Retrospective: May to December - an older woman's love affair with Reckless Intent

So I was sitting thinking now that the year is coming to an end about just how much my life has changed since my first visit to Reckless Intent back in May and I thought it might make a slightly different and hopefully interesting blog post!

We discovered Reckless Intent when two of their wrestlers appeared on an SWE show at Easter and then we met Jackie Grady at Uprising at the end of April.  We received a Facebook invite to their two night Super B.O.W.L event at the beginning of May and, as they were closer to home than most promotions and the ticket prices were extremely reasonable, we decided to check them out.

May
Friday 2nd - The first night of the Super B.O.W.L tournament and we arrived with no real expectations.  This was a relatively new promotion and I hadn't heard of most of the roster but they had a couple of names on the card we knew, Damian O'Connor, Scott Renwick and Joe Hendry so it wouldn't be all bad!!  The first thing I remember about arriving at this little industrial unit was the welcome we received.  Strangely everyone seemed to know who I was and made an effort to say hello.  We had arrived early as I wasn't sure where we were going and I never trust SatNav fully so we had front row seats for our first show.  While not a sell-out, there was a reasonable turn out for the show and by the interval, I had to admit that I was impressed with what I saw and by the end of the show I was really looking forward to the second night.  With the exception of one match, they had pulled off a show that had me hooked and buying into all their characters.

Saturday 3rd - We arrived for Night two to find that most people had read the blog about the previous night's show (those were the days when I started the blogs the minute I got home from the events!) and they seemed to have liked what I had to say.  There was a bigger crowd at the Saturday show too.  I was once again impressed by the quality of the matches and was delighted to see Scott Renwick win the tournament against all the odds.  At the end of the night I spoke to some of the guys and told them we would be back but as their next couple of dates clashed with SWE, it probably wouldn't be for a while!!

Saturday 31st - Taking Over - We weren't supposed to be here!! But Reckless Intent had announced a card that grabbed my interest - with some of the new faces I had seen at a recent Source showcase also appearing.  With no matches on the SWE card announced and Reckless Intent's Saint-George trying to wind me up on Facebook, I decided to make some signs and head to Livingston.  Rob had started training with Reckless so we arrived early so he could help with the set up and I sat in the car reading or stitching and generally keeping well out of the way!  When showtime arrived, I was front row, giving those heels hell and cheering for the good guys and already starting to wonder if I was going to make the SWE show in June....guess it would depend on the card announcements...

June
Saturday 14th found me at a Gala Day!  I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a Gala Day but Reckless were putting on a wee show so we were there - not just for the show but we started by meeting at the unit before 9am before heading to Blackburn and setting up the ring.  With Rob as a trainee, he was ring crew for the day and rather than stand around and watch, I got stuck in too - and I think I surprised a few of the lads with what I was capable of.  After everything was set up, we had a short break before the boys did their stuff in the ring - not just a couple of exhibition matches either but a full on show!  They did great and after it was all over it was time to tear it all down, pack it in the van and return to the unit.  This was the first time I really felt like part of the team and not just an observer at a show.

Saturday 28th - Proving Grounds - With the SWE card not having been announced and Rob becoming more involved with Reckless, we were back in Livingston and another early arrival so Rob could help with the set-up saw me sitting in the car making signs to antagonise the heels and support the faces!  I was also helping out a little with food and drinks outside when a freak wind lifted the marquee and knocked the urn of water over and my foot just happened to get in the way!!  I ended up spending this show barefoot and wearing a pair of Rob's shorts (the first sign I had lost some weight) and doped up on painkillers!

With no shows in July, Rob had continued to attend the training sessions and we were both looking forward to....

August
Saturday 9th - Cruel Summer - This seemed to be a turning point for Reckless Intent - They had booked Colt Cabana and Chris Renfrew for this show and the unit was bursting at the seams. Thankfully the weather held out and they were able to pull up the shutter and create an extended standing area.  The show was great, brought in some new faces and had one of my favourite moments - Chris Renfrew force feeding jaffa cakes to Saint-George!  It also saw Saint-George cashing in his Wooden Spoon and becoming the new Reckless Intent World Champion.

