Review: Reckless Intent presents Sunday Slam: Is A Magical Place

Sunday 24 May 2015

The show started with Sunday Slam Champion, Craig "The Firestorm" Valant calling General Manager Jason McKinlay out to the ring to make an announcement.  Valant stated that since winning the Sunday Slam title he felt he had become lazy, not attending training sessions or shows and that he did not deserve to hold the belt.  He promised that he would take it back in the future as a fighting wrestler but for now he was relinquishing the belt and with that the Sunday Slam Title was vacated.

The SOS entrance music played and Scott "The Butcher" Renwick came out and stated that he had been promised a match with Valant, that he did not get that match and therefore he wanted a match there and then.  Valant accepted the challenge and the match was on.  This was a decent match but there was surprising very little crowd participation.  Valant hit a cracking elbow drop before going for "The Firestorm", which Renwick tried to reverse into "The Angels Wings" but it was Valant who was the victor by successfully managing to re-reverse the move and score the pinfall.

Mikey then came out to the ring to make a face to face challenge to Renwick.  As their match at No Going Back in March had to be cancelled due to Mikey's knee surgery being brought forward, Mikey had been looking to face Renwick since his return to the ring and had received no response to his video requests so face to face he made his challenge - Mikey v Renwick at Taking Over on 6 June, one-on-one with no Darren Lewis or Graeme Leask.  Challenge accepted!!

Next up was Hardcore Champion, The Westler to face Saint-George but the mouthy Englishman did not appear.  Instead Wee Jimmy got into the ring to challenge for the Hardcore belt.  Just then Jam O'Malley's music played!  O'Malley announced that his "wife" Saint-George could not attend due to lady problems then told Jimmy to step aside as O'Malley wanted to regain the Hardcore title and challenged Westy to a match for the belt.  This was a fun match that could not be contained in the unit, spilling into the car park where Westy was force-fed Jaffa Cakes.  Once back in the unit, Westy took the pinfall to retain the Hardcore belt but while he was celebrating, Rob Mills took the opportunity for a sneak attack and pinned Westy to win the title (and I actually saw it this time!)  Once again Mills reign was short-lived as Sully took his revenge and the belt.  Westy quickly rolled up Sully to retake the belt.  O'Malley hugged Westy in congratulations but quickly made his move and pinned Westy to become Hardcore Champion, taking the microphone and telling Westy "don't trust anyone" before leaving with the belt.

The first half main event saw Rawlins face Theo Doros.  The crowd took some time to warm up to this one and when they did, it seemed quite an even split, an achievement for Doros as the newcomer to have already gained a following when facing one of the usual fan favourites.  For me the match was a bit slow and more of a show of "look what I can do....well I can do it better" with much of the match basically them reversing wristlocks and headlocks or taking turns on armdrags, before going down on a double cross body and following up with a slugfest.  By the time they started doing something different, I was already bored.  A few German suplexes from Rawlins was followed by his flying headbutt, only Doros had moved out of the way and grabbed his opportunity, ending the match by rolling up Rawlins to take the three count.  Rawlins and Doros then shook hands, Rawlins gave Doros his hoodie and Doros gave Rawlins his t-shirt.  While I wasn't overly impressed with the match, I do think that Doros shows amazing potential and is definitely one to watch.

The second half started with tag team action as Sweet Johnny teamed up with Jackie Grady to face Sambroso and Davidian Fury, both strange combinations in my opinion.  After some amusing showboating from Sambroso, Fury did his usual, using his size as an advantage to dominate both Grady and Johnny, but it inevitably became a disadvantage when Sweet Johnny sent him barrelling into the ringpost knocking Sambroso Maestro and "crotching" him on the turnbuckle before Sweet Johnny rolled Fury up for the pinfall.  Sweet Johnny and Jackie Grady were then joined in the ring by Westy for a display of their "awesome dance moves"!

