Live Event Review: Fight Club: Pro Rise Against 2016 (KYS vs. Hunter Brothers)

On 18th March 2016, Fight Club: Pro held Rise Against 2016 at the Planet Nightclub in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. The show featured Fight Club: Pro Champion MK McKinnan teaming with fellow KYS member Damian Dunne to face The Hunter Brothers, AIW star Rickey Shane Page facing Clint Margera in a Death Match and "The Bruiserweight" battled "The Bastard" as Pete Dunne and Dave Mastiff squared off...but was it any good? Let's find out.

rise against 2016 match card

Match 1 - Three Way - "Calamari Catch King" Chris Brookes vs. "Text Book" Tyler Bate vs. "The Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor

Match 2 - Tag Team - The Facesmashers vs. Mike Bird & Nixon Newell 

Match 3 - Singles - "The Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne vs. "The Bastard" Dave Mastiff

Match 4 - Singles - Travis Banks vs. Trent Seven 

Match 5 - Tag Team - KYS (MK McKinnan & "Number 1" Damian Dunne) vs. The Hunter Brothers

Match 6 - Death - Rickey Shane Page vs. Clint Margera

fast-forward...Our host introduced us to the show, including giving us the rules for the evening, which weren't quite as catchy as PROGRESS' "Don't Be Dick"...

tyler bate defeats chris brookes and chuck taylor in a three way

A nice surprise to start the show as CHIKARA star Chuck Taylor made an unannounced appearance, interrupting Chris Brookes and Tyler Bate's match and joining in. This match was disappointingly short, barely scratching the surface of what Brookes, Bate and Taylor could do in the ring together and despite the action being of a high quality throughout I came out feeling a bit let down by it. Bate felt like the star of the contest though, with his dive over the top rope early doors being particularly impressive. He'd later deny Taylor the pin on Brookes following a series of kicks by hitting a Diving Headbutt on the top rope, before putting Brookes away with a sweet brainbuster. As opening contests go this got the crowd warmed up nicely, it would have been great to see this go at least ten minutes more to fully showcase all three talents. I can't help but wonder what they could have done in a main event slot.

the facesmashers defeat mike bird and nixon newell

Things were taken up a gear as The Facesmashers and the newly formed partnership of Nixon Newell and Mike Bird put on a bostin' tag encounter, that provided plenty to enjoy. Seeing as Nixon and Bird have only teamed once before, I was impressed by them a lot in the early stages as their face shine featured some nice double team moves, like Bird launching Nixon off the top rope into a hurricanrana on Wild Boar. I was perhaps more impressed with the Facesmashers, as Boar and Dan Moloney have steadily worked themselves in being one of my favourites tag teams. They used a lot of cheating to stay in control of the second third of the bout, cutting off the ring and working over Nixon. I've said before that Nixon is one of the most easily likable performers in the UK at the moment, which makes her a perfect choice for the face in peril role in tag bouts, with her vocals being particularly strong. I'd be interested to see what could be done if she was the one waiting for the hot tag though.

The contest built nicely following the hot tag to Bird, although it was disappointing to see the legal man concept forgotten as can often be the way in tag bouts on the indies. Lots of action to follow, culminating in Nixon hitting a beautiful Vulture Culture Destroyer to Moloney, which got a big reaction from the Planet and a great near fall. It was Fight Club: Pro Champion MK McKinnan who would be the deciding factor in the bout however as with the referee distracted he nailed Nixon with his title belt and allowed the Facesmashers to win the bout. After Nixon and Bird had defeated McKinnan and fellow KYS member Damian Dunne on the last show it was nice bit of continuation, and a relationship with the promotions most hated heel can only be a good thing for Moloney and Boar, whose record in FCP now stands at four wins in five matches.

pete dunne defeats dave mastiff

The first ever Monster's stall match, or at least that was the case for Pete Dunne! Stalling can work and sometimes it can completely bomb, luckily this was the earlier option, with Dunne and Dave Mastiff able to hold the crowds attention, with very little wrestling in the earlier part of the match. The Bruiserweight spent a lot of the bout avoiding getting involved with Mastiff, jumping in and out of the ring, whilst getting involved in plenty of banter with the fans around the ringside area. This lead to a great moment when Dunne finally appeared to be ready to wrestle and "The Bastard" jumped out of the ring, getting more than a chuckle out of the Planet. 

When the match did get going there was plenty of cheating from Dunne, using any method that he could to keep himself in control. The crowd continued to be on his back throughout the contest, with a lot of the chants having to do with Dunne's hair style of choice the topknot. Dunne was almost caught with Mastiff's cannonball twice, but again used underhanded tactics to avoid it, including trying to pull referee Joel into the line of fire, leading to The Bruiserweight picking up the victory with a small package. Whilst I enjoyed the build towards it, I felt the small package itself didn't look quite as well as it could have, with Mastiff's size in comparison to Dunne making the finish look a little unbelievable. It does however continued Dunne's undefeated streak since winning the Infinity Trophy back in December, as he's gone over the likes of Tyler Bate, Zack Sabre Jr., Damian Dunne, Nixon Newell and now Dave Mastiff, he's in a rather interesting position with his fellow KYS member MK McKinnan holding the title belt he's got a shot for!

fast-forward...A quick interval and cheeky look at some carrot jam before we're back into the action...

trent seven defeats travis banks 

Opening the second part of the show, Trent Seven and Travis Banks put on a cracking undercard match. A lovely technical start between the two, as they exchange holds with ease, with an appreciative crowd leaning largely towards their regular, Seven. Having seen Banks work opposite the heel Chris Brookes on the last show, it was nice to see him get to bring a bit more of a vicious edge to his character here, as he definitely seemed more comfortable performing in front of the unique FCP crowd. To this end, both men were pulling out big strikes early doors after transitioning from their amateur wrestling at the start of the bout. Seven is one of the hardest hitters in the UK right now, with Banks' chest standing testament to this after just five minutes in.

