Wrestle Ropes' Ready for the Weekend: June 2016 Week 3 - PROGRESS, Absolute Wrestling & ICW (Andy Scotland)

After having a break for a fortnight due to real life taking over (damn this real life nonsense!) we are back and what a weekend we have coming up. Or to be more precise what a Sunday we have this weekend in British Wrestling. Anyway enough of this intro talking, let's get Ready For The Weekend!

First up on Sunday and an PROGRESS Wrestling are back up north against at The Ritz in Manchester for Chapter 31: All Hail The New Puritans. 

After Chapter 30:  Super Strong Style 16 was over, Chris Hero sent out a challenge to 'The Villain' Marty Scurll for this Sunday. After hearing what Scurll had said about him on commentary and that he didn't rate him as a top wrestler, Hero countered that with why is he a villain other than him calling himself one. Therefore, Hero has challenged Scurll to a match this Sunday for the PROGRESS Championship to show him why he should rate him as one of the best. 

Over a year ago, Damon Moser was a part of The Origin, however they quickly threw him out of the group before Dave Mastiff and Zack Gibson joined the ranks. If they thought that would be the last of Moser then they recently found out that is not the case. Moser has now decided it is the right time to gain some revenge on his former Origin team-mates and Gibson is the first on his list. Moser may have the fans behind him but Gibson does not come alone and will have Nathan Cruz in his corner in Manchester. While Gibson will look to stop Moser's retribution dead in it's tracks, Moser shall be looking to use Gibson to send a message straight to The Origin. 

This Sunday will see the climax of one of PROGRESS's longest running feuds in recent history when Pollyanna faces Dahlia Black. These two women have had matches for months. Black then involved her other half, TK Cooper into the mix to steal wins from Pollyanna. To counter this PROGRESS management firstly had "Flash" Morgan Webster team with Pollyanna to face The south Pacific Power Couple. Then Jack Sexsmith was the special referee in a match between the two yet still Cooper got involved. So now PROGRESS have scheduled one more match for this Sunday with the stipulation that if anyone interferes in the match then both Pollyanna and Black shall be fired from PROGRESS . This feud will end this Sunday in Manchester one way or another with no exceptions.

Match Card

*PROGRESS Championship*

‘The Knockout Artist’ Chris Hero vs ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll (c)

*PROGRESS Tag Team Championship*

The London Riots: Rob Lynch & James Davis (c) vs The Dazzler Team: Darrell Allen & Earl Black Jr

*Atlas Championship Tournament - Group B*

‘The Beast Of Belfast’ Big Damo O’Connor & ‘Iron Man’ Joe Coffey vs Rampage Brown & Michael Dante

Pollyanna vs Dahlia Black

Damon Moser vs ‘Liverpool’s No.1’ Zack Gibson (w/ Nathan Cruz)

The Dunne Brothers: ‘Number One’ Damian Dunne & ‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne) vs F.S.U: ‘White Lightning’ Mark Andrews & ‘The Pride Of Wales’ Eddie Dennis

Pastor William Eaver vs Mikey Whiplash

Also this Sunday, Absolute Wrestling will hold it's second show at NE6 Suite in Newcastle with The Championship Suspect. 

The event shall see the continuation of the Absolute Wrestling Championship tournament with two quarter final matches taking place. After "Flash" Morgan Webster was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury, Tyler Bate was announced to take his place and he'll be in action this Sunday when he faces 'The Gimmick Killer' HT Drake. Bate is a powerhouse of a wrestler while Drake is known for being rather aggressive in his offence. This match should be rather hard-hitting with added spice as the winner will move on to the semi-finals. 

The second quarter-final match taking place at the NE6 Suite will see Martin Kirby face Micky The Dragon. Both these men are local to the area so the crowd may be split on Sunday but both men will not give half measures in their quest to continue in the tournament and move close to the Absolute Wrestling Championship. 

Back at February's Wrestling Isn't Dead in South Shields, The British Empire's Prince Ameen and Assassin lost to Alexander Henry and Jason Prime of The New Nation. Since then, British Empire have been looking for a rematch and this Sunday they will get their opportunity. That opportunity will not be an easy one as they well know. New Nation are a dominant team not only in Absolute Wrestling but in British Wrestling as a whole. British Empire have a fire in their belly to even the scores with The New Nation. The question is, will it be enough to overcome the domination of The New Nation.

