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).

Follow Reckless on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for details on upcoming events, ticket availability and footage of past events.

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.

Review: Reckless Intent presents Over The Top

Saturday 1 November 2014

This was a big day for Reckless Intent.  They were taking their shows out of the unit and into an outside venue for the first time.  In the six months since my first visit to Reckless Intent for their Super BOWL two day event, I had noticed that the crowd was increasing at each event, with standing room only at the last two so it was inevitable that they would need to look at larger venues so for the final two shows of the year they booked Murieston Scout Hall.  Still there were a few nervous people wondering if enough people would come to make the larger venue worthwhile - and the answer was a resounding yes!

The show started with Reckless Intent World Champion Saint-George coming out to the ring, only to be faced with a crowd of boys from Bo'ness Rugby Club who treated him to a chorus of Flower of Scotland and lots of heckling as he filled the ring with balloons in celebration of the arrival of SWE Champion Ian Ambrose.  Ambrose came out carrying beers, which the two men used to toast the end of the career of Martyn Stallyon and each others "awesomeness", before Ambrose announced that he was going to end the career of Bobby Roberts.  Roberts then came out to huge cheers from the crowd.  After a verbal altercation with Saint-George, he turned his attention to Ambrose.  Roberts dominated the beginning of the match using his size and strength advantage, however Ambrose came back at him with some big kicks, using his agility to keep the bigger man off balance and with Saint-George hovering at ringside, interfering at every opportunity, Roberts had his work cut out for him.  Ambrose went for one move from the ropes too many however, and Roberts hit a cracking stunner on him and went for the pin, however Saint-George had the referee distracted and by the time the referee started the count, Ambrose had recovered enough to kick out at 2.  An enraged Roberts lost focus and Ambrose took the advantage again, however Roberts avoided the double footstomp attempt and instead hit him with a spear, before going for the pin.  This time Saint-George jumped into the ring and attacked Roberts, who was awarded the match by disqualification.

Saint-George then grabbed two chairs and they prepared to attack Roberts with them when the music of Scott Renwick played and the man himself appeared to make the save.  Ambrose and Saint-George dropped the chairs and ran from the ring.  General Manager Jason McKinlay appeared and asked Saint-George if the stipulations on his own match were the reason for him interfering in this match and reminded him that any cheating against Renwick would cost him the title and his position in the company.

Next up was "The Superstar" Darren Lewis v Craig Valant.  Lewis came out first, with the briefcase he won at Reckless Intentions, then demanded that The Grue carry it to the ring for him while the crowd chanted "slightly average".  Valant came out to cheers which made Lewis more annoyed and their initial grapple ended with a big slap to Valant's face by Lewis.  Valant went for a quick roll-up, giving Lewis fair warning that there would be no messing around and Valant would take whatever opportunity he could.  Lewis countered any offensive by going for the ropes or leaving the ring, returning to break the 10 count before sliding out again and receiving chants of "chicken".  He used underhanded techniques, such as taking a mouthful of water and spraying it in the face of Valant in order to put him off balance to take the advantage.  Valant tried to rally but Lewis once again used the ropes to his advantage, choking Valant, then ramming his shoulder into the midsection of Valant in the corner.  Valant refused to go down easy and the match went back and forth with each man trying and failing to score the 3 count, despite using some big power moves.  Finally Lewis was able to hit a cradle shock on Valant and take a very unpopular win.

The first half main event saw current Reckless Intent UK Champion Mikey put the belt on the line against Joe Hendry, who had vacated the Hardcore Title in exchange for this match.  Hendry took to the microphone to tell everyone how wonderful he was and that he would be the most dominant wrestler in Reckless Intent before inviting Mikey to join him in the ring.  With the Bo'ness Rugby Club boys giving Hendry some abuse, he announced if they did not shut up, he would leave.  This only made the crowd louder and Hendry did leave the ring and make toward the curtain as the referee began to count him out and only made it back into the ring by the skin of his teeth.  What followed was lovely to watch - a perfect blend of Hendry's technical style with Mikey throwing up some cracking aerial stuff including a lovely springboard dropkick.  Hendry hit Mikey with a clothesline that spun him a full 360 degrees but was only able to get a 2 count.  With the crowd firmly backing Mikey, Hendry tried several power and submission moves but Mikey kept coming back at him, finally hitting a series of big kicks, before missing a move from the ropes that once again gave Hendry the advantage.  The deciding factor in this match turn out to be neither man's particular skill set but the appearance of the SOS.  With Mikey finally appearing to be in control of the match, the SOS came out, distracting him and allowing Hendry to take advantage and score the win to become the UK champion.  But this was not the end....as the SOS members beat both Hendry and Mikey in the ring, the music of Darren Lewis started and it appeared that he was there to help Hendry and Mikey, until he smacked Hendry with the briefcase then handed it to the referee, cashing in his shot and pinning Hendry.  Darren Lewis becomes the new Reckless Intent UK Champion then takes to the microphone to say he had done "what's best for business!"  With Hendry blaming Mikey for the turn of events, this story was far from over....