The duo built in a brilliant narrative, focused around Seven getting more and more frustrated that he couldn't put Banks away, with this driving the second half of the action. A wicked reversal from Seven turning a tornado DDT into a suplex into the turnbuckle was the real turning point for things. The moment where Seven hit a piledriver and Banks kicked out on one got a terrific reaction out of the crowd, perhaps the largest reaction outside the craziness of the Death Match. The strikes got harder, faster and more intense as the contest went on with the two going back and forth and the crowd getting louder. After Banks had picked up a nice near fall with a flying knee attack, Seven made sure he wouldn't kick out of the next piledriver, by delivering a sick dragon suplex before hand and walking out the victor. A great match to start the second portion of the show, I'd love to see more of both these guys.

the hunter brothers defeat kys 

Fight Club: Pro's tag scene has been red hot over the last couple of shows and this was another world class effort from the division. You couldn't really go wrong with two of the most hated guys in Wolverhampton in KYS' MK McKinnan and Damian Dunne facing two of the biggest babyfaces in the promotion, Tipton's own Lee and Jim, The Hunter Brothers. The crowd was on fire throughout the bout, making everything McKinnan, Dunne and the Hunter's did feel even more important. The Fight Club: Pro Champion and his ally working over Jim Hunter provided a lot of entertainment, with McKinnan dragging a ko'd Dunne back to his corner to prevent the babyfaces making the hot tag standing out in particular. The crowd hammering away at the ringside cage as the performers built the action towards the hot tag was fantastic to watch and one of the reason why I love the atmosphere inside the Planet.

With KYS suffering their third loss as a team in a row, after Dunne took a barage of offence from Hunter Brothers' that culminated in a avalanche frankensteiner and frog splash combination, the group seemingly expanded their ranks. The Facesmasher's were out with chairs to take care of The Hunter Brothers and even though Nixon Newell attempted to help out (Mike Bird was conspicuous by his absense) it was the heel faction that stood tall at the end. With Dan Moloney and Wild Boar joining McKinnan, Damian Dunne, Pete Dunne (and the lesser-seen and now injured Jimmy Havoc) a considerable amount of the roster is now in the KYS faction, I'm very interested to see where this goes over the next few shows and how it affects McKinnan's reign as champion. Lastly, with such a strong and competitive tag team division I'd love to see FCP introduce a Tag Team title belt to give teams like Hunter Brothers and Facesmashers a real purpose in the promotion.

fast-forward...There was five minute interval to set up for the main event...

clint margera defeats rickey shane page in a death match

Well, this match was one of the most brutal things that I have ever seen. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this contest and it's probably the match that's caused me the most trouble when coming to review it. See, I know that this match was a hit with most of the Planet and I'm sure if you're a fan of Death match wrestling then you would have absolutely loved what Clint Margera and AIW star Rickey Shane Page put on here. But I'm not sure that I loved it, I'm not even sure if I enjoyed it. I found it extremely hard to watch at points, as the two upped the ante with numerous objects and I'm not sure if that's what I want when I'm watching wrestling, especially not in a match where the competitors have no prior history with each other or any strong reason to be doing sadistic things to each other...had the bout been with the man Margera had challenge to Death match, Pete Dunne, then I think I'd have be having less trouble in forming this review.

Let's go through some of the utter ridiculousness that was involved and then hopefully you'll know whether the match would be for you or not. The brutality began with Page sending Margera head first into some lighttubes on the outside, a horrible looking verticle suplex onto a seated chair by Margera, Page stapling a cup to Margera's head, Page stomping Margera's hand and head into thumbtacks, Margera hitting a DDT onto thumbtacks, a Death Valley Driver through a grid of carpet gripper (Yes...), and a finish that saw Margera discus forearm lighttubes into Page's head for the pin! Mental. I'd love to get into how stupid using a piledriver off the top rope onto a chair as a near fall is, but then I'd be here all day. You know what, all credit to Clint Margera and Rickey Shane Page for being willing to put their bodies through all that shit to entertain a few hundred people in a Wolverhampton nightclub, they both worked their asses off and went through a hell of a lot. Not because of the level of violence, but more because of the lack of any real purpose behind it, the match was perhaps not for me, but I know that a lot of people in the crowd enjoyed themselves and that there's definitely an audience out their for this kind of wrestling who would absolutely love to see this match. If you're a Death Match fan then I'd definitely recommend catching this one on DVD when it's out.

finally...
atpw scale rating - 6.95/10

Another great card of wrestling from Fight Club: Pro with a lot of variety spread throughout the card. The match of the night for me was The Hunter Brothers and KYS's tag match for the sheer investment from the crowd, as well as the build towards The Hunter Brothers comeback. I'm certain that many would give Clint Margera and Rickey Shane Page's brutal Death Match that award and a higher score than I gave it (The score goes towards the ATPW Scale Rating, but doesn't get revealed itself) with the match closing the show with something completely different to anything that had gone before it. The other marquee bout between Pete Dunne and Dave Mastiff was another different style, closing the first portion of the show of well with a character-based contest. 

