Red Lightning v Joe Coffey.  I am really liking Joe Coffey more and more every time I see him and, as much as I love to hate Red Lightning, I really had to feel sorry for him - the amount of punishment he took was incredible.  He was suplexed, bulldogged, swung around several times before being put in a Boston crab, took two massive corner splashes which actually moved the ring a good couple of inches from the walkway - I have the photo to prove it!!  Even his attempt to block Coffey's discus clothesline by kicking his arm went against him, Coffey just spun round and used his other arm instead.  There was a small period where Lightning did get the upper hand but it didn't last very long and once Coffey gets the momentum going, he is exceptionally hard to beat and he proved it here once again - Coffey wins by pinfall.

The next match up pitted Jack Jester against Joel Redman.  With Redman waiting in the ring, Jester burst through the barriers into the crowd, terrorising the kids who had been standing against said barriers jeering him just seconds before.  Once back at ringside, Redman was quick to point out the large corkscrew in Jester's hand and demanded the referee take possession of the offending item before Jester entered the ring.  The match very quickly spilled out to ringside, with faces being smacked off the barriers before Jester pushed Redman into the ring then hit him with a legdrop on the apron right in front of me.  Back on his feet, Redman then grabbed Jester, who had climbed onto the apron to the front, and suplexed him into the ring.  This match went back and forth and with Angel Wings from Jester and superkicks from Redman both scoring near pins this could have been either man's match.  Finally, with Redman standing on the top rope, Jester pushed the referee into the ropes, Redman gets "crotched" and Jester finishes him off with the tombstone and takes the three count.  An absolute belter, this was a close contender for my match of the night.

The first half main event was a mixed tag team match with "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson & Carmel Jacob up against Grado & Kay Lee Ray.  As always, Grado received a rapturous welcome from the crowd which Thomson and Jacob did not appreciate.  With Grado pulling out his usual comedy antics, Thomson decided to get in on the act, attempting to pull off one of Grado's comic stunts of sitting on your opponents back and slapping their ass as if riding a horse.  Jacob was not impressed and got into the ring, screaming at her partner and asking what the hell he was doing.  Thomson's attempt to explain ended up with Jacob sitting on Grado, only for Grado to slide out, ending up with Grado astride Jacob and Ray astride Thomson.  Then followed another comedy skit where Grado and Ray are chasing their opponents around the ring only for Grado to tire out and end up being chased.  The match ended in a win for Grado and Ray when Grado hit Thomson with a "wee boot" and Ray followed up with a Swanton before they both piled onto Thomson for the three count.

As Grado and Kay Lee Ray are doing their celebratory dance in the ring, Johnny Moss appears, attacks Grado and holding Kay Lee Ray by the hair, demands to be given a decent match and who should appear to save Kay Lee - Drew Galloway!  After dealing with Mossy, Galloway grabs a microphone and challenges Moss to a match.  Moss demands that the match be for Galloway's Evolve Championship. Galloway agrees - main event set!!



The second half started with a Tag Team title match between champions Just Uz (BT Gunn & Stevie Xavier) and The Models (Joey Hayes & Danny Hope).  I have only ever seen Hayes in singles competition and never seen Hope before but I have to say they work really well as a team.  I make no secret of the fact that I think Just Uz are amazing as a tag team and really need more teams of a similar calibre to compete against.  The Models definitely fill this void (although I still think the Just Uz/Hubba Bubba Lucha match in April was the best tag match I have ever seen)  Anyway this match was non-stop from start to finish and looked like their may be new champions when The Models managed to isolate Xavier and give him a hell of a beating.  Xavier managed to tag BT Gunn and the match ended after Gunn hoisted Hayes onto his shoulders, Xavier launched from the top turnbuckle clean over his tag partner to take out Hope who was about to attack from behind, leaving Gunn to finish off Hayes and score the pinfall to retain the titles.