Match Card

*Absolute Championship Tournament Quarter-Final*

Tyler Bate vs HT Drake

*Absolute Championship Tournament Quarter-Final*

Martin Kirby vs Micky The Dragon

Toni Storm vs Little Miss Roxxy

‘Mr Massive’ Chuck Cyrus vs Johnny Moss

Liam Lazarus vs Dave Mastiff

The New Nation: ‘Class Apart’ Alexander Henry & ‘The Primate’ Jason Prime vs The British Empire: Prince Ameen & Assassin)

Finally on Sunday, Insane Championship Wrestling are holding another taping of their Friday Night Fight Club show at The Garage in Glasgow. These shows are usually packed with matches and this event looks to be no different with nine matches currently scheduled to take place. The show will see the continuation of the ICW Tag Team Championship tournament as well as two championship matches. 

The ICW Tag Team Championship tournament will see the return of the Sumerian Death Squad to ICW to face Mike Bird and Wild Boar. Bird and Boar made their ICW debut in Cardiff, Wales at Gladys the Groovy Mule back in March when they challenged for the ICW Tag Team Championship. Despite losing, they made an impression with everyone hence their inclusion in the tournament. The SDS are well known for their tag team wrestling and are considered one of the best in Europe. This will be an interesting match to see who does pick up the win as either team could be a serious contender to win the tournament. 

The first of two championship matches this Sunday will see Sammii Jayne challenge Carmel for the ICW Women's Championship in a Last Woman Standing match. This match came about after Carmel offered to defend the championship against Jayne. Jayne was quick to take up the offer after having a number of big wins in ICW recently, most notably over Nikki Storm which resulted in 'The Best In The Galaxy' leaving ICW. Carmel has been a fighting champion and has defended the title at every opportunity. While the opportunity is huge for Jayne this could be Carmel's biggest challenge to date as a champion. Add in the Last Woman Standing element in this match and it may come down to a battle of endurance over experience. 

From one fighting champion in Carmel to another in the ICW World Heavyweight Champion; 'The Beast Of Belfast' Big Damo. Damo won the championship in his homeland of Northern Ireland in February and since then has defend the championship in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, a feat that no-one has done before. This Sunday he puts his ICW World Heavyweight Championship on the line once again, this time against former champion, Grado. Both these men have been travelling all over the world in recent months so the moniker of World Champion would be very fitting for both. Grado will be looking to reach the top of the mountain again in ICW while Damo shall be looking to stay as the man-mountain of ICW for the foreseeable future.

*Match Card*

ICW World Heavyweight Championship

Grado vs ‘The Beast Of Belfast’ Damo (c)

ICW Women’s Championship – Last Woman Standing

Carmel (c) vs Sammii Jayne

ICW Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarter-Final

Sumerian Death Squad (‘Anti-Hero’ Tommy End & Michael Dante) vs Mike Bird & Wild Boar

‘Iron Man’ Joe Coffey vs ‘Local Hero’ Joe Hendry

Iestyn Rees vs DCT

Trent Seven vs Wolfgang

Davey Boy vs Jack Jester

‘Flyin’ Ryan Griffin vs Aaron Echo (w/ Austin Osiris & Kyle Khaos)

Kenny Williams & BT Gunn vs Stevie Boy & Lionheart

Mark Dallas And Red Lightning Sign The Contract For The Match At ‘Shug’s Hoose Party III’

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!

Extra Info 

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PROGRESS

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Absolute Wrestling

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ICW

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The Independent article (April 2014)
The Guardian article (October 2015)
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Pro Wrestling Chaos - Hell is for Heroes LIVE Review

We were contacted by Darren Dyer (@AxelMulligan on Twitter). About whether we'd be interested in posting his review of the recent Pro Wrestling Chaos show (as highlighted in last week's Ready For The Weekend). After a bit of back and forth between Darren and ATPW head honcho James Marston, we have the review below. All feedback welcome to @ATPWrestling on Twitter.

