5 Star Wrestling Review // 1st March 2018

The heavy weather caused major problems for 5 Star Wrestling this week, as they ventured to Northern Ireland for the first time in their history. The snow resulted in a reduced two hour show on Freesports, with 45 minutes worth of matches aired on various streaming services beforehand. This week's show saw Zack Gibson introduced the Real Wrestling Championship to the promotion on an edition of "Flash" Morgan Webster's The Modcast, before having to immediately defend the title against "The English Lion" Eddie Ryan, whilst Alberto El Patron made his debut in the promotion with a match against Jody Fleisch. But how did it all go down in Belfast? Lets take a look! 

Commentary - Greg Lambert & Joe Hendry 

Ring Announcer - Steve Lynskey 

Zack Gibson introduced the Real Wrestling Championship on The Modcast

The Modcast saw itself thrust into a main storyline this week, as Zack Gibson appeared and unveiled the Real Wrestling Championship. This segment went over similar ground as previous week's with Gibson going over his anti-American import stance. Honestly, I think Gibson is one of, if not the best, promo guys in the UK, but his story needs to evolve past the now pretty generic import disliker and onto something more specific, as I found myself tuning out a few times during this because it was very similar to what we've heard on the last four episodes. The same passion and delivery was there, but the content hasn't developed enough to hold my attention. Two highlights of Gibson's and Webster's interactions for me was Gibson referencing that Webster had had all of his set dropped and Flash's questioning about whether Gibson wanting British wrestling or himself on top, something which 5 Star should have been emphasising from the very beginning if they wanted him to remain a villain. The reveal of the title belt was underwhelming, with the belt being an exact copy of the one Jake Hager currently holds and I find the concept itself pretty cringey, with the idea being that only British wrestlers can compete for it, creating a weird underclass within the promotion. Eddie Ryan's interruption left the Janner way too exposed on the microphone as he has perhaps the least threatening voice in human history. Not exactly his fault, but it would perhaps be wise to find some to talk for him, if 5 Star plan on having Ryan involved in more promo segments. This all lead to a match between the pair being booked for the title, leaving the commentary team extremely confused about whether the Real Wrestling title was an officially sancionted belt and seemingly both taking on-air jabs at the ridiculousness of the situation. 

then...

5 Star Real Wrestling Championship // Eddie Ryan def. Zack Gibson (C) // Pinfall

Eddie Ryan became the second 5 Star Real Wrestling Champion in the titles first ever defence as he went over Zack Gibson with the George Cross. Looking past the numerous dumb booking decisions, Ryan vs. Gibson came out as a good match with the two most-pushed Brits in the promotion working together nicely throughout, putting on a well-paced match that built well to its conclusion. The base was some solid technical wrestling, with a good power vs. skill dynamic, as Gibson focused on Ryan's arm to set up for the Shankly Gates. Liverpool's Number 1 is one of the best at keep working a body part interesting, whilst Ryan has solid big man babyface selling, so this simplistic open worked rather well for the two. The pairs finishers were introduced with the best sequence of the match as they both escaped their opponent best move and then went back and forth with well-hit strikes into a superkick from Ryan. Past that moment I think the match lagged a little, although some nasty head kicks with wrist-control from Gibson looked tasty. All round a completely solid and enjoyable main event, that showed the Brits are more than capable of headlining an event when called upon. Despite all the time being put into Gibson, he's still to win a match in 5 Star and that's one of the major problems with the story, because if we don't see him win at all, not even cheap wins, then why are we supposed to stick around to watch him cut promos or buy into him as threat when put in the ring with top talent? 

After the match - Charlie Sterling and Adam Maxted hit the ring, putting boots to Eddie Ryan, before Bram was seen in the audience and Sterling & Maxted turned on Zack Gibson, with Bram getting in the ring and flipping off the children in the audience to close the show. More baffling booking from 5 Star, who are seemingly unable to learn from their mistakes. Why should I give a fuck about Sterling & Maxted turning on Gibson when they've only been affiliated for two weeks?