Sunday 24th saw Reckless Intent put on their first Sunday Slam - an afternoon show aimed at younger fans and giving some of the trainees the opportunity to get into the ring in front of an audience.  It also saw me on the ring apron offering to take up Saint-George's open challenge to his title but he was so scared, he used the "I don't hit girls" card.....it's a long time since I was a girl!

September
Saturday 7th - Party in the Park - another outdoor show!  While we didn't arrive early enough to help with the ring set up, we were there to help with anything else required.  I also was allowed inside the barriers in order to take photos and I loved being able to get up close and getting those shots without the ropes or barriers in the way!

Saturday 20th - Unleashed - Once again a show I wasn't supposed to be at!  I'd bought tickets for a Pride show in August which had been rescheduled and clashed with this one.  Rob had attended the Andy Wild seminar before the show and we drove to Glasgow for the Pride show...picked up our friend who had travelled from Dundee to meet up for that show...then drove back to Livingston instead!  Really glad we did as the match between Jackie Grady and Andy Wild was bloody incredible.

October
Saturday 4th - Reckless Intentions - In a word WOW!!!  This was the annual "hardcore" show and it did not disappoint.  The entire show was brilliant and had Scott Renwick and Saint-George in a "Falls Count Anywhere" first half main event, with the second half ending with a TLC match for the Wooden Spoon featuring Chris Renfrew , Darren Lewis, Rawlins and Martyn Stallyon.  The whole night was brutal and brilliant and I loved it!

Sunday 19th - Sunday Slam 2 - This was the show that saw Rob make his in-ring debut during the main event rumble match.  It also saw the "wedding" of Jam O'Malley and Saint-George which had been hyped on Facebook and was a definite highlight of the year!

November
Saturday 1st - Over The Top - Reckless Intent's first main show in an outside venue.  In the 6 months since my first visit, I had seen Reckless go from strength to strength.  New people coming to training, fans who had come for the first time in the summer were continuing to make the journey for shows and new links with SWE were bringing new faces to the roster and their fans were making the trip from Dundee.  The unit was no longer big enough to hold the crowd so we took over Murieston Scout Hall for the day/night...and yes I said we because I was part of the team.  After dropping off Rob and Janet with the food and doing a quick airport run, I returned to help set up the food and merchandise tables, before doing ticket and merchandise sales.  During the show I was able to wander around the ring getting some cracking shots while manning merchandise during the interval and at the end of the show.  I was not missed as the crowd loudmouth as the Russell Brothers had brought support from Bo'ness Rugby Club who more than made up for my lack of chanting!  Scott Renwick beat Saint-George to take the Reckless Intent World Title in a cracker of a match.  Rob got his first spot on a main show during the Rumble main event which I got some video footage of.  Then it was all hands on deck to pack up the ring into the van before heading back to the unit to help unload again.  It was this show that made me truly feel like part of the family - although I still steer clear of the pre-match talk...I don't know anything about the matches until they take place which is why I can still blog them as a fan!

Sunday 16th - Sunday Slam 3 - This show started the trainee tournament for the Sunday Slam title and saw Rob take part in his first singles match against JJ Russell.  I was so proud seeing him in the ring, even though he was heel and told me to shut up as I was yelling support for him.  He did a lovely head scissor armbreaker move which had the friends and family who had come along cheering...and a few others in the crowd too.  Although he didn't win, it was great to watch my boy make those first steps in fulfilling his dream.  The main event between Rawlins and Glen Dunbar caused controversy when the referee made the three count on Rawlins despite him kicking out at 2.  Both wrestlers appeared confused and the crowd were not happy.  Looking forward to a rematch!

