Re-Making an iMPACT - #7 - Kazarian & Shane v AMW

TNA Xplosion #86 Results (10th July 2004) - Total Non-Stop Action #106 Results (14th July 2004)

A little worryingly iMPACT seems to be shifting to feature more enhancement contest and less to clashes between regular roster members. This started on the previous week's episode and continues on the 16th July 2004 episode that we look at today. After just seven weeks on the air, the show is already beginning to feel less important. Would there be any diamonds in the rough, though? Let's have a look. 

This week's main event featured America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) going over Kazarian and Michael Shane after Dusty Rhodes named them the winners following a ten minute time-limit draw. I have to say that I came away being a little disappointed with the match that four-some put on, as all four have shown potential on previous episodes, but this match never didn't show much of that potential. Everyone seemed to be going through the motions with both their wrestling and character work with no one seemingly wanting to make the most of their main event slot. The action was okay, with James Storm's hot tag sequence probably being the brightest of the bout, but these men can definitely do better than they show here. A personal highlight of the match was when Chris Harris hit a Catatonic (Swinging Side Slam) so strong that it resulted in Kazarian landing on Harris' back! The Naturals and Triple X would get involved after the decision was made with the show ending in an eight team brawl. 

Another disappointing tag match would open the show as Triple X (Christopher Daniels & Primetime) would best Team Japan (Miyamoto & NOSAWA) [Powerplex] in a clunky collision. It felt like Miyamoto & NOSAWA were a step slower than they needed to be at any given moment and this in turn would harm Christopher Daniels' hot tag attempt, removing any real excitement that could have been had. Neither Team Japan member has impressed me so far with what they have to offer, with fairly sloppy offence, whilst struggling to keep up with the pace of their American colleagues. It's a shame the pair were chosen to represent Japan when competitors like Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kaz Hayashi & TAKA Michonoku were all on the AJPW at the time. 

The best match on the show came in the form of "The Baby Bear" Alex Shelley's victory over Roderick Strong [It Came From Japan II]. Both men are still pretty green at this point, with just over two years experience each and their best work still a head of them, but put together a short, technically sound encounter, that was more balanced than I was expecting to be. Both men hit tasty back breakers, with the match having an "Anything you can do, I can do better" type of vibe and Strong even manages a decent near fall after hitting his Death by Roderick double knee gutbuster. I'm not a massive fan of Shelley being partnered with Goldylocks and Abyss, the Baby Bear gimmick is very cringey, but Shelley himself has been impressive in what he's shown, despite clearly not being comfortable in the heel role. 

There's another two matches on the show, which feature Sabu squashing Alistair Ralphs (A1) and "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown making short work of Lex Lovett, before demanding a future NWA World Heavyweight Championship match.

Results

Tag Team Match: Triple X - "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels & Primetime def. Team Japan - Miyamoto & NOSAWA

Singles Match: Sabu def. Alistair Ralphs

Singles Match: "The Baby Bear" Alex Shelley (with "The Monster" Abyss & Goldylocks) def. Roderick Strong

Singles Match: "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown def. Lex Lovett

Tag Team Match: America's Most Wanted - "Wildcat" Chris Harris & "Cowboy" James Storm def. Kazarian & Michael Shane via Judge's Decision

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 3.25/10 

If two week's ago was the worst iMPACT to date, then we have a new contender to the crown. Three matches of any substance and I enjoyed one of them. Shelley v Strong was the best match on the show without the pair coming close to what they could do at the time, let alone what they'd be able to produce in the coming years. Two tag team matches that failed to deliver, as well as two enhancement bouts, there wasn't much else to say about this as iMPACT edges ever closer to a "Very Poor" rating. 

Content by James Marston. Additional content by David Marston.

Re-Making an iMPACT - #6 - The Naturals v Triple X (James & David Marston)

TNA Xplosion #85 Results (3rd July 2004) - Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling #105 Results (7th July 2004)

We called the last episode we looked at "The worst episode of iMPACT so far" and considering the show has hardly set the world a light in it's first five week's on the air, that's not a great sign for this fledgling product! Could TNA do any better for this 9th July 2004 edition of the show? 

The main event would see the first use of the time limit gimmick as a newly re-formed Triple X (Primetime & "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels) would come out victorious over new NWA World Tag Team Champions The Naturals (Andy Douglas & Chase Stevens) via judge's decision after Larry Zybszko awarded them the match. This was one of the strongest tag bouts that has featured on iMPACT over the last six weeks, with the two teams gelling well and producing a pacy contest that played to the strengths of the two teams. A sequence following the hot tag, where Daniels would hit both the Best Moonsault Ever and the Angel's Wings for near falls was extremely well put together. The one thing that majorly bugged me about the match was that the teams ended up swapping the sides of the ring they were in, which made the production feel a tad amateur. The time limit gimmick was used nicely, building up Primetime & Daniels, whilst not having to have the World Tag Team Champions get pinned. America's Most Wanted ran off Douglas & Stevens after the match, but the main beat at the very end was the tease of a potential rematch between the teams after they had two well-received bouts in 2003. 