The highlight of the undercard for me came from Travis Banks and Trent Seven's lesson in strong-style storytelling, whilst a competitive tag outing between The Facesmashers and Nixon Newell & Mike Bird also provided good action. 

Somehow, the show manages to get exactly the same rating as FCP's last show, All the Best 2016 did! That's probably a fair reflection of the two shows, which both offering a strong variety of wrestling. I'm looking forward to more of the same on 15th April when Fight Club: Pro return to the Planet in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England for Planet Terror Vol. 2. Hopefully, we'll be back here in a month's time with another review! xoxo

Wrestle Ropes' Ready For The Weekend: March 2016 Week 3

This week's see another packed weekend of grappling action across the country. In this week's look at some of the shows coming up, we head back to The Planet Nightclub in Wolvehampton, the move on to Morecambe for guaranteed mayhem before ending the weekend with a history-making event in London. Let's get Ready For The Weekend!

friday

fight club: pro rise against

wolverhampton, west midlands, england 

Up first this weekend and Fight Club: PRO are back at The Planet Nightclub in Wolverhampton with Rise Against. The event shall see Clint Margera in a Death Match against AIW star, Rickey Shane Page. Originally, Margera was penciled to face Pete Dunne. However, Dunne refused to compete in a Death Match so found a replacement in Page who we are sure will have no issues with it. Speaking of Dunne, while he might have escaped a match with Margera, he's now found himself in a bout with Dave Mastiff. A former Fight Club: PRO Champion, Mastiff is one of the most dominating forces in British Wrestling. Dunne could find it's a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire this Friday night. In recent months, The Hunter Brothers and the duo of Dan Moloney & Wild Boar have developed quite the rivalry in FCP. However, Moloney & Boar have now informed FCP management that they will not be facing Hunters Brothers again until they have shown that they deserve a match with them. Hunter Brothers are happy to prove their worth and shall now face KYS member's Damian Dunne and the reigning Fight Club: PRO Champion, MK McKinnan in a tag team match on March 18th. If Hunter Brothers need to prove they are worthy of another match with Moloney &Boar then a win over a champion and two members of KYS should be a very good start.

rise against match card

*Death Match*

Rickey Shane Page vs Clint Margera

*Singles*

Infinity Trophy Holder Pete Dunne vs ‘The Bastard’ Dave Mastiff

*Singles*

Trent Seven vs Travis Banks

*Tag Team*

The Hunter Brothers vs KYS (MK McKinnan & Damian Dunne)

*Singles*

Chris Brookes vs Tyler Bate

*Tag Team*

Dan Moloney & Wild Boar vs Nixon Newell & Mike Bird

saturday

alpha omega wrestling morcambe mayhem

morcambe, lancashire, england

Moving on to Saturday and The Winter Gardens in Morecambe see Alpha Omega Wrestling back in action with Morecambe Mayhem. March 19th shall see the AOW Women's Championship on the line except that the champion shall not be present. Viper is currently on tour in Japan which left Nikki Storm (literally) holding the championship while she's gone. Well Alpha Male, Stallion has now announced that 'The Best In The Galaxy' will be defending the championship against Lana Austin for Viper as well. Nobody in The Referendum is happy, including the champion. Lana could become the champion without the real champion even being in the same continent this Saturday. If The Referendum didn't have enough to worry them, the AOW Tag Team Championship shall also be defended in Morecambe by Bobby Roberts and Lewis Girvan. Their opponents? Well only Stallion knows who they are and has no plans on letting on before March 19th. Roberts & Girvan are walking into the unknown and may end up walking as former champions. Originally, Johnny Phere and Mikey Whiplash were scheduled to compete while Big Damo would face Stixx in two separate matches. However an injury to Stixx left Damo without a match for this Saturday. So AOW management took an unfortunate event and turned it into something great. They've announced that Phere, Whiplash and Damo will now compete in a triple threat match where the winner will be named the number one contender to the AOW Championship which is currently held by Stixx. The stakes have just been raised for this Saturday.

morcambe mayhem match card

*AOW Championship Number One Contender – Triple Threat*

‘The Psychotic Warrior’ Johnny Phere vs Mikey Whiplash vs ‘The Beast Of Belfast’ Big Damo

*AOW Women’s Championship*

Lana Austin vs ‘The Best In The Galaxy’ Nikki Storm (c)

*AOW Tag Team Championship*

The Referendum (Bobby Roberts & Lewis Girvan) (c) vs ??? & ???

