FCP/ATTACK! WrestleHouse '18 [Live] Review // 26th January 2018

It was the first time inside Starworks Warehouse this year and we had the sequel to last year's classic WrestleHouse show, that saw two BritWres favourite Fight Club: PRO and ATTACK! Pro Wrestling come together for a WrestleBration of epic proportions. The show featured the first TeamHouse Elimination Situation match as it's main event, as Mark Haskins, FCP Champion Chris Brookes, Jordan Devlin, Chief Deputy Dunne & Dan Moloney took on Trent Seven, Travis Banks, MK McKinnan, Clint Margera & Millie McKenzie, as well as a rematch between WWN star Keith Lee and Infinity Trophy winner Omari and a tag team clash with Aussie Open's Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher facing Team SPLX members Zack Sabre Jr. and Angelico. WrestleHouse '18 had a lot to live up to, but was it up to the task?  

Photo Credit // The Ringside Perspective // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Big Cartel

Fight Club: Pro // Big Cartel // Website // Twitter // Facebook // Vimeo

Attack Pro Wrestling // Big Cartel // Twitter // Facebook // Vimeo

Before we get into the wrestling content, lets talk about the changes made at Starworks for the show. Firstly, it was fucking freezing. I'm not entirely sure why, but there appeared to be a big hole in the far wall. An industrial heater placed in the corner of the room did little to combat this and indeed only seemed to heat the few feet immediately in front of it. It felt like this effected the atmosphere somewhat as the crowd was definitely more subdued than previous events, especially during the opener and stretches of the main event. Other minor issues included moving the food stall parallel the bar, meaning the queue stretched to in front of the merch table. Starworks taking over the running of the bar also seemed to create longer and slower moving queues for drinks. I don't know what happened, but not only did it make it harder to buy beverage (with prices also soaring - £2.50 for a can of Red Bull?), but also to move around the venue in general.  

TeamHouse Elimination Situation Match // Mark Haskins & Chris Brookes & Jordan Devlin & Chief Deputy Dunne & Dan Moloney def. Trent Seven & Travis Banks & MK McKinnan & Clint Margera & Millie McKenzie 

Where to begin with the lengthy main event? There was an awful lot going on in the first ever TeamHouse Elimination Situation match and I'll get into what worked and what didn't work for me in a moment. Firstly, lets talk about the team and some of that Stupid Sexy stuff that's been sweeping through ATTACK! like the sexiest plague you ever did see. Beyond the captains of Travis Banks and FCP Champion Chris Brookes, there was nothing known of who they'd chosen to be on their teams before they headed out. Haskins being on Brookes' team was a surprise, because to my knowledge he'd been a babyface beforehand in FCP, however the little story with the former PROGRESS World Champion initially appearing uncomfortable teaming with the likes of Dan Moloney, before becoming a viciously integral part of Team Brookes was one of the stronger parts of the match for me. Chief Deputy Dunne working double duty was also a strange move. Whether this was the initial plan or not I'm not sure, but if you pushed me I'd lean closer towards the latter. Banks' team read like a Then...Now...Forever of Fight Club: PRO, featuring four former champions. It was great to have MK McKinnnan back with us once again and when given the opportunity he showed glimpses of what had made him a highly touted prospect before his hiatus, highlighted by a nice sequence with Jordan Devlin. 

Lets delve into discussion of the match, by looking at the positives. Obviously, the booking of Millie McKenzie in the match was a major plus point (as has been since McKenzie debuted in FCP last June) but I want to focus a little more on that and the finish a little further down. So instead lets begin at the begin, the wild and crazy brawl around ringside, that erupted as Team Banks had made their Stupid Sexy reappearance. Thankfully (and selfishly), the majority of action was kept to around the ring, as this meant that from my front row vantage point I didn't miss much at all, as has been the case when FCP multi-mans start roaming the entire Warehouse. All ten wrestlers scrapping and chopping and striking each other with good intensity was a great way to start the match and made use of the sheer amount of bodies available. How often do you get ten performers in the same match in the UK? Kid Lykos mirroring Chris Brookes' actions at ringside, like if Damien Mizdow had been a damn dirty Wolf, was highlight of the short face-in-peril situation, before a Travis Banks hot tag sent the match into chaos once more. Multiple corner cannonballs, a spectacular four-way Coast to Coast and multiple dives to the outside were capped off by Clint Margera climbing a ladder inside the ring and leaping off over the barricade and onto the multiple bodies below.

That's enough being nice for now, because as much as I love praising FCP there were a few issues with the main event for me. Firstly, the cold crowd was absolutely knackered by the time this match started, which was equal parts the temperature in the room, a lengthy interval causing the match to go on super late even for Fight Club and the draining nature of Keith Lee vs. Omari. This meant that parts of the match played out in front of what I'd refer to as a subdued audience, not exactly silent, but not exactly what you'd expect from a record FCP crowd during a main event either. For me, this wasn't helped by the general lack of story heading into the match. In December, we'd seen Banks tag with Chris Brookes, but in June we'd seen Brookes cheat Banks out of the FCP title. For me, these big matches work best when there's a grudge between the two teams or a reason that they're fighting and whilst the majority of the characters involved are well-defined, it was difficult to be fully invested without a burning issue. Alongside this, I wasn't a massive fan of how the match was structured either, with a flurry of eliminations coming in a block, meaning that those exits felt unimportant and in fact, inconsequential. Coming soon after a series of one in one out finishers that saw everyone get involved didn't help the elimination stretch, that saw Moloney, McKinnan, Dunne, Margera and Devlin exit the match. 