In the show closer, Team Canada's Petey Williams would come out victorious over X Division Champion AJ Styles and Chris Sabin in a triple threat, after nailing Sabin with a Canadian Destroyer. Now, when you look at  the three names in this bout, you know you're going to get a good match and that's exactly what we got here. With a superb pace, the match was full of spots involving the three men, like Williams reversing a middle rope Styles Clash attempt into a rana sending Styles crashing on a grounded Sabin, a DDT combination by Styles and Sabin's funky enziguiri and DDT combination. There's also a great near fall thrown in, when Sabin hit Williams with a Gory bomb, only for Styles to break up the cover with springboard 450 splash. The timing of the spot makes the moment. The finish was put together nicely with Styles being more focused on hitting a tope conhilo onto rivals Michael Shane and Kazarian at ring-side,  before Scott D'Amore's distraction prevented Sabin from hitting the Cradle Shock and Williams to take advantage for the pinfall. A fun and clever match featuring three of the brightest talents for the first month and a half of the show. 

If two previous matches made this sound like a pretty good show, we also had The Elite Guard (Collyer, Hernandez & Onyx) going over 3 Live Kru (BJ James, Konnan & Ron "The Truth" Killings in a seriously shite match. Considering all three of The Elite Guard have a number of years of experience under their belts, they all look incredibly green, awkwardly taking 3LK's offence and barely being allowed any of their own. To be fair to them, when Konnan hits the ring for a hot tag, the 39 year old just stands still in the centre of the ring, whilst the Elite Guard bump around him, including a nasty hip toss to the outside. The finish is a load of bollocks also, as Jeff Jarrett turns up while Konnan has a Tequila Sunrise on Collyer, whack old Konnan 2012 on the head with a guitar, before Hernandez gets the pin. IF HERNANDEZ WAS THE LEGAL MAN, WHY HAD KONNAN GOT COLLYER IN THE TEQUILA SUNRISE? You fucking shitter, Konnan. The best thing about this entire debacle was when Elite Guard marched to ring in their berets! Then to make things just that little bit worse, Dusty Rhodes (58) & Larry Zybszko (52) meandered to the ring to scare off Jarrett & Elite Guard after the match. 

The rest of the show, featured a couple of squash matches as Kazarian & Michael Shane went over D-Ray 3000 & Shark Boy, whilst Abyss and the newly christened "Baby Bear" Alex Shelley (because he's managed by Goldylocks, geddit? Hawhaw) dispatched of Jerrelle Clark & Mikey Batts. We also got a rambling promo from Dusty Rhodes & Larry Zybszko following their run-in, to promote a ten man tag team GUITAR ON A POLE match for the PPV in five days time (wowza). 

Results 

Tag Team Match: Triple X - "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels & Primetime def. The Naturals - Andy Douglas & Chase Stevens in ten minutes

Tag Team Match: Kazarian & Michael Shane (with Traci) def. D-Ray 3000 & Shark Boy in 3 minutes, 15 seconds 

Tag Team Match: "The Monster" Abyss & "The Baby Bear" Alex Shelley (with Goldylocks) def. Jerrelle Clark & Mikey Batts in 2 minutes, 58 seconds 

Six Man Tag Team Match: The Elite Guard - Collyer, Hernandez & Onyx def. 3 Live Kru - BJ James, Konnan & Ron "The Truth" Killings in 3 minutes, 48 seconds

Three Way Match: Petey Williams (with Scott D'Amore) def. AJ Styles and Chris Sabin in 5 minutes, 47 seconds

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4/10 

The two top matches on this show are strong television bouts, both with different things to enjoy about that and both being very easy to watch. It's unsurprising that these matches feature those who have become the highlight of iMPACT in it's first 6 weeks, like AJ Styles and Chris Sabin, with Christopher Daniels being added to the mix this week and heavily impressing. Like previously, the storyline surrounding the NWA World Heavyweight title continue to hold the show back, as the weekly PPV's mean that TNA is having to try to promote ten man tag team bouts with a guitar on a pole. Over-looking the major talent on their roster, guys like Dusty Rhodes and Larry Zybszko, who are years past their prime are being presented as world beaters, for reasons that continue to escape me. That's before getting into the ridiculous Elite Guard or how much 3 Live Kru suck. 

Still, it was definitely better than last week's edition! 

13 Top Performers from 13 Years of TNA Wrestling

Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling is now 13 years old and will be celebrating their milestone with a special week of shows, including a live Impact Wrestling broadcast on the 24th June (aired 28th June on Challenge in the UK), the Slammiversary PPV on the 28th June (aired for free LIVE on Challenge in the UK) and Bell to Bell Special on 1st July featuring Kurt Angle defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Ethan Carter III (aired 5th July in the UK)

We here at Across the Pond Wrestling wanted to celebrate the very best of TNA, by looking at those performers who have put in highest quality matches for the company across the 13 years. Ordered by those deemed to have put in the most matches of a certain quality, this list gives the best of the best that have plied their trade in the company. Let us know if you agree with the list by contacting us on Twitter @ATPWrestling or our Facebook page here.

