Review: Discovery Wrestling Superkick Party

Friday 10 April 2015


Well I admit that I had been slightly disappointed with some aspects of the last Discovery show, but they more than made up for it with this one....and once again the full show is available to watch FREE by clicking here!!

The first match of the night saw Martyn Stallyon, who was accompanied to the ring by Lady Debbie Sharpe, face Deviation.  This was the first actual match for Deviation at Discovery and boy was he impressive.  No matter what Stallyon threw at him, he just kept on going, bouncing back from dropkicks and slams to the floor outside the ring as if nothing happened.  Stallyon obviously realised there was no chance for him and tried to make his escape, only to have Danny Boy Rodgers appear and force him back into the ring and take what was coming to him...the mandible claw.

Next up was Sammii Jayne v Nikki Storm in one of the best women's matches I have seen....the only negative was the referee, who once again tried to insert himself into the action and actually had to be told to get out the way by Storm (and she wasn't the only wrestler to say that!)  Storm was her usual magnificent self, proving that size is irrelevant when you have the talent and the drive.  Sammii Jayne proved she had some moves too but she also had the unfair advantage of having her "bae" Debbie Sharpe at ringside and Sharpe made her presence felt, grabbing the leg of Storm when on the turnbuckles and allowing Sammii Jayne to land a cracking superkick and take the pinfall.

The first half main event was the Superkick Party advertised!  4 teams, The Wild Lions, The Gatecrashers, The Global Kings and The Young Bucks in an elimination match.  Now I had said in previous blogs that I am not a big fan of these types of matches but this one was pure gold.  With Christopher Saynt injured, he announced Aspen Faith as his replacement for the Gatecrashers.  The Global Kings, Joe Hendry and Lou King Sharp had me in stitches during their entrance as each strived to steal the limelight - Hendry playing up to the camera and Sharp jumping on his back to get in the frame was hysterical!  The match started in chaos with battles inside and outside of the ring but quickly settled after Lou King Sharp was launched from the ring onto the other competitors by the Young Bucks.  After the Gatecrashers and Wild Lions were eliminated the rivalry between Hendry and Sharp to be the main man of the team became more apparent and gave more amusing moments.  Ultimately The Young Bucks took the victory in a match that you really should watch for yourself!

The second half started with Ian Ambrose coming out to the ring and issuing an open challenge to anyone in the locker room to face him.  The challenge was answered by Lionheart, who had recently made his return to the ring after a devastating injury a year ago.  There was no sign of ring rust as Lionheart took the fight to Ambrose, spring over the ropes to continue the match outside the ring.  Ambrose managed to gain momentum and pulled out some cracking moves but Lionheart would not be beaten and hit a beautiful frogsplash to take the victory.

The penultimate match was Rampage Brown v Joe Coffey and once again, the only negative in the match was the referee!  Coffey made one young fan's night when he spotted her at ringside wearing an Iron Man mask and he gave her his own mask.  The match was amazing - both guys trying everything to win only to have the other counter.  There were several near pins by both guys where their opponent only just managed to kick out and this match could easily have gone either way but it ended with Coffey winning by disqualification after Brown hit him with a lowblow.  As Coffey recovered in the ring, Brown starting looking under the ring (probably for a steel chair) but settled for the steel bell before grabbing Coffey in order to pile drive him onto it.  Luckily for Coffey, Big Damian O'Connor appeared and Brown dropped Coffey and ran from the ring.  Damo called Brown a coward and asked for a rematch on 22 May and Brown agreed.

Finally it was time for the main event and a match I have been looking forward to seeing since last October when these two men started off a four man elimination match.  Tonight the final of the Y Division Tournament would take place and see either Lewis Girvan or Chris Sabin crowned the first ever Y Division Champion.  There really are no words to describe just how incredible this match was and all I can say is please click on the link at the top of the blog and watch for yourself.  Both guys did an incredible job and while Sabin won the title, Girvan won the respect of everyone watching.  I look forward to seeing these two go at it again in the future.

The next Discovery wrestling show is on May 22nd at Napier University Sports Centre and is sure to be another cracker, with Tommaso Ciampa and Juventud Guerrera scheduled to appear.  Keep up to date with this and future events by liking the Discovery Wrestling Facebook page

Review: BCW Live in East Kilbride

Friday 20 February


Another sellout show for BCW at East Kilbride.  This time I had brought along a couple of friends as I had been raving about how good the BCW shows have been.  Unfortunately when we arrived there was already a lot of people who had braved the rain and snow and we were unable to all sit together.  I sat ringside with Janet and sent the boys off to sit together elsewhere!

