5 Star Wrestling [Live] Review // 15th February 2018

On 16th February 2018, 5 Star Wrestling came to us live from the Fly DSA Arena in Sheffield, England. Our main event for the evening saw a Teddy Long Special occur as the previously announced match of Rampage Brown against Rey Mysterio became a tag match with the additions of Zach Gibson & Rob Van Dam respectively. With action also featuring 5Star Tag Champions Max Money taking on the UK Hooligans, 5Star Champion Jake Hager taking on Ryan Hunter as well as Colt Cabana, Flash Morgan Webster and many more. It' not exactly controversial to state that 5Star have picked up a bit of reputation in the BritWres community, not necessarily a good one, but could they counter that and put on a show good enough to silence the doubters?

'Tango' Timm Wylie def. Ricky Knight Jr. // Pinfall

This was a reasonably standard face v heel, junior v heavyweight encounter but with some nice touches with Wylie using the tech fuck-ups that plagued the show right from the start to generate some heel heat, in fact considering the crowd was half not in the room and the other half were reasonably unresponsive, it must be said Wylie and Knight Jr. did a good job of actually getting people into the match. Extra points for Wyle using the Brian Danielson 'I have till five' shouts. Wylie would eventually get a pin with a Twisting Suplex Slam.

Matty Mayhem def. HT Drake and Anthony Young // Pinfall

Not much to comment on here really as this was 9 minutes of crowd-popping spot work, though I must commend them for actually never breaking down into the rotating singles match structure and keeping all three men in the ring practically for the entire match duration. Drake played the bigger lad in this throwing suplexes like no one's business, Young pulled off the night's second Danielson tribute by hitting Yes Kicks on both men, Mayhem hit a GTS, indie-galore. The finish came when Mayhem got a surprise reversal into a Paul Smackage on Drake. Nice stuff, did the job, got the crowd's energy up a bit.

So we opened on a shite promo from Jake Hager which left the crowd going '...k' only for it to be interrupted by a very good promo from Zach Gibson who railed on Hager for being dull and said he's the reason people are switching over to Takeshi's Castle. It was at this point the crowd started to wonder, 'do we like Gibson now? He's right and Hager's the bad guy. But Gibson's also the bad guy...what?' After Gibson left, Hager said he would defend his title, not against Gibson but against one of the UK's best talents. What do you bet this sets up the 'Hager beats up a jobber' story?

Joey Axl def. El Ligero // Submission

We come to part three of the evening's Danielson tribute as Ligero and Axl reinterpreted the classic 'you can't pin a ball' spot from when Daniel Bryan fought Tyson Kidd on Saturday Morning Slam. Beyond that glorious moment, this was a solid match with Ligero giving Axl his best match so far of the 5Star tour. The problem this match had was that it had to follow a laboured Hager promo (more on that later) and an ad-break so any excitement the crowd might have had from the dark matches had been lost by this point so it had to build it back up again. The finish came as Axl tapped out Ligero with the Ayers Rock Lock stretch muffler. Decent enough stuff.

Gibson would pop up again, attacking Rey Mysterio before his match with Rampage Brown, opening the door for Rob Van Dam to make the save, setting for our main event: Gibson & Brown vs Mysterio & Van Dam.

Eddie Ryan def. 'The Wrestling Vegan' Marcus Burke // Pinfall 

First off, Burke walking around the crowd shouting 'I am a vegan! Nooo meat!' was perfect character work, I got where he was coming from and Marcus, if you're ever back in Sheffield, hit me up, we can get some Avocado Wings from Make No Bones. The match itself was a little light on action as there seemed to be a lack of connection between both men thought Ryan, positioned as the top UK babyface of the roster was beloved of the younger fans in the audience. Worth mentioning: this match broke the Danielson tributes with instead Ryan entering with his lion mask and cape combo and Burke hitting a Tiger Driver for a good near fall suggesting a move to Tiger Mask tributes. Ryan eventually won with the Sitout Side Slam for the pin. During the match, Bram was at ringside in a baseball cap and what looked like one of those ponchos they give you at Splash Canyon at Drayton Manor.