December
Saturday 6th - Lights Out - The second show at Murieston and having done it once before, Janet and I let the boys get on with the ring set-up while we got stuck into the setup of our food and merchandise tables.  Ticket pre-sales had been fantastic and it was another sell-out at the Scout Hall.  The Bo'ness boys were back in force making plenty of noise.  The matches were cracking, Rob got to be a lumberjack, Chaz Phoenix made an appearance and distracted Saint-George long enough for Bobby Roberts to get the win before ripping his England flag and draping the pieces on his face while the crowd went nuts and referee Conor Frost screwed Rawlins over in another match (storyline developing!) and Scott Renwick had a cracking match against Eric Canyon to defend his title.  Once again, after the show was over it was time to pack everything up and head back to the unit to unload!

Sunday 14th - Christmas Sunday Slam - The final event of the year.  Rob took his first victory in a match with Jackie Grady, rolling up his opponent while he was distracted by "West Grady".  The final of the Sunday Slam tournament ended as a no-contest when Falcon interfered, setting up a triple threat match between Falcon, AJ Russell and Venym for the belt at the first Sunday Slam show of 2015 on January 25th.

And so there you have it - from May to December I discovered a little wrestling promotion and fell in love with it.  I count the roster members and their families as friends and you really don't want to be in earshot of me and the boss's mum when we are at other events, eh Janet?

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.

Review: Reckless Intent presents Cruel Summer

Saturday 9 August 2014

So, as has become normal with Reckless Intent shows, we arrived early so Rob could help with the prep work - this time he was going to be doing some ringside camera work.  I, of course, sat in the car finishing off posters and awaiting the arrival of Colt Cabana!!  I broke my rule of not entering the unit until showtime in order to take some photos of the show roster in the ring but this one by Andrew West is so much better than any of mine and he has given me permission to use it in my blog!

With Colt Cabana and Chris Renfrew making their Reckless Intent debuts, there was a lot of interest in this event.  In order to accommodate more people, a standing area was created by opening the large shutter door and extending slightly outside of the unit, and by the time the show started, it was standing room only!

The show started with "The Superstar" Darren Lewis coming out to the ring accompanied by Joe Hendry.  After demanding silence, he was greeted with a chorus of "slightly average" and then went on to complain about the management calling his character into question and bringing an American over to face him!  Enter Colt Cabana to a massive pop from the crowd and he entertained from the start, picking up babies from ringside and dancing them on the apron.  Once in the ring, he continued to entertain, first moonwalking across the ring, then making fun of referee Adam and the fact that he was wearing cowboy boots and finally spending ages smoothing and rolling up his jacket, before tossing it over his shoulder, while Lewis got more and more wound up waiting.  There followed a lovely wee match with lots of genuine wrestling moves, interspersed with comedy moments and I can now see where Grado gets his inspiration!  Of course Lewis would not fight fair, with Joe Hendry at ringside, who grabbed the leg of Cabana, breaking the momentum and giving Lewis the opportunity to take the advantage, before tossing Cabana out of the ring to be attacked by Hendry while Lewis distracted the referee.  When the referee finally noticed, Joe Hendry was removed from ringside.  The match then swung back and forth, with Cabana missing a corner splash, then Lewis going over the ropes and being catapulted back in.  Finally with Cabana holding the advantage, he climbed the turnbuckle to finish Lewis when Hendry reappeared, throwing a cup of water into the face of Cabana, causing him to lose his balance and fall and allowing Lewis to roll him up for the three count.

After the match, Colt Cabana took the microphone and said how he would have liked to have come out and scored the win for the crowd and he was sorry not to have done so.  He then said he has pretty much wrestled for every independent promotion in the world but there was something special about being in "a garage in a corner" packed with fans having fun and enjoying themselves, from in their 50's to 3 days old, before thanking the crowd for having him.