For those wondering those who narrowly missing out include The Motor City Machineguns, Jeff Hardy, Jerry Lynn, Rhino, Alex Shelley, Low Ki, Abyss and Petey Williams.

13th 

Jeff Jarrett

It would feel almost wrong not to include the founder of the group on this list, but he's found his way onto this list on his own merit inside the ring. With memorable bouts across his nine year run with the company, Jarrett's strongest run of matches may have come at the end of his time there. 2011 proved to be creatively fruitful for Jarrett, who produced three standout matches opposite rival, Kurt Angle. Fuelled by real-life issues between the two, Jarrett and Angle put together compelling bouts at Against All Odds, Lockdown and Slammiversary. Despite this impressive run of bouts, their strongest match and maybe the best of Jarrett's entire career may have come two years prior, when the two met in a No Disqualifcation match at Genesis, in an intense contest that shone the way for matches of the type in 2009. 

12th

Jay Lethal

A staple of the X Division between 2006 and early 2011, Jay Lethal's Black Machismo character might be the thing his TNA run is most often remember for, by the current ROH World Champion had his fair share of quality matches within a TNA, hence him finding his way onto this list. Lethal played his part in a number of the X-Divisions famed multi-man matches, like the first and only X Division King of the Moutain bout at Slammiversary 2009 and a three way bout with Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt at Sacrifice 2007, Lethal showed skill beyond his years in singles outings against the likes of Sonjay Dutt, Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles. Lethal was just 26 years old when he departed TNA, so this begs the question as to how far he could have ended up in the list if TNA had stuck with him, those currently watching Ring of Honor's product will know what the Black Machismo has become.

11th

Team 3D

The only tag team to make the top thirteen, Brother Devon and Brother Ray (later Bully Ray) arrived in TNA in 2005 and continued to put on their own brand of exciting brawling for the next nine years with the company (with a four year hiatus from teaming). Helped along by a strong tag team division that became a calling card for TNA between 2007-2009, the likes of LAX, The Motor City Machineguns, Beer Money and The British Invasion provided the pair with strong opponent in both conventional tag team action and multi-team action. It was however, the resurgence of the team in 2014 that provided them with their strongest TNA bouts in a superb series of bouts with old rivals The Hardy Boyz and The Wolves that became a highlight of TNA programming throughout the summer. 

10th

Sonjay Dutt

Perhaps a surprising inclusion at this place on the list for many, Sonjay Dutt proved to be one of the most consistent competitors in the X Division without ever being rewarded with a run with the belt. Dutt's participation in numerous stand-out multi man bouts throughout his TNA run (2003-2009, 2012-2013) would show up as the main for him finding himself here. A four way contest with Chris Sabin, Petey Williams and Puma at Destination X 2006 typified what the X-Division should have been, with plenty of Indy-style spots and dives, an all round fun match for any viewer. Dutt showed real chemistry in a 2007 feud with Jay Lethal, producing his best singles outings for the company, in a division that was often too over crowded in this period to spot light one on one feuds.

Dutt still works One Night Only tapings for the company and can has been most often seen in Pennsylvannia performing for Renegade Wrestling Alliance this year.

9th

Bobby Roode

Part of two succesful tag team who were both close to making this list on their own right, Bobby Roode has come into his own as a single competitor since breaking from James Storm in Beer Money Inc. in 2011. In fact, there's not many who have had better years in wrestling than Bobby Roode in 2012. Growing into his World Heavyweight Championship run, Roode blosomed in the spotlight. A superbly crafted contest with Austin Aries may have seen The IT Factor drop the title, but was also the strongest bout of his title run and arguably his best singles match to date.

Growing into one of the strongest performers around today, expect to see Roode jump higher up the list in the next few years, as he continues to put on stellar contests with the likes of Eric Young and Lashley. 

8th

Christian Cage

At the time of his debut, Christian Cage was the biggest name to jump from WWE to TNA in 2005. With two strong NWA World Heavyweight Championship runs in 2006 and 2007, Cage put together an impressive resume in TNA that see's him placed at Number 8 on the list, despite only spending three years with the company. 2007 was an especially strong year for the Instant Classic. Two superb bouts with Samoa Joe, first at Destination X and then Bound For Glory, as well as participating in a stand-out King of the Mountain match that also included Joe, AJ Styles, Chris Harris and Kurt Angle at Slammiversary. His strongest match of the year and perhaps the strongest of his entire TNA career was also a Ladder match against the up and coming Kaz in the final of the Fight for the Right tournament at Genesis, telling a great story as Cage bought out the best in the younger man.

