Review: Reckless Intent presents Proving Grounds

Some of my friends made the the journey from Ayr to check out Reckless Intent's Proving Grounds show in July.  I asked one of them, Claire Allan, if she would mind writing a wee review of the show....and here's what she had to say.....


On 4th July, I travelled all the way to Livingston for my first ever Reckless Intent show.  I will be totally honest, I was apprehensive about the show.  It's a smaller company than the ones I am used to going to and was frightened that I would not enjoy it.

THE SHOW

Enter Davey Blaze with the 'manager of champions' Charles Boddington, proclaiming he was only here for one reason and that was to become Reckless Intent Champion.  This statement then brought out current champion 'Local Hero' Joe Hendry.  Joe tried to reason with Davey, explaining that he is aware of his talents and that he doesn't need a leech like Boddington to get to the top and could get there on his own merit.  Blaze took umbridge to this and attacked Hendry, which then set up the main event of the night - Blaze vs Hendry for the Reckless Intent Championship.

LIONHEART VS RAWLINS

I found this quite amusing that one of the participants had to tell us he was a bad guy right at the start so I made the quickest face turn in a century and was cheering for Rawlins.  This was the first time I had seen Rawlins wrestle and was impressed, he could possibly fit in with the events I normally attend.  Lionheart was doing a little parading around the ring and in the process managed to make a young fan cry.  After an entertaining match that could have went either way, Lionheart pinned Rawlins for the win.  After the match, Lionheart went over to the young fan which I thought was to console him but ever the typical heel, he made the fan cry even more!

LEWIS GIRVAN'S OPEN CHALLENGE

The self-proclaimed 'best young wrestler in the world' Lewis Girvan comes to ring with a chair, stating that there is no young wrestler that could beat him and he wasn't leaving the ring until he gets to prove it.  Venym answers his call.  As with Rawlins, this was the first time seeing Venym and the first thing I noticed about him was his beaming smile.  This was another match that could have went either way with both men showing good technical ability and Lewis even took Venym on a walk around the ring and kindly placed him on my knee then hit him with an almighty chop which I felt right through from Venym.  After some more too-ing and fro-ing, Lewis pinned Venym for the win and it added more fuel to his fire that he is the 'best young wrestler in the world.

CHRIS RENFREW VS SAINT GEORGE

For me, this match, first half main event, was Match Of The Night.  A street fight between Chris Renfrew, a man I have a lot of admiration for, and Saint George.  Even though I have never seen Saint George, he is what us Scots call a bawbag especially after waving that English flag over my face!  This match was intense from start to finish.  Renfrew took it to Saint George right from the bell.  Both men knocking lumps out of each other and even had a little trip outside which saw both men being rattled off the fence and round the side of the Scout Hall was a broken toilet, which Renfrew sat Saint George on and hit him with a few chops that could probably have been heard in Edinburgh then grabbed him and stuck his head down it and pretended to flush.  The fight then returns to the ring where Darren Lewis's music plays and Saint George tries to take advantage but fails and Chris Renfrew seals the win.  Renfrew then issues Lewis with a warning saying he will be defending his UK title against Renfrew at Cruel Summer.

SIX MAN TAG MATCH

This match sees Scott Renwick, Theo Doros and Sweet Johnny vs Jam O'Malley, Matt Daly and Rob Mills accompanied by Wee Jimmy dressed as an Ompah Loompah.  Sorry to say, this match didn't light my fire. I was ecstatic that I finally got to see Rob wrestle but Sweet Johnny annoyed the hell out of me!  I did try to get into the fight but my heart couldn't get into it.  After the wrestling, the team of Scott Renwick, Theo Doros and Sweet Johnny secured the win.  Jam turned his attention to his team mates and blamed them for the defeat.  Both Matt Daly and Rob Mills walk away leaving Jam in the hall with the winning team.  After the match, the GM came out and advised Jam that he now had to defend his Hardcore Championship at any time and any place.  This brought The Westler and Jackie Grady to the ring to try to win the title from Jam but they got into a fight with Theo Doros and Sweet Johnny leaving Jam and Scott in the ring.  Scott defeats Jam to win the Hardcore Championship, that brings Saint George out who distracts Scott for Jam to win the title back.  Chris Renfrew was hot on Saint George's heels that caused some members of the audience to run outside in case the scrap from earlier continued.

MIKEY VS KENNY WILLIAMS

I was looking forward to this match, Kenny is someone who I have seen on several occasions and has impressed me each time.  I have only seen Mikey on YouTube but liked what I saw.  Both men lived up to expectations, had a great mix of high flying and technical ability.  Even though Kenny reminded me that it was a family show after yelling 'Kenny is the bollocks' which then started the girls sitting next to me to shout 'Mikey is the mutts nutts'.  After some more fantastic wrestling, Mikey beat Kenny by pinfall.  After the match Mikey said that he has defeated some excellent competitors since returning from knee surgery but at Cruel Summer he will face none other than the 'Beast of Belfast' Damian O'Connor.