*Singles*

‘One Man Riot’ Craig Kollins vs ‘The Priority’ Chris Ridgeway (w/ Greg Lambert)

*Singles*

Ricky J McKenzie vs ‘The Leader’ James Drake (w/ Barricade)

*Singles*

‘100% Welsh Beef’ Dylan Roberts vs Sexy Kev

sunday

pro wrestling: eve let's make history

london, england

And finally on Sunday, Pro Wrestling:EVE returns and shall make history when they host the first ever all-female wrestling event in London. PW:E have stacked this show with competitors from over half a dozen nations taking part. Two nations represented will be Portugal and Germany as Shanna faces Blue Nikita. Shanna is a world-travelled competitor while Blue is one of the foundations of female wrestling in Europe today. Let's make some history with some international flavour added to it. The show will also mark Courtney's debut within the company. Her first appearance won't be an easy one as she faces a woman dubbed 'the baddest woman on the planet', April Davids. 'The Lancashire Terrier' is known for her dominating offence and should be a good match for Courtney who herself is known for blending wrestling with kickboxing. Two wrestlers known for blending their arts into one should be a great match up.  A few weeks ago, Nikki Storm became the only three-time Pro Wrestling: EVE Champion after defeating Rhia O'Reilly. However the win can by way of a referee stoppage. Rhia was understandably very angry at the way she lost and demanded a rematch. PW:E have granted the rematch with the stipulation that the match will be a No Disqualification, 2 out of 3 falls Match. Also announced is the inclusion of  'The Female Fight Machine Jenny Sjödin as a Special Enforcer in an attempt to keep some order in the match. Two of the hardest-hitting competitors in PW:E history are going to war this Sunday in London.

let's make history match card

*Pro Wrestling:EVE Championship – No Disqualification, 2 Out Of 3 Falls – Special Ringside Enforcer: ‘The Female Fight Machine’ Jenny Sjodin*

‘The Best In The Galaxy’ Nikki Storm (c) vs ‘The Fighting Irish’ Rhia O’Reilly

*Singles*

‘Portugal’s Perfect Athlete’ Shanna vs Blue Nikita

*Singles*

Kay Lee Ray vs Nixon Newell

*Singles*

Addy Starr vs Pollyanna

*Singles*

Dragonita vs Psycho Lolita

*Singles*

Courtney vs ‘The Lancashire Terrier’ April Davids

*singles*

Tennessee Honey vs Dahlia Black

That wraps up this week's preview of the weekend's wrestling schedule. Of course, there are many more events taking place over the three days. To find out more about the shows we've highlighted here as well as all the others, check us out at www.wrestleropesuk.wordpress.com for the latest show and match announcements, British Wrestling event list, interviews, exclusive columns, reviews, reports and results!

Opinion: Running the Ropes with Marc P - Part 5

Hi guys thanks for dropping by, my whole life is up in the air at the moment so this month instead of writing about a particular topic I thought I’d left you guys know about a few things that are going on with me and the world of Pro Wrestling.

wrestling training……

As much as I enjoyed my time at Futureshock’s training school I’m afraid that I won’t be back there. Few reasons for this. Firstly and most importantly I’ve moved away from Stoke-On-Trent and am now living in the Cotswolds so to get to the school would be a 6 hour round trip! Secondly I’m sure dear reader that you remember that I tore my MCL in my left knee, well, truth be told it’s never really properly healed, still giving me a lot of pain especially at the moment when it’s cold. Lastly, you may remember that my confidence utterly failed me on my last training session, well, it never came back, the thought of making a tit of myself in front of people fills me with dread. So no more wrestling training for Marc P. Proud of myself for giving it a try though. 

live shows….

At the time of writing I’ve been to 3 shows this year, one each for Futureshock, Alpha Omega and Fight Club Pro. I promised myself after the 40+ shows that I attended in 2015 that I would drastically cut back on my live shows but MAN, I didn’t expect to cut down this much. Don’t get me wrong I intend you fully make use of my Season Ticket for the Stockport Futureshock shows, it’s just going to take me a while to find what promotions run in the local area. Guess I’ve got no excuse not to attend my first Attack show have I. Missing shows and missing my crew are the hardest part of this move, trust me on that one! Oh and my move meant I had to resign from my position at Southcoast Wrestling, that one hurt as well!

wwe……

I’ve barely watched any of WWE’s weekly programming in weeks, and that even includes NXT. Lucha Underground has taken NXT’s place as my must watch wrestling show as it has with so many people. Fastlane came and went and other than the pre show (that I fell asleep watching) I wasn’t bothered, Shane O Mac returned and both my Facebook and Twitter feeds lit up and I just wasn’t interested (seriously, why would Taker defend Vince?). My WWE network still gets used a lot but it’s always for old shows, on Friday night for example I watched WWF’s Royal Rumble 2000 but then last night I endured the Edge & Christian show and was so underwhelmed. How James manages to watch the product is beyond me and tbh its through his reviews that I still know whats happening in WWE! (Editors Note - Cos I'm a fucking maniac)

youtube.....

Ah the big one. Regular viewers of mine will no doubt have noticed that I haven’t made a video since the 8th of January, with no explanation really given. I don’t want to say Ive retired from making videos because that sounds so final, but, don’t expect to see any videos off of me anytime in the future. Truth be told I stopped enjoying making videos a long time ago and felt that they were a chore for the longest time. Watching the vids back that I made in the last 6 months they all feel very forced, that I’m relying on the same old dated catchphrases. Basically they just aren’t very good and my lack of motivation really shines through them. One day I may return full time, or I may just pop up to do the odd review at Wrestlemania time, or of course I could just say sod it and move on with my life. I am however, eternally grateful to anyone who has ever watched one of my videos. It means the world to me. 

