Five Questions With... Pete Stevens

After last week's interview with Zach Gowen, as well as the special interview with Christoper Daniels, this week see's Brit-Wres referee Pete Stevens take centre stage. #FiveQuestionsWith...

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Name: Pete Stevens
Age: 27
Hometown: West Bromwich
Known For: Being a British professional wrestling referee.

1. When did you first get into wrestling and what was the drew you to the sport? 

I'll start my answer to this with the latter part of the question if I may. To define a specific thing, person or moment that drew me to the sport of pro wrestling is difficult as I have been a wrestling fan for as long as I can remember. Growing up in a hard industrial town right opposite a industrial estate my early years can
be hazy and unfulfilled. I do however always remember the moments I would see wrestling regardless of where I was or what we were doing. Two moments that stand out the most was when Bret Hart defended the WWF championship against Virgil and when Owen Hart brought out Yokozuna as his partner against the Smoking Gunns. Those two moments stick out for me as early memories.

As for my involvement, this takes me back 12 years when I was 15 years old. Myself and a friend at school Paul Phipps went to a local show round the corner from the high school we both went to. The show's main event was Jonny Storm & Jody Fleish. After the show we met with the promoter and we exchanged details then we attended training. For Paul that journey ended suddenly, but for me it was my life on and off for the past 12 years.

2. As a referee, how involved would you be in a match and how much would you know beforehand?

This is always a question which I have to take care in how I word my answer based around how proud I was of the work I did every time I stepped in the ring to officiate a bout. I've had various degrees of involvement over the years. Most of the time it depends on the need of the bout and the experience of the people in the ring. I've called matches where all I've been told was the finish to the contest and then that's it.

On the flip side of that I've been in the ring with the guys who were less than polished to say the least and they either haven't got the crowd on side for the match or they have lost their next spots and I have had to call an audible as it were and call a few spots to bring them back to life or in some situations finish the match for them spot for spot so it really depends from one match to the next.

The last statement is sometimes difficult for people to comprehend but what can be missed about refs is that we are just as knowledgeable in the workings of a match from point A to point B but we just don't bump.... unless called upon but we can get onto that later!

3. Who were your favourite people to work with in the business and was there anyone who wasn't so easy to work with?

Favourite people? I don't have many favourites in this business, wasn't you told? No, seriously I have far too many to mention. It was a pleasure to me to ref a good number of Sami Callihan's matches before I departed from FCP & he left to join WWE. On the same WWE route El Generico (Sami Zayn) was a sweetheart both times we worked together again before he left for the WWE.

On this side of the shore I must say Ryan Smile mostly, I'm biased, however as he is one of my best friends away from wrestling. Seeing Pete England develop from a 14 year old Rookie into a 18 year old international star has been a delight. Same with MK McKinnan. He was bouncing around AWW when I met him and he made me the only ref he wanted to call his matches!

Someone I discovered on my way out of a promotion who I wish I could of worked with more is Tyler Bate. That kid when the time is right take not just UK wrestling but the WORLD by storm. Everything I have predicted about that guy right back to the first time I saw him training way ahead of the pack in a small unit about 2 years ago has come to fruition. I'm so proud of him.

As for not being easy to work with I wouldn't like to say. People who know me and know from previous interviews I've done can name the names for me but this business is like everything else in life, you work
well with some people but not others. I didn't get along with one particular import who as mentioned before will remain nameless but my concussion was his fault not mine so does that count as not being easy to work with as I cant remember it to be honest?

4. What are your Top Three matches of all time and why?

This is easy. Number 1 is Terry Funk Vs Ric Flair I Quit Match at Clash of The Champions 1989. This match gave you everything, Drama, Intensity, Compassion, Concern, Outrage & anger from the pit of your stomach and at the heart of it a match well worked by two of the best physiologists this business ever created.

Number 2 is American Badass Undertaker Vs Triple H Wrestlemania 17. What more needs to be said? Equally as good as the second to matches recently at Wrestlemania but both guys were quicker, fitter & could both work hard without having to think about the next day.

I'll use this one for a modern match but I won't actually name one. I want to go on record here and use match 3 like a WWE 2K14 CAW slot. One slot for 3 attires. Match Three's slot is going to any one of William Regal's matches from NXT in 2013. Amazing. He has still got it!

5. If you could referee a dream match, what would it be?

My dream matches change every day. I always wanted to be a WWE official for Wrestlemania 30 but that's not happening. My Dream match would most likely be Triple H Vs "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair for The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship & Belt. I'd love to put Terry Funk in there but Triple H Vs Terry Funk isn't something I can say I have given much consideration too.

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We'd like to thank Pete for this interview and his time.

Next Time: Former TNA wrestlers The Blossom Twins! 

Five Questions With...OSWtv's Billy Strachan

Five Questions With... makes it's triumphant return with the first interview of 2014. As last year we'll be bringing you a great mixture of interviews with everyone from the world of wrestling. Kicking us of in 2014 is OSWtv's Billy Strachan! Enjoy!