The second half of the show started with the rematch we had all been waiting for - Saint-George would put the RI World title on the line against Scott Renwick, with a stipulation that if he were to win by count-out or disqualification he would be stripped of the title and fired.  Saint-George decided not to wait for the bell and attacked Renwick with the belt as soon as they had been announced.  Renwick rolled out the the ring and Saint-George followed, continuing his attack at ringside, including smacking Renwick off the ring apron several times and blasting him into the ringpost, before shoving him back into the ring.  He then grabbed a chair and attacked Renwick with it.  After focusing on the left knee, he got Scott's foot in chair and was about to jump on it from ropes when the referee called for some help.  More officials and Jason McKinlay appeared as Saint-George made the jump.  McKinlay reminded him of the no cheating clause, to which he replied the bell has not gone yet!  With Saint-George continuing to attack Renwick, he had to be physically restrained by the referee as the other officials removed the chair and helped Renwick back to his feet.  Finally the bell rang and the match officially started.  Saint-George continued where he had left off and again focused on the left knee of Renwick before Renwick hit him with a spear and went on the offensive.  The match was brutal and continued to swing back and forth, with near falls from both men, an RKO mid-match from Saint-George on Renwick, a sleeper hold which almost put Renwick out twice, before Renwick hung Saint-George upside down on the turnbuckle and dropkicked him, then later hit Saint-George with a massive dropkick from the top rope.   With both men exhausted, Renwick attempted the Angel Wings however Saint-George escaped and hit Renwick with a second RKO but could only get a 2 count.  Finally Renwick hooked up the Angel Wings and this time scored the 3 count to become the Reckless Intent World Champion.

As Renwick celebrated on the top rope, two members of the SOS appeared.  Saint-George held up his hands and quickly left the ring. Could Saint-George be linked to this mysterious group?  As SOS leader Sam Crowe looked on, his associate delivered a massive power bomb to the new champion, leaving him prone in the centre of the ring.  As they stood at ringside, several roster members came out to the ring to assist Renwick and the SOS disappeared.

Next up was a 6 man elimination match which would allocate an entry number in the rumble to the participants.  The first five entrants, AJ Russell, JJ Russell, Venym, Jackie Grady and SWE favourite LJT were in the ring when SWE owner Bravehart appears to introduce his Trident member Darren Blair.  As always in matches of this nature, chaos ensued.  Venym and Grady battled outside the ring at the entrance area, the Russell Brothers fought directly in front of their supporters from Bo'ness Rugby Club while LJT and Blair battled inside the ring and gradually the matches switched about.  With JJ Russell and Blair fighting at ringside, LJT looked to suicide dive them but was caught by a clothesline from Grady, who then did a flying dropkick through the ropes to take down the two outside.  LJT then did a corkscrew crossbody over the top rope to knock all three down with Venym doing a similar move to all four.  Finally AJ Russell played bowling ball to their skittles, hitting a "whisper in the wind" wiping out all 5 opponents before shoving Venym back in the ring.  Venym manages to swing AJ around the ring but only scored a 2 count on his pin attempt.  AJ then splashes Venym from the top rope and Grady makes the pin to eliminate Venym who will now enter the rumble first.  Darren Blair was eliminated next by LJT, who was then eliminated by AJ.  Grady and AJ appeared to face off, before working together to target JJ but JJ was able to rally, eliminating his brother before taking on Grady.  As he was about to finish Grady, AJ jumped up on the apron and distracted him.  JJ sent him flying with a dropkick before returning his attention to Grady and finally scoring the pinfall, JJ Russell took the number 30 slot in the rumble.

