Review: Source Wrestling School Showcase 3

Sunday 22 June 2014

Another visit to see some of the new talent coming out of the Source Wrestling School and I enjoyed it as much, if not more, than the last one.

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!

And so ended another successful showcase.  Congratulations to all the guys and girls for another incredible night and I look forward to seeing the next one!

For more information, check out Source Wrestling School on Facebook

Review: Reckless Intent presents Taking Over

Saturday 31 May 2014

I was not supposed to be reviewing this show...I was supposed to be reviewing the latest SWE Uprising but the card for this show just grabbed me.  Reckless Intent vs Source Wrestling..some of the best new talents facing each other.  I have attended several of the SWE shows and am really familiar with the roster but I have only been to a couple of RI shows and after the recent Source showcase, I really wanted a chance to see some of these new guys in action again - so to have both promotions showcase on the same show - it was a no-brainer!  (Don't panic my SWE friends, I still love you all and will be back in Dundee soon!!)

The event actually started a few days earlier when Saint-George Bernard decided to have a go on the Loudmouth Facebook Page....poor deluded Englishman actually thought he could win against me...but then again, he has not had to deal with me as often as some wrestlers and I am sure he will learn in time.  He did, however, inspire me to make some signs for the show - something I have never done before (it was actually quite fun and I plan to make more for visits to other promotions now!)

With Rob now training with Reckless, we arrived early so he could help with the pre-show setup while I stayed in the car with my cross stitch and kindle.  We have a rule that no matter what he hears regarding the shows, I do NOT want to know as it would spoil the show for me.  And so onto the show...

First up General Manager John Long takes to the microphone to say that he has suspended ring announcer Jason McKinlay for failing to keep Tavish MacPherson out of the building during the Super B.O.W.L. Tournament and that he will doing the announcing to show how it should be done.  He then continues to say that he had been in talks with someone better to replace Tavish within the company and this "Real Lowblow" will be making his debut later tonight.

First match of the night is between my biggest fan, Saint-George Bernard and Source Wrestling's Bobby Roberts, who I was really impressed with after seeing his match with Damo at the Source Showcase.  First out was Saint-George who, as expected, was not impressed with my wee poster and tore it to pieces.  He took the microphone and announced that he had challenged Roberts to a no disqualification match and that as Roberts had not responded, he was obviously too scared and would not be appearing.  This seemed to be backed up when Roberts music played but the man did not show.  As Saint-George began gloating, the music started up again and this time Roberts came out to huge cheers from the crowd and accepted the challenge.

The match started normally and Roberts quickly took the upper hand. I especially loved it when they were outside the ring and Roberts asked me to do him a favour and, whilst holding Saint-George in front of me said "Slap him"....and I did!!!  Once back in the ring, Saint-George managed to knock the wind from Roberts and took the opportunity to start bringing in the weapons, first a kendo stick, sledgehammer and dustbin lid.  After beating Roberts with the kendo stick, Saint-George then brought in a metal chair and a bag of thumb tacks which he emptied onto the mat.  Attempting to slam Roberts onto the tacks, Roberts reversed it and it was the Englishmen who became the walking pinboard!  Finally a wooden table was set up in the corner of the ring and when Saint-George tried to throw Roberts into it, the move was again reversed.  With Saint-George stopping short of slamming into it, he turned around and was immediately speared by Roberts straight into the wood and knocked senseless, allowing Roberts to get the pin.  The crowd were ecstatic with the result.  Roberts held out his hand to Saint-George but unsurprisingly the Englishman brushed past him and left ringside.

Once the ring had been cleared of debris and tacks, Source Wrestling's "Manliest of All Men" Manlon came to the ring and announced to the crowd that as no-one from Reckless had accepted his challenge, he had issued an open challenge and still had no-one accept.  Enter Reckless Intent Hardcore Champion Wee Jimmy.  As Manlon knelt down to "get down to Jimmy's level", Jimmy pushed him onto his ass and pointed to the curtain,  where John Long's "Real Lowblow" appeared....none other than Tavish MacPherson.  There was then a comedy segment with John Long looking sheepish ringside, Manlon and Tavish did a tango in the ring, followed by some bouncing across the ring off the ropes until one would shout "Stop" and Tav would slap Manlon.  There was actually some wrestling toward the end of the match however when Tav had Manlon pinned for the 3 count, John Long interfered and stated that Manlon's shoulder was off the mat.  Whilst he continued to distract Tavish, Manlon managed to get a submission hold on him and Tav passed out - an unpopular decision with the crowd - and the feud between Long and Tavish continues.

