Review: Reckless Intent presents Sunday Slam: Come At Us, Bro

Sunday 22 February 2015

A very wet and windy day, along with a virus that was doing the rounds, meant a smaller crowd than usual, but this didn't stop the guys from giving a great show.

The RI originals, Rawlins and Mikey came out to the ring to address the issue of the SOS.  After revealing themselves at the last event, Mikey had then faced Renwick for the Reckless Intent title but was unsuccessful.  He addressed the fact that he was having to pull out of their scheduled rematch on 7 March due to the fact that he would be having surgery on his knee on the Wednesday following this event and would not be medically cleared to return to the ring. He would that day however, be facing Davidian Fury, who had recently returned to Reckless Intent and thought he should be "at the top of the food chain" but Mikey planned to send him right back down to the bottom.  Rawlins then took the microphone and asked Doctor Grue to announce the stipulation for his match with Darren Lewis and that he didn't want to wait till 7 March for the match, he wanted to face him that day!  At this point Davidian Fury appeared and reminded people that he had won the right to be guest host of this show and took great pleasure in announcing that Rawlins was suspended for two weeks for attacking a referee at the last show.  As Rawlins left the building, Grue then announced that the referee, Conor Frost, was under investigation for misconduct.

The first match of the night saw Bobby Roberts and Craig Valant teamed up to face Jackie Grady and The Westler.  Roberts was the dominant force in this match, starting well against Westy before handing the mantle to Valant.  Westy quickly tagged out and Grady took the upper hand, working the leg of Valant, taunting Roberts and having the ref hold him back from entering the ring while Grady and Westy double teamed Valant.  Grady tried to pin Valant who was able to kick out, launching Grady into the turnbuckle and allowing Valant to make a much needed tag.  Roberts demolished Grady before hitting Westy with the spear.  With all four guys in the ring, Roberts pinned Grady for the victory and Valant hit him with "The Firestorm" for good measure.

Next out to the ring was Saint-George Bernard, who took the opportunity to try and intimidate Doctor Grue before taking on JJ Russell,  With the crowd behind him, Russell started well and Saint-George's tactics of gathering himself outside of the ring was made more difficult by the presence of Bobby Roberts, who had taken a seat at ringside for this match.  Using some underhanded tactics, Saint-George gained the upper hand but Russell had said "geez a chance" and now that he had one, he was not going to let it slip through his fingers.  As Saint-George moved in for his "Saint George Cross" Russell was able to counter and hit the mouthy Englishman with the "Sister Abigail" and take the pinfall.  Bobby Roberts raised Russell's hand in victory and smiled smugly as Saint-George came to terms with his loss.

The first half main event saw SOS member Darren Lewis face Falcon.  Since the SOS attack on Falcon and Rawlins at Over The Top in November, Falcon had been a silent and aggressive character, however now that the culprits had unmasked, it appeared that Falcon had returned as the fan favourite and was looking for retribution.  Lewis dominated the early part of the match, using underhanded tactics and keeping his opponent caught in the corners but Falcon kept fighting, pulling off some lovely moves of the ropes to unbalance the bigger man.  After scoring a near pin and sending Lewis out of the ring, Falcon appeared to be going for a suicide dive but Lewis intercepted the move with a chair. Referee Conor Frost called for the disqualification but Lewis then talked Frost into allowing the match to continue before getting back into the ring to make the pin on Falcon.  As Frost started to count, Rawlins made his return to the unit, knocking Frost unconscious before attacking Lewis.  Then all hell broke loose as Scott Renwick jumped into the ring to help Lewis subdue Rawlins and Mikey appeared to even the numbers, followed by the entire roster who attempted to keep The SOS and The Originals apart.  After the ring had finally been cleared, Doctor Grue announced that the original result of Falcon winning by disqualification would stand.

The second half started with a 4 Way match for the Hardcore Title between Sambroso Maestro, Sweet Johnny, Rob Mills and current champ Chavi.  Before the match started, Sambroso pulled a rather large pair of leopard print knickers from his tights, threw them at Rob stating "give these back to your mum" (he wishes!!) That set the tone for the match and there were lowblows aplenty before Chavi got the other three tied up in their own gear (with Sambroso flashing a bit more cheek than he may have wanted to).  With each guy trying to take the title, there was always someone getting in the way.  The crowd were firmly behind Chavi, who seemed to have the match well in hand, however it was Sambroso who was victorious after nailing Chavi with his "Debo Numero Uno" to become the new Hardcore champ.  Westy made an entrance to challenge for the belt but instead received a blow to the head, but Sambroso's joy was shortlived when Venym appeared and pinned him with the use of his hammer to take the belt.  Westy then attempted to challenge Venym and received a blow to the head from the hammer for his troubles.