The penultimate match of the day saw Rob Mills face Venym.  The self proclaimed "Heart and Soul of Sunday Slam" was not happy about Venym being popular with the crowd, believing they should be in awe of him instead.  I was quite surprised at the level of ruthlessness shown by Mills as he focused his attention on the arm of his opponent, including using the ropes and ringpost to his advantage.  It appeared that each time Venym looked to be gaining some momentum, Mills managed to wriggle his way free and continued his assault on the left arm of Venym.  It looked like Mills might take the victory as he called for his finisher but Venym was able to reverse into the "Poison Rain" and take the three count.  This was a very close runner-up for my Match of the Day....

... but was narrowly beaten for the accolade by the main event match between Mikey and Massimo Italiano.  Mikey has been working on his physique in the last few months and it really shows.  Matching up fairly evenly in both height and build, neither man appeared to have an advantage over the other - until the crowd got involved, clearly behind Mikey.  This was a lovely match, with Italiano generating extra heat by deliberately antagonising Janet during periods when he had the momentum on his side.  After several near falls, the Italian looked to be in complete control with Mikey struggling to get back to his feet but Mikey never gives up and managed to score the victory with a crucifix pin.  The crowd were elated and Italiano was shocked.  A cracking end to the show!

Due to the lateness of this blog, Taking Over has already taken place (6 June) and my blog will be posted soon.  The next event is Proving Grounds on 4 July and the card is shaping up to look like one of the best with the return of Chris Renfrew and the RI debuts of Lionheart, Kenny Williams and Davey Blaze with Charles Boddington.  This really is one not to be missed and tickets are available online - click here

Check out Reckless Intent on Facebook to keep up to date with all future events and ticketing information.

Review: Reckless Intent presents Sunday Slam: 2015 BOWL Qualifier

Sunday 19 April 2015

It was this weekend a year ago that I first discovered the existence of Reckless Intent after seeing a couple of the guys on an SWE show and had yet to actually see an RI show - how time flies - and how things change....

As has become usual, Rob and I were at the unit early to help with the setup.  Although this was a Sunday show, it was also the qualifier for the next Saturday show and Rob was not on the card....or so I thought.....

I got the shock of my life when the show was opened with the appearance of Rob Mills, who got into the ring, took the microphone and announced that he was "the heart and soul of Sunday Slam" and having been omitted from the tournament, he was holding the event hostage until he got a match! (Apparently my face was a picture but thankfully no-one thought to actually take one.)  Well he got his match all right...from none other than Mikey, who was returning to the ring after having surgery on his knee.  This was a cracking match to start the show.  Mills put on a great performance against Mikey, definitely the best I have seen from him, and although Mikey thoroughly annihilated him in the end, I was very proud of my boy.

Next up was the first of the BOWL qualifying matches between Saint-George and newcomer Theo Doros.  With Saint-George being his usual arrogant self, he proclaimed that this year he would go a step further, having been beaten in last year's tournament in the semi-final.  Continuing a run of good matches, Saint-George gave it a good try but, to the delight of the crowd, he took a step backward and it was Theo Doros who took the win and a place in the semi-final on 2 May.

The next qualifier was a triple threat match between Sambroso Maestro, Sweet Johnny and Jackie Grady.  Before the match started, Saint-George appeared and attacked Westy, who was accompanying Grady to the ring, and took the Hardcore Title, however his reign was short lived as ring announcer Sully quickly took the title from Saint-George.  The match then got underway, producing many comedy moments, including Grady sucking up to referee Brian Laing and Sambroso and Sweet Johnny teaming against Grady before falling out with each other over who would be allowed to make the pin.  Grady's sucking up may have actually worked for him as he scored the pinfall on Sweet Johnny to take the win.

