Day of the Dead Review // Aussie Open vs. Moustache Mountain

On 27th October 2017, Fight Club: Pro held Day of the Dead at Starworks Warehouse in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. The show featured a clash between Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) and Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven), Mark Haskins taking on David Starr in a first time encounter, as well as appearances from Penta El Zero M, Pete Dunne, Rey Fenix, the Callous Hearts (Jimmy Havoc & Clint Margera) and Kay Lee Ray. But was it any good? Lets take a look! 

All event photos courtesy of Fight Club: Pro and The Ringside Perspective.

Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) def. Aussie Open ("Dunkzilla" Mark Davis & "The Aussie Arrow" Kyle Fletcher) via pinfall // 17:01

Before the next match began, loud duelling chants echoed around Starworks Warehouse creating an incredible atmosphere inside the building that both teams played into.

A terrific tag team match, that started red-hot and somehow managed to take get hotter by the time it reached it's climax. A near twenty minutes of four lads going nuts on each other, hitting big strikes, big moves and getting big pops. Things started simple enough, Mark Davis hit Trent Seven really hard and often then Tyler Bate and Kyle Fletcher did a cute mirror sequence, before Fletcher dropped into the Aussie Arrow in peril role. But things didn't stay in your regular tag team format for long as Davis came blaring in with a rambunctious hot tag, Bate accidentally gave Seven bop n' bang and from that moment on we were off to proverbial races. With Aussie Open rolling and the pace lifting and lifting, almost everything that happened seemed to be a hit. Davis caught Seven in wristlock and then somehow also hit a powerbomb on Bate, Tyler took a pop-up diving cutter situation and the big boy Davis did a freakin' Arabian press onto everyone and it was just silly. Silly, silly wrestling. 

The bout powered towards its finish as the momentum swayed back and forth and the relentless nature of the contest continued. It felt like the crowd didn't stop popping, constantly being surprised by what these four were capable of doing together and just how much they were going to pull out. Building from kneeling forearms featuring all four men, the bout built to it's crescendo well with the rookie team of Aussie Open pushing Moustache Mountain to the limit, as they themselves looked for their first win in Wolverhampton since April 2015. The strongest near fall came off a Fidget Spinner from Aussie Open that came moments after Davis nailed Bate with his magnificent pull-up piledriver, but after some lvoely back and forth it was Bate & Seven who walked out with the W, after Bate countered Fletcher to hit a mid-rope exploder suplex and following a Seven burning hammer to Davis, Bate picked up the pin with Tyler Driver '97. Part of what made this match so well was that all four gave so much and it was full of action, but I ended up wanting more. I wanted to see these teams wrestle again and again and then again, because even with so much crammed into it, knowing these teams and what they've done elsewhere, you know that there's a bucket load of more cool shit and different directions they could take it.

Mark Haskins def. David Starr via submission (16:40) 

I adored this match. Having spoke to others, I know that it didn't do it for everyone, but by Jove it did it for me, so fuck those nobbers. It perhaps didn't have the crowd interaction and atmosphere that was present for some of the other bouts, there was no storyline to get your teeth into and both lads worked babyface, but the wrestling was fucking gorgeous. From the Goldie Lookin' Chain wrestling of the opening sequence, a pair of wicked suicide dive from both men, some tasty well-hit forearms, kicks and strikes off all shapes into a wonderful series of submission exchanges with Starr able to escape a number of leg-based holds from Haskins, the Star Attraction and the Cream in Your Coffee were flowing, smooth and physical as fuck. For me, this was sexy wrestling. 

A couple of sequences and moments stand out in particular from this one. The first saw Haskins nailed a ridiculous suicide dive, before a series of reversals ended up with Starr nailing his Cherry Mint DDT, followed up with a lariat for a near fall. Each step of the way felt logical and the momentum swing of the two big moves that bookended the sequence produced spikes at the right moments. The second sequence was the finish as the two ran through a series of near misses of signature moves, at sick pace, before Haskins was able to hook in a modified sharpshooter, making the most of the work he'd put in previously and picking up the submission win. Haskins has had a good 2017 in FCP with wins (in various formats) over Chuck Taylor, Tyler Bate, Angelico, Jimmy Havoc and now David Starr, I'd love to see him get a shot at Chris Brookes' FCP title, because they'd have a hell of a match together and seeing as they haven't met in FCP since 2013, it's about time. 

"Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne def. Omari via pinfall // 14:56 

Pete Dunne cut a vicious promo on Omari, initially seeming to be complimenting the Big O, before ripping into the prospect, describing him as "pathetic".