Next up was Reckless Intent's Venym against Source Wrestling's Celtic Arrow.  While Venym had the upper hand in size and strength, Celtic Arrow had the upper hand in speed and agility, making this a great match.  Venym dominated the early part of the match, using his size and strength to ground the smaller guy, however Arrow would not be kept down and after knocking Venym from the ring, flew between the ropes to knock him to the floor.  Back in the ring, Venym once again used his size and power advantage and continued his trash talking thoughout which incited the crowd to cheer louder for Celtic Arrow.  Finally we were shown the Arrow's flying skills from the top rope and he scored the pin to the take the win.


The first half ended with a match for the Reckless Intent UK Title between champion Jackie Grady and Source Wrestling's Lewis Girvan who, in my opinion, is the best young wrestler in Scotland at the moment and has an amazing future ahead of him.  A cracking match from start to finish, we were treated to both great mat work and aerial moves from both guys.  My personal favourite was when Girvan had Grady hangin upside down from the turnbuckles to my right, then scaled the ropes on the left and leapt from the turnbuckle, across the length of the ring and actually connected with Grady - amazing to see!  The momentum swung back and forth between these two, both scoring near pins however with Girvan taking the upper hand again, Grady obviously realised he was about to lose the match and grabbed the title belt, intending to use it as a weapon.  Referee Westy grabbed the belt and a struggle ensued between him and Grady.  As Girvan turned away in disgust, Grady let go of the belt and caught Girvan off-guard, rolling him up and scoring the pin to retain his title.

After a short interval, the action started again with Source Wrestling's Ryan Griffin facing off against Reckless Intent's Mikey.  Another amazing match between two very evenly matched guys.  Griffin appeared to have brought some fans with him as the crowd were very vocal in support of "Flying Ryan" and at times drowned out the cheers for local boy, Mikey.  There were with some fine examples of submission holds during this match, as well as fast paced flying from ropes.  There were a few laughs and a chant of "Janet" when Mikey's mum yelled at Griffin during the match too!  Neither of them big guys, they still managed to cause the ring to move with the force of hitting the ropes! With both guys giving absolutely everything they had, this was one of those matches where either man would be a deserving winner and this time it was Ryan Griffin took the win after blocking Mikey's superplex attempt and dropping Mikey to the canvas, splashed him from the top rope to score the pin.

 

The penultimate match was the World Title match between champion Rawlins and Source Wrestling's Dave Conrad and was my Match of the Night. This was the first time I had seen Conrad without Christopher Saynt either as his tag partner or standing in his corner so I was interested to see what he could do in his own right. The answer is actually quite a lot.  Facing off at the start of the match, it was easy to see that Conrad was the younger, bigger guy but Rawlins had the experience.  After antagonising the crowd, Rawlins set to work on Conrad's knee.  Conrad kept on trucking and when Rawlins attempted a crossbody from the top rope, Conrad actually caught him!  Time and again Rawlins went for the knee but each time Conrad managed to reach the ropes, forcing the hold to be broken and then retaliated, using his strength to knock Rawlins to the mat again and again.  Another first for me....I actually started a pro Conrad chant!  This was a brutal match, both for the competitors and for me....Rawlins outside of the ring in true heel format continued to antagonise the crowd and after screaming into Rob's video camera, gave him a slap and Rob scudded me on the forehead with his camcorder!!  Rawlins retained the title but Conrad proved that he is a talented wrestler and I look forward to seeing his career develop in the future.

The final match of the night was billed as an elimination tag match between Team Reckless (Mikey, Rawlins, Jackie Grady, Tavish, Saint-George and Venym) and Team Source (Bobby Roberts, Lewis Girvan, Ryan Griffin, Dave Conrad, Manlon and Celtic Arrow)  Before the match even started, it was obvious that there were tensions within Team Reckless.  The match started with Mikey and Manlon facing off but when Mikey tagged Rawlins in, the tensions erupted and John Long made the call to change the match to an over the top rope battle royal with the winner being named No 1 contender for the World title.  At that point chaos reigned with all 12 men battling each other and it was impossible to keep track of who was doing what to who!  Several times I moved from my seat to avoid flying legs as they came over the ropes.  Jackie Grady was eliminated first, followed by Venym before John Long entered the ring and eliminated Tavish.  
Celtic Arrow, Ryan Griffin and Lewis Girvan were next to be eliminated before a masked man in a black hoodie ran into the ring, eliminated Mikey and then disappeared back behind the curtain. Some members of the crowd began to chant "slightly average", assuming the man to be Darren Lewis. Since the show I have discovered that the hoodie worn by the masked assailant referred to a clique called New Blood but who was under that hood and mask remains a mystery!  Manlon, Conrad and Saint-George were soon eliminated,  leaving Bobby Roberts and Rawlins in the ring.  With Rawlins already holding the title and a No 1 contender spot on the line, it was at this point obvious what the result would be but the crowd still wanted to see it....Bobby Roberts eliminated Rawlins to become No 1 Contender and the two men will meet on 28 June to battle it out for the belt.