Next, another title on the line, this time the BCW Openweight Title with champion Noam Dar defending against Kenny Williams.  Williams just gets better every time I see him and this match was another stormer.  Dar took an early advantage, knocking Williams from the ring and into the barriers right in front of me.  Back in the ring he then hit Williams with the most stunning dropkick.  Williams never gives up and fought back and after trading blows, began to gain momentum, scoring a couple of near falls himself before Dar tried to use the referee as a shield.  As Williams continued his assault, Dar suddenly swept the leg and a couple of cracking kicks later, Williams is pinned for the three count.  Dar leaves the ring still champion but Williams won our hearts.

Finally, the main event and quite obviously Match of the Night, Drew Galloway faced Johnny Moss for the Evolve Championship. OMG - how on earth can I describe this match in any way that does it justice? Actually I can't! It was one of those matches you just had to see to believe.  I'd never seen Galloway in action before - I don't watch WWE - all I can say is WOW!!!!  After being clotheslined out of the ring, Mossy looked to be leaving, only for Galloway to catch up with him on the walkway for a slugfest before backdropping Mossy back into the ring.  Slamming Galloway into the turnbuckles, Moss takes the upper hand but Galloway keeps fighting.  He produced an amazing armdrag from the top rope on Moss and after several near pins from both, Galloway hits the Futureshock and scores the pinfall.  The crowd go wild!

With the match over and Galloway celebrating, Kid Fite appears and attacks him with a steel chair before grabbing the microphone to let the crowd know he is not happy at being moved from a main event slot to opening the show because Galloway has returned.  Next Charles Boddington, who is Kid Fite's manager in other promotions, arrives in the ring with his ever present briefcase....and decks Kid Fite!!  After telling of his happiness to have Drew back, he states that someone else wants to see him - the one and only Lionheart, the very man Galloway faced in his last match in BCW before leaving to join WWE.  And it looks like we will be seeing these guys face off in the ring at some point in 2015, once Lionheart is medically cleared to wrestle after his neck injury.

Finally, the entire roster came out to the ring with a case of beer and toasted the return of Galloway, with the obvious exception of  Mossy and Kid Fite, however one other member did not join in the celebrations, Jack Jester.  When he did finally come to ringside, he glared at the scene before him, before spitting in the face of Galloway and leaving again.  I foresee one hell of a match in the near future between these two!


We purchased a copy of the official programme and having a read through it, we noticed there had been a few changes to the original card.  Having originally advertised both Joel Redman and Martin Stone to appear, Stone was nowhere to be seen and his absence was not mentioned or explained.  This obviously led to the changes to the match-ups in the programme of Moss v Redman, Stone v Red Lightning and Coffey v Jester, however in my opinion, the changes worked out for the best and this show now ranks as Number 1 on my list of best shows attended, beating the amazing April show featuring Fergal Devitt.

BCW's next show is in East Kilbride on 20 September and tickets are on sale now.  We unfortunately will miss this show due to already having an event on the same date, but I am so looking forward to the No Blood, No Sympathy double header (tickets for these shows go on sale 1 October).

For information on BCW's future events and tickets, check out their Facebook page or website

Wednesday 3 September 2014

Review: Reckless Intent presents Sunday Slam

Sunday 24 August 2014

With most wrestling shows starting in the evenings and finishing between 9.30 and 10pm, Reckless Intent are introducing some Sunday afternoon shows with a view to accommodating the younger fans running from 2pm until approximately 5pm.  This was the first of their Sunday Slam shows and there were a few familiar faces amongst the crowd, Scott Renwick, Darren Lewis and Mr News.

The first match of the afternoon was scheduled to be AJ Russell against his brother JJ, however JJ had refused to fight and AJ issued a challenge to anyone on the roster.  The challenge was answered by Mike Hawke.  Now I am still not sure what this guy is all about.  He comes out top to toe in camoflage with an American accent but whether he is face or heel is not obvious.  There is no trash talk or nastiness and this means the crowd doesn't really know how to react to him.  Anyway, a decent warm-up match with Russell taking the win.

