Review: SWA Battlezone

Saturday 18 October 2014

Our second visit to the Motherwell Concert Hall.  I had bought VIP tickets for this event but after a few recent issues, I was in two minds whether to sell them or go. In the end, I decided I would go....and I am glad I did because it was a great show.

As part of the VIP package, we had a pre-show match featuring Grado and Courtney against Joe Hendry and Debbie Sharpe.  I was actually surprised by this, as pre-show matches are usually an opportunity for trainees to make an impression, but here we had arguably one of the most recognisable faces in Grado and one of the fastest rising stars in the independent scene in Joe Hendry.  The match itself would not have been out of place on the main card with Grado hamming it up as usual and Hendry playing the heel to perfection.  Hendry and Sharpe dominated much of the match, using their underhanded tactics in order to double-team Grado however the fan favourites were victorious after Hendry found himself on the wrong end of moves from both Courtney and Grado in the corner, with Grado getting the pinfall.

Now onto the main show.... Mikey Whiplash was originally scheduled to face John "The Bomb" Graham in a TLC match however with Graham unable to compete, a change to the card had been announced - Whiplash would face Jack Gallagher in a 2 out of 3 falls match.  Having seen these two face each other at Pride, I knew this was going to be an amazing match...and they did not disappoint.  These guys put on an amazing display from the start which literally had the crowd gasping.  There was also some fun when Whiplash spotted Cobra Carr's daughter in the crowd holding up her "Whippy Sucks" sign. At one point Gallagher ended up sitting in the front row holding up the sign, before hiding the sign in the back of his trunks and holding it up once back in the ring.  This only made Whiplash more determined to beat Gallagher and it was Whiplash who scored the first fall.  Without any hesitation he tried for the second fall several times unsuccessfully.  Gallagher fought back, pulling off some incredible moves and took the second fall before locking in a submission and Whiplash tapped out.  An amazing start to the night and my Match of the Night by a mile!  I really hope to see video footage of this soon.

The next match was Robbie Solar v John Gresham who had their work cut out for them following such an incredible opening match, however they definitely did not disappoint.  Although evenly matched in height, speed and agility, Gresham appeared to have a strength advantage over Solar.  This was the first time I had seen Gresham and I hope I have an opportunity to witness him in action again soon.  This was a fast paced match with Gresham using his combination of power and agility to punish the smaller built Solar, leaving him covered in welts and handprints.  Solar, however, is a pocket rocket himself and kept coming back at Gresham,  hitting him with a dropkick to the back before rolling him up to score the pinfall.

Next up was Rampage Brown who had issued an open challenge which was answered by "Flyin" Ryan Griffin, who is either extremely brave or totally crazy.  Brown did not hold back, using his size and strength advantage from the beginning.  After taking a boot to the face and being slammed face first into the turnbuckles, Griffin looked to be done before he had even started but despite taking a serious amount of punishment, he did manage to fight his way back into the match, almost scoring the win after a cracking crossbody from the turnbuckle knocked the big man to the canvas.  The victory was not to be however and Rampage quickly rallied, delivering another boot to the face of Griffin, following it with a devastating piledriver before covering him for the three count.

After a short interval, the action continued with SWA Zero One Heavyweight Champion Joe Coffey defending his title against Doug Williams.  This was a belter and could easily have gone either way with both men showing amazing strength and agility.  There were near falls for both men but this match would not end based on the abilities of these two amazing athletes.  As they fought, the referee got caught and was knocked out.  Coffey swung Williams around the ring before turning him over into a Boston Crab and while Williams tapped out, the referee was unable to acknowledge it.  Coffey released the hold and attempted to rouse the referee when Jackie Polo appeared, grabbing the title belt and threatening to hit Coffey with it.  Then Mark Coffey appeared and grabbed the belt from Polo, apparently to make the save, before turning and nailing his brother with it to the shock of the crowd!  With the referee recovering, Polo and Mark Coffey stood at ringside as Williams then covered Coffey for the three count to become the new Heavyweight champion.  Polo and Mark Coffey re-entered the ring to help the new champ celebrate before taking off backstage as a very angry Joe Coffey recovered.