First up was "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson against Wolfgang. Wolfgang started strong forcing Thomson to exit the ring to escape and endure the "chicken" chants but he was soon back in the ring and using his underhanded tactics to take the advantage such as using the ropes to choke his opponent before applying a camel clutch.  The action spilled out of the ring and continued directly in front of me before returning to the ring for Thomson's second camel clutch attempt.  Wolfgang does not go down easy though and he fought back to take the advantage and took a popular win after slingshotting Thomson into the turnbuckles and then rolling him up for the three count.  A nice match to start the show!

Next up was an Openweight Championship match between Lou King Sharp and current champ, Noam Dar.  Dar took control of the cocky Sharp and the action spilled outside of the ring.  Returning to the ring Sharp tried to gain the advantage, hitting Dar with cracking kick before taking to the turnbuckles.  Dar avoided and there followed some pin attempts by both guys before Sharp caught the leg of Dar and swung him round, only for Dar's foot to hit a lowblow on referee Sri Hari.  Sharp then hit Dar with a lowblow, who returned the compliment, before all three hit the mat holding their "bits"!  Sharp was the first to recover and went for a steel chair to attack Dar, however Dar had recovered sufficiently to thwart this plan and, taking the chair, hit a light blow to the back of the ref before tossing the chair back to Sharp.  Dar then scoop-slammed Sharp but when going for another the referee pushed Dar aside and scoop-slammed Sharp himself!  Dar then finished the job, taking the three count to retain his title and while Sharp crawled backstage, Dar set up the chair in the ring, sat ring announcer Simon Cassidy on it and draped his jacket and belt over him.

Next up was a tag team match to introduce some new trainees from the PBW Academy, Tony Martyns and Taylor Bellando, who would face the team of Switch & Saqib Ali.  Once again Switch reduced a small child to tears during his entrance and Ali managed to rile the entire crowd.  Martyns and Bellando got a great reception on their entrance however it was cut short as Switch and Ali attacked before the bell.  The youngsters pulled off a cracking double team move almost immediately after the bell, combining a backbreaker and double footstomp and got a near pin but from then on they were the victims of Switch and Ali's experience and cheating tactics.  They isolated Bellando for much of the match and antagonised Martyns into coming into the ring, forcing the ref to focus on keeping him out of the ring and allowing Switch and Ali to double team Bellando.  Despite having all the heart and the support of the crowd, the youngsters were outclassed and Ali scored the pinfall victory over Bellando.

The first half main event saw Jack Jester face Davey Blaze in a No DQ match. With the glass still boarded from the encounter between Damo and Drew Galloway, who knew what destruction might result from this match!  And what a match...Jester attacked Blaze before he even got in the ring and the two went at it hammer and tongs from start to finish.  At one point the action spilled out of the ring and Jester tried to put Blaze through the windows before they ended up ringside in front of me, where Blaze had the upper hand, shoving Jester onto the guy sitting a couple of seats along from me and trying to grab another crowd member's walking stick to use as a weapon.  Back in the ring a steel chair was brought into the mix with both guys using it to try to gain the advantage.  Finally Jester nailed Blaze with a tombstone piledriver to take the win.

The second half started with Damo v Joe Coffey and this was a stormer.  Each tried to knock the other down with shoulder blocks that rocked the ring with their impact but neither man would go down.  The action spilled out of the ring and continued right at my feet, with Damo taking the advantage.  Back in the ring, he continued to control things by working the back of Coffey using a camel clutch and then bear hugs!  Coffey tried to come back but ended up on the canvas with Damo standing on his chest before dropping the senton on him.  Once again, Coffey attempted a comeback with a cracking suplex but it was not to be his night as the big Irishman got Coffey up on his shoulder and drove him down to the mat before pinning him for the three count.

The penultimate match saw Aaron Echo face-off against Kenny Williams.  I had only seen Echo once before in a pre-show match and I have to say that I saw a big improvement in his skills.  While Williams dominated much of the match with his fast pace and aerial skills, Echo had a couple of cracking moments during the match, including a cracking suplex, and scored a couple of near pins.  But as they say "Kenny is the bollocks" (loving the new ring gear) and it was Williams who took the victory in a really enjoyable match.