The next match saw the wrestling debut of one of the regular referees "Wild" Westy, facing off against Juan Loco Gato.  Usually a fan favourite, Juan was upset by the fact that the majority of the crowd were cheering Westy.  Juan tried to take his frustration out on Westy but this was Westy's day and he took the three count to the delight of the crowd.  An upset Juan then turned toddler for the mother of all tantrums and was further jeered and taunted by the contingent of fans hold up signs in support of the winner.

Next Venym came out to the ring, getting a microphone and trying to blow his own trumpet and complaining that the crowd did not appreciate him and the hard work he put into his matches, however he was cut short by the entrance of Sweet Chavi Sanchez in his trademark trackies and burberry cap and carrying a bottle of Irn Bru.  There was an unexpected comedy moment when he handed the bottle to Mr News, who opened it and ended up soaked.  Once in the ring, Venym tried to insult Chavi and Chavi asked him how this would work and could he call his pals to "gie him a doing".  While initially Chavi had the upper hand and added some comedy by with moments like pulling Venym's beard, it was only a matter of time before Venym began to dominate the match and took the win.  But you can't keep a good Chavi down and after Venym had left ringside he was "resusitated" with some Irn Bru and treated the audience to a dance - Chavi style!

After a short interval, the second half started with Jackie Grady facing Disturbed.  With Grady refusing to get into the ring, the crowd start chants of "You're a Diva", "You're a Jessie" and the absolute classics started by Scott Renwick and Mark O'Sullivan "You've Got A Cups" and "Training Bra".  Finally Grady got into the ring and the match started but after telling him he slapped like a girl, he dared me to come into the ring and try it...I responded by saying he was such a Jessie that he was too scared to come out and face me and shut up and get on with the match!  With Disturbed having the momentum, Grady kept trying to escape and endured several chants of "chicken" and "make him squeal" however it was Grady who would have the last laugh when he scored the pin to take the win.

Photo by Andrew West
Next out was new Reckless Intent World Champion Saint George, who, after baiting "The Superstar" Darren Lewis, issued an open challenge to anyone who wanted a crack at the title.  The challenge was answered by former Hardcore champ, Wee Jimmy who was sitting in the crowd.  After a couple of quick slams, Jimmy was pinned and Saint-George asked for a real challenge.  Stand up Scott Renwick...however it appeared Saint-George was not so willing to face Renwick, telling him to sit down and shut up as he is not medically cleared to wrestle.  "No, its cos you're a chicken" I yelled...and then it was the turn of the Loudmouth.....yes, I actually got up on the ring apron and called that annoying little twerp out and challenged him to back up his Facebook posts and face me.  In the age of equality and mixed wrestling matches, he actually pulled the "I'm not fighting a girl" card!!  Just as I was about to slap his face, he turned away as Chavi entered the ring to take on his challenge.  A quick 1, 2, 3 and Saint-George was complaining that it was too easy and called for his next challenger...

....and the response came from AJ Russell, making his second appearance of the day.  This was a pretty good match, with Russell pulling of some lovely moves and the crowd behind him 100%  Unfortunately it was not to be and after several near falls by both guys, it was Saint-George who got the three count and retained the belt, bragging once more about how easy it was!

The main event, and Match of the Day (wow that sounds like a football term!!) was the Tag Match between The Gatecrashers, Christopher Saynt and Dave Conrad and the Reckless Intent Originals, Mikey and Rawlins.  This was going to be interesting from the outset as Mikey and Rawlins have had issues in the past - would they be able to put their issues aside and work together?  Even Conrad addressed this in the ring and after stating that slipping Rawlins the steel tray during his match with Bobby Roberts was not done for Rawlins benefit and having no allies at Reckless Intent, he had a tag partner he could trust to have his back.  With Saynt and Rawlins kicking things off, I did something I thought I would never do...I started a "Let's Go Rawlins" chant...and he even came out to ringside to stand beside me while I did it!  Back in the ring, the Gatecrashers took the upper hand for much of the match, keeping Rawlins isolated, making quick tags and having one member distract the referee while the other dealt some illegal blows or to stop him seeing a tag made.  Finally getting tagged in, Mikey looked to make short work of Saynt, however with Mikey holding Saynt, Rawlins looked to kick him in the face, Saynt ducked and Mikey took the boot instead, sending him sprawling out of the ring.  The Gatecrashers capitalised on the confusion, and Conrad quickly pinned Rawlins to take the win.  With Mikey climbing back into the ring, would be see all out war between the Originals?  Not this time - they shook hands and left to cheers from the crowd.