Colt Cabana & Grado def. Carlito & Chris Masters // Pinfall

There was another edition of Morgan Webster's Modcast but before it could begin properly, the Masters of Cool interrupted, complaining that they wanted to make it an episode of Carlito's Cabana. Talking of cabanas, actual guest Colt Cabana turned up and was attacked by the Masters but Grado made the save. It wasn't entirely clear to the audience that this was a heel turn as the announcer came out during the ad-break to make sure we knew to boo Masters and Carlito and cheer Cabana and Grado. Luckily once the match began, the team known to many as Irn Jew made sure there was no doubt who to cheer for as they delivered an incredibly fun match, putting on not just the best match of the night but probably my favourite pure piece of entertainment from this entire tour thus far. They worked a simple tag structure but they peppered it with a lot of fun details and most importantly didn't outwear their welcome. It's harder to describe comedy focussed matches than pure wrestling as it's akin to explaining the joke but suffice to say, you won't see a more joyous moment this week than Grado trying to put the Master Lock on Chris Masters. The finish came as Carlito when to spit apple at Grado but he dodged, the apple hit Masters, Cabana pulled Carlito out of the ring opening up Masters for an R-Grado out of naewaer for the pin. Not exactly complicated but just good, clean fun plus Colt and Grado turning up were a genuine surprise and an extremely pleasant one at that.

5 Star Championship // Jake Hager (c) def. Ryan Hunter // Submission

Hager came out first to introduce his opponent, AOW regular Ryan Hunter. This was the standard 'heel champion beats up a jobber but occasionally the jobber does something close to a move which pisses off the champion so he drags out the match to beat the piss out of his opponent' match with Hunter being massively over in a way that you almost felt they could have put the title on him that night and the crowd might not have complained. It went on far too long, all things considered as the crowd weren't into it at all. Hager hit the Ankle Lock for an easy tapout.

Joe Hendry def. Big Grizzly // Pinfall

This match happened because Dave Mastiff and Big Grizzly called out Joe Hendry for hiding behind the commentary desk, so, of course, Mastiff took over on commentary because nothing says 'I'm calling you out' like then not wrestling and instead taking his job. A quick match with Grizzly playing the big man heel and Hendry working underneath till he got a good comeback and shocked the crowd by getting a pin off a Fallaway Slam. Hendry, Grizzly and Mastiff have enough charisma to make this work but this didn't really feel like it achieved much, especially if Hendry is going to stay behind the commentary desk for the foreseeable future.

PJ Black def. Flash Morgan Webster // Pinfall

This was probably the evening's best singles action as the former 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion took on the current ATTACK! Champion is a fast paced bout full of the signature high-flying action that both men are known for. The main things that hurt this match were a lack of time but also that the short snippets of commentary they played in the arena suggested that this was meant to be building the story of plucky underdog Webster seeking his first win in 5 Star yet they put him against Black who was just as over, especially amongst one very vocal group of children. It's not that Webster wasn't able to build sympathy nor Black incapable of working a good subtle heelish performance, more that especially in the arena, a lack of crowd support for the chosen hero hurts the storytelling. Perhaps they could have come out before all the matches and told us who to cheer for, it would have made things easier. Black got the pinfall victory off a Lionsault.

5 Star Tag Team Championship // Charlie Sterling & Adam Maxted (C) def. Roy Knight & Zak Knight // Pinfall

If there's one thing that I hope comes from this 5Star tour, it's more bookings for Charlie Sterling and Adam Maxted as they work well together, really showing a lot of tag team fundamentals and heel characteristics that a lot of people forget. It probably helps that the Hooligans were probably the most over thing on this entire show, well, if judging by the row or two behind me who all were constantly doing the 'hoo-hoo-hooligans' chant and as that was directly in my ear, I can't tell about anything else. They worked a good, solid tag match, making the crowd believe that there was a chance that Norwich's finest might take home the belts and making them all the more upset that they lost their chance due to a surprise roll-up. I did feel oddly sorry for Maxted early on as the Knights seemed to be throwing some particularly stiff-looking shots his way but I guess that is their style. Not much to add but still impressive that this far into the show they were still getting responses as fatigue had set in for this writer somewhere around Jake Hager's title match. Before the match, Pure Dead Brilliant (Kid Fite, Lou King Sharp & Krieger) would invade the ring and talk about once again being deprived of a match and issued a challenge for a tag match before the Hooligans scared them off. The lack of booking for these lads is a really bizarre storyline as they were some of the talents brought to the Press Conference announcing the roster, quite similar to their limiting of Jack Jester to pre-show or not at all this week. In kayfabe, why do it?