JOE HENDRY (C) VS DAVEY BLAZE

This was the night's main event, these two men looked equals when in the ring the only difference is the small person standing at ringside.  Of course, without fail, I managed to get the standard 'baldy midget' chant ringing round the hall plus the poor girls next to me took some abuse from Blaze, think he was scared to abuse me!  Once the match began the two men in the ring were definitely equals and above average technical wrestlers.  This was another match that you could not tell the eventual outcome.  It was move after move, countermove after countermove, it was an excellent match for first timers to watch.  You could tell Blaze was getting frustrated with the near falls.  Joe's resilience was second to none, he knew what was at stake.  In the end it came down to the little person who got involved but was not sly enough and was caught by the referee so Joe Hendry won by disqualification to retain the title.  After the match, Blaze took his anger out on Joe Hendry and started to beat him down only for Scott Renwick to come and save the Reckless Intent Champion and issue Davey Blaze with a match at Cruel Summer.

As I stated at the start of the blog, I was apprehensive about this show but I clearly had nothing to be apprehensive about.  It was an excellent show and I hope the crowd at Reckless continues to grow.  I do hope to return at some point but at this moment I can't say when!

P.S. I do believe some of the gang may be there in September!

A huge Thank You! to Claire for her comments and look forward to your next visit to Livingston.

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

Sunday 24 May 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Review: Reckless Intent presents Super BOWL 2015

Saturday 2 May 2015


Same date, different day....same company, different venue!  This event marked the one year anniversary of attending Reckless Intent shows....

The pre-show match was between Westy and Jam O'Malley for the Hardcore title, however due to our wee shop becoming ever more popular, I missed the entire match and the after-effects - which is something I will regret forever!!!  Jam O'Malley won the match and the title, however Lou King Sharp then appeared and took the belt, only for Saint-George to nail him with the Saint George Cross to take the belt.  Sully then hit him with his "Begorrah Kick" to win the title and then the moment I will regret missing... Rob Mills hit Sully with an enziguri (now known as the Sullybreaker) and pinned him for the belt.  His reign was shortlived as Westy rolled him up to win back the title before he was chased from the building by Jam O'Malley and Wee Jimmy.

The main show started with the first Battle of West Lothian semi-final between LJT and Jackie Grady, who was accompanied to the ring by Westy.  The crowd were firmly behind Grady at first but as the match progressed a few others joined me in chanting for LJT.  A good opening match where LJT showed his agility and flair in the ring taking a well deserved victory in this bout.

Next up the second Battle of West Lothian semi-final pitting newcomer Theo Doros against Venym.  With both guys fairly evenly matched, either could have taken the three count and both had several near falls during the match.  Even the crowd chants appeared to be evenly split between them.  Venym spun Doros around the ring while the crowd counted the spins, before slingshotting him into the turnbuckles but Doros came back at him.  Finally Venym hit his "poison rain" finisher on Doros to take the pinfall.  In a show of sportsmanship, there was hugs and handshakes after the bell.

Next out to the ring was Saint-George who got on the microphone and riled the crowd by referring to the upcoming election and how they should all vote for UKIP, before handing out flyers to the crowd (which were quickly returned to him in ball format).  He then proceeded to call out Rawlins.  As Rawlins stood outside the ring, Conor Frost attacked him from behind, knocking him to the ground before picking him up and ramming his back into the ringpost.  Meanwhile Saint-George left the ring, found a steel chair and smacked Rawlins over the head with it.  At this point GM Jason McKinlay came out and called for some help for Rawlins while Saint-George and Frost celebrated in the ring, revealing that Frost's actions toward Rawlins over the last few months have all been leading to this moment.

With Rawlins down and seemingly unable to compete against Saint-George, Lou King Sharp made his appearance and asked the crowd if, now that the Englishman had no opponent, would they like to see Lou King Sharp "kick seven shades of English out of Saint-George".  With the crowd giving a resounding yes, the match was on - but part way through, Rawlins reappeared, determined to get his hands on Saint-George and the match became a triple threat match.  It appeared that the deck was stacked against the Englishman, however Saint-George capitalised when Rawlins missed a flying headbutt from the top rope and scored a very unpopular victory.

The first half main event saw a change to the originally advertised title match between Joe Hendry and Darren Lewis.  After Jason McKinlay announced that Lewis would be unable to compete due to illness, Saint-George came out and introduced Massimo Italiano to the Reckless Intent crowd before taking a seat at ringside.  The Italian then addressed the crowd in his native language and while the crowd may not have understood the words, they certainly got the message....Italiano was not a nice guy!  Hendry then came out and after making a dig at the Italian, the match was on.....and a great match it was.  These two big guys put it all out there - Hendry pulled off one of those suplexes that seem to never end while Italiano tried everything, including a lowblow, to try to take the title but it was Hendry who took the three count.  Immediately Saint-George got into the ring and issued a challenge to the Reckless Intent Champion to put the title on the line on 6th June, which Hendry accepted.

Just before the interval, Jason McKinlay came out to the ring to announce a couple of birthdays....one a wrestler, the other Reckless Intent's No 1 fan...and both called Jackie.  Jackie Grady and Jackie Cowan were both called out to the ring, where Jackie Cowan was presented with a card signed by the entire roster!

