Wrestle Ropes Ready for the Weekend: September 2016 Week 2 - Reckless Intent, NGW & ICW

This week's edition will see us not only travel to three different promotions but two countries as we head firstly to Livingston in Scotland on Saturday. Then it's to England's Hull before ending the weekend back north of the border in Glasgow, Scotland. Let's get Ready For The Weekend!

Saturday night sees the wrestling weekend start with Reckless Intent Wrestling holding their The Way It Is event at the Murieston Scout Hall in Livingston. 

While Reckless Intent continues to grow as a promotion, this Saturday will mark the end of either Chris Renfrew or Sean Mercer's time with the company when they face in a Loser Leaves Reckless Intent match. These two men were originally scheduled to compete in standard match until Renfrew caught Mercer bullying members of the roster at a recent event. Following the incident, Renfrew challenged Mercer to the match. These men don't like each other and after Saturday, they'll not be sharing a locker room in Reckless Intent anymore. 

Back in May, Massimo suffered an injury which lead to him being unable to defend the UK Championship. Now prior to this injury, DCT was due a championship match with Massimo. Obviously this wasn't able to take place. However, last month, Massimo returned from that injury and defeated the interim champion, Grado to reclaim the championship he never lost. Now he has to defend the UK Championship against the man who never got his chance, DCT. This is a match that has been waiting to happen for over 4 months. Massimo wants to keep the championship he has only just reclaimed and DCT wants to continue the roll he has been on while waiting for his opportunity. 

Saturday shall see the debut of “The Real Deal” Mark Coffey in Reckless Intent and he's aiming for the top of his first night as he'll be challenging Michael Chase for the Heavyweight Championship. Chase is the only four-time Heavyweight Champion with his latest reign beginning with a win over “The Beast Of Belfast” Big Damo. Coffey needs little to no introduction as one half of Polo Promotions and a multiple tag team and singles champion. Chase has faced all comers during his championship reigns and Coffey is as big as they will come and will be looking to add another championship to his impressive history.

Match Card

Singles Match for Heavyweight Championship

Michael Chase (c) vs “The Real Deal” Mark Coffey

Singles Match for UK Championship

Massimo (c) vs DCT

Singles Match

Theo Doros vs Jackie Polo

Singles Match where the Loser Leaves Reckless Intent

Chris Renfrew vs Sean Mercer

Singles Match

Rob Mills vs David Devlin

Singles Match

Delsin Dayre vs Darkside

Moving on to Saturday and New Generation Wrestling are at the Hull City Hall with Regeneration-X. 

The show will feature the first ladder match for the GenX Championship with the current champion Matt Myers, Bubblegum, Wild Boar and the winner of Martin Kirby vs Robbie X. Not only will the winner of this match walk away with the GenX Championship but an opportunity at the Undisputed Championship, as well. Myers finally won the championship from Bubblegum in July at 8th Anniversary Show and will look to keep the title as well as getting a step closer to the Undisputed Championship but the odds in this match are not in his favour. He'll need all the determination he used to win the championship to keep it this Saturday. 

“The Mexican Sensation” El Ligero has been in a long standing war with Dara Diablo in NGW which finally ended in a Last Man Standing match at 8th Anniversary Show. Ligero must have felt that the skies were clearing until Joseph Conners appeared. After attacking Ligero, “The Mexican Sensation” is after some retribution and a match  between the two has been signed for this Saturday. This is mostly likely the exact plan that Conners has in mind as he has a way of manipulating things to his own way. Ligero will be out for revenge but he must be aware of Conners' demanding offence, both physically and mentally. 

The main event this Saturday will see “The Showstealer” Nathan Cruz defend the Undisputed Championship against the Destiny Rumble winner, Doug Williams. While Cruz is one of the biggest stars not only in NGW but British Wrestling as a whole, Williams is a legend of British Wrestling. Having won championships on almost every continent, Williams still has his eyes on more championship gold. Notably, the gold around the waist of Cruz. While “The Showstealer” played a part in eliminating The Control from NGW and has fought every challenger put his way, he shall know that Williams' experience and skill is matched by very few. A main event where a pioneer of British Wrestling faces one of it's brightest stars with championship gold on the line.

