Review: SWE Uprising: Hearts on Fire

Saturday 28 March 2015


If Livingston and Reckless Intent is my second home, then Dundee and SWE is my third and the last Saturday of the month will find me at the Ardler Complex (unless its August - Caird Hall baby!) for their monthly Uprising show.  As the shows have become more and more popular, it has often ended up standing room only and, for the first time the balcony was opened to wrestling fans.

There was a pre-show match for advance ticket holders featuring two trainees from SWE's training school, JD Wilde and Kenny Kyd. A fairly decent display from both guys ending in a victory for Kenny.  I actually quite enjoy these matches - its good to see the talent emerging from different training schools and it also gives them a chance to feel what its like to be in front of a crowd before they hit the main card.

The main show began with an announcement that Chris Duke had been suspended after striking Bravehart at the previous show and that there would be a replacement for him on the commentary table....none other than Bravehart himself.

The first match saw Felix Fortune face Chaz Phoenix.  Fortune put up a good fight but Phoenix had him well in control when Conor Frost and Trident members Darren Blair, Steven "Air" Myles and Saint-George appeared and they each took their turn to perform their finishing moves on Phoenix.  Suddenly MDK, the Trident member who was replaced by Saint-George after sustaining an injury, appeared however instead of joining his old crew, he shocked everyone when he got in the ring and cleared it of everyone except Fortune who was then pinned by Phoenix.  Bravehart was furious and to add insult to injury, Chaz Phoenix then announced that with MDK now by his side, we were witnessing the rebirth of "The Syndicate".  He then called to Chris Duke, who was sitting in the audience, and reinstated him to his rightful place at the commentary table and as ring announcer.

Next up was Martyn Stallyon v Venym v Jackie Grady in a Triple Threat match.  Stallyon started well before being knocked from the ring, allowing Venym to gain the upper hand on Grady.  Stallyon returned to the ring to prevent either of his opponents making the pinfall.  With all three now in the ring, chaos ensued - Stallyon had a near pin on Grady, who was then taken out by Venym, who then found himself on the receiving end of a pin by Stallyon when Ian Ambrose appeared and attacked Stallyon.  Ambrose and Stallyon then battled their way through the crowd, up onto the balcony and down the other side into the backstage area.  While most of the crowd were focusing on the battle outside of the ring, Grady and Venym continued to go at it with Venym eventually claiming the victory.

The first match of the second half saw fan favourite LJT team up with Euan G Mackie against Trident members, Saint-George and Steven "Air" Myles, with Darren Blair hovering around ringside.  This was an incredible match and most definitely my Match of the Night.  All four guys really pulled out the stops on this and the end result was a delight to watch.  With Saint-George and Myles trying their underhanded tricks and double team moves and Blair trying to get involved, it was nice to see Myles taking out his own partner and being on the receiving end of an LJT/Mackie double team too.  The highlight of the match for me is shown in the photo - LJT had taken out Blair at ringside and Mackie had hit Saint-George and Myles with a double dropkick from the turnbuckle before sending them out of the ring.  Mackie then climbed to the top turnbuckle and cannonballed all three Trident members (and his partner) on the outside of the ring.  Back in the ring (and back in my seat) LJT seemed to be on fire but Myles managed to gain control and hit his 450 splash on LJT however he failed to score the pinfall.  There were a couple more near pins for both sides but finally, Myles tried to flip over the back of LJT and pull him down, but LJT dropped to his knees instead, cinching up the legs of Myles getting the three count.  This truly was a great match and even got a "This is awesome" chant (which was NOT started by me!)

After such a cracking match, the last person we wanted to see was Bravehart - but out he came to the ring and demanded that Chris Duke stand in the corner of the ring until he finished.  He then berated Duke for his actions at the previous event, dishing out insult after insult to the point it looked like Duke might haul off and punch him again.  Of course Bravehart had already considered this and threatened to fire Duke if he dared to raise his hand again and how it was so important for Duke to have a job.  I almost lost my voice at this point screaming at Duke to just hit him and I would arrange a whip-round for him!  Unfortunately he chose not to and returned to the commentary table looking somewhat shell-shocked while Bravehart got into verbal battles with myself and my friends as he left ringside.

The penultimate match of the night had Ian Ambrose against Massimo Italiano.  With Ambrose refusing to acknowledge the loss of the SWE Heavyweight Championship to Joe Hendry at the last event, he came out to the ring carrying a home-made version of the SWE belt then demanded that Doctor Grue re-announce him as the reigning SWE Champion of 428 days.  Ambrose then took the microphone and announced that as a "fighting champion" that this match would be for his SWE title, much to the amusement of the crowd and a few chants of "Joe Hendry, Global Hero" were made.  The match itself was great, with some lovely moves and several near pins from both guys.  Ultimately the match was decided by the interference of Stallyon, who superkicked Ambrose, handing his nemesis the win by disqualification, retaining his "title".

The main event saw Scotty Riccio put the Future Division Title on the line against Jay the Jackal.  As expected, The Jackal used every underhanded tactic in the book in his efforts to regain the belt and his "Associate" was on hand to assist in any way necessary.  This was yet another great match and filled with controversy.  With Riccio having been subjected to outside interference on several occasions, he looked to be regaining some momentum when he was thrown into the corner and knocked down the referee.  The Jackal's "Associate" was quick to capitalise, hitting the ref with a boot to the face before turning his attentions to Riccio.  After The Jackal and his "Associate" hit Riccio with a double team move, a second referee appeared to make the count, however Riccio managed to kick out and an angry Jackal then decked the ref, knocking him out.  Riccio then went on the offensive, knocking the "Associate" from the ring apron before hitting a beautiful lionsault on The Jackal.  A third referee appeared as he pinned The Jackal and made the three count.  The crowd went nuts, however before he could call to the timekeeper to ring the bell, the "Associate" grabbed his feet and dragged him from the ring, causing his head to hit off the ring apron and leave him unconscious on the floor.  With the match still officially going, Riccio was beaten by both men and then, as the original referee came to, was pinned by The Jackal to become the new Future Division Champion.  The crowd were furious, as was Chaz Phoenix who appeared at ringside and announced that Scotty Riccio would get his rematch at the next Uprising on 25 April in the Ardler Complex.

A cracking, if unpopular, end to a great show - easily the best show SWE has put on since October when Paul London and Brian Kendrick appeared - and this time without the big name imports!  SWE goes from strength to strength and with their annual Hell For Lycra just a few months away, things can only get better.

Check out SWE on Facebook for details of their upcoming shows and ticket availability.  Tickets are also on sale for Hell For Lycra which will be held at the Caird Hall in Dundee on August 29th.