Saturday 26 July
After missing the Uprising shows in May and June, I could not miss this one - the final Uprising to be held in the Ardler Complex. Although we had recently been to see SWE in Cupar, a lot of the friends we have made in Dundee could not make it, so we were also looking forward to catching up with them!
This was actually one of two shows SWE were putting on that night. Their "Battle Stations" show in Perth had started an hour earlier in order for some of the wrestlers to be able to appear at both shows. Good idea or not??? I will give my opinion later.....
The show started with a Ghostbusters themed vignette on the video screen, followed by Ravishing Randy Valentine taking to the ring to say goodbye to what has become the home of SWE Uprising. After recounting some of the special moments that took place in the Ardler and thanking the fans for their continued support, he took his seat at the announce table with The Grue and it was time for Ring Announcer Amy Anderson to take over microphone duties!
First match of the night was fan favourite Mr News facing Trident member MDK. Now I have to admit that I don't like the Trident as a gimmick and never have so I really hope that the fact that the members now have identities and are appearing in singles competition is the beginning of the end. The match started off with News working on the leg of MDK but the big guy soon had the upper hand. This was less a wrestling match and more a brawl as MDK used brute force to subdue News. Despite taking some serious punishment, Mr News refused to stay down, and fought his way back into the match but his attempted pin on MDK was shrugged off and News almost landed on the referee. MDK then weakened News in a bear hug before catching News' attempt at a crossbody from the turnbuckles and slamming him to the mat for the three count. MDK finished the victor but Mr News remains the fan favourite.
Next up was the girls, Nikki Storm v Viper. I thought Rob's eyes were gonna pop out of his head when Nikki made her entrance in her new red ring gear....and even more so when it slid up during her match to reveal her bra! This match was brilliant. Storm and Viper are two of the best female wrestlers I have seen. Storm played up her heel status to the max, screaming that every attempted pin was a three count and standing on the hair of Viper while arguing with the ref. Viper had the crowd behind her and there were huge cheers when she kicked out of the pin after taking Storm's swinging neckbreaker. After her earlier attempt failed, Viper managed to get a surfboard style submission hold on Storm which was too much for the feisty lass to withstand and Viper took the win by submission. These girls served up an amazing match which can be viewed
here.
We then had a Future Division Championship match between current champion Christopher Saynt and Felix Fortune. I still don't like the new name given to McMinn - Felix is a cat food brand - however he is improving his in-ring abilities, although he was totally outshone by Saynt in this match. As much as it pains me to say it, Christopher Saynt is a really good wrestler and he can make an amateur look better than he really is and I think that Fortune really did "luck out" with this match. It started off with Saynt running his mouth, talking about how people had been sharing their favourite memories from the Ardler and how his hadn't happened yet because he couldn't wait till the Ardler Complex burned to the ground. He then turned his attention to Fortune, asking him if he really thought he could be the next champion and what made him think he could ever be as good as Saynt. Fortune responded by saying he had done enough talking in his career as a ring announcer and promptly socked Saynt, before dropkicking him out of the ring and taking the upper hand, before getting back into the ring where he made a pin attempt. Then Saynt came back at him with punches to the head and chokes on the ropes. It continued in the same manner until, with Fortune appearing to be gaining the upper hand, Saynt picked up his belt and left ringside, leaving Fortune to win by count out but with Saynt retaining the title.
Then it was time for the first half main event. This match pitted the #1 contender for the heavyweight title, Martyn Stallyon against "The Beast from Belfast" Damian O'Connor. What can I say about this match....it was bloody incredible. SWE made a huge mistake here as this really should have been THE main event, but with wrestlers travelling from their show in Perth to appear at Uprising, I understand why they did it. Obviously this was my Match of the Night - and quite probably match of the year! Stallyon came out and started taking selfies with crowd members before the arrival of "The Beast". With both men in the ring, the crowd started off with a chant of "Damo's gonna kill you" and for a while it looked like this could be true - Damo stood on Stallyon in the ring, cannonballed into him against the barriers and slammed him off a wall or two - but Stallyon would not go down. In fact, he went up.... up the stairs and dived onto Damo from the balcony! The action returned to the ring where, eventually Stallyon got the pin on big Damo and took the win in this utter belter of a match...but don't take my word for it, you can watch the entire match for yourself by clicking
here - go on do it - it's amazing!!
The second half started with Joe Hendry facing Claymore. With Joe hyping up his appearance on RAW, the "Local Hero" had taken a fabric pen to his trunks so they now said "Global Hero" and he really didn't seem very happy when I got the crowd singing "Joe Hendry, Total Zero"!! Hendry appeared to have this match firmly in his grasp from the outset, keeping Claymore grounded and using a series of holds, before hoisting the big man onto his shoulders. It was this move which allowed Claymore to use his weight advantage to escape and knock Hendry from the ring, only for a masked figure carrying a sledgehammer to appear. He attacked Claymore before unmasking to reveal himself as Trident member Darren Blair (formerly known as Powerbomb in my blogs). With Claymore bleeding from a head wound, he was declared the winner by disqualification, before being helped from the ring.