Main event time and BCW owner Graham McKay got into the ring to thank the fans for another sell-out show, before asking retired MC Tommy if he would do the honours, which he agreed to do.  First out to the ring was Kid Fite, sporting a bit of a shiner and his usual bad attitude.  BT Gunn then came out to a huge pop before both men were stunned by the announcement of a third participant, Gunn's tag team partner, Stevie Xavier.  Now I love Just Uz, but I was really disappointed when this happened, as I was really looking forward to what would have been an amazing battle between Fite and Gunn.  As Fite said himself before the match got underway, they might be tag partners but neither man was going to let the other win.  The match itself was good, some great moves from all three and there was a moment when "Just Uz" appeared and hit Fite with that double kick to the head in the corner they do so well, but in the end Fite's prediction came true.  Fite had Gunn down in an anklelock submission when Xavier made the save, however, with Gunn down rather than focus on Fite and take his chance for the title, he instead grabbed the ankle of Gunn, giving Fite the opportunity he required to roll him up for a pinfall.  There appeared to be a bit of confusion however as it looked like the referee only made a two count but Fite left the ring, grabbed his belt and walked away, leaving Gunn and Xavier behind.  What this means for the future of the tag team champions is yet to be seen.

The next BCW event will take place on 4 April in Kilmarnock Grand Hall and will feature TNA stars Angelina Love and Davey Richards, as well as Marty Scurll and Drew Galloway.  Event and ticket information can be found on the BCW Facebook page

Review: BCW No Blood No Sympathy Night 1 - East Kilbride

Friday 5 December 2014

So December sees the BCW annual two night extravaganza No Blood, No Sympathy return to East Kilbride and Kilmarnock.  Having missed their show in September, I was really looking forward to this one and it appeared I was not the only one.  Arriving at the venue just before 6 as we usually do in order to get our ringside aisle seats, I was surprised to see how many people were already waiting in line.  Tickets had already sold out and there would be limited standing tickets available on the door.  Luckily we were able to get ringside seats close enough to the entrance aisle for me to still get some great photos!

The first match of the night saw Paul London take on Kid Fite for the BCW Heavyweight Championship.  Kid Fite had made his feelings clear about being in an opening match and not the main event for the Homecoming show back in August and here he was in the opening match once again!  Paul London made his super long entrance and did the rounds of the crowd (which we all love) and was about to enter the ring when Kid Fite appeared and made a sneak attack.  This was a cracker of a match and could most definitely been a main event match.  There were no holds barred as both guys went all out to take the title belt.   London drop-kicked Fite from the apron and the match continued outside the ring for a time with London having the advantage.  Back in the ring the momentum swung back and forth with both having near pins but it was Kid Fite who took the victory, retaining the belt which he would have to defend the following night against Drew Galloway.

Next up was Wolfgang v Joe Coffey.  Now I love both these guys, whether heel or face they both put on one hell of a show and tonight was no different but, for me, something was missing.  I cannot quite put my finger on what though.  It may be that they had to follow such an incredible opening match or possibly because it appeared neither man was in heel role and it all seemed a bit too civilised with them shaking hands before and after the match.  I think I am just used to seeing both these guys do their best to destroy their opponents.  As I said the match itself was good, there was a chant of "that was awesome" from some of the fans, but the buzz that makes me want to get in their faces just didn't happen and I couldn't get into it they way I normally would.  There were near pins for both guys but Wolfgang took the win on this occasion.

The next match saw my personal favourite, Jack Jester face fan favourite, Grado.  Jester managed to make a small child cry on his way to the ring and Grado seemed to be the Pied Piper of East Kilbride as every child in the room seemed to flock around him during his entrance.  Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this match.  While I think Grado is really entertaining, I had started to find his routine becoming a little boring but he has picked up his game - gone was the checking the ref and having a cheeky pinch of his bum and there were no somersaults around the ring.  I mentioned in a previous blog that Grado appeared to be looking leaner and improving on his wrestling ability and it was really evident in this match.  There was some cracking stuff from both guys but there was still some humour - the funniest moment obviously unplanned when Jester threw Grado onto a guy in the crowd only for the chair he was sitting on to collapse..."he's hardcore" yelled Jester.  Despite the crowd being firmly behind Grado and hitting Jester with the "wee boot" and "roll and slice", it was Jester who took the win, rolling up Grado for the pinfall.

The first half main event saw Johnny Moss up against former WWE superstar Hardcore Holly.  I really enjoyed this match, although Rob seemed less impressed.  The majority of the crowd were behind Holly but there was a small contingent of Moss supporters who would not be silenced.  Moss dominated much of the match and hit a couple of cracking suplexes on Holly but the sound of Holly's chops to the chest of Moss actually echoed in the hall.  Holly was able to fight back, hitting Mossy with the Alabama Slammer to take the victory to the joy of the crowd.

Just before the interval, BCW owner Graham McKay came into the ring to thank the fans for coming out and making the show a sell-out, when Big Damian O'Connor appeared, furious that UK talent such has himself had been overlooked in favour of big names from the US and demanding that he be given a match.  With Damo hovering over him in the corner, McKay got on the phone to ask for assistance in the ring...and it arrived in the form of Drew Galloway, setting up the main event for later that evening.