Match Card

Singles Match for Undisputed Championship

“The Showstealer” Nathan Cruz (c) vs Doug Williams

Four-Way Ladder Match for GenX Championship

“The Amazing” Matt Myers (c) vs Bubblegum vs Wild Boar vs ???

Singles Match for Final Spot in Gen-X Championship Ladder Match

Martin Kirby vs Robbie X

Singles Match

“The Righteous” Joseph Conners vs “The Mexican Sensation” El Ligero

Singles Match

Screwface vs Liam Slater

Finally on Sunday we head back to Scotland for Insane Championship Wrestling's Fight Club TV taping in Glasgow. 

The event shall be the last for Noam Dar who will soon be joining WWE's RAW show as part of their Cruiserweight division. While Dar will be moving on to new things, his last match will be something of a step back into history as he faces Andy Wild. These two men have competed against each other for years. They started their journey in wrestling at the same time. Now for the time being they give us one last hurrah. Have no doubt that these two men are going to give the best performance they can together. There are no issues and no rivalries here, this is purely competition and a celebration of Noam Dar's time in ICW. 

While Noam Dar will be heading to WWE, Joe Coffey shall be facing a 4 time WWE World Champion on November 20th when he competes against Kurt Angle. Before he gets there though, he's got a match this Sunday against the current EVOLVE Champion, Timothy Thatcher. Coffey is known as a mighty wrestler and rightly so and his opponent, Thatcher, is known as being as pure a wrestler as you can get. Both men are genuine heavyweights and their styles should marry together very well. While Coffey will be focused on Angle on November 20th, he'll know that Thatcher is as much of a challenge and likewise Thatcher will know the reputation that Coffey holds. 

Back at BarraMania II in April, Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) won the Tag Team Championship, but then left the promotion. Not long after ICW began a tag team tournament to crown new champions with The Local Fire (Davey Boy & Joe Hendry) eventually winning at Shug's Hoose Party III in July. However, immediately following their win, Polo Promotions appeared with the original Tag Team Championship belts. This left a predicament as while Local Fire had won the tournament, Polo Promotions had never lost the championship. Therefore, this Sunday, Polo and Coffey of Polo Promotions will face Boy and Hendry of Local Fire in a ladder match with the winning team being named the Unified Tag Team Champions. Not only will the winning team be crowned the unified champions but they will also go on to Fear & Loathing IX on November 20th to face 6 time [WWE] World Tag Team Champions Team 3D's Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley. It's all on the line this Sunday and only one team is walking away with it all.

Match Card

Singles Match for World Championship

Wolfgang (c) v Darkside

Tag Team Ladder Match for Undisputed Tag Team Championship

Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & “The Real Deal” Mark Coffey) (c) vs The Local Fire (“Local Hero” Joe Hendry & Davey Boy) (c)

Singles Match

“The British Messiah” Timothy Thatcher vs “Iron Man” Joe Coffey

Singles Match

Noam Dar vs Andy Wild

Singles Match

Kenny Williams vs Kid Fite

Singles Match

Sha Samuels vs “Smashmouth” Chris Ridgeway

Singles Match

Wild Boar vs “The Beast Young Wrestler In The World” Lewis Girvan

Stevie Boy Hosts The Funeral Of The New Age Kliq

Trent Seven Confirmed To Appear

That wraps up this week's preview of the weekend's wrestling schedule. Of course, there are many more events taking place over the three days. To find out more about the shows we've highlighted here as well as all the others, check us out at www.wrestleropesuk.wordpress.com for the latest show and match announcements, British Wrestling event list, interviews, exclusive columns, reviews, reports and results!

Words - Andy Scotland
Editor & Images - James Marston
Image Source - Facebook.com

All images are property of their respective owners.

Live Review: PCW/ROH SuperShow of Honor II - Show 2

After putting on a good show to open the SuperShow of Honor weekend, PCW and ROH looked to build on that with the 2nd event. Held at the Evoque Nightclub in Preston, Lancashire from 1pm on 28th November 2015, the show featured Jay Lethal defending his ROH World Heavyweight title against Doug Williams in the main event, as well as Noam Dar facing Cedric Alexander, Dave Mastiff defending the PCW Heavyweight Championship against Silas Young and five more matches involving the likes of reDRagon, Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, Martin Kirby and Roderick Strong. But could the 2nd show live up to the first...Let's find out.