The final Ardler show would not be complete without an appearance by SWE Heavyweight Champion "The Scumbag" Ian Ambrose. Whilst not competing in the show, he thought he would "grace" us with his presence and after mentioning the match between Stallyon and Damo, brag about how he had beaten Damo for the belt and subsequent matches and that he would do the same to Stallyon at Hell For Lycra XI but he took to his heels quickly enough when Stallyon appeared in the ring!
Bravehart then took to the ring before Euan Mackie arrived, accompanied by Jam O'Malley. Bravehart said that he would not be facing Mackie that evening, however they would face each other at Hell For Lycra XI. Bravehart then announced that he had chosen another opponent to face Mackie and, unsurprisingly, it was none other than Jam O'Malley. With the Z List members laughing and saying that Bravehart had tried this trick on them before, O'Malley suddenly turned on Mackie. While Bravehart now laughed, the crowd were gutted and cries of "No Jam" and chants of "you sold out" rang around the hall. O'Malley used the element of surprise to take the upper hand in the match, however Mackie grabbed him by the short and curlies, stopping the bigger man in his tracks, before rolling him up and taking the pin to the delight of the crowd and the disappointment of Bravehart. A very unhappy O'Malley then went into the crowd to grab a chair and chased Mackie backstage.
The main event of the evening was Jay the Jackal v LJT. Now I mean no offence to either man but after the match up between Stallyon and Damo, this just didn't cut it as a main event match. I once again pointed out that The Jackal had a picture of a fox on his butt! After a cracking start with LJT knocking The Jackal from the ring and then diving on him from the ropes, The Jackal then held the advantage, keeping the high flier grounded with a series of holds but LJT just never gives up. Despite the underhand tactics from The Jackal, LJT came back at him with some submission holds of his own and more high flying moves, before finally scoring the pinfall.
So in my opinion, all in all it was a good show but it could have been great with just a couple of tweaks. All the matches were good, but I think a little reshuffle of the order was required. For me the second half seemed a bit of a let-down after the amazing match between Damo and Stallyon. I think I would have had Storm v Viper as the first half main event, made sure the guys appearing at Perth were on first there and up the road in time to appear early on the second half and had the Damo/Stallyon match finish the show.
The next SWE show, Hellbound is on Saturday 23 August at Kirkton Community Centre and features Colt Cabana and Grado. Doors open at 1.45pm.
Their annual showcase, Hell For Lycra is being held at the Bonar Hall the following week, 30 August. Hell For Lycra will feature WWE Legend Road Warrior Animal and tickets for the show also grant access to the afternoon autograph session at 2pm with the doors opening for the main show at 6.45pm.
For more information on their upcoming shows, how to get tickets and watch previews and videos of past events, check out SWE on
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Once again, there was early entry and a bonus match for advance ticket holders. This time we had a handicap match with Saint-George and Darren Blair from The Trident against Felix Fortune. There appeared to be some friction between the two Trident members at the start of the match, with both wanting first crack at Fortune. The match was completely one-sided with the Trident boys pretty much taking turns to inflict as much punishment on Fortune as possible. Saint-George got the pinfall, however Blair was not happy about this and it looked once again as though the two would come to blows. Blair instead powerbombed the beaten Fortune and peace was restored within The Trident, however I am not sure just how long this alliance will stay together.
In true festive spirit, the main show started with the arrival of the commentary team, Chris Duke appeared dressed as Santa and Doctor Grue wore a very fetching Christmas jumper. We also had Wee Jimmy dressed as an elf and someone in an Olaf from Frozen costume wandering around. It was announced that the main event for the evening would feature the winners of each match in a 'Sole Survivor' elimination match.
During the interval I had spoken to a young lad called Edward who I had noticed at the previous show as he had dressed as his favourite wrestler Ian Ambrose, complete with the white coat although his stated "Ambrose is God" on it. I told him I would see if it was possible to have Ian Ambrose to come out after the show to meet him and maybe get a photo. Sure enough, Ian Ambrose agreed to do so and made that young lads night - not a total #scumbag after all!
First up was a tag team match pitting The Gatecrashers (Christopher Saynt and Dave Conrad) against against Manlon and Daihlan Hendry. With Saynt and Hendry kicking off the action, it wasn't long before Manlon was tagged in and demanded to face "the big guy", then challenged him to an arm wrestling contest. With both men lying on the canvas, Manlon didn't pick his spot well, allowing Saynt to drop an elbow on him from behind and begin a period of "Manlon Bashing" with the Gatecrashers keeping him from tagging in Hendry while dealing out a serious amount of punishment. Hendry finally made it into the ring and attempted to swing the momentum but it was just a matter of time before he succumbed to the Gatecrashers finisher "The Party Crash" (I asked Dave Conrad during the interval what it was called and this the name they came up with). Despite already taking the win, they then "Party Crashed" Manlon for good measure. There is great chemistry between Saynt and Conrad - they work really well together and just seem to gel....I look forward to seeing them progress to bigger and better things in the future.