Next out to the ring was Bobby Roberts, who told the crowd of his anger at not being given a match against Dave Conrad and that no matter who was announced as his opponent, in his mind he would be facing Dave Conrad and therefore that individual would suffer the consequences.  Out came General Manager John Long who announced that Roberts' opponent would be Venym.  As usual, Venym came out running his mouth but, true to his word, Roberts tore into Venym like a man possessed.  After pummelling Venym in the ring, Roberts continued his assault outside the ring, but on re-entering the ring, Venym managed to get the upper hand, attacking the knee of Roberts to try to keep him off-balance.  Venym hooked the legs of Roberts and attempted to swing the big man but was unable to lift Roberts from the mat and appeared to injure his back after his third failed attempt.  This gave Roberts the opportunity to regain the advantage, however suddenly Conrad's entrance music played and Roberts turned to face the entrance waiting for Conrad to appear.  Venym capitalised on his distraction, hitting him with a lowblow and scoring the pin.  An irate Bobby Roberts then took out his frustrations on referee Westy, knocking him to the mat before leaving the ring.

Once again Dave Conrad's entrance music rang out, only this time he did appear, followed by his opponent DCT.  These two men seemed evenly matched in size and strength but DCT had the crowd firmly behind him and took the early advantage however Conrad fought back and soon had the upper hand.  With the match continuing to swing back and forth, both men scored near falls but the difference between them was Conrad's preference for underhanded tactics.  Conrad grabbed the bell and was about to whack DCT with it, but referee Westy grabbed the bell from him.  With the ref returning the bell to the announce table, Conrad hit DCT with a low blow and was about to attempt to finish the match when Bobby Roberts returned to the ring and chaos ensued as Conrad and Roberts attempted to tear each other to pieces.  It took SIX men to try to keep these two apart while the crowd chanted "Let them fight".  After eventually managing to get Conrad out of the ring, General Manager John Long attempted to reprimand Roberts, slapping and shoving him but Roberts was not going to take this and once again vented his frustration and speared the General Manager to the delight of the crowd, before losing it completely and knocking down anyone who dared to get within arms length.  Long then told Roberts to consider himself suspended.  It was then announced that the match win had been awarded to Dave Conrad as a result of a disqualification.

The first half main event was a UK Title match between current champion Mikey and the man he beat for the belt Jackie Grady.  There appears to be a rather intense rivalry between these two young guys and they both went all out to show who was the better man.  The match started with them slapping each other before spilling out of the ring with Grady quickly taking the upper hand, slamming Mikey's head off the ringpost and apron.  After returning to the ring and Grady scoring a near fall, Mikey took the advantage and when the action again spilled out of the ring, this time Mikey was in control and slammed Grady into the ringpost.  Back in the ring, Mikey fulfilled the crowd's request to make Grady squeal like a girl.  This match went back and forth and with both guys trying everything they could to win, we saw everything from chops and slaps, armdrags from the top rope, high flying moves from the turnbuckles, a package piledriver from Mikey and a very nice cravat neckbreaker from Grady.  With Mikey appearing to have injured his knee, Grady looked to capitalise however a brave (or stupid) dropkick into the corner on Grady by Mikey, followed by a kick to the head, a shoulder block from the top rope and a scoop-slam/piledriver hybrid move sealed the deal and Mikey was able to pin Grady for the three count, retaining the belt.  While celebrating on the turnbuckle, a masked figure appeared in the ring but this time it was Mikey who came up trumps, slamming him onto the canvas, however the mysterious man managed to escape the ring before Mikey was able to unmask him.