First up after the interval was the Battle Royal featuring the BOWL tournament losers and a couple of wild cards, Rob Mills and Jam O'Malley.  This also featured more Hardcore title action.  Conor Frost pinned Westy for the Hardcore title before being pinned by Jam O'Malley.  Saint-George hit O'Malley with the Saint George Cross but was unable to make the pin.  Sully and then Rob Mills piled on top of O'Malley and Saint-George but neither was successful in getting a three count.  Finally Westy jumped on top of the pile-up in the ring and scored the three count to retake the Hardcore title.  Back to the Battle Royal, Saint-George and Conor Frost teamed up to clear everyone from the ring, before Frost eliminated himself and handing the win to Saint-George.

Jason McKinlay came out to the ring to address Taking Over on 6th June, in which both he and Bravehart would have a team compete for the right to run Reckless Intent.  Saint-George made yet another appearance, getting himself a seat in the ring and making noise about how wonderful Bravehart is and how he would be helping Bravehart destroy McKinlay before demanding that McKinlay get on his knees and beg for mercy, at which point several roster members came out to back up the Reckless Intent General Manager and send Saint-George packing.

The penultimate match of the night saw Mikey take on the self proclaimed "Best Young Wrestler in the World" Lewis Girvan.  An absolute belter of a match, this was by far my Match of the Night.  Girvan took every opportunity to work the recently repaired knee of Mikey (and antagonising Janet)  which only made the crowd cheer louder and harder for Mikey.  Evenly matched in height, weight and agility, there was no clear favourite to win and both showed no fear, pulling off some incredible moves.  With several near falls for both men, the match went back and forth.  This really was one of those matches were both guys deserved to win, but this time it was Mikey who took the victory and I for one would absolutely love to see a rematch!  In fact why not check this one out for yourself by clicking here - you'll be glad you did!

The main event was the final of the Battle of West Lothian tournament between LJT and Venym.  Despite this being a good match, for me it was a little bit of an anti-climax after the previous match.  I don't know if Venym gave it all in his previous match to make it to the final but he appeared to be a bit tired in this match and LJT definitely outshone him in this match and was a worth winner in the end!

LJT with the Battle of West Lothian Trophy

The next event Taking Over is on 6th June at Murieston Scout Hall and is sure to be another cracking show.  Tickets are available now priced £10 Adults £5 Kids or a family ticket (2 adults, 2 kids) is £25.  Reserved ringside seating is also available by booking online for £12.50 per person or £35 for the family ticket.

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

Review: Reckless Intent presents Never Back Down

Saturday 4 April 2015

April saw the return of Reckless Intent to Murieston Scout Hall and another sell out show.

As announced at the previous Sunday Slam show, there was a pre-show match with Venym defending the Sunday Slam title in a 10 man rumble style elimination match.  The match started with Venym, Disturbed and Chavi with a new competitor arriving at timed intervals.  Venym was eliminated early and Chavi and Disturbed seemed to have the match well in control, eliminating each entrant almost as soon as they entered the ring.  As Hardcore Champion Craig "The Firestorm" Valant made his entrance he was attacked by Jam O'Malley who took the Hardcore Championship under the 24/7 rule.  O'Malley was immediately challenged by Wee Jimmy, however it was Westy who took advantage and rolled up O'Malley to take the belt before running out of the building, chased by Wee Jimmy and Jam O'Malley.  Back in the ring the action continued and it came down to Chavi, Disturbed and Valant, who finally made it into the ring after being attacked.  Disturbed was eliminated and after both men had a near fall, Valant managed to secure a submission on Chavi to become the new Sunday Slam Champion.

The main show opened with Mikey making an announcement that he had been cleared to return to the ring on 2 May and he would face Lewis Girvan, one of Scotland's fastest rising stars at the Super Bowl tournament.  The Sons of Silence then appeared and proceeded to beat Mikey, before attempting to damage his recently repaired knee with a chair.  Joe Hendry made the save and Chris Renfrew appeared behind the retreating SOS and a small preview of the night's main event ensued.  Hendry then took the microphone to announce that he would be teaming with Chris Renfrew to face SOS later that evening and to warn Scott Renwick that he was coming after the Reckless Intent title.

The first scheduled match of the night saw LJT take on Bobby Roberts.  This was an interesting match-up, with Roberts' size advantage being countered with the speed and agility of LJT.  The fight spilled outside the ring with Roberts using his strength to catch LJT as he flew toward him, slamming him into the ring apron and ringpost, however LJT was quick to move out of the way as Roberts barrelled towards him, leaving the big man to smack into the ringpost himself.  The match continued to swing back and forth until, with Roberts in control, Saint-George's entrance music played.  Roberts immediately turned to face the entrance, only for Saint-George to sneak in from the side of the hall, crawling around the ring and enabling him to attack Roberts from behind, at which point Ian Ambrose also appeared.  The referee called for the bell and awarded the match to Bobby Roberts as a result of a disqualification.  Craig Valant then appeared to even the numbers and when an angry LJT got involved, Saint-George and Ambrose attempted to make a hasty retreat.....