Reckless Intent have Saturday shows on Saturday 20 September and 4 October, with the next Sunday Slam on 19 October.  For information on shows and tickets, check out their Facebook page.




Review: SWE Hellbound

Saturday 23 August 2014

Hellbound is the final chance for the SWE roster to make their presence a necessity at their annual Hell For Lycra show on 30 August.  Hellbound was held in the Kirkton Community Centre with a 2pm start time and had Colt Cabana versus Grado on the bill, which I was really looking forward to seeing.  After getting our seats, it was time to play fangirl and finally get my photo taken with Colt, who was just so lovely!

First out to the ring were the Trident who took to the microphone to call out Mr News, Claymore and LJT.  With LJT scheduled in a later match, only Mr News and Claymore came out and then, to even up the numbers, Scotty Riccio made his return.  The match began as a brawl with all six men in the ring but quickly settled down, leaving Riccio at the mercy of the Trident, who kept him isolated from his tag team and made several quick tags in order to maximise the amount of punishment served to him. Eventually Riccio managed to rally and tag in Claymore, who quickly had Steven "Air" Myles pinned with Darren Blair making the save, ending with another melee in which The Trident were ejected from the ring and Riccio divebombed them on the outside.  Finally Claymore hoisted Myles onto his shoulders, Mr News leapt from the top turnbuckle, taking him down and pinning him for the win.

Next out was "The Butcher" Scott Renwick to face "The Beast from Belfast" Damian O'Connor.  Renwick was warned right from the outset by the crowd chant of "Damo's gonna kill ya" and that's exactly what the big guy set out to do.  O'Connor dominated most of this match but Renwick is a fighter...and smart too...he actually got up and ran from the corner when Damo was about to cannonball into him!  Unfortunately for him, he was not able to escape being stood on.  Renwick attempted a comeback and managed a pin attempt but it was not to be.  Renwick was hoisted up onto the shoulders of the big man, who then did a somersault across the ring, before pinning him for the three count.  A cracking match between two great performers and my pick for Match of the Day! (Sounds like a football term that!!)

After a video showing the escalation of the feud between Chaz Phoenix and Steven Magners, Bravehart came out to the ring, accompanied by Jam O'Malley to address why O'Malley turned on Euan Mackie.  After insulting the entire crowd by saying we were insignificant, he started berating Mackie, only for the music to start and Mackie to appear, surrounded by a group of referees.  Bravehart then called out to the referees, asking if anyone was brave enough to enter the ring and take them out and the challenge was answered by female referee, Edith Summer, who gave him
a taste of his own medicine.  In true "Evil Scotsman" fashion, Bravehart punched Edith, who was quickly dragged from the ring by her fellow referees as Bravehart announced that she would be the referee for his match with Mackie at Hell For Lycra.  With some of the crowd angry at him for hitting a woman, I yelled at him to "pick on someone his own size" and with Bravehart daring me to enter the ring, O'Malley called me a grandma and told me to sit down!  Refusing to climb into the ring, I invited Bravehart to come to me.  At this point Mackie called Bravehart a disgrace for attacking women, apologised to the crowd for what they had witnessed and promised to defeat Bravehart at Hell For Lycra.  As Bravehart left, he got in my face at ringside and we exchanged a few more words and even had some of the crowd chanting for me!

After such an emotionally charged segment, it was time for some light relief, which was provided by the first half main event match between Scotland's darling of the wrestling world, Grado and his own hero, Colt Cabana.  This wasn't really a wrestling match, just pure comedy and entertainment and I have never laughed so much at a wrestling show than I did during this match.  It was hysterical watching Grado doing his usual shtick and being upstaged by Cabana doing the same shtick but a little better.  Grado picked up the win, then asked Colt to join in his "in-ring dance celebration", which he did after plucking a small boy from the crowd to take part too.  The full match is available to view on the SWE YouTube channel in the first part of their pilot episode of  SWE Online TV - click here and prepare to be amused!