So, lets get back to Millie McKenzie, shall we? Her story throughout the match was the strongest part of the contest. From her early hot tag and german suplex festival, to a stretch as face-in-peril, her narrative heated up following the aforementioned dive sequence. It was difficult to get a full view of the spot, as it was on the opposite side of the ring from where I was, but Brookes gave McKenzie an neckbreaker off the barricade and onto the hard concrete floor. From my vantage point the spot looked nasty and I certainly wouldn't want to fall onto the solid Starworks floor. McKenzie was helped to the back by staff, with little details like Trent Seven disappearing backstage for a while adding to the angle. The crowd gave McKenzie a rousing applause upon her exit, but following Travis Banks departure at the hands of Brookes, the fans loudly called for Millie to return, because this is wrestling and we like to think we know how it works. Out came McKenzie, selling like a boss, for a gutsy underdog scrap with Brookes, taking everything that the Champion had to offer but continuing to stay in the match. The finish would see PROGRESS' Jinny make her FCP debut, costing Millie the match just when it appeared that McKenzie was going to able to do the impossible. It was a cool way to start introduce a new character and begin a proper feud in FCP and also allowed Brookes to walk out as the last person standing and make up a little for the fact that he didn't defend the championship once again.

Keith Lee def. Omari // Pinfall

Opening sentence mentioning difficult second albums. Follow up sentence listing second albums that improved upon the original. Third sentence discussing a comparison between second albums and Keith Lee and Omari's second match in Fight Club: Pro. You get the picture. The original clash between Lee and Omari at International Tekkers Part 1 last July was an incredible match, with a result that no one saw coming, but in my opinion the second clash topped it. Yes, it didn't have the massive shock surprise finish, with Omari going from strength to strength since July, including winning the Infinity Trophy in December, but here was a richer match, with a deeper story, featuring opportunities for call backs, awe-inspiring highspots and some of the most painful sounding strikes Starworks has ever witnessed. It was fucking glorious stuff, it really was. 

The best match of the night had the crowd in the palm of the performers hands, with the two often taking their time to tell the story right and knowing when to speed up at the right moments. Special shoutout to the "Ooooh, bask in Omari" chant because it was brilliant. The repeated strikes sequence with Omari trying to keep up with Lee and getting the fuck beaten into him, selling his beating and returning for more. If anyone in the crowd hadn't already been won over by Omari's fighting spirit, then this would've done it. The tilt towards the finish was balls out ridiculous. From Lee's super silly one handed chokeslam to the pair of one counts for both men to the call back to the finish of their first match to Omari hitting a German suplex with Lee positioned on the middle rope, the final third of the match was utterly bonkers. Oh yeah, they did a top rope Spanish Fly as well, because why the fuck not? Lee has no business taking Spanish flys, but I'm not going to tell him that. There'd been so much going on and Starworks was rocking, that it almost felt like an anti-climax when Lee managed to vanquish the Infinity winner with Ground Zero. To be honest, I was just glad to be able to get my breath back! 

Following the match, Lee got on the microphone, letting Omari know that he originally believed the result of their first encounter was a fluke, but after the rematch he'd changed his mind. Lee then challenge Omari to a rubber match at some point in the future, before requesting that Omari's Infinity Trophy and therefore FCP title shot would be on the line. Oh yes, please and thank you, sir. The first two matches between this pairing have been electric, mixing storytelling and indie madness with the emotional connection between the up and comer from Birmingham and the Wolverhampton audience. The third clash between the two will have an awful lot to live up to, but even more opportunities to develop narrative and push the envelope even further. If you've missed the first two, treat yourself to 

Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis def. Zack Sabre Jr. & Angelico // Pinfall 

Aussie Open picked up their first win in FCP, as they picked up a big victory over the first time pairing of Zack Sabre Jr. and Angelico, with Fletcher pinning ZSJ after Davis hit Close Your Eyes and Count to Fuck, following a very good tag team match. The contest was put together splendidly, with Davis and ZSJ and then Fletcher and Angelico working two lovely and very different sequences to kick things off, with a split crowd finding it hard to pick between the Aussie regulars and the international SPLX sponsored tandem. This changed pretty quickly when ZSJ starting pulling out some of that vicious technical bastardry that's he's become quite fond lately. Nasty looking holds, stomping and a little illegal use of the ropes kept Sabre and Angelico in control of Fletcher, with Davis getting crashed off the apron at any point it seemed like the Aussie Arrow was about to make a comeback. Whilst a portion of the crowd stuck with the scientific wankers, there was definitely a ground swell of support for Davis & Fletcher and even a good deal of heat for Team SPLX. I really get a kick out of this side of ZSJ and it's always a pleasure to boo him when he's doing his methodical arsehole routine, whilst Fletcher is a delight when fighting underneath because he sells using his entire body.


Once the hot tag was made the rest of the match featured some very good near falls for both teams, whilst Davis, knackered from constantly being knocked off the apron, looked to nail his Close Your Eyes and Count to Fuck piledriver. This resulted in a wonderful exchange where Sabre Jr. was able to escape the piledriver attempt and lock in an arm bar instead, which was slickly done and set up the finish for later on. The near falls included a lovely sequence where Fletcher fired up after Sabre started slapping the fuck out of his face, only for Angelico to come sweeping in after a Michonoku Driver to pick up a strong near fall off a crucifix bucklebomb, as well as Aussie Open's Fidget Spinner. With Aussie Open finally able to isolate Sabre, they were able to get revenge for his rapscallion-esque behaviour with a superkick from Fletcher and the aforementioned CYEACTF (say it) sealing their first win in the promotion. With the Dream Tag Team Invitational just around the corner, Davis & Fletcher have to be considered amongst the favourites to take the crown, mostly because three Aussie Open matches across a weekend would be best for everyone. 