....General Manager Jason McKinlay was having none of it however.  He came out to ringside and announced that Ambrose would face Craig Valant right there and then and Saint-George was banned from ringside during the match.  Ambrose, brandishing his cardboard SWE replica, then announced that as a fighting champion the match would be for the "SWE Heavyweight Championship". A great wee match with plenty going on, the crowd were firmly behind Valant and remained vocal throughout.  The end came with Valant looking to be in control of the match, however as he turned with Ambrose across his shoulders while going for "The Firestorm", Ambrose kicked the referee in the head with his boot, knocking him down.  Valant pinned Ambrose but the referee was unable to make the count.  As Valant attempted to rouse the referee, Ambrose grabbed his cardboard belt, hiding the Sunday Slam belt behind it and nailed Valant on the head, then tossing the belts aside as the referee came to, pinned Valant to take the victory (and retain his cardboard title).

The first half main event saw Saint-George face the upcoming Lou King Sharp.  I have seen Sharp a few times at different promotions and I am in awe of the confidence of this young "pocket rocket" (he is the same age as my own son!!)  He totally embraces the fact that he is shorter and slighter built than most wrestlers but he more than makes up for it with his attitude and character and had the audience in fits of laughter from the minute he entered the ring.  Sharp started off well but the Englishman soon took the advantage.  A trip outside the ring had Sharp grabbing the timekeeper's hammer for the bell and threatening to ring Saint-George's bell with it instead.  Back in the ring, an accidental lowblow to the ref was followed with Saint-George hitting Sharp with a deliberate lowblow.  Sharp returned the favour before all three hit the canvas, holding their respective bits!  While Sharp appeared to recover quickest he was soon hit with the Saint George Cross and pinned, but somehow managed to kick out at two.  Saint-George was furious and went looking under the ring for a steel chair which ended up being his undoing - Sharp knocked the chair back into the face of Saint-George before pinning him for the three count.

The second half of the show started with The Best in the West (-Lothian) Jackie Grady and Westy facing the Russell Brothers.  This was a reasonable match, however it seemed to get a little chaotic after AJ Russell slipped on the turnbuckle, injuring his knee.  Westy and Grady took the victory and both held out their hand to JJ Russell after the match.  JJ and AJ Russell fistbumped each other at ringside before heading backstage.  Then it really got chaotic.  As the victors celebrated, Jam O'Malley made his move on Westy, once again taking the Hardcore belt, donning Westy's wig and trying to shake the hand of Grady.  Conor Frost then attacked O'Malley to take the title before being hit by a springboard missile dropkick from Mikey who claimed the belt and became the second person in the "Triple Crown" club.  His reign was short-lived as Bobby Roberts hit him with a spear before taking the title.  Jam O'Malley hit Roberts with a lowblow, only to be on the receiving end of a lowblow from Westy who then pinned Roberts to retake the Hardcore title and was then, once again, chased from the building by Jam O'Malley.

The penultimate match saw newcomer Theo Doros face Venym.  This was a good match, and Doros put on a good show in his first one-on-one bout against the more experienced Venym, definitely holding his own and showing some amazing potential for the future.  There were several near pins for both guys and surprising it was Doros who took the victory, however Venym was gracious in defeat, shaking the hand of Doros before raising it in victory.

Finally it was time for the main event.  The SOS members Graeme Leask, Darren Lewis and Scott Renwick stood in the ring as Chris Renfrew and Joe Hendry made their way through the curtains.  Lewis was quick to point out that SOS had the numbers advantage but this was soon rectified by the appearance of Rawlins.  The match started off as a giant brawl, with all 6 men in the ring knocking lumps out of each other before gradually settling down.  Renfrew and Co took control early, making several tags and isolating Leask in the ring.  SOS then had a period of control, where Renwick and Lewis made several quick tags which focusing on Hendry.  Lewis then brought a steel chair into the equation, first nailing Renfrew with it and then, when Renwick appeared to have Hendry set up for the Angels Wings, Lewis demanded that Renwick send him to the ropes in order that Lewis could nail Hendry with the chair.  Renwick initially refused but finally gave in to Lewis' bullying, only for Hendry to reverse the move and Renwick was nailed with the chair instead, allowing Hendry to pin him for the victory.  Renwick was furious and a heated verbal encounter took place at ringside between Renwick and his SOS team-mates.

Hendry then took the microphone and announced that he had just pinned the Reckless Intent champion and challenged Renwick to put the title on the line there and then.  Renwick accepted and with Rawlins and Renfrew making sure that Leask and Lewis were "otherwise engaged", an impromptu title match took place.....and Hendry once again pinned Renwick to become the new champ and third member of the "Triple Crown" club.  Renwick sent the referee from the ring, before handing the belt over to Hendry and shaking his hand.  Lewis and Leask reappeared at ringside and Renwick threw his SOS hoodie in the face of Lewis before walking backstage with his head held high.....Scott Renwick has seen the light!!!!