A great showing by all the guys from both promotions and, although there were major shenanigans in Dundee, I stand by my decision to see this show over the SWE one (sorry Bravehart). 

The next Reckless Intent show, Proving Grounds is on 28 June with tickets at just £5 per person.  Several matches have already been announced, including a match between GM John Long and Lowblow with their jobs on the line.  Saint-George, who broke his thumb during his match with Bobby Roberts, is sidelined and will be the special guest GM for the night!  Once again SWE have their Uprising show on the same night, so their card will have to be impressive to entice me to Dundee!

The Reckless Intent crew will also be appearing at Blackburn Gala Day on Saturday 14 June at Murrayfield Neighbourhood Park so feel free to come along and get a wee taste of what the Reckless Intent boys have to offer...and its totally free of charge!!

For more information on Reckless Intent and updates on their shows, visit their Facebook page

Review: Source Wrestling School Showcase 2

Sunday 11 May 2014

A last minute decision saw Rob and I racing to Glasgow to see this event.  The ring announcer Stevie Wizard was already doing his thing when we arrived, but we made it in time for the first match ... only just... a tag team gauntlet to decide the number one contenders for the SWA Tag Team belts, currently held by The Forgotten.  I was still unpacking my camera as the first team were making their way to the ring!  The first match up was my favourite SWE heel, 'All Night' Ian Ambrose partnered by Martyn Stallyon against Robbie Solar and Celtic Arrow.  This match went back and forth before Solar scored the pin, eliminating Ambrose and Stallyon.  Immediately the next team  appeared, Christopher Saynt and David Conrad with Saynt giving me a "two fingered salute" when he saw me....I really don't think he likes me!  These guys work well together and it was not long before they took advantage and using a front neckbreaker double team move, they took the victory.  Next team into the ring were Manlon and Daihlan Hendry.  With Saynt already in the ring, Manlon demanded to face "The Big Guy" with Saynt responding that Conrad "eats meals bigger than you", before stepping out and letting Manlon have what he wanted.  Conrad dominated and despite a good try from Hendry, it was Saynt and Conrad's neckbreaker that would seal the win again.  The final team of DCT and Adam Carrell then took to the ring.  There appeared to be some tension between these two, with DCT tagging himself into the ring as soon as Carrell had taken the upper hand, then immediately losing the momentum to Saynt and Conrad.  This culminated in Carrell attempting to kick DCT in the head, only for DCT to drop and Saynt took the kick instead, with DCT quickly moving to score the pin and the No 1 contenders slot.  Not sure how this team will work out in the future, but they were fun to watch.

Joe Hendry then made an appearance and told the fans that his life had completely changed in the last 16 months, culminating in him winning the Laird of the Ring title at Clan Wars.  With the crowd cheering for him, he then announced that later that night he would be defending the title against Lewis Girvan.  After initially complementing Girvan on his ability at such a young age and saying how much he respected him, which the crowd appreciated, Hendry then announced that Girvan would never take the title from him as Girvan was just not good enough and that in fact no-one was as good as Joe Hendry .... and with that attitude, the crowd sentiment turned and the chants of Joe Hendry Local Hero became Joe Hendry Local Zero!  Heel turn complete!

The next match saw Jam O'Malley take to the ring to announce the arrival of Glen Dunbar, who faced the newest Source graduate, Cobra Carr.  Cocky as ever, Dunbar assumed this would be an easy match, however Carr put up a good fight.  Carr had plenty of support in the crowd and gave them plenty to cheer for but unfortunately Dunbar did take the win after rolling up Carr and putting his feet up on the ropes for extra leverage.  He then followed up his win by laughing in the face of Carr and giving him a slap for good measure.  Carr wasn't having any of it and smacked Dunbar, knocking him to the canvas, much to the delight of the crowd.