ATTACK! Tag Team Championships // Lloyd Katt & Split McPins (C) def. Chief Deputy Dunne & Los Super Santos Federales Jr. and Martina & The Love Making Demon and Drew Parker & ELIJAH // Pinfall

On an event that felt nowhere near as ATTACKy as last year's show, we did get to see the ATTACK Tag Team titles defend as Lloyd Katt & Splits McPins of Bowl-A-Rama made their fifth successful defence of the belts in a Four-way clash also involving The Anti-Fun Police's Chief Deputy Dunne & Los Super Santos Federales Jr, the newly formed Session Mouse duo of "Session Moth" Martina & The Love Making Demon and x Nothing to Prove x's Drew Parker & ELIJAH in a fun, yet occasionally rushed opener. The match was mostly comedy antics, based around a couple of character interactions and Santos saying things in his weird Spanish/Welsh hybrid accent. The highlight came from a wonderful bowling sequence, where Katt & Pinns fired bowling balls into the waiting crotches of their opponents seated in the corner, only for Martina to begin begging for the ball to be lobbed betwixt her legs, because she's mad into that bowling life. The finish was also well done with a flurry of action before Bowl-a-Rama picked up the pin on former ATTACK! Champion Dunne with More Bowl for Your Buck. 

However, the match wasn't without it's problems. The biggest of these for me was the crowd didn't seem all that aware of a number of the characters involved. Perhaps it was the cold, but the boisterous atmosphere that one would've expected for such a match in ATTACK!, especially when it comes to the popular Bowl-A-Rama tandem, just didn't seem to be present here, with only pockets of the crowd seeming to know the ATTACK! performers. A lot of the multi-man stuff didn't hit home for me either, with the usually creative promotion falling back on a number of multi man tropes, that beyond the bowling sequence, felt a little tired. The most obvious example being everyone getting involved in a vertical suplex melee that seemed to take an age to set up, as the competitors joined in one by one. The fact that the resulting suplex (or at least the half involved the Anti-Fun Police) ended up looking woeful didn't help the situation. I was also dissapointing to see absolutely nothing made of the brutal attack from x Nothing to Prove x on Dunne at ATTACK!'s Failure's Not Flattering (Where's The Passion?) in Bristol less than a week earlier, as seeing as this was supposed to be a joint show you would've expected the two teams to have at least hinted at what had gone down there. 

El Phantasmo def. Adam Brooks

El Phantasmo made the most of his first singles match in FCP with a victory over the debuting Adam Brooks in a good showcase for the Canadian and Australian. For some reason (I'll blame the freezing temperature once more), I decided to write three whole notes on this one, but that says more about this reviewer than it does about the match. Battling with a crowd that had just came back from one of the longest intervals in professional wrestling history, Phantasmo and Brooks worked hard to draw the audience in, with Phantasmo able to garner a decent amount of crowd support in the end, thanks to a fiery comeback that complimented the strong heel/face dynamic that was present throughout the bout. The series of suicide dives from Phantasmo was the highlight, alongside his always impressive rope-walk hurricanrana. This was the first time I've found myself fully on board with Phantasmo, after only seeing him in multi-man bouts to this point and it was his performance when fighting from underneath that made this match what it was. I've heard good things about Brookes from performances elsewhere in the country and whilst I'm not sure we got him at his best in Wolverhampton, there was just enough here to see his potential and hopefully he's back in FCP later this year.

Shay Purser stunnered Joel Allen and Matt Richards 

Because the main event had ended with popular babyface Millie McKenzie taking a beating from Jinny, the show closed with referee Shay Purser coming out to the ring, once again to Glass Shatters by Disturbed, before stunnering fellow ref Joel Allen and ring announcer Matt Richards. Why not? 

ATPW Scale Rating // 6.69/10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale

FCP DTTI Hangover (Live) Review

On 19th May, Fight Club: Pro found itself a new home at Starworks Warehouse in Wolverhampton and hosted the aftermath of their epic Dream Tag Team Invitational Easter weekender. The show featured a Six Man Scramble with Angelico, Jimmy Havoc, Jordan Devlin, Eddie Dennis, Dan Moloney and Clint Margera, the DTTI winners #CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) facing off with the debuting Scarlet & Graves (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) and The Hunter Brothers (Lee & Jim) and Travis Banks defending the FCP Championship against Trent Seven, as well as appearances from Kay Lee Ray, Joe Coffey, "The Regulator" Wolfgang, Kris Wolf and "Session Moth" Martina...but was it any good? Let's take a look, shall we? 

Pre-Show
Omari def. Dallaway, Johnny T & Fletcher 

These multi-man trainee "dark" matches had become a bit of a tradition towards the end of FCP's run at Fixxion, so it was nice to see them return for the Starworks show. These usually short and pacy matches work quite nicely at whetting the appetite for some a more substantial graps feast to come, like a nice soup with a crusty cob or whatever your starter of choice is...prawn cocktail, whatever. The first half of the bout was 1i1o type stuff, with a number of big strikes that left Omari with a bright red chest, then into the obligatory dive sequence, before a double german suplex spot was aided with an Omari enziguiri. For me, the best action on offer came when Kyle Fletcher and Omari went at it, putting together hard-hitting slick strike sequence as well cool spot with The Big O slingshotting to the inside and straight into a Fletcher superkick. Overall, the timing could have been better at points, but nothing that had a major effect and with this technically being a trainee dark match those kind of things are to be expected as the four being to iron out their creases. As with any starter this was a nice lead in for what was to come, without ever threatening to fully satisfy the hunger.   

Wolfgang def. Coffey 

The opener of the show proper was an interesting choice, as Wolfgang and Joe Coffey met in their most Southern match to date. Originally, Coffey and Wolfgang were scheduled to take part in a six man match, but Wolfie cut a quick promo and we had an all Scottish affair to kick things off in Wolverhampton. Now, I've thought about how to review this match more than probably any other match on the card, because in the moment, I just didn't get it. Not that I felt I'd seen a bad match, but one that just hadn't grabbed me in the way I perhaps expected it to do. Being the conscientious reviewer that I am and knowing that I'd enjoyed both guys on previous occasions, I thought I'd ask some of my wrassle pals what they thought and almost every single one of them seemed to have a higher opinion of the bout than I did.  I wouldn't say anyone raved about it, but they enjoyed the big lads battle, Marc Pearson noted the psychology in particular, but I still wasn't buying into it. 

