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: SWE Uprising: Hearts on Fire

Saturday 28 March 2015


If Livingston and Reckless Intent is my second home, then Dundee and SWE is my third and the last Saturday of the month will find me at the Ardler Complex (unless its August - Caird Hall baby!) for their monthly Uprising show.  As the shows have become more and more popular, it has often ended up standing room only and, for the first time the balcony was opened to wrestling fans.

There was a pre-show match for advance ticket holders featuring two trainees from SWE's training school, JD Wilde and Kenny Kyd. A fairly decent display from both guys ending in a victory for Kenny.  I actually quite enjoy these matches - its good to see the talent emerging from different training schools and it also gives them a chance to feel what its like to be in front of a crowd before they hit the main card.

The main show began with an announcement that Chris Duke had been suspended after striking Bravehart at the previous show and that there would be a replacement for him on the commentary table....none other than Bravehart himself.

The first match saw Felix Fortune face Chaz Phoenix.  Fortune put up a good fight but Phoenix had him well in control when Conor Frost and Trident members Darren Blair, Steven "Air" Myles and Saint-George appeared and they each took their turn to perform their finishing moves on Phoenix.  Suddenly MDK, the Trident member who was replaced by Saint-George after sustaining an injury, appeared however instead of joining his old crew, he shocked everyone when he got in the ring and cleared it of everyone except Fortune who was then pinned by Phoenix.  Bravehart was furious and to add insult to injury, Chaz Phoenix then announced that with MDK now by his side, we were witnessing the rebirth of "The Syndicate".  He then called to Chris Duke, who was sitting in the audience, and reinstated him to his rightful place at the commentary table and as ring announcer.

Next up was Martyn Stallyon v Venym v Jackie Grady in a Triple Threat match.  Stallyon started well before being knocked from the ring, allowing Venym to gain the upper hand on Grady.  Stallyon returned to the ring to prevent either of his opponents making the pinfall.  With all three now in the ring, chaos ensued - Stallyon had a near pin on Grady, who was then taken out by Venym, who then found himself on the receiving end of a pin by Stallyon when Ian Ambrose appeared and attacked Stallyon.  Ambrose and Stallyon then battled their way through the crowd, up onto the balcony and down the other side into the backstage area.  While most of the crowd were focusing on the battle outside of the ring, Grady and Venym continued to go at it with Venym eventually claiming the victory.

The first match of the second half saw fan favourite LJT team up with Euan G Mackie against Trident members, Saint-George and Steven "Air" Myles, with Darren Blair hovering around ringside.  This was an incredible match and most definitely my Match of the Night.  All four guys really pulled out the stops on this and the end result was a delight to watch.  With Saint-George and Myles trying their underhanded tricks and double team moves and Blair trying to get involved, it was nice to see Myles taking out his own partner and being on the receiving end of an LJT/Mackie double team too.  The highlight of the match for me is shown in the photo - LJT had taken out Blair at ringside and Mackie had hit Saint-George and Myles with a double dropkick from the turnbuckle before sending them out of the ring.  Mackie then climbed to the top turnbuckle and cannonballed all three Trident members (and his partner) on the outside of the ring.  Back in the ring (and back in my seat) LJT seemed to be on fire but Myles managed to gain control and hit his 450 splash on LJT however he failed to score the pinfall.  There were a couple more near pins for both sides but finally, Myles tried to flip over the back of LJT and pull him down, but LJT dropped to his knees instead, cinching up the legs of Myles getting the three count.  This truly was a great match and even got a "This is awesome" chant (which was NOT started by me!)

After such a cracking match, the last person we wanted to see was Bravehart - but out he came to the ring and demanded that Chris Duke stand in the corner of the ring until he finished.  He then berated Duke for his actions at the previous event, dishing out insult after insult to the point it looked like Duke might haul off and punch him again.  Of course Bravehart had already considered this and threatened to fire Duke if he dared to raise his hand again and how it was so important for Duke to have a job.  I almost lost my voice at this point screaming at Duke to just hit him and I would arrange a whip-round for him!  Unfortunately he chose not to and returned to the commentary table looking somewhat shell-shocked while Bravehart got into verbal battles with myself and my friends as he left ringside.

The penultimate match of the night had Ian Ambrose against Massimo Italiano.  With Ambrose refusing to acknowledge the loss of the SWE Heavyweight Championship to Joe Hendry at the last event, he came out to the ring carrying a home-made version of the SWE belt then demanded that Doctor Grue re-announce him as the reigning SWE Champion of 428 days.  Ambrose then took the microphone and announced that as a "fighting champion" that this match would be for his SWE title, much to the amusement of the crowd and a few chants of "Joe Hendry, Global Hero" were made.  The match itself was great, with some lovely moves and several near pins from both guys.  Ultimately the match was decided by the interference of Stallyon, who superkicked Ambrose, handing his nemesis the win by disqualification, retaining his "title".