The first half main event was an exhibition match between Scott Renwick and Falcon.  Renwick came out to the ring accompanied by one of his fellow SOS members Darren Lewis.  Once Renwick got in the ring, Lewis was roaming around ringside and as he approached me, I moved into the ring apron to allow him plenty of room to pass.  Instead he moved right in front of me and yelled "MOVE" in my face.  Now it has been a while since I have got into a nose to nose with a heel but never have and never will let one bully me...so I stood my ground and told him no.  I will admit that I was actually a wee bit scared as I thought he was going to pick me up and move me, but Renwick, who is slowing starting to see the light, stuck his head through the ropes and told Lewis to walk round me - thank you Scotty!!  Falcon then made his way into the ring and the match began..and it was a corker!  The skill and experience of these two wrestlers was a joy to watch.  With the momentum swinging back and forth between them, it came down to interference from Lewis, from standing on the apron to distract the referee while Falcon went for a pin on Renwick during the match to entering the ring at the end with a steel chair as Falcon looked to be nearing a victory.  As the referee demanded that Lewis and his chair leave, he was caught by Falcon and knocked out, leaving Lewis free to make his mark.  With Renwick holding Falcon, Lewis swung the chair only for Falcon to drop out of the way and Lewis so nearly nailed his own guy, only just stopping short. It looked as though Renwick was finally going to turn on Lewis and the crowd yelled for him to nail Lewis with the chair, however it was not to be and Falcon took the blow just before the referee recovered and Renwick made the pin.  Renwick seemed unhappy with his victory however with Lewis buzzing in his ear, he made a final attack on Falcon before leaving ringside and some of the other roster members came out to help Falcon from the ring.

The second half began with another BOWL triple threat qualifier LJT beat Davidian Fury and Graeme Leask.  Fury and Leask started by double teaming LJT but this was a short-lived tactic as they each wanted the win for themselves.  LJT pulled off a couple of cracking moves on both guys during the match, leaping over the ropes to take both men down early on and a lovely splash from the top turnbuckle onto both guys about midway through.  A slightly controversial finish but one the crowd thoroughly enjoyed came as LJT pinned Fury but the referee had been knocked out of the ring - enter the little lad that Fury had terrorised at a previous show to make the three count and give LJT the victory.

The final qualifier saw Conor Frost face Venym.  Frost is most definitely a better wrestler than he is a referee in my opinion but is just as unpopular with the crowd.  Complaining about Venym's accessory, a foam disc launcher, Frost attacked Venym from behind as he removed it from his wrist.  Frost had the upperhand for the early part of this match but I have to admit that I missed part of it ("old lady syndrome" struck at the wrong time and I had to go to the loo).  When I returned Venym had gained the advantage and pinned Frost for the victory.

General Manager Jason McKinlay came out to the ring to make the draw for the semi-final matches.  Venym would face Theo Doros and Grady would face LJT at the BOWL on 2 May.  As the semi-finalists faced each other in the ring, Saint-George appeared and attacked Sully for the Hardcore title.  As Saint-George celebrated, Mikey attacked and beat down Saint-George but instead of pinning him, he pushed Westy forward and Westy took the three count to re-take the Hardcore belt.

The main event saw Darren Lewis put the UK Title on the line against Rawlins.  Now this match had all the ingredients to make a a fantastic match - SOS member against one of the RI Originals for the title - but, for me, something was missing.  There wasn't the passion and spark that I expected and it turned out to be just a good match.  After going back and forth, it appeared that Rawlins had the win in the bag when Scott Renwick appeared at ringside.  While it looked like he was on the side of Rawlins, telling him to go for the pin and not try anything fancy, he actually distracted Rawlins and allowed Lewis to take the victory.

I had two contenders for my Match of the Day - Rob Mills v Mikey and Scott Renwick v Falcon and I know I will be accused of favouritism whichever match I pick (cos everyone knows I am a total mark for Scott Renwick) but I have to give it to Rob and Mikey... firstly because it really was a damn good match and secondly for managing to keep it secret and giving me the "OMG" moment too!

Because this is being published late, the BOWL event has already taken place and the next events are Sunday Slam on 24 May at the RI Unit and Taking Over on 6 June at Murieston Scout Hall.

Check out the Reckless Intent Facebook page for details of events and tickets for upcoming events.

Review: Reckless Intent presents Sunday Slam: Fight The Power

Sunday 22 March 2015

Another Sunday Slam!