I'm not sure why I did...not enjoy isn't the right phrase, because there was some lovely stuff and a few spots that I'll always pop for (Coffey's triple jump crossbody)...so perhaps the best term is fully appreciate. I'm not sure why I didn't fully appreciate this match. I've purposefully not gone back and watched it since, because I wanted to give my feelings on it from being there in the space and how it affected me. Perhaps it was the new venue, which is much more spacious than Fixxion and it took some getting used to the new atmosphere. Perhaps it was the ring breaking early on, when it looked like one of the board came at the very least loose on a bodyslam, which threw me a little off. Perhaps it was coming off a four man into a singles match that I expected to be a six man did something to me. I'm not sure. Looking back on my notes, it reads like a decent opener with some big spots like Coffey's running jump over the barricade and mid-rope moonsault from Wolfgang, before Wolfie picked up his first FCP after blocking a superplex and nailing The Howling. I'm looking forward to rewatching this and hopefully reappraising in the future, as well as getting to see how both fit into Starworks plans going forward. 

KLR def. Wolf

Kay Lee Ray's first FCP singles win against the debuting Kris Wolf from Stardom was a fun bout whilst it lasted but I came away a little disappointed. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this bout and I had a ball of a time watching it, but there just wasn't enough of it. After a technical start, the two had some jokes revolving around the height differential (KLR is 5' 8'' and Wolf just 4' 10'') including a surprise appearance from Viper to even the odds, we had KLR replying to Wolf biting her arm, by biting Wolf's tail and the two looking to use the new FCP set-up as much as possible. Kay Lee jumped off the barricade with a forearm and then Wolf used the new entrance way as a set off monkey bars, initially thrusting out for a kick and then transitioning into hurricanrana onto the floor. Creative stuff on the outside with the exploration of the new venue being a bit of theme for the whole show. 

Once the action returned to the ring I was expecting business to pick up. We'd seen flashes throughout the match with some fast paced roped running stuff and a cool succession of near falls, but by this point I was chomping at the bit to see Wolf and KLR hit top gear and by the bouts conclusion I don't think we got anywhere close to seeing what the pair could have done together. A couple of near falls for each, KLR off a Gory bomb and a wheelbarrow suplex for Wolf and it seemed like the bout was heading towards it's crescendo and then Kay Lee slapped on a koji clutch and that was that. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, perhaps some more firey exchanges, perhaps a gear change, perhaps some cool submission escapes and just a general build up of aggression towards a conclusion, but I certainly wasn't expecting Wolf to tap so quickly. I'm hoping we get a rematch between the two, depending on how long Wolf spends in the country, because a second match building on the stellar work done here would take away my needy complaints. I want more, dammit.    

#CCK def. Scarlet & Graves and Hunter Brothers 

With Mark Andrews off the card, The Hunter Brothers joined #CCK's Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos and the debuting Rockstar Pro regular's Scarlet & Graves' Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz in a superb three way tag team match as the first half main event. I both hate and love #CCK, sometimes at the same time. I don't know when it happened but Brookes & Lykos have developed into one of the slickest tag team acts in the world. Ever little detail they've added over the past year or so, after branching out from Attack! into FCP, IPW:UK, Southside and elsewhere, Brookes spitting and chucking water at lads, Lykos never shutting up and never being able to hit a brainbuster and also those sicking fucking tag moves, those little details make them so easy to hate, but so entertaining to watch at the same time. When the best boys controlled, first Wentz and then Jim Hunter, they held the crowd in just the right place for the madness that was about to come our way. 

Christ, once the momentum swung towards the Tipton and Ohio connection, as Jim tagged in Xavier things became a balls to the wall sprint, with a shed load of highspots and more sicking fucking tag moves than you could shake a shitty stick at. Dives to the outside from all four of our heroes, big strikes, the Hunters swinging into dropkick, the sweet gory blockbuster that CCK do and that's not even the half of it, as Scarlet & Graves also won over a number of new fans with their high energy offence. My notes on this match got gradually less descriptive as the bout went on, to the point where my final bullet point was "Finish is a series of ridiculous things seemingly all happening simultaneously. It is fucking marvellous". If that's not a good enough description for you, go and watch the match and come back and tell me I didn't get it spot on.  

Devlin def. Angelico, Havoc, Dennis, Moloney and Margera 

OTT's Jordan Devlin picked up a big win on his FCP debut in an eclectic six man scramble, that showcased a real mixed bag of performers and went all over the building. With a variety of different styles, movesets and personas, this was never going to be boring, especially with the crowd so intent on trying to get the attention of Dan Moloney. The mach started with a series of strikes, before the six men worked a lovely sequence where Devlin and Moloney thwarted dive attempts from Angelico and Eddie Dennis, before Jimmy Havoc and Clint Margera got the better of the villain, hit stereo suicide dives and Dennis and Angelico went up and over to the floor. It was a structurally simple opening, but non the less it was effective, with the initial denial of the fan favourite flips meaning they meant a whole lot more when we got them, and more, shortly after. 

Then, of course, there was the crowd brawling. Boy was there some crowd brawling. Starworks is much larger than Fixxion so it seemed like everyone decided to make the most of the extra space. The enjoyment of this kind of stuff usually depends on where you happen to situated in the room and how much you can actually see and with most of the action happening towards the bar area at the far end of the room and me sitting front row towards the entrance way, I didn't manage to catch a whole lot of this. There certainly was some brawling, in different combinations. With six men in the match it would've been cool to have seen them split off into pairs and head into different sections of the crowd, so there was something different for each area to focus their attentions on, but unfortunately the bulk seemed to occur in the large space at the far end of the room. There was a great spot with Devlin reversing a Havoc piledriver into a backbody drop on the bar, which caused an odd series of hanging lightbulbs to swing about, as well as a sequence of back and forth forearms with the six sat opposite each other, however. 