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On Saturday August 1st 2015 a promotion Pro Wrestling Chaos, held their Hell is for Heroes event at The BAWA Club in Filton, Bristol, England. They've had some hot shows up until now, would this show be the exception? Or would it keep the roll going, let's find out!

One Fall Three Way Match

Morgan Webster

vs.

Damien Dunne

vs.

Chris Sabin

Rockstar Spud

Kicking off this show, we had a three way bout, featuring former TNA X Division Champion, Rockstar Spud. Morgan Webster played the role of the heel to perfection here, bailing from the ring to keep away from Spud and Dunne, giving the crowd the two fingered salute (similar to flipping the bird) and insulting members of the audience. It’s fair to say that he has very quickly became the most despised wrestler in all of Chaos after retiring Dave Mercy at All or Nothing back in May. Spud and Damien Dunne were both over and the crowd was hot for both men with lots of vocal cheering when either man finally got a shot in on Webster, or on each other for that matter. 


Whether you love him or hate him, Morgan's talent is undeniable. He’s great to watch in the ring and can work a variety of styles such as the high flying game, a vicious ground and pound style or he can work a good technical match also. He’s one of the fastest rising stars in British professional wrestling right now. I've had the distinct honour and privilege of seeing him wrestle on at least half a dozen occasions now and he just gets better and better with each match. He's rapidly become one of my favourite wrestlers, not just in the UK, but across the world! If he's not wrestling in a major promotion within the next five years, I'll be surprised!

One Fall Tag Team Match

The Hunter Brothers

vs.

The Wild Galleons

Next up was a tag team match between The Hunter Brothers, Jim and Lee, taking on the fan favourite team of Captain Dick Morgan and Roger The Cabin Boy, The Wild Galleons. I'm usually one to cheer for the heels because I find I can relate to heels more than I do babyfaces with the way they can hold a crowd in the palm of their hands and have everybody despise them, yet they can entertain the hell out of you as a fan whilst doing it. However, there's something about The Wild Galleons that appeals to the inner child in me and I get a great deal of enjoyment out of watching them.

This was a nice, solid tag team match. I've seen both teams on several occasions now and I'm a fan of them both. The Galleons are one of the most entertaining teams I've seen live and thoroughly enjoy their performances. Captain Dick is an awesome character, because of the way he puts himself about both in and out of the ring. For example, he needed a boost of energy here so he stroked a man’s beard in the front row and took a mouthful of his beer to re-energise himself.

Roger is a rather interesting character. He has no problem in giving his opponent a spanking should he be looking to gain a psychological edge, but at the same time he’s a very well rounded wrestler who knows what it takes to get the job done in tag team wrestling with quick tags to his more powerful partner and doesn’t hesitate in taking advantage of situations when opportunity knocks. They picked up the win when Captain Dick, who wasn’t legal in the ring, hit a Stunner allowing Roger to quickly go for the pin much to the dismay of Lee and Jim Hunter.

I've often thought at Chaos shows about them having a tag team title. I personally think The Wild Galleon's would make great champions if they were to introduce them. They're over with fans both young and old and have great chemistry together. Hopefully the Chaos management will introduce something for the tag division sometime in the future! As much as the crowds are usually hot for the tag team matches we get in Chaos, I think this would really add another dimension to the division and gives wrestlers outside of the King of Chaos division a goal to work towards.

One Fall Match

Rampage Brown

vs.

Jeckel

with Pariah Khan

Up next was one of the more anticipated match ups of the evening. I love the combination of Jeckel and Khan. Jeckel is an extremely talented wrestler and Khan is an awesome mouthpiece for him. The fans love to hate them as well, especially Khan with the "BUTLINS, BUTLINS, BUTLINS!" chants which Khan reacts to brilliantly!

Jeckel set the pace before the bell in this one, attacking Rampage with a chair as he was making his entrance, although, bringing in the chair was probably not the best move by Jeckel  Towards the end, Khan was getting visibly frustrated on the outside and threw the chair into Jeckel to use on Brown. Brown avoided a shot and managed to gain control of the weapon. Brown had a choice, either put the chair down and have a chance of winning, or take out a measure of revenge for Jeckel's earlier attack and side with the crowd by taking out Jeckel. He went with the latter of those two options in what was one of the sickest chair shots I've ever seen! And I'm a man who's seen plenty of ECW over the years!