The main event saw Scotty Riccio put the Future Division Title on the line against Jay the Jackal.  As expected, The Jackal used every underhanded tactic in the book in his efforts to regain the belt and his "Associate" was on hand to assist in any way necessary.  This was yet another great match and filled with controversy.  With Riccio having been subjected to outside interference on several occasions, he looked to be regaining some momentum when he was thrown into the corner and knocked down the referee.  The Jackal's "Associate" was quick to capitalise, hitting the ref with a boot to the face before turning his attentions to Riccio.  After The Jackal and his "Associate" hit Riccio with a double team move, a second referee appeared to make the count, however Riccio managed to kick out and an angry Jackal then decked the ref, knocking him out.  Riccio then went on the offensive, knocking the "Associate" from the ring apron before hitting a beautiful lionsault on The Jackal.  A third referee appeared as he pinned The Jackal and made the three count.  The crowd went nuts, however before he could call to the timekeeper to ring the bell, the "Associate" grabbed his feet and dragged him from the ring, causing his head to hit off the ring apron and leave him unconscious on the floor.  With the match still officially going, Riccio was beaten by both men and then, as the original referee came to, was pinned by The Jackal to become the new Future Division Champion.  The crowd were furious, as was Chaz Phoenix who appeared at ringside and announced that Scotty Riccio would get his rematch at the next Uprising on 25 April in the Ardler Complex.

A cracking, if unpopular, end to a great show - easily the best show SWE has put on since October when Paul London and Brian Kendrick appeared - and this time without the big name imports!  SWE goes from strength to strength and with their annual Hell For Lycra just a few months away, things can only get better.

Check out SWE on Facebook for details of their upcoming shows and ticket availability.  Tickets are also on sale for Hell For Lycra which will be held at the Caird Hall in Dundee on August 29th.

Review: SWE Uprising

Saturday 25 October 2014

The first SWE show after Hell For Lycra was held back in the spiritual home of SWE, The Ardler Complex.  With Brian Kendrick, Paul London and Leah Von Dutch announced, we were promised a cracking show and some major changes.

The first change was that people who had purchased tickets in advance were allowed into the venue earlier that those paying on the door.  Once inside and seated, we noticed that more and more chairs were being brought out for those who decided to turn up on the night and this show looked to be a full house!

You know there is a stacked card when the first match of the night is the rematch of the Hell For Lycra main event, Martyn Stallyon v Ian Ambrose.  With Stallyon in the ring, everyone's attention was on the curtain for Ambrose to make his entrance but, in typical #scumbag fashion, he came through the crowd to sneak in from behind.  Instead, Stallyon took the fight to Ambrose through the crowd and right around the hall!  Once back in the ring, Stallyon was all over Ambrose and looked to have this match well and truly won, when he suddenly collapsed.  The ring filled with officials and Ambrose stood by looking shocked at this turn of events.  With help, Stallyon got to his feet in the corner of the ring when Ambrose suddenly cleared the ring of officials and attacked Stallyon, using a chair and hitting him with a coast to coast.  He then grabbed his "I AM GOD" coat from under the ring before pinning Stallyon and demanding the referee make the three count several times then gloated as Stallyon was carried from the ring on a stretcher.

Next up was Nikki Storm v Leah Von Dutch.  This was a cracking wee match with both girls showing what they are capable of.  Storm was magnificent as the heel (as always) and Von Dutch really impressed me with her wrestling ability - definitely not just a pretty face.  There were some lovely spots with both girls having near falls - Storm adamant hers were 3 counts as usual and doing a wee disappearing act under the ring and Von Dutch hit Storm with a lovely spear before getting a two count.  It was Storm who would be victorious this time, rolling up Von Dutch and putting her feet up on the ropes for leverage to get the 3 count.  I would definitely like to see these two go at it again in the future.

The first half main event saw Joe Hendry v Paul London.  With Hendry in the ring, London made his entrance, going into the crowd and seeming to greet virtually everyone in audience personally.  When he finally made it to the ring and started to strip off his "spacesuit", Janet and I reverted into giggling schoolgirls, yelling at him to get his kit off for the girls!!!  This match was amazing.  Hendry, in my opinion, is one of the fastest rising stars on the circuit and this was my first time seeing London and...wow, just wow.  Neither guy held anything back in this match, with some fantastic mat wrestling as well as some aerial moves, it was a joy to watch.  There were some hits that were so hard, the ring actually moved.  Hendry got London in his signature suplex but was not able to hold it as long as usual, and some clotheslines from both guys that threatened to take the other's head off.  Hendry caught a crossbody attempt by London, throwing him across the ring before going for the pin but only made a two count.  London came back at him and had a pin attempt but Hendry got his foot on the rope.  Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and this ended with a roll up from Hendry on London, pulling on the tights for extra leverage to score the win.

The first match after the interval was a 10 Man Elimination Tag Match for the Future Division title.  Christopher Saynt would defend against SWE regulars Felix Fortune, Scotty Riccio, Jay The Jackal and Steven "Air" Myles, some guys from Reckless Intent, Venym, Jackie Grady, Rawlins, Mikey and Dutch wrestler Kid Lux.  With two men in the ring at a time it was a bit easier to follow the action and there were some interesting combinations in the ring at times.  I was slightly confused about Kid Lux's decision to throw an opponent out of the ring and do a suicide dive so close to the barriers when there was a large matted area with no barriers on the opposite side of the ring.  About halfway through the match Saynt was eliminated when he submitted to a Scorpion Deathlock applied by Steven "Air" Myles and we knew there would be a new champion.  Rawlins eliminated Mikey before being eliminated himself by Scotty Riccio and they continued to battle as they returned backstage.  It finally came down to Jay the Jackal and Scotty Riccio.  Jay tried using his strength advantage, however the speed and agility of Riccio proved to be too much and it was Riccio who score the pin, rolling the Jackal up and becoming new Future Division Champion.

