Review: PWE 4th Anniversary Show "It's Yer Dar"

Another cracking wee review written by the lovely Claire Allan.  Agree wholeheartedly with everything she has written, especially Match of the Night!

Saturday 8th August, Citadel Leisure Centre, Ayr

I have been waiting months for this show, excited was a massive understatement for this!  I was bouncing off the walls all morning, nothing could contain me.

For shows, the banter starts from the queue outside.  Meeting up with Julie, Rob and Janet is always a pleasure.

The difference for this show, I was 2nd row instead of my normal front row but that won't stop me being noisy.

The silver and platinum ticket holders always get the treat of a bonus match, usually this is stars that have performed in front of crowds before but are not as well known as the ones on the main roster.  This time Adrian decided to use some of students from GPWA, to give them some experience of performing in front of die-hard fans.  This was well received.

BONUS MATCH

AUSTIN OSIRIS & KYLE KHAOS VS CS ROSE & FLEX HUNTER

GUEST REFEREE RED LIGHTNING

I was really impressed with the technical abilities of the students, apart from some mishaps with slips off the ropes.  All credit to the coaches.  Rose and Hunter definitely had the power over their smaller opponents but once Osiris and Khaos got going and started using aerial attacks, they held the fans attention.  After a well fought battle Osiris and Khaos secured the win.  It was good to hear the fans getting behind the youngsters and I hope it has done a lot for their confidence.

(Confession: I did get distracted by someone entering the building, you may have had a hoodie on but I know those legs anywhere!)

After this match, it was time to let the general ticket holders in and OMG, they just kept coming and coming.  It felt like an eternity!! Finally all the 729 fans were in the building and the main show got underway 45 minutes late. 

As MC Simon Cassidy was about to get things started, out comes Red Lightning.  He makes his feelings clear that he packed his ring attire as he was wanting a match as well as refereeing the bonus match!  He also said he was miffed that he gets overlooked for these events and wanted answers from Lionheart.  Lionheart honours Red's wish and comes to ringside.  He tells Red that he has learned a few truths since running these shows but two things stand out in this business and they are 1) Sometimes you have to do a deal with the devil and 2) The card is subject to change.......

RED LIGHTNING VS CHRIS RENFREW

The crowd erupted as Chris Renfrew made his presence felt, the amount NAK fans in the crowd was immense.  As soon as Renfrew stepped into the ring he took it to Red Lightning.  Both men have good technical ability but they are also two brilliant brawlers.  It was obvious from the start that this was Renfrew's fight, not taking anything away from Red Lightning but Renfrew is an animal!  Renfrew pinned Red in the centre of the ring.  Hopefully he has learned his lesson that you can always get what you wish for but it can be your worst nightmare!

KID FITE, TJ RAGE & DAVEY BLAZE W/CHARLES BODDINGTON VS LOU KING SHARP

TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH

TJ Rage, Davey Blaze and Charles Boddington come to the ring, closely followed by the Tag Team Champ, Lou King Sharp.  Boddington takes the mic and announces that he felt sorry for Sharp, so he decided to give Kid Fite the night off.  Lionheart comes to ringside and tells Lou that he needs to screw the nut as he isn't going to continue to save his backside. Lionheart then turns to Lou's opponents and says he thought they would pull a stunt like this, Boddington starts to say that Lionheart cannot get involved with the match but he is cut off by the boss who says he knows that he cannot get involved but he does have someone backstage that has a score to settle with Blaze n Rage and cannot wait to get in the ring.....lights go out and the video plays......IT IS THE RETURN OF KRIS TRAVIS!. The crowd went ballistic!

Now a slight deviation from the wrestling....As many people know Kris was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the middle of 2014, prior to this he started missing events due to what he thought was a stomach ulcer.  I sent him a Get Well Soon card but in hindsight, I would have sent a different design!  In September, he announced that it was stomach cancer and that he already had part of his stomach removed and that he was going to require chemotherapy.  The support he was given from colleagues within the wrestling profession and fans was phenomenal.  Shows were made in his honour, friends and fans donated on his behalf, amazing.  After his chemotherapy, Kris got back in the gym and started raising money for Cavendish Cancer Care.  He has been doing charity football matches (and planning to do more?) and helping raise more money for them any which way he can.

I make no secret that I have the utmost respect for him and do care about him (even though he probably thinks I am a mad woman!).  I have known Trav for about 3 years and always get him the same way, very respectful to fans, willing to sign autographs and pose for photographs.  He's friendly and not only is he good looking on the outside but has a beautiful heart on the inside, in my experience this is a rarity.  He is the perfect role model for kids, an inspiration to adults and a true ambassador for what he believes in.