Hendry was then joined in the ring by several of the roster members and made an emotional speech, thanking the fans and Reckless Intent for their support.  To see Hendry win the title and his speech, click here.

This was an incredible show and with the surprise title match to finish it off, I was gobsmacked.

The next Reckless Intent event is the Super BOWL tournament which is split over two dates.  The qualifying rounds take place at Sunday Slam at the RI Unit on 19 April with entry only £5 on the door.  The final of the tournament will take place on 2 May at Murieston Scout Hall and tickets are available online.  Details of matches and ticket available can be found on the Reckless Intent Facebook page

Review: SWE Uprising: Psycho Circus

Saturday 28 February 2015

Last Saturday of the month so I would be found in Dundee!  After an afternoon of shopping and a visit to Dr Noodles, Janet and I headed to the Ardler Complex for SWE's monthly Uprising show.

There was a pre-show match for advance ticket holders featuring two of the trainees from Hart & Soul Wrestling School, Alec Xander (sorry if this is spelled wrong) and Conor Frost.  Frost has recently made a few waves in both the SWE and Reckless Intent ring as a "renegade referee", making some very dubious decisions and feuding with Rawlins, which had him already set up as the heel.   The crowd were a bit quiet but that didn't stop me cheering and encouraging Xander who hit Frost with a massive elbow drop to take the win.  Both guys did well for their first match and I was pleased to see that Frost can wrestle better than he can ref!!!

After a short break to allow the rest of the crowd in, the main show began with a 10 bell salute to the late Drew McDonald.  The entire roster surrounded the ring and the crowd stood as Chris Duke tolled the bell.  A nice mark of respect which I was glad to be a small part of.

The first match of the main show saw Rawlins & Venym take on Scott "The Butcher" Renwick & Trident member Steven "Air" Myles.  Using the superhero theme, Rawlins came out as The Punisher and Venym had his hammer... which he placed in the centre of the ring and everyone had a go at lifting, including Rawlins, and failed before he moved it himself. (Still not sure about this hammer gimmick)  The match itself was good with some very nice double team moves by Rawlins and Venym and the obligatory cheating from Renwick and Myles.  Myles went for his 450 splash on Rawlins only to find the mat empty when he landed which was the beginning of the end for the bad guys.  With Rawlins doing a suicide dive on Renwick, Venym pinned Myles and took a very popular win.

With the celebrations still going in the ring, Bravehart appeared with Jam O'Malley and Nikki Storm.  Surprisingly they allowed Rawlins and Venym to leave ringside untouched and joined their comrades in the ring.  After consoling the losers on "being cheated out of the win" Bravehart turned his attention to SWE Co-Owner Chaz Phoenix, labelling him a coward.  Jam O'Malley then took the microphone and challenged Phoenix to face him in "Jam O'Malley's Fun House of Horrors".  Phoenix came out to ringside and Bravehart accused him of trying to back out of the match and said he either wrestled O'Malley or give up his shares in SWE.  Phoenix said giving up his shares was not an option and accepted the challenge to face O'Malley.  Bravehart then announced that this would be a 2-on-1 handicap match but did not reveal who would be partnering O'Malley.

Jay The Jackal and his "associate" appeared to join the commentary team as the first half main event was announced, Scotty Riccio would be defending the Future Division title against Felix Fortune.  After a cracking start by Riccio, Fortune took the upper hand and dominated much of the match, focusing on the knee of Riccio.  AS Riccio fought back, Fortune caught the 619 attempt but Riccio managed to nail his opponent with a crossbody from the top turnbuckle to score the pinfall and retain the title.  At this point The Jackal and his "associate" came to the ring.  Riccio knocked The Jackal from the ring apron while his "associate" attacked Riccio from behind, allowing the Jackal to return to the ring and the two beat Riccio down before The Jackal held up the belt, making it clear that he wanted it back.

The second half started with the 2-on-1 handicap match in which Conor Frost made his second appearance of the night, teaming with Jam O'Malley  to face Chaz Phoenix.  With both Bravehart and Nikki Storm also at ringside, this was never going to be easy for Phoenix.  O'Malley started the match and soon tagged in Frost, who was pretty much left in the ring to get on with it.  He made a good show against a slightly rusty Phoenix, however Phoenix soon started to get back into the swing of things and began to show the trainee who was boss.  As Phoenix went for the pin, Bravehart got up on the apron to distract the referee from the count and to allow O'Malley to get in and assist his partner.  The referee saw this and stopped O'Malley, while Phoenix continued his assault on Frost.  Unfortunately while the referee was busy with O'Malley, Bravehart grabbed the foot of Phoenix, bringing him down.  Frost hit with a splash, O'Malley let go the ref and Frost pinned Phoenix for the three count with Bravehart holding onto his feet.  With the match over, Bravehart, O'Malley and Frost began to beat on Phoenix until a rescue was made by the most unlikely of people, Chris Duke, who got into the ring and decked Bravehart, sending him and his cronies scattering.  The crowd went nuts as Duke assisted Phoenix back to his feet and Phoenix grabbed the microphone to tell Bravehart that "This is not over" and insinuating there would be a match at Hell For Lycra for outright control of SWE.