The penultimate match saw Davidian Fury take on Mikey.  Fury managed to make a young lad cry and was invited to pick on someone his own size....ie me!!  Mikey came out all guns blazing but Fury used his size advantage to gain the upper hand, before getting a bit to full of himself and soon Mikey put him back in his place, using some cracking aerial moves to knock Fury off balance before putting him down for the three count.  After the match, Mikey addressed the fact that Scott Renwick had said he was too scared to face him at No Going Back on 7 March and stated he would be glad to face Renwick but no medical official would clear him for the match to happen and therefore he had chosen a replacement for the match - someone who kept asking for a chance - JJ Russell.

Finally it was time for the main event where AJ Russell would put the Sunday Slam Title on the line against the new Hardcore Champion Venym.  This match went back and forth, with both guys showing their agility as well as strength.  With the crowd firmly behind Venym, Russell attempted several underhanded moves to gain the advantage.  At one point the referee was knocked from the ring and both guys had what would have been successful pin attempts with no referee to count.  As Russell dragged the referee into the centre of the ring, Venym took the time to recover, hitting his "Poison Rain" finisher to score the pinfall and become the new Sunday Slam champ.  As he was celebrating, Saint-George pulled a sneak attack from behind, hitting Venym with the "Saint George Cross" to take the Hardcore Title.  Once again Westy appeared to challenge for the belt, however this time he actually managed to succeed, rolling up Saint-George for the three count.  An irate Saint-George left the ring empty-handed as Venym and Westy shook hands and celebrated their new titles.

Check out Reckless Intent on Facebook for details of upcoming events and how to get your tickets.

The next Sunday Slam, Fight The Power is on 22 March at the RI Unit with entry only £5 on the door.  Reckless Intent returns to Murieston Scout Hall on 4 April for Never Back Down and with Chris Renfrew making a return, it's sure to get ugly.  Tickets are available online now.

Review: Reckless Intent presents Sunday Slam "Shall We Begin"

Sunday 25 January 2015

So my first wrestling show of the year was at my home away from home!  With Rob on the card, we were both looking forward to the day.  While the boys were in the unit organising the show, I was outside setting up the tuck shop and merchandise stand, which is a great way of keeping busy and warm on a cold day!  There was a great turn out for the show, ending with standing room only in the unit.

The show started with temporary ring announcer Sully introducing Doctor Grue as the acting General Manager in the wake of Jason McKinlay being attacked by SOS and his being held hostage.  Grue called them a bunch of cowards and said that if they harmed McKinlay he would set Rawlins and Mikey on them and any other Reckless Intent roster member who wanted a piece of them and that he would not stop them till they had been ripped apart bit by bit.  He also said Jason would want the show to go on and that if SOS thought it would be cancelled due to their actions, they were mistaken.

The first match paired up Rob Mills and Bobby Roberts to face Jackie Grady and "The Westler" West Grady.  Roberts was the dominant force in this match, easily controlling both Grady and Westy before Mills tagged in against Westy.  With the smaller guy now in the ring, Grady managed to antagonise Roberts into trying to enter the ring, taking the referee's attention from the legal man and allowing Grady and Westy to double team Mills and dish out a fair amount of punishment.  Roberts was tagged in and immediately took control, sending Westy out to the floor and showing Grady who is boss.  With Grady on the mat, Roberts stood ready and waiting to spear Grady as he got to his feet when a cocky Mills tagged himself in.  While Mills and Roberts argued, Grady took the opportunity to get to his feet and tag The Westler who dropped Mills with a clothesline and scored the pinfall.  Roberts helped his young tag partner to his feet and told him "you win some, you lose some".   Mills slapped Roberts in the face, yelling "I don't need him" before receiving both a stunner and a spear....cracking moves but hard to watch when it's your kid on the receiving end!!