Once back in the ring, the match produced its best action with some interesting combinations battling it out. Dennis cleaned house with forearms out of various situations, Margera and Moloney put together a good section together, Margera took an acid rainmaker as Havoc shouted "I'm sorry, I love you" for a nice pop and Dennis took out both the Callous Hearts with a Fallaway Slam/Samoan drop combination, a solid mixture of sleek sequences, back and forth wrestling, comedic near falls and multi-man spots. I would've liked to have seen a few more highspots making the most of the sheer numbers involved in the match, but that nitpicking didn't make this any less enjoyable. The finish saw each man consecutively taken out of contention with the aforementioned combination move from Dennis keeping Margera and Havoc down, before Moloney removed Dennis from the equation with a sitout fireman's carry facebuster, Angelico took out Moloney with a turnbuckle crucifix powerbomb, leading into a wicked Devlin package piledriver that gave the WWE UK competitor a surprising debut victory. 

Purser def. Martina in a Fans Bring the Alcohol Match 

I'm still trying to come to terms with the Fans Bring the Alcohol match and to be honest with you, I don't think that I ever will completely. Referee Shay Purser's first FCP show since turning 18 saw him facing off with notorious boozehound and potential sexual deviant Martina with the fans supplying the alcohol, because it would've been weird if they'd bought their own booze with them. Most of my notes on this bout were single words, written in all caps, for example..."CHRIST". There was drinking, there was singing, there was referee Joel Allen wearing a bin bag, there was a pissed up version of an international, there was bronco busters for anyone who wanted one and it all felt like some kind of glorious dream. The kind of dream that you awake from with a start, slightly confused and questioning everything you once knew to be true. This probably wasn't a match for all, I'm not even sure if it was for me, but it certainly was an experience I won't forget in a hurry. 
  
JOEL DRIED THE RING. WELL DONE JOEL!

Banks def. Seven to retain FCP Championship 

Trent Seven and Travis Banks had been to war with each other before in FCP. Back at Rise Against in March 2016 when a frustrated came out with the victory in only Banks' second match in the promotion, before nine months Trav picked up his first singles win in FCP in a thrilling conclusion to the Infinity tournament. This match took a slightly different angle, as whilst Trent had become the default heel back in December due to the sheer investment the Fixxion crowd had in Banks' losing streak story, there was no mistaking that Seven was the villain here as the challenger cheap shotted the champion out of a handshake and we were off to the races. These two lads are two of the hardest hitters currently residing on our island and holy balls on a typewriter did they hit each other hard here. Strong style kicks and forearms and chops, brawling out into the crowd and doing a wonderful version of the spot where Seven misses a chop using the trussing for the lighting rig, when Seven and Banks face off you know you're going to get something physical, the kind of wrestling that makes you wince in a weird pleasure you're not quite sure how to deal with. 

Once the early brawling was done with, the two found the kitchen sink and through that at each other as well (obviously metaphorically, just in case you were wondering). The two went back and forth hitting big high impact moves, including a series of german suplexes one after the other, a dragon suplex, a seven star lariat and a burning hammer from Seven, a springboard roundhouse kick, a ringpost crotching and double stomp from Banks. Each move looked great, hit with ferocity and intent and that's not even the half of it. The proceedings seemed to get sillier and the reactions got louder as the match went on with each near fall seeming more improbable than the last. Banks kicked out a piledriver, Seven kicked out of a ridiculous coast to coast and then the champ kicked out of an avalanche piledriver, because why the fuck not? The best (or worst, if you're a miserable old bellend) part is that that wasn't even the daftest part of the match. Oh no, as we learned that Travis is pretty much indestructible as he took his third piledriver of the match and bounced back to his feet and the crowd went apeshit, before taking another dragon suplex and no selling the fuck out of that bad boy as well. A roundhouse kick and Kiwi Crusher later and Banks was still our Fight Club: Pro Champion after a thrilling 20 minutes of international strong style professional wrestling. I could watch Travis Banks v Trent Seven every day for the rest of my life and twice on Sundays and never get bored. Each of their matches in FCP has had it's own flavour, using different stories and situations to drive them, but always include great striking, crisp and dynamic big moves, some wonderful facial expression and terrific, awe-inspiring near falls. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.88/10

A very good debut show at Starworks for Fight Club: Pro and whilst I'm not completely sold on the new venue just yet, I am still sold on the wrestling content. Was the show on the same level as the Dream Tag Team Invitational weekend? No, but it didn't particularly need to be. I think the show took a while to find it's stride, but once the first half main event had blown me away with #CCK, Scarlet & Graves & The Hunter Brothers, the show didn't look back with a wonderfully varied second half, that concluded with main event owning the match of the night spot as Travis Banks and Trent Seven did what they do best. I can't wait to see what FCP has in store for us as we had into the summer, especially when Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate are available and there's not a chance I'm missing a single show.

Photo Credit - The Ringside Perspective.

Event Review: FCP Breaking Into Heaven - Clint Margera v Pete Dunne 2 *Falls Count Anywhere*

After a very good show on Friday and a superb show on Saturday in Wolverhampton, Sunday, 23rd October saw Fight Club: Pro head North for a show at Manchester Metropolitan University's Student Union in...umm...Manchester. 75 miles from their home, FCP presented a show that saw Clint Margera get a shot at Pete Dunne's FCP Championship in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, Trent Seven went one on one with Mikey Whiplash and Chris Brookes tangled with Fire Ant. With Kimber Lee, Nixon Newell, Shane Strickland, Orange Cassidy and Travis Banks featured on the undercard, could Breaking Into Heaven better the high standards that had already been set across the weekend and smash into Manchester with a cracker? 