The penultimate match pitted two of The Trident, MDK & Darren Blair against the two giants, Damian O'Connor & Claymore.  Damo started off well however the match swung in favour of the Trident after the tag when Claymore was double-teamed.  After taking a fair bit of punishment, Claymore managed to tag the big Irishman, who tore through the both Trident members, standing on Blair and scoring a near pin.  With all four men in the ring, Claymore and Damo had the upper hand, performing giant splashes on their opponents in opposite corners, following up with cannonballs when the match was interrupted....

... when the third Trident member Steven "Air" Myles appeared with Bravehart and proceed to attack them.  Now 4 on 2, the match was awarded to Damo and Claymore by disqualification.  Suddenly the lights went out and a video played on the big screen before Chaz Phoenix appeared.  With Bravehart and the Trident still in the ring, Phoenix announced that there were many people who were unhappy with the way they have been treated and several of the SWE roster then appeared to surround the ring, before entering and clearing it of Bravehart and his cronies.  With Phoenix now in the ring, he announced that Bravehart's reign over the SWE was over, that all the small percentages that have been sold over time were now in the possession of Phoenix - he is now 50% owner of SWE and there are going to be big changes....watch this space....

The final match of the night was LJT v Brian Kendrick.  LJT is sporting a new, more aggressive attitude these days and I think I prefer this.  There was a definite split in the crowd with a lot of support for both guys.  This was a fast paced match with both men literally throwing themselves at the other.  There was hardly time to draw breath or pick my chin up from the floor before the next move came.  The momentum swung back and forth with several near falls and could have easily gone either way.  With both men exhausted, it was LJT who finally took the win in this match with a back slide on Kendrick to score the pinfall.

With so many cracking matches on the card, I thought Match of the Night would be harder to pick but for me it just had to go to Joe Hendry and Paul London, with LJT/Kendrick close contenders.

The next Uprising event is on Saturday 29th November at the Ardler Complex.  Check out SWE's Facebook page for further information on all future events and to buy tickets.

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: Reckless Intent presents Reckless Intentions

Saturday 4 October 2014

Reckless Intentions is the annual Hardcore show and WOW!!! What a show!  This had to be the best RI show ever and has slotted nicely into second place in my top three shows I have attended!  Even better as earlier in the day I wasn't sure how things would work out.  There had already been a card change due to illness and when I arrived at the unit shortly after noon there was hardly a soul about and Mikey was looking decidedly green!  After being nagged constantly, he finally went home for a couple of hours in the hope that he would feel better for his match later but to be honest, I really didn't think he would manage.

The show started with the announcement that former Ring Announcer Jason McKinlay had been appointed the new General Manager after the departure of John Long.  As Jason thanked the crowd for their support and asked them to show their appreciation for the effort for the guys in the back, the entrance music of Joe Hendry began to play and out came Joe Hendry with the Reckless Intent Hardcore belt which he decided he wanted to be renamed the "Joe Hendry Global Hero Technical Wrestling Championship" with all future matches to be under a strict 15 minute time limit.  He then announced that there was no-one in the building who could take the title from him under his rules and demanded McKinlay sanction his match or he would "boot the title out the door".  McKinlay said there would be no name change but he could have a time limit match.

Stating once again there was no-one in the building brave enough to take him on in a match of this type, the crowd went wild when "The Beast of Belfast" Damian O'Connor appeared.  With Hendry reluctant to get in the ring and face the big man, referee Westy began to count him out and finally Hendry entered the ring on the count of 9.  Hearing the crowds "Total Zero" response to the Joe Hendry chant, big Damo capitalised on this and began shouting out Joe Hendry for the crowd reply - Hendry was not amused!  This was a cracking match with some great technical moves displayed.  We were treated to the sight of the big man standing on the chest of Hendry before dropping a senton on him.  Hendry managed to lift Damo onto his shoulders - a feat I don't think I have witnessed before (if he had managed to get Damo into his signature suplex I would have been utterly awestruck but I don't think he is ready to attempt that just yet)  Finally Damo somersaulted across the ring with Hendry on his shoulder before going for the pin, however as the referee counted two, the bell rang to announce the end of the 15 minute time limit.  An incensed Damo demanded 5 more minutes as Hendry crawled out of the ring.  The new GM returned to announce that not only will be belt NOT be renamed, the Hardcore 24/7 rules were back in force with immediate effect.  Hendry then ran out door and out of the car park, chased by Damo but without a referee with them, the title would not change hands that night.