Next up was Saint-George against the returning Davidian Fury.  Saint-George arrived to the ring first, taking the microphone and making his usual derogatory comments about the crowd, including having a go about eating haggis for Burns Supper, before calling out his opponent.  With Fury bragging about holding the hardcore championship the longest in Reckless Intent, he had a point to prove and he planned to do that by beating the man everyone loves to hate.  The crowd seemed a bit confused about who to cheer for as Fury is known as a heel.  This meant that there were actually people chanting and cheering for the Englishman!  Saint-George started off well, taking Fury down on the mat and managing to yell at members of the crowd while beating on his opponent but Fury came back at him and hit a lovely dropkick to the face of Saint-George.  After a double clothesline put both men down, it looked like Fury had the advantage but Saint-George made a final comeback and hit the "Saint George Cross" and took the three count.

As Saint-George left the ring, Mikey suddenly appeared and attacked Davidian Fury, who was still down on the mat.  Mikey then grabbed a microphone and, in between punches and kicks, made it clear that there was still some resentment regarding Fury's previous time with Reckless Intent when he was part of the New Blood faction who tried to destroy everything Mikey stood for.  Rawlins then appeared and told Mikey off....for starting without him.  The Originals then continued a double team attack on Fury, including their amazing "Reckless Abandon" double team move, followed by some chair shots from Rawlins and finally a coast to coast from Mikey, all of which left a battered Fury bleeding in the ring.

Next up was Craig "The Firestorm" Valant to face Rawlins.  This match was shaping up to be a stoater but once again, the focus turned to referee Conor Frost and his ongoing hostility towards Rawlins.  After a great start with some nice moves and counters from both guys, Rawlins applied his crossface submission hold on Valant, only for Frost to break the hold and accuse Rawlins of choking his opponent.  Rawlins let this one go, got back to the match and once again applied the crossface hold. This went between submission and near pin as Valant tried to escape until Valant managed to reverse the hold into his "white heat" submission.  Referee Frost immediately called for the bell and awarded the win to Valant, stating that Rawlins had tapped out when he clearly had not.  Mikey, sitting ringside argued that Rawlins had not tapped and even Craig Valant was unhappy also making the point that he knew Rawlins had not submitted.  Frost was unrepentant and also extremely lucky, managing to squirm his way out of the ring as Rawlins attempted to apply his crossface hold on the errant referee.

The first match of the second half saw JJ Russell take on "The Superstar" Darren Lewis.  The match started with JJ Russell sizing up to Lewis and, finding himself a little short, had the crowds in fits of laughter as he puffed himself up in an attempt to look bigger.  Lewis was not amused at Russell's comedy antics but he entertained the crowd and also put in a good show against the current UK Champion, while Lewis resorted to underhanded tactics such as using the ropes to choke Russell and pulling on his beard.  Despite pulling off some cracking moves, including a drop kick from the top turnbuckle, it was not to be Russell's day and Lewis got the three count after hitting the cradle shock on the fan favourite.

Next up was the triple threat match for the Sunday Slam title.  AJ Russell was announced first and came out in normal clothing on crutches, taking a seat at ringside instead of entering the ring.  Falcon once again made the crowd wait before making his appearance in the ring.  Finally, Venym appeared and despite the audio problem with his entrance music, was greeted enthusiastically by the crowd.  Falcon and Venym went back and back and forth, each doing everything possible to be the first Sunday Slam champion and both came close to scoring the three count as AJ Russell sat watching from ringside.  Then, as Venym had the advantage and made to pin the beaten Falcon, Russell jumped up on the apron and whacked Venym with one of his crutches.  He then entered the ring, rolled Falcon out to the floor and pinned Venym to become the first Sunday Slam Champion.  Venym then called for acting GM Doctor Grue to come to the ring and asked to be entered into the Battle Royal match taking place later, which would determine the no 1 contender for the Sunday Slam title, thus giving him the possibility of the chance to face AJ Russell one on one for the belt.  Doctor Grue admitted that it was his error that the card was not changed to remove Russell from their match and Russell was the legitimate winner of the belt but that he would grant Venym's request and allow him to compete in the Battle Royal.

It was then time for Sambroso Maestro's "Culture Club".  You actually have to feel a little sorry for the guy because not only did he have to deal with me antagonising him, he had to contend with the wit of Sully and then, after trying to start a "Suave not Chav" chant,  had to face Sweet Chavi Sanchez.  Chavi then wound up Sambroso by say "my name is Jeff" before turning him into a human pretzel and hooking his foot into his shirt and lying down in front of him.  Sambroso retaliated with a lowblow and threatened Chavi with his "deboo" while promoting his Facebook and snapchat, allowing Chavi to get the better of him once again.