Marc's Youtube Page
Marc's Facebook Page
Marc's Twitter Profile

Live Event Review: Fight Club: Pro All the Best 2016 (Lee vs. Seven *TNA X Division Championship*)

On 5th February 2016, Fight Club: Pro presented All the Best 2016 in the Planet Nightclub in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Trevor Lee defended his TNA X Division Championship against Trent Seven and Pete Dunne put his Infinity Trophy on the line against Tyler Bate...but was it any good? Let's find out.

match card

Match 1 - Tag Team - KYS (FCP Champion MK McKinnan & Damian Dunne) vs. Nixon Newell & Mike Bird

Match 2 - Singles - Chris Brookes vs. Travis Banks

Match 3 - Infinity Trophy - Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne (C)

Match 4 - Tag Team - The Hunter Brothers vs. Dan Maloney & Wild Boar

Match 5 - TNA X Division Championship - Trent Seven vs. Trevor Lee (C)

trent seven addresses the planet nightclub

The show kicked off with former FCP Champion Trent Seven heading out to the ring to welcome the fans to the show and thank them for heading out to the Planet that evening. As Seven said 2016, obviously referencing the first show of said year for FCP, I thought it was a good idea to shout out 2006, in reference to the idiotic boob Bram's recent botch on TNA Impact Wrestling. I'm not sure if this was the best idea I've ever had or a moment of utter insanity that lead to me being labelled a "walking calendar" by Seven. Either way this whole opening segment was a nice bit of fun that buoyed that crowd up for some action with Seven managing to hold the attention of a good-sized crowd of boozed-up Midlanders with his cheeky swagger and charm.

nixon newell and mike bird defeat kys

This was an open challenge bout laid out by current FCP Champion, MK McKinnan and KYS stablemate Damian Dunne. The duo kicked things off by complaining about having to start off the show and began typically running down the FCP fanbase, with McKinnan ripping into anyone who caught his attention. Whilst, the team of Nixon Newell and Mike Bird hadn't been particularly high on my list of teams to answer the open challenge, the booking here made me want to see the match a lot more than if it had just been announced before hand. We had Nixon come out first, with McKinnan cutting a misogynistic promo offering Nixon "the chance" to suck his dick, before Clint Margera made his entrance, only to be taken out by KYS member Pete Dunne with a steel chair and Bird (who presumably was just kicking about backstage) turned up to join in the fight.

The tag match itself was a cracking opening contest with the two teams forming a solid dynamic that the crowd quickly bought into. As one of the most likable faces in British wrestling at the moment, Nixon worked well as the face in peril for this one, with McKinnan and Dunne excelling in their roles also, keeping the match in their favour with a series of underhanded tactics. Bird kept things going at ringside and delivered with a good hot tag sequence, before the heels pulled out a great flurry of offense and got a convincing near fall off a double superkick and rope hung DDT from McKinnan. However, it was Nixon who picked up the win for her team with a Vulture Culture Destroyer on Dunne, and whilst the move didn't look quite a clean as it could have, it seemed there were no injuries and the messy look actually worked in the favour of the type of bout the two teams were having. A smashing way to kick off the show, with a strong heel/face dynamic, it'll be interesting to see how this victory effects McKinnan's title run and whether we'll see Nixon and Bird continue as a team in FCP going forward.

chris brookes defeats travis banks

This was my first opportunity to see New Zealander Travis Banks in action and I have to say I was impressed with the 2 time IPW New Zealand Heavyweight Champion. Banks worked a very technical bout with FCP regular Chris Brookes, and despite being the less well known worker to the Wolverhampton crowd, seemed to quickly gain the respect of those in attendance, helped along by the fact that Brookes is one of the most hated men in the promotion. Despite the technicality of the bout, one of it's stand out moments was a big highspot that saw Brookes push Banks off the top and send him into the cage that surrounds the ringside area, with the Kiwi almost going right over the top. Banks gained a number of sweet near falls via a Fisherman's Buster and Bridging German Suplex before Brookes claimed a surprisingly clean victory with a Michonoku Driver. Good use of Banks that showcased his skills and allowed him to look impressive enough that a return would be welcomed, whilst also allowing a regular to build some momentum heading into the next show on March 18th.

pete dunne defeats tyler bate to retain the infinity trophy

The first half main event was a superbly physical outing between KYS member Pete Dunne and one half of Mustache Mountain, Tyler Bate. The pairs first one on one outing for FCP, these two have a long history in the promotion going all the way back to Rise Against: End of Dave? in May 2014, having six bouts of varying stipulations, all the way up to the last show of 2015, Infinity 2015 when Dunne outlasted Bate in the Four Way Dance Semi-Final of the Infinity Trophy Tournament. If this match was the culmination of two years of waiting to get their hands on each other one on one in an FCP ring, boy did it deliver. There was lots of hard strikes and kicks to the face here, in a real show of British Strong Style as both men took a great deal of punishment from each other. This looked like two men who genuinely couldn't stand each other. The crowd was all over Dunne for the whole match and the well-rounded performer produced some quality character work as he showed frustration at the chants for Bate's mustache to give this bout a little bit of variety.