First up was a rematch from No Going Back with Sunday Slam Champion Venym facing Saint-George.  With Saint-George having won their previous encounter after hitting Venym with a lowblow, Venym was out to even the score.  This was another great match between these two, almost as good as before.  Saint-George pushed the boundaries as usual but this time Venym took the victory over Saint-George after a cracking lionsault.  After the match, Venym held his hand out to Saint-George, however the defeated Englishman refused to shake his hand, instead spitting on it.  These guys certainly seem to bring the best (and worst) out of each other and with each having a victory under their belt, I would love to see them go face to face again in a decider!

With Venym still in the ring, General Manager Jason McKinlay out and announced that as Venym was not one to back down from a fight, he would be defending the Sunday Slam Title in a pre-show 10 man elimination match at Never Back Down on 4 April.

Next out to the ring was a certain Rob Mills who would face Disturbed.  I have found it difficult to give Mills hell for obvious reasons but at this event, that changed.  Mills came out to the ring with a darker look and some serious attitude and actually managed to silence the Loudmouth with some of his comments - so I told Disturbed to give him an extra slap from me and proceeded to cheer for Disturbed!  A cracking wee match followed with some lovely high flying moves from both guys.  Disturbed finally got the pinfall after leaping from the turnbuckle and landing an elbow to the chest of a prone Mills.  This turned out to be my Match of the Day - and before I get accused of being biased, it had nothing to do with the fact that my son was in the match and everything to do with match itself.  From the moves to the banter, this was the match I enjoyed the most that day, even though I spent part of it gobsmacked!

The first half main event saw Falcon face Craig "The Firestorm" Valant.  This was one of those weird matches where you had two "good guys" and didn't know who to shout for, but each had a small group of fans in the crowd and there was a bit of banter between the wrestlers and fans.  Both guys were in good form and this match went back and forth, with one guy looking to be firmly in control only for the other to counter and almost take the victory.  This really could have gone either way and both men deserved the win but this time the victory went to Valant who hit Falcon with "The Firestorm" and scored a three count.

The second half of the show kicked off with Sambroso Maestro facing Jackie Grady, who came out wearing a Pingu t-shirt and doing the slow-motion Baywatch style entrance.  Then the guest referee was announced - none other than Westy - just how fair would he be in a match featuring his tag partner?  After a "pose-off" between Grady and Sambroso the match got underway with Sambroso dominating much of it.  It was Grady who was victorious, managing to escape from "Debo Numero Dos" and countering with his "Hamburger Time" submission hold, forcing Sambroso to tap out.

As ring announcer Sully started to announce the next match, the SOS music started playing and Scott Renwick and Darren Lewis appeared wearing their title belts upside down.  Lewis then proceeded to tell the crowd that this was not done in error but was their way of showing their disrespect for not only the titles but for the company as a whole and the fans themselves.  He then mentioned the "hot-shot rising star" who would be facing SOS later that afternoon and told the crowd they were lucky as they would see SOS destroy that person, threatening to hospitalise whoever was dumb enough to face them as their destruction of Reckless Intent continued.

The penultimate match was Davidian Fury vs Westy.  Fury came out full of himself and chose once again to pick on a child in the crowd, frightening the girl to point she actually wanted to leave and causing me to once again get in his face.  Once Westy got in the ring, Fury continued his bully-boy ways, beating down the youngster.  The referee was knocked from the ring during the beatdown at which point Mikey got into the ring, gave Fury a good dose of his own medicine and left Westy to cover him for the three count as the referee crawled back into the ring.  Things were not over for "The Westler" who made to leave by the main door, pursued by Fury, only to be surprised by Craig Valant who pinned Westy under the 24/7 rule to become the new Hardcore champion.  This reign would be shortlived - as he celebrated in the ring, he was hit by ring announcer Sully who then scored the pinfall to take the belt!

For the main event, SOS members Darren Lewis and Scott Renwick returned to the ring, before The Originals, Mikey and Rawlins introduced their opponents - Theo Doros and JJ Russell.  Russell once again used his humour in the ring to reduce Renwick into tears of laughter, much to the annoyance of Lewis.  This lead to a brutal beatdown of newcomer Doros for much of the match, although there was a glimmer of hope when Russell got the tag.  Unfortunately, the experience of the SOS was too much and Renwick  hit Doros with "The Angels Wings" as Russell was dealt a cradleshock by Lewis before they were both pinned.