Currently back with WWE, simply by the name Christian, it would appear that Cage's wrestling days are over, but he was still able to pick up two ECW Heavyweight Championships, two World Heavyweight Championships and an Intercontinetal title since returning in 2009.

7th 

Austin Aries

Whilst his first run with TNA would witness Aries taking part in a number of strong multi-man X Division contests, it was his return to the company in 2011 that saw him really find his groove for the company and shoot up to 7th place on this list. His push to the World Heavyweight Championship in 2012 was perhaps the most natural of any in recent years, as Aries gained a ground swell of support, helped along with by delivering in big matches against the likes of Brian Kendrick, Alex Shelley, Samoa Joe and Bully Ray, before culminating with the previously mentioned classic bout with Bobby Roode at Destination X. As shown in the above list of opponents, "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" has shown a real diversity since returning to TNA, proving to be one of the companies most reliable performers, excelling in almost any role he has been tasked with.

Currently engaged in Best of Five Tag Team Series alongside former rival Bobby Roode against The Wolves, Aries is still putting in strong solo performances, most notably a stellar World Heavyweight title bout with Kurt Angle a few weeks ago.

6th 

Frankie Kazarian

Frankie Kazarian maybe one of the most underrated performers in the history of TNA, with a lot of his strongest matches almost slipping under the radar when most will talk about the greatest matches in company history. A superb tag bouts with Christopher Daniels (before officially becoming Bad Influence) against Kurt Angle and AJ Styles from Slammiversary X and No Surrender 2012, a Ladder match with Christian Cage from Genesis 2007, one of the strongest openers you'll see against Angle from Slammiversary VIII and a stand out X-Division contest against Petey Williams at Slammiversary 2008. Throw in multi-man gimmick matches like King of the Moutain, Ultimate X and X Division Gauntlet's and you can see why Kazarian made it so high up this list.

Currently plying his trade in Ring of Honor, Kazarian is still tearing it up as part of Bad Influence, newly christened The Addiction, whilst also putting on a stand-out solo bout against Michael Elgin at Supercard of Honor IX in March this year.

5th

Chris Sabin

Despite the picture, it's probably wise to skip talking about Sabin's much maligned World Heavyweight Championship reign and remember a time when Sabin was ripping it up in the X Division. Sabin helped to solidify the style of the Division in it's infancy. Classic X-Division matches with the likes of Paul London, Michael Shane and Juventud Guerrera all took place on NWA:TNA's weekly PPV's, long before the company even started using the six sided ring. I'd seriously urge anyone unfamiliar with Sabin's earlier matches in TNA to go back and check out matches like the three way Ultimate X bout from Final Resolution 2005 with both AJ Styles and Petey Williams or the match that saw the Motor City Machineguns collide at Genesis 2009 or the highflying masterclass opposite Senshi at Bound for Glory 2006. 

Having spent some time this year in Europe for the likes of Southside and WXW, Sabin is currently back in Ring of Honor, where he recently took part in strong three way bout opposite Kyle O'Reilly and KUSHIDA at Global Wars 2015.

4th

Samoa Joe

Our article looking at Samoa Joe's TNA departure earlier this year covered a lot of Joe's career in TNA, if you're looking for something a little more in depth. Forever linked with two other men in our top four, it's almost impossible to talk about Samoa Joe's career with out mentioned Christopher Daniels or AJ Styles. It's impossible to talk about TNA's greatest matches without mentioning Unbreakable 2005. Never seen this epic three way? Stop reading this, find a copy of it somewhere, anywhere, grab an adult beverage, sit still, enjoy, then come back and thank ATPW. The match was so good that it was repeated a further three times at various PPVs throughout the years. 

After departing TNA earlier in the year, Joe has been everywhere! Eventually ending up in WWE on the NXT brand, Joe found time for brief stop in Ring of Honor, including a good main event opposite Jay Briscoe at Supercard of Honor IX in March.

3rd

Christopher Daniels

The greatest TNA performer never to win the World Heavyweight Championship, Christopher Daniels was a special talent for the company to have, someone who could take chicken shit and turn it into a tasty, succulent chicken salad. The best example of this would be Daniels time under the Suicide gimmick. Whilst attempting to portray a cross-over character from a video game that had very little to do with the video game, Daniels put in stand out performances in a number of multi-man X-Division bouts, whilst still putting in stellar performances without the hood against the likes of Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. 

Whilst almost always seemingly to struggle against TNA creative, leading Daniels to leave the company on a number of occasions, Daniels could always rely on his best friend AJ Styles to put on a classic match. With more chemistry than you could have shaken a shitty stick at, the duo were paired together more times than many will even remember and almost always delivered. Bouts at Against All Odds 2005, Final Resolution 2009 and Destination X 2012 stick out as their strongest contensts opposite one another and span both men's TNA careers.