The second half started with Saint-George Bernard facing Chris Renfrew.  Saint-George and I have had "exchanges" on Facebook and I have recently taken to commenting on anything and everything he posts with Blah blah blah!  Having made up a quantity of Blah! Blah! Blah! flyers, these had been handed out to the crowd during the interval and he made his entrance to the ring faced with a sea of flyers - his face was priceless!  On reaching the ring, he then announced that, as holder of the wooden spoon (which guarantees a title shot at any time) he was going onto bigger and better things and would not be wrestling Renfrew after all.  Unfortunately for him, Chris Renfrew had other ideas and made his entrance.  After a few slaps and chops in the ring, the action moved outside...literally outside....when Renfrew took the big-mouthed Englishman into the car park and gave him a little taste of a Glasgow street fight, smacking him off the brick wall then scooping him and slamming him down onto one of the barriers, before force-feeding him a jaffa cake and slamming him face first into another barrier!  The match finally returned to the ring where Renfrew continued to beat on Saint-George until Darren Lewis came out to ringside and distracted Renfrew, allowing Saint-George to catch him off guard and score the win.

Next up was Darren Lewis' second match of the evening, this time he faced "The Butcher" Scott Renwick.  It started off well for Renwick who quickly took the advantage and managed to smack Lewis silly all the way around the outside of the ring, however Lewis gained the upper hand back in the ring, keeping Renwick down as much as possible, standing on his chest while using the ropes for leverage.  Renwick fought back, attempting to pedigree Lewis, who broke free and choke-slammed Renwick instead, before delivering a kick to the head that knocked Renwick unconscious and then proceeded to stand on his head.  After the referee had made the 10 count and Lewis was declared the winner by knockout, several of the wrestlers came out to the ring to assist in removing Renwick from the ring and helping to carry him backstage.

The penultimate match of the evening had Joe Hendry facing Hardcore Champion Falcon.  Hendry appeared to dominate most of this match - he hit Falcon with his signature suplex before attempting to remove Falcon's mask.  He also threw him clear across the ring before attempting a pin.  Falcon did appear to fight back and had a near fall himself, however it was Hendry's night and he took the victory.  It was the next morning when questions were asked regarding the Hardcore title.  It had not been announced as a non-title match and, as the Hardcore title is under 24/7 rules, it would appear that Joe Hendry could be the Hardcore Champion - Joe Hendry certainly seems to think so and, as much as it pains me, I have to agree.  I have suggested that a rematch be scheduled for their Sunday Slam event on 24 August to decide this once and for all....maybe John Long will like my suggestion??

The main event pitted Lowblow against Rawlins for the Reckless Intent World Title.  This was a match that Lowblow needed to win in order to secure his position on the roster.  As Lowblow made his entrance, Rawlins came out from behind the curtain and attacked him with a steel chair - the baddest man in professional wrestling was living up to his name and this match was not going to be pretty!  With Rawlins battling to keep his title and Lowblow battling to keep his job, both men have everything to lose and neither was going down easy.  With Rawlins having taken an early advantage, Lowblow dug deep and pulled off a cracking suplex which he held as the crowd counted to 20, before dropping the champ on the canvas.  The action again spilled outside of the ring, and I decided it might be a good idea to move as Rawlins hurled his opponent toward the unit door and knocked down the three lads doing security for the event!  Back in the ring, Rawlins continued his underhanded tactics, distracting the referee while appearing to tie his bootlace, while his other foot was over the throat of Lowblow.  This was followed by a series of submission moves but Lowblow refused to quit.  Rawlins then took to the ropes, however Lowblow managed to move before Rawlins landed, giving him the opportunity to get back into the match and put Rawlins into a sharpshooter but Rawlins would not submit.  The match continued to swing back and forth until both men were struggling to stand and Lowblow was finally able to put Rawlins down for the pinfall and become the new Reckless Intent World Champion.

After hugging his wife at ringside, an exhausted Lowblow got back into the ring.  As he struggled to his feet and stood clutching his newly won belt, and with Rawlins still lying prone in the ring, out came Saint-George with his briefcase containing the wooden spoon.  He shoved the briefcase into the hands of the referee, cashing in his title shot.  As soon as the bell rang, he grabbed Lowblow, delivered a stunner on the new champion, covered him for the three count and became the new Reckless Intent World Champion.