Finally we had the Battle Royal match to determine the No 1 contender for the Sunday Slam title.  As always, this was chaotic with so many people in the ring at once, so some things may appear out of sequence!  First everyone attacked Bobby Roberts, who then managed to regroup and hit each and every one of the competitors with a stunner before making the first elimination of match, ejecting Rob Mills from the ring.  He was then distracted by Darren Lewis and jumped the top rope, eliminating himself and chased Lewis backstage.  Falcon spent the early part of the match sitting out of the way of the action before finally getting involved and then strangely chose to eliminate himself from the match.  Chavi Sanchez was like a cat with nine lives, almost being eliminated several times but somehow managing to squirm back into the ring, even using the crowd barriers to avoid his feet hitting the floor.  Jackie Grady was not eligible to compete as a former World and UK title holder, however he stood at ringside and imitated West Grady, before he jumped up on the apron and helped Chris Echo to eliminate The Westler.  Sweet Johnny took a series of brutal chops from several other wrestlers before being eliminated.

The final four competitors were JJ Russell, Venym, Chavi and Sambroso.  Russell was eliminated first and it appeared that Venym had been eliminated however, although he was knocked over the top rope, his feet did not touch the floor.  Sambroso quickly eliminated Chavi and began celebrating what he believed to be a win, only to turn around and find Venym back in the ring.  Venym
swung Sambroso round a few times and then catapulted him over the top rope to take the win and claim the position of No 1 contender to the Sunday Slam title.

There are several pieces of footage from this show available on YouTube, including the full match between Darren Lewis and JJ Russell.

The next Reckless Intent show is on 7 February at Murieston Scout Hall.  Advance ticket holders will gain early entry to the venue and witness a pre-show "Mystery Doors" match for the Hardcore title.  This is one not to be missed and tickets are available now - click here to get yours.

The next Sunday Slam will be held at the RI Unit on 22 February and promises to be another belter.  Entry is £5 on the door and it is advised to get there early to grab a seat!

Check out Reckless Intent on Facebook and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Review: Reckless Intent presents Sunday Slam 2

Sunday 19 October 2014

This was the second Sunday Slam show from Reckless Intent and would be a wee bit more special for me as Rob would be making his in-ring debut during the main event rumble match.

The show started with ring announcer The Grue informing the crowd that Joe Hendry believed that the Hardcore Championship epitomises everything that is wrong with wrestling and had therefore vacated the title in exchange for a shot at the UK Title at Over the Top on 1 November.  As a result, the main event rumble would now be for the vacated Hardcore Championship.

The first match saw Westy face Mike Hawke.  Westy's gimmick is to come out dressed as different wrestling characters and this time he was the Undertaker during his "American Badass" stint.  He arrived not on a motorbike however, but on a kids scooter.  Mike Hawke took exception to this and claimed to be the real American Badass and unleashed a series of hard chops to the chest of the crowd favourite.  Despite a few mistakes due to his inexperience in the ring, Westy could not be kept down and, in true Undertaker style, no matter what was thrown at him, he just kept going, walking the top rope and finishing Hawke with a tombstone piledriver to take the win.

Next up was Jackie Grady against Craig Valant.  The crowd were a bit quiet during this match but are definitely warming to newcomer Valant, especially after he started by asking Grady if he was a member of Hanson.  After a few wristlocks and armdrags, Grady decided he needed a break, taking a seat in the audience and inciting a chicken chant.  While Grady was getting in my face, Valant exited the ring and forced him back in, only for Grady to get the jump on him and dominate much of the match.  Valant did manage to get back into the match, scoring a near fall after a power bomb, before heading to the top rope however Grady countered and both men went down for a 6 count.  After exchanging punches, Valant hit with some big clotheslines, a scoop slam and a series of elbow drops and looked firmly in control of the match, however Grady managed to counter his finishing move and was able to roll up Valant for the 3 count.