If the crowd needed waking up for the early afternoon bell-time, then the Six way clash featuring Kenny King, Bubblegum, Dave Rayne, ROH World Television Champion Roderick Strong, El Ligero and Charlie Garrett, was the match to do it. The fast-paced, spot-based action never let up with numerous dives, flips and tricks, whilst also taking some time to venture into something a little more comedic usually provided by Rayne. Two stand-out moments for me were a sound back and forth sequence between Bubblegum and El Ligero, harking back to their Triple Threat bout the night before, and Dave Rayne hitting pretty much everyone with a cutter, which the crowd lapped up. When Roddy Strong walked out with the victory following a Sick Kick to Rayne, the crowd had remained lively throughout and were more than warmed up for the rest of the afternoon's action. 


Before the bell even rang for Dalton Castle's clash with Sha Samuels, the duo had had the crowd in stitches. The two characters made for a perfect combination and both men hammed up their performances to make the most of their limited interaction together. There were some splendid ad-libs from both, garnering many a chuckle from the crowd, who had been quick to warm to Castle in what was only his 2nd appearance for PCW. It's a shame that these two aren't part of the same promotion regularly, as a long running feud would have some real potential. 

Bell to bell the action was fairly short, but was essentially just a continuation of what we'd seen between Sha Samuels and Dalton Castle before the match officially began. With plenty of character based comedy, used to drive the storytelling, the contest had a lot of heart and was tremendously easy to watch. Samuels action was smoother than we'd seen the night before and Castle managing to get to the ropes a number of times whilst in the Sleeper hold was a simple and effective way of keeping the crowd hyped for the babyface Castle, whilst continuing to keep Samuels' looking strong. 

Ashton Smith had a real opportunity to show-off his skills against one of the finest wrestlers in the world next, in what was arguably the 26 year old Brit's biggest match in a PCW ring. Cole always being a step a head of Smith made up the back-bone of the contest, with the story playing off the experience difference between the two. Smith was given just enough offence in to allow him to look capable of surprising Cole, meaning that the Interracial Love member came out of the match all the better for being a part of it. His no-sell into Yurinogi sequence was brilliantly done and got a nice reaction out of the crowd on the near fall. It would seem like Smith is being positioned for a run with the Cruiserweight belt, as he was allowed to look like credible contender here, despite falling to defeat. A rematch down the line would surely be greatly received.

After his main event loss to Jay Lethal the night before, Noam Dar found himself in action against Cedric Alexander on Show 2. In what would be the longest contest on the show, the pair connected well to produce some quality technical wrestling in the early going, keeping a steady pace. Despite the quality of the wrestling, there was one thing that everyone came away with from this contest...the ONE chant. Basically, Dar and Alexander ran through a series of roll-ups and pinning combinations each of which would earn them a one count, with a young looking referee seemingly thrown by the situation. The chant would be adopted by the Preston faithful and become a major part of the rest of the weekend.


The pace began to lift throughout the bout, with the action gradually becoming more serious and harder hitting as the contest went on. A series of forearm trades was particularly impressive in their execution. The finishing sequence was incredibly smooth also, with the two going back and forth with a number of reversals, before Dar caught Alexander as he attempted an enziguiri and managed to lock in the Champagne Super Knee Bar for the submission victory. Dar locking in the submission got a big reaction, which almost certainly had something to with it being the focus of the main event contest the night before, and the fluidity of the transition was splendid. 


Oh sweet sweet, Kyle O'Reilly. Bless your cotton socks, fella. The reDRagon member came out looking a little bit worse for wear, for the teams Four Corners bout for the PCW Tag Team Championships with Team Single, War Machine and Martin Kirby and Joey Hayes. Undoubtedly the highlight of the lengthy pre-match entrances, the state of O'Reilly got a hearty chuckle from the crowd, who continued to chant for their newly adopted son. If you'd have wondered up to the bar the night previously, during Chris Brooker and Billy Kirkwood's comedy gig, you'd have known exactly what killed off Kyle for his first match on Saturday.