The final match before the rumble was "The Baddest Man in Professional Wrestling" Rawlins v Falcon.  Rawlins came to the ring first and announced that he believed Falcon to be part of SOS which is why he challenged him to a match, before Falcon appeared to cheers from the crowd. In true "baddest man" character, Rawlins tried to terrorise some of the kids in the crowd before getting down to business in the ring.  This match went back and forth, with both men pretty evenly matched in size and speed.  There were a lot of wristlocks and reversals to start with before Falcon went on the offensive.  Rawlins rolled out of the ring to escape and when Falcon leapt the ropes to follow him, Rawlins swept the legs from under him, causing him to crash to the wooden floor.  He then climbed back into the ring to break the count before doing a suicide dive through the ropes onto a still recovering Falcon, however his second attempt at the same move was met by Falcon's boot to the face.  Falcon then had some of the crowd move aside and rammed Rawlins face first into the vacated chairs.  When Rawlins avoided an attempted chop, Falcon slammed his own hand into the ringpost, giving Rawlins the opportunity to regain the advantage.  Once back in the ring, Rawlins continued to focus on the injured arm of Falcon.  While Falcon tried to get back into the match, Rawlins appeared to have an answer for everything and it looked as though the match would soon be over as Rawlins held Falcon in a crossface submission hold.  Suddenly all three members of  SOS appeared and attacked both men.  The match ended in a no contest as several roster members come out to make the save and chase SOS out the main door.  As the other roster members returned backstage, Rawlins held out his hand to Falcon, however, in true heel turn fashion, he refused to shake hands and instead hit Rawlins with a turnbuckle bulldog he calls "The Acid Drop" and left the ring.  Mikey returned to the ring to assist a dazed Rawlins backstage.

Finally it was time for the 30 Man Rumble match, where the last man standing would earn a shot at the World Title at the Super BOWL in May 2015.  The match started with Venym and Saint George, with a new participant joining every 30 seconds, so it got chaotic very quickly and was difficult to follow everything that was going on - so I will just highlight a few points.  Saint-George and Bobby Roberts went at each other for a bit before Bravehart decided to have a pop at Roberts.  Westy made two appearances, first as Bushwacker West, who was eliminated immediately, then later reappeared as West Cena who also was eliminated very quickly.  Rob Mills was attacked as he entered by Bravehart who had been eliminated.  Ambrose and Saint-George returned after being eliminated and took out Bobby Roberts, further fuelling their feud.  Saint-George gets a second bite at the cherry after being drawn at random to be given a lucky chance second entry.  JJ Russell enters last after winning the earlier 6 man elimination match and he and AJ Russell take each other out, leaving the final four as Jackie Grady, Rawlins, Mikey and Joe Hendry.

Jackie and Rawlins are soon eliminated, leaving Mikey and Hendry facing each other once again and, once again it was Hendry who was victorious and now has a shot at the Reckless Intent World Championship at the Super BOWL tournament in May.  An unhappy Mikey grabbed a microphone to say that Hendry had beaten him twice that night and also six months previously.  This fact does not sit well with Mikey, even if Hendry is one of the best wrestlers in the country and Mikey then challenges Hendry to a match at Lights Out on 6th December to prove he can beat him and if he can't, he will quit wrestling.  Hendry accepted the challenge and the match is set but as they shake hands on it, Mikey hits Hendry with an RKO to the shock and disbelief of the crowd.


What a show! With 6 matches and a 30 man rumble, there was plenty of action.  Reckless Intent's first show at an outside venue was a sell-out and everyone involved put everything they had out there for the people to enjoy.  Normally I would give a Match of the Night award but I think this time I am just going to give them Show of the Year and look forward to seeing just how they can top this at their next show on 6 December, also at Murieston Scout Hall,  Tickets are already available and can be purchased online or at their Sunday Slam show on 16 November, where there will be the first two rounds of competition for the new Sunday Slam Championship belt.  Details of these, and all of the events planned for 2015 can be found on Facebook and video footage of their matches can be seen on their YouTube Channel

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!!