And so ended a cracking show - the best Reckless show I have seen and it definitely makes my top 3 of all time! My only regret is that I didn't get a photo with Colt Cabana when I had the chance before the show.  My pick for Match of the Night was the UK Title match between Mikey and Jackie Grady - a true showcase of young talent which, for me, outshone the big names and more experienced men on the night.  They should both be proud to say they put it all out there and I, for one, appreciated it.

For more information on upcoming Reckless Intent shows, check them out on Facebook. You will also find links to their website and YouTube channel and there will be footage from this event posted over the next few days!

Colt Cabana is appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival until 25 August.  You can see him every night at 10pm Monday to Saturday at the Stand on the Square doing his show with Brendon Burns - more info at www.thestand.co.uk.  On Sundays at 4pm  he is recording his "The Art of Wrestling" podcast in front of a live audience at Studio 24  before appearing at the ICW shows later that night at the same venue.  Tickets for podcast and ICW shows available from Ticketmaster.  He is also appearing at SWE Hellbound in Dundee on Saturday 23 August.....and if I am lucky I might get a photo with him there!!

Review: SWE Uprising - The Ardler's Last Stand

Saturday 26 July

After missing the Uprising shows in May and June, I could not miss this one - the final Uprising to be held in the Ardler Complex.  Although we had recently been to see SWE in Cupar, a lot of the friends we have made in Dundee could not make it, so we were also looking forward to catching up with them!

This was actually one of two shows SWE were putting on that night.  Their "Battle Stations" show in Perth had started an hour earlier in order for some of the wrestlers to be able to appear at both shows.  Good idea or not??? I will give my opinion later.....

The show started with a Ghostbusters themed vignette on the video screen, followed by Ravishing Randy Valentine taking to the ring to say goodbye to what has become the home of SWE Uprising.  After recounting some of the special moments that took place in the Ardler and thanking the fans for their continued support, he took his seat at the announce table with The Grue and it was time for Ring Announcer Amy Anderson to take over microphone duties!

First match of the night was fan favourite Mr News facing Trident member MDK. Now I have to admit that I don't like the Trident as a gimmick and never have so I really hope that the fact that the members now have identities and are appearing in singles competition is the beginning of the end.  The match started off with News working on the leg of MDK but the big guy soon had the upper hand.  This was less a wrestling match and more a brawl as MDK used brute force to subdue News.  Despite taking some serious punishment, Mr News refused to stay down, and fought his way back into the match but his attempted pin on MDK was shrugged off and News almost landed on the referee.  MDK then weakened News in a bear hug before catching News' attempt at a crossbody from the turnbuckles and slamming him to the mat for the three count.  MDK finished the victor but Mr News remains the fan favourite.

Next up was the girls, Nikki Storm v Viper.   I thought Rob's eyes were gonna pop out of his head when Nikki made her entrance in her new red ring gear....and even more so when it slid up during her match to reveal her bra!  This match was brilliant.  Storm and Viper are two of the best female wrestlers I have seen.  Storm played up her heel status to the max, screaming that every attempted pin was a three count and standing on the hair of Viper while arguing with the ref.  Viper had the crowd behind her and there were huge cheers when she kicked out of the pin after taking Storm's swinging neckbreaker.  After her earlier attempt failed, Viper managed to get a surfboard style submission hold on Storm which was too much for the feisty lass to withstand and Viper took the win by submission.  These girls served up an amazing match which can be viewed here.