Name: Billy Strachan
Age: 23
Hometown: Elgin, Moray, Scotland
Known For: Ask Billy and OSWtv on YouTube

1. When did you first get into wrestling and what was the drew you to the sport?

My friend was a wrestling fan and I went over to his house and The Undertaker vs Kane inferno match was on and I was hooked straight away. After a few nightmares of Kane and Undertaker coming to take my soul (I was 8/9 at the time) I watched more videos at his and then found WWF Heat on Channel 4 and every Sunday I'd sit down in my bedroom and watch Heat, then tape the events like Royal Rumble 2000 on Channel 4. When my folks got On Digital I got to watch Smackdown, Metal, WCW Worldwide and very occasionally RAW is WAR. I loved everything about it the shows, the action, the characters and the storylines.

2. Tell us a little about OSWtv and how that came about?

- OSWtv really started from my original YouTube show Ask Billy where I would answer questions from the Old School Wrestling community from bebo then Facebook (facebook.com/OSWChatV), A couple guys from the page had made a one off show talking about wrestling and I thought it was a great idea. After a 30 minute pilot talking about WWE, TNA and SWE I realised that no-one had a YouTube show specifically talking about Scottish wrestling. I'd been keeping up to date with Scottish wrestling and attending several events over that last year from SWE, Wrestlezone and W3L and just ran with it. The first proper show in June got over 200 views so convinced me that this was something people wanted to see. That in turn made me create the Facebook page (facebook.com/OSWtv) where I would share announcements, results, events, pages and articles about Scottish wrestling.

3. Who do you see as the next breakout star of Scottish Wrestling and is there anyone on the scene who could possibly take the next step to a international promotion? 

I could talk about who should be an international star from Scottish wrestling for hours. The scene is bursting with talent. Especially the women with the likes of Viper, Kay Lee Ray, Bete Noire and Nikki Storm tearing it up in all over the UK. In terms of the guys I'd love to see Jackie Polo on an international stage, he just has 'it' and he'll be going to Japan next year so they will be in for a treat. Breakout stars? I'd say Joe Hendry for sure, if you haven't seen IC Double Me and You on YouTube it is amazing, he oozes charisma. Martyn Stallyon will be a huge star as he's just a delight to watch in the ring. Also Sammii Jayne and Debbie Sharpe in SWE are better and better every time I see them perform.

4. What are your Top Three matches of all time and why?

This is the hardest question you've asked by far. 

Edge vs Mick Foley - WrestleMania 22
The match was violent and brought Edge to the big time. It was Mick Foley's WrestleMania moment also so it made it extra special. With the current PG environment it's almost guaranteed that we'll never see anything this brutal in WWE again.



Bete Noire vs "Crazy" Mary Dobson - ICW Luke...Who's Yer Da?
I do love matches that make me audibly shout OH MY GOD and this did just that. Hardcore, crazy and amazing risks that these two took. It's on YouTube so I would tell everyone to check this out and they would not be disappointed.



Shane McMahon vs Kurt Angle - King of the Ring 2001
For someone who had very little training, Shane McMahon was brilliant in the ring and putting him in there with a technical machine, the perfect wrestler in Kurt Angle this was always going to be great. Nothing about this match disappointed me.

5. Where can our readers find your work and what have you got coming up?

- I'm everywhere are the moment, YouTube at youtube.com/VoiceOfOSW, Twitter @VoiceOfOSW and Facebook at facebook.com/OSWtv. I'll also be popping up on Scottish Wrestling Central doing reviews for shows that I attend. Most exciting of all is I've been given the chance to help promote PBW Rock N Wrestle 2 at The Ironworks, Inverness on March 21st which will have Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Joe E Legend, Grado and Jack Jester on the show to name just a few stars and will have music preformed by Toby Michael's Rolling Damned so worth grabbing a ticket while you still can!

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We'd like to thank Billy for allowing us this interview, now go and check out OSWtv!

Next time: Attitude Era Review's Lewis Ogden.

Five Questions With...Marc Pearson

After last week's interview with SoCal Val, it's time to delve into the world of the wrestling Youtuber, as we speak to Marc Pearson.

Name: Marc Russell Pearson
Age: 31
Hometown: Congleton, Cheshire, England 
Known For: Being an average commentator and an awful wrestling reviewer 

1. When did you first get into wrestling and what was the drew you to the sport?

I've been told I used to watch World Of Sport while sat on my father's lap when I was very young  ( I was born in 82 so its plausible) but like most people in the UK I really got into wrestling when SKY got the rights to the WWF in the early 90's. Our group of friends had a mate who we didn't like too much but he had sky so once a month, usually on a Monday afternoon we would run to his house after school and watch the latest PPV. I was hooked good and hard, I had the trading cards, the blue plastic ring and the figures and still have some of those old ppv's on original vhs recordings. 

I was drawn in by the larger than life characters, by the excitement, the action and the drama of wrestling. As I grew older I began to appreciate the storytelling of wrestling and that made my appreciation of it increase tenfold. Outside a few blips (such as 1995, urgh what a terrible year!) I've been watching ever since

2. Tell us a little about your YouTube Channel  and how that came about?

Well, it pains me to say that I started on YouTube by uploading backyard wrestling videos. A few friends would get together and do backyard wrestling, but indoors!!! We thought we were the absolute greatest thing online and believe it or not we actually had quite a big following at one point. I watched a few wrestling q&a's at the time and a user called bigrob1991 (known today as Sarcastic Venom) said I should give it a try. He supplied me with a few questions and the rest is history. 