AJ Russell came out to the ring and called out his brother JJ, who had refused to face him back in August.  This time JJ appeared, much to the delight of the crowd.  This was brutal.  AJ started with slaps to the face of his brother, following up with punches and kicks and ramming his shoulder into the back of his brother in the corner.  JJ took a tremendous amount of punishment throughout this match and although he did manage to get on the offence a few times, his brother seemed to have an answer for everything, including some cracking aerial moves.  Despite the crowd being firmly behind JJ, it was AJ Russell who took the 3 count after a massive splash from the top rope.  This sibling rivalry is far from over but they get my vote for Match of the Day (afternoon show remember!)

The first half main event was a much anticipated affair.  After a short (and slightly one-sided) Facebook courtship, we were invited to the "wedding" of Jam O'Malley and Reckless Intent World Champion Saint-George Bernard.  Saint George arrived to the ring first, decked in his flags as usual, grabbing a microphone and stating there would be no wedding, only for O'Malley to arrive to the tune of "Here comes the bride".  Originally scheduled to be a non-title match between these two, General Manager Jason McKinley appeared and announced that the title would be on the line.  As Saint-George grumbled, Jam said they could just get married instead and the champion reluctantly handed the belt to the referee.  There was a moment of pure hilarity when Saint-George grabbed the top rope, only for it to slip and him land on his ass.  It was Jam O'Malley who started the "you fell over" chant!  This only served to make the champ even angrier and when O'Malley held out his hand to Saint-George, it was slapped away. Jam then dropped his trousers to reveal a fetching pair of red boxers, causing Saint-George to leave the ring and refuse to return to ring until he was decent.  Then when Jam offered to "hug it out" Saint-George slapped his face.  With Jam now sulking in the corner, Saint-George dragged him out by his hair and get this match started.  There was very little actual wrestling in the match,

however no-one really minded as there was a lot of entertainment, mainly Jam making fun of and embarrassing Saint-George, who in turn wanted to cause the greatest amount of pain possible for his opponent.  The match came to an end when Jam took off his trousers and bounced on the chest of Saint-George in corner.  Disgusted, the champioon grabbed the belt and left ring to be counted out but as the title can only change hands on a pinfall or submission, he retained the title.  GM Jason McKinlay returned and announced a new stipulation for the Title match on November 1 against Scott Renwick - if Saint-George is disqualified or counted out, he will be stripped of the title and fired.  A very unhappy Saint-George then grabbed a microphone to state that after that match, he would still be champion to a chorus of "blah, blah, blah" from the crowd.

The first match after the interval saw the return of Iron Fist, accompanied by his psychiatrist, Miss J who explained to the crowd that this was an experiment and she was working to help Iron Fist learn to interact with normal peopl.  She stated that she had brought him to see how he would cope in a strenuous social enviroment but that she would not be held culpable for any injuries obtained.  His opponent was Sweet Chavi Sanchez, who came out wearing a second mask as a taunting gesture toward Iron Fist and carrying his trademark Irn Bru.  This was more of a comedy match, with Chavi dealing out low blows and kicks to the ass of his opponent and taking a seat in the crowd while Iron Fist bounced off the ropes.  Finally Iron Fist grew tired of Chavi's antics and took the victory after hitting Chavi with a huge sidewalk slam.  I look forward to seeing Iron Fist in a more serious match in the future.

The final match before the Rumble was scheduled as a non-title match between UK Champion Mikey and Venym.  Venym came out to the ring first and, after stating that he had not had a great run of luck in his recent matches, respectfully requested that the match be made a title match so that he could show he could hold his own against the best in the company.  GM Jason McKinlay came out and granted the request.  Mikey appeared to the usual cheers from the fans, shook Venym's hand and the match was on.  While Venym is the bigger of the two, he is surprisingly agile and this match was a close runner up for my Match of the Day.  There was a lot of really nice moves from both guys and I was surprised by the amount of pro-Venym chanting there was considering how popular Mikey is with the fans.  Mikey nailed Venym with several dropkicks and a cracking 619 before springing from the top rope to splash Venym but could only get a 2 count.  Venym countered with spears into the turnbuckles and a massive legdrop but, once again, only a 2 count was managed.  Venym climbed the ropes only for Mikey to recover and hit some devastating aerial moves that so nearly got him the win.  Venym tried to rally but Mikey finished him with a "Pepsi Plunge" and scored the 3 count to retain the UK title.