Back to the wrestling.....

BLAZE & RAGE VS LOU KING SHARP & KRIS TRAVIS

For me, this was Match of the Night.  Not because it contained Kris Travis.  It was truly awesome, Kris proved that even after nearly a year out of the ring, he had not lost his ability and was still capable of kicking butt!  Blaze & Rage did not make it easy for them.  Kris then tagged in Lou, who got a good few hits in but the tide turned, due to their power Lou struggled against the bigger men, on one or two occasions he had the chance to tag Kris back in but attempted to go for glory but to no avail. Kris eventually got back in the ring and showed exactly how to do it!  After an amazing fight the Champ retained after the opponents were pinned.

1ST HALF MAIN EVENT

BIG DAMO VS SAMOA JOE

What a first half main event this was, two of the biggest guys I have seen in a ring.  As normal, most of the fans were on the side of the 'Samoan Submission Machine' but my group were firmly on the side of the 'Beast of Belfast' which made the chanting fight very interesting, as my group are some of the loudest fans about!  The two men were equals in the ring in both power and ability.  In the beginning, nothing could separate them.  The fight went on the outside and they got into a chopfest.  Damo is a hard hitter but even I felt everyone of Joe's as they echoed around the Citadel.  After more action in the ring, Joe got the win after making Big Damo submit, showing why he is a Submission Machine!

DREW GALLOWAY VS IESTYN REES

This was definitely a match for the ladies!  Two very handsome men.  As soon as both men were in the ring, you could tell there is a bit of history between them especially after Iestyn blames Drew for him losing the Elite Rumble.  This was my third time seeing Iestyn Rees and have been quite impressed, he has a great ring presence and can hold the crowd’s attention.  Drew Galloway has similar qualities but had the backing from his hometown crowd.  After some in ring action, Drew decides he should take Iestyn on a grand tour of the Citadel, introducing him to fans, walls and doors!  Once back at the ring, Iestyn turned the tables and threatened get his own back with a couple of painful chops against the guard rail.  Eventually Drew managed to pin Iestyn, after a hard fought battle. 

WOLFGANG & KENNY WILLIAMS VS THE COFFEYS

This was another match I was interested in.  In the last couple of shows, there has been some cracks showing between the two brothers, would it finally break tonight?  The fans were split equally, again the chant wars began, even overheard a couple of girls arguing who was the better looking Coffey brother! (and put my tuppence worth in).  Once the match began it was Mark vs Kenny, Mark had the upperhand in this contest then tagged in Joe.  At this point the match was swinging back and forth, so much so Joe even took Kenny for a swing!  Once Kenny & Wolfie took control of the match, Joe did not stand a chance. There was fantastic chemistry on the team of Wolfie & Kenny.  Nearer the end of the match, Joe managed to escape the clutches of his opponents but instead of accepting his tag, Mark jumped from the apron which in turn was the main reason for Joe being pinned and Wolfgang & Kenny being winners.  Joe remained in the ring for a few moments, stunned by what his brother had done.  Mark came back out and Joe demanded answers!  Mark did not explain himself but showed some cowardice by slapping his brother then running away.  I think it is jealousy on Mark's part as it was clear the crowd favoured Joe.

MAIN EVENT

NOAM DAR VS GRADO

This was the most anticipated match of the night, the atmosphere was electric, the hall was buzzing.  Keeping in mind, these two are the best of friends away from the ring and have travelled the world together.  The challenger came to the ring in his usual style, you could see the focus in his eyes, he wants the title and I was praying he would get it. Next out came the champion, accompanied by a young lady singing his entrance music.  Usually in a Grado match there are some comedy moments but tonight it was different, he wanted to retain the title just as much as Noam wanted the win.  No-one could get the upperhand, the bad thing about fighting your friend is they know your style like the back of their hand, they know what moves you are going to do!  It was a great match thus far!!  Unfortunately, near the end poor Eddie (the ref) took a hard knock and was out cold!  Noam managed to get the anklelock on which had Grado tapping but there was no official to make the call.  Noam went over to try to revive Eddie, when he turned round he got caught by 'The Wee Boot' and was pinned.  Again, nobody to make the call.  Enter Iestyn Rees, who believes he should have been in this match instead of Noam, starts to beat up both Noam and Grado.  Drew Galloway makes the save.  This causes Blaze & Rage with Boddington to make their presence known and help Iestyn.  Samoa Joe then comes in and cleans house with the bad guys!  He even manages to cause that 'baldy midget' Charles Boddington some pain!  The match ends in a no contest.  Drew, Joe, Noam and Grado then have a little dance in the ring.  Personally, I would have preferred the match to continue until there was an outright winner but the time was against this match.