3. Where do you see British Wrestling heading in the next five years or so and why? 

If British Wrestling continues the way it has since I became aware of it, it can only get better and better. We're in a really privileged position at the moment as there are so many good promotions that put on great shows every month. My worry is that people see how good these promotions are doing and want a piece of the action. It would be very easy for the market to become over saturated. But at the moment there are so many good promotions out there and pretty much the whole of the UK is covered by a great promotion. So many WWE fans complain about the product and you can see people love of the business dying out but if they just went along to a britwres show I guarantee that love will come back tenfold, there is nothing like live wrestling. My passion for the business was almost gone when I discovered Futureshock in August 2011, these days it's never been higher and that's almost nothing to do with WWE!!!!

4. What are your Top Three matches of all time and why? 

Shingo Vs Yokosuka 3 from DragonGate's UK Invasion 3 in Nottingham in November 2011 is the single best match I've ever seen be it in person or on TV. A drag out knock down war which featured the best selling I've ever seen. Just an incredible match from an unreal night of action. 

The other 2 matches are very hard as they change all the time, so today one could be the Undertaker Vs Shawn Michaels while tomorrow it could Rock Vs Stone Cold.

5. Where can our readers find your work and what have you got coming up?

The best place to find me is on my YouTube channel which is http://www.youtube.com/themarcrpears0n. I upload the latest WWE PPV and Raw reviews combined with reviews of old shows in my 10 years ago series where I look at the PPV from the corresponding month 10 years ago, so for example in December we will be looking at WWE Armageddon 2003. I can be found on Twitter @marcrpearson101 

Futureshock 71 Review - Marc Pearson

Tiny little intro before I go on. I'm Marc P and I'm a massive British Wrestling Fan. Some of you may have seen my reviews of both British shows and WWE shows on YouTube. Futureshock is where my love began and they have a very special place in my heart. I'd missed their last show after being out of the country so it was a very long 3 months since I had last ventured to the guild hall in Stockport for my fix. Naturally the show I missed has been called one of the best in company history! Featuring the return to the ring of both Davey Richards and Jack Gallagher, something I was very gutted to miss! Anyway, onto tonight's show which featured the promise of a new Trophy Tournament winner. A fight between 2 brothers over the family name and a guaranteed one on one match for the Futureshock championship after the scheduled match at Futureshock 70 was turned into a fatal four way with the inclusion of the aforementioned Richards and Gallagher. 

Joe Vega defeated T Bone in a decent match to advance to the trophy tournament finals. Bone was actually my pick for the whole tournament as I fully expected Gibson to win the title in the main event and would love to see those 2 have a feud later down the line. After Bone had tossed Vega around like the proverbial rag doll Joe was able to roll up Bone for the win. A very frustrated Bone absolutely destroyed Vega's knee with a pink steel chair after the bout.

In the other semi final Xander Cooper defeated Don Meacho, the 2 stable mates teased fighting after both cutting promos on the Futureshock YouTube page, if I'd done a predictions video as I planned I would have said that I smell a rat. A stable this young would never have in fighting They did tease a few moves but a FINGER POKE OF DOOM got the win for Xander. See some may not like this but I loved it as we had a final where either man winning was good, If Vega overcame the injured leg it was all good and if Cooper defeated an injured opponent, he's a heel so he'll take it. All good 

Got to say that when The Nordic Warrior answered the Blackpool Blondes open challenge my heart sank as I could see his partner being someone like Sparx and it being an easy retain for the Blondes. Seeing Dave Rayne coming out to the closest I've seen to a babyface reaction was surreal to say the least after seeing him as Futureshock's main heel for the best part of 2 years! The match had shenanigans a plenty, Rayne wrestling in the tweener role complete with pulling the ref out to break a pin. I was truly GOBSMACKED when they hit a double team back cracker to get the win. Wouldn't have called that in a million years, I fully expected the Blondes to feud with the absent Project Ego over the tag belts in the new year so this was a big surprise. 

In one of the matches of the night Josh Bodom defeated brother Ryan in a superb contest with the Bodom family name on the line. I've watched a lot of PWG recently and this felt like a PWG match, very spotty match with not a lot of selling or storytelling but the big spots more than making up for it, seeing Ryan rock out a curbstomp made me smile a lot as did Josh's ridiculous chops that left Ryan's chest looking like chopped liver. An ace crusher off the top rope by Ryan was brilliant but a HUGE kick the head followed by a diving lariat got not only the win but the Bodom name as well! 

After the intermission Dan Evans (who is thankfully away from the Health & Safety gimmick he used to be involved with) teamed with Noah to defeat The Wristlock Rovers in an entertaining match. Noah's character work was very impressive here, singing twinkle twinkle little star as he wrestled, rising in intensity as he went along. Little touches like that will make the character go a long way. Wristlock Rovers are always entertaining, a double hiptoss over the ropes is referred to as a throw in and all the usual football references make me smile, DDL hitting a moonsault was new even if it took 2 attempts. Brass knux to the head of DDL by Evans  and I think it was a main event spinebuster by "Princess" Evans got the win.