Rampage chased Khan to the back as referee's came out to check on the condition of Jeckel. Khan eventually came back out to help his man to the back. Don't expect this to be over! In fact, this may only be the beginning of what could be a thrilling rivalry. Personally, I’d like to see some form of no disqualifications match. Whether that be at the show in Hanham in October, or the show in Yate in December. Both men seemed to like swinging the chair on this night, so a chairs match may very well be an appropriate way to follow this match.

One Fall Match

Eddie Dennis

vs.

Chris Hero

After a 20 minute intermission, we had the match that I was personally looking forward to more than any other and by the sound of it, so was the rest of the crowd. They were on fire! I don't know if I can speak for anyone else but I was mainly pulling for Hero, yet at the same time really would not have been upset if Dennis picked up the win. I've never heard a crowd like that at any wrestling show before, and having been to a couple of WWE house shows, that's certainly saying something! I was on my feet throughout the entire match and popped for pretty much everything these two men did. There was a moment where Eddie was on the ring apron and Hero caught him with a big boot. Eddie managed to hang on to the apron and screamed at Hero to do it again…so he did, over and over again and with each shot Eddie took, he got more and more fired up and you could really feel the emotion coming out of Eddie. As he got more and more fired up, so did the electric crowd!

From bell-to-bell the match was just amazing, lots of counters, lots of hard hitting shots (I lost count of how many rolling elbows Hero hit), lots of near falls and most importantly of all, well-timed drama. I find in wrestling you can have as many near falls as you want but unless those moments are built up properly, they don't draw the fans into the moment. These two put on a great spectacle and the fans were loud and hooked throughout.

In what was a surprise to many fans in the audience, myself included, it was Eddie Dennis who picked up the win! Hero looked as shocked as the rest of us and seemingly couldn't comprehend what had just taken place. In fact, Dennis could hardly believe he'd pulled it off!  Hero played the “what the hell just happened?” with a hint of rage look brilliantly, while Eddie sold the shock of winning to perfection. After recent losses to Kenny King and Mike Bird, it was almost as though he didn’t believe he was going to win this match, despite telling us all that he would. 

Hero left the ring to a huge cheer and even louder chants of "Please come back!" He re-entered the ring and cut a promo saying how he will return to face Eddie again at some stage in a rematch. I just hope that the Chaos management can make that match happen because this was incredible! Hat's off to both men! Keep an eye out for the DVD/VOD of this show even if only for this match because it truly was something special. One of my matches of the year so far, and not just in Chaos. I'm talking from any promotion that I've watched so far this year! 

This match was easily main event quality, and I’d have said that this could easily have been the main event of the show. However, I’ve always been a firm believer in the top championship main eventing any card unless there’s a big stipulation involved like we had at All or Nothing with the Loser Leaves Chaos match between Webster and Mercy. If we were to get a “best of three” series between these two, which having spoken to a few fans is what the people desire, the third match should main event whatever card it’s on should Hero win the second match.

One Fall Tag Team Match

The Doomsday Killers

vs.

The Burrito Brothers & Mr. Bananas.

Up next was an "Open Invitational" set by The Doomsday Killers, Ian Williams, Big Grizzly and KillBane. Fresh off of their attack on Gideon at Heir To The Throne last month, these three men were more brash and arrogant than ever before. The challenge was answered by Mr Banana's and The Burrito Brothers. Unfortunately for the guys answering the challenge, they were no match in size or strength for The Doomsday Killers and this one was over relatively quickly.

After the match, the lights cut out and an eerie message came through from Gideon. After the attack at Heir to the Throne, Gideon's message is that soon enough The Doomsday Killers will feel his wrath. When the lights came back on, 'Evil Little Ian' was losing his mind in the ring. He did so even more when he noticed the broken cane, which The Doomsday Killers used to attack Gideon with, appeared in the ring seemingly out of nowhere. We maybe about to see a darker side of Gideon as he seeks revenge on his former allies and I for one can't wait!

I thought that this was how this match would’ve gone after how the last match went with all of the drama and emotion. It kind of felt like WrestleMania X8 where The Rock and Hulk Hogan tore the house down with their match and then there was a “filler” match in between that and the title match. I think it worked fine as it gave the crowd a chance to catch their breath again whilst continuing to build the storyline between The Doomsday Killers and Gideon.