We then had a Future Division Championship match between current champion Christopher Saynt and Felix Fortune.  I still don't like the new name given to McMinn - Felix is a cat food brand - however he is improving his in-ring abilities, although he was totally outshone by Saynt in this match.  As much as it pains me to say it, Christopher Saynt is a really good wrestler and he can make an amateur look better than he really is and I think that Fortune really did "luck out" with this match. It started off with Saynt running his mouth, talking about how people had been sharing their favourite memories from the Ardler and how his hadn't happened yet because he couldn't wait till the Ardler Complex burned to the ground.  He then turned his attention to Fortune, asking him if he really thought he could be the next champion and what made him think he could ever be as good as Saynt.  Fortune responded by saying he had done enough talking in his career as a ring announcer and promptly socked Saynt, before dropkicking him out of the ring and taking the upper hand, before getting back into the ring where he made a pin attempt.  Then Saynt came back at him with punches to the head and chokes on the ropes.  It continued in the same manner until, with Fortune appearing to be gaining the upper hand, Saynt picked up his belt and left ringside, leaving Fortune to win by count out but with Saynt retaining the title.

Then it was time for the first half main event.  This match pitted the #1 contender for the heavyweight title, Martyn Stallyon against "The Beast from Belfast" Damian O'Connor.  What can I say about this match....it was bloody incredible.  SWE made a huge mistake here as this really should have been THE main event, but with wrestlers travelling from their show in Perth to appear at Uprising, I understand why they did it.  Obviously this was my Match of the Night - and quite probably match of the year!  Stallyon came out and started taking selfies with crowd members before the arrival of "The Beast".  With both men in the ring, the crowd started off with a chant of "Damo's gonna kill you" and for a while it looked like this could be true - Damo stood on Stallyon in the ring, cannonballed into him against the barriers and slammed him off a wall or two - but Stallyon would not go down.  In fact, he went up.... up the stairs and dived onto Damo from the balcony! The action returned to the ring where, eventually Stallyon got the pin on big Damo and took the win in this utter belter of a match...but don't take my word for it, you can watch the entire match for yourself by clicking here - go on do it - it's amazing!!

The second half started with Joe Hendry facing Claymore.  With Joe hyping up his appearance on RAW, the "Local Hero" had taken a fabric pen to his trunks so they now said "Global Hero" and he really didn't seem very happy when I got the crowd singing "Joe Hendry, Total Zero"!!  Hendry appeared to have this match firmly in his grasp from the outset, keeping Claymore grounded and using a series of holds, before hoisting the big man onto his shoulders.  It was this move which allowed Claymore to use his weight advantage to escape and knock Hendry from the ring, only for a masked figure carrying a sledgehammer to appear.  He attacked Claymore before unmasking to reveal himself as Trident member Darren Blair (formerly known as Powerbomb in my blogs).  With Claymore bleeding from a head wound, he was declared the winner by disqualification, before being helped from the ring.

The final Ardler show would not be complete without an appearance by SWE Heavyweight Champion "The Scumbag" Ian Ambrose.  Whilst not competing in the show, he thought he would "grace" us with his presence and after mentioning the match between Stallyon and Damo, brag about how he had beaten Damo for the belt and subsequent matches and that he would do the same to Stallyon at Hell For Lycra XI but he took to his heels quickly enough when Stallyon appeared in the ring!

Bravehart then took to the ring before Euan Mackie arrived, accompanied by Jam O'Malley.  Bravehart said that he would not be facing Mackie that evening, however they would face each other at Hell For Lycra XI. Bravehart then announced that he had chosen another opponent to face Mackie and, unsurprisingly, it was none other than Jam O'Malley.  With the Z List members laughing and saying that Bravehart had tried this trick on them before, O'Malley suddenly turned on Mackie.  While Bravehart now laughed, the crowd were gutted and cries of "No Jam" and chants of  "you sold out" rang around the hall.  O'Malley used the element of surprise to take the upper hand in the match, however Mackie grabbed him by the short and curlies, stopping the bigger man in his tracks, before rolling him up and taking the pin to the delight of the crowd and the disappointment of Bravehart.  A very unhappy O'Malley then went into the crowd to grab a chair and chased Mackie backstage.