Currently one of the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions with Kazarian, Daniels is still capable of putting together a solid singles match. His bout with Roderick Strong from Supercard of Honor IX in March standing testament to this.

2nd

Kurt Angle

Kurt Freaking Angle. The man is a machine, seriously if it was revealed tomorrow that the part of Kurt Angle had been played by a robot for the last ten years then I wouldn't be all that surprised. His move to TNA in 2006 is almost certainly the biggest moment in the history of the company, and oppened up the opportunity for Angle to work with some of the names elsewhere on this list. Most notably for his red hot feud with Samoa Joe, coming directly after Angle's TNA debut and allowing for three straight PPV bouts, the strongest at Turning Point 2006, the feud became the quintessential TNA rivalry.

Whilst Angle was well-reversed in tearing it up with other names from our top 13, your AJ Styles', Jeff Jarretts and Christian Cages, Angle really excelled in putting on world class matches with those who might not initially spring to mind. A Falls Count Anywhere bout with Abyss at Turning Point 2008 showed that Angle was more than capable of changing up his style to match that of his opponent, creating a brutally exciting contest. A year later at the 2009 event of the same name, Angle allowed TNA fans to see just what might have been for Desmond Wolfe as the pair worked a gorgeous technical bout. And in perhaps, Angle's greatest match under a TNA banner, his opponent came in the unlikely shape of Mr. Anderson in a Steel Cage bout at Lockdown 2010. Some lovely storytelling, amidst a brutal bout that was a fitting conclusion to the pairs 2010 feud. Almost certainly the best Mr. Anderson match of all time. 

The fact that Angle is still putting in quality matches like those against Austin Aries, Eric Young and Lashley in 2015 at the age of 46 is quite frankly ridiculous. The man is not a human being. It's true. It's damn true.

1st

AJ Styles

Could it have been anyone else? AJ Styles was TNA for many years, owning those early weekly PPV's in various combinations against the likes of Jerry Lynn, Lo-Ki and The Amazing Red. Those first months of action were what drew many to the TNA product when it was just in it's infancy and almost all of the matches that got people talking involved The Phenomenal One. 

Styles proved to be one of the most versatile member of the TNA roster, able to put on strong matches wherever he was placed on the card, with a variety of opponents and under a variety of different gimmicks. From almost every member of this list to guys like Tommy Dreamer in 2010 (perhaps Dreamer's last good match), Booker T in 2009 (perhaps a similar situation to that of Dreamer) or even mixing things up in a tag team with a limited Tomko in 2007 and 2008 and pulling out a number of credible bouts. Double Elimination, Three Way Dance, Ladder, Street Fight, Ultimate X, Iron Man, Steel Cage, Lethal Lockdown, King of the Moutain, Full Metal Mayhem, Table, Last Man Standing and I Quit, Styles was able to turn his hand to any match TNA threw at him and make it his own. 

Even when seemingly at odds with the company over contract issues, the then "Lone Wolf" was still killing it in his final six months with TNA, sometimes at the behest of the booking. Kurt Angle at Slammiversary IX, Austin Aries twice on Impact Wrestling, Bully Ray at Bound For Glory 2013 and Magnus twice on Impact Wrestling, including Styles' final match inside a TNA ring, proved that Styles still had a lot to give to the company. If this was a Styles who was a loggerhead with the company, imagine what the quality of action could have been like if the situation was a little more mutual.

Since departing the company in 2013, Styles has been able to really flex his creative muscles inside the ring, heading to New Japan Pro Wrestling, whilst also competing in the US for Ring of Honor. Bouts with Minoru Suzuki (G1 Climax 24 - Day 7) and Adam Cole (War of the Worlds 2015 - Day 1) would be great places for anyone looking to catch up on Styles' work since leaving TNA.

Finally...

We hope you've enjoyed checking out our list and hope it's made you think about checking out some classic TNA footage, as well as what those who have departed the company are up to these days.

Two Years of ATPW

Yes ladies and gentleman, it has been two whole years since the first proper article was posted on the then acrossthepondwrestling.blogspot.com. Over those two years we've developed into acrossthepondwrestling.co.uk, built a strong social media following with nearing 2000 followers on Twitter and over 1250 likes on Facebook, created partnerships with TNA Impact Wrestling and WWE Home video that continue to grow, featured numerous British wrestling promotions, and changed from a one man blog to featuring some of the most talented wrestling writers from across the United Kingdom. I'm truly proud of what ATPW has become and I look forward to seeing what the future holds. Believe me, I've got big plans for what ATPW should and could be in two years time.

I wanted to use this article to look back at our ten most popular articles over the last two years, in chronological order, to showcase the story of ATPW (so far) with the ten most important moments. Better get on with it, I suppose!