Just when we thought it was all over, as Sully thanked everyone for attending AJ Russell sneaked up from behind and once again the Hardcore title changed hands...only for Craig Valant to appear and hit him with "The Firestorm" to become Hardcore champion for the second time that day.

Another cracking Sunday afternoon show and lots to look forward to for their next show back at Murieston (which took place on 4 April and a blog will be uploaded on that show very soon).

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Review: Reckless Intent presents No Going Back

Saturday 7 March 2015


This was the first Saturday show to be held in the Unit since November and it was standing room only!

The show started with the arrival of all three members of SOS , Darren Lewis, Scott Renwick and Graeme Leask, carrying bottles of beer and major attitude.  Lewis took the microphone and proceeded to disrespect everything about Reckless Intent, the company, the fans and especially General Manager Jason McKinlay, who would only grant a contract to Graeme Leask if he managed to win his match that night against Bobby Roberts.

Surprisingly, Lewis and Renwick did not interfere in this match and left the ring area, allowing Leask to handle business on his own.  This was starting to look like a decision they might regret as Roberts appeared to have the upper hand until he went for a spear on Leask, who managed to move out of the way and Roberts hit referee Conor Frost instead.  Roberts pinned Leask but the ref was still down and unable to make the count.  Then Saint-George came out and nailed Roberts, dragged Leask into the pinfall position then dragged the referee over and used his hand to make the three count, giving Leask the victory and he left the ring, clutching his contract with Reckless Intent.  (Has Saint-George aligned with the SOS???)  Craig "The Firestorm" Valant came out, stopping Saint-George from leaving, allowing Roberts to recover and knock down the Englishman before Valant hoisted him up and Roberts delivered a stunner.

Saint-George called GM Jason McKinlay to the ring to complain about the attack on him, only to be told that if he had not interfered in the first place, none of this would have happened.  Not only that, Saint-George had in effect handed the RI contract to Leask and therefore, since he was already in the ring, he would now have a match against Sunday Slam Champion Venym.  What followed was probably the best match I have seen Saint-George have.  Venym certainly brought out the best (or worst) in the Englishman and this really was an absolute belter of a match....right up until the end when Venym stopped himself from crashing into the referee in the corner and, whilst the ref had his arms up to defend his face from the incoming Venym, Saint-George hit a low blow from behind and rolled up his opponent for the three count.

Once again Jason McKinlay appeared and told Saint-George (who lay down on the mat in a show of disrespect) that just because the referee didn't see his lowblow on Venym, he had seen it via the monitors backstage.  He added that he was sick of repeating himself regarding Saint-George's blatant cheating and had decided that the Englishman would have a second match, right there and then.....and this would be a match he was familiar with...a 3 on 1 handicap match....only this time it would be Saint-George on the receiving end from Venym, Craig Valant and Bobby Roberts.

Valant and Roberts returned to ringside, holding up a shirt with "Independence" printed on it.  They joined Venym in the ring where they got Saint-George in the corner and each delivered a massive chop to the chest before taking their turn to perform their finishing moves, ending with Bobby Roberts hitting a spear and then taking the pinfall with Venym and Valant each having a hand on the shoulder of Roberts.  A win for "Team Independence", they draped their shirt over the face of a prone Saint-George.  Roberts then picked up Venym's hammer announcing "it's plastic" before bonking both Venym and Valant on the forehead with it - somehow managing to cut Venym's forehead and having them yelling "it's NOT plastic" as they left the ring.