Rey Mysterio & Rob Van Dam vs. Zack Gibson & Rampage Brown // No Contest

By this point, it became quite difficult to actually see what was going on from floor level as a hoard of replica mask-wearing children had surrounded the ring, leaning over the barricade to see two true legends of the sport. They also seemed interested in their opponents, some pair of former WWF guys I think. The match worked an odd structure as they seemed to let Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam make their opponents look like fools for the longest time before they were able to cut off the faces, twice, because both men wanted to have their hot tag sequence. What worked very well about this match was the psychology behind the heels approach as they could see the crowd were waiting for Rey and RVD to hit their finishers so they knew to wait for them to try and use that to cut them off, making the crowd wait and hate them more each time they delayed their gratification. The faces did work hard to make their opponents look good, Rey, even if he's not quite as quick as he used to be, still is a damn sight better than most and it was a treat to get to see him. Rampage is a sure hand and a great, vicious performer though it really can't be said enough, Gibson is the best thing about 5Star, with every little action he does being used to push forward his agenda, especially with little details like pointing out to the referee about his opponent's breaking rules before using it as a distraction to break some of his own. The finish was a fascinating clusterfuck as after Rampage had taken a 619 and a Five Star Frog Splash, Gibson would pull the ref out of the ring and knock him out before Max Money came in to beat down Rey and RVD but Irn Jew would come in to even the odds, this would lead to a No Contest in theory but it wasn't entirely clear as after they'd sent the heels packing, the faces just raised each others hands and left, no actual bell, no referee response, just a 'let's hear it for Rey and RVD, ok bye everyone'. This did however feature the best moment of the show as after clearing out the heels, RVD seemingly got a bit confused and superkicked Grado out of the ring before trying to go for him while Cabana did the 'Chris Pratt calms the velociraptors' pose. Hilarious stuff. This wasn't necessarily a bad finish to a match but certainly, not exactly the most exciting high-point upon which to end an episode. But if it leads to Cabana and Grado challenging for the tag titles, I'm all-in.

Also this Week

There were some on-screen promos from Hager where Ryan turned up and challenged him for the title in Plymouth next week, that mysterious masked man who screamed about wrestling next week, Nathan Cruz spoke about how he wasn't wrestling but was there anyway to pick up a cheque because he bought an expensive watch with his cheque from last week and something from RVD, Rey and Irn Jew where the sound cut out so who knows what was said? Something about Twixes, probably.

Finally...

As a product, 5Star still has a long way to go with a lot of the book representing the same errors that overly sacrificial WWE booking has suffered from. As an arena spectacle, it is plagued with technical issues and feels empty in the arena spaces as you can hear the sound travel to the back of the room and get lost there. As a spectacle of wrestling, it has enough talent in its roster to put on a good show with obvious standouts like Gibson, Ligero & Webster really showing their talents in a larger arena setting and even certain talents like Carlito and Chris Masters surprisingly really showing up this week. As a wrestling show clearly for a family audience, it's harder to say it's a complete failure. It doesn't quite translate to the television perhaps as well as might be hoped but there was a sense of palpable excitement amongst the kids who crowded around the barrier to watch their favourites like Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam and interestingly enough, Eddie Ryan. Perhaps this really isn't designed to be a product for us, the overly informed snarkastic fans of the internet, maybe it's purely for the kids who either don't know or are willing to overlook the lack of reality. I don't know, it's hard to hate something that's so clearly trying to push beyond what it's capable of in the present yet at the same time, there's a certain air of content 'that'll do' to the overall presentation that equally it's very difficult to love. Also, where was Haskins?