Alberto El Patron called out Jody Fleisch

Oh fuck, this segment was bad. I feel like that should be the start of a review of any 5 Star talking segment, because 9/10 out of ten (if they don't involve Zack Gibson) they've been poor to piss-poor. This was piss-poor. Alberto El Patron (who was subbing for Rey Mysterio and seemingly every other import as well) comes across as extremely passive aggressive on the microphone, takes unnecessary shots at WWE, which make no sense in front of family audience, most of which wouldn't have been there had former WWE guys been on the card. Surprisingly, that wasn't the main problem. The main problem was that there was so much time-filling and repetition that it got silly by the end. Alberto's rambling promo about Belfast kicked the ball rolling, but when he called out Jody Fleisch it somehow got worse. I don't think this was Fleisch's issue as he seemed mostly to following El Patron's lead. Bertie said the same thing about the crowd and asked if they wanted to see him vs. Fleisch about fifteen times, whilst also saying Belfast more times than anyone in history has said Belfast. It might not have been awful in the arena, but as a viewer at home this was excruciating. 

Alberto El Patron def. Jody Fleisch // Pinfall 

A diving double foot stomp with Jody Fleisch in the tree of woe position was enough to give Alberto El Patron a debut victory, at the end of a match that surpassed my expectations. Whilst like things like Fleisch getting booed by the Belfast crowd and El Patron doing the "Si Si" stuff despite working as the villain were minor annoyances, everything in this bout past El Patron throwing a tiny bit of beer over Fleisch was really rather good. The crowd brawling gave the bout some real energy as the action spilled out over the barricade, highlighted by Fleisch hitting a gorgeous moonsault off a separating wall. Two big spots on the floor, as Alberto hit a DDT on the ramp and a snap suplex on the floor, lifted the match from what could have felt quite throwaway into a genuinely interesting scrap, that held the audience's attention well. The best wrestling action came from a high intensity comeback sequence from the Phoenix, including a lovely jumping frankensteiner and a series of kicks and flips, whilst Fleisch also managed to evade the crossarmbreaker on a number of opportunities. Fleisch has been low-key one of the best things about 5 Star since it began on Freesports, so it was great to see him make the most of the opportunity that the weather and no-shows provided, hopefully he'll be rewards in the coming week's with more matches like this, whether in singles or with regular tag partner, El Ligero. 

After the match - Alberto El Patron got on the mic and showed respect to Jody Fleisch, whilst also taking a weird dig at WWE, by calling 5 Star a "real" wrestling company. Cringe. 

5 Star Tag Team Championship // Adam "Flex" Maxted & Charlie Sterling (C) def. Bonesaw & Damien Corvin // Pinfall 

I had high hopes for this one, as I'd enjoyed my limited exposure to Kings of the North and have heard rave reviews of their work in OTT in Ireland, whilst Max Money have proved to be one of the highlights for the promotion over the last few weeks. Therefore, I came out extremely disappointed with what was a rather dull and uninspired contest. A lot of this match felt like it was playing for time, which was the major theme of the show, as we saw very little of note across around 15 minutes. Sterling & Maxted controlled Bonesaw for a bit, then tried to leave, then continued to control, then there was a hot tag to Damien Corvin, which was cut off almost immediately, then Max Money controlled some more, then something happened and then the match was over with the referee seeming to count the pinfall for what looked like a false finish. That was basically it. Sterling & Maxted's heely cheating and distraction antics are all well and good, but I wasn't given nearly enough of the Kings of the North early on to help me stay interested through the rest of the bout, whilst there was also a weird lack of hope spots or fightback from either Bonesaw or Corvin. I'm not sure what happened here, especially when it came to the botched finish (which already looked awkward as fuck anyway) but it resulted in one of the dullest matches in recent memory. I hope both teams aren't judged by anyone on this effort, because all four are better than what they showed here. 

"Flash" Morgan Webster issued an open challenge, Big Grizzly answered 

The most high-profile match from the pre-show was presented as an open challenge from "Flash" Morgan Webster as he looked to get his first win in 5 Star. The segment, like most 5 Star segments, went on for much longer than was necessary (seriously, issue the challenge, someone comes out and then the match happens, everything else here wasn't needed), but both Webster and Grizzly looked comfortable and performed well in front of the audience. Grizzly, in particular, is a fun watch, for the simple fact that he has a thick Welsh accent and whilst the two arguing over who was more of a loser was a little lame, as the set-up for a match, two men who have yet to register a win facing off is not half bad.  