Pete Dunne collected his second successful FCP Championship defense in as many days, with a victory over the man who last defeated him in FCP, Clint Margera. The bout began with a similar moment to Dunne's bout with Trent Seven on Pulp Fixxion Part 2, where The Bruiserweight attacked Margera before the bell, calling out the FCP management for making him defend the belt against a "Death Match Worker", only for Margera to turn the tables and make the match Falls Count Anywhere, because...he bloody did. The duo brawled around the Union, fighting on the apron, around ringside, into the fans and onto the stage area. This fracas was punctuated by elongated "Pet-er" chants for Dunne (in reference to a moment from PROGRESS Chapter 37, a week earlier just half a mile away). At times it became a little too much and distracted from the action, which may also have something to do with Margera being a relatively unfamiliar face to the Northern audience. This isn't to say that there wasn't plenty of good to very good stuff going on (Dunne hitting a Tombstone Piledriver on the stage, being the stand out moment), but that it often got overpowered. 

Just like the night before there was plenty a shenanigan in the finish of this on. Chris Brookes made the save for Dunne following Margera hitting an avalanche Death Valley driver and then it all seemed start happening. Ref bumps, biting, wet willies, all sorts of things were occuring, but the long and short of it was that Dunne retained the title with a Rear Naked Choke. There were even more antics post-match, with Trent Seven came out to help Margera, only to be beaten down by Dunne and Brookes as well. This would lead to Jimmy Havoc returning to the promotion, turning on former KYS pal Dunne and turning babyface in the process, as he hit Brookes with an Acid Rainmaker. It was a cool end to the show and after a lengthy time off it's good to see Havoc continue to make his return in different promotions and shake up their stories and rosters in the process. I can't help but feeling that having Havoc announced as already appearing on the show, impacted a little on the moment, as anyone who was paying attention could see exactly where ir was going. Potentially having Havoc come out and cut a return promo earlier in the night before coming back out for the save, would have given the moment more of a swerve factor, but preferably I would've liked this to be a complete surprise.

The semi-main saw Mikey Whiplash defeat Trent Seven, giving Whiplash his second victory in as many days over former FCP Champions. If you've been following British professional wrestling over the last twelve months, then you'll know that Whiplash and Seven have been tearing it up in Insane Championship Wrestling trading victories in Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester, with things spilling over to Scottish Wrestling Alliance in Motherwell and a special show presented by Jimmy Havoc in Glasgow. So as was to be expected, this bout was slickly put together and stiff as fuck as Whiplash and Seven tore strips out of each other and hit the majority of their big moves in an intense scrappy match. There was a lot of back and forth, with reversals and strike battles, with the story playing out as two guys who are extremely familiar with one another and had an answer for seemingly even the most severe assaults. 

If I was surprised to see Whiplash defeat Margera on Saturday, I was flabbergasted that Whiplash pinned Seven with a Gotch-style piledriver, only moments after withstanding a Bret's Rope piledriver (silly, silly nearfall). With two big wins over the weekend, Whiplash would seem to be becoming a regular for FCP, but having already gone through two of the promotions top babyfaces and with FCP currently looking a little heel heavy, I'm intrigued to see how he'll fit in next year. Bouts with the likes of Tyler Bate, The Hunter Brothers and Nixon Newell should provide some great variety, with the returning Jimmy Havoc offering another attractive prospective match up. Seven sold the loss like an absolute boss and after back to back losses he looked not just hurt from the rough clash, but emotionally drained as his quest to regain the FCP Championship seems to have hit a stumbling block. 

In a surprisingly long opener, Chris Brookes picked up his third victory of the weekend, this time besting Fire Ant. This bout was very much in the CHIKARA vein, as the pair mixed some good quality wrestling exchanges with a number of comedic spots and general hijinks. It was clear where the bout was heading from the very beginning as after being a piss-kidney to a loud fan, Brookes repeatedly asked the ref to back Ant up, causing Ant to end up actually outside the ring himself. It was corny spot, but both men, as well as referee Joel, played it perfectly. As Brookes' gimmick is developing into someone who would really rather not be wrestling, after taking control of the bout he took Ant out of the ring and out of the room, into the bar area of the student union, before legging back to the squared circle in attempt for a countout. The moment was made by a couple of verbal quips from Brookes once he got back inside the ring.

One of the spots that I was most looking forward to was Brookes (who is still a turd) going for his, now signature, wet willy spot. You can't do a wet willy on a masked man/ant. The spot didn't let me down and went flying passed what even my twisted imagination had conjured up on the drive to Manchester. After initial confusion by the lack of ears, Brookes pulled a canister of bug spray from a black fabric bag and really went to town with it. I don't know the international rules of wrestling completely, but I'd imagine that bug spray doesn't result in a DQ, because what if there's like bugs, that aren't wrestlers, trying to get involved? Exactly! Following this spot the pair mixed things up with some pacy sequences and a couple of nice near falls, including a Brainbuster from Ant and Michonoku Driver from Brookes. The Calamari Catch King would win with his now familiar closing sequence, getting a submission with his double armed octopus stretch, although Ant had previously been able to reverse the rope-hung whiplash neckbreaker, as repeating that sequence began to pay off in more interesting variations. 

The Hunter Brothers (Lee Hunter & Jim Hunter)' only appearance across the weekend saw Ashley Clementine (Kimber Lee) and Orange Cassidy unsuccessfully answer the open challenge laid down by Lee and Jim. Considering both were already on the show under different guises, it was a mild disappointment when Clementine & Cassidy came out, probably because the open challenge gimmick often leads to a lot of speculation. The match was entirely dictated by the Clementine & Cassidy's gimmick of being The World's Laziest Tag Team. At first, I was quite into the idea with Cassidy putting on weak head locks and both going to sit in the crowd after taking chops from Lee & Jim. It wasn't "laugh so much it hurts" funny, but it was still funny. However, for me it ended up dragging, as the single joke was stretched across almost fifteen minutes without really having a big punchline. It was mostly entertaining, but could have done with losing five minutes or more. Had this been the third night in a row of seeing the Hunter Brothers, then I think I would've enjoyed the change of pace for Lee & Jim, but with this being their only match of the weekend and with very little tag wrestling at all over the three days, a Hunter Brothers bout with a hot local tag team would have felt fresher than a bottle of Tropicana. 