One Fall King of Chaos Championship Match

Mike Bird ©

vs.

Mark Andrews

TNA's Mark Andrews returned on this night to challenge his mentor and trainer 'Flying' Mike Bird for the top prize in Chaos. Bird had held the title for one day short of a full year and wasn't willing to allow one of his former students to take his title from him. With Mandrews showcasing a lot of his acrobatic skills and Bird using his technical, ground and pound style.

With the match was finely poised, Mandrews looked to catch Bird with an enziguri, which "The Ginger Jesus of Professional Wrestling" avoided and the referee took the shot in the face. While the ref was down, Mandrews managed to put Bird down and the fans counted but with no referee, the pinfall was essentially null and void. There was a sense of expectancy in the air now because with the referee down, it’s fair to say it’s anyone’s ball game. Whereas you’d often see another referee come down to officiate, which the fans wanted with chants of “Tom”, a referee making his Chaos debut, it never happened which for me just added to the level of anticipation of what would happen next.
Bird, acting like a desperate champion, then used his King of Chaos belt to take down his former student. He revived referee Baz and thought he'd retained his title, only Mandrews kicked out at two! Bird was soon able to put his challenger away, though, with his signature piledriver meaning he'd kept his title for the 364th consecutive day. 

One Fall Match for the King of Chaos Championship

Mike Bird ©

vs.

“Wild Boar” Mike Hitchman

Not content with his victory, he decided he'd try to teach Mark a lesson in respect and just when we all thought the worst would happen, out came "Mr Heir To The Throne", Wild Boar to save Andrews. The fans lost their minds and did so again moments later when Boar cashed in his title opportunity on his former teacher. And if that wasn't enough, the place erupted a few minutes later when Boar hit a Package Piledriver to Mike Bird to become the new, and only the second ever, King of Chaos! I'm a huge Mike Bird fan, and I'm talking this guy is in my top ten in the world right now, but even I was literally jumping for joy and punching the air for Boar's victory! A huge congratulations to Mike Hitchman for all of his hard work in Chaos over the past couple of years. It's certainly all paid off and he's more than worthy of holding the King of Chaos Championship!

Finally...

A huge thank you to Pro Wrestling Chaos for putting on such an amazing show. I thought the All or Nothing event was great, which it was. This one topped that for me just for the sheer drama, emotion, entertainment and excitement that all of the wrestlers put across. 

For now, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the memories of the show until the VOD is available, when I'm sure I'll be watching this awesome night of professional wrestling over and over again! 

You can check out more from Pro Wrestling Chaos, including upcoming show details here. 

Wrestle Ropes' Ready For The Weekend (31st July-2nd August)

Another week and another edition of Ready For The Weekend. So without further ado, lets get started.

On Friday night, Discovery Wrestling are making their debut at the Portobello Town Hall in Edinburgh with a card stacked with British and international talent. One match containing both talent from our shore and overseas is Chris Hero vs Joe Coffey. Hero is probably one of the most respected wrestlers in his native USA and all over the world. Joe Coffey is quite simply the Iron Man. A hard hitting, non-stop machine of a wrestler. Chris Hero is known as The Knock Out Artist. It might very well take a knock out to stop Joe Coffey. Also set for July 31st is the rematch between Damian O'Connor and Rampage Brown. We will need to hope that the Portobello Town Hall is well-built as when these two men collide it may destroy the very foundations of the building and only one man will be left standing after this war. One match with a great deal of interest surrounding it is the four-way elimination between Lionheart, BT Gunn, Christopher Saynt & Danny Boy Rodgers. In what will no doubt be a very competitive match, the implications that this match could have on the Y Division Championship is what really catches the eye. All of these matches plus contests including Viper, Kid Fite and Lewis Girvan is making Discovery Wrestling event a very worthwhile destination this Friday.