Nikki Storm made yet another appearance, having disappeared backstage at sometime during the previous match.  This was announced as a match, but actually came across more like a promo slot.  She took the microphone and starting telling everyone how wonderful she was before having a pop at SWE referee Edith Summer, who she had beaten a few months before at Seasons Beating.  Summer then came to the ring and told Storm how upset she was, that she had looked up to her and wanted to be like her, bursting into tears while Storm laughed.  Storm attacked Summer, then watched as her friend Jam O'Malley arrived and slammed Summer to the canvas before other referees put a stop to their antics.

Chris Duke and Doctor Grue took to the ring to do their first ever live Bell 2 Bell podcast segment.  First they interviewed Mikey who was supposed to be part of the evening's main event but he had surgery on his knee brought forward and was unable to compete.  Mikey promised that as soon as he was cleared to wrestle again, he would be back and it didn't matter whether it was Ian Ambrose, LJT or Joe Hendry who held the belt at the time, he would be coming for his shot at that title.  Then came the announcement regarding the two WWE Hall of Famers who will be appearing at Hell For Lycra.  A video montage played about the event and there was a picture at the end, which if you blinked you might have missed it...showing them to be Ted DiBiase and Terry Funk.  Great names but a bit disappointed in the reveal.

Finally it was time for the main event.  On Day 400 of his title reign, current SWE Heavyweight Champion Ian Ambrose would put the title on the line in a triple threat match against LJT and Joe Hendry.  There was action aplenty in this match, LJT went straight for Ambrose, then Ambrose and Hendry appeared to work together against LJT before finally turning on each other.  With the battle raging in the ring, a Martyn Stallyon promo appeared on the video screen which distracted Ambrose in particular.  As he stood at the ropes, screaming at the curtains for Stallyon to come out and face him, Stallyon appeared from the crowd and attacked from behind.  Joe Hendry went for the pin but Ambrose was not done yet.  LJT then attempted to capitalise, springing from the ropes to kick Hendry in the face but he was unable to make the pin.  Ambrose attempted to pin Hendry but was instead picked up and driven into the mat and this time Hendry was successful in scoring the pinfall to become the new SWE Heavyweight Champion.

So another Uprising came to a close.  A good show, although I felt it was a little heavy on the promo side this time with only 4 matches on the main show, however the quality of the main event made up for it and it was great to see the title change hands....even though the crowd would have preferred to see LJT with the belt.

The next SWE Uprising is on 28 March at the Ardler Complex with advance ticket holders getting early entry to the venue.  Check out SWE on Facebook for information on upcoming events, including their annual Hell For Lycra show in August, and ticket information.

Review: SWE Uprising: Guardians of the Kayfabe

Saturday 31 January 2015

Our trip to Dundee was a little longer than normal, as this time we were travelling from Manchester, having gone down there for the TNA show (which was pretty damn good but I am not blogging it as they did TV tapings which will air in March).

The first match of the night saw Scotty Riccio put the Future Division title on the line against Rawlins.  This was a cracking match with Rawlins going all out to take the belt and Riccio doing everything he could to hang onto it.  With the action spilling outside the ring, Rawlins smashed Riccio into the railings directly in front of us before returning to the ring to continue the punishment.  Riccio dodged the flying headbutt and managed to gain some momentum until he went for the 619 where Rawlins managed to grab his legs and went for a sharpshooter.  Unable to get the win, Rawlins went for another flying headbutt before using the crossface submission hold.  Somehow Riccio managed to manoeuvre this into a pin attempt and the hold was broken.  Suddenly Riccio had the upper hand and a successful 619 ended with Riccio scoring the pin to retain the belt.  Rawlins appeared to be irate, going to the commentary table to grab the belt, however he returned to the ring, handed the belt to the champion before shaking his hand.  Seems Rawlins ain't all bad after all!

Next out to the ring was Bravehart accompanied by Jam O'Malley, The Trident (minus Saint-George) and Scott Renwick, followed by Chaz Phoenix.  After a war of words between Bravehart and Phoenix, Bravehart stated that it was 5 on 1 and Phoenix wouldn't stand a chance as they attacked en-masse.  Felix Fortune appeared but rather than helping Phoenix, much to the crowd's surprise, he joined Bravehart's crew in the attack.  Bravehart was attempting to put the sharpshooter on Phoenix when Bobby Roberts appeared and cleared the ring - prompting me to shout that "in the face of 100% pure Scottish beef, they all turned into chickens".  Phoenix then announced that Fortune would face Roberts one on one....

Roberts wasted no time in dishing out some punishment to the former fan favourite, however Fortune was not going down as easily as expected.  Although Roberts dominated most of the match, Fortune managed a few good moves and tried to keep Roberts down using headlocks on the canvas.  Roberts is a very hard man to keep down though and rallied to punish Fortune some more, however Fortune lived up to his name when he managed to move out of the corner as Roberts came at him and instead hit the ringpost, Fortune grabbed the opportunity to roll up the big guy, pulling the tights for leverage and scored the three count.