The bout itself played off this element well, with Kyle O'Reilly struggling to hit a number of moves, in a comical fashion and being helped by partner Bobby Fish a number of times, whilst the crowd chanted "Get Kyle a Pillow" and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion rested his head on the top the turnbuckle. The action was kept fast and furious, with the eight men providing a lot to look at both at ringside and in the ring. The PCW and ROH tandems split off quite early in the bout and almost exclusively working with each other for the rest of the bout. For me, this was a shame as there could have been a bit more exploration of things like the past between Team Single and reDRagon, so it would have liked to have seen this one go a little bit longer. Seven minutes just isn't enough time for eight men to truly explore all the options open to them. Rampage Brown and T-Bone were able to claim a modicum of revenge on Joey Hayes and Martin Kirby as they pinned them following twin piledrivers to retain the PCW Tag Team Championships.


Despite losing to Doug Williams on Show 1, Silas Young was granted a PCW Heavyweight Championship shot on Show 2...go figure. Moving past that questionable decision, this was another stellar outing for Young in his 2nd bout for PCW and he linked up well with Dave Mastiff to create a technically solid encounter. With Young becoming more and more over as a heel by the minute, the Last Real Man spent a lot of the contest trading barbs with the crowd, encouraging them to chant and raising the atmosphere in the building once again. Mastiff was on form as well with a couple of funny one-liners that made it even easier for the crowd to get behind their popular champion. If it was a little longer and with a bit more drama then this contest could've been one of the stand-out contests of the evening, but it still worked as a way of adding another notch to Mastiff's championship bedpost.


In my first chance to see Lionheart in singles action since his heel turn a few months back and I was reminded of what a superb villain he is, in a match with Delirious. A couple of little touches throughout the match, allowed the Evoque to really get on the former Heavyweight Champion's back and the cycle continued. Lifting Delirious shoulder off the mat after having the contest won made him look like a massive dick and also provided a great near fall for the former CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas Champion. For what it was, I felt it perhaps went a little too long, with the crowd losing interest in the middle of the contest, by losing three or four minutes and slim-lining the action I feel the contest would have actually been improved. Plus that three or four minutes could have been given to something like the Tag Championship four way.

Main event time and Jay Lethal was clocking up his 2nd main event of the weekend, this time defending his ROH World Championship against former ROH Pure Champion, Doug Williams. The crowd seemed to take a while to warm to the very technical first two thirds of the bout, as the pair went back and forth, but on a look around the club it seemed like everyone was completely enamoured with the style and skill of the two men. There was even space to continue some of the storytelling from the night previous with Williams focusing in on Lethal's leg. The two had clearly worked with each other before (although not since 2010, but they did work TNA PPV's, TV and House shows between July and October of that year) and that helped to produce one of the slickest finishing sequence of the entire weekend. Williams was able to dodge the Lethal Injection and turn it into a Chaos Theory attempt, before Lethal himself managed a reversal hitting a Superkick and Lethal Injection to retain the championship, neither man put a foot wrong and capped off the 2nd show of the weekend well.

Finally....

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.20 (Good)

Whilst this shows rating dips slightly from that of the first show (6.85), we still got a good wrestling show on a Saturday afternoon. I'd be happy with either Dar vs. Alexander or Lethal vs. Williams being given the Match of the Night title, as both contests contained plenty of lovely technical wrestling and layed on the entertainment level thick. Perhaps my favourite part of the entire show however, was the back and forth between Dalton Castle and Sha Samuels prior to their match, thanks to both the performers and characters seemingly a perfect fit for each other.
The shows rating could have ended up being higher if a couple of minutes was shaved off the Lionheart vs. Delirious contest and handed to the PCW Tag Team Championship Four Corners bout. Even then I still think by this point we hadn't seen a bad match across the two shows and that's why both shows have managed to end up comfortably inside the "Good" range on the ATPW Scale.