Big Grizzly def. "Flash" Morgan Webster // Pinfall

The match that followed as okay, but had a few moments that if they had paid off would have elevated the match to the next level. Stuff like Webster using the ringpost to fly into a rana that sent Grizzly into the barricade, which was a good idea on paper, but in practice ended up looking a bit scrappy and took me out of the match a bit. The story was sound stuff, using the power vs. speed dynamic, with Webster dodging and using Grizzly's momentum, with Flash getting the majority of the offence in, including a diving crossbody, front flip senton, tope conhilo and diving senton, all lovely. Grizzly got his first win in 5 Star with a Uranage slam to bring a solid match, that could've been tighter in places, to a close. Webster's winless run has been done before in PROGRESS to good effect and it seems that 5 Star are attempting to replicate that, whether it will eventually get over with the different audiences the company performs in front, I'm not totally convinced yet.

Brian Corr def. Dunkan Disorderly // Pinfall 

The best match from the pre-show came in the form of two debutants going head to head, as PWU's Brian Corr and OTT's Dunkan Disorderly put on a simplistic, but technically sound outing. The heel/face dynamic was clear, with Disorderly stalling a lot at the beginning, whilst Corr worked nicely from underneath. The crowd having being asked to move to the camera side before the match began meant they perhaps didn't get the reaction they deserved from the SSE Arena, but the two managed to build a nice little match that came to a head with a good solid back and forth chop sequence. Chuck in a nice rana and a beautiful match-winning moonsault from Corr and you've got a pleasing opening match, that whilst it didn't set the world on fire did exactly what it needed to do and did it well. 

HT Drake def. Matty Mayhem // Pinfall

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear. Let's begin with the positives here. There was a nice technical start with Drake and Mayhem trading wristlocks and Drake's diving corkscrew senton that got the win was quite pretty. That's the end of the positives. This match fell so flat with the crowd, that even when the pair were at least trying to be creative, using the barricade on the outside, neither spot got a reaction and to be honest, a pop wouldn't have done much to stop either spot looking a bit of a mess. Actually, that's a good description for the match as a whole, as there was a number of moments that were a bit of a mess. The highlight was Joe Hendry audibly cringing on commentary as Mayhem took a horrible bump of what I can only describe as a thing, but there was also a bizarre walking/stomping version of a Headlock Driver and Drake catching Mayhem from a crossbody, only to hold him for a bit and then put him down to a verticle suplex. Perhaps the blood coming from Drake's ear effected the bout and the referee should've done much more to check on his well-being, but the bout playing out to complete indifference from the crowd and the sloppy action made for an uncomfortable watch at home.

Curtis Murray def. Russell Dempsey // Pinfall

Despite a slip by Curtis Murray early doors, this match developed into another solid outing, with some nice ideas spread throughout. The springboard flippy cutter situation that got the win for Murray was lovely stuff, whilst the two did well to stick to the basics and not get too ahead of themselves in the rest of the match, with the larger Russell Dempsey controlling most of the contest. This was my first exposure to either talent and it was clear to see that both have potential, but still have some way to go, with the match often having an unpolished feel to it, at times feeling disjointed. At times I was frustrated by Murray's bumping, which was a little over-exaggerated, not quite that gif. of Batista against Mark Henry, but certainly reminiscent of it.   

Also This Week 

- The Masters of Cool and Pure Dead Brilliant (minus Lou King Sharp) filled for time, with a few funny moments before Carlito & Chris Masters dispatched off Kid Fite and Krieger with the Master Lock and Backstabber respectively. 

- Joey Axl made BT Gunn tap out to Ayers Rock Lock, after Gunn had come out to confront the big Australian. 

ATPW Scale Rating // 3.10 out of 10 

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale 

5 Star Wrestling [Live] Review // 15th February 2018

On 16th February 2018, 5 Star Wrestling came to us live from the Fly DSA Arena in Sheffield, England. Our main event for the evening saw a Teddy Long Special occur as the previously announced match of Rampage Brown against Rey Mysterio became a tag match with the additions of Zach Gibson & Rob Van Dam respectively. With action also featuring 5Star Tag Champions Max Money taking on the UK Hooligans, 5Star Champion Jake Hager taking on Ryan Hunter as well as Colt Cabana, Flash Morgan Webster and many more. It' not exactly controversial to state that 5Star have picked up a bit of reputation in the BritWres community, not necessarily a good one, but could they counter that and put on a show good enough to silence the doubters?