It feels like it's been a while since I've seen utter bastard Pete Dunne, like complete and utter bastard who no one would want to cheer for Pete Dunne. But by gawd was that what we got at Day of the Dead as he beat the ever loving shit into our boy Omari. Just over a year after debuting in dark matches, Omari has become a massive part of FCP, gradually improving and winning fans over every time he performs. So, seeing him scrap from underneath against the WWE United Kingdom Champion, eat a beating on the outside, withstand Dunne's underhanded tactics and skullduggery for nearly fifteen minutes and kick out of Dunne's Bitter End finish was a pro wrestling rollercoaster. The bout played on Omari's shock victory over Keith Lee from July, playing on similar themes (with added Dunne chicanery), with some tremendous near falls in the stretch, including a well-timed roll-up sequence and Omari's O-Zone standing out, alongside the Bitter End kick-out. Eventually, Dunne would hit another Bitter End to take the victory, but here's hoping that this won't be the last time these lads get to tangle inside Starworks Warehouse.

"The Kiwi Buzzsaw" Travis Banks def. Rey Fenix via submission // 14:04

This international first-time clash took a little while to find it's feet, but once it settled produced some great action as the pair threw the kitchen sink at each other. Coming directly after Aussie Open vs. Moustache Mountain was the first knock the match took, with a crowd that was more than ready for an interval taking a while to re-energise, whilst a wonderful creative arm-drag sequence using the ropes was let down by the slackness of the apparatus. The second two-thirds to a half of the match saw the two take things up a notch, trading big moves, near falls and hitting nasty chops and kicks along the way.  Fenix almost had the former FCP Champion beaten with a Crucifix Driver, Fire Thunder Driver and superb Spanish Fly, whilst the Slice of Heaven, Kiwi Krusher and Lion Clutch almost did it for Banks. Throw into the mix a pair of diving double stomps from both men and a post-Lion Clutch reverse rana and by the time it was over, the match had developed in an absolute PWG-style belter. Banks have to unload all of his signature arsenal to get the victory was the cherry on top, bringing the match to a fitting conclusion.

FCP Championship Match: Chris Brookes (C) def. Penta El Zero M [Pentagon Jr.] via pinfall // 13:46

After a killer show, I couldn't help being a little underwhelmed by this relatively short main event. However, on many other shows, this would've been the showstealer, as it was still a high-quality wrestling match. A good portion of the bout was a wild brawl around ringside and into the crowd, with Penta taking it to Brookes, with chops, whips into the barricade and even the signature CCK baking tray. Talking of CCK, that pesky Kid Lykos also played a big part in the match, despite having a cast on his arm, like some kind of canine Bob Orton. The outside interference gave the match a different edge to the rest of the show and also created a real moment when Penta's brother Rey Fenix came out to counter the numbers game (after Lykos got involved following a Panama Sunrise from Penta) and then that bothersome wolf took a package piledriver on the apron from the current Lucha Underground Champion. The highlight for me came directly after this with Penta able to escape the Death by Roll-up, a move that had previously proved fruitful during Brookes' reign, nailed a pumphandle half-nelson driver and got a late two count. The reaction for the roll-up kick out was nice and there's potential there to develop more interesting situations and near falls in future matches. A different roll-up would be enough to see Brookes retain, because he's a slug pellet.

After the match, Penta had a man dressed as Jesus Christ come in the ring to bless him and Fenix, in one of the trippier moments of a pretty trippy 2017 in wrestling.

Jack Sexsmith def. Kay Lee Ray, "Flash" Morgan Webster, Eddie Dennis, Stevie Boy, Dan Moloney, El Phantasmo and Shay Purser // 11:36

During the entrances for the opening match, Dan Moloney attacked Shay Purser, seemingly taking him out of the bout...

A varied eight-way opening match with a cast of characters, both regulars and new faces. Stevie Boy impressed on his debut, with a lovely sequence with Morgan Webster as the rest brawled, whilst Dan Moloney was at the centre of most of the action, initially denying a tower of power, only to end up at it's peak later on. There was also Shay Purser... who returned to the match with a sword drawn on his chest and to the sounds of Brock Lesnar "Next Big Thing" entrance theme and took us all on a detour to Shay-plex city. Perhaps, not everyone's bag, but Purser locking Moloney in the Kimura was a brilliant moment and got a good pop. There was the usual multi-man goings on as well with some lovely dives from Jack Sexsmith, Xavier, El Phantasmo and Webster, as well as Dennis' crucifix powerbomb to Purser. The bout was let down slightly by some timing issues in the stretch, with Phantasmo seeming to miss his cue on a save for Purser and the finish seemingly coming out of nowhere as Sexsmith hit a sick diving double stomp on Xavier and got the pin. It looked like there was potentially more to come, but perhaps that was to enhance the surprise of Sexsmith getting the pinfall. 