The penultimate match of the night saw Sammii Jayne face Viper with Fiona Fraser as the special guest referee.  This was more of a handicap match as it became apparent early on that Fraser had a problem with Viper, with any decision made being in favour of Sammii Jayne.  With several near falls from both girls, Viper finally had Sammii Jayne well and truly beaten and went for the pinfall once again.  This time when Fraser reached two, she stopped and refused to finish the count.    As Viper and Fraser faced off, Sammii Jayne took the advantage, rolling Viper up for Fraser to make a fast 3 count and declare Sammii Jayne the winner.  On a side note, during this match Sammii Jayne's hair weave came out...and I think she really suits the natural shorter look.

After another short interval, it was time for the 40 man Battlezone match to determine the No 1 contender to the SWA Zero One Heavyweight title.  Starting with two men in the ring, they would be joined every 60 seconds by another competitor.  First out was Mark Coffey, who then watched the entrance for his first opponent Grado, who instead made his entrance through the crowd dressed in a Motherwell FC mascot outfit.  As Christopher Saynt entered, Grado was eliminated. Entrant number 5 was Jackie Polo and he immediately teamed with Coffey in order to eliminate those in the ring and any newcomers, sitting on chairs they brought into the ring,,,,until entrant number 10 Joe Coffey appeared.  Mark slipped under the ropes and ran backstage, quickly followed by Joe, who had just eliminated Jackie Polo, leaving the ring empty for the arrival of entrant 11, Mr News.  Next out was Glen Dunbar, followed by his tag partner Alex Cavanaugh.  They double-teamed Mr News until the arrival of Randy Valentine.  These four pretty much fought each other the entire time they were in the match and continued it even after they were eliminated just after the arrival of entrant 20 Adam Carrell.  The Coffey Brothers made a brief reappearance in the ring, arriving through the crowd before disappearing out the other side again.  Entrant 24 was big Damo who immediately began to clean house and also managed to stand on the chest of Dickie Divers before dropping a senton on him.

Shortly after  Rampage Brown entered at No 40, only John Gresham (39) Lewis Girvan (37), Jack Gallagher (34), Mikey Whiplash (31) and Damo (24) remained.  While Gallagher and Whiplash continued their earlier battle, Gresham and Girvan were soon eliminated, followed by Damo at the hands of Rampage Brown.  With both Brown and Whiplash's attention on him, the odds were not in Gallagher's favour but he somehow pulled off the impossible by first eliminating Whiplash then Brown to win the Battlezone match and become the number one contender.  The crowd began to chant asking "where's the Coffeys" as they had never officially been eliminated and it was expected that they would reappear, however this did not happen and Gallagher was officially announced as the winner.


After the show there was a meet and greet with some of the wrestlers for VIP ticket holders but Rob and I had already met all of them in the past, so we rolled up our sleeves and assisted with packing up the ring instead!

There was an "Aftermath" show in Paisley on Friday 24th but we were unable to attend due to previous plans.  Information on all future SWA events can be found on their Facebook page.

Review: Pride Wrestling - We Aim To Misbehave

Saturday 7 June 2014

This event was on the same date as a PBW show but our decision to make our first visit to Pride Wrestling was based mostly on the fact that the main event was a title match between Glen Dunbar and Mikey Whiplash (although I think Nikki Storm v Viper would have sealed it for Rob)  When it was announced that Glen Dunbar had sustained an injury that would keep him out of the ring for 12 weeks and would not be able to compete, I was totally gutted.

So the show starts with Glen Dunbar addressing the crowd, saying that you cannot start a Pride Wrestling show without "your Champion and a true hero" and that while we would see a fantastic show, we would not see him defend his title tonight, although he would at the next show on 16th August.  He then took a seat in the audience to watch the night's action.

First match up, Jackie Polo v DCT.  Once again Polo worked the crowd during his entrance - he must have one of the longest entrances but it just never gets boring.  Once in the ring, he took the microphone and told Dunbar he was looking at the No 1 contender for his championship before turning on one of the crowd.  DCT then arrived and had Rob come over to the ring to tell Polo that DCT had better hair than Polo (seemed random at the time and still does!).  Polo held the advantage through most of the match, however it was DCT who scored the pinfall, much to the shock of Polo and the delight of the crowd.