Next out to the ring was a very angry Joe Hendry, having been stripped of his SWA Laird of the Ring title the night before, to face Robbie Solar. Solar is one of those guys who looks too skinny and pale to be a wrestler, but over the last few months I have seen a great improvement in his wrestling ability, although there was still a point during the match when Hendry had him pinned in a corner and I couldn't even see him!!! Despite Solar's speed and great aerial moves, Hendry used his superior size and strength, catching Solar's attempt at a crossbody and then tossing him across the entire ring, before finishing with what looked like a Crucifix Powerbomb to take the win.
As the next match was about to be announced, an alarm bell rang out and out came Mr Byers with Sammii Jayne for a mixed tag match against Cobra Carr and Viper. After handing out a punishment exercise to Carr's mother for "making such a terrible son", he got back into the ring and starting mouthing off about the lack of respect he got - and when I heckled him he produced a punishment exercise he had prepared especially for The Blue-Haired Loudmouth! He then turned his attention to his partner Sammii Jayne, telling her she had to prove herself and earn an A+ (not a good idea to demean your partner, but then we are talking about Mr Byers). Viper and Sammii Jayne started the match, with Byers shouting instructions to his partner the entire time. It was then the turn of the men to enter the ring and Carr quickly dominated Byers. Unfortunately for Byers, he had annoyed his partner so much, that she jumped down from the ring apron when he tried to tag her in and left him to the mercy of Viper and Carr, who took the win and left. When Byers again berated Sammii Jayne for her actions, she showed him exactly what she thought of him, giving him a slap followed by a swinging neckbreaker. Byers was then carried out by John "The Bomb" Graham.
The first half main event was scheduled to be Bobby Roberts v SWA Heavyweight Champion Joe Coffey in a non-title match, however Coffey took the microphone and acknowledging Roberts match against Damo at the previous showcase, asked that this be made a title match. What followed was just awesome. Evenly matched in size and power, both men went all out to win this one, using such force that the ring actually moved! The momentum swung back and forth during the match with Roberts showing he was worthy of the title shot and he so very nearly took the belt, however it was Coffey who was victorious on this occasion. The match ended as it started, with Coffey on the microphone giving Roberts serious props and both men shaking hands.
Making his debut in Scottish Wrestling this weekend, Tucker faced fellow Irishman big Damian O'Connor in the first match after the interval. While Tucker is a pretty solid looking figure, Damo makes almost everyone look small! Using speed and agility, Tucker was doing well but Damo seemed to absorb most of his momentum and used his size and strength to gain the upper hand. Tucker was not going down easy though and fought back, knocking Damo off his feet on more than one occasion - a feat not easily achieved. With both men giving it there all, it looked like Damo was going to take the win, but Tucker knocked him from the turnbuckles and nailed Damo with a swanton to score the pinfall. An impressive showing from Tucker, who I hope decides to visit Scotland more often as I would love to see him in action again!
The next match up of Nikki Storm and Bete Noire v Courtney and Debbie Sharpe started with a dance-off! After Courtney & Sharpe did a wee routine, Nikki Storm busted a few moves of her own, much to the amusement of the crowd. Once Noire pulled her back into line, the match was on, however it was all too short. Both Noire and Storm focused their attention on Courtney early on. Once Sharpe got into the ring, she was distracted by Noire and Courtney outside of the ring, giving Storm the chance to hit her with a swinging neckbreaker and get the pin. Although a cracking wee match, I would have loved it to have gone a bit longer as I have not had much chance to see Bete Noire in action and what I did see here was pretty impressive...and on a side note, I love her leg tattoo!!
Finally, the Main Event! Lewis Girvan was scheduled to face Celtic Arrow, however the day before a card change was announced - Lewis Girvan would now face Mikey Whiplash! This was an incredible match - with Girvan normally using his speed and agility in his matches, he truly held his own against the experience of Whiplash. Instead of lots of spectacular aerial manoeuvres, we were treated to a masterclass in the technical aspect of wrestling, with plenty of leg and armlocks. 
In one of the few moves from the turnbuckles, Girvan managed to score the win over Whiplash. While this was most definitely match of the night, the star of the show had to be young Casey, Cobra Carr's daughter. She heckled Whiplash throughout the match and did it so well that the crowd even started a "Let's Go Casey" chant. She even offered Whiplash a match against her dad next time round!