The first half main event saw Rawlins face Darren Lewis for the UK Title.  It was announced this would be a submission match, with no disqualifications.  It was, in a word, brutal!  Right from the start there were no holds barred and I knew this was not going to be pretty!  The momentum swung back and forth with each guy going all out to take the victory.  Lewis tried to use his size to his advantage but Rawlins is a real grafter and tried several submission holds on Lewis but "The Superstar" refused to tap out.  Finally caught in the crossface, it looked like Lewis had experienced one submission too many and was on the verge of giving up when Scott Renwick came out to the ring and smashed a beer bottle over the head of Rawlins.  With the no disqualification stipulation, this left Lewis free to continue a brutal assault on Rawlins, hitting him with a steel chair as he hung over the ropes and following up with a cradleshock on the already unconscious Rawlins.  Finally the referee had to stop the match as it was obvious that Rawlins was in no way able to continue and a smug Lewis left the ring as several roster members came out to assist in getting Rawlins backstage.

I missed the beginning of the second half and therefore the following is just general information I have after chatting to some of the other fans at the end of the show.  It began with a tag team match between the team of Jackie Grady & Westy and AJ Russell & Davidian Fury.  Grady and Westy debuted their new entrance music - the theme from Baywatch - and made their entrance in the "slow motion" style of the TV show's credit reel. Russell removed his clown mask to reveal some face paint and dried blood!  "A decent match" I am told, which ended when Fury went to make the tag only to have Russell jump off the apron, leaving him to finish the match alone.  Westy then hit Fury with the Cobra before Grady hit his "No Place Like Home" finisher and scored the pin.  While they celebrated, Sambroso Maestro hit a sneak attack and pinned Westy under the 24/7 rules to become the new Hardcore champion.

Sambroso Maestro then faced Disturbed in his own match.  By all accounts Disturbed defeated himself when he climbed from the top turnbuckle to a ledge to gain extra height for an elbow drop on Sambroso.  This gave his opponent extra time to recover himself and he hit Disturbed with a lowblow as he dropped from the ledge and scored the pinfall.  Conor Frost then attempted to take the Hardcore title but it appeared that both Frost and Maestro had their shoulders on the mat and an arm across each others chest meaning that both scored the pinfall, however this was a short-lived problem as Bobby Roberts hit them both with a spear, pinned them and took the belt.  Just seconds later the belt would change hands once again, as Westy faced off against Roberts and instead of receiving a blow to the head with the belt as has become normal, Westy this time delivered a kick to the nether regions of Roberts, dropping the big guy to the floor and retaking the belt he had lost earlier in the evening.

Just before the main event, Mikey took to the ring to express his disappointment in having to withdraw from the originally scheduled ladder match against Scott Renwick due to having surgery on his knee less than two weeks ago.  Once again, Saint-George made an appearance and promptly got his ass whooped!  Despite still recovering from surgery, Mikey hit Saint-George with an "Emerald Flowsion" which had the crowd cheering and howling for more and a certain Englishman left ringside red-faced after receiving his just desserts for, once again, sticking his nose where it didn't belong (I'm really starting to think he might be aligned with SOS).

Finally it was time for the main event, where JJ Russell would face "The Butcher" Scott Renwick for the Reckless Intent Title.  With both men in the ring, Russell made a wise crack about Renwick being the vinegar that spoils the fish 'n' chips....which had not only the crowd in fits of laughter, but cracked the hard shell of Renwick who struggled to hold it together. (There is hope!!!)  The match itself was good but there were too many comedy moments for a serious title match.  The match came to an end when Russell hit Renwick with the "Sister Abigail" and went for the pin, only for Darren Lewis and Graeme Leask to return to ringside and Lewis grabbed the leg of Russell, dragging him off his opponent.  As the referee remonstrated with Lewis, who was now on the ring apron, Renwick was able hit Russell with "Angel Wings" (there may also have been a lowblow involved but I was watching Lewis and the ref) and took the pinfall to retain the title.  Suddenly the entire roster was in the ring battling against the SOS but individual battles appeared to be forming, setting up for some grudge matches in the future.

As much as it pains me to say this, my Match of the Night was neither the first or second half main event, but goes to Saint-George and Venym....and that big-headed Englishman will probably boast and brag about it....just as long as he remembers that he wasn't alone in the ring!  Just to temper things, Moment of the Night was Mikey hitting him with the Emerald Flowsion!!!