Five Questions With...Jay Hunter

Wednesday, 12th June 2013. 19:30

Five Questions With... was our first series of article, in which I interviewed a wide variety of wrestling personalities, from wrestlers to bloggers and everything in between, in a thinly vieled attempt to gain a viewership! Our most popular FQW article (and most popular article of all time) was with OSW Review's Jay Hunter. Gaining over 3000 views, Hunter discusses getting into wrestling, how OSW Review originated, the differences between 80's and modern wrestling, his top three matches of all time and more. A big thank you to Jay Hunter for the interview once more, and if you've never caught OSW Review you can check out their website here.

WWE Money in the Bank 2013 Review

Tuesday, 16th July 2013. 00:07

Our most popular PPV review ever (I'm not sure why this one get's more views than any other) with over 350 views. Money in the Bank 2013 featured Randy Orton and Damien Sandow winning Money in the Bank briefcase, whilst John Cena and Alberto Del Rio defended their respective World titles against Mark Henry and Dolph Ziggler respectively. The show received a fairly positive review from ATPW, and can viewed on the WWE Network here. 

WWE Smackdown 19th July 2013 Review

Wednesday, 24th July 2013. 00:12

The most popular review of a TV show from ATPW, was the 19th July 2013 episode of Smackdown! Back when ATPW was reviewing almost every wrestling TV shows on the market, for some reason this review has stood out and continued to get views. Whilst criticising Randy Orton for going through the motions in a main event bout with Alberto Del Rio, the review had praise for Vince McMahon announcing Vickie Guerrero as the new General Manager of Smackdown, with a rather optimistic hope that a strong heel Vickie could revitalise the waning brand.

WWE ECW Unreleased Volume 2 DVD Review

Friday, 16th August 2013. 04:30

DVD Review have been a big part of ATPW since it's inception and this one has received over 850 views, proving that there's still a hunger for ECW content out there. There's big praise for the set throughout, notably the variety of matches present on the three disc set and strong presentation from Joey Styles and Tommy Dreamer. A triple threat bout between Bam Bam Bigelow, Sabu and Taz is noted as the strongest of the set, which is still available for purchase here.

Five Questions With...Matt Striker

Wednesday, 21st August 2013. 19:30

Just two months removed from his WWE release ATPW was able to secure an interview with Matt Striker, under the FQW banner. Striker talks getting into wrestling, the circumstances involving his WWE release, his fondest memories of working for WWE, his three favourite matches and more. This is one of my personal favourite FQW interviews, with Striker engaging well with the interview style. 

WWE NXT 21st August 2013 Review

Friday 23rd August 2013. 01:47

August 2013 continued to provide articles that have kept people coming back to ATPW with this review of WWE NXT, in it's pre-WWE Network days. Of course, this was the episode that featured Sami Zayn and Antonio Cesaro battling it out in a Two out of Three Falls match. The review of this match was one of my favourite to write and one of the earlier pieces of writing I am most proud of for ATPW. The review also includes an interesting look at a bout between Dolph Ziggler and Rusev, as well as AJ Lee defending her Diva's Championship against Bayley.

TNA Impact Wrestling's Christopher Daniels Interview

Saturday, January 25th 2014. 22:42

The most popular article of 2014 was a BIG interview with then TNA star Christopher Daniels ahead of the 2014 Maximum Impact tour of the UK. Infamous for breaking the news that Daniels contract with TNA was up in April, and gaining coverage from the dirt sheets, this was an article that put ATPW on the map in terms of big name wrestler interviews. It's one of my biggest disappointments that half of the interview was lost due to a recording error, but still I spoke to Christopher Daniels for twenty minutes and no one will ever know what we spoke about!

TNA British Bootcamp's Grado Interview

Tuesday, 25th November 2014. 22:24

Recorded on the telephone in a hospital car park in Aberystywyth (it's a long story), this interview with Grado came at a time where he was featured in the final six of TNA's British Bootcamp. Actually ATPW's third interview with Grado (following a FQW interview and one recorded on the streets of Glasgow for Youtube), this one features a lot of talk about British Bootcamp, getting "over" in America, British wrestling, social media and more. Oh also the possibility of a Grado vs. Goldberg dream match!

Making Noise, Drinking Cider: Maffew at PCW Road to Glory Night 1

Friday, 27th March 2015. 19:53

The only writer other than creator James Marston to make the Top 10 is Botchamania's own Maffew! Proving instantly popular on ATPW, Maffew brought his own fanbase over to ATPW and introduced a different style of writing to the site, as he looked at the first night of PCW Road to Glory tournament. Featuring a no holds barred looked at the show, with a refreshingly honest review, Maffew also offered plenty of laughs and gags to keep things entertaining. Brit-Wres reviews always prove popular and this is the most popular of them all on ATPW.

TNA's Rockstar Spud Interview

Monday, 30th March 2015. 23:16

Coming as part of the #ATPW24 campaign that raised over £200 for MIND, there was a special interview with then TNA X Division Champion Rockstar Spud! Spud discussed the previous night's WrestleMania, changes in the Spud character, his on-screen feud with Ethan Carter III, his involvement in the second series of British Boot Camp, his return to the British indy scene and what the future might hold for Spud. It's our most popular article of 2015 so far, and for interview conducted by someone nearing 60 hours without sleep, is bloody good if I do say so myself!


I hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as I have have, or if this is your first ATPW article has enjoyed what is ensentially a starter pack to knowing what we do here at ATPW. To all those who have viewed ATPW in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, China, Israel, Canada, Ukraine, Turkey and anywhere else over the last two years a big thankyou and I hope we continue to produce content that keeps you coming back for more. Peace, love and wrestling. James.

Making Noise, Drinking Cider: Maffew at PCW Road to Glory 2015 (Night 1)

Botchamania's Maffew makes his debut on ATPW, discussing his experiences at the first night of Preston City Wrestling's Road to Glory Tournament on 13th March.

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It's always fun going to re-visit Preston, which is surprising considering how miserable the place is. I spent three years there at UCLan and felt relieved when I left, safe in the knowledge I’d never need to visit the North-West section of GreyLand. Then as soon as I leave, Preston City Wrestling takes off in a big way and I find myself buggering back to it on a semi-regular basis. Life, eh?

I wasn't actually going to go to their Road To Glory two-day event due to a lack of commitment from mates. Going to wrestling by yourself can sometimes be fun but like a lot of things, they're much more fun with someone else. A vote of confidence, really. But on Friday afternoon one of my friends informed me''oh yeah, me and this guy are going and you can sleep on this guy's couch so you don't need to get a hotel'' and I fucked out of bed (Not to self: change to ''I left work'', makes me look more proper) as quick as possible and ran to the train station to get to Preston via Carlisle.

The wonder of Carlise train station

Oh yes, bloody Carlisle station. Every other train station in England has realised how useful those big neon boards are that tell you which trains are going where but OH NO, NOT CARLISLE. That's for those upper-class train stations. So everybody runs around looking for a station helper (or whatever they call Fat Controllers in 2015) to ask which train is theirs. ''The last VHS in Oxfam'' as Malcolm Tucker would say.

PCW's 'thing' is mixing up a range of imports new and old with the best wrestlers in the UK. That already makes for a unique experience but the shows being held in the Evoque Nightclub (in the middle of a dance floor, in fact) with fans nearly drowning in booze ensures there's no such thing as a dull PCW show. On the journey there, I was notified that Alberto Del Rio and Justin Gabriel (the two most prominent wrestlers in the advertising) would not be there. Gabriel was out due to VISA issues (a UK wrestling tradition almost as old as Big Daddy) and Del Rio was out with a leg injury (that didn't prevent him from wrestling days later elsewhere, just saying) but PCW managed to secure Carlito and Christopher Daniels as replacements so ''wunderbar'' as Tudor Tenpole might say. 

I missed the first few matches (but I got to read some of Rik Mayall's autobiography on the train so swings and roundabouts) but arrived in time to see Bubblegum pin Ashton Smith to advance in the tourny. My mates and I stood next to the entrance ramp, so I was in fair position to throw praise at the good guys and hurl death at the baddies.  I’m old fashioned though. In 2015, crowds are more than happy to cheer whoever the bloody hell they like, which presents us with situations like Matt Hardy vs. Rampage Brown. 

Now, you’d expect the special guest to be the fan favourite, but because Rampage is generally considered one of the best wrestlers in the UK and is a PCW mainstay, the crowd was fairly split. This despite Rampage being part of the main Heel stable Team Single. Making this crowd even more complicated, PCW brings in people from everywhere (I currently hail from Newcastle and the guys around me had travelled from Leeds) and in the UK a wrestler’s hometown has an impact on if he gets booed or cheered. So even though big, bad Rampage spent most of the match pounding away and gloating against a former teen heart-throb,  the air was filled with conflicting ‘’We all hate Leeds Scum’’, ‘’We all love Leeds Scum’’ , ‘’V1’’ and ‘’We Want Jeff’’ chants. So yeah, got all that? Christ that was like typing out a Games Workshop manual. 

The anarchic crowd response fuels the action, even if sometimes the crowd loses itself and focuses more on entertaining themselves than respecting the match. Matt Hardy won after squeaking a pin to the sounds of high-pitched cheers and gravelly-voiced boos. The amount of imports PCW brings in gets criticised by some (to be cynical, they’re usually from UK wrestlers who probably see it as a spot they could be taking. BLOODY YANKS, COMING OVER HERE AND TAKING OUR JOBS etc.) But there’s no arguing with moments like Matt Hardy taking photos during the intermission at £20(!) a pop...and a large queue immediately forming. There’s method to this ma(tt)ness. Fair play to him but I went and got some Hooch (which like Matt Hardy was popular years ago).

Erm...