Finally it was time for the Hardcore rumble match and I have to admit that for the early part of this match, I was solely focused on Rob.  I had expected that as a trainee he would be in the match for such a short period that I better grab the opportunity to get as many photos of him in action while I could.  Surprisingly he was in the match for longer than I expected and actually was holding his own pretty well, so I turned my attention to some of the other action.  The Russell brothers continued their battle with each other. Wee Jimmy was dragged into the ring before being thrown over the top rope onto the apron where Mikey dropkicked him onto the floor.  The Grue was dragged into the ring by Jam O'Malley, before being dumped over the top rope minus a few buttons on his purple shirt!  Rob had some nice turns with Saint-George, Rawlins and Jackie Grady, before catching a boot from Mikey producing a shiner before being eliminated by Grady.  Mikey hit a cracking dropkick on Craig Valant, before hitting the 619 on Saint-George following it with a springboard splash.  Mikey and Rawlins eliminated themselves by diving over the top rope to take out the SOS who were standing at ringside.  The final four appeared to be Westy (using The Big Show as his gimmick for this match), Jackie Grady, Jam O'Malley and Saint-George.  Saint-George was eliminated but grabbed O'Malley from the apron outside the ring and with Grady inside, together they got him over the top rope only for Westy to grab Grady and eliminate him, appearing to win the match.  As Westy celebrated with the belt, suddenly the

leader of the SOS, Sam Crowe appeared and tossed Westy over the top rope.  As he had not be officially eliminated from the match, he was crowned winner and new Hardcore champion and was joined in the ring by another member of SOS, however Mikey and Rawlins appeared with a steel chair and Crowe took off out the door, leaving his associate to face the RI Originals alone.  After being smacked with the chair and having Rawlins smack it off his face with a big boot, the SOS member was left sitting in the corner as Rawlins held the chair on him and Mikey hit it with a coast to coast before they dumped him out to the floor.

Another great show - and I admit to being totally biased when I say it was probably my favourite because my son made his debut - and I don't give a rat's ass what anyone has to say on the matter!

The next Reckless Intent show is this Saturday 1st November and is being held at Murieston Scout Hall, Livingston.  Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children.  Check them out on Facebook to keep up to date with news and future events and subscribe to their YouTube Channel where you will find footage of previous events.

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: Reckless Intent at Blackburn Gala Day

Saturday 14 June 2014

This was a wrestling event with a difference.  I have to admit that I haven't been to a gala day in years.  When Rob was younger, he found the crowds, noise and general chaos too much to handle so it was just another thing to avoid.  As he got older, his ability to deal with the crowds, noise and chaos improved, but his interest in the shows and stalls diminished.  As a result, I had absolutely no idea what a gala day entailed and how a wrestling show could be incorporated into it.

Our day started early and we met up with some of the crew at the RI unit at 8.45am, then it was off to Blackburn to get set up.  The first thing that had to be decided was whether the ring would be set up outdoors or in the local sports centre.  It was very overcast but forecasts said it would brighten up so outside it was.  The next hurdle was to get the van over to where we would be setting up without getting stuck in the muddy sections.  After that it was time to build a wrestling ring....and I think I gave a few of those boys a bit of a shock when I got stuck in - just call me She-Ra!!  Once the ring was up, it was time to get the barriers up and backstage area sorted.  It was then time for a well deserved break and a wee spot of lunch while the boys have their planning session.  Because Rob is training with Reckless Intent, I am a little more involved in their shows than other promotions but my one rule is that I don't want to know what goes on in the ring until it happens.

At 1.30pm the show was ready to start and a small crowd began to gather.  Rather than picking my usual spot to watch and cheer/jeer the lads, I watched to see who I thought were getting into the matches, then made my way to that area and tried to start some chants.  Some folk joined right in, while a few others eyed me warily while staying silent. Another thing that surprised me about the show is that, because it was a small part of the Gala Day,
I assumed that there would be three or four matches to give the crowd a wee taste of the "Reckless Intent Experience" but no, they actually put on a full show with 6 one-on-one matches and a 10 man elimination match for the UK Title.  And so onto the wrestling...although I apologise if this seems like more of results list than a proper review of each match as I was wandering around a fair bit.....

With the General Manager John Long in action, the guest GM and Ring Announcer for the day was my biggest fan, Saint-George Bernard.  As he took to the ring to bore...I mean regale.. us with his musings (and whinging about his broken thumb), the bagpipes of a local pipe band started up, much to his annoyance and the amusement of the crowd!