The strongest contest on the show was Shane Strickland going over Travis Banks, in a bout that presented a nice style clash. Banks desperation to get a win in FCP was stamped all over the action once again, this time from the very beginning as Banks upped the aggression level with Strickland matching it and the pair producing a pacy and dynamic opening sequence that set the tone for what was to come. The crowd was well split between the two and both worked the Manchester audience well, keeping things fairly even with a string of top quality reversals. Banks catching Strickland coming out of a Rolling Thunder into a German suplex and Strickland swiftly hitting a Spanish Fly as Banks charged in looking for his running knee strike are the two moments that spring to mind initially, but the bout was full of similar switches and swerves.. The match didn't have as many strong near falls as the Banks v Fire Ant match from the night previously, but it managed to tell a different story within the established narrative in a distinct style. I would love to see the pair have a rematch at some point as an extra five or even ten minutes would have only benefited these two creative performers, especially as they become more familiar with each other.

In the sole women's outing on the show, Nixon Newell defeated Kimber Lee in a hard-hitting battle. The contest fell into a similar pattern that we'd seen from the other female matches that weekend, with the pair trading moves. Forearms, chops, kicks, a few more kicks and a german suplexes. A spot where the pair hit each other with bicycle kicks looked particularly well-done, as I've often seen that moment look awful if not timed right and not built to in the right manner. In comparison to the Newell v Kay Lee Ray match from the previous night, the bout had a little more aggression and omph behind it, especially in a sequence where Newell hit a head butt and a German suplex, before Lee would reply threefold. I would've liked to have seen a little bit more action before the finish to really develop the hostility between them, with Newell wanting to even the score from their previous match in May. The bout concluded with Lee missing a high-angle senton bomb and Newell nailing a picture perfect Vulture Culture Destroyer for the pinfall. 

Continuing his more than impressive weekend, Dan Moloney won a four way contest pinning TK Cooper in a match that also included Ethan Silver and Drew Parker. It was even more of an imposing victory because not only did Moloney call out anyone to face him, but he ended up with three opponents and finished the match standing tall over all of them. The bout concluded with an incredible double powerbomb on Silver and Parker, before a deadlift spinning sitout powerbomb to Cooper, making Moloney look like an absolute (super)beast. Moloney completely owned the space during this one, especially in that final stretch and after the match. Outside of Moloney looking like a top tier talent in the making, the rest of the four way was an entertaining spot fest that managed to fit an awful lot of action into a short amount of the time. Cooper, Silver and Parker could certainly play a role in FCP in the future, with the trio all offering something a little bit different to what's already on the regular roster.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.75/10

Show in a Sentence - A good start for FCP in a new city, but couldn't match the two previous show.  

Match of the Night - Shane Strickland v Travis Banks

Words - James Marston

All images are the property of Fight Club: Pro.

Event Review: FCP Pulp Fixxion Part 2 - Trent Seven v Pete Dunne

On 22nd October, Fight Club: Pro was at Fixxion Warehouse for the second night in a row, with Part 2 of Pulp Fixxion. The main event saw Pete Dunne put his FCP Championship on the line against Trent Seven, whilst Mikey Whiplash and Clint Margera went at it in a No Disqualification Match. With the likes of Kay Lee Ray, Kimber Lee, Nixon Newell, Shane Strickland and Fire Ant making up the undercard, could FCP raise the bar following a very good event just 24 hours earlier? Let's have a look, brah.

Pete Dunne retained his FCP Championship with a victory over Trent Seven in what was the best match across the two Wolverhampton shows. The pair might be PROGRESS Tag Team Champions, but in FCP there's no loved lost between the duo and that showed before the bell with Dunne striking before the announcements even began. The crowd (including myself) were hooked from that moment onwards as Dunne and Seven worked a 16 minute sprint. The bout was a mixture of Seven no-selling shit and some huge dramatic near falls. The two tropes seemed to play into each other, with Seven's ability to dig deep following taking huge moves like a superplex, giving the match a sense of momentum, allowing the fans to start to believe that Seven could take the title from Dunne at the first time of asking. This meant that each near fall had some real weight and believability. Dunne running into a powerbomb, before Seven turned it into a Single-leg Boston Crab, that he's put away Tommy End and Mark Haskins with recently, was a moment that I was completely wrapped up in, desperate to see the heel champion quit. This was helped by how well Dunne sold the hold and the previously mentioned drive of the contest.  

The finish saw a whole lot of shenanigans, beginning with a spectacular ref bump that saw Shay Purser moved into the path of a Seven suicide dive by Dunne. This caused Purser to go through the two rows of ringside seating and It looked wonderful (obviously not for poor Shay) being timed perfectly and getting a big reaction out of the Wolverhampton crowd. Every second following this was brilliant to watch, certainly helped by the emotional investment that I have within FCP as well as the two performers and characters, but I'd like to think it was equally as exciting and entertaining for those attending their first show with the company. In a sequence that was a rollercoaster of emotion, Seven hit a dragon suplex and spinning piledriver, but there was no ref to count the pinfall, but after Dunne had caught Seven low and hit his DT3 (Pumphandle Facebuster) a second referee, Joel Allen, managed to come flying out of the curtain, only for Seven to kick out at two and get another thrilling near fall off a roll-up as Dunne argued with Allen. By the time, Dunne got the submission win, it was as crushing a moment as it should have been, rounding off a wonderful final stretch and enhancing Dunne's credentials as champion. When the moment comes for Dunne to lose the belt, that moment will be all the sweeter because this bout took place. 