'Tango' Timm Wylie def. Ricky Knight Jr. // Pinfall

This was a reasonably standard face v heel, junior v heavyweight encounter but with some nice touches with Wylie using the tech fuck-ups that plagued the show right from the start to generate some heel heat, in fact considering the crowd was half not in the room and the other half were reasonably unresponsive, it must be said Wylie and Knight Jr. did a good job of actually getting people into the match. Extra points for Wyle using the Brian Danielson 'I have till five' shouts. Wylie would eventually get a pin with a Twisting Suplex Slam.

Matty Mayhem def. HT Drake and Anthony Young // Pinfall

Not much to comment on here really as this was 9 minutes of crowd-popping spot work, though I must commend them for actually never breaking down into the rotating singles match structure and keeping all three men in the ring practically for the entire match duration. Drake played the bigger lad in this throwing suplexes like no one's business, Young pulled off the night's second Danielson tribute by hitting Yes Kicks on both men, Mayhem hit a GTS, indie-galore. The finish came when Mayhem got a surprise reversal into a Paul Smackage on Drake. Nice stuff, did the job, got the crowd's energy up a bit.

So we opened on a shite promo from Jake Hager which left the crowd going '...k' only for it to be interrupted by a very good promo from Zach Gibson who railed on Hager for being dull and said he's the reason people are switching over to Takeshi's Castle. It was at this point the crowd started to wonder, 'do we like Gibson now? He's right and Hager's the bad guy. But Gibson's also the bad guy...what?' After Gibson left, Hager said he would defend his title, not against Gibson but against one of the UK's best talents. What do you bet this sets up the 'Hager beats up a jobber' story?

Joey Axl def. El Ligero // Submission

We come to part three of the evening's Danielson tribute as Ligero and Axl reinterpreted the classic 'you can't pin a ball' spot from when Daniel Bryan fought Tyson Kidd on Saturday Morning Slam. Beyond that glorious moment, this was a solid match with Ligero giving Axl his best match so far of the 5Star tour. The problem this match had was that it had to follow a laboured Hager promo (more on that later) and an ad-break so any excitement the crowd might have had from the dark matches had been lost by this point so it had to build it back up again. The finish came as Axl tapped out Ligero with the Ayers Rock Lock stretch muffler. Decent enough stuff.

Gibson would pop up again, attacking Rey Mysterio before his match with Rampage Brown, opening the door for Rob Van Dam to make the save, setting for our main event: Gibson & Brown vs Mysterio & Van Dam.

Eddie Ryan def. 'The Wrestling Vegan' Marcus Burke // Pinfall 

First off, Burke walking around the crowd shouting 'I am a vegan! Nooo meat!' was perfect character work, I got where he was coming from and Marcus, if you're ever back in Sheffield, hit me up, we can get some Avocado Wings from Make No Bones. The match itself was a little light on action as there seemed to be a lack of connection between both men thought Ryan, positioned as the top UK babyface of the roster was beloved of the younger fans in the audience. Worth mentioning: this match broke the Danielson tributes with instead Ryan entering with his lion mask and cape combo and Burke hitting a Tiger Driver for a good near fall suggesting a move to Tiger Mask tributes. Ryan eventually won with the Sitout Side Slam for the pin. During the match, Bram was at ringside in a baseball cap and what looked like one of those ponchos they give you at Splash Canyon at Drayton Manor.

Colt Cabana & Grado def. Carlito & Chris Masters // Pinfall

There was another edition of Morgan Webster's Modcast but before it could begin properly, the Masters of Cool interrupted, complaining that they wanted to make it an episode of Carlito's Cabana. Talking of cabanas, actual guest Colt Cabana turned up and was attacked by the Masters but Grado made the save. It wasn't entirely clear to the audience that this was a heel turn as the announcer came out during the ad-break to make sure we knew to boo Masters and Carlito and cheer Cabana and Grado. Luckily once the match began, the team known to many as Irn Jew made sure there was no doubt who to cheer for as they delivered an incredibly fun match, putting on not just the best match of the night but probably my favourite pure piece of entertainment from this entire tour thus far. They worked a simple tag structure but they peppered it with a lot of fun details and most importantly didn't outwear their welcome. It's harder to describe comedy focussed matches than pure wrestling as it's akin to explaining the joke but suffice to say, you won't see a more joyous moment this week than Grado trying to put the Master Lock on Chris Masters. The finish came as Carlito when to spit apple at Grado but he dodged, the apple hit Masters, Cabana pulled Carlito out of the ring opening up Masters for an R-Grado out of naewaer for the pin. Not exactly complicated but just good, clean fun plus Colt and Grado turning up were a genuine surprise and an extremely pleasant one at that.