First up, current UK title holder Jackie Grady faced Juan El Loco Gato in a non-title match.  The crowd were not impressed with Grady's cockiness, however they loved Juan's cheeky and colourful character and were firmly behind him throughout the match.  Unfortunately Grady won the match, but Juan won the crowd!

With the running battle between John Long and Lowblow coming to a head on 28 June at Proving Grounds, both men had "warm-up" matches at this event.  John Long faced Chavi, who came out to the ring with a bottle of Irn-Bru instead of his usual Buckfast (well it was a Gala Day after all).  The crowd loved it, especially the kid Chavi handed the bottle to.  The match went back and forward with the crowd chanting for Chavi, however it wasn't enough to keep Long from taking the win.

 

In the second "warm-up" match, Lowblow faced Venym.  With Saint-George getting in the face of Venym at the start, warning him not to let Lowblow win, the match seemed stacked.  The match saw some good moves from both men, however despite the warnings, it was the crowd favourite Lowblow who took the win...although I didn't actually see the end of this match as I was busy getting my photo taken with another blue-haired phenomenon, Sonic the Hedgehog!!

After a short interval it was back to the action and first up, Disturbed v Disturbed.  This was a really weird match which was very difficult to get into.  With two identical figures in the ring it was impossible to cheer as you were cheering both men and with each making identical moves and making the appropriate counter moves it was more a dance than a match.  With the crowd pretty much silent in their confusion, this ended in a double count out when the Disturbed ones took their battle outside of the ring and backstage!

Next up, Mikey against Darren Lewis.  Lewis appeared without his glittery, feathery robe and looking plain mean.  This was quite a brutal match, with the action taking place both inside and outside of the ring.  Lewis used his size advantage to dominate much of the match, however the crowd were delighted to see Mikey turn the tables and take the win.  However, once again, a mystery figure in a "New Blood" hoodie appeared to attack Mikey.  Will he appear again at Proving Grounds?

 

The penultimate match saw Rawlins face Johnny Lions.  I had only seen Lions a couple of times before in SWE shows and the last time was in October 2013.  The first thing I noticed is that he had bulked up some and was looking really good.  This was another great match which saw several near falls for both men and a foot on the rope saving Rawlins from losing his title.  There were some cracking moments, such as Lions holding Rawlins in a suplex for what seemed like forever.  This was a cracking match and scores my vote for Match of the Day (because it was an afternoon show).  Despite his best efforts, Lions was unable to take the win and Rawlins retained the gold....and got a faceful of silly string to boot.  I really hope I get the chance to see Lions in action again soon.

Finally we had a ten man elimination match for the UK Championship.  It as an over the top rope battle royal style until down to the final four when pinfalls and submissions would also count.  The start of the match was utter chaos and much of the action took place outside of the ring....and even over the crowd barriers.  At one point, with the majority of the wrestlers outside of the barriers in a massive battle, one of the Disturbed jumped on them from the roof of the van.  Controversy reigned again as once back in the ring, Lowblow eliminated John Long and Venym, only to be eliminated himself when
Saint-George got into the ring and threw him out!  Jackie Grady tried to reprise his trick of hiding under the ring, but this time Mikey was having none of it, dragging him out and making him compete properly.  Things settled as we got down to the final four, Jackie Grady, Mikey, Johnny Lions and Darren Lewis.  Johnny Lions and Mikey got the pin on Lewis before Grady eliminated Lions over the top rope, leaving Mikey and Grady to fight it out for the title.  Mikey took the upper hand and kept it, finally delivering the Go To Sleep and pinning Grady to become the new UK Champion.  Click here to watch a highlight video of it - seriously, do it, it's damn good!!

Then it was time to strip everything down (once again I got stuck in), pack up the van then head back to the RI Unit to unload again.   I tell you, I have a whole new appreciation for all those guys in all the promotions I visit.  There was a lot of heavy lifting and carrying...and then the boys had to get into the ring and entertain too!  I decided I had earned the right to a few beers when I got home and that's exactly what I did....only after 2 beers I was wiped out and in bed by 10pm....but I had an absolute blast and I hope the lads will let me help out again when they appear at next year's event!

Reckless Intent have their next event "Proving Grounds" on Saturday 28 June in Livingston.  For more information, check them out on Facebook or their website.  Also you can see matches from previous events on their YouTube Channel