Callous Hearts (Clint Margera & Jimmy Havoc) & "Session Goth" Martina def. the Anti Fun Police (Chief Deputy Dunne, James Obstruction [Jim Hunter], Leigh Obstruction [Leigh Hunter] & Los Federales Super Santos Jr.) // 6:59

Callous Hearts wanted a fight and after the Anti-Fun Police (including the former Hunter Brothers, James Obstruction & Leigh Obstruction) answered the challenge, Martina would end up joining Clint Margera & Jimmy Havoc, as the "Session Goth"

A comedy match pre-main event, which settled the crowd nicely followed the emotional rollercoaster of Omari vs. Dunne. There were sweets everywheres, Los Federales Super Santos Jr. did a suicide dive and Martina doing various Undertaker inspired moves, including a ridiculous assisted version of Old School. The comedy was done well, the match was kept short and sweet, featuring mostly babyface offence. It won't make any match of the year lists, but in it's slot on the card, it was a fun jaunt, that gave the show a little more variety, which is never a bad thing. Martina picked up the win with the Wombstone on Dunne.

After the match, Martina wanted to celebrate in the proper Goth way, but Callous Hearts decided to leave her to it when she started rocking out to Avril Lavinge's 2002 hit Sk8r Boi.

Another good show from Fight Club: Pro as they continue to have a wonderful 2017. For me, the card could have done with a re-shuffle, as it felt a little disjointed a times. However, this was one of the most varied FCP shows of the year, with a lot of different styles on offer. Whether that be the big boy relentless tag match between Aussie Open and Moustache Mountain, the slick, liquid sexy wrestling of Starr vs. Haskins, the firey Dunne vs. Omari, the comedy sweet fight or the pacey spot-fest (with Shay-Plex city detour) there was nothing on the card that felt similar to something else. With just one show left in 2017, I'm looking forward to seeing the direction that FCP takes now that it appears to be settled in Starworks Warehouse. Personally, I'd like to see more of the heated feuds that were a highlight of the Fixxion shows and it'll make more sense to do something like that now that the larger Starworks crowd is more familiar with the performers.

Review by James Marston 

Inner Circle 4 Review - David Starr vs. Homicide [Live]

On 5th October 2017, Westside Xtreme Wrestling held Inner Circle 4 at the wXw Wrestling Academy in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The show featured Homicide taking on David Starr as well as Timothy Thatcher, WALTER, Kim Ray, Jurn Simmons and JAY-FK in action. But was my first wXw show any good? Let's take a look!

Alexander James def. Julian Pace (9:05)

A strong opener here, with both men impressing as I caught their work for the first time. The bout was well paced, using it's time well with the roles being strongly defined, helped a long by a crowd that was eager to start it's graps weekender. After some hard chops, the bout quickly moved towards it's main narrative thread with James hitting an arm wringer across the top rope and beginning to work the arm viciously, managing to get a decent amount of heat in the intimate Academy venue. The arm attacks were varied and kept the match interesting when the paced dipped, whilst an early attempt for a grounded top wrist lock (think Zack Gibson's Shankly Gates) introduced the move that would eventually gain the victory for James. Pace is someone who would seem to have an extremely bright future based on this outing, with his selling being particularly impressive, alongside the speed and smoothness of his comeback, as he swung in and out of the ring before hitting a sweet jumping neckbreaker. There was perhaps more work that could have been done on the arm to lift the bout further, with their being potential to work it into near falls and add a little bit more drama, but within the context of an opening match it was pretty much spot on content and time wise. 

Kim Ray def. Rafa (5:20) 

A decent bout that once again was between two wrestlers that I was unfamiliar with. This was probably the weakest match of the show, but that says more about how strong the show was than the quality of the match. Whilst it was brief and featured mostly low-key action, everything was done crisply and never wandered into sloppy territory. The strongest section of the contest for me was a sequence that saw Rafa initially escape a suplex attempt, before eventually nailing a double stomp following a double leg takedown after some high tempo back and forth. Overall, the match was fine, but within the context of the show it struggled to stand out or produce anything particularly memorable. 

Timothy Thatcher def. WALTER in an Ambition Rules Match (9:15) 

What an absolute treat of a match as the Ringkampf boys went one on one in a hard-hitting, grapple fest under Ambition rules. If you're unfamiliar with Ambition Rules, it's essentially shoot style, with immediate ropebreaks and victory only decided by submission, KO or TKO. This produces a very different style of professional wrestling match, that perhaps is perfectly suited for a smaller venue like the Academy with the fans close to the ring. The match was all big powerful strikes, technical hold exchanges and crisp, substantial power moves. The power moves were in some ways enhanced by the rules, contrasting with the technicality and submission holds, with a great fast-paced sequence that concluded with a immense powerbomb from WALTER being the standout moment of the bout. The conclusion felt very much of this style with WALTER laying in some thunderous and quick slaps, only for Thatcher to catch one and swiftly transition into a Fujiwara armbar, locking the move in and getting the submission victory almost straight away. I would've liked to have seen this go a little bit longer as I was really getting into he style of the bout, but with the two having the World Tag Team League shows coming up it made perfect sense to keep thing relatively short and the immediate tap out adds to that idea within kayfabe as well. 