Numerous times through the match Dunne had attempted to hit his DT3 finish (Pumphandle Facebuster) and never quite hit it, this lead to blistering conclusion. With Dunne once again unable to put Bate away following another close near fall, we saw Bate begin to fire up for the second time in the match, only for Dunne to deliver a series of wicked strikes to the head and finally hit the DT3 for the win. A tremendous closing sequence that had the Planet rocking, these are two talents that have grown and grown over the last two or three years. Both men put in excellent efforts here and you have to think that there's only more to come as they continue to add different aspects to their game. 

fast-forward...Following the interval, Clint Margera hit the ring and challenged Pete Dunne to a Death Match on 18th March...

dan maloney and wild boar defeat the hunter brothers

The second half of the show kicked off with Dan Maloney and Wild Boar avenging their only loss as a tag team in FCP, by defeating the Hunter Brothers in a rematch from December's Infinity 2015. The crowd quickly picked up on Maloney's new choice of ring attire which included what appeared to be black rubber gloves, and heckled him with chants about marigolds and questions about washing up. The match itself went back and forth, with the fan-favourite Hunter Brothers putting together a lot of nice quick paced action and trading near falls with Maloney and Boar. The finish featured a lot of fun shenanigans, as the heel duo attempted to get steel chairs involved in the match, however this was a mere distraction for the referee, as Maloney would eventually clobbered a Hunter with a mallet to the knee that would eventually give his team the victory. A lot of fun to be had here, and there's surely a rematch to settle the score coming on 18th March or later on in the year.

trevor lee defeats trent seven to retain the tna x division championship

What a veritable smorgasbord of wrestling action was on offer here. Things began with Trent Seven challenging Trevor Lee to put his TNA X Division Championship on the line. Of course, Lee wasn't going to just give Seven a title, oh no, he was gonna make him dance for his shot. What followed was one of those moment in a wrestling fans life, where you look at your pals and they're all losing their shit for two grown adult males dancing to Taylor Swift and you think "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate". Wrestling is the best and I won't have anyone say other wise. As far as I can find this was the first X Division title bout at non-TNA show in the UK since Samoa Joe defended the belt against AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels at 1PW All or Nothing - Day 2 in Doncaster on 5th March 2006 (Someone tell me I'm wrong, that's the last I could find on cagematch.net) 

The earlier part of the bout featured a lot of stalling from Trevor Lee, and plenty of sports-entertainment style tomfoolery. From Lee continually going to the outside at the start of the match, to later seemingly losing his temper and grabbing a steel chair only to use it as a step up to the ring apron, this all seemed to be designed to get under the skin of the Wolverhampton crowd. The champ was certainly working the heel role throughout, with numerous underhanded tactics in blatant sight of the referee, with the excuse that "It was legal in the US" working well due to the inexperienced appearance of the ref himself. The crowd however didn't seem to want to get on Lee's back too much here, perhaps due to being more familiar with his exploits in promotions like PWG and EVOLVE, than his villainous run alongside Gregory Shane Helms in TNA (in fact, the episode where Lee won the title from Tigre Uno wouldn't air until that coming Sunday on Challenge in the UK!). The crowd however were more or less on the side of regular Trent Seven, and I didn't feel that the crowd being more amused than angry with Lee's antics effected the contest on a whole.

Once things really got going Lee and Seven put on a superb main event, choc-full of hard strikes and chops with the crowd getting hotter and hotter as the action went on. Then came one of the best false finishes I have ever seen, as Seven hit a series of moves, capped off with a jumping piledriver and seemingly got the three count on Lee. Even the most smarky of fans were seemingly fooled by this one as the roof almost got blown off the Planet. Removing what would have been one of the main negatives of having another promotions title defended on the show, the crowd for a moment genuinely believed that the title not only could change hands, but had changed hands. Of course, it wasn't to be as the inexperience of the referee was used again, as after initially awarding the bout to Seven, he realised Lee's foot was under the ropes and restarted the match! For me, the actual finish of the match was a little too similar to what had come earlier between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate, as Seven took a number of stiff shots from Lee and continued to fire up, before eventually falling to a Small Package Driver, as Lee made his third successful title defense.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 6.95/10

Fight Club:Pro start of their year with a strong card of British Strong-Style action, with all five matches providing some quality action. The Infinity Trophy bout and the main event for the TNA X Division Championship could both have arguments put forward for why they deserved to be Match of the Night, as they both delivered lots of hard-hitting moments, and managed to tell mostly different stories inside the ring. For me, Dunne and Bate edges it, thanks to the history between the two in the promotion and my personal intrigue to see where both of the performers will go over the next year of so in FCP. 

There's lots to look forward to in the near future, with Clint Margera and Pete Dunne already scheduled to clash in Death Match on the next show on 18th March, whilst a new contender for MK McKinnan's FCP title still needs to be crowned, and despite suffering defeat in tag team action there still seems to be no cracks in KYS faction. Interesting times ahead for sure, this is a promotion that should be on every British wrestling fans radar.

Wrestle Ropes' Ready for the Weekend: February 2016 Week 1

As we fast approach another weekend in the British Wrestling calendar, we head to Wolverhampton for Fight Club: PRO before heading south to Bristol for Pro Wrestling Chaos' first show of 2016. We'll also have a brief look look at a few other shows coming up. Let's get Ready For The Weekend!