Next up was the team of Street Justice (Chris Renfrew & Mark Sweeney) v Bobby Roberts & Daihlan Hendry.  This was just brutal... Renfrew and Sweeney isolated Hendry for much of the match and with the referee stopping Roberts from entering, took the opportunity to double team the young Source graduate, even going as far as removing their belts and using them to whip him.  When Roberts finally managed to tag in, he was also double teamed and belt-whipped before Renfrew hit him with the stunner and scored the pinfall.  Street Justice then continued to beat and whip Roberts and Hendry after the bell.

The first half main event was a triple threat match for the N7 Championship between current champ Lewis Girvan, Christopher Saynt and Joe Hendry.  With Girvan and Saynt in the ring, Hendry arrived and announced that he was not 100% fit and that it would be unfair to the others to bring down what would be an amazing match, before taking a seat in the crowd to watch.  With a pretty even split of the crowd cheers, Girvan and Saynt pulled out all the stops to win and Joe Hendry was right - it was an amazing match.  With Saynt prone on the canvas, Girvan took to the turnbuckles ready to capitalise when Street Justice reappeared at ringside.  Girvan leapt from the turnbuckles to knock down Street Justice and while all three were lying on the floor at my feet, Hendry snuck into the ring from the other side and pinned Saynt to take the title.  Girvan and Saynt then watched as Hendry handed an envelope of cash to Chris Renfrew and walked away with the belt. 

The first match after the interval featured Rob's favourite, Nikki Storm against Viper.  This was a great match with several near pins.  Storm tried everything she could to win, including standing on Viper's hair while arguing with the referee, but Viper was not going down to the self proclaimed "Queen of the World" and nailed Storm with the V bomb to take the win.  Viper then turned her attention to Dunbar sitting in the crowd and stated that having pinned him already in the past made her a contender for his title.  Enter Mr Byers, the new Scientific Adviser to the Founders, holding his clipboard and giving a whole slew of reasons why Viper, as a female wrestler, was not up to the challenge of competing in the superior men's division.  With the crowd booing him, Viper showed him just how inaccurate he was, by taking his clipboard and nailing him with it.

Next up was Jam O'Malley who had challenged Dave Conrad to face "Sideshow Jam's House of Fun".  Once the two men had got to the ring, O'Malley took the microphone and said that as he was undefeated, he was not going to wrestle until he got a title shot but that Conrad would still have a match - he had already lined up a replacement, "The First Follower" Alex Cavanaugh.  With the odds stacked against him, Conrad fought bravely and even managed to get a pin on Cavanaugh, however O'Malley had the referee distracted and as he attempted to regain the ref's attention, Cavanaugh was able to turn the tables and take the win.  O'Malley then decided he would wrestle after all, climbed into the ring, pinned an already prone Conrad and forced the ref to make the 3 count.  O'Malley and Cavanaugh then began to beat Conrad until Christopher Saynt came out to even the numbers.

Finally it was time for the main event, Mikey Whiplash facing Jack Gallagher.  After seeing them both in action against Japanese wrestlers the previous night, I was looking forward to this...and I was not disappointed.  The biggest shock was seeing Mikey Whiplash as a face!! I saw him smile and laugh and I almost lost it completely when some kid was making fun of Gallagher's gumshield saying he looked like a vampire, only for Whippy to come over and pop out his front teeth and say it's better than this!  The match started with Whiplash focusing on the left elbow of Gallagher, however Gallagher managed to turn the tables and worked on the left knee of Whiplash, however it was the more experienced Whiplash who finally took the win in what was an amazing match, a total joy to watch and if I didn't rate Gallagher before, this weekend definitely made me sit up and notice him.  The match of the night by a mile!  Whiplash took the microphone and thanked his opponent for an amazing match, calling Gallagher one of the best wrestlers that Britain has ever seen, before turning his attention to Dunbar in the crowd and saying as soon as Dunbar was fit, Whiplash would be ready to face him.  This match is set for the next Pride event on 16 August....and I will definitely be there to see it!