The first half main event was an absolute corker of a match between "The Butcher" Scott Renwick and LJT, who has become the big fan favourite in Dundee in recent months.  From the outset, these guys just went all out to impress the crowd.  LJT started off the match with a stunning dropkick and looked to have Renwick well in hand until Renwick caught the crossbody attempt and dropped for the backbreaker.  The match continued in spectacular fashion, with near falls for both men.  The end was equally as spectacular as Renwick attempted the Angel Wings, hoisting LJT into the air only for LJT to somehow manage to flip his legs over the back of Renwick, unbalancing him until he dropped and as soon as LJT's feet hit the mat he bridged to take an awesome pinfall, which the crowd loved.  LJT then addressed the crowd, stating that he was the only man to have pinned current champ Ian Ambrose in the 371 days since he took the title and he deserved a title shot.  He ended his speech by saying his mother taught him "If someone hits you, you hit back.  If someone pushes you, you push back. If someone fights you, you fight back" and that he would be taking part in the Battle Royal and walking out with the No 1 contendership for the heavyweight title.

After the interval the action continued with a 20 Man Battle Royal.  As always, chaos ensued and it was difficult to keep track of all the action.  Conor Frost made his wrestling debut as Big Bad Bundy and became the immediate target for Rawlins to the extent that after "Bundy" was eliminated, Rawlins dived between the ropes to continue his assault on the man who had plagued him with poor decisions as a referee, but eventually returned to the ring and was one of the final men to be eliminated.  JJ Russell was an easy elimination for Scott Renwick, who gave him a push as Russell stood on the ropes in the corner calling out his "geez a chance" catchphrase to the fans.  Eventually it came down to Scott Renwick and LJT and the crowd were going nuts.  Unfortunately, Bravehart decided to interfere and as LJT delivered a kick to the SWE co-owner, Renwick took the opportunity to hit a clothesline and put LJT over the top rope.

The next match saw Massimo Italiano make his SWE debut against Jay The Jackal, who was accompanied to the ring by his "Associate".  Italiano had the advantage for the early part of the match until The Jackal's "Associate" caused a distraction allowing Jay to take upper hand for a short time.  Italiano was able to power through to retake the advantage so The Jackal feigned an injury outside of the ring and distracted the referee while his Associate entered the ring behind the big Italian and struck with a boot to the face.  The Jackal then crawled back into the ring and scored the three count.

The penultimate match featured the return of Euan Mackie against his former Z-List comrade Jam O'Malley.  This was not the usual comedy offering seen when these two enter a ring and there was a real feeling of bad blood between them.  With Bravehart accompanying O'Malley to the ring, Chaz Phoenix came out with Mackie to ensure a fair match.  Added to the mix was referee Edith Summer who had slapped O'Malley at Hell for Lycra.  Mackie sprayed Jam with the red mist, Jam retaliated with punches and slams.  Mackie put on a good show and appeared to have the match in his grasp.  As Mackie was on the turnbuckles, Bravehart grabbed his leg and attempted to pull him outside the ring.  Phoenix grabbed Bravehart but the distraction had given O'Malley time to gather himself.  O'Malley was disqualified after whacking Mackie with what appeared to be an inflatable gym ball, then continued his attack using a tricycle. He then turned his attention to the referee and attacked Summer, slamming her to the canvas.  After a final attack on Mackie with the trike, he left the ring area, pausing to attack the timekeeper on his way backstage.

The final match - and most definitely match of the night - was the SWE Heavyweight match between Champion #scumbag Ian Ambrose and Mikey.  With each determined to outdo the other and leave the ring holding the belt, there were no holds barred.  The match went back and forth with some tremendous moves however the action came to a halt when the lights went down and (after a few technical problems) the screen displayed the name "Stallyon".  The crowd then expected to see Stallyon make an appearance but this was not to be.  Mikey hoisted Ambrose on his shoulders and while turning Ambrose kicked the referee in the head, knocking him out.  Mikey then made several successful pinfalls but there was no referee to make the count.  Rousing the referee, Mikey made another pinfall attempt but the dazed ref made an extremely slow count, allowing Ambrose to kick out on 2.  Ambrose then turned the tables and caught Mikey in a submission hold and made the challenger tap out in order to retain the title.  The crowd were furious but the result stands.  I really hope to see a rematch between these two in the future.

Both the Future Division match between Riccio and Rawlins and the Heavyweight Title match between Ian Ambrose and Mikey are available to view online in SWEOnlineTV episode 3 - I totally recommend you watch them now by clicking here.

The next SWE event, Uprising: The Psycho Circus will be held at the Ardler Complex on Saturday 28 February and tickets are available now.  Check out the SWE Facebook for information on all upcoming events and tickets and subscribe to them on YouTube

Review: SWE Seasons Beatings

Saturday 13 December 2014

After several changes to the travel arrangements, it ended up with Rob travelling to Dundee with the boys from Reckless and I made the journey up later with my good friend Janet, stopping off on the way to introduce her to the delights of Dr Noodles!