The second match of the night was the one I did not expect to happen - a non-title handicap match between SOS and Mikey.  First the three members of  Sons of Silence entered the ring and did some trash talking before the lights went out.  When they came on again only two members remained in the ring.  Despite still being extremely sick and running a fever, Mikey came out.  The two SOS members attacked from the second he got in the ring and Mikey took quite a beating before starting to pull it back and gain some momentum.  With one member of SOS lying prone on the floor at ringside and Mikey looking to finish the other, this was when SOS #3 reappeared and nailed him with a powerbomb, scoring the pinfall.  Once again the lights went out and when they came on SOS were gone and Scott Renwick, DCT and Bobby Roberts were in the ring to assist Mikey, who proceeded to throw up in a bin at ringside.  After being helped backstage, he then did the sensible thing and went straight home.

The first half main event saw "The Butcher" Scott Renwick face Saint-George in a falls count anywhere match for the RI World title.  This was an amazing match and a close second place for Match of the Night.  Renwick came out to huge cheers from the crowd who were looking forward to seeing Saint-George taken down,  Saint-George was antagonised first by the presence of Jam O'Malley at ringside and then by a certain person holding up a rather fetching picture stating this had been found in the dictionary as the definition of troglodyte! (check out the Loudmouth profile pic on Facebook) The action started in the ring before heading out into the car park.  As both men battled outside, slamming each other onto the concrete and using barriers, metal shutters and even bottles of water from the merch table as weapons, Jam O'Malley tried to calm the situation, further antagonising Saint-George.  As the action returned to the unit, it looked like Renwick was about to take the Englishman into the loo and flush his head, however Saint-George managed to gain the advantage, ramming Renwick into the ringpost.  Back in the ring, Saint-George maintained the advantage, putting Renwick in a sleeper hold but the crowd rallied him and Renwick began to mount a comeback.  The match then swung back and forth as each tried to finish the match, however a shove from Saint-George sent Renwick reeling into the referee, knocking him out and leaving him unable to count after hitting Saint-George with the Angel's Wings.  As Renwick tried to rouse the ref, Saint-George hit a lowblow then rolled him up and, using a handful of tights as leverage, scored the pin to retain the title. Then chaos ensued.  Saint-George attacked Renwick, Jam O'Malley got into the ring to restrain him before Renwick made an attack of his own.  Suddenly the entire roster were in the ring holding Renwick and Saint-George in opposite corners as they continued to try to fight.  General Manager Jason McKinlay then announced that there will be no cheating under his rule and that Renwick would be granted a rematch for the title at Over the Top on 1 November.  With Renwick still being restrained in the ring, Saint-George was ushered by others backstage, running his mouth the entire way!

The first match after the interval was scheduled to be a triple threat match with Craig Valant v Jackie Grady v Venym, however with Valant having to withdraw due to illness, this was ended up a one on one match between Grady and Venym.  This was actually a really good match, however the crowd were a bit subdued, not entirely sure who to cheer as both are known heels.  Venym came out in his new ring gear and a new attitude - no trash talking the crowd - but any face turn here had not been made obvious and it's possible that a wee promo might have helped!  The match swung back and forth with Grady taking some big boots to the face and Venym being caught in Grady's "Hamburger Time" submission move however the end came when Venym swung Grady around the ring before catapulting him into the corner, however Grady managed to regain his equilibrium faster and caught Venym with a kick to the face, following it up with his "No Place Like Home" cravat neckbreaker finisher to score the win.

Next up was a tag team elimination match where Bobby Roberts and DCT faced The Gatecrashers.  The match began with a pose-off between DCT and Christopher Saynt, with the crowd definitely more appreciative of the moves of DCT.  Once the match got properly underway, The Gatecrashers used their slickness in order to keep the referee focused on Roberts while double teaming DCT before they eliminated him.  They then blatantly attempted to double team Roberts, however Roberts managed to eliminate Saynt, leaving him to face Dave Conrad.  There is bad blood between these two and this was the first time Roberts was able to get his hands on Conrad since he interfered in Roberts title match against Rawlins at Proving Grounds in June and they went at it hammer and tong.  As Roberts took the advantage, Saynt reappeared, jumping on the ring apron to distract Roberts and the referee, however DCT came out and pulled Saynt down, once again levelling the field and allowing Roberts to score the win.

Finally, the main event - a  TLC match featuring Chris Renfrew, Martyn Stallyon, Darren Lewis and Rawlins, with the Wooden Spoon Briefcase suspended above the ring.  The winner of the match will be able to cash in the briefcase for a shot at any title at any time in the next year.  This was definitely Match of the Night.  As soon as the bell rang, Lewis shot out of the ring, chased by Renfrew and out into car park, leaving Rawlins and Stallyon to battle it out in the ring.  Rawlins pulled down the top rope and Stallyon went over to the floor, Renfrew and Lewis returned and Rawlins suicide dived them all.  Renfrew grabbed a chair, which just happened to be the one I had vacated, and used it to attack Lewis but managed to catch me with it too! Stallyon went for the case but Saint-George appeared, pulling him from the ladder and sending him through one of the tables.  Scott Renwick came out, Saint-George ran out the door, followed by Jam O'Malley and Renwick helped the injured Stallyon away from the ring.  Lewis and Rawlins then double-teamed Renfrew, before turning on each other.  As Rawlins is about to take the case, SOS appear.  Rawlins suicide dived them before taking them out into the car park.  Lewis and Renfrew continued to battle until they both climbed the ladder.  Still fighting at the top, it suddenly buckled and fell, sending Renfrew through yet another table - he went through three of them in total!  Lewis was then able to climb the ladder and grab the case to win the match.  This match was incredible but don't just take my word for it, check it out for yourself!