All in all it was an excellent show, the best Pro Wrestling Elite show so far.  Adrian McCallum deserves a lot of plaudits for putting on these shows on, they are definitely getting better each time......you may need to start looking for a bigger venue soon!

Wishing Pro Wrestling Elite all the best for the next show on 26th September at Ayr Town Hall, the roof will be raised! Unfortunately I will not be there due to family commitments!

PS If you want to donate to Cavendish Cancer Care, you can text TRAV01 followed by either £5 or £10 to 70070.  Your donations will be much appreciated.

Until next time......

Review: PWE - The Road To Revolution

Saturday 9 May 2015

It had been a while since we had been to Ayr and we were looking forward to this show.  While there was platinum packages available, we decided to go with the silver option as we had already met the big stars at previous events and silver still got us early entry for the bonus pre-show match. We even took a couple of friends, Janet and Fiona, along with us!

Said pre-show match was a corker with Saqib Ali facing off against "The Best Young Wrestler in the World" Lewis Girvan.  I've seen both these guys wrestle a few times now and when your pre-show is of this calibre, you know the main show is going to be stunning.  A very nice match where both guys were able to showcase their talent despite the shortness of the match.  Really enjoyed this one and it was nice for Janet to be able to cheer for Girvan this time as he took the victory!

The main show began with the appearance of TJ Rage & Davey Blaze to take on Tag Team Champion Lou King Sharp, who had released a video in the run up to the show announcing that his partner for this match would be PWE owner Lionheart and had cheekily named the team Lion King!  As Blaze and Rage waited in the ring, Sharp announced the arrival of Lionheart who failed to appear.  Sharp was invited to get into the ring, lie down and make it easy on himself and eventually Lionheart reluctantly made his appearance.  Rage and Blaze concentrated on isolating Sharp and the wee guy took some amount of punishment before Lionheart was let loose.  After dropping Rage, he delivered a cracking frog splash on Blaze and Lion King took the victory by pinfall.  After the match, Rage and Blaze asked Sharp to come into the ring and shake their hands and agree to a rematch.  Despite Lionheart telling him not to, Sharp accepted, only to be told that he had just agreed to a 3 on 1 handicap match at the anniversary show in August.

Next up was the clash of the heavyweights as Iestyn Rees faced Chris Masters.  To be absolutely honest, I was a bit disappointed with this match and actually said I wished they had given Saqib Ali and Lewis Girvan this slot instead!  Masters really appeared to be just going through the motions and looked like he didn't actually want to be there which was a let down as I have seen this guy before and he really can put on a good show when he wants to.  Rees took the victory and quickly started antagonising the crowd.  A video then was played and it was announced that Rees would be facing Drew Galloway at the Anniversary show on 8 August.

Next up was a Fatal Fourway match with Joey Hayes v Martin Kirby v Kenny Williams v El Ligero.  This match was fast and furious with all four pulling off some lovely moves. A couple of highlights were when Kenny Williams got some amazing height from the top turnbuckle when going for a dropkick on Hayes who was halfway across the ring and when Hayes managed to catch El Ligero with a boot when he sprang from the ropes, before dropping both Williams and Ligero on their faces at the same time.   Despite the crowd being behind El Ligero and Williams, it was Martin Kirby who was victorious as he quickly rolled up Hayes after that stunning move to take the pinfall.

Just before the next match, another video was played announcing the appearance of  Tommy End at the 4th Anniversary show on 8 August.

The first half main event saw The Coffey Brothers v The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) for the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles.  This match can be described in one word - WOW!!!!  This was by far my Match of the Night.  Between the action in the ring and the banter between Janet and I with Christopher Daniels, it was brilliant.  I think my favourite moment of the match is captured in the picture - both Coffey Brothers had been knocked from the ring and Daniels bounced off the top rope before doing a backflip onto them at ringside right in front of me - totally amazing.  This incredible match came to an end when Mark Coffey inadvertently hit his brother before being hit by the "Celebrity Rehab" finisher and Kaz scored the 3 count.  The Addiction celebrated their win as Joe Coffey looked on from ringside, before getting back into the ring to confront his brother.

During the interval, The Addiction returned to the ring for fans to have their photo taken with them and despite the verbal abuse during the match, Janet and I took advantage of the opportunity.