The next show is Never Back Down on 4 April, back at Murieston Scout Hall.  After the no-contest between Darren Lewis and Chris Renfrew in January, they will face each other again but this time Renfrew is bringing some friends.

Also there will be early entry and a pre-show match for advance ticket holders.  The pre-show match was announced at Sunday Slam (yes I am so far behind that I haven't got that review up yet) Venym will defend the Sunday Slam title in a 10 man elimination match.  So far, Chavi and Disturbed have been confirmed as participants but who the other 7 are is yet to be announced.

Keep tabs on upcoming shows by liking the Reckless Intent page on Facebook, subscribe to them on YouTube and check out their website.

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 Christmas Sunday Slam

Sunday 14 December 2014

Just a week after a cracking sell-out show at Murieston, we were back at the RI Unit for the final Reckless Intent show of the year and the crowning of the first Sunday Slam champion!  The day had started very wet and windy and being so close to Christmas it was unclear what sort of turnout there would be.  Fortunately the weather brightened and the unit ended up pretty full, maybe not a sell-out but it was close!  My biggest problem was the fact that I had lost my voice and Rob was facing Jackie Grady - how the hell would I cheer???

The first match of the afternoon was Falcon v JJ Russell.  This was Falcon's first appearance since Over The Top and he decided to keep us waiting - his music started....and continued....and finally a full minute and a half later he appeared, jumping straight into the ring and crouching in one corner facing the turnbuckles and completely ignoring the somewhat bemused crowd.  JJ Russell got a great reception from the crowd during his entrance and while the ref was making his checks, Falcon made a sneak attack, confirming his new heel status.  Falcon attempted to hide under the ring, hitting Russell with a surprise blow when he came looking for him and then battling outside the ring.  Back in the ring, Falcon continued to use underhand tactics and the referee seemed to be constantly making 5 counts.  Russell attempted to gain the momentum but unfortunately it was Falcon who took a very unpopular win.

Next out to the ring was Iron Fist, accompanied by Miss J, who took the microphone to announce that the fans were not taking the threat of Iron Fist seriously and demanded a match worthy of him.  She then called out Mikey and challenged him to face Iron Fist.  Mikey answered the challenge and while Iron Fist attempted to beat Mikey with brute force and strength, he had no response for the speed, agility and aerial moves of the fan favourite.  A few kicks to the head, a flying crossbody and an elbow drop soon weakened the bigger man and it was Mikey who was victorious, taking a seat in the crowd after his win while Miss J berated her charge for failing once again.

The final match of the first half saw Davidian Fury make his return to Reckless Intent, facing the "Beef from Beith", Bobby Roberts.  Fury gained the advantage for the early part of the match, using the ropes to choke Roberts and holding him in the corner with a knee to the throat before attempting to get the win by putting Roberts in a sleeper hold.  With the crowd cheering for him, Roberts managed to get back into the match and despite Fury's attempts to subdue him again, Roberts nailed him with a clothesline from hell before pinning him for the three count.  After taking the win, Roberts held out his hand to Fury, only to be rebuffed - looks like another sore loser!

The second half started with a rematch from Unleashed, Rawlins against Scott Renwick.  Once again we were treated to the skills, experience and wit of two great wrestlers but for me it was not as good as their previous match, simply due to the fact that with Rawlins now being a fan favourite too, there was that good guy/bad guy element missing.  The match ended in controversy - as Renwick lifted Rawlins in the Angels Wings, Rawlins caught the referee in the head with his boot, knocking him out, leaving no referee to count when Renwick had Rawlins pinned.  Another referee was sitting at ringside, none other than Conor Frost, who refused to take over as referee when, as Renwick attempted to rouse the ref, Rawlins struck and caught him in his crossface submission hold, however when Rawlins released his hold, Renwick struck back and Frost shot into the ring to make a fast three count and declare Renwick the winner before quickly leaving again.  With Rawlins fuming in the ring, Frost stood outside smirking as the crowd jeered, before Renwick and Rawlins shook hands and left ringside.