Written By Jozef Raczka // @NotJoeRaczka

Bound for Glory 2017 Review // Johnny Impact vs. Eli Drake

On 5th November 2017, Impact Wrestling broadcast Bound for Glory 2017 live on PPV from Aberdeen Pavilion in Ottawa, Ontario. Johnny Impact [John Morrison] challenged Eli Drake [Shaun Ricker] for the Global Championship, James Storm, Ethan Carter III and Eddie Edwards tagged up as Team Impact to take on El Hijo del Fantasma, El Texano Jr. and Pagano representing AAA, as well as appearances from Alberto el Patron [Alberto Del Rio], Matt Sydal, Bobby Lashley, Abyss and Gail Kim. But was it any good? Lets take a look!  

Global Championship Match: Eli Drake def. Johnny Impact (19:30) 

McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Eli Drake and Chris Adonis with some terrible audio, but Drake continuing to grow into his role as Global Champion. The bad audio continued later as Johnny Impact cut a rather dull and slow promo in an interview with McKenzie Mitchell that was nowhere near the energy level you'd expect for someone competing in the main event of a companies biggest show.

Before the finish, I found myself surprisingly into the main event between Eli Drake and Johnny Impact, even if the same couldn't be said for the Aberdeen Pavilion crowd. Despite the uninspired build-up and lack of heat, the two worked well together to put on a series of impressive moment, with Impact's cat-like agility front and centre on a number of occasions. The former Lucha Underground Champion, produced plenty of gif-friendly action, like getting whipped towards the barricade only to slide underneath it, an avalanche Samoan drop rolled through into a standing corkscrew shooting star press and a Spanish fly, whilst Drake upped his game, mostly matching Impact's smoothness, hitting a tasty springboard moonsault and one of the best jumping superplexes that you ever did see. The pair battled against an apathetic crowd, who had been given very little reason to care, with Impact having only debuted at the end of August (on the same episode that Drake won the title) and with the duo having already had a match on TV just over a month ago. The booking let them down, but Impact and Drake did the best they could with the very little that they had to work with.   

Lets talk about that finish. In a baffling moment, Alberto El Patron would cost Impact the win, pulling the referee out of the ring, before nailing Impact with a pair of nasty looking chair-shots, hitting Drake with the title belt and then dropping champion on top of challenger for the pinfall. On which planet was this a good finish? Maybe, it would be acceptable on an episode of Impact, maybe it would be ok on B PPV (which the company doesn't run), but on your main show of the year? We didn't even get the surprise factor from an AEP return because he'd turned up to rant earlier in the night. The supposed biggest night of the year ended up feeling like any other night because they pulled a TV angle in the main event. (The unprotected chairshot from AEP to Impact was atrocious and really has no place in 2017)

Team Impact (Eddie Edwards, Ethan Carter III & James Storm) def. Team AAA (Pagano, El Hijo del Fantasma & El Texano Jr.) (15:27)

McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Team Impact (Ethan Carter III, Eddie Edwards & James Storm) with horrible audio problems and EC3 mostly staring into the middle distance.

I've never really got these inter-promotional rivalries, to be honest. They only really ever work when a high percentage of the audience has a strong feeling about one or both of the promotions involved and that couldn't be said for Impact or AAA here. How is it possible for anyone to currently get strongly behind a company like Impact that doesn't seem to know what it's own identity is? Beyond some heely cheating from Team AAA and ETJ pulling out his bullrope, the dislike between the two teams that had been pushed on Impact wasn't there. The story kept the focus on Team Impact and at times Pagano, ETJ and EHDF felt like bodies to facilitate that story. Not neccesarily a bad thing, but on the big stage I'd expect a little more substance. Also, anything involving Pagano tended to be clunky, with the standout moment being him just chilling on the apron whilst ETJ and EHDF bumped and fed for the EC3 hot tag.