First match of the second half saw "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson face off against Noam Dar.  After my normal antagonising of Thomson which received Dar's approval and him giving me a walking stick (which security quickly took from me) the match got underway.  As usual, Thomson used every underhanded tactic he could against his young opponent.  Grado appeared at ringside to cheer on his pal but actually caused a distraction and Thomson attempted the roll-up.  He was unsuccessful this time but Grado would prove to be the catalyst for the match ending the way it did.  Dar went for the dropkick but Thomson pulled the referee in front of him and it was the ref who went down.  Thomson then attempted to use a steel chair on Dar but Grado grabbed the chair from behind to stop him.  Grado then went to hit Thomson with the "wee boot", only for Thomson to drop out of the way and Grado dropped his friend instead.  Thomson took advantage, scored the pinfall and as Grado chased after an angry Dar, attempting to apologise, Thomson took the microphone and announced that he had just beaten the number one contender for the heavyweight title and demanded to know where that left him and that he would not leave the ring until he got an answer.  Lionheart came out to give him his answer - a video was played showing that he would be facing Austin Aries at the show on 8 August.  (Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, it was later announced that Aries would no longer be able to make this show and that Samoa Joe would be appearing instead, and will face Damian O'Connor)

The penultimate match was Kid Fite v Big Damian O'Connor.  I love Big Damo - how a guy that size can be so agile and pull off some of those moves is just incredible to watch and against a guy like Kid Fite, this match was guaranteed to have everyone going and it did.  I was so into this match, I even forgot to take any photographs for half of it.  Fite gave it everything but it didn't save him from being dropkicked into the corner before being Damo's doormat as the big guy stood on him then dropped the senton.  At this point, TJ Rage and Davey Blaze appeared and attacked Damo.  The referee called for the bell, announcing Damo as the winner by disqualification.  With Kid Fite back on his feet, it was 3 on 1, until Wolfgang appeared to make the save.

The main event saw Grado put the PWE Heavyweight title on the line against he first ever winner of said title, Andy Wild.  This was a good match but had a slightly strange atmosphere....Grado did not seem to have his usual cheer squad.  In fact at one point when he tried to get the crowd going, he was met with silence.  He did manage to parade around the ringside area holding Wild and inviting the kids to "give him a chop".  Wild on the other hand had the crowd chanting for him throughout.  Wild was robbed of the chance to regain the belt when Noam Dar made an appearance and nailed Wild with the title belt.  The ref called for the bell and Wild was declared the winner of the match by disqualification...but the title can only change hands by pinfall or submission, leaving Grado still Champion.  Grado and Dar appeared to have a confrontation in the ring, however it was shortlived and the two ended up dancing in celebration.

The 4th anniversary show on 8 August is shaping up to be another cracker.  Platinum and silver packages are already sold out but general admission tickets go on sale on Friday 26 June.  Tickets can be purchased from their website http://www.prowrestlingelite.com/shop/event-tickets

To keep up to date with match announcements for this show and find out about future shows, check out PWE on Facebook

Review: PBW Capital Clash

Sunday 26 October 2014

Finally, Premier British Wrestling comes to Edinburgh!  I was so pleased that one of the companies I have been travelling to see were coming to my home town.  As their shows are usually around the Glasgow area, there were complaints from some people about having to travel and others were not happy that the venue had a 14+ policy which meant a lot of the families with younger children could not attend.

As we had bought VIP tickets, we had an early entry and Meet and Greet with Chris Masters and The Addiction (formerly known as Bad Influence).  Chris Masters spent a little time chatting with Rob about training before we moved on to Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian.  As Rob had his photos taken with them both at the TNA fan interaction in January, it was my turn to get a photo!  Unfortunately it was then that my camera decided to play up and we ended up holding up the queue slightly.  Luckily I got it working again and Rob managed to get the snap!

The first match of the night was between "Bad Boy" Liam Thomson and PBW Champion El Ligero.  Thomson came out complaining that his match was announced as a non-title match and he found it insulting and challenged El Ligero to put the title on the line.  It was at this time we realised the difference an older crowd made as Thomson asked Ligero if he was a pussy! Challenge accepted and we now had a title match.  Ligero took the fight to Thomson, with some of his cracking aerial moves before the action spilled outside the ring.  Thomson was dumped into a seat at ringside before being knocked straight back out of it.  Once back in the ring, Thomson came back, gaining momentum and scoring a two count.  The match then went back and forth until Thomson got the PBW belt and made to nail El Ligero.  Fortunately the referee was on the ball and refused to allow this to happen.  Ligero then hit Thomson with a splash from the top rope before pinning him to retain his title.  Thomson lay stunned in the ring as the Mexican celebrated, before demanding that the referee explain what had happened.  A great match to start the show.