All in all, an incredible show...and all for only £5!!

The next Reckless Intent shows are:-

Sunday Slam on 19 October at the RI Unit, which will showcase some of the trainees and will also see Saint-George face Jam O'Malley. Tickets for this event are only £5.

The "Over The Top" Rumble show on Saturday 1 November at Murieston Scout Hall with tickets costing £10 adults and £5 kids or a family ticket at £25 (2 adults and 2 kids). As well as the rumble, matches announced so far are the rematch between Saint-George and Scott Renwick and Rawlins will face Falcon.

Information on upcoming events and tickets can be found at their Facebook page.

Reckless Intent presents Unleashed

Saturday 20 September 2014

I wasn't going to this show.  We had tickets for Pride Wrestling's show which was originally scheduled for 16 August but they had changed the date, so after Rob had taken part in the Reckless Intent training seminar with Andy Wild and Johnny Lions, we said our goodbyes, wished everyone a good show and headed to Glasgow for the Pride show, where we were meeting up with a friend who was travelling from Dundee.

There were some nasty comments aimed at me after my Hell For Lycra blog and several of the people making said comments were going to be at Pride.  Now I pay for my ticket and am entitled to my opinion.  I don't expect everyone to agree with me but I write what I think/feel about what I have seen.  If you don't like it, don't read it - however I would like to thank my haters for the publicity.  I have never received 300 hits in 24 hours before!  This blog was only started because my son asked me to...it's a way for us to connect - and anyone who deals with someone on the autistic spectrum will know how hard it can be to connect.  So matter how bad some people may think my blogs are, I plan to keep writing them.

Back to show day....we stopped on en-route for something to eat and I asked Rob to forget the drama and the fact we already had tickets for Pride, which of the 3 shows would he rather be at (BCW also had a show on in East Kilbride and I was silently hoping that he would pick that!)  He said he really would have liked to stay for the Reckless show so once we got to the venue and spoke to our friend, the three of us jumped in the car and headed back to Livingston, arriving just in time for the start of the show.

First, ring announcer Jason McKinlay announced that the Board had relieved General Manager John Long of his position with immediate effect.  He then introduced the arrival of Saint-George, who came out waving a huge Union Jack instead of his usual St George's Cross - which I was not sure was a good idea after the post-referendum happenings in Glasgow.  He took great exception to the fact that he had not been announced as the Reckless Intent World Champion and demanded that he be introduced again in the correct manner.  He then addressed the man he would face in the main event later that evening, Martyn Stallyon and his match against Ian Ambrose at Hell For Lycra.  After berating his fellow Englishman for failing to take the title and failing his Queen and country, Stallyon's music rang out and as Stallyon appeared, Saint-George ran from the ring to hide behind the security at the main door.

The first match of the evening was Rawlins v Scott Renwick to decide the number one contender for the Reckless Intent World Title.  This was fantastic.  Renwick came out making jokes and had the crowd firmly behind him, which only antagonised Rawlins who wanted to get on with the match.  With Rawlings getting angrier he shouted to get on with it and Renwick said he would "show him the ropes".  What followed was an amazing match, the experience and skill of these two shone throughout and the entire match just flowed.  The combination of technical moves, counters and reversals with some high flyers, along with Rawlins "badness" in attacking Westy and a sprinkling of Renwick's wit kept the crowd entertained throughout.  Rawlins focused on the arm of Renwick, preventing him from completing his Angel's Wings move, however it was a "Super Rough Rider" from the top turnbuckle by Renwick that put Rawlins down for the three count.  With Renwick announced as the number one contender for the World Title, Saint-George makes another appearance, getting nose to nose with Renwick and declaring he won't go down as easily as in the Super Bowl, before shoving each other.  Saint-George leaves and Renwick holds out a hand to Rawlins, but the "Baddest Man in Professional Wrestling"refuses to shake.

Next out to the ring was Manlon, who announced he had no opponent as everyone was too scared to face him and issued an open challenge, following it up by inviting former Hardcore champ Wee Jimmy into the ring, which Jimmy declined.  With Manlon saying he was just going to head home to Glasgow, the music played and out came Aspen Faith and KT Kane, aka Team Smash.  Referee Westy had a Team Smash shirt put on him by Kane and with Manlon assuming Aspen Faith was answering the challenge, she then caught Manlon off guard by squaring up to him instead - inter-gender match!  This was the first time I had seen Kane and, although she is inexperienced she showed lots of potention.  I also have to say that I have seen Manlon do much better but I think maybe the fact he opened up his elbow may have affected his performance.   It's also unfortunate that this match came directly after such a great opener.  After a shaky start, they started to warm up but it never really flowed and the crowd didn't seem to get into it.  KT Kane took the win by submission and apparently Manlon had to make a trip to A&E to deal with his elbow.