Would PCW and ROH be able to keep up things inside the good range or even improve on that, with Show 3? Dave Mastiff would defend his PCW Heavyweight Championship against PCW Cruiserweight Champion Adam Cole in a Thirty Minute Iron Man main event, Noam Dar would tackle Drew Galloway, F.W.B. (Bubblegum, Iestyn Rees & Team Single) would engage with Dave Rayne, The Hooligans and X-Pac in eight man tag action, with six other matches including the likes of reDRagon, Dalton Castle, Martin Kirby, Roderick Strong and Cedric Alexander all also in action. We'll have a review heading your way later this week (as well as the last show of the weekend coming soon)

SWE Hell for Lycra XI: Oh, What A Rush Preview by Billy Strachan

 

SWE hold their eleventh Hell for Lycra event on August 30th and for the second year in a row it is being held at the Bonar Hall. This will be my third Hell for Lycra and once again SWE have pulled out all the stops to make sure this is the premier event on their calender.

The week before, August 23rd, they host Hellbound at Kirkton Community Centre which will include Grado vs Colt Cabana and the contract signing between Chaz Phoenix and Steven Magners. It is also the final stop to Hell for Lycra and with so many wrestlers still to make it to the event like the Future Division Champion, Christopher Saynt, or the Sirens, this will be their last chance to get onto an already huge event.

The first name announced for Hell for Lycra XI was Terry Funk, however, due to him securing a TV pilot he had to pull out. Dennis Stamp was announced not long afterwards before the big one, Road Warrior Animal is coming to Dundee.

So without further ado, let’s look at the event.

The Beast vs The Animal

Damian O'Connor vs Road Warrior Animal

The Beast of Belfast faces Road Warrior Animal in a battle of the behemoths. Both men are big, hairy, hard-hitting dudes. This isn't for titles; this is just to prove who the King of the Jungle is, the Beast or the Animal.

Global Hero vs Global Wrestler

Joe Hendry vs Doug Williams

Doug Williams returns after last years loss to Claymore, 12 months ago he was Ted Dibiase's hired gun but this year he is on his own against mmmmm Joe Hendry…Global Hero. Joe Hendry is collecting titles everywhere at the moment and one big win against a former TNA X-Division, Tag Team and Television Champion will propel him back into the SWE Heavyweight Title picture. It won't be easy as Doug Williams is a well travelled veteran who has faced, and beaten, the best.

The Trident Try to Take Down the Foundations

Scott Renwick, Darren Bliers, MBK & Steven "Air" Myles vs Claymore, Mr News, LJT & ???

The Trident and Scott Renwick have been running riot over SWE, taking out anyone and everyone that has got in their way. Kevin Williams was due to be on the SWE Originals team but parted company with SWE at the end of July. Will a forth member be announced at Hellbound or will we have to wait for Hell for Lycra to find out the last member? The Trident team have youth and power on their side but you can never count out the wiliness that comes from experience.

The Evil Scotsman Will Fight The Goblin of The Skies

Bravehart vs Euan G Mackie

This has been a personal feud stemming from Euan G Mackie no showing a main event back in January at Season’s Beatings. Bravehart has made it his personal mission to rid, not only SWE but, all wrestling of The Very Good one. Bravehart himself has said he isn't 100% after taking a break from the ring after numerous injuries, including a concussion, but will relish the chance to beat Mackie once and for all. This won't be a wrestling match, this will be a fight.

World of Sport Legends Collide

Johnny Saint & Felix Fortune vs No.1 Marty Jones & The Jackal

Two World of Sport Legends will be in the ring on August 30^th. This will be a tough one to call as Felix Fortune has just started his career with SWE and The Jackal is as hungry as ever to make a name for himself. It’ll also be interesting to see Saint and Jones work with younger opponents.

Career vs Career - Cage Match

Chaz Phoenix vs Steven Magners

 

Now, if you want to talk personal. Steven Magners left SWE while SWE Tag Team Champion and member of The Syndicate with his tag team partner being, Chaz Phoenix. Magners didn't like the way that Chaz was siding with Authority, and namely, Bravehart. When Mr News needed a partner to defeat The Syndicate and win his job back, there was one man that had his own personal vendetta against them and Chaz Phoenix. After Magners and News won, and with the implosion of The Syndicate, Chaz became more vicious than ever and took out all his frustration on Magners. Magners was only too happy to get a little crazy. From kendo sticks, steel chairs, hammers, plastic bags, tables, steel guard rails and even going through the entrance way at Uprising. These guys have been trying to kill each other. At Hell for Lycra XI, it's career vs career. Those were the cliff notes. Here is a video to illustrate the upcoming match.