The next match was scheduled to be Davey Blaze & Carmel v Grado & Kay Lee Ray in a mixed tag team match, however earlier in the day there had been an announcement that both Grado and James Scott (who was scheduled to appear later) would be unable to appear and replacements had been confirmed.  Davey Blaze came out to the ring with Charles Boddington, followed by Carmel, who took the microphone and started to insult the crowd before they proceeded to make digs at Grado's non-appearance.  Carmel stated that if he couldn't be bothered to show up that she was done and they should just go.  As they looked to leave the ring, music rang out and Kay Lee Ray and Tommy Marx appeared.  The girls started things off before Blaze and Marx were tagged in and at this point the double teaming began.  Marx was isolated in the oppositions corner and while Carmel antagonised KLR causing the ref to stop her from getting into the ring, Marx was beaten by both team members, with Boddington getting in on the action too.  Marx was finally able to tag in KLR who nailed Blaze and Carmel with a double dropkick from the top rope before taking control over Carmel. Boddington got on the apron and ended up knocked to the floor while in the ring, KLR pinned Carmel as Marx pinned Blaze to take the win for the fan favourites.

The first half main event saw Jack Jester face Chris Masters.  Masters played up to the crowd after his entrance as Jester sat unimpressed at ringside before getting into the ring and telling Masters to get on with it.  As the bell rang to signal the start of the match, we could clearly hear the guy on the stage doing the commentary for the DVD so Masters decided to do his own commentary, much to the amusement of the audience!  When the action finally got going, they seemed evenly matched until Masters hit Jester with a suplex before going for the pin.  Jester got out of the ring and grabbed a chair before heading back toward the ring.  Masters decided to do the same, at which point Jester dropped his chair and demanded the referee get the chair off Masters. The action then spilled out of the ring again and through the crowd, onto the bar and back to ringside where Jester shoved Masters onto a chair which had been vacated by a fan going to the bar, however the chair collapsed under Masters weight.  Back in the ring, Jester took the advantage but Masters was able to rally, getting Jester into his "Masterlock".  With the referee standing directly in front of the two men asking Jester if he was okay, Jester hit Masters with a backheel lowblow, breaking the hold and making the pin.  As a victorious Jester left the ring, Masters complained loudly to the referee that "he hit my balls" before making several attempts to give the referee a backhand to the nether regions.

The first match after the interval was Kenny Williams v Lou King Sharp.  This was a great match with two young guys who can really move around the ring at some pace.  Williams is becoming one of my favourites and Sharp is definitely one to watch.  Still only a teenager, he really seems to have perfected his character and works it really well and there was a wee chant of "you've got school in the morning" from a group at the other side of the ring.  Sharp started off doing push ups in the ring so Williams grabbed his feet and let him faceplant the mat.  There followed lots of fast and furious action with plenty of "flying" from both guys with Williams the victor on this occasion and Sharp being carried backstage by the referee.

The penultimate match of the night featured TJ Rage as a replacement for James Scott against the masked wrestler, El Technico.  El Technico seemed to have a small fan club in the balcony who made lots of noise which I thought was great as for much of the show there had not been as much noise from the crowd as usual.  Within seconds of the bell ringing, El Technico had knocked Rage out of the ring and then suicide dived him, almost landing on me and with them both being big guys, I admit that I panicked a little.  Back in the ring Rage tried to use his strength and El Technico his agility to try to keep the advantage over the other but it was Rage who took the win after hitting El Technico with an incredible spear before pinning him for the 3 count.

Finally it was time for the main event, The Addiction (also known as Bad Influence) v Just Uz for the PBW Tag Team titles. Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian came out first and took pleasure in winding up the crowd as they introduced each other.  BT Gunn and Stevie Xavier came out to their usual pop.  This was my match of the night with some great action from both teams and some hysterical comebacks from Christopher Daniels, who totally owned me when I gave him some abuse - after repeating "clean break" about twenty times I asked if he had got stuck on repeat.  His response was if he wanted crap from me, he'd scrape my tongue - and that was just one of many!!  Just Uz did their quick tags and slaps to the face of Kazarian before The Addiction managed to isolate BT Gunn and double-team him, having the referee distracted by trying to keep Xavier from making the save.  It was Just Uz who eventually took the win to retain the titles before BT Gunn took to the microphone to thank Daniels and Kazarian for coming to Scotland and giving them such a good match.  Daniels responded by saying they were thrilled to be a part of the independent scene in Scotland and to be as good as they were, they had to wrestle guys as good as Just Uz.  They also stated that Just Uz got the win this time but they would do it again for sure....and I want to see that rematch!

This event was great and the last minute changes to the card did not detract from the show at all.  It was filmed for a DVD release and I am looking forward to getting my copy and watching this event again.  I also hope that PBW will return to Edinburgh again in 2015.

For information on their future events, check out PBW on Facebook