Review: SWE Uprising

Saturday 29 November 2014

Another trip to Dundee for SWE Uprising, but this one was a little different.  This was the first show I attended without my son.  Rob travelled with the Reckless Intent boys and helped backstage and I travelled with friends for show instead.

SWE have introduced a new system where booking tickets in advance gains you early entry to the venue and a pre-show bonus match before the doors open to the general public who wish to pay on the door.  The bonus match for this show featured warring brothers AJ Russell v JJ Russell.  This was a good wee match, with JJ Russell taking the win on this occasion, although having seen these two face each other several times recently, I would have liked to have seen each of them matched up against members of the SWE roster and hope this happens on future shows.  Footage of the match is on the Loudmouth Facebook page and you can watch it by clicking here.

The main show began with a video montage of the intense rivalry building between Ian Ambrose and Martyn Stallyon in their recent matches and of Chaz Phoenix taking 50% ownership of the SWE, climaxing with the brutal attack on Stallyon by Ambrose the night before the show - video footage is available on the SWE Facebook page.

First match of the night saw Jay The Jackal take on Trident member Steven "Air" Myles.  This was a strange match as neither man is a fan favourite which made it difficult for the crowd to get behind either man.  The Jackal antagonised the crowd into booing him which had a small number of people chanting for Myles but overall it was fairly subdued.  I hate to say it this but I found it really difficult to get into this heel-on-heel match (usually I can pick one guy over the other to cheer for) but this one just didn't work for me, although I did manage to get a "potato" chant going for a bit.  The Jackal works the whole heel angle really well but for some reason against a face opponent it just works better.  The Jackal took the win by submission in this match and got the usual boos from the crowd.

Immediately following his defeat, Myles returned to the ring with fellow Trident member Darren Blair and SWE co-owner Bravehart, who announced to the crowd that one of his Trident members, MDK, has been put on the shelf due to a serious injury and, as you can't have a Trident with only two members, tonight he would be introducing a new member.  Before that however he wanted to make an announcement regarding the actions of Ian Ambrose against Martyn Stallyon.  He then publicly applauded Ambrose on his actions and gave him the night off.  He then returned to the announcement of the new member of the Trident..."England's Own....Saint-George"!!! The Evil Scotsman has joined forces with The Prodigal Son of England.  I was totally gobsmacked and I may have let out a curse or two (I'm very sorry!). I knew that Saint-George would be making an appearance at some point during the night as I had spent two days working on the robe he wore (and it did look bloody good) but I was convinced that his appearance would be connected to the recent spats on Facebook with Chaz Phoenix!  After introducing Saint-George to the other Trident members, a very smug Bravehart left the ring with his "new and improved" security force.

Next up was a Sirens match featuring two ladies making their SWE debuts, Layla Rose and Kasey Owens.  This was also the first time I had seen either girl in action and both made a good first impression. Their match was relatively short however Owens showed her speed and agility and Rose used brute strength and really worked her heel character well, antagonising the crowd by yelling at them in German.  Both girls had near pins but it was Layla Rose who was victorious on the night.  I would like to see them both in action again in the future.

For the final match of the first half, Reckless Intent General Manager Jason McKinlay came out to introduce Venym and Jackie Grady.  This was a bit different from their previous matches - it was the first time I had ever seen Grady play face!  Even funnier was when his entrance music was suddenly changed from his usual "Word Up" to Hanson's "Mmm-bop".  Grady got a fantastic reception from the SWE crowd from the start, which was rather strange to witness.  Venym took the upper hand early on in the match and scored a near pin.  He played the heel card to a t, using the ropes to his advantage but Grady rallied to score a near fall of his own.  The match ended when Grady managed to hit his "No Place Like Home" cravat neckbreaker on Venym and take the three count.

The second half started with an appearance from Chaz Phoenix, who updated the audience on the condition of Martyn Stallyon and confirmed he would be out of action for the foreseeable future.  He then called out both Ian Ambrose and Bravehart and proceeded to tell Bravehart that as co-owners of the SWE, there are things they cannot do without each other's approval and that includes giving Ambrose the night off.  There are, however, some things Chaz can do without requiring the approval of Bravehart, such as making the main event a triple threat match for the SWE title with Ambrose having to defend against LJT and Mikey.

The penultimate match of the night saw Scotty Riccio put the Future Division title on the line against "The Baddest Man in Professional Wrestling" Rawlins.  The majority of the crowd were firmly behind Riccio in this match, although there was a small band of support for Rawlins.  This was a pretty good match up with a bit of everything. The match started off with a series of wristlocks and cartwheel counters before Riccio took the upper hand and Rawlins left the ring.  Riccio went for a move from the ropes but Rawlins intercepted and ended up slamming Riccio flat on the ring apron before doing a suicide dive onto Riccio, however his second attempt was not as successful.  Back in the ring, the match continued to go back and forth.  Riccio hit not one but two 619s during the match, Rawlins hit his flying headbutt from the top turnbuckle  and caught Riccio in a crossface submission hold which Riccio escaped by grabbing the ropes and also unsuccessfully attempted an armbar submission.  Riccio managed hit Rawlins with his springboard moonsault after the second 619 and scored the pin to retain the title.

Finally it was time for the main event.  The match started with Ambrose getting into the faces of both his opponents and ending up in the receiving end of kicks to the face from both, sending him out of the ring.  Mikey and LJT then battled, while Ambrose watched from outside, ready to act if either of the other men looked like making a pin, before attempting to dropkick both guys from the top turnbuckle and missing, ending up outside the ring again.  This time he grabbed Mikey's foot, slamming him face first into the canvas before dragging him outside and attacking him.  There was a rather untidy exchange between Ambrose and LJT in the ring, before Ambrose launched himself from the ring apron onto Mikey.  This was followed by first LJT launching himself over the ropes onto both men outside the ring and then Mikey recovered to the ring before doing the same.  Mikey and Ambrose then took to the ring where Ambrose dominated much of the action, keeping LJT out of the ring as much as possible.  Ambrose took to the turnbuckles looking to finish Mikey when LJT appeared, moving Mikey out of the way and taking the blow himself.  Ambrose again made an escape, leaving Mikey and LJT to battle in the ring.
An attempted a springboard from the top rope from Mikey was intercepted by Ambrose, leaving Mikey outside the ring and Ambrose and LJT to finish out the match.  After a couple of near pins by LJT, he caught Ambrose in a submission hold, however Ambrose manoeuvred the hold into a pinfall.  It has been stated that Ambrose tapped out, however from the angle I was seated, it was a clear pinfall - if Ambrose did tap, neither myself nor the referee were in a position to see it.  LJT thought he had won the match until the announcement was made and, not happy with the decision, he attacked Ambrose - this story is far from over.

The night ended with Scotty Riccio making a wee presentation and leading the crowd in singing happy birthday to a young lad from the audience.

I am not going to award a match of the night for this event, as for me the stand-out moment was not a match, but the reveal of Saint-George as a Trident member - completely unexpected and certainly made my jaw drop.

The final SWE event of the year, "Seasons Beatings VII" will be held in the Ardler Complex on Saturday 13th December and tickets are available now.  Details are available on their Facebook page