Moving on to Saturday and Pro Wrestling Chaos are at the BAWA Club in Bristol with Hell Is For Heroes. Sitting right at the top of the card is Mike Bird defending the King Of Chaos Championship against the returning Mark Andrews. Mike Bird has had great year in PWC with successful championship defences against the best that Pro Wrestling Chaos has to offer. However Mark Andrews is on top form right now, wrestling all over America. Not to mention that Mark Andrew probably knows Mike Bird better than anyone, as Bird helped train Andrews many years ago. Mike Bird has defeated the best, he'll have to beat Andrews in his best form to keep the championship. Speaking of best form, Rockstar Spud who is having the best period of his career so far will also be in action on August 1st when he competes against Damian Dunne and the most hated man in Pro Wrestling Chaos, 'Flash' Morgan Webster in a triple threat match. Another match set for this Saturday in Jeckel facing Rampage Brown. Jeckel has had a hell of a year in Chaos, defeating the likes of Mikey Whiplash in 2015. His confidence is at an all-time high as he personally challenged Rampage Brown for this match. Brown has never back down from a fight in his life, this will be no different. Also in action will be Chris Hero against Eddie Dennis, The Hunter Brothers in tag team action and The Doomsday Killers open invitational.

Sunday will see Insane Championship Wrestling begin their four week tenure at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The first show, 'I'm A Lumberjack Match (And I'm Okay)' will give a tiny glimpse at the carnage that awaits at 'Fear & Loathing VIII' when Legion's Mikey Whiplash competes against the New Age Kliq's Wolfgang. Speaking of the New Age Kliq, Chris Renfrew and BT Gunn will be in action against the Sumerian Death Squad's Tommy End & Michael Dante with the winner being named the number one contenders to the ICW Tag Team Championship. In the fallout from the main event of 'Shug's Hoose Party II', one of the men responsible for costing Damo the ICW World Heavyweight Championship, Jack Jester will face the wrath of 'The Beast Of Belfast' when the two meet this Sunday at the City Nightclub. Add in matches with Noam Dar, Kid Fite & Joe Coffey and it looks like ICW are kicking of their residency in the Scottish capital in style.

That wraps up this week's preview of the weekend's wrestling schedule.

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!

Interview with Martin Stone (FKA WWE NXT's Danny Burch)

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of chatting to Martin Stone, who you may know as Danny Burch from WWE's NXT developmental show, but a lot of European fans may know him as Martin Stone, from his days before WWE working for the likes of IPW:UK, wXw and FWA amongst others.

It's been a while since we've had an interview on ATPW and hopefully we'll be seeing them a lot more regularly, I feel now that we are slightly more established and I am more confident at interview, we can aim a little higher than an e-mailed #FiveQuestionsWith interview. Hopefully you will agree! Of course, as usual I present below a quick profile on Martin Stone, the interview will begin below! 

Bio

 

Current Ring Name: Martin Stone
FKA: Danny Burch, Joe Riot, Mark Harris
Age: 32 years old
Height: 5' 11''
Weight: 242 lbs
Promotions Competed For: IPW:UK, wXw, FWA, 1PW, GSW, SAS, WWE, RQW, PWF, LDN and many more!

Titles and Accomplishements: FWA World Heavyweight Champion, 1PW World Heavyweight Champion, Two Time IPW:UK Champion, FWA British Tag Team Champion (with Stixx), RQW Heavyweight Champion, Two Time LDN Champion, wXw World Tag Team Champion (with Doug Williams), GSW Tag Team Champion (with Matt Vaughan), 1PW Openweight Champion

 INTERVIEW

The old classic #FiveQuestionsWith First Question, of course.

ATPW: How did you first get into professional wrestling as fan, and what lead you to becoming a pro wrestler yourself? (Okay I tweaked it)

Martin Stone: I first started watching wrestling when I was seven years old, with my cousin round my nan's house, cos she had Sky when it first came out. So we used to watch [WWF] Superstars and Wrestling Challenge on a Saturday and then I'd also watch the NWA stuff that was on TV as well. 

Then kind of lost touch with wrestling when I was about ten-eleven, because I'd been boxing for quite a few years anyway, so I started doing a lot of Martial Arts and got into cage fighting. Then it wasn't between 2000, there was match between [Chris] Benoit and [Eddie] Guerrero on Raw when The Radicalz split (Editors Note: Either their 3rd July 2000 bout over the European Title or possibly their 12th March 2001 bout, both on Raw) That was the match where I thought it'd be really good to get into wrestling, so I found a wrestling school! It was 2003 that I started training. 