The next match was Venym v Craig Valant.  I had seen Valant once before at Party in the Park (which I might still do a blog about) but this was his first official show for Reckless.  The crowd were relatively quiet during the match, which is normal with a new face but when they did make noise it was in support of Valant. These two guys are similar in height and build and Venym made the smart move to focus on the knee of Valant early on and dominated the first part of the match.  I was distracted and missed the middle part of the match however toward the end Valant seemed to be fighting back, dropping some big elbows on Venym before Venym took over and landed a massive legdrop on Valant but failed to get the pin.  Looking to finish things, Venym went for the corner splash on Valant, who jumped up, landed on Venym's back, before rolling him up and taking the win.

The first half main event saw Jackie Grady take on "The Unstoppable" Andy Wild.  This was a stoater!!  I cannot begin to put into words how good this match was.  It was by far the best I have ever seen of Grady.  Faced with the biggest match of his career so far, he came out with his usual cocky swagger as if he was the best wrestler there ever was, but for the first time it seemed he actually believed in himself and was really confident in his abilities and what a difference it made.  True to his moniker, Andy Wild was unstoppable and landed some chops on the chest of Grady which left him bruised.  After failing to pin Grady following a gutwrench suplex, Wild found himself in Grady's favourite submission maneuvre not once, but twice, however he used his strength to drag himself and Grady to the ropes in order to break the hold. Grady then attempted his "No Place Like Home" cravat neckbreaker but was unable to execute.  Wild landed a couple of kicks before finishing Grady with the "Wild Driver".  Despite not taking the win, Grady did amazing and I hope all his future matches are as great as this one.

Just before the interval, Jason McKinlay announced that a wee lad called Mason was celebrating his birthday (his 8th if I remember correctly) and called him into ring.  Scott Renwick came out with a signed event poster and Jason gave him two tickets for him and his wee brother to come to the next event.  Then the entire crowd sang happy birthday.  This photo is used with permission from his mum - thanks Mason's mum!

First match after the interval pitted "The Superstar" Darren Lewis against "Tenacious"Johnny Lions.  The crowd were totally behind Lions from the start and Lewis took great offence, demanding that the referee try to silence the crowd.  This just made them louder!  This was another match where the skill and experience of the wrestlers made the whole thing flow and really was a joy to watch.  Lewis played the heel to perfection, winding up the crowd and using the referee's 5 count to his advantage.  While Lions had a couple of chances, Lewis dominated much of the early part of the match, however Lions gained the momentum toward the end.  Lions looked like taking the win when with a cry of B.M.E, he climbed to the top, only for Lewis to use referee Westy as a human shield to approach the corner, grabbing Lions and hitting his "MuscleBuster" before pinning him for the 3 count. An unpopular win for Lewis which was met with a chorus of boos.

Mikey has been attacked by a masked man at events in the last few months and a recent video showed there to be not one but three men, known as SOS - Sons of Silence and tonight Mikey would face SOS in the ring.  With Mikey in the ring, one of the SOS members entered from the main door.  Mikey shot out of the ring and this match started outside of the unit and was less a wrestling match and more a brawl.  With Mikey finally able to get his hands on this masked guy, he put all the frustration of the last few months into beating on him until being cut down with a lowblow.  The match went back and forth until Mikey brought in  a steel chair and just as he was about to nail the SOS, a second masked man entered the ring, grabbed the chair and nailed Mikey.  SOS now had a 2 on 1 advantage and Mikey was sent across the ring into the chair they had propped on the ropes, landing on the floor outside.  With SOS taunting the crowd, Mikey returned to the ring with his forehead bleeding, grabbed the chair from the ropes and nailed both guys with it, before setting them up in the corner for a cracking coast to coast and scored the pinfall.  With Mikey on the rope celebrating, the third SOS member entered from the main door and delivered a massive power bomb.  With the match over, the three members of SOS attacked.  Suddenly a blast of music and Rawlins appeared on the ring apron, but instead of making the save, he shook his head and left again.  SOS resumed their assault on Mikey before the lights went out and when they came back on Scott Renwick, Craig Valant and Johnny Lions were in the ring and the SOS were nowhere to be seen.  This story is far from over!

Now for the main event and Saint-George is back in the ring - this time to put his title on the line against Martyn Stallyon.  Stallyon got a great reception from the crowd on his Reckless Intent debut and while the match got off to a bit of a rocky start it soon settled into a pretty good match.  The momentum swung back and forth throughout the match, even during the action outside of the ring at the start neither man was able to fully dominate.  A mis-timed blow caught Saint-George's eye and by the end of the match he had a bit of a shiner.   Finally, with Saint-George prone on the mat, Stallyon took to the turnbuckles  and went for the splash, however Saint-George moved out of the way.  He was then able to roll up Stallyon and using a handful of tights for leverage, scored the three count to retain the title.  Not content with that, he then continued to beat on Stallyon until his attention was caught by The Alpha Male who was sitting in the crowd.  As a verbal altercation with The Alpha Male ensued, Scott Renwick appeared in the ring behind him and delivered the Angel's Wings to Saint-George.   Stallyon picked up the title belt and handed it to Renwick who draped it over the face of the man he will now face for the title at the next event, Reckless Intentions.