The main event of the evening was Jay the Jackal v LJT.  Now I mean no offence to either man but after the match up between Stallyon and Damo, this just didn't cut it as a main event match.  I once again pointed out that The Jackal had a picture of a fox on his butt!  After a cracking start with LJT knocking The Jackal from the ring and then diving on him from the ropes, The Jackal then held the advantage, keeping the high flier grounded with a series of holds but LJT just never gives up.  Despite the underhand tactics from The Jackal, LJT came back at him with some submission holds of his own and more high flying moves, before finally scoring the pinfall.

So in my opinion, all in all it was a good show but it could have been great with just a couple of tweaks.  All the matches were good, but I think a little reshuffle of the order was required.  For me the second half seemed a bit of a let-down after the amazing match between Damo and Stallyon.  I think I would have had Storm v Viper as the first half main event, made sure the guys appearing at Perth were on first there and up the road in time to appear early on the second half and had the Damo/Stallyon match finish the show.

The next SWE show, Hellbound is on Saturday 23 August at Kirkton Community Centre and features Colt Cabana and Grado.  Doors open at 1.45pm.

Their annual showcase, Hell For Lycra is being held at the Bonar Hall the following week, 30 August.  Hell For Lycra will feature WWE Legend Road Warrior Animal and tickets for the show also grant access to the afternoon autograph session at 2pm with the doors opening for the main show at 6.45pm.

For more information on their upcoming shows, how to get tickets and watch previews and videos of past events, check out SWE on Facebook

Review: Colt Cabana & Brendon Burns at the Fringe

Friday 1 August

Anyone who knows me, knows I tend to avoid the town during Fringe season because it's all too busy and frantic, however when the Reckless Intent crew said they were going out flyering for the Brendon Burns & Colt Cabana Fringe show before going to the show itself, Rob really wanted to go...so I laced up my boots and we joined them.  After a couple of hours wandering round Edinburgh handing out flyers, I was really glad when it was time to take our seats at "The Stand in the Square", an igloo style tent in St Andrew Square which seated 150.  This was the first night of their run and every seat was taken.  Brendon and Colt were joined by their special guest Daniel Sloss and so began an hour of laughs and one-liners. They would show video clips of some of the funniest botched moves and bad wrestling while providing their own commentary.  Now the videos themselves may be PG, but the commentary warrants the 18+ restriction but then again, a show that begins at 10pm is obviously not for the kids.  Our show also had video clips of ring entrances and interviews gone wrong - Mean Gene Okerlund trying to keep a straight face and failing - LOL.  And I will never look at DDP again without sniggering!  Obviously every show will be different as they will use different clips in each, and they have made an arrangement with The Stand Comedy Club that if you attend 3 shows, you will get the 4th free.

As seems to be normal these days, there was a heckler in the crowd, however when you are up against 3 guys who make their living by thinking on their feet, you better be prepared...and this heckler was not.  He was quickly cut down and actually made an early exit from the venue.

I thought the show was brilliant.  If I had one complaint it would be that it was so short - the hour flew by and I wanted more....which is probably a good idea if you want to get repeat custom and therefore the offer of the 4th show free!  After the show the guys did a meet and greet at their merchandise table - photos and autographs for free but if you wanted to buy their t-shirts/dvds it would be appreciated!

The show runs every night at 10pm from 1 - 25 August (except Sundays).  Show information and tickets are available from the Fringe website here

Colt Cabana is also appearing at Studio 24 on Sundays, recording his "The Art of Wrestling" podcast in front of a live audience before each of the ICW wrestling shows.  Tickets are available from Ticketmaster for both The Art of Wrestling and the ICW shows

Colt Cabana will appear on 9 August at Reckless Intent's Cruel Summer show in Livingston, where he will face "The Superstar" Darren Lewis. Tickets for the show are £5 and further information can be found on the Reckless Intent Facebook page.

Colt will also be in Dundee on 23 August at SWE's Hellbound, where he will take on Grado. Tickets are £10 adults, £7 kids and doors open at 2pm.  For more information, visit the SWE Facebook page