What did work about the match however, was the relationship between Ethan Carter III and his team mates, which whilst being a little played out, came across well, especially at the beginning and towards the end. The match built nicely towards EC3's hot tag, showing him initially reluctant to help, before roaring into the bout when needed. The finish also played into this well, with EC3 on fire, escaping a double suplex from Pagano & ETJ, before nailing a pair of low blows and One Percenters and tagging in Storm to get the victory with a Last Call to Pagano. Carter screaming "Kick his fucking head off" as he tagged in the Cowboy seemed to put to be their problems and end EC3's short heel run, tying off the story well. It's just a shame it didn't come five minutes earlier. Special shoutout to the Package tombstone that EHDF gave Edwards on the apron as well, because that was clearly the highlight of the bout.

Monster's Ball: Abyss def. Grado (10:35)

Abyss and Grado had a confrontation backstage, with a fire-up Grado cutting a pretty good promo on their upcoming match and how much it meant to him. Moments before their match, Abyss berated Grado, asking him to dance, with Grado complying only to kick Abyss in his Monster's balls.

Good goly, where to start with this? This was not a good showcase for either man. The action was a times passable, with credit needing to be given for the bump that Grado took off the top rope through a barbed wire board, but quickly devolved into something else entirely. The spots with the board later on were poorly done, with the bout not only struggling to match the earlier highspot, but also not doing a good job of performing the following moments. Clunky spots like Abyss taking a shoulder block onto the board, before having to hold another one on top of him, so that Grado could deliver a top rope splash were poorly conceived in the first place, but weren't helped by how they were performed. Laurel Van Ness and then Rosemary getting involved saw the match devolve further, even if Rosemary got a good pop for turning up to nullify LVN's "threat". Then the bell went when the referee had clearly counted two, dragging an already poor match towards shambles territory. Close off with perhaps one of the worst Blackhole Slam's that Abyss has ever hit, that ended up looking like too drunk lads falling over on a Saturday night and you have a contender for the worst worked match in Impact (and perhaps beyond) for the year.

X Division Championship Match - Trevor Lee (C) def. Matt Sydal, Sonjay Dutt, Petey Williams, Dezmond Xavier and Garza Jr. (12:26)

Six good wrestlers, a decent amount of time and you've got yourself a strong opener, that ended up being one of the best matches on the show. It wasn't always as crisp as it could've been, mostly down to how fast the action was, but we did also get a number of brilliant one on one sequences thrown into the mix. Sydal and Dutt began with a great back and forth sequence, Sydal and Xavier were smooth as silk together, concluding with Sydal nailing a standing moonsault and a brilliant stretch between Lee and Dutt ended in a wonderful Orange Crush near fall for Lee. The champion being the bouts only heel worked well, whilst the crowd backing native Williams was used well, with the two elements driving the match and helping it to fill it's time, remaining interesting without becoming an out and out spot-fest. The build to Williams hitting the Canadian Destroyer produced some excitement in the closing stages, with multiple attempts getting good reaction from the Pavilion. I feel the finish was a little bit of a misstep, with a wonderful moment being teased as Sydal missed a Shooting Star Press and ended up in Williams' path, only to escape the Destroyer. Had that spot been completed and resulted in Williams winning the belt then you would have had a great moment that would've got people talking and elevated the match as a whole. Instead Williams hit the move on Xavier and Lee stole the pin to retain and we ended up with a cliche conclusion instead.

Six Sides of Steel Match: Bobby Lashley & King Mo def. Moose & Stephan Bonnar (10:39)

Dan Lambert psyched up Bobby Lashley, King Mo and the rest of American Top Team backstage, despite saying they didn't actually need it. Later on, Moose and Stephen Bonnar touched each other quite a bit and said "in the cage" a lot. 

There were moments were I felt like this match was leading to a really good pay off. Those moments were when Moose was just ploughing through American Top Team lads, hitting daft Go to Hell's (Double chokebomb) off the top rope and looking like a real beast of a man. Looking like a star and someone the company could potentially strap the rocket on. The rest of the match wasn't for me. With very little knowledge of or care for MMA, Bonnar and Mo scrapping meant nothing to me, so having he majority of the match centre around the potential of them fighting turned me off almost instantly. The fact that the fight amounted to the pair rolling around on the floor for a little bit, whilst the crowd sat in silence or chanting "GSP" for some reason turned me off even more. All of American Top Team's representatives would eventually get in the cage, in another shitty TNA cliche and even after Moose had crawled back inside the cage (he got locked outside after following Mo out there like a silly Moose), he ended up losing to a Lashley spear. What does American Top Team winning achieve? No one wants this story to continue and a Moose win could have potentially marked him out as a future star for the company. But that would've made too much sense.