This was a great show and I am really glad we didn't miss it.  It has been really tough to pick my match of the night - I have been torn between Rawlins/Renwick and Grady/Wild but after watching both matches again and again....and again, I have decided that it has to go to Jackie Grady and Andy Wild.  Go to the Reckless Intent Facebook page or YouTube channel and watch the video footage of both matches, in fact watch all of them - you won't be disappointed.  Then get yourself along to Livingston for the next event, Reckless Intentions on 4 October, with a 4 man TLC match featuring Chris Renfrew, Rawlins, Darren Lewis and Martyn Stallyon as the main event and tickets are only £5.

Review: SWE Hell For Lycra XI

Saturday 30 August 2014

Hell for Lycra...it was last year’s event that introduced us to SWE and we almost didn’t go back.  Thankfully, their Hart & Soul event in October was amazing and we have been regular visitors to Dundee ever since.

So we arrived at 2pm and joined the queue for the autograph session with Road Warrior Animal and Dennis Stamp.  After paying £20 for the “Animal Package”, which included an autographed promo picture and a professional photo which would also be signed, we were excited but unfortunately Animal seemed bored.  He picked up his studded shoulder pads, dumped them on Rob for the photo and that was it – no chat.  Talk about disappointed (well I always liked Hawk better anyway!)  After the signing we went off for something to eat before returning to the Bonar Hall for the show that evening.

Ring announcing duties for the evening were split between Chris Duke and Amy Anderson.  Chris has taken some flak in the recent past but this is a guy who really knows how to get a crowd going from the outset.  He employed his "Mexican wave style" cheer by selecting people sitting either side of the entrance and having one start a cheer and have the crowd work it round the room until reaching the other - works really well for getting everyone warmed up!

The first match of the night featured Steven Magners and Chaz Phoenix in a steel cage match.  Based on their actions toward each other during their long running feud, I was expecting all kinds of brutality but from the outset, both men only seemed interested in climbing out of the cage.  This ended with both men atop the cage, Phoenix pulled a length of material fashioned into a noose from his pocket, put it around the neck of Magners and proceeded to hang him as Phoenix dropped to ringside to win the match.  I am not entirely sure how to feel about the way this match ended.  The wrestling fan part of me thinks based on their previous encounters and the infamous "poly bag incident" it was a natural progression, however the mum in me thinks there were too many young kids in the audience for this and that after the match, when they announced a short break to remove the cage, they could easily have included a "do not try this at home/school" message. 

While the cage was being removed, the recent match between Martyn Stallyon and Damian O'Connor was shown on the big screen and there was an opportunity for those who were unable to make the earlier autograph session to meet Animal and Dennis Stamp.

The action restarted with a “World of Sport” legends match.  Originally billed as a tag match with Marty Jones and Jay the Jackal v Johnny Saint and Felix Fortune, this match now featured two of my Reckless Intent buddies.  Team Jones featured Jay the Jackal partnered with Rawlins and Team Saint had Felix Fortune paired with Mikey.  I do not wish to appear biased in any way, but Rawlins and Mikey were the standouts in this match.  In my opinion, Fortune's inexperience is usually covered by his opponents but there was no way to cover his miss on the attempted dropkick on Rawlins.  There was a lovely springboard flip from Mikey and he also delivered a rather devastating kick to the face of Rawlins.  The match ended a bit chaotically with Fortune hitting Marty Jones before being rolled up for the pin - win for Team Jones.  Both teams then seemed to face off in the ring with Fortune and Jones looking like they wanted a piece of each other.

Next was a 4 on 4 tag match with the Trident and Scott Renwick facing the team of Mr News, Claymore, LJT and Scotty Riccio.  I don't normally like matches like this as there are just too many people involved and its hard to keep track of what's going on but this one actually worked.  There was a nice wee bit when the heels were making their entrance and one by one, Mr News, LJT and Scotty Riccio launched from the ring to knock them down like skittles.  LJT took a serious amount of punishment from his opponents once the match got started, however it was Riccio who took the final punishment, being slammed by MDK before being on the receiving end of the 450 splash from Steven "Air" Myles before MDK pinned him for the three count.

A close contender for match of the night was the face off between Joe Hendry and Doug Williams.  Hendry was accompanied to the ring by Marty Jones however Jones kinda disappeared at some point - to be honest I didn't notice him leave as I was so enthralled by the match.  I think this might have been because Hendry is usually heel at SWE however in this match the crowd seemed to be evenly split and he didn't play up the heel image, making the heel legend surplus to requirements.  Anyway this match was just pure class - these guys don't dazzle with high flying stunts, they just wrestle.  Hendry took the advantage at the start but Williams soon fought back and seemed to be in complete control and about to take victory when Hendry got him in a cross armbreaker to take the win by submission.   In a very sportsmanlike manner, Hendry then held out his hand to Williams and both men shook hands to cheers from the crowd.