After a short interval, the action resume with another 3 on 3 tag match, with the team of Viper, Sammii Jayne and Felix Fortune facing off against Christopher Saynt, Nikki Storm and Mikey.  I am not a huge fan of tag matches with more than two members in a team as they usually get scrappy and there ends up being so much going on at one time, it's hard to keep track.  This started off with Sammii and Nikki in one corner, Mikey and Fortune in another while Viper and Saynt fought outside the ring - chaos!!  It quickly settled though, with the heel team taking the advantage and dominating Fortune, who they kept isolated from his team for the majority of the match.  Saynt, Storm and Mikey worked well together, and Fortune took an immense amount of punishment however he finally managed to make the tag and the match ended the way it began, with everyone in the ring and confusion reigning, before Viper pinned Mikey to take the win.

Next was a triple threat match between Martyn Stallyon, Jay The Jackal and Joe Hendry.  With the Jackal first trying to team with Hendry against Stallyon, then Stallyon against Hendry, the two men knocked The Jackal out of the ring before engaging each other.  With Debbie Sharp arriving to watch from the announce table, Hendry and Stallyon continued to battle, with the Jackal content to stand aside and watch, only really getting involved in order to stop either man pinning the other and then take his own chance to go for the pin.  Debbie Sharp decided to interfere in the match, and in trying to sabotage Stallyon, she inadvertently assisted him, causing Hendry to be knocked from the ring and allowing Stallyon to get the pin on the Jackal.

It was then time for the Hell For Lycra Career v Career Steel Cage match contract signing between Steven Magners and Chaz Phoenix.  With trouble expected between the two, a table is set up in the centre of the ring, Bravehart reappears accompanied by Jam O'Malley and The Trident and every referee stands at ringside, waiting for the inevitable. First Magners comes to the ring and is held in the corner by The Trident as Phoenix makes his entrance.  Bravehart produces the contract which both men sign...then Phoenix announces that with the contract signed, no-one can stop him tearing Magners apart, picking up the table and placing it in the corner!  Chaos ensues as The Trident try to keep them apart, Magners and Phoenix appear to team up to take them out, tossing two out of the ring and putting MDK through the table.  With the crowd stunned, Phoenix then attacked Magners.  Virtually the entire SWE roster enter the ring to try to keep these two apart however it soon turns into a free for all until the arrival of Damian O'Connor who cleaned house.  Video footage of this has also been released as part of the pilot episode of SWE Online TV....

...and it also includes the Main Event, a non-title match between LJT and  SWE Heavyweight Champion #scumbag Ian Ambrose.  As Ambrose removed his shirt and belt, LJT flew through the ropes to knock down the champ, returning to the ring and repeating the action twice more before pushing Ambrose into the ring for the match to officially start and trying a succession of pin attempts.  Ambrose quickly fought back to take the advantage, attempting pins and submissions himself.  With a combination of lovely mat wrestling and his usual underhanded techniques, Ambrose kept LJT subdued until his attempt at diving through the ropes was met with a boot to the face, followed by a springboard crossbody off the top rope by LJT but he could only score a two count and Ambrose got the ropes breaking his follow up koji clutch submission attempt.  After trading blows, LJT used his speed and agility to his advantage and a second koji clutch attempt failed.  The match then went back and forth as both men grew more exhausted until finally Ambrose brought the belt into the ring and decked the referee as he tried to take it from him.  LJT wins by disqualification.  As Ambrose goes to leave, Martyn Stallyon appears, grabs him and returns him to the ring where LJT springboards off the middle rope and delivers a boot to the face of Ambrose.

A cracking show in the run up to Hell For Lycra, with some cracking matches, the return of a fan favourite, a new face in Mikey, some controversy from Bravehart and lots of laughs from Colt and Grado!

For information on future SWE events, check out their Facebook page.