World Tag Team Champion 5150 Street Fight: oVe (Dave Crist & Jake Crist) (C) def. LAX (Ortiz [Angel Ortiz] & Santana [Mike Draztik]) (10:21)

Backstage, we see a body laid out on the floor, drapped in a Mexican flag, with a figure standing over it, before offering us a thumbs down. Could it be?

This was match of the night, but wasn't above being fucked by the terrible creative that blighted the evening. Dave, Jake, Ortiz & Santana put on a thrilling spot-fest from the very beginning. Highlights included Ortiz nailing Jake with a sitout powerbomb off the ramp through a table, Santana climbing some scaffolding and diving onto Dave on a table below, Jake hitting a superplex on Ortiz through a bunch of seated chairs and a Street Sweeper from LAX to Jake onto a stack of chairs. Then came the matches main problem, the debut of Sami Callihan. Whilst we were told that 5150 Street Fight was like nothing we'd ever seen, there was no mistaking that the gimmick was a normal street fight, with no other members of LAX present with Low Ki having left the company, Diamante nowhere to be seen and Homicide "laid out". Had we seen Jake & Dave in unbelievable peril, battling against the whole group, before Callihan came out and cleaned house, it would have felt special, it would've been a moment. Instead, Callihan seemed to randomly walk out, to no reaction, throw something in 53 year od Konnan's eyes, before destroying Ortiz and Santana in two spectacular spots. As good as those spots looked, the right notes hadn't been hit and the crowd didn't know how to react to Callihan or a group in oVe that is yet to get over with this audience. The finish was flat. I was so excited to see Sami Callihan debut in Impact and they botched it. 

oVe laid the boots into Ortiz & Santana, with a quick soundbite promo from Callihan. 

Alberto El Patron Returns (10:08)

Fuck sake. Seriously? Who thought this was a good idea? This was ten minutes of AEP complaining about being suspended after being part of an alleged domestic violence incident earlier in the year. Ten minutes of him just droning on about it, aimlessly. He also kept randomly jumping on the middle rope for reasons known only to him. "They didn't care about my family. They didn't care about my three little babies" is one of the most bizarre arguments anyone could have in this situation. However, the weirdest part was AEP threatening commentator Jeremy Borash and then not actually doing anything. At best, this was uncomfortable viewing, at worst it was an embarrassment to professional wrestling.

Knockout's Championship Match: Gail Kim def. Sienna [Allysin Kay] (C) and Allie [Cherry Bomb] (9:43)

Terrible crackly audio as McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Gail Kim ahead of Knockout's Championship match. 

This match did very little for me, with the three often looking awkward and stunted together. The big moments of the contest were more often than not detracted from by sloppiness, with Sienna taking a nasty looking double back suplex onto the barricade, that had very little height on it. Sienna's avalanche fallaway slam on Allie, followed up with a spinebuster to Kim stood out as the opposite however, being well-timed, if not for the referee fannying around on the count. Story-wise, the match focused around Sienna's dominance and Kim and Allie's teamwork, but nothing stayed around long enough to create a coherent flowing narrative, with the bout seemingly looking to coast on a feel-good finish as Kim won in her final match. Personally, I think Allie taking the belt and Kim passing the proverbial torch would have been a more effective conclusion, with the right story, but I'm not majorly against what is in essense a nice gesture from the company for one of their hall of famers. Although, I think replaying match with Awesome Kong from Final Resolution 2008 would have done her career more justice! 

Taiji Ishimori def. Tyson Dux (4:47)

Extended squash match here as Dux made his first Impact appearance since Victory Road 2008. The bout was pretty much also Ishimori for the five minutes, who picked up the win with 450 splash, in a match the crowd couldn't have cared less about.

Jimmy Jacobs made a surprise appearance, briefly chatting to the commentary team and indicating that he now worked at Impact.