This event was on the same date as a PBW show but our decision to make our first visit to Pride Wrestling was based mostly on the fact that the main event was a title match between Glen Dunbar and Mikey Whiplash (although I think Nikki Storm v Viper would have sealed it for Rob) When it was announced that Glen Dunbar had sustained an injury that would keep him out of the ring for 12 weeks and would not be able to compete, I was totally gutted.
First match up, Jackie Polo v DCT. Once again Polo worked the crowd during his entrance - he must have one of the longest entrances but it just never gets boring. Once in the ring, he took the microphone and told Dunbar he was looking at the No 1 contender for his championship before turning on one of the crowd. DCT then arrived and had Rob come over to the ring to tell Polo that DCT had better hair than Polo (seemed random at the time and still does!). Polo held the advantage through most of the match, however it was DCT who scored the pinfall, much to the shock of Polo and the delight of the crowd.
Next up was the team of Street Justice (Chris Renfrew & Mark Sweeney) v Bobby Roberts & Daihlan Hendry. This was just brutal... Renfrew and Sweeney isolated Hendry for much of the match and with the referee stopping Roberts from entering, took the opportunity to double team the young Source graduate, even going as far as removing their belts and using them to whip him. When Roberts finally managed to tag in, he was also double teamed and belt-whipped before Renfrew hit him with the stunner and scored the pinfall. Street Justice then continued to beat and whip Roberts and Hendry after the bell.
The first half main event was a triple threat match for the N7 Championship between current champ Lewis Girvan, Christopher Saynt and Joe Hendry. With Girvan and Saynt in the ring, Hendry arrived and announced that he was not 100% fit and that it would be unfair to the others to bring down what would be an amazing match, before taking a seat in the crowd to watch. With a pretty even split of the crowd cheers, Girvan and Saynt pulled out all the stops to win and Joe Hendry was right - it was an amazing match. With Saynt prone on the canvas, Girvan took to the turnbuckles ready to capitalise when Street Justice reappeared at ringside. Girvan leapt from the turnbuckles to knock down Street Justice and while all three were lying on the floor at my feet, Hendry snuck into the ring from the other side and pinned Saynt to take the title. Girvan and Saynt then watched as Hendry handed an envelope of cash to Chris Renfrew and walked away with the belt. 
The first match after the interval featured Rob's favourite, Nikki Storm against Viper. This was a great match with several near pins. Storm tried everything she could to win, including standing on Viper's hair while arguing with the referee, but Viper was not going down to the self proclaimed "Queen of the World" and nailed Storm with the V bomb to take the win. Viper then turned her attention to Dunbar sitting in the crowd and stated that having pinned him already in the past made her a contender for his title. Enter Mr Byers, the new Scientific Adviser to the Founders, holding his clipboard and giving a whole slew of reasons why Viper, as a female wrestler, was not up to the challenge of competing in the superior men's division. With the crowd booing him, Viper showed him just how inaccurate he was, by taking his clipboard and nailing him with it.
Next up was Jam O'Malley who had challenged Dave Conrad to face "Sideshow Jam's House of Fun". Once the two men had got to the ring, O'Malley took the microphone and said that as he was undefeated, he was not going to wrestle until he got a title shot but that Conrad would still have a match - he had already lined up a replacement, "The First Follower" Alex Cavanaugh. With the odds stacked against him, Conrad fought bravely and even managed to get a pin on Cavanaugh, however O'Malley had the referee distracted and as he attempted to regain the ref's attention, Cavanaugh was able to turn the tables and take the win. O'Malley then decided he would wrestle after all, climbed into the ring, pinned an already prone Conrad and forced the ref to make the 3 count. O'Malley and Cavanaugh then began to beat Conrad until Christopher Saynt came out to even the numbers.
Finally it was time for the main event, Mikey Whiplash facing Jack Gallagher. After seeing them both in action against Japanese wrestlers the previous night, I was looking forward to this...and I was not disappointed. The biggest shock was seeing Mikey Whiplash as a face!! I saw him smile and laugh and I almost lost it completely when some kid was making fun of Gallagher's gumshield saying he looked like a vampire, only for Whippy to come over and pop out his front teeth and say it's better than this! The match started with Whiplash focusing on the left elbow of Gallagher, however Gallagher managed to turn the tables and worked on the left knee of Whiplash, however it was the more experienced Whiplash who finally took the win in what was an amazing match, a total joy to watch and if I didn't rate Gallagher before, this weekend definitely made me sit up and notice him. The match of the night by a mile! Whiplash took the microphone and thanked his opponent for an amazing match, calling Gallagher one of the best wrestlers that Britain has ever seen, before turning his attention to Dunbar in the crowd and saying as soon as Dunbar was fit, Whiplash would be ready to face him. This match is set for the next Pride event on 16 August....and I will definitely be there to see it!