So, despite my initial disappointment at the change to the main event, I really enjoyed my first visit to Pride.  The matches were great and the crowd were noisy - what more could you want?

On a side note, congratulations to Pride owner James St James, who had changed the date of this show as he was expecting a new arrival the following week, but babies never arrive when you hope/expect and his new son decided to appear on show day.

For information on upcoming events, check out Pride Wrestling on Facebook or their website

Review: SWA Zero 1 Scotland - The Next Chapter - Cumbernauld

Friday 6 June 2014

After the cracking Clan Wars show in Motherwell back in April, Rob and I were looking forward to seeing another SWA show and it was just pure luck that we were able to get to this one, despite the obstacles that seemed to rear up at us all through the day trying to stop us!!

Our MC/Ring Announcer for the evening was David Campbell Thomson, more commonly known as DCT and a fine job he did too. 

First match of the night pitted young Lewis Girvan against Eric Canyon.  I have only ever seen Eric Canyon in team action before so I was looking forward to seeing what he could do in singles competition.  Canyon comes off as cocky with an "I love me, who do you love" attitude which had me asking for a sick bucket!  Girvin took the advantage early in the match but Canyon used his size to gain the upper hand, even calling out his moves and blatant cheating, including using his wrist tape to choke Girvan.  Girvin impresses me more every time I see him.  Tall, lean and pale, he is the complete antithesis of the wrestler image of big, bulky and tanned but, bloody hell this boy can hold his own against those bigger guys and usually get the better of them too.  This was proved once again when he took the win against Canyon.

Next up was Rob's favourite, Nikki Storm against Courtney.  Storm really does heel well, turning her nose up at the crowd and really inciting them to boo her.  Rob decided to disown me when I called her a poison dwarf.  Storm asked Courtney what she did that was so special, so Courtney did the splits - Storm tried and failed, blaming her tight trousers for her inability to do so!  The wrestling itself was not bad.  Courtney was obviously fan favourite and underdog to the experienced Storm, but she gave as good as she got, with Storm retreating to the ringside area to escape more than once.  There were several near falls, with Storm arguing with the ref about whether they were 3 counts or not.  Storm finally rolled up Courtney, and with her feet up on the second rope for leverage, took the pin.

The next match was scheduled to be fan favourite, Grado against Christopher Saynt.  Grado came out to his usual pop, while Saynt appeared, accompanied by Dave Conrad, to a chorus of boos and catcalls.  The match started with the usual comedy routine, including Grado patting down ref Stevie Wizard before giving his bum a wee nip, then riding Saynt like a donkey, but just as things looked like getting serious, Conrad jumps into the ring and the two heels start beating on Grado....until the Beast from Belfast Damian O'Connor appears and suddenly we have a tag match on our hands. 

Dave Conrad squares up to big Damo in the centre of the ring...big mistake...within seconds he is on the canvas with Damo standing on his chest, before jumping off and dropping those massive shoulders on Conrad.  Grado tags in and it's not long before Saynt and Conrad have the upper hand, double teaming Grado while Damo is held back by the referee.  Finally Damo manages to get the tag and after doing his cannonball into the corner on both Conrad and Saynt, invites Grado to have a go too. Grado attempts an F5 on Conrad which fails, however a second attempt, this time on Saynt succeeds and with Damo holding Conrad outside of the ring, Grado gets the pin.  Cue the celebrations...however Damo decided not to join Grado in his traditional celebration dance and invited Grado to join him in "The Slosh" instead (although I don't think Grado really knew how to do "The Slosh").

The final match of the first half was Mikey Whiplash against Ryoji Sai from SWA's sister promotion Zero 1 in Japan.  This was an absolute treat to watch.  This started off as a real lesson in technical mat based wrestling, with Whiplash focusing mainly on the left knee of Sai.  Sai then took the upperhand, hitting Whiplash with a dropkick, then telling us "look at this, this is Samurai Brainbuster"!  Whiplash once again went for the knee of Sai and nearly scored the pin after a cracking suplex then took to the ropes, where Sai got him in a Superplex before finally putting him down for the 3 count with a gutbuster.  A win for Sai....and for the crowd who got to witness probably one of the best matches I have ever seen.