During the interval, a large pole and flag were attached to the ring, which had us wondering what was going on.  There had been no mention of a flag match.  What had originally been advertised as a scramble match for the Future Division championship had been changed.  The six competitors, reigning champ Christopher Saynt and challengers Viper, Sammii Jayne, Nikki Storm, Glen Dunbar and LJT entered the ring and a strange sort of chaos ensued.  With everyone battling in and around the ring, Storm was the first to attempt to grab the flag but was stopped by Viper and Sammii Jayne.  Then it seemed like each challenger had a turn of going for the flag before being thrown out of the ring by another challenger, who would then make their attempt.  Finally it was LJT going for the flag when Saynt grabbed his belt, jumped up on the ring apron and decked LJT with the belt before grabbing the flag to take the win.  Now I didn't mention the role of the flag...they used a "YES" flag which Saynt then spat on.  Now I do not wish to make my opinion on the referendum public - as far as I am concerned this subject is a matter for each person to decide for themselves and no-one should try to force their opinions on another.  By using this flag, SWE were making a political statement which could easily have caused conflict amongst its audience.  Wrestling is no place for politics and this stunt did nothing more than anger the "Yes" camp.   Maybe a nice "SWE" flag could be produced for any future matches of this type?

Now for the match that had been hyped since it's announcement Damian O'Connor v Road Warrior Animal.  Well talk about a huge disappointment!  Big Damo comes out to the ring and as we are waiting in anticipation of the appearance of Animal, Scott Renwick and the Trident appear instead and proceed to attack Damo.  With Damo making short work of the Trident, Renwick enters with a chair and starts to ram it in the midsection of the big man.  Renwick then starts shouting orders at the Trident and Damo is tied up in the ropes as Renwick continues his assault with the chair into the midsection of the "Beast".  Finally Animal appears, still wearing the clothes from the afternoon signing session, and accompanied by John "The Bomb" Graham to make the save.  There wasn't even a hint of an illusion that there was ever going to be a match between these guys.  WTF - this was one of the big selling points of the entire show - I had driven around for months with a poster advertising this match stuck in my car window - I felt cheated!  Maybe if he had come out in the full ring gear, shucking off the pads at ringside I might have been able to buy into it but it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Another match which had a lot of hype behind it was Bravehart v Euan G Mackie.  With a lot of animosity between these two men, this was never going to be pretty.  Factor in referee Edith Summer, who was on the receiving end of Bravehart's fist the week before at Hellbound, and that Bravehart had Jam O'Malley and Mutt at ringside, and it was never going to be fair either.  Bravehart wasted no time, beating on Mackie before locking in the sharpshooter however the referee refused to acknowledge Mackie tapping out!  An incensed Bravehart dropped Mackie and turned his attention to Summer (who if I remember right had just decked O'Malley).  As Bravehart went in for another punch, Edith ducked, Bravehart swung round and got a faceful of green mist from Mackie, who then scored the win with a fast count from Summer.  As Summer and Mackie made their escape from the ring, Bravehart vented his anger at O'Malley who was on his knees pleading for forgiveness.

Finally the main event and most definitely Match of the Night - SWE Heavyweight Champion Ian Ambrose faced the No 1 contender Martyn Stallyon for the title.  This match featured Dennis Stamp as special guest referee and while it was a nice touch for him to be included as part of the show, there were a few occasions where he was a bit slow to get down to make a count and wasn't as tough as a referee needs to be in a match between these two guys.  This match was brilliant.  There was a scary moment when Stallyon went got tangled in the ropes and smacked his head hard on the floor but he shook it of and got on with the match.  This match could not be contained by the ring....nor the barriers around it.  These guys went over the barriers, through the crowd and continued on the stage area before finally returning to the
ring.  Debbie Sharpe made her appearance, looking stunning in a tight black lacy dress and a pair of killer heels which gave me a nosebleed just looking at them, and strutted around the ringside area with the championship belt.  With it looking very much like Stallyon becoming the new champion, he told Debbie to leave.  Instead, she distracted Dennis Stamp as Stallyon springboarded off the top rope, straight into the title belt Ambrose was holding, allowing Ambrose to score the three count to retain the title, who then left with Debbie.  What is going on between Ambrose and Sharpe?  This story is definitely not over!!

There was one other negative thing but this had nothing to do with SWE.  One of the crowd members had to be ejected after getting into physical altercations with two wrestlers at ringside, Euan Mackie and Debbie Sharpe.  She had also been making some rather nasty comments about people while in the queue outside of the venue earlier and had been warned to shut her nasty mouth.  Hopefully we will not have to deal with her again.  There were actually some people who thought that the person involved was me.  I can assure you it was not.  I am a loudmouth - I get verbal but I do not get physical.  Even when invited to enter the ring during a spat, such as the one I had with Bravehart at Hellbound, I will not cross that line.

Overall, Hell For Lycra 11 was a better show than Hell For Lycra 10, but there were elements that really disappointed me too.  There were some really good matches and the announcement of next year's event being held in Dundee's Caird Hall went a good way toward outweighing the negatives.  Although the show ended on a high with a fantastic match between Ambrose and Stallyon, I have to admit that the whole Animal v Damo fiasco really bummed me out.

SWE have their next Uprising event back in the Ardler Complex on 25 October and have announced Brian Kendrick, Paul London and Leah Von Dutch to appear.  Tickets are priced at £10 for adults and £7 for kids (an increase of £3 per ticket since their event in July) and are available via their Facebook event page