In the semi-main slot, Mikey Whiplash picked up his first victory in FCP, by defeating former champion Clint Margera in a No Disqualification match. This was an incredibly creative contest, as the duo took a limited selection of weapons and constructed a number of breath-takingly brutal highspots. Without using the cavalcade of "toys" that were seen across Margera's series with Chris Brookes earlier this year, the bout kept things interesting by having each spot feel bigger and more impressive than the last. This was an aggressive and violent display from the beginning as the two threw forearms at each other and then threw each other into the ringside chairs and walls. This was two chaps with no real backstory, beyond the tag match from the Friday night, just battering the piss out of each other for 15 minutes, just because they bloody could. 

The final three spots of the match were stupid, silly stuff (Meant in the best possible way, that you can call something stupid or silly) Whiplash took a superplex through some chairs, Margera took a slam off the top rope through another load of chairs TO THE FLOOR and then Whiplash hit a Death Valley Driver onto a pair of interlocked chairs on their side to get the win. Any three of those spots could have ended the match and I don't think anyone would have felt hard done by had that been the case. So, is there a case to be made for their being "too much" here? Probably. Is that a case that I'm going to put forward? Fuck no. As uncomfortable as some of teases and spots made me feel at points, it kept me completely involved in the contest as I was on the edge of my seat (bad back and all), partially in anticipation of what carnage was to come and partially because I was hoping neither performer would end up seriously hurt by some of the more high-risk aspects of the bout. The victory going to Whiplash was a slight shocker, as I expected him to come in and put over the FCP regulars, but I'd certainly be up for seeing more Whiplash in Fixxion Warehouse in 2017. It'll be interesting seeing how he'll fit into the wider picture and storytelling within the promotion.

Nixon Newell picked up a big win over Kay Lee Ray, in a match that is difficult to describe because of the ridiculous amount of styles and influences the duo used throughout. Like one moment the pair were doing a cool back and forth headlock and pins thing, which mimicked what had been seen in the Three Way with Kimber Lee from Pulp Fixxion and then all of a sudden Lee and Shane Strickland were having a dance off in a scene reminiscent of the 2001 The Simpsons' episode Tennis the Menace! The match didn't need the dance off to be entertaining, but I also don't feel like it detracted from the quality of the bout either. The pair continued with the back and forth and did so very well with a series of suicide dives, strong-style forearms and a number of finisher attempts, whilst also mixing in some comedy like chopping referee Shay and having him assist Newell in an inadvertent Stunner. It was a difficult task to try and include so much contrasting content within the match but Newell and KLR created something that was entirely enjoyable, featured some excellent wrestling and looked a lot of fun to be involved in as FCP continues to develop it's women's division. This was definitely a step in the right direction. 

One of the strongest stories in FCP in 2016 has been Travis Banks' quest for a win and it was in his loss to Fire Ant (putting him 0-11 in FCP) that it really began to shine and develop into something that currently feels like it could become something particularly special into the new year. Whilst the match seemed to take a couple of minutes to fully connect and grip the crowd, the final stretch of combat was superb stuff, as Banks came agonisingly close to getting his first win in the promotion. Two near falls for Banks stand out in particular, the first being the Kiwi Buzzsaw withstanding a barrage of offense, including a tope conhilo, high crossbody and PK, only to reverse a brainbuster attempt into one of his own, with the second coming moments after when the New Zealander showed his frustration all over his face, and hit a corner roundhouse kick, only for Ant to put his foot on the ropes before the three count. I was so involved in the losing streak angle, that by the end of the bout I found myself turning on Ant, despite him not doing anything wrong at all. I just wanted Banks to win, goddamit. I love being able to get sucked in by the wrestling I watch, get lost in it and begin to engage with narratives and this angle is certainly ticking those boxes right now, with this bout with Ant being a strong continuation of the story. 

In intergender action, Chris Brookes went over Kimber Lee in a fun bout that told a decent story. In my review of Pulp Fixxion, I spoke about how much I hate the Brookes and his asshattery in FCP, which if you've read any of my reviews (or even just another paragraph of this one, I suppose) then you'll know I think that this is a wonderful thing. Before the match began the Calimari Catch King attempted to get out of the bout, revealing that he was actually in love with Lee, giving this as the reason that he lost their previous bout during the CHIKARA Anniversario Tour in May. This was played well by both performers, with it being clear that Brookes simply wanted a night off and Lee wanting nothing to do with it. After an early flurry from Lee, Brookes would control the match following a big boot, grounding Lee and just generally being a cockwomble about it all. It all worked nicely into a strong comeback from Lee, which included a sharp near fall after Brookes ran into a sit-out powerbomb. Brookes finishing sequence was being heavily put over across the weekend, as he hit a superkick and rope-hung whiplash neckbreaker, before locking in a double armed octopus stretch for the submission victory. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how this plays into future matches in FCP. 

The opening match of the show saw Dan Moloney defeat Shane Strickland with his deadlift spinning sitout powerbomb, in what was one of the best, if not the best match I've ever seen out of the Superbeast. There was some tremendous wrestling in this one, as Moloney and Strickland's styles connected well, with Moloney able to operate in the powerhouse role, whilst also showing some real skill in being able to up his pacing and go toe to toe with one of the speediest performers on the Indy circuit. As much as Strickland is a hugely impressive wrestler to watch, thanks to his pace and varied offence, including a wonderful sequence that concluded with a rolling thunder into a jumping cutter, most of my attention was on the local Moloney. He handled the crowd's chants surrounding his smaller than usual footwear well and genuinely looked to be developing into potential top tier star. FCP continued to build it's roster of villains with the Moloney victory, joining the wins for champion Pete Dunne, Mikey Whiplash and Chris Brookes, across this show, seemingly with an eye on the Infinity tournament on 25th November.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.84/10

Show in a Sentence - A very good evening of wrestling, that upped the quality in a number of areas from the stellar card the night before.

Match of the Night - Trent Seven v Pete Dunne

Words - James Marston 

All images are the property of Fight Club: Pro.