Friday night sees the weekend kick off in Wolverhampton with Fight Club: PRO All The Best 2016 at The Planet Nightclub. The event will see the 2014 Infinity winner, Chris Brookes compete against a new face to the Fight Club: PRO ranks, Travis Banks. Brookes had a change of mind since winning the Trophy, being as dangerous as he ever has been. Banks, originally from New Zealand has been making a name for himself all over the UK in the past few months. His debut at Fight Club: PRO may be his most challenging debut yet as his opponent will have no problem in making his first match his last. From one former Infinity champion to the current champion, Pete Dunne. Dunne's rise during 2015 had the entire British Wrestling community talking. His opponent, Tyler Bate is another man who has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months. While Dunne is constantly getting better, his momentum could be stopped by a man who has his own ambitions for 2016 and one of those is becoming the Infinity champion. While Fight Club: PRO is stacked with home-grown talent, there'll also be some international flavour on Friday as 'The Carolina Caveman' Trevor Lee makes his return to face Trent Seven. Last time, Trevor Lee defeated fellow American, Andrew Everett, this time however he faces Trent Seven, a man who holds the record for the longest Fight Club: PRO Championship reign. While Lee has had success before, and currently holds TNA's X Division Championship, he now faces a man who is part of the foundations of Fight Club: PRO, 'The Super Don' Trent Seven.

full card

*KYS Open Invitational Challenge*

KYS (MK McKinnan & Damian Dunne) vs ???

Travis Banks vs Chris Brookes

Tyler Bate vs ‘Young And Bitter’ Pete Dunne

Dan Moloney & Wild Boar vs The Hunter Brothers (Lee & Jim Hunter)

Trent Seven vs ‘The Carolina Caveman’ Trevor Lee

Moving on to Saturday and Pro Wrestling Chaos are back at the BAWA Club in Bristol with Everyone Must Stand Alone. The event will see the beginning of the Knights Of Chaos Tag Team Championship tournament. The first quarter-final match will see Massive Party's Chuck Cyrus & Robbie Caine face the duo of Eddie Dennis & Alex Steele. Cyrus & Caine have had tag team success in other promotions and will be looking to continue that success in Pro Wrestling Chaos. Their opponents, Dennis & Steele have been a part of Pro Wrestling Chaos since it's inception and will be keen to be a part of another piece of the promotion's history. Speaking of history, February 6th shall see a first time ever meeting between Pete Dunne and British Wrestling legend, Johnny Kidd. As we have already mentioned, Pete Dunne is a man on the rise right now. That rise is partially due to his style which combines hard hitting offence with a more traditional World Of Sport technicality. When it comes to World Of Sport technicality, there are few who can match Johnny Kidd. This is very much a match of New School vs Old School but a winner is impossible to predict.  The main event this Saturday will see the winner of the Chaos Rumble, Jeckel waste no time in utilising his number one contender status as he challenges Wild Boar for the King Of Chaos Championship. Jeckel has been tearing through the Pro Wrestling Chaos ranks for months with no-one safe from the heavyweight. Boar on the other hand has been involved in a war with Mike Bird for the past few months with him eventually ending the war with the King Of Chaos Championship. However as one battle ends, another looks to begin in the shape of Jeckel. Both these men are harsh, heavy hitters who will go to any lengths to win. With Jeckel also having the new Pro Wrestling Chaos owner, Pariah Khan in his corner, Wild Boar faces a big challenge in Bristol.

full card

*King Of Chaos Championship*

Jeckel vs Wild Boar (c)

‘Flying’ Mike Bird vs ‘The Carolina Caveman’ Trevor Lee

Johnny Kidd vs Pete Dunne

*Knights Of Chaos Championship Tournament Quarter Final*

Massive Party (‘Mr Massive’ Chuck Cyrus & ‘The Fame’ Robbie Caine) vs ‘The Pride Of Wales’ Eddie Dennis & Alex Steele

Flash Morgan Webster vs Panda Cub

Gideon vs Big Grizzly

Grado In Action

Also this weekend, Preston City Wrestling are holding their annual Road To Glory tournament over three shows this Friday & Saturday. The shows will see a plethora of international names such as Matt Hardy, Billy Gunn and Tajiri to name a few along with some of the best of British. Some very intriguing match ups include Noam Dar vs Timothy Thatcher, Chris Dickinson vs Rampage and Drew Galloway vs Martin Kirby. A whole variety of potential quarter-final, semi-final and final are possible and it is a tournament for anyone to win. Future Pro Wrestling also have a show this weekend. On Saturday they will host 'Reloaded 5.0' at The Thomas Wall Centre in Sutton. A number of matches are scheduled with The GZRS challenging The London Riots for the FPW Tag Team Championship, Jimmy Havoc defending the FPW Championship against Paul Robinson plus the continuation of the FPW Zero-G Championship tournament. There will also be the annual Reloaded Rumble with the winner earning a future FPW Championship match. Speaking of rumble matches, Leicester Championship Wrestling will also be holding their annual rumble match at Brockington College. Along with the rumble where the winner earns a championship match there are four other matches scheduled, three of them for championships. The LCW Tag Team Championship shall be defended in the fatal four-way match, Chris Tyler is defend the LCW Young Guns Championship against Jurgen Heimlich and Xander Cooper will have the odds against him as he defends the LCW Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against former champions, Alex Gracie and Joseph Conners.