5 Star Championship // Jake Hager (c) def. Ryan Hunter // Submission

Hager came out first to introduce his opponent, AOW regular Ryan Hunter. This was the standard 'heel champion beats up a jobber but occasionally the jobber does something close to a move which pisses off the champion so he drags out the match to beat the piss out of his opponent' match with Hunter being massively over in a way that you almost felt they could have put the title on him that night and the crowd might not have complained. It went on far too long, all things considered as the crowd weren't into it at all. Hager hit the Ankle Lock for an easy tapout.

Joe Hendry def. Big Grizzly // Pinfall

This match happened because Dave Mastiff and Big Grizzly called out Joe Hendry for hiding behind the commentary desk, so, of course, Mastiff took over on commentary because nothing says 'I'm calling you out' like then not wrestling and instead taking his job. A quick match with Grizzly playing the big man heel and Hendry working underneath till he got a good comeback and shocked the crowd by getting a pin off a Fallaway Slam. Hendry, Grizzly and Mastiff have enough charisma to make this work but this didn't really feel like it achieved much, especially if Hendry is going to stay behind the commentary desk for the foreseeable future.

PJ Black def. Flash Morgan Webster // Pinfall

This was probably the evening's best singles action as the former 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion took on the current ATTACK! Champion is a fast paced bout full of the signature high-flying action that both men are known for. The main things that hurt this match were a lack of time but also that the short snippets of commentary they played in the arena suggested that this was meant to be building the story of plucky underdog Webster seeking his first win in 5 Star yet they put him against Black who was just as over, especially amongst one very vocal group of children. It's not that Webster wasn't able to build sympathy nor Black incapable of working a good subtle heelish performance, more that especially in the arena, a lack of crowd support for the chosen hero hurts the storytelling. Perhaps they could have come out before all the matches and told us who to cheer for, it would have made things easier. Black got the pinfall victory off a Lionsault.

5 Star Tag Team Championship // Charlie Sterling & Adam Maxted (C) def. Roy Knight & Zak Knight // Pinfall

If there's one thing that I hope comes from this 5Star tour, it's more bookings for Charlie Sterling and Adam Maxted as they work well together, really showing a lot of tag team fundamentals and heel characteristics that a lot of people forget. It probably helps that the Hooligans were probably the most over thing on this entire show, well, if judging by the row or two behind me who all were constantly doing the 'hoo-hoo-hooligans' chant and as that was directly in my ear, I can't tell about anything else. They worked a good, solid tag match, making the crowd believe that there was a chance that Norwich's finest might take home the belts and making them all the more upset that they lost their chance due to a surprise roll-up. I did feel oddly sorry for Maxted early on as the Knights seemed to be throwing some particularly stiff-looking shots his way but I guess that is their style. Not much to add but still impressive that this far into the show they were still getting responses as fatigue had set in for this writer somewhere around Jake Hager's title match. Before the match, Pure Dead Brilliant (Kid Fite, Lou King Sharp & Krieger) would invade the ring and talk about once again being deprived of a match and issued a challenge for a tag match before the Hooligans scared them off. The lack of booking for these lads is a really bizarre storyline as they were some of the talents brought to the Press Conference announcing the roster, quite similar to their limiting of Jack Jester to pre-show or not at all this week. In kayfabe, why do it?