SWE Heavyweight Championship Match

Scumbag vs Stallyon

#Scumbag Ian Ambrose vs Martyn Stallyon

Ian Ambrose enters his 7th month as SWE Champion and he'll be facing his long time rival Martyn Stallyon. At last years Hell for Lycra Ian Ambrose lost to Rob Cage in the SWE European Championship finals, the year before he won the Tag Team Championships with Sam Ross, only to have that moment taken away from him due to a reversal by previous owner Ted Dibiase. Ambrose will be looking to pick up a win and hold onto his championship while Stallyon looks to put on another 5 star match and take home the big one. The former Future Division Champion will expect nothing less that to walk out with the gold. I think this will be match of the night judging by their previous matches with each other and both of them always kicking into another gear at Hell for Lycra. 

There are only a few physical tickets remaining over at www.sweonline.co.uk/shop

Also on the 29^th August at the Queen’s Hotel in Dundee, there will be a special Q&A with some of the Legends that will be at the event. It’s £10 to enter but tickets are limited, The Queen’s Hotel is literally across the road from the Bonar Hall. You’ll have a chance to meet Road Warrior Animal, Dennis Stamp, Marty Jones and Johnny Saint.

I, for one, have been looking forward to this all year. It's a night where anything can happen and the venue will be packed. If you haven't got a ticket, best hurry, as they won’t be around for much longer. It always promises to have moments that you won’t forget like last years Nursery Krymes Match or the cage match one year prior. If you want to get into the Hell for Lycra mood, last years event is here

All graphics by Desire Lines Graphic Design

All videos from www.youtube.com/sweonlinetv

Supermen: A Story of Britsh Wrestlers Documentary Review

I recently got offered the opportunity to get a sneak peek at a Supermen: A Story of British Wrestling, a documentary featuring interviews from a number of different British wrestling personalities. 

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Filmed over a year in 2012, it seems as if the documentary may have struck lucky with the talent available to it at this time and where they have gone onto. Firstly, there's Dave Finlay, who had been released by WWE in 2011 (after a house show incident, where he authorised The Miz to interrupt the US national anthem), and made only a handful of appearances on the UK independents (including Southside Wrestling Entertainment, one of the filming locations for the film) before being rehired by WWE in 2013. Then there's Doug Williams, who was working a more reduced schedule in TNA than years previous, meaning he was working the UK scene more often (including Brit-Wres Fest, another filming location) and on the opposite end of the scale, Rockstar Spud, who began filming TNA British Bootcamp in 2012 and has since gone on to become a major part of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV in the US and Challenge over this way. Veteran wrestler Robby Brookside has become a trainer for WWE's developmental league NXT, whilst Joel Redman has morphed into NXT's Oliver Grey winning the tag titles alongside Adrian Neville (the former PAC) as part of British Ambition. Alongside some other upcoming British names such as Robbie X and Jimmy Havoc, as well as more veterans in the form of Danny "Boy" Collins and Dave Taylor, this hours worth of footage feels star studded from the outset, and the big names draw the audience in, allowing some of the lesser known guys to really shine in this. 

The documentary kicks off with a series of personal tales about getting into the business, which produces some interesting incites, non more so than that of than former TNA British Bootcamp star Marty Scurll , who talks about how wrestlers replaced his father as male role models in his life. The passion that Scurll feels for the business emanates through the screen, and it's difficult to not want to see him succeed further in wrestling after hearing his words. Matt Jarrett and his mother Lorraine also become stars early, as they tell about Jarrett's troubles, the pair are an enjoyable double act who crop up intermittently throughout.