During the interval Hardcore Holly, Chavo Guerrero and Paul London came out to the merchandise tables, selling their merchandise but also willing to sign items brought by fans and have pictures taken at no additional cost.  Having already met Chavo at a TNA show, I had my wee book signed by Hardcore Holly and Paul London and got a couple of pics too.  (I met Paul London in Dundee but as I was with the RI crew at the time, I didn't get autographs or photos)  I also picked up a copy of the Homecoming DVD which was available for the first time that night.

The first match of the second half was Liam Thomson v Chavo Guerrero.  As usual, I managed to wind Thomson up during his entrance and followed it up with a "chicken" chant when he left the ring to escape the onslaught from Guerrero, although I admit to being outdone by the group of guys who chanted "Carmel's better" - that seemed to really wind him up.  Chavo also had a "pied piper" moment when he left the ring and every child in the room flocked to him.  This was another great match with some nice moves from both guys.  It was great to see "The Three Amigos" carried out up close and Thomson hit a cracking dropkick to the back of Guerrero while he was on the ropes.  It was Guerrero the fans wanted to win and they got their wish when he hit Thomson with a frog splash from the top rope and scored the pinfall, leaving Thomson needing assistance from the ring and backstage.

The penultimate match of the night saw Kenny Williams and Davey Blaze team up to face Just Uz, accompanied by Kay Lee Ray, for the Tag Team Titles.  This was an absolute belter and was a real close contender for match of the night.  I have said in the past that some of the combinations put together as teams to face Just Uz did not have the chemistry needed to make a really good match.  I hadn't seen Williams and Blaze as a team before but they did an incredible job, they worked really well together and the whole match just flowed.  There was plenty of strength and agility shown by both teams and it really was a joy to watch.  Just Uz retained their titles on this occasion but if Williams and Blaze continue to work as a team to this standard, they may just be wearing those belts themselves in the near future.

Finally it was time for the main event, Damian O'Connor v Drew Galloway.  This was by far Match of the Night.  It was strange to see Damo have to look up to the face of an opponent and these two giants went at it hammer and tong.  They started in the ring, however they ended up battling all over the hall.  At one point Damo slammed Galloway into the fire exit door with such force the glass smashed.  They continued to battle around the hall and I actually feared for the Christmas Tree at one point.  Back in the ring they continued to fight and after several failed pin attempts, Damo got frustrated with referee Sri Hari and knocked him down and out of the ring.  Galloway seized the opportunity to make a pin attempt but there was no referee to make the count.  A second referee came out but he was accidentally knocked out by Galloway.  This time Damo had the pinfall attempt but once again there was no referee to count.  Damo dragged Hari from the floor back into the ring before attempting to finish Galloway but when his attempt failed, he again attacked the referee.  The match ended with Galloway having both referees in the ring before hitting Damo with the Futureshock and both referees made the 3 count.

With Damo beaten and lying on the floor at ringside, Kid Fite appeared.  Galloway called him into the ring to go for it immediately but Chavo Guerrero then came to the ring and said that Galloway should enjoy his victory tonight and Kid Fite would wait until the following night when he would be putting the title on the line against him during No Blood No Sympathy night 2 in Kilmarnock.

I unfortunately was unable to attend the Kilmarnock show as Rob was involved in Reckless Intent's show on the same night, so I am eagerly awaiting the DVD release of the event so I can see what I missed.

BCW have been putting on some of the most incredible shows and after selling out the Kilmarnock Grand Hall with their Homecoming show, went one better and sold out both Ballerup Hall in East Kilbride and Kilmarnock Grand Hall with the No Blood No Sympathy shows.  My advice is that if you want to see one of their shows, DO NOT wait to buy tickets on the door - you may well be disappointed.  Check them out on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on future events and ticket sales.

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: Discovery Wrestling: No Fear, No Mercy

Saturday 11 October 2014

This was Discovery Wrestling's debut show and already there was a lot of hype on Facebook.  With several big American stars announced from the outset, there was always going to be a lot of interest in the show.  Al Snow was originally announced but had to withdraw due to TNA having shows in Japan at the time but we still had Mike Mondo, Chris Sabin and Crime Time, and a great selection of UK talent.

The day started early, as Rob and I were involved with the ring crew for the day.  After helping transport and set up the ring, we helped with merchandise sales, guiding people to the meet and greet area and generally helped with anything that needed done.  During the down time between the end of the meet and greet and the show starting, I had the chance to chat to a few of the wrestlers and was gobsmacked when Chris Sabin recognised Rob from the TNA meet and greet in January!