Once again, there was early entry and a bonus match for advance ticket holders.  This time we had a handicap match with Saint-George and Darren Blair from The Trident against Felix Fortune.  There appeared to be some friction between the two Trident members at the start of the match, with both wanting first crack at Fortune.  The match was completely one-sided with the Trident boys pretty much taking turns to inflict as much punishment on Fortune as possible.  Saint-George got the pinfall, however Blair was not happy about this and it looked once again as though the two would come to blows.  Blair instead powerbombed the beaten Fortune and peace was restored within The Trident, however I am not sure just how long this alliance will stay together.

In true festive spirit, the main show started with the arrival of the commentary team, Chris Duke appeared dressed as Santa and Doctor Grue wore a very fetching Christmas jumper.  We also had Wee Jimmy dressed as an elf and someone in an Olaf from Frozen costume wandering around.  It was announced that the main event for the evening would feature the winners of each match in a 'Sole Survivor' elimination match.

The first match of the main show was Rawlins v LJT.  I have to admit that I love watching Rawlins play heel and he did a great job of that here.  While the majority of the crowd were firmly behind LJT, Rawlins did have a small group of supporters chanting for him too.  Both these guys just go for it and don't hold back anything, giving the fans plenty to cheer about.  There was a cracking move where LJT dropkicked the legs of Rawlins as he stood on the ring apron, sending him to the floor.  After a short battle outside the ring, Rawlins returned to the ring in order to suicide dive LJT!  This was a cracking match up and it looked like Rawlins would take the win with his crossface submission move, but LJT doesn't know how to quit and made it to the ropes to break the hold, before scoring the pinfall himself.

Next Bravehart appeared with Jam O'Malley and The Trident.  As all match winners would be going into the final elimination match, Bravehart decided that Jam O'Malley would have a match and called for a referee.  Edith Summers answered the call and after assuring Bravehart that O'Malley would be eligible for the match if he scored a pinfall, Bravehart lay down and let Jam pin him.  After Edith had reluctantly counted the pinfall, it appeared that all five men were about to attack her as payback for events at Hell For Lycra.  Nikki Storm then made her entrance and berated the men for ganging up on a woman...before turning and attacking Summers herself.  LJT came out to the ring, sending Storm and the men scattering, before helping the injured Summers backstage.

The final match of the first half saw Venym take on SWE Champion Ian Ambrose in a non-title match.  I really enjoyed this match.  Venym put on a great show against the champion, swinging him around the ring, clotheslining him over the top rope then dropkicking him off the apron and had a couple of near pins.  Ambrose had his moments too, including his double foot stomp from the top turnbuckle and a cracking dropkick.  After they took each other down with a double clothesline, Venym appeared to have the advantage but it was not to be his night and the match ended with Ambrose rolling up Venym and grabbing a handful of tights as leverage to score the three count.

The first match of the second half saw Jackie Grady face off against Joe Hendry.  This was thankfully a short match.  I say thankfully as I found it really hard to watch as it appeared that Hendry went all out to destroy and humiliate his younger, lighter opponent and Grady never really stood a chance.  Despite the crowd trying to rally Grady, it was Hendry's match from start to finish.

Next saw Jay the Jackal challenge Scotty Riccio for the Future Division title.  This was marred slightly by the fact that a regular attendee had been banned due to issues between himself and The Jackal and a group of people who were unhappy with this decision decided to leave the hall during this match in support of this fan. The match itself was good with the Jackal being his usual horrible self and Riccio pulling of some delightful aerial moves.  The match ended in a win for The Jackal after the action spilled outside of the ring and Riccio somehow ended up with his foot caught in the barriers, causing him to be counted out.  The Jackal was elated until it was pointed out that the title could only change hands by pinfall or submission and therefore Riccio retained the title.  Once the irate Jackal had left the ring, Riccio then called three fans into the ring to present them with birthday cards and gifts.

Finally it was time for the main event - the Sole Survivor elimination match.  Announced as the sole member of his team was LJT.  Next Bravehart appeared with Nikki Storm, Jam O'Malley and the Trident and already it looked like the odds were firmly stacked against fan favourite LJT.  Suddenly Olaf from Frozen appeared at ringside and unmasked to reveal none other than Chaz Phoenix.  As the other members of Bravehart's team, Jay the Jackal, Joe Hendry and Ian Ambrose appeared, it was now a 7 on 1 battle, but Phoenix announced there would be two men to join LJT's team, Mikey and "The Beast from Belfast" Damian O'Connor.  This was an absolute belter but I am not even going to try to describe this match.....instead I suggest you check it out for yourself by clicking here!

During the interval I had spoken to a young lad called Edward who I had noticed at the previous show as he had dressed as his favourite wrestler Ian Ambrose, complete with the white coat although his stated "Ambrose is God" on it.  I told him I would see if it was possible to have Ian Ambrose to come out after the show to meet him and maybe get a photo.  Sure enough, Ian Ambrose agreed to do so and made that young lads night - not a total #scumbag after all!

SWE's next event is Uprising on 31 January.  Tickets are on sale now and advance ticket holders will get early entry and a pre-show bonus match.  Check them out on Facebook for information on events and tickets.