While the Bodom brothers match was a great match because of its crazy spots. Xander Cooper defeating Joe Vega to win the trophy tournament was great because of some superb storytelling by both men. The story of this one wrote itself as Cooper worked the knee of Vega, Joe sold it like a 10 year veteran, constantly checking it. If he landed on it he grabbed the knee, when he walked he limped, it was all great stuff and the type of thing I wish more wrestlers would employ in their matches. Vega made heroic comebacks with the crowd fully behind him but Don Meacho came out and whacked Vega in the knee with the trophy then the self proclaimed man for all seasons put on what I can only really call a lovely Texas cloverleaf - figure four type thing to get the win. 

After not defending the Woman's championship since Futureshock 68 earlier this year current champion April Davids was stripped of the championship. Danielle Hunter came out and demanded that she be given the belt. But ring announcer Mark Adams informed her that Futureshock management had decreed that she will fight for the vacant championship at the next Futureshock Underground show against the monster Viper!!! That will be one hell of a contest! 

After a match like that it was going to take a really special effort for the main event of Cyanide defending the Futureshock Championship against Zach Gibson to top it, they tried their hardest but in this reviewers opinion they didn't quite do it. That's not to say it was a bad match, it just took a long time to get going. I'm not sure if Cyanide was full of a cold but he looked knackered after a few minutes of not exactly fast paced action. The match picked up when Zach hit a suicide dive onto Cyanide on the outside and he went crashing through the entrance set in an stunning and honestly quite scary moment and the sound guys could have been crushed by falling bits of set. Thankfully they were ok and the match continued with Cyanide's manager Chris Egan going to use powder on Gibson, but Gibson's number 2 for the evening - one Jack Gallagher - stopped his arm mid swing. Jack turned the arm so that the powder was flung into his own charges face. A blinded Cyanide then hit a massive chokebomb on his manager and even covered him thinking it was Gibson. The match then continued at a frantic pace with everyman giving it their all and the volume of the fans going up and up at every near fall until Zach was finally able to hit a Liver Driver (modified brainbuster) for the win and his second Futureshock Championship, becoming the first man in the company's long history to hold the belt 2 times!

I'm biased but there's no such thing as a bad Futureshock show. This was a really good night with some truly stunning in ring action. I can't praise Bodom Vs Bodom and Cooper Vs Vega enough, 2 matches that were completely different styles, yet both were completely captivating. 2 title changes is never a bad thing even if one was a complete surprise. I'm interested to see where the odd pairing of Nordic Warrior and Dave Rayne go from here. The company celebrates its 10th year in 2014 so it's going to be awesome to be along for the ride, and if you live within 50 miles of Manchester, you would be mad to not be there!
As this is my first written review, I apologise if there are any mistakes, so any feedback would mean a lot. And, if you have enjoyed this read please feel free to check out my youtube page at www.youtube.co.uk/marcrpears0n101 or you can find me on twitter @marcrpearson101
http://www.youtube.co.uk/marcrpears0n101.

Five Questions With...Christopher Pugh from Hashtag Wrestling.

After last week's interview with Headlocker Writer Michael Kingston, it's now time to speak to Hashtag Wrestling Promoter, Christopher Pugh.


Name: Christopher Pugh
Age: 30
Hometown: Houghton Regis, Central Bedfordshire, United Kingdom.
Known for: Hard work and determination

1. When did you first get into wrestling and what was the drew you to the sport?

I got in to wrestling around the beginning of the Monday Night Wars, I really enjoyed the glitz and glamour, the story lines and the cutting edge attitude.

2. Tell us a little about Hashtag Wrestling and how it came about?

Hashtag Wrestling (Twitter or Tout: @HashtagWrest) came about really from having a dream one night that I had about owning my own promotion and I thought about it for a little while and decided to go for it, I saw some local promotions recently Total Action Wrestling and Extreme American Wrestling, and got some advice from some of the talents they have and thought to myself I could give this a go and took it from there really, if its long term thing then the futures looking bright for British wrestling, but I'm just taking it one day at a time.

3. How do you see the British Wrestling scene at the moment and how do you think it will develop in the next few years? 

The British wrestling scene is having a revival at the moment and I can see it going far, international tours and big stars from the big companies like WWE, TNA, ROH and Japan, shows the fans are what makes these shows great and the British fans are some of the best in the world, it would be amazing to have a couple of the British companies join together and use there knowledge and expertise to get a national television show and showcase what British wrestling is about and show the world.

4. What are your top three matches of all time and why?

My top 3 matches, wow that's gonna be hard.....

1) WWE SummerSlam 98 - Triple H Vs The Rock, Ladder match for the Intercontinental title. This brought the DX/Nation feud to a great conclusion.

2) ROH Man Up 2007 - Danielson Vs Morishima for the ROH World Title, a great display of American/Japanese style technical wrestling.

3) The last one isn't really a match its more a performer, the late great "Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero, what a performer, in and out of the ring. Matches with Mysterio, Benoit, Angle the list goes on.