 

After the match, Whiplash gets the microphone and starts complaining that he should have been given a rematch against Joe Coffey for the title and he was going to sit in the ring and stage a dirty protest until he was given his title shot.  Out comes John "The Bomb" Graham to tell him he doesn't deserve a title shot and he is now at the bottom of the ladder.  Whiplash retorts that he was the one to put Graham into retirement and he can see that Graham wants nothing more than to get back into the ring and try to beat Whiplash one more time....setting up a match between the two at Battlezone in October and of course with all the talk of ladders, it has to be a TLC match - take my money now!!

 

After a short interval, the action resumed with another belter of a match between Jack Gallagher and another of the Japanese Zero 1 stars, Obata.  After a slow start, this really got moving with both guys showing us just what they were capable of ... big forearms, standing dropkicks, you name it.  After a good show of mat wrestling (although not as good as the previous match), they took it to the ropes, having a wee battle on the turnbuckles with Gallagher attempting a suplex before Obata pushed Gallagher off the ropes, following up with a cracking missile dropkick.  It was Gallagher who was victorious however after connecting with a beauty of a dropkick himself, followed by a swanton which was just amazing to watch.

 

The next match had been scheduled to be a Laird of the Ring Title Match between champion Joe Hendry and challenger Mark Coffey, however the day before it was announced on the SWA Facebook page that Joe Hendry had not been medically cleared to compete and that Kenny Williams had been booked to face Mark Coffey instead.  I was therefore a wee bit confused when Hendry appeared in his pink suit and announced that he was refusing to defend the Laird of the Ring title until he got a title shot against Joe Coffey for the heavyweight belt.  Maybe they should have held off on the FB post??  Didn't stop the chants of "chicken" and "Joe Hendry Total Zero"!

Anyway Mark Coffey v Kenny Williams.... this turned out to be a really good match. With Coffey standing steady and Williams bouncing off the ropes and flying around, it was quite a display. Coffey took the upper hand using his strength, only for Williams to come back at him with some flying kicks. The match ended with Coffey rolling up Williams for the three count by using a handful of shorts for extra leverage!  Williams was obviously unhappy with the way the match ended and while remonstrating with the referee, Coffey hits him from behind.  Obviously unhappy about losing his title shot, he takes his frustration out on Williams and there you have it, Mark Coffey turns heel! 

The night's main event was the Scottish Heavyweight title match between Joe Coffey and Jackie Polo.  This was also my Match of the Night, although it was a very close contest between this and the Whiplash/Sai match for the honour!  Jackie Polo's entrance is a little piece of comedy gold in itself - prancing through the crowd with his neck brace and polo mallet, singing along to his entrance music and posing for every camera he spots (and boy does that man know how to find a camera lens).  Joe Coffey appears with the belt round his waist and his face painted and the crowd just love him!  The battle commences and its not long before there is more paint on Polo's singlet than on Coffey's face.  After taking a bit of a beating from Coffey and leaving the ring to escape to chants of chicken, Polo brings in his polo mallet. 

Referee Stevie Wizard grabs the mallet off him and turns to put it out of the ring when Polo hits Coffey with a low blow and follows up with a couple of scoop slams.  Polo then decides to do a little strut around the ring, giving Coffey a chance to recover and get him into that awesome move he does by swinging him around the ring before dumping him on his back and then flipping him over into a Boston Crab.  This time Polo managed to get to the ropes and the hold was broken and Polo managed to pull Coffey's head off the top rope from the ring apron to catapult him back across the ring - you can see a wee video here - believe me its good!  Polo has a wee turn of being top dog and it's actually starting to look like we might get a new champion but eventually Coffey's second attempt at the Boston Crab has Polo tapping out.

 

A damn good show and some amazing displays by some very talented guys and girls.  We will definitely be looking for VIP packages for Battlezone.

 

Check out SWA on Facebook and their website for details of their upcoming events.