That wraps up this week's preview of the weekend's wrestling schedule. Of course, there are many more events taking place over the three days. To find out more about the shows we've highlighted here as well as all the others, check us out at www.wrestleropesuk.wordpress.com for the latest show and match announcements, British Wrestling event list, interviews, exclusive columns, reviews, reports and results!

Wrestle Ropes' Ready for the Weekend: October 2015 Week 4

Another weekend coming up and another edition of Ready For The Weekend. Let's not hang about, let's dive into the Aladdin's cave of British Wrestling and take a look at a few of the gems on offer.

Friday night kicks off the wrestling weekend with Fight Club: PRO at The Planet Nightclub in Wolverhampton. The first match announced by Fight Club: PRO was one that had any fan of tag team wrestling visibly frothing at the mouth to see as The Hunter Brothers, arguably one of the best tag teams in Europe right now face the reunited duo of Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews, collectively known as F.S.U. All four of these men have been tearing up FC:P for a number of years but when they are in tag team action, they take it to another level. This looks to be another memorable match for the history books of Fight Club: PRO. Speaking of history, two individuals who have a lot of history between them is Chris Brookes & Nixon Newell. Former tag team partners turned bitter enemies after Brookes turned his back on Nixon only to attack her on numerous occasions. Nixon has not backed down from Chris Brookes, getting her own back on her former partner at previous shows. Their issues need to be settled and on October 23rd they look to end it once and for all. The main event scheduled for 'Project Mayhem IV' will literally be a war of chaos. An 8-man war between MK McKinnan, Jimmy Havoc, Pete Dunne & Damian Dunne of K.Y.S. and Dave Mastiff, Clint Margera and Moustache Mountain's Tyler Bate & Trent Seven. Each team hates the other and everyone is out to prove a point to the other. The Planet has seen a number of battle over the years but this may be the biggest ever and forget the ring, the city of Wolverhampton may not be ready for the violence coming it's way this Friday night.

Moving on to Saturday night and Pro Wrestling Chaos will be at the Hanham Community Centre in Bristol with 'Total Chaos'. Unlike other shows that PWC have hosted in the past, this event has no matches for it at all. Now while this may seem strange, the whole premise of this event is that nobody will know who they are facing on the night. All we know is who will be there. We would normally talk about certain matches scheduled to take place but as we don't know what they'll be, we'll discuss a few of the men who will be in action. The first man who was announced for 'Total Chaos' was the reigning King Of Chaos Champion, Mike Bird. The champion has more knowledge of the night than others as he does know that he will be defending his championship in a match but he has no idea who his opponent will be or even how many there will be. He may have only just won the championship for a second time but he could have a reign that lasts less than one show if the draw doesn't fall in his favour. Another man confirmed for October 24 is the former Doomsday Killer, Gideon. After his return at 'The King Is Dead, Long Live The King', he has fire in him that few have seen from him. He will hope that he faces someone from the Doomsday Killers so help anyone else who happens to stand opposite him on Saturday. October 24th will also throw in even more unknowns when Chuck Cyrus & Pastor William Eaver both make their debut in Pro Wrestling Chaos. Both men will look to make a statement on their first night but against who, nobody knows.

Rounding off the weekend and Kamikaze Pro host 'Bank On It! 3' at the Meadway Sports & Social in Stechford, Birmingham. The main event will see the current Kamikaze Pro Tag Team Champions, The Hunter Brothers join forces with former WWE & WCW star, X-Pac to face the trio of Ryan Smile, Damian Dunne and the current Kamikaze Pro Champion, Robbie X. Smile, Dunne & Robbie X, collectively known as The Bigger Picture have been running thorough Kamikaze Pro, attacking anyone they choose and abusing the rules at any opportunity they can. Now the fight is fair with the numbers even and a team of champions and huge experience opposing them. We'll find out on Sunday if the road stops here for The Bigger Picture or if the Hunters & X-Pac will fall to the groups antics. October 25th sees the return of Kamikaze Pro's annual ladder match for the Money In The Bank contract. This year's feature numerous former champions with Tyler Bate, El Ligero, Juventud Guerrera & Dan Moloney all competing along with Clint Margera & Kay Lee Ray, who are no strangers to using weapons and taking the risks that this match will encourage. No clear winner in this match and anyone has what it takes to win the guaranteed 
championship match. Sunday night will also see the Kamikaze Pro Fighting Females Division in action as Toni Storm, Nixon Newell & Shanna compete in a triple threat match. Nixon & Shanna faced each other on Kamikaze Pro's last show with Shanna narrowly picking up the win. Now it's time to up the ante and the number with the inclusion of the very talented Toni Storm. While Shanna may have won last time, there is no indication to say that history will repeat itself as anyone of these women have the skills and talent to take the win in Stechford.



That wraps up this week's preview of the weekend's wrestling schedule. Of course, there are many more events taking place over the three days. To find out more about the shows we've highlighted here as well as all the others, check us out at www.wrestleropesuk.wordpress.com for the latest show and match announcements, British Wrestling event list and more