5. Where can our readers find your work and what have you got coming up?

At the moment we are still a start up promotion we are looking at doing shows in the south of England at the moment, Beds, Herts and Bucks, but eventually we would love to do some cross promotion stuff around the country and possible even internationally. We want to showcase the best in Heavyweight, Duo's (our tag division) and Vixen's.

You can find Hashtag Wrestling on Twitter or Tout: @HashtagWrest #JoinTheHashtagNation

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We'd like to thank Christopher Pugh for this great interview, and will certainly be trying to catch some Hashtag Wrestling, you should to!

Next Time:

Five Questions With... Dean Mitchell from British Wrestling Radio

After last week's interviews with Northern Irish wrestler Kacey Owens and former WWE and ROH wrestler Matt Striker, this week it's time of British Wrestling Radio host Dean Mitchell to step into the Five Questions With... hotseat.

Name:   Dean Mitchell
Age: 44
Hometown: Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.
Known For: Being the owner and presenter of British Wrestling Radio since day one.

1. When did you first get into wrestling and what drew you to the sport?

1974, I was five and watching World of Sport and at 4 pm was professional wrestling and for the next 45 minutes, I was completely hooked and have been ever since. I think I was drawn into it by the fact you had a good guy and a bad guy and I loved booing and cheering at the screen also wanting to to do the same things with my younger brother and we always tried to copy our heroes on screen and I loved all that.

2. Tell us a little about BWR Radio and how it all came about?

British Wrestling Radio is a show that is about promoting all British wrestling no matter where the show is I will mention it every week. It came about after I was listening to a few online shows coming from the USA and no one was talking about the Brits like Regal, Williams, Magnus, all the great British wrestlers and I sat at home thinking I got to do something about this so I typed in Facebook Wrestling and lets see what came up and I saw loads of British wrestling promotions and went from there

3. If you were to build a dream card, focusing solely on British talent, how would it look? 

Mark Haskins vs. Dave Rayne
El Ligero vs. Noam Dar
Project Ego ( Kris Travis and Martin Kirby) vs. Fight Club
Marty Scurll vs. Robbie X
Stixx vs. T-Bone
Kay Lee Ray vs. Britani Knight
The Predators vs. the Hunter Brothers

Just for a start.

4. What are your Top Three matches of all time and why?

British Bulldog vs Bret Hart SummerSlam '92 -  I was there and was and always will be a huge Davey Boy Smith fan and that day was one of the best ever the match had everyone on the edge of the seats with it going from Bret to Davey and back to Bret you didn't know who was going to win and everyone still talks about the match

Les Kellet Vs Leon Arras - This is one of the earliest matches I can remember watching on TV and laughing the whole time and loving Les from this moment on a real wrestler who was twice as hard outside the ring and Brian Glover playing a great role too

El Ligero vs Ego Dragon, Mask vs Mask 2012 - No Ropes in this one and a end to the 2 year feud in Southside Wrestling the place was packed and rightfully so they went everywhere and did everything in a wrestling ring I was drained when coming home after seeing what I just saw a real class match by two gents who are awesome in all matches

5. Where can our readers find your work and what have you got coming up? 

All our details are;

facebook.com/bwrradio
twitter  @bwrradio
youtube   Bwronline for all our past shows
and to listen live its www.bwrradio.com
Interviews are lined up with a few british wrestling peeps at the mo just got to confirm them and thank you for letting me do this a real pleasure

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We'd like to thank Dean Mitchell for a top notch interview, and urge you all to check out British Wrestling Radio as soon as possible.

Next Week: Double Header of Interviews with Erik Vasquez from The Wrestling Chronicle and Michael Kingston.

Five Questions With... Kacey Owens

After last week's interview with Stuart Rodgers from The Indy Corner, it's time to jump back into the ring with Northern Irish star, Kasey Owens.

Ring Name: Kasey Owens (One half of The Owens Twins with Leah Owens)

Age: 24

Hometown: Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland

Height: 5ft 7 ins

Weight: 57kg/130lbs

Promotions Competed For: 
No Limit Wrestling (2010-2011)
Fight Factory Pro Wrestling (2010-2011)
Union of European Wrestling Associations (2011)
Main Stage Wrestling (2011)
American Wrestling Rampage (2011)
Pro Wrestling: EVE (2012-)
Bellatrix (2012)
Britannia Wrestling Promotions (2012)
Ice Ribbon (2012-)
Insane Championship Wrestling: Fierce Females (2012-)
Insane Championship Wrestling (2013-)
Celtic Championship Wrestling (2013-)
Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling Project (2013-)

1. When did you first get into wrestling and what was the drew you to the sport? 

As many people in the business may say I first watched wrestling when I was very young. I remember sitting watching it with my older brother while playing with our action figures of The British Bulldogs.
Then when I was getting older around the age of 9 or 10 I remember watching WWE (F as it was then) and seeing the women on the show and thinking to myself I want to be just like them. What really solidified that thought was when girls like Lita and Trish and Victoria started really making an impact after 2000 and showed that women could hold their own just like the men.

2. What are your Top Three matches of all time and why? 

First match

Fergal Devitt vs. Marafuji

I love the Japanese style of wrestling and having trained with Fergal in Bray - I came to appreciate and love the style even more. This match was outstanding and definitely sticks out in my mind as one of the best matches I have ever watched.