ATPW: How did you signing with WWE come about? 

MS: I went down for a tryout in November 2009. Went down for two days with Kenneth Cameron or Bram as he's now known in TNA. There were a few people that were quite big on the UK scene at the time. I worked a match with Bram, then Arn Anderson called me over and said "I think you've got something. Can you come back in April?" I went back in April 2010 in the O2 Arena and got signed on the spot. Pretty much. They were like "This is your deal" 

And the it kinda went pear shaped. I didn't realise but I'd actually torn my ACL. I'd been wrestling on a torn ACL and a torn meniscus for eight years! So when I got to Pittsburgh and they did the tests and all the stuff they do, I failed the first time round with my knee. So I came back from there and went through hell trying to get it fixed, so I could take the test in Pittsburgh again and pass. Got all that sorted and went back to Sheffield in 2011 for the TV tapings and retried out, but didn't really have to. Then flew over here (Florida) 2012. June 3rd 2012. 

ATPW: It seems like a really long time, between WWE showing the interest and you finally getting over to the US. How did you find that?

MS: It was a real rough time trying to get that fixed. I went to a private surgeon and he basically charged me for just opening my knee and telling me what I'd already told him. Because of that I got put on the fast-track list on the NHS, because I'd just gone through the surgery the first time, I had to wait at least six months for the anaesthetic to leave my system. 

So, the whole process was about a year, which was really, really bad. To wait to get it fixed and then the uphill battle with ACL Rehab. ACL Rehab is horrible. What made it worse was that when I reported to FCW, I was here for four weeks and then my knee re-blew out, because they'd not fixed it properly. I was on the shelf pretty much straight away. I was out for six or seven months. 

ATPW: I can't imagine how frustrating that must have been at the time!

MS: Oh, at that point, obviously I'm away from home. I'd had all my family around me when I went through the rehab process last time. For ACL it's real long battle. It's horrible. There were a few times when I was like "You know what, I'm gonna go home", because I didn't know if I'd be able to do the rehab. On my own pretty much, because I hadn't made that many friends here yet, because I'd here for four weeks. But I got through it. 

ATPW: So once we got the knee sorted, how did you find your time in NXT?

MS: I had an absolute blast, for the last two years. I've met so many people, I've got real close to a few friends. Norman Smiley is the greatest trainer, I've ever had the pleasure of being with. Such a great guy, just a real, genuine, human being. You really don't meet many people like that. An absolute fountain of knowledge. 

People see him doing the Wiggle and the Hardcore matches, that's not who Norman Smiley is. If you can get a chance and you can look him up, go on Youtube and type in "Black Magic" and you'll see his stuff in Mexico and he is an absolute mat wizard master. He is so, so good. I had a good time here for sure definitely. 

ATPW: Do you feel you've improved as a wrestler or performer over your time in FCW and NXT?

MS: Funny enough, I can't really answer that until I start wrestling shows again. That might sound stupid, but it's then I'll really know. The main thing that I learnt from Norman was how to call matches on the fly, on the spot without the crowd seeing it. That's one of those key things that he's so good at.

So, I'm looking forward to putting that into practice. There's a lot of stuff that he does that's a way of thinking outside the box, rather than just thinking "Ok, this is a wrestling match. His whole teaching is on reaction, rather than selling. Just reaction to stuff. I'll know if I've improved because I'll be thinking things differently. Which is obviously to make you stand out and to make you different. So I'm looking forward to coming home and working shows with that kind of outlook now. 

ATPW: Do you have a particular favourite moment or moments from your time over in Florida?

MS: Training wise, I got going with Norman pretty much in the last year, so that's been great, because I was training every day, which with Norman is phenomenal. Before he was Tyler Breeze, he was Mike Dalton, he's one of the best workers down there by far! We had a month run of shows together and they were absolutely fantastic matches. The match before I blew my knee out, I worked Sakamoto, the guy who used to come out with Tensai, we had a real good match. That was really really good. It's been fun. 

I wouldn't say there's a key moment, because days tend to blur into one, your training all day long, then you hit the gym, then you come home and then your trying to get some sleep. Then obviously you're doing it all again the next day. Then you're travelling to shows. The weeks go really quick, it's kind of like being in limbo really! You're up, you're training, you're wrestling, you're lifting, you're then trying catch up with sleep! Then on top of that you're trying to work out you're promo class for that week and stuff like that. 