Next out to the ring was Jackie Grady, accompanied by "The Westler" West Grady and his opponent would be none other than Rob Mills!  Well obviously I am totally biased in favour of Rob but I know he's just starting out so I didn't have high expectations.  I was surprised that the loudest chant was actually for Westy - but that's only cos I had no voice!  Anyway Grady was all over this match and had just hit his "No Place Like Home" finisher on Mills when Westy entered the ring and mimicked the move.  Grady turned his attention to Westy to berate him, giving Rob the opportunity to roll up Grady and score the pinfall.....MY BOY WON!!!  I did get video footage of the match - its not the greatest quality but you can see it on the Loudmouth Facebook page.

We then had the "Sambroso Maestro Culture Class".  Sambroso made his way to the ring, holding a Paul Hollywood calendar and handing out small oranges to kids in the crowd, leaving the last one still in its net bag on my seat!  Once in the ring, he aimed to teach the crowd about culture as "the world does not end at the M8 on ramp".  Then holding up one of the little oranges he asked the crowd "Do you know what this is? It's a satsuma!"  I held up the little net bag and shouted as best as I could...."No it's not! It's a clementine - did you not read the label?" As he attempted to continue with his "lesson" over the laughter of the crowd, he was again interrupted, this time by the arrival of Juan El Loco Gato, stating "my name is Jeff" and "you've got no fans".  There was then a bit of a tussle between the guys leaving Sambroso on the mat and Juan repeating his wee phrases!

Finally it was time for the main event between AJ Russell and Venym to see who would be the first Sunday Slam title holder.   This was shaping up to be an absolute corker of a match as both guys wanted that belt and they held nothing back.  The majority of the crowd were firmly behind Venym although AJ Russell did have a small group of supporters. The match went back and forth, both guys getting 2 counts and it really could have been either guy's match but it unfortunately ended as a no contest when Falcon appeared, climbed to the top turnbuckle and took both guys out with a crossbody.  The bell rang to signal the match was over but Falcon continued his assault on Venym, before grabbing a microphone and lying facing the mat, he announced that he does not start shows, he finishes them and was angry that he had been overlooked in the tournament.  He then demanded that he be given an opportunity to become the first Sunday Slam champion.  Jason McKinlay appeared and agreed that as Falcon had never held the World or UK title belts, he was eligible to compete for the Sunday Slam title and he would grant the match, at which point Falcon left the ring.  McKinlay then continued to announce that the match would be a triple threat match between Falcon and the two men he had just cheated of their chance to become the first champion and this would be held at the next Sunday Slam event in January.  Personally I wasn't happy with this turn of events.  This was supposed to be the final of a tournament and I think that as Falcon wasn't part of the original tournament he should have just waited and challenged the winner....but then the heels never do the right thing so I guess it works in that aspect.

The show ended with the entire roster who were in attendance coming out to thank the crowd for their support throughout the year.

A good show but for me there was something missing.  I think now that Rawlins is one of the good guys, we really needed either Saint-George or Darren Lewis on the card as there was no real heel interaction with the crowd.  Everyone loves to hate the heels and usually there is at least one occasion during a show where a heel gets right in the face of someone in the crowd and this didn't happen.  Yes, Falcon was heel but there was no interaction between him and the crowd, not during his initial match nor during his interruption of the main event.  He did not acknowledge the crowd in any way, refusing to even look at them.  In fact the only heel/crowd interaction was when referee Conor Frost screwed over Rawlins and got his first "Conor Sucks" chant!

The next Sunday Slam takes place on 25 January at the RI Unit.  Matches are starting to be announced and we will finally see the first Sunday Slam Champion crowned after a triple threat match between Falcon, AJ Russell and Venym.

Matches are also being announced for the next main show to be held at Murieston Scout Hall on Saturday 7 February.  Tickets are on sale now and advance ticket holders will gain early entry to the venue and a special preshow bonus match for the Hardcore Title.

Make sure to like their Facebook page to get updates for upcoming events, links for tickets and video content.