The show began with the arrival of Joe Hendry, who decided that for tonight, as he is an Edinburgh boy, he will be Local Hero instead of Global Hero.  He asked the crowd to join him in singing the National Anthem but first he wanted to put the whole Scotland v England thing to rest and was joined by Marty Scurll who would join the singing.  As everyone stood with hands on heart and prepared for a rendition of Flower of Scotland, Hendry and Scurll start singing God Save The Queen!!! The crowd were not happy at all and Local Hero quickly became Total Zero.  Enter Crime Time!  They came out to a fantastic response and after taking the mickey out of Hendry and Scurll, they got the crowd singing Flower of Scotland with them.  Just as it looked as though they were about to get into a brawl Theodore Long appeared on the video screen, announcing that as Grado was unable to make the show, he was making a tag match between Crime Time and Hendry/Scurll (who he kept referring to as Marty Squirrel) to take place later that evening.

The first match of the evening saw Liam Thomson v Martyn Stallyon, accompanied by Lady Debbie Sharpe.  This was a real role reversal, with local boy Thomson ditching his "bad boy" persona and being fan favourite, while Stallyon acted arrogant and wound up the crowd.  For the first time ever, I found myself cheering for Thomson.  This time it was Stallyon who relied on underhand tactics and the outside interference from Debbie Sharpe to gain the advantage after Thomson appeared to be in control of the match.  With Stallyon distracting the referee, Sharpe used her riding crop to beat and choke Thomson before Stallyon would capitalise, however with Thomson once again taking control and looking to score the win, Sharpe then distracted the ref, throwing her crop into the ring for Stallyon to use before rolling Thomson up and scoring a very unpopular win.

Next up was a tag team match between The Wild Lions (Andy Wild & Johnny Lions) and The Traditionalists (Michael Galahad & Robert Pendragon).  The Wild Lions entrance was brilliant - the guy who does the rap on their entrance theme, Martin Inches, came out and performed it live!  Both teams worked really well but it appeared that Johnny Lions got the biggest pop from the crowd.  With Wild taking an early advantage, The Traditionalists used a lot of sneaky tactics, in particular antagonising Lions and having referee Steven Magners stop him from entering the ring while they double teamed Wild in their corner to gain the upper hand.  Despite this, Lions landed a superb dropkick from the ropes on Galahad, which was followed up by a powerbomb from Wild and a legdrop from Lions on Pendragon to secure the win for the Wild Lions.

Next up was a match which could easily have been a main event match-up, Rampage Brown v Damian O'Connor.  There are not many guys to match Big Damo in size and strength and when these two collided, I swear you could feel it!  After a series of shoulder blocks which rocked the ring and crowd but dropped neither man, Damo took an early advantage, actually managing to stand on the chest of Brown and dropping a senton on him.  Brown refused to be beaten and fought his way free from sitting on the shoulders of Damo, before doing what many may have considered an impossible feat - he got the big Irishman in a piledriver before going for the pinfall.  Unsuccessful, he was once again hoisted aloft and somersaulted across the ring on the shoulders of Damo, however he recovered enough to move out of the way as Damo leapt from the ropes.  Brown then shocked and awed the crowd by delivering a second piledriver, this time putting the big man down properly and scoring the pinfall.

The first half main event was the Y Division 4 Man Elimination Match featuring Chris Sabin, Ian Ambrose, Lewis Girvan and Damian Daniels.  The match started with an amazing display technical wrestling by Girvan and Sabin in the ring which was just beautiful to watch.  I definitely heard someone in the crowd say they could watch these two all night and a chant of "This is awesome/This is wrestling" rang round the hall.  Of course #Scumbag Ian Ambrose wanted a bit of the glory and tagged himself in to face Sabin.  After Girvan was tagged in by Sabin, he became the target for both Ambrose and Daniels, who made a series of tags to keep him isolated.  Girvan fought back, launching himself through the ropes onto Daniels outside the ring, quickly followed by Ambrose.  Girvan had got back into the ring and went over the ropes onto Ambrose before Sabin springboarded from the top rope and launched himself onto all three men before Daniels scrambled back into the ring and hit them with a flying somersault -

totally amazing.  The action returned to the ring where once again Ambrose and Daniels worked together to isolate Girvan and eliminate him before Sabin hit them both with a double dropkick.  Sabin quickly rolled up Daniels and we were down to Ambrose and Sabin.  These two went at it hammer and tongs until Ambrose missed a double footstomp off the ropes, allowing Sabin to connect with a brutal looking kick to the head before finishing him off for the win.  The crowd were elated...Ambrose not so much.  He took to the microphone and stated he didn't come to be embarrassed and refused to leave the ring unless he was given another match so he could redeem himself, while the crowd chanted "You got beat!"  Suddenly music began to play and Deviation appeared.  After removing his metal spiked harness, he proceeded to annihilate Ambrose, leaving him lying in the ring once again to chants of "you got beat".