We transition nicely into talk of the old days of British Wrestling, and whilst Robby Brookside and Ray Robinson's talk of how breaking into the business used to be, won't be particularly surprising to any seasoned wrestling fans, Rockstar Spud's talk about missing those veterans in the locker room, to learn from, is the real point of interest for me here. Brookside's talk about worrying that the British style is being superseded by that of America and Japan is an interesting one, especially with Brookside now working as a trainer for WWE.The crisp editing pays of as Dave Taylor and Jimmy Havoc chat about their diverging styles presented almost as a conversation between the two parties, cutting between each man at the relevant point to allow the other to retort. Whilst it isn't particularly new ground, at times, I began to wish that you could see this conversation for a real, as almost a wrestling version of Question Time.  Promoters Ashcon and Abbas Rezazadeh's talk about the old British style being dead has more than just a hint of hyperbole about it, but there is certainly a following for their deathmatch style of wrestling, even if it's not something that I'm particularly fond of myself. (And yes guys, I'd much rather see a World of Sport legend than Matt Morgan)

A trip to Wickes with Ashcon and SOME GUY sheds more light on the deathmatch, as they pick up all they need from the hardware store, including a tub of barbed wire, who knew?! Whilst this is mildly entertaining, it's the look at Havoc's match with Mike Mason that stands out as a highlight. Following the pair around as they recover and then give their thoughts on the match is reminiscent of the scenes following Randy The Ram's deathmatch in The Wrestler. A really intriguing look into that type of wrestling and the damage it can do to the bodies of the performers who chose to go down that route. 

The theme of injures develops with a number of interviewees chiming in on this one, including Jamie Hadley's casual mention of having a pain killer addiction. It's at this point that as fan you remember that what you see in the ring has an effect on the performers long after they get behind the curtain. This often get's forgotten in discussions amongst fans, so it's definitely a good thing to see it presented in that way here.

As he has been on TNA television over the past few months, Rockstar Spud continues to shine here. He comes across as a humble guy, contrasting with the character we see on Impact Wrestling, as he talks about not knowing anything until he has worked for WWE (I wonder if he still holds this viewpoint?) and regretting not spending more time with Robby Brookside. We hear from one of Brookside's students, Jimmy Meadows, as well as seeing some fascinating footage from Brookside's training school in Leicester.

It's then the turn of veterans Fit Finlay and Doug Williams to get the focus, as Finlay talks about dealing with the stardom that being on television for WCW and then WWE afforded him, alongside a great tale from Brookside of how Finlay kept his hardman image in Germany. We hear from both Williams and his wife Claire, as they tell us how wrestling has effected their relationship, with a number of wrestlers chiming in with their own experiences, as Williams mentions never being in WWE, and began to imagine how that would have effected their relationship further.

We close up with the cliché question "What does wrestling mean to you?" which is a mixed bag of ending for me. Whilst many talk about wrestling being their life, Alex Shane decides to talk about wrestling as a metaphor for life. It seems like he's trying too hard to say something clever, at times trying to convince himself that what he's saying is actually making sense. The two stars of the documentary for me, Robby Brookside and Rockstar Spud round things out nicely, with feel good answers, in fitting end to the documentary. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary, it was complete joy to sit an watch for an hour, as you can probably tell from reading the above. I would've have liked to have seen certain stories explored deeper, and more footage looking at the lives of wrestlers interspersed between the talking heads would have been fantastic. Personally, I think the documentary had scope to go at least half an hour longer than the version I saw, if not another hour, but whether someone else would sit and watch for that long is a different kettle of fish. 

Below is some information about how the film will be made available (taken from the press release). I reccomend that you at least go and watch the film on it's Saturday 5th April (the day before Wrestlemania XXX) and if you don't think it's worth at least a FIVER to get your own copy on DVD then we might have to have some words.


The film will be available for FREE on www.supermenfilm.co.uk and hosted on YouTube. Viewers will be able to ‘tip’ money via PayPal ­ which will help go to covering the costs of production. Donating £5 offers the viewer a physical copy of the standard edition DVD to be released in May. Donating £10 offers the viewer a physical copy of the Collector’s Edition DVD also to be released in May. Adding £2.50 to any of those offers will upgrade them to Blu­Ray HD versions. 

The standard edition DVD/BluRay will feature a standard copy of the film.The Collector’s Edition DVD/BluRay is a double­disc pack that comes with the standard copy of
the film, and a bonus second disc with additional full interviews of Rockstar Spud and Dave
Finlay, and additional match material. There is potential for these extras to change, depending on viewer feedback.