Rey Mysterio & Rob Van Dam vs. Zack Gibson & Rampage Brown // No Contest

By this point, it became quite difficult to actually see what was going on from floor level as a hoard of replica mask-wearing children had surrounded the ring, leaning over the barricade to see two true legends of the sport. They also seemed interested in their opponents, some pair of former WWF guys I think. The match worked an odd structure as they seemed to let Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam make their opponents look like fools for the longest time before they were able to cut off the faces, twice, because both men wanted to have their hot tag sequence. What worked very well about this match was the psychology behind the heels approach as they could see the crowd were waiting for Rey and RVD to hit their finishers so they knew to wait for them to try and use that to cut them off, making the crowd wait and hate them more each time they delayed their gratification. The faces did work hard to make their opponents look good, Rey, even if he's not quite as quick as he used to be, still is a damn sight better than most and it was a treat to get to see him. Rampage is a sure hand and a great, vicious performer though it really can't be said enough, Gibson is the best thing about 5Star, with every little action he does being used to push forward his agenda, especially with little details like pointing out to the referee about his opponent's breaking rules before using it as a distraction to break some of his own. The finish was a fascinating clusterfuck as after Rampage had taken a 619 and a Five Star Frog Splash, Gibson would pull the ref out of the ring and knock him out before Max Money came in to beat down Rey and RVD but Irn Jew would come in to even the odds, this would lead to a No Contest in theory but it wasn't entirely clear as after they'd sent the heels packing, the faces just raised each others hands and left, no actual bell, no referee response, just a 'let's hear it for Rey and RVD, ok bye everyone'. This did however feature the best moment of the show as after clearing out the heels, RVD seemingly got a bit confused and superkicked Grado out of the ring before trying to go for him while Cabana did the 'Chris Pratt calms the velociraptors' pose. Hilarious stuff. This wasn't necessarily a bad finish to a match but certainly, not exactly the most exciting high-point upon which to end an episode. But if it leads to Cabana and Grado challenging for the tag titles, I'm all-in.

Also this Week

There were some on-screen promos from Hager where Ryan turned up and challenged him for the title in Plymouth next week, that mysterious masked man who screamed about wrestling next week, Nathan Cruz spoke about how he wasn't wrestling but was there anyway to pick up a cheque because he bought an expensive watch with his cheque from last week and something from RVD, Rey and Irn Jew where the sound cut out so who knows what was said? Something about Twixes, probably.

Finally...

As a product, 5Star still has a long way to go with a lot of the book representing the same errors that overly sacrificial WWE booking has suffered from. As an arena spectacle, it is plagued with technical issues and feels empty in the arena spaces as you can hear the sound travel to the back of the room and get lost there. As a spectacle of wrestling, it has enough talent in its roster to put on a good show with obvious standouts like Gibson, Ligero & Webster really showing their talents in a larger arena setting and even certain talents like Carlito and Chris Masters surprisingly really showing up this week. As a wrestling show clearly for a family audience, it's harder to say it's a complete failure. It doesn't quite translate to the television perhaps as well as might be hoped but there was a sense of palpable excitement amongst the kids who crowded around the barrier to watch their favourites like Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam and interestingly enough, Eddie Ryan. Perhaps this really isn't designed to be a product for us, the overly informed snarkastic fans of the internet, maybe it's purely for the kids who either don't know or are willing to overlook the lack of reality. I don't know, it's hard to hate something that's so clearly trying to push beyond what it's capable of in the present yet at the same time, there's a certain air of content 'that'll do' to the overall presentation that equally it's very difficult to love. Also, where was Haskins?

Written By Jozef Raczka // @NotJoeRaczka

Live Review: RHP Numero Uno: Beers, Beats & Brainbusters (Marc Pearson)

Going to a new promotion can be a daunting experience. I’ve been to shows where there was myself and ten other people, on nights like that you feel embarrassed making any noise and feel sorry for the wrestlers who have to perform to an essentially empty room. On the other side of the spectrum I’ve been to shows where there was a hundred crammed in and everything was great. On the 10th of June I headed to the city of Gloucester (a city I’ve never been to by the way) to see how the new company of Riot House Promotions got on with their debut show entitled Beers, Beats and Brainbusters!

Before I go on let me just add something. I love seeing new talent, it’s something that I’ve made a mission of this year, to not just go to the same promotions that I’ve frequented the last 3 or 4 years (Futureshock, PCW and GPW to name but a few), so the draw of this show was that at least half the roster was made up with talent that I’ve never had the chance to see. 

On arrival I got a pleasant surprise, a quick head count resulted in roughly 100 people and a lovely looking venue. The show emanating from the Liquid Diva nightclub meant that there were no seats BUT that wasn’t an issue as everywhere I looked at had a decent view. The crowd was made up of a mixed bunch of rowdy fans, older folks (who I suspect were there to support their children/grandchildren) and they were vocal the whole night which made for a fun atmosphere. 