I didn't hate Bound for Glory 2017. I hated the booking, the creative and the lack of anything feeling remotely special, surprising or fresh. Whatever is going on with Alberto El Patron is trash. Grado vs. Abyss was really poor all on it's own, as well. But I thought the X-Division six man showcased some real talent, whilst the 5150 Street Fight featured some spectacular spots and would have unarguably been match of the night, had it not been for the flat finish. There was so much talent and potential on this show. But they were all to greater or less extent let down by terrible creative decisions and direction that dragged the show as a whole down.

Review by James Marston 

TV Review: World of Sport Wrestling - Coffey Brothers v Ashton Smith & Rampage Brown

On 31st December, World of Sport Wrestling made it's return to ITV, with a one-off two hour special. The show was structured around qualifiers for a battle royal that would crown a new #1 contender, after Dave Mastiff won the promotions belt under suspect circumstances against Grado in the opener. This was highlighted by a tag team clash where The Coffey Brothers (Joe Coffey & Mark Coffey) faced off with Ashton Smith & Rampage Brown. With the likes of Johnny Moss, Viper, CJ Banks, Zack Gibson and El Ligero also in action, would the special lay the foundation for a World of Sport return? Let's take a look. 

The show's lone tag team contest produced some of the best action across the two hours as The Coffey Brothers advanced to the #1 Contender's battle royal with a victory over Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown. This match didn't exactly re-invent the wheel, but it didn't have to, taking the regular tag team structure and filling it out with strong believable performances from all four and some bloody good wrestling also. The two tandems dispositions and chemistry were put over well, with the big man/small man dynamic of Smith and Brown working much better than I had expected, considering they worked the villain role. The build towards the hot tag was exciting, with Mark getting a nice inside cradle near fall, before the tag to Joe got a pleasing pop from the audience. Everything from that point onward was spot on, with each team getting a good near fall in, including a very well worked distraction false finish off a Brown spinebuster, before heel miscommunication resulted in Smith taking a forearm and lariat combo for the pin. 

Match in a Sentence - A very good, simple tag structure, fleshed out by strong performances all round.

The strongest match was a cracking technical outing, that saw "The Mexican Sensation" El Ligero defeat Zack Gibson. These two have clashed numerous times over the last five or six years in places like Grand Pro Wrestling and FutureShock Wrestling and that familiarity was on show throughout with some silky smooth grappling as the two told a clear story. Gibson looked for the submission win with his Shankly Gates (Grounded top wrist lock), Ligero was just trying to keep away from the move, doing all his lucha things in search of victory. The match was taken up a notch when Gibson swung Ligero into the announce table, injuring the Mexican's arm and bringing a whole heap of drama to the rest of the match. Ligero sold the injury magnificently, helped by Jim Ross and Alex Shane on commentary, with some slick sequences, like Gibson reversing a second modified wheelbarrow facebuster attempt and locking the Gates, producing some thrilling television. Both men came out of looking like stars, with Gibson coming across as a vicious non-nonsense villain, whilst Ligero picked up the victory with C4L (Springboard Tornado DDT), despite the injury. If WOS Wrestling does get commissioned for a full run, a series of matches between these two has major potential.

Match in a Sentence - A very good wrestling match with a stellar story and well defined characters.

The seven man over-the-top battle royal saw Grado earn a title shot against Dave Mastiff in the show's main event, after he outlasted Johnny Moss, Sha Samuels, surprise entrant Davey Boy Smith Jr (Harry Smith), Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey, El Ligero and Kenny Williams. Whilst it was a shame to see talent like Williams and Ligero leave the match so early, their exits allowed for the unit of Moss and Samuels to built up, considering they were the only two who were yet to be involved in a match. DBSJ's participation was a well kept secret, especially considering the event was taped in November, and while the logic of him getting to enter whenever he pleased was flawed, it did allow for a cool moment when he came to Grado's aid when the Scot was left alone with Moss & Samuels. DBSJ's involvement produced the matches finest action when the former 2 time IWGP Tag Team Champion mixed up with Moss & Samuels with a number of impressive suplexes, before the numbers game caught up with him (Grado was supposedly too star struck to help out). The crowd was hot for the final flurry, with the TNA performer out maneuvering the villainous pair to advance. The post-match attack from Samuels & Moss appeared cut short the sugary sweet conclusion, with paramedics checking over Grado, although this was only putting the inevitable on hold.