Second Match

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Emi Sakura
The story of this match and the psychology and emotion behind it makes it a must see for any wrestler out there.
It wasn’t like they were wrestling to keep their hair - they were wrestling for the respect and for the respect of all that was watching that day putting on one of the best female matches of all time.

Third Match

Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker Wrestlemania

What can I say, the build up the emotion the psychology this match had everything. I remember watching it in awe and when it finished was left wanting more, I can watch this match over and over and still have the same emotions watching it like I did the first time I watched it.

3. What's your opinion of the current state of women's wrestling in WWE, TNA, as well as across Britain and elsewhere at the moment? 

Up until recently with WWE/TNA I was little upset at the direction they took with the women in the company, almost forgetting all the great years of female wrestling that they had had on PPVs and house shows. But I see that they are turning it around with certain signings and the are actually building credible storylines and matches within the company which I believe will open the doors for great female wrestling back in the WWE which I look forward to seeing.

Across the rest of the world I'm very proud to say that I’ve wrestled for some of the greatest female companies in the UK from Bellatrix to Pro Wrestling Eve to more recent ICW: Fierce Females with some of the best talent in the world today. 

The UK is starting to stand up and take notice of female wrestling again and I hope it continues to go from strength to strength allowing the talent to go places they’ve always dreamed of - from Japan to Mexico to the US and beyond. Its an exciting time to be a female wrestler in the UK.

4. Which wrestler would you most like to have a match with and why? 

That’s a difficult question to answer as I’ve many people I would love to wrestle. 

I would have to say and it may not be a surprise for some - Lita.

She’s the reason that I wanted to wrestle. I had been watching wrestling for years before but not until I saw her did it give me the fire to do what she did. 

She inspired me and gave me the confidence to be me and try new things and continues to inspire me to this day in everything I do in the ring.

She changed many peoples views on female wrestling in the WWE and inspired not only me but an entire generation - my generation. As many of the girls I have had the pleasure to train with has cited her as an inspiration.

Of course there are many others that I would love to wrestle as it would be an honour to wrestle them such as;

- Gail Kim her ring work is amazing.

- Victoria/Tara showed that you can train as hard as the men and still be taken seriously as a female competitor and not a gimmick for being a ‘fit’ woman.

I had the honour to wrestle one of the best from Japan recently - Emi Sakura. That was an experience I will not soon forget.

5. Where can our readers catch you in action next and how can they get in touch?

I am currently not taking bookings in the UK for next few months as I have the honour of heading to Japan to train with the girls at Ice Ribbon for the next three months from July 1st to September 22nd. A dream come true.

You can contact me through the following;

-Kasey Owens Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kasey-Owens/137511873016557

-Kasey Owens Twitter 

@KaseyOwens5 

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ATPW would like to thank Kacey for this great interview and wish her the best for the rest of her time in Japan.

Still to Come: Former WWE and ROH wrestler and commentator Matt Striker.

Five Questions With... Stuart Rodgers from The Indy Corner

After last week's interview with Discover Wrestling, it's time to take a look at wrestling's indy scene by speaking with The Indy Corner's Stuart Rodgers, in part one of this week's Five Questions With... Double Header.

Name: Stuart Rodgers

Age: 38

Hometown: Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom. 

Known For:  The Indy Corner podcast & wrestlingslasthope.com

1. When did you first get into wrestling and what was the drew you to the sport?

I used to catch a bit of wrestling on TV in the late 80's, World of Sport was shown here in the UK and every now and then they would show a WWF show or match. However, in 1990 we got SKY TV and it was the WWF that caught my eye and I've been hooked to wrestling ever since. SummerSlam '90 was the first PPV I saw. I went to video shops and rented VHS tapes of WWF and would eventually discover WCW on late night TV. From here I wanted to check out all kinds of wrestling and via tape traders I began to watch ECW and promotions from Japan such as NJPW, AJPW & FMW.

2. Tell us a little about Indy Corner Podcast and how that came about?

I'd been a fan of indy wrestling for years and after watching the APW King of Indies show I was into it even more. Following this show ROH was born. It was about this time in 2002 I'd lost interest in WWF/WWE and focused mainly on the indies and some of the Japanese stuff. Now, I'd listened to many podcasts but they didn't fulfill my needs as a fan and much like with newsletters back in the early 2000's didn't, I thought the only way to combat it is do my own. I'd say it was maybe 2011 when I got The Indy Corner as part of a British podcast, which basically focused on WWE & TNA but that didn't work out. Again in a similar vein, I went to hook up with another podcast but for various reasons that didn't last. I thought, at this point, I'd need to go alone but didn't have the first clue of how. I got speaking to a guy who ran his own and was a fan of the indies & the British scene. I was asking for tips etc, and then we agreed we'd do The Indy Corner together. He would produce the show, you know, do the technical side of things. I was able to set up many interviews, in one ten day period interviewed for the show was Johnny Gargano, Davey Richards & 'Prince' Fergal Devitt.