It's been a fun time and I don't feel like it's been a waste of time. It sucks and it's not the way I wanted to go out, but it has changed me in a positive way. 

ATPW: How did you actually find out about the release?

MS: You get called into the office and they're like "Right, we've gotta release ya."  What people forget, especially when you're on the Indies, this is a business. Obviously, independent wrestling is completely different to corporate America. Even though it's not a job, it's like if you're working in Tesco's and you get fired. Exactly the same thing. 

ATPW: Moving things back towards this side of the Pond. You were booked for a Revolution Pro Wrestling show in Birmingham on 10th May, what happened there?

MS: I was supposed to fly back and last minute paperwork deals and money hadn't come through yet that I'm owed. My hands are tied. Which was the worst thing in the world, because I was so excited about coming back. Especially now, because I'm kind of just in limbo, waiting for my flight to come through and to get the rest of my money. I don't really want to be here. I wanna come home! It's very frustrating. It is really, really frustrating. So I can only apologise to the fans. But I will be back for the 24th and 25th May Rev Pro Shows. 

ATPW: From what I've heard it seems like it was another good show for Rev Pro and I'm sure that'll continue on 24th and 25th.

MS: Oh, obviously when I left it was still IPW, and Andy Quildan is bar none, one of the best guys in England for shows. He's always tried to put on real good shows. So I've got all the faith in the world that Rev Pro will just keep getting better and better and better. I looked at the clips for the York Hall show and that looks absolutely amazing! 

ATPW: If there's anyone looking at this that hasn't seen your work over here in the UK or in Germany, is there any particular matches that you'd say they should go and check out?

MS: There's not really much, I was the worst self promoted wrestling in the world. I had one batch of t-shirts and I had one set of 8X10's, throughout my entire UK career. I've always believed that you should always go by word of mouth, on how you work, rather than pimping yourself out there.  That's just me though. If you can get hold of the discs some of my best stuff was at the 16 Carat Tournament (wXw 2009 and 2010), especially the first time I worked Chris Hero (Quarter Final bout 2010, available both Chris Hero's Best of (Vol 3) for 15 Euros and the full wXw 16 Carat Gold 2010 8 DVD Boxset for 39 Euros) I actually found out later, that that was voted European Match of the Year, that was an absolute classic. A really really good match. 

There's a match with me on Youtube against Nick Riley which is pretty good from FWA. (Part 1 - Part 2) There's some stuff with Johnny Moss (Part 1 - Part 2-Part 3) but it's real old stuff, I didn't really start getting into my stride, and really starting to get good, probably about 2006 onwards.

 I had a match with Kid Kash for IPW and it completely changed my way of thinking with wrestling and that was when I really started to get a lot better. Unfortunately, you might have to try and find some old discs! I mean the stuff that I did with IPW just before I left, I had a match with Finlay, which was good and a match with Sha Samuels that sticks out a lot. I've worked a lot of guys and all the matches have been pretty good, but the one that stands out if fans want to watch is Chris Hero.

ATPW: What's the plan for Martin Stone going forward?

MS: I'm not done with wrestling. I know a lot of people get here and they say right I've been to the top of the mountain, there's nothing left. There's life outside of World Wrestling Entertainment in terms of wrestling there really is. I'm going to try and travel the world as much as possible and do stuff that I've never got the chance to do! I'd love to get the chance to go to Japan. I've worked quite a few Japanese guys and always had real good matches. I'd love to go, there's a guy who runs shows in Ireland, his shows look pretty good. I just want to get about and travel now, which is something I only really got to do with Germany and England, so it'd be nice to France and places like that. I literally just want to get back to wrestling, I'm really really excited about it. I'm ready to come home. 

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I'd personally like to that Martin Stone again for chatting with us at Across The Pond Wrestling. It was a pleasure to sit a speak to someone that clearly loves the wrestling business. I wish him all the best for the future, you can book tickets for the 24th and 25th May Revolution Pro Wrestling shows in Portsmouth and Sittingbourne respectively at www.revolutionprowrestling.com