Match in a Sentence - A battle royal that worked for the specific needs of the show, featuring a great moment in Davey Boy Smith Jr's entrance.

World of Sport got it's introduction to the Ladder match, with Kenny Williams earning a battle royal spot with a victory over Sam Bailey, CJ Banks and Delicious Danny in a fun affair that built nicely throughout, making the most of it's slender seven minutes run-time. The action might not have always been as crisp as it could have been, the camera team may struggled to keep up with the gimmick and Alex Shane was uncomfortably annoying on commentary, but when the match clicked it produced some lovely stuff, that went above and beyond my expectations of what the lads would be allowed to do. The winner Williams shone throughout with a lighting quick opening flurry, a nice sequence with Danny, as well as taking a German suplex from Banks off the ladder, before battling off all three of his adversaries at the top of a pair of ladders to claim the briefcase. A special mention has to go to Danny's dive off the top of ladder also.

Match in a Sentence - Despite some awkward moment, when it worked it worked very well and produced an entertaining match that stood out from the rest.

The opening contest saw Dave Mastiff win the World of Sport Championship by defeating Grado, with more than a little help from Johnny Moss and Sha Samuels. This was a solid opening contest that introduced the two characters in the match, the individuals at ringside and the general concept of professional wrestling well. This created an engaging match that was easy to get into, helped by the lively studio audience. With his experience working for TNA, Grado was almost definitely the right man for the role, with his selling in particular being very TV, allowing Mastiff to look like the rough and tough bastard that we know and love to hate. I would have liked to have seen Mastiff have little longer in control, but with the plans for the rest of the show it makes sense that this one would be kept relatively short. The interference finish, that saw Moss push Grado over the top rope, in the very first match bugs me just a little bit, but again with the plans for the show long story, it was almost necessary for things to happen like this.

Match in a Sentence - Introduced the concept and the characters, but wasn't long enough to do much else.

Any Other Business

• Viper went over Alexis Rose in a short contest, that made Viper look like a beast.

• In the main event, Grado overcame the odds to win the World of Sport title from Mastiff in a match that was way too short to tell the "injury" story, that had seen paramedics trying to keep Grado from competing, effectively. 

• The backstage antics, conducted by interviewer Rachel and also involving General Manager Mr. Beesley, gave the show a different dimension, whilst never feeling like they were about to take over from the in-ring content.

• The vignette's sprinkled throughout, looking back at the history of the show, featuring interviews with former stars and retrospectives on the likes of Big Daddy and Kendo Nagaski gave the show a nice link to the past.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.2/10

The return of World of Sport Wrestling produced a good television product that had an appeal across a number of age groups. The Coffey Brothers v Rampage Brown & Ashton Smith, as well as El Ligero v Zack Gibson produced the strongest wrestling, but there was a good variety across the card. Some elements of the booking did mean that parts of the show weren't quite suited to their placing on the event, however the ongoing story also managed to give a feel of momentum, leading up to the feel-good victory from Grado to cap off the two hours. 

There's certainly potential to make this into a series of hour long episodes, perhaps with more two hour specials, with the ground work already being laid for a number of future stories and matches. More WOS Wrestling, ITV pls.

Review - James Marston
Picture Credit - ITV

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Opinion: But Why Wrestling?

We’ve all experienced it. Wrestling is big in business and in cultural capital: WWE’s stock price is higher than that of Manchester United and WrestleMania and Smackdown are part of the global lexicon. So why do people still not get the appeal of wrestling?

At work recently, we all undertook a staff development session. It was led by one of the managers, a professional guy who works hard in his industry. As we collaborated on a task that was designed to enhance our empathy skills, a series of images were shown on a projector and the staff body had to react to them. I noticed a connection between the images: the shocked faces were familiar to me. I knew what was causing the people on screen to look so aghast: these images were taken from the New Orleans crowd just after The