Speaking of fun (Segway!) the opening contest of the evening was pure fun as the team of The Magnums (Chris Walker & Dick Riley) defeated “Mr Massive” Chuck Cyrus and partner Robbie Roids. Having only seen Cyrus before I was looking forward to seeing what Roids and The Magnums could do. If the plan for the match was to entertain the crowd and get everyone warmed up then this was mission accomplished. Be it a mid-match drinking contest, Dick Riley being de-panted or Roids being exposed as wearing ladies’ underwear this never got boring and had a jaded old fan like me in stitches. 2 moments really stood out for me though. The first was Cyrus taking a line of pre-workout before getting the hot tag, I can’t believe I’ve never seen that spot before but man was it funny. The other was a bit mad but still entertaining as Chris Walker put a condom on his hand, liberally applied some lubricant then proceeded to administer what can only be described as an Anal Claw to Cyrus, who tapped out in quick time. Good stuff and the crowd loved it.

Match number 2 former NXT star Joel Redman beating Big Grizzly. I’ve only ever seen Redman play the white meat babyface, so to see him working heel was refreshing and I was seeing Grizzly for the first time. Redman made the match look effortless as he oozed charisma and confidence, playing up the crowd and looked great. Grizzly was super over with the fans and controlled the majority of the match which was a little odd, at times you almost expected Redman to make the big babyface comeback but then remembered he was a heel. He won with a sneaky rollup complete with heeley feet on the ropes much to the chagrin of the fans. They didn’t worry for long though as Grizzly hit Redman with a nice sit out chokeslam to gain a measure of revenge.

Match 3 saw Wild Boar defeat Charlie Garrett in a good match. I’ve only seen Boar work heel and only seen Garrett work face so seeing them in the other roles was again refreshing. Garrett brought a mop to the ring and much hilarity resulted as Boar pinched it and had a good long chat with it as Garrett was busy jaw jacking with the fans, who took great delight in telling him that he was a cunt! Back and forth with loads of nice looking strikes, suplexes and, of course, stalling from Garrett meant this one built to a frantic finish. A beautiful t bone suplex by Boar and a brainbuster from Garrett were the highlights and I for one was happy that we finally got said Brainbuster after the title of the show! Boar got the win with a lovely sit out powerbomb, he then snogged the mop to a big pop. 

Something quite amazing happened next. The ring announcer told us there would be a 5 minutes’ intermission, and, to everyone’s shock and amazement, it actually lasted 5 minutes!!! This followed the show starting bang on time made a very good impression on someone who is a stickler for time like me. 

The second half began with the massively popular tag team of The Fever (Christopher Queen & RyRy) beating The Heritage City Hitmen (Dave Eaton & Richard Diamond). 4 more men that I hadn’t see before so I was looking forward to this one, both teams have matching outfits so earn Brucie Bonus points! The Fever have a lot of fans and wear flashing glasses to the ring, which you can buy on the merch stand, that’s brilliant! This one was a much more cookie cutter tag match than the opener, with Queen playing your face in peril until he could get the hot tag to RyRy. A splash off the top rope by Queen getting the win. Nothing bad but nothing outstanding.

Match number 5 saw the Ginger Jesus Mike Bird losing to Matt Ridler. Like the previous match there isn’t really much to say about this one, nothing bad but nothing memorable. Having never seen Ridler before he looked good, cutting a decent heely promo before Bird made his way to the ring and cheating to win by distracting the ref, going low then hitting a spinning brainbuster for the win. Mike Bird shone here, looking like a star in a way that I’ve never really appreciated when I’ve seen him at promotions like Fight Club Pro.

As Bird left the ring the ring announcer said, “one bird leaves the ring, but don’t worry, 2 more are coming out” making reference to the upcoming woman’s match. I’d never have dreamed of saying a line like that in my time as a ring announcer! 

I’d tell you all about Toni Storm’s victory over Kat Von Kaige but I needed to nip to the loo as it started and in the time it took me to drain the snake the match was over, so it was short if nothing else. 

When you have men as talented as Pete Dunne, Chris Brookes and Tyler Bate in your main event you know it’s going to be a good match. I went into this one confident that because of the 2 heels (Brookes and Dunne) against one face that Tyler Bate would emerge victorious so was pretty stunned when Pete Dunne got the win. Annoyingly my phone’s battery had died so I couldn’t take any notes but everything was good and the crowd loved all 3 men. 

I had a really good time at this show, all the matches delivered in the ring, the crowd were decent, the show started and ended on time which is very very rare in British wrestling. I spend a lot of time in the area so I’ll certainly be at their next show

You can find out more about RHP on their Facebook Page, at this time there is no date announced for their second show. Photo Credits go to The Dude Abides Photography, who are also over on Facebook here. Get more Marc Pearson on Youtube, Twitter and Facebook.