After a short interval, the second half resumed with the earlier announced match between Crime Time and Joe Hendry & Marty Scurll.  Crime Time were announced first and while JTG climbed the turnbuckles, Shad worked his way through the crowd before joining him in the ring.  Hendry and Scurll came out to boos and jeers.  The match started with JTG and Scurll in the ring with JTG very much in control.  Both tagged their partners and Shad dominated Hendry however when JTG returned to the ring, Hendry and Scurll put their brains to use as their brawn just wasn't cutting it.  Keeping the ref focused on stopping Shad from entering the ring, they relentlessly double-teamed JTG.  Eventually JTG was able to make the tag and Shad took both men down with clotheslines and looked to put Hendry away with a side suplex, however Scurll hit Shad with his umbrella and suddenly Hendry had the pin.  An unpopular end but to the match, but what a display from Crime Time who left the ring area to a chant of "Please come back".

The penultimate match was a Women's Triple Threat Match between Viper, Sammii Jayne and Debbie Sharpe, who replaced the Portuguese wrestler Shanna.  It was apparent from the start that Sharpe and Sammii Jayne would work together against Viper, however Viper would not go down easily and with the crowd firmly behind her, she used her strength and power to stave off the attacks, before Sammii Jayne turned on Sharpe, forcing Viper to make the save.  Sharpe and Sammii Jayne again attacked Viper, this time with Sharpe looking to make a pin.  Sammii Jayne stopped this before a shoving match ensued between them, allowing Viper to take the upper hand, splashing both girls in the corner.  Sharpe decided enough was enough and left the ring and while Sammii Jayne watched her walk away, Viper struck with the Viper Bomb and took the win.

Finally it was time for the main event, pitting Mike Mondo against "Iron Man" Joe Coffey.  What an incredible match this was.  Starting off with a series of wristlocks and headlocks, Mondo left the ring to regroup and was standing directly in front of me as Coffey looked to dive on him through the ropes.  As we braced our feet against the railing for the impact, Mondo quickly moved to the side and Coffey aborted the dive (and my feet are very grateful).  Returning to the ring, Mondo engaged Coffey in a test of strength (peanuts) which he appeared to be winning but Coffey quickly reversed it and took control of the match.  Coffey focused his attention on the left knee of Mondo and after a suplex the action stopped.  With Mondo clutching his knee, medics arrived in the ring and helped Mondo from the ring, carrying him backstage.  With the crowd wondering what had happened, promotor Alan Smith came to ringside and spoke to a confused Coffey before they headed toward the curtain....only for Mondo to attack Coffey, using the element of surprise to run him back into the ring and take the advantage.  He then threw Coffey to the floor, before ramming him full force into several of the guardrails, the final time actually causing them to buckle with the force.  The action returned to the ring again, with Coffey recovering and taking the advantage, he swung Mondo around the ring before both men collapsed, Mondo rolled out of the ring and Coffey dived on him through the ropes.  Mondo crawled around the ring before heading out into the crowd - Coffey followed and they continued their battle with suplexes on the solid floor before returning to the ring to finish out the match.   Mondo continued to battle but the night belonged to Joe Coffey, who got the pinfall after a huge splash in the corner knocked the last bit of fight out of Mondo.  An outstanding performance from both men, who shook hands at the end of the match.

With such an incredible card and amazing displays from everyone involved, it was difficult to pick my Match of the Night.  After a lot of deliberating, I finally decided that the Mondo/Coffey match gets that accolade, but the Damo/Rampage match ran a very close second!

Discovery Wrestling put on an absolutely amazing debut show and are planning their second show for March 2015.  Make sure to like their Facebook page to keep up to date with future developments.

Review: BCW Homecoming

Friday 29 August 2014

Travelling through to the West for shows on a Friday is a nightmare and this was no exception. The traffic was a nightmare from the start, with an accident and a breakdown on the Bypass then slow moving traffic on the M8 and frequent heavy downpours reducing visibility, it took forever to arrive in Kilmarnock.  We had front row seats booked which gave early entry to the venue at 5pm. We didn't actually arrive until 5.10pm but things were running a wee bit late and the doors opened a few minutes after we arrived and just before another heavy downpour!