Five Questions With...Jason Daniels

Welcome to the first of what will hopefully become a new series of interviews, entitled Five Questions With... The concept is that each week we will feature a five question interview with a Professional Wrestling star from the United Kingdom and across the World.

The week it's the turn of British Wrestling star Jason Daniels.

Question 1: 

 When did you first get into Professional Wrestling and what drew you to the sport?

 

Jason Daniels:

 I first began training at the age of 15 in August 2007, with a company called wZw in Newcastle. I had always dreamed about becoming a Pro Wrestler ever since being a kid at school. My dad had been a Professional Footballer, playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers and in a cup final at Wembley. But my love had always been for Wrestling. While the teachers at school tried to make me practice and play football with the rest of the team at break times,I would always sneak off to play wrestling. We would make up storylines and pretend to be WWF characters. 

      Eventually though, I lost my love for wrestling and began to focus only on football. However, when I was about 12-13 years old, that passion came back. I got a group of my friends together and we began 'backyarding'. We did this right up until I began training. I had no idea that you could train to be a wrestler in the UK, so when I found out about wZw, I was over the moon. I turned up to my first session and immediately realised that everything I had been doing in the 'backyard' had been totally wrong, and that pro wrestling was going to be harder than I had ever imagined. 

      I kept my head down, turned up every week and trained with my heart and soul. Sadly though, the company was going through a bad patch and had to relocate to a different venue. A few months later, it closed down completely - so I was left with nowhere to train. It's a shame, because in my opinion, wZw were one of the best promotions in the country. They did everything the way it should be done. Everything about it was professional and I learned my most valuable lessons there. 

       So from June 2008 until January 2010, I did nothing in wrestling. It was then when I found CRW, who had a permanent ring setup and their own training facility. They weren't the best in terms of professionalism, as none of the group were professionals themselves. But it was somewhere where I could train regularly. I would go 2-3 times a week and eventually debuted on my first show in April 2010. Since then, I have been trained by some top names in British Wrestling and also, International stars such as Doug Williams and PAC (WWE NXT's Adrian Neville).

Question 2: What is your favourite match of all-time?

JD: Not sure that I have a favourite in particular. I'm just a fan of anything that has great build up and psychology. I have no time for the typical 'Indy' stuff, where nearly every match the guys hit a million moves and you see a thousand kick outs and false finishes. When used sparingly it works, but it's done FAR too often. A match that can provoke pure emotion with the simplest of moves is brilliant in my view. Stone Cold vs The Rock at WM17 is one of my favourites from when I was a kid.

Question 3: Who is your favourite wrestler to work with in the ring?

JD: My favourite wrestler to be in the ring with is my best mate, known to some as 'The Suicide Youth' Caden. Although, like myself, he isn't that well known - he simply GETS wrestling. He came into wrestling exactly the same way I did, with wZw, even though we didn't meet until 2010. We know each other so well outside of the ring, that whenever we face each other inside it, it all comes together like magic. We feed off each other and everything comes naturally. We hardly have to talk before we go out and wrestle. We are currently in the process of coming together and working as a tag team.

Question 4: If you could face or team with any wrestler, who would it be and why?

JD: I would love to face PAC (now known as Adrian Neville in WWE). Although I've wrestled alongside him on several shows and met him on numerous occasions, I've never had the chance, like my friend Caden did, to actually wrestle him in a match. In my opinion, athletically, he is the best in the world. Backstage, he is the most professional and down to earth lad I have met and is someone I look up to very much. Although I can't do 1/10th of the stuff he can do in the ring, I base a lot of my stuff - both in the ring and out - on what I have learnt from him.

Question 5: Where can the readers of Across the Pond Wrestling catch you action next?

JD: Like I mentioned earlier, I am currently in the midst of forming a tag team with my friend Caden. We're hoping to debut as a team within the next couple of months, so all I'll say is - watch out for The Runaways!

Across the Pond Wrestling would like to thank Jason Daniels for taking time to be interviewed. You can follow him on Twitter at @JDanielsUK.

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