Second half started and forget everything I said about the Heel/Face/North-East/North-West divides as Carlito wrestled T-Bone. T-Bone is a large tattooed man who everyone hates. And fears. There’s been a lot written about how the age of the Heel is over because wrestlers focus on cool moves to ensure they get a reaction (and get booked again), there’s no wrestlers that can be considered actual Heels. It’s a good debate to have, which is why it’s refreshing to see T-Bone wrestle. As soon as he hits the ring and the people next to me are sure he’s out of ear-shot, they start telling me stories of how T-Bone is genuinely T-Bone all the time. Other wrestlers may be cordial with wrestlers after shows....but not him. The best story told during his intro is how T-Bone stared at a fan for the entire time during his match, after the match and then after the show too, all the time staying silent. In the age of the fan feeling smarter than the wrestlers because they have the internet,  T-Bone’s smarter than all of them put together. If Team Single is The Four Horsemen, T-Bone is Tully Blanchard: the evillest and most irredeemable of all Heels.

Carlito’s loved by the crowd because he’s cool and not T-Bone. To the dismay of the crowd, Carlito loses and T-Bone continues to make people uncomfortable.

Crowd gets really hyped for the next match, which is between the always lovable John Morrison and the beloved Will Ospreay. Last time I saw Ospreay wrestle was in IPW:UK and there were members of the crowd attempting to run in to save him from the beating he was receiving from Paul Robinson. I try and get a ‘’JoMo’’ chant going to the tune of Gary Glitter’s ‘’I’m The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)’’ but North-West people think that chanting a song by a nonce is in bad taste. They were all singing to Michael Jackson later on so fuck ‘em. Anyway, Ospreay is really making a name for himself as The Next Big Thing of UK Wrestling, which I think is unfair as the guy’s already made it in my eyes. Both men showcase their physical prowess (and JoMo still looks stunning) and ability to flip and flop without destroying the low ceiling with eventually JoMo taking it. Ospreay has that Daniel Bryan level of over, whenever he loses he gets cheered after. Good times here.

Next up, long-time favourite Martin Kirby took on surprise star Christopher Daniels. Daniels has been wrestling for donkey’s years but since the Bad Influence change he’s never been better. Both men take it up to Tim Curry levels of ham and embrace the crowd’s chants of ‘’Crystal Maze’’, ‘’which one’s which?’’ and best of all ‘’Martin Kirby’s wrestling his dad.’’ Both men excel in the fun, fast-paced wrestling genre and the result is...a fun, fast-paced match. Kirby took the win and danced to Numa Numa.

And your first main event (of three) was a big deal. A year ago, AJ Styles delivered the Styles Clash to Lionheart who ended up landing the wrong way and getting legitimately fucked up. No storyline or bullshit, the poor sod thought he would have to retire. One of the realest reactions I’ve been a part of was Lionheart announced his return at the PCW/ROH weekender to take on the former model (but still a cock) Joey Hayes. The crowd were overjoyed at the idea of the underdog returning, especially because they hate AJ Styles now (When Cedric Alexander explained his favourite match was against AJ Styles, everyone in PCW stopped what they were doing and booed unmercifully) and tonight in the main event, he returned...

...to a less than great reaction. Man this was sad. The noticeably quieter crowd (apparently because some people left now the imports had gone) were respectful but it didn’t stop people saying loudly ‘’yeah, Lionheart’s not very likable is he?’’ and being convinced Lionheart was going to turn heel in his big comeback match. Some crazy logic there. Despite teasing some neck-related moves, Hayes thankfully fell to Lionheart to give us a vaguely happy ending. Grim.

After the show, there was comedy from the reliably rugged and rough Chris Brooker and Billy Kirkwood. I don’t want to recap anything as it’d mean telling their jokes and that’s their bread and butter so just take my word for it (Lots of nob gags.) They finished their set with Karaoke with Dave Mastiff, the ref who looks like Garfunkel, Dave Rayne and Uhaa Nation. By now, everybody was aware of Uhaa’s imminent departure but it didn’t stop him tearing his shirt to ‘’Real American’’ and doing the Vince walk to ‘’No Chance In Hell.’’

The rest of the night got blurry as more Hooch was consumed, words were said and Chris Masters blanked me. Then we went to The Dog (the last open pub in Preston) and sang to ‘’Wanna Be Like You’’ and had those Vodka Slushies that are cheap and...none of this has anything to do with wrestling so I’ll end it.

UNTIL THE NEXT SHOW.

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You can find out more about PCW on their website, Facebook and Twitter pages. You can catch Mr. Anderson, Davey Richards and Angelina Love there on 29th March, as well as Kevin Nash, Rob Van Dam, Eric Bischoff, Justin Gabriel, Juventud Guerrera, Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven on April 24th and 25th.

Don't forget our 24 hour Challenge begins at 4am on 30th March, with site founder James Marston attempting 24 articles in 24 hours for MIND, the Mental Health Charity. If you'd like to donate, you can do so here www.justgiving.co.uk/acrossthepondwrestling