Photo by David J Wilson

First up was a wee meet and greet with Drew Galloway (aka Drew McIntyre) who would be competing in his first match in Scotland since his release from WWE - the reason for the show being called Homecoming.  I think due to the slight delay and in order to keep the rest of the night on time, there was no "photo op using your own camera" at the meet and greet but there would be photos taken by David Wilson during the interval at a cost of £15.  Rob and I both had special event posters signed and also met Joel Redman from WWE NXT who signed Rob's book and had a pic taken with him.  We got our BCW shirts and Rob got a very nice Drew Galloway one.

After all the front and second row ticket holders were seated, there was a special pre-show bonus match featuring Tommy Marx and Aaron Echo against Lou King Sharp and Switch. I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed with this match - I am used to seeing Tommy Marx and Lou King Sharp flying around the ring and struggling to get pictures that are not blurred but the match seemed to lack energy.  This may have been due to the slower pace of Echo and Switch.  Marx and Echo took the win after Echo delivered a powerbomb on Sharp then scored the pin.  Although a decent warm-up match and good experience for the young guys, I feel that it would have been totally out of place as part of the main card.

The main show started with BCW owner Graham McKay coming out to the ring to announce that Kilmarnock Grand Hall had never sold out for a wrestling show, even back in the days of World of Sport, but that night, for the first time ever, BCW had done it - the Homecoming show was sold out!  He also announced that Galloway would be back for the annual No Blood,  No Sympathy double header on 5 and 6 December and that also appearing would be Chavo Guerrero, Hardcore Holly and Paul London - take my money now!!!!

The first match of the night was for the BCW Heavyweight title between champion Kid Fite and Davey Blaze.  This was a bit of a surprise as usually the title matches are the main event (or at least first half main event) and not show openers.  These guys faced each other in East Kilbride back in June and that match was an absolute belter....and this one was just as good.  With Blaze determined to take the gold and Fite just as determined to keep it, they both pulled out all the stops.  Fite took an early advantage but no matter what he threw at Blaze, Davey just kept coming back at him and the crowd let him hear their appreciation.  There were some cracking moves and a belter of a double clothesline that threatened to decapitate both men!  While Blaze did have a couple of pin attempts, it was not to be his night and eventually Fite hit the challenger with a DDT and took the win to stay champion.

Next up was Red Lightning v Joe Coffey.  I am really liking Joe Coffey more and more every time I see him and, as much as I love to hate Red Lightning, I really had to feel sorry for him - the amount of punishment he took was incredible.  He was suplexed, bulldogged, swung around several times before being put in a Boston crab, took two massive corner splashes which actually moved the ring a good couple of inches from the walkway - I have the photo to prove it!!  Even his attempt to block Coffey's discus clothesline by kicking his arm went against him, Coffey just spun round and used his other arm instead.  There was a small period where Lightning did get the upper hand but it didn't last very long and once Coffey gets the momentum going, he is exceptionally hard to beat and he proved it here once again - Coffey wins by pinfall.

The next match up pitted Jack Jester against Joel Redman.  With Redman waiting in the ring, Jester burst through the barriers into the crowd, terrorising the kids who had been standing against said barriers jeering him just seconds before.  Once back at ringside, Redman was quick to point out the large corkscrew in Jester's hand and demanded the referee take possession of the offending item before Jester entered the ring.  The match very quickly spilled out to ringside, with faces being smacked off the barriers before Jester pushed Redman into the ring then hit him with a legdrop on the apron right in front of me.  Back on his feet, Redman then grabbed Jester, who had climbed onto the apron to the front, and suplexed him into the ring.  This match went back and forth and with Angel Wings from Jester and superkicks from Redman both scoring near pins this could have been either man's match.  Finally, with Redman standing on the top rope, Jester pushed the referee into the ropes, Redman gets "crotched" and Jester finishes him off with the tombstone and takes the three count.  An absolute belter, this was a close contender for my match of the night.

The first half main event was a mixed tag team match with "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson & Carmel Jacob up against Grado & Kay Lee Ray.  As always, Grado received a rapturous welcome from the crowd which Thomson and Jacob did not appreciate.  With Grado pulling out his usual comedy antics, Thomson decided to get in on the act, attempting to pull off one of Grado's comic stunts of sitting on your opponents back and slapping their ass as if riding a horse.  Jacob was not impressed and got into the ring, screaming at her partner and asking what the hell he was doing.  Thomson's attempt to explain ended up with Jacob sitting on Grado, only for Grado to slide out, ending up with Grado astride Jacob and Ray astride Thomson.  Then followed another comedy skit where Grado and Ray are chasing their opponents around the ring only for Grado to tire out and end up being chased.  The match ended in a win for Grado and Ray when Grado hit Thomson with a "wee boot" and Ray followed up with a Swanton before they both piled onto Thomson for the three count.