The final match of the first half saw young Ryan Griffin face Mikey Whiplash. Whippy was not happy to see a young girl at ringside holding a "Whippy Sucks" sign.  Appearing to take the upper hand early on, Whiplash appeared surprised when Griffin strung some moves together, with Whiplash going over the top rope and almost taking out the large mirror on the wall!  Despite this, Whiplash managed to get Griffin in a sleeper hold and when the ref dropped Griffin's arm for the third time, it was all over.  This is the second time I have seen Griffin (the first was the pre-show match at Clan Wars) and I think he has a good future ahead of him....also its nice to see a wrestler with good aerial moves who is not wearing a mask!

The second half started with a bit of confusion as what appeared to be the fire alarm went off.  This actually turned out to be a school bell and signalled the arrival of Mr Byers, who handed out punishment exercises to some of the kids who were booing him, then proceeded to call out SWA Zero 1 champion Joe Coffey, who was sitting ringside enjoying the evening.  Coffey began by appearing to make excuses of illness to avoid the match as he made his way to the rear of the crowd, then picked up his title belt from the table at the back and returned to accept the challenge.  The match was pretty much over before it began, with Coffey spinning Byers around the ring several times then hitting him with a running body splash, taking a selfie while he did so, before taking the pin, then issuing Byers with one of his own punishment exercises.

Next up was Private Bobby Roberts against The Beast of Belfast, Damian O'Connor.  Roberts matched up to Big Damo in height and build....and also in strength and agility.  Roberts tried running shoulder blocks from all 4 sides of the ring with neither man going down and the noise when these two giants collided was something else.  When Roberts did finally go down, Damo then stood on him!  This impressive match went back and forward but finally Damo took the win by pinfall and then shook the hand of Roberts, who definitely showed that he is one to watch in the future.

The penultimate match was a ladies tag match with the team of Viper and Sammii Jayne facing Courtney and Debbie Sharpe.  With the exception of Courtney, I have seen these girls several times and was therefore really interested in seeing what Courtney could do - I did see her at Clan Wars but she was eliminated very early on!  The main focus of this match appeared to be the dynamic between Viper and Sammii Jayne, with both girls keen to prove they were the better half of the team.  With Debbie Sharpe isolated in their corner, they kept tagging themselves into the match, with their "tags" getting harder and harder each time!  Their animosity grew when Courtney attempted to pin Sammii Jayne only for Viper to try to make the save, with Courtney quickly moving out of the way and Viper landing on her own partner instead.  With Courtney and Debbie appearing to have control of the match, Sammii Jayne hit them both with an amazing front dropkick and instead of going for the pin, confronted Viper over the earlier move.  This gave Courtney and Sharpe the chance to take control again and, with Sammii Jayne in the corner, Sharpe moved out of the way to allow Viper to once again hit her tag partner, this time with a corner splash.  Courtney and Sharpe then moved in on Viper to score the pinfall.  An irate Sammii Jayne confronted Viper again at which point Viper had enough and knocked Sammii Jayne down with a hard clothesline.  A pretty good match, but I would like to see Courtney in a singles match to fully appreciate what she can do.

Finally it was main event time, and my match of the night, as Joe Hendry faced Lewis Girvan.  I have only seen Girvan twice before but I have to admit to being really impressed by this young talent.  This match was action packed from start to finish, with neither man holding back in their efforts to gain the advantage.  There were some really sweet moves, including an amazing suplex by Joe Hendry on Lewis Girvan which seemed to go on forever.  With both men appearing exhausted after several near pins each, the end finally came when Girvan pushed Hendry into the corner in which the referee was standing - Hendry stopped short of hitting the ref and as Girvan followed him into the corner, moved aside.  Girvan also stopped short of hitting the ref but Hendry got the lowblow in from behind and then covered him for the 3 count and retained his title.  The crowd were not happy with the result but the match was an absolute cracker.  Hendry then approached Joe Coffey and told him that one belt was not enough and that he was coming after Coffey's title.

After the show, I got a chance to see Mikey Whiplash and tell him that he was responsible for the Loudmouth's existence...it was him mooing at me during a PWE show that started it all...and got a photo which Joe Hendry photobombed!!  

I thought the entire show was great.  There wasn't a single match I didn't enjoy and I was really impressed by the new talent the Source Wrestling School has.  When matched against more experienced guys, they did not fall short and I look forward to seeing them in action again soon.

Check out Source Wrestling School on Facebook

There is an event in Livingston on 31 May pitting Reckless Intent against Source which is going to be a belter and you can find details here