EYFBO (Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik) def. JAY-FK (Francis Kaspin & Jay Skillet) (12:11) 

The first half main event gave us a look at one of the entrants in WTTL, EYFBO's Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik (who you may know for being Ortiz & Santana in LAX on Impact Wrestling) in their first European match with the two proving instant hits with the Academy. Whilst the plentiful EYFBO chants created a buoyant atmosphere, it was the wrestling that satisfied the most as Ortiz & Draztik looked like a polished unit, with a variety of exciting double team moves and just generally looked like a team that had been tagging since 2012. The bout flowed well with both of Jay-FK working short periods as the face in peril, with elements of rookie vs. veteran narrative as the inexperienced team of Francis Kaspin and Jay Skillett looked to match the tag team savvy of the former Impact Tag Team Champions. The contest built well to it's finishing stretch with a slew of double team offence following a Skillet hot tag with a neckbreaker double stomp and springboard spike piledriver getting near falls, before a ridiculous sequence involving a mad rope hung cutter situation from EYFBO that I couldn't do justice to if I tried to explain it here. EYFBO would then pick up the victory with their Street Sweeper finish (Powerbomb and Diving somersault neckbreaker) to conclude the first half with a very good tag team contest.

Jaxon Stone went to cut a promo before the next bout, but no one was ready for this and each word of his speech was cut off by loud boos. I have no idea what he said, but it was glorious.

Jurn Simmons def. Jaxon Stone (10:24) 

Jurn Simmons is over as fuck, pals and rightly so as he showcased his palpable charisma and in-ring prowess in this fun second half opener. The match verged into comedy territory at points, bringing a nice little bit of variety to the show and producing a few chuckles as the two kicked things off with arm wrestling contest and also pulled out a cheeky bit of comedy selling. The two went mostly back and forth throughout the contest, trading big moves and near falls as the audience sang loudly for Simmons and hurled boos at Stone who lapped up the reaction. Whilst there was nothing that was overly noteworthy about the action, it was once again all performed skillfully with the nearfalls being done particularly well as Stone came close with a Death Valley Driver and a lifting DDT. Simmons picked up the win with a Massive Piledriver, building some momentum heading into World Tag Team League, where he'll tag with David Starr as Massive Product.

David Starr def. Homicide (14:06)

A stellar main event, as Homicide returned to wXw thirteen years after his only other appearance. The two began with one of the longest collar and elbow tie-ups I've ever seen, which could have been a little dull, but both bought a lovely intensity that kept it interesting with the compact venue complimenting this type of grappling. After some wild brawling on the outside and tasty suicide senton from Homicide, the contest settled into a nice rhythm with Homocide acting as the aggressor using dirty tactics, whilst the crowd got behind Starr, creating a brilliant atmosphere inside the Academy. The contest featured a number of big spots like Starr hitting a DDT onto the apron, as well a verticle suplex neckbreaker (Adam Cole's Last Shot) from Homicide, but the story of the bout came in the moves that didn't get hit. Starr repeatedly went for Product Placement (Bridging Package German Suplex) with Homicide able to escape, whilst Homicide looked for his legendary Gringo Killer (Vertebreaker) manoeuvre, creating a feeling that whoever hit their move first would take the victory. The finishing stretch saw Homocide seemingly building momentum, getting two really strong near falls, firstly with roll-up out of a physical strikes sequence before a brilliant back and forth stretch resulted an Ace Crusher getting a long two count for the Notorious 187. It was clear that only a Gringo Killer would give Homicide the victory, but his second attempt at the move was escaped by Starr, leaving the Jewish Cannon in the perfect position to hit Product Placement at the third time of asking and pick up the win in a satisfying finish that wrapped the match up in a lovely stand-alone package. 

David Starr would bring the show to a close with a lovely promo, putting over Homicide as a performer and person, mentioning he'd wanted to wrestle him for a very long time. 

For a first wXw show this was a great taster for what the promotion is all about and a good introduction a number of different talents. The Ambition rules match, EYFBO v Jay-FK and the main event battle it out for my match of the night, where I'd probably go for the tag bout if pushed. I was also impressed with Julian Pace in the opening bout, with the current wXw Academy Trophy Champion looking like he's got much more experience than he actually has and generally being a superb advert for the wXw Academy. The loud crowd and packed venue gave the show a really nice atmosphere, reminiscent of Fight Club: PRO's time at Fixxion Warehouse. This show worked as a wonderful start to the World Tag Team League weekend, that has whetted my appetite for the graps fest that is to come over the next three days.

Review by James Marston