As Grado and Kay Lee Ray are doing their celebratory dance in the ring, Johnny Moss appears, attacks Grado and holding Kay Lee Ray by the hair, demands to be given a decent match and who should appear to save Kay Lee - Drew Galloway!  After dealing with Mossy, Galloway grabs a microphone and challenges Moss to a match.  Moss demands that the match be for Galloway's Evolve Championship. Galloway agrees - main event set!!



The second half started with a Tag Team title match between champions Just Uz (BT Gunn & Stevie Xavier) and The Models (Joey Hayes & Danny Hope).  I have only ever seen Hayes in singles competition and never seen Hope before but I have to say they work really well as a team.  I make no secret of the fact that I think Just Uz are amazing as a tag team and really need more teams of a similar calibre to compete against.  The Models definitely fill this void (although I still think the Just Uz/Hubba Bubba Lucha match in April was the best tag match I have ever seen)  Anyway this match was non-stop from start to finish and looked like their may be new champions when The Models managed to isolate Xavier and give him a hell of a beating.  Xavier managed to tag BT Gunn and the match ended after Gunn hoisted Hayes onto his shoulders, Xavier launched from the top turnbuckle clean over his tag partner to take out Hope who was about to attack from behind, leaving Gunn to finish off Hayes and score the pinfall to retain the titles.

Next, another title on the line, this time the BCW Openweight Title with champion Noam Dar defending against Kenny Williams.  Williams just gets better every time I see him and this match was another stormer.  Dar took an early advantage, knocking Williams from the ring and into the barriers right in front of me.  Back in the ring he then hit Williams with the most stunning dropkick.  Williams never gives up and fought back and after trading blows, began to gain momentum, scoring a couple of near falls himself before Dar tried to use the referee as a shield.  As Williams continued his assault, Dar suddenly swept the leg and a couple of cracking kicks later, Williams is pinned for the three count.  Dar leaves the ring still champion but Williams won our hearts.

Finally, the main event and quite obviously Match of the Night, Drew Galloway faced Johnny Moss for the Evolve Championship. OMG - how on earth can I describe this match in any way that does it justice? Actually I can't! It was one of those matches you just had to see to believe.  I'd never seen Galloway in action before - I don't watch WWE - all I can say is WOW!!!!  After being clotheslined out of the ring, Mossy looked to be leaving, only for Galloway to catch up with him on the walkway for a slugfest before backdropping Mossy back into the ring.  Slamming Galloway into the turnbuckles, Moss takes the upper hand but Galloway keeps fighting.  He produced an amazing armdrag from the top rope on Moss and after several near pins from both, Galloway hits the Futureshock and scores the pinfall.  The crowd go wild!

With the match over and Galloway celebrating, Kid Fite appears and attacks him with a steel chair before grabbing the microphone to let the crowd know he is not happy at being moved from a main event slot to opening the show because Galloway has returned.  Next Charles Boddington, who is Kid Fite's manager in other promotions, arrives in the ring with his ever present briefcase....and decks Kid Fite!!  After telling of his happiness to have Drew back, he states that someone else wants to see him - the one and only Lionheart, the very man Galloway faced in his last match in BCW before leaving to join WWE.  And it looks like we will be seeing these guys face off in the ring at some point in 2015, once Lionheart is medically cleared to wrestle after his neck injury.

Finally, the entire roster came out to the ring with a case of beer and toasted the return of Galloway, with the obvious exception of  Mossy and Kid Fite, however one other member did not join in the celebrations, Jack Jester.  When he did finally come to ringside, he glared at the scene before him, before spitting in the face of Galloway and leaving again.  I foresee one hell of a match in the near future between these two!


We purchased a copy of the official programme and having a read through it, we noticed there had been a few changes to the original card.  Having originally advertised both Joel Redman and Martin Stone to appear, Stone was nowhere to be seen and his absence was not mentioned or explained.  This obviously led to the changes to the match-ups in the programme of Moss v Redman, Stone v Red Lightning and Coffey v Jester, however in my opinion, the changes worked out for the best and this show now ranks as Number 1 on my list of best shows attended, beating the amazing April show featuring Fergal Devitt.

BCW's next show is in East Kilbride on 20 September and tickets are on sale now.  We unfortunately will miss this show due to already having an event on the same date, but I am so looking forward to the No Blood, No Sympathy double header (tickets for these shows go on sale 1 October).

For information on BCW's future events and tickets, check out their Facebook page or website