Alas, there was a fall out after a good 6 month run and we parted ways and I thought The Indy Corner was dead but I got the itch to talk indy wrestling so looked into trying to do it on my own. And that is where I am now, 19 episodes in of doing it alone. Every now and then I'll have a co-host on. So far I have interviewed the likes of Ricochet, Samuray Del Sol, British workers Grado, MK McKinnan & more.

3. Which indy promotions should we be checking out at the moment and in your opinion which wrestlers are the hottest on the scene right now?

OK in the US, by far the best indy promotion is Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, they run out of Reseda, CA and never fail to impress. I've been an avid follower of ROH since that first show in 2002 but sometimes it's hard. DGUSA will also pop up with some very good stuff too.

As for here in the UK, Fight Club: PRO out of Wolverhampton are the promotion I put first, but other excellent promotions are Southside Wrestling, 4FW, Revolution Pro Wrestling, IPW-UK & Preston City Wrestling. There are a lot of promotions getting off the ground such as House Of Pain: Evolution, Pro Wrestling Kingdom & Kamikaze Pro which I'm sure are going to do great things.

As for top guys, it's no secret I'm a big mark for MK McKinnan as well as Noam Dar, 'Dynamite' Pete Dunne, Kris Travis, Mark Haskins, honestly I could go on and on, the UK guys right now are unbelievable. Over in the US, I'm a big fan of Ricochet, The Young Bucks & Davey Richards.

4. What are your Top Three matches of all time?

WOW, such a hard question and I think I'll give you three from different times. The first has to be from ROH's Showdown in The Sun between Davey Richards & Michael Elgin. From Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan Mitsuharu Misawa had a great battle with Kenta Kobashi in early 2003 which I loved. Many say the 2 guys had better matches in AJPW in the 90's but I loved this one. And from the WWF I loved the Austin/Hart match from Wrestle Mania 13, I don't need to say anything about that, I'm sure your readers have seen it.

5. Where can our readers find your work and what have you got coming up?

OK, the podcast can be found over at theindycorner.podomatic.com I've just changed servers so only the last episode can be found there. The show is on iTunes too. Please follow me on twitter @TheIndyCorner I'm always talking indy wrestling and if you can, please LIKE the Facebook page.

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We'd like to thank Stuart Rodgers of The Indy Corner for this fantastic interview.

Also this week: "The Promise" Antonio Thomas! 

Five Questions With... Ryan from Discover Wrestling

After last weeks interview with Alex and Rob from Scottish Wrestling Ring, it's now time to speak to Ryan from Discover Wrestling.

Name: Ryan
Age: 26
Hometown: Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Known For:  www.discoverwrestling.com

1.    When did you first get into wrestling and what was it that drew you to the sport?

I got into wrestling as a little kid, but only really watched it when I got chance at a relative or a friend’s house. I really got hooked when Channel 4 started showing WWF Heat and Channel 5 starting showing WCW Worldwide. After those finished showing, I drifted through fallow years of the occasional DVD and book, before the Internet and full time employment allowed me much easier access to wrestling content. I think what drew me to it was the athleticism and theatrics, I’m a big comics fan and grew up really attached to the classic Batman TV Series, and there is really a lot of similarity between the two of them. So, when I saw the likes of Rey Mysterio and Psychosis going mental on Worldwide, it was like the next best thing! I was always drawn to the highflying guys and they are still the type of wrestling I tend to prefer!

2. Tell us a little about Discover Wrestling and how that came about?

Discover Wrestling was born out of the drive home from the PCW Supershow of December last year, springing out of an idea for a way for us to share videos/matches we liked. CJ and myself were chatting about it whilst belting across the M62 and the wheels were set in motion from that point. I studied writing at university and wanted an outlet for it and what better way than to start a blog! The name stemmed from the desire to share what we liked about wrestling and talk positively about one of our favourite things. After we came up with the idea to start up, we invited our good friend Olli to contribute, and later on our mate Mark was the last addition to the team. We like to blog with a real personal feel and want others to enjoy wrestling as much as we do!

3. If you could book a pro wrestling dream card at the moment who would it feature and why? 

Ah! This is a question and a half, I’ll keep it to just six matches or I’ll be here all year.

First off, I’d start with a red hot opener to get the crowd going and I’d have a big tag team turmoil (first pin to win!) match featuring Project Ego, The Models, Frightmare and Hallowicked (Of The Spectral Envoy) and Bad Influence. With Ego, The Models and Bad Influence there would be some hi-jinks going on, but The Envoy would be the glue that would hold it together. It’d really get the crowd excited and probably have them in stitches too.

Next up, I’d have a hard-hitting collision between T-Bone and Akira Tozawa. Bone is just a brilliant heavyweight wrestler and Tozawa just has the IT factor.

To go into the interval, I’d have a first half main event between April Davids and Daniel Bryan, it’d be a technical showcase and if I had the booking pencil, I’d end it as a time-limit- tie and have the crowd desperate for a rematch!

To start the second half, I’d get the crowd in the mood with a battle of the comedic geniuses between Archibald Peck and Mad Man Manson. The two of them are probably my favourite comedic style wrestlers and I wouldn’t be able to leave them off the show.

Penultimately, I’d have a big four way match between a real mixed bag, first up I’d have ‘The Man Gravity Forgot’ PAC (now Adrian Neville in NXT), he’s just an awesome talent and pretty much the guy to watch at the moment. Secondly, I’d jump in a time machine and grab 1997 Rey Mysterio Jr, because those two alone would just be awesome. However for some extra layers of brilliance (like a wrestling lasagne) I’d put in Bubblegum, he can really go and would add a mischievous dynamic to the match. Finally, I’d chuck in Sami Zayn, also of NXT Fame. That would pretty much be a dream match and the thought of it, is pretty much mind-blowing.

Last, but by no means least I’d have THE main event. After all that wrestling action, what better way to top it off with the ultimate match? I’d finish the show with a sixty-minute Iron Man match between Antonio Cesaro and El Ligero. Those two are pretty much at the top of their game right now and it would be a big thick slice of pure goodness to watch those two step up to such an epic match.

Admittedly, this supercard would probably last about five hours, but I’d just love it. It’s a pretty good mix of UK and international talent and I think that says a lot about our site, we try to mix it up as much as possible!

4. What are your Top Three matches of all time and why?

My favourite match of all time is Mick Foley vs. Edge at WM22. It’s just the ultimate in wrestling theatre, a real blockbuster of a match. I can sit and watch it repeatedly, its thrilling viewing and one, which for all the gore and violence, still has a strong story and a really crisp narrative. I wrote an in-depth ‘Match Of The Week’ about it a while ago, you can find it here: http://discoverwrestling.com/2013/02/20/match-of-the-week-mick-foley-vs-edge-wwe-ryan/

Next up, I’d have to go with Eddie vs. Rey at Halloween Havoc in 1997. Its one of the best matches of its type and showcases both guys equally. It’s just a jaw-dropping match. Again, this is just one you can watch on loop and you’ll still notice little nuances that you missed the last time around. It’s just brilliant.

Third place is really difficult as those two are my definite faves, but I’ll go for PAC vs El Generico from PWG All Star Weekend 4 - Night . PAC is awesome. El Generico is awesome. What more do you need to say? A modern classic!

5. Where can our readers find your work and what have you got coming up?

If people want to check us out, they can click on over to www.discoverwrestling.com for all our opinions on wrestling from around the world. Whether you want to find a match recommendation, a review of a UK show or just our thoughts on wrestling in general, it’ll be there! The next shows we are at are the NGW 5th Anniversary Show and the debut show from House Of Pain: Evolution, so you can expect to see reviews of those up in the near future! Also, check back for our regular ‘Match Of The Week’ feature and any other random goodies that crop up.

We are also on Facebook and Youtube at /discoverwrestling and you can follow us on Twitter @discoverwres.

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We'd like to thank Ryan for the fantastic interview! 

Spotlight: HXC Wrestling

A brand new monthly feature for Across The Pond Wrestling as each month we take a look a British Wrestling company. This month, it's the turn of new Manchester based Hardcore outfit HXC Wrestling.

For a company who only had their debut in April, HXC Wrestling has certainly created a hell of a buzz for itself. After selling out it's original venue for their first show One Dark Night, it was decided to move the show to Manchester Met University's Student Union, which also sold out.

HXC has made the bold decision of making all it's events 18+, with the majority of professional wrestling companies becoming more kid friendly, on the back of WWE's new PG era, a gap in the market has opened up for companies like HXC to exploit. The fan that existed during the ECW age and the attitude era hasn't just gone away and in fact many of them are hitting their late teens and are not being catered for by main stream wrestling anymore.

HXC makes use of both local and national talent with Stixx, T-Bone and Cyanide main eventing One Dark Night. And with top UK talent Jimmy Havoc heading to Manchester for their second show Chaos A.D. the talent on show is about to go through the roof. "I'm one of the most well known names in Hardcore wrestling in the country and have been wrestling around Europe for the last 10 years, but never in Manchester" Havoc explains, "then I get a call from HXC saying they want me on their roster. Can't say that's a bad call on their part, lets just hope Manchester is ready for what I'm going to bring to the party."

They also aren't afraid to listen to their fans and if something needs changing they want to know about it. With promoter Mike Hough explaining "After the phenomenal success of the One Dark Night, we've gone all out to make sure the card for the second show really meets the expectations of the fans", he continues, "as much as we already had future plans for CHAOS A.D in place, we have taken the feedback of all our fans who attended the first show and injected it into the second. We want to continue to give the people what they want and that is the best way to do it".


With a stacked card heading into Chaos A.D. once again taking place at MMU Student Union on Saturday 8th June, including double main events Clint Margera Vs. T-Bone and Jack Jester Vs. Jimmy Havoc alongside Zack Gibson Vs. Mad Man Manson, Loco Mike Mason w/Rebecca Mason Vs. Mikey Whiplash w/Violet Vendetta and Sam Bailey Vs. Cyanide w/Chris Egan. It looks like this upstart promotion will go from strength to strength, continuing to build it's name and serve a forgotten area of the wrestling community.

 You can find out more about HXC Wrestling at hxcwrestling.com as well www.facebook.com/hxcwrestlinguk and by following them @hxcwrestlinguk on Twitter. Tickets for Chaos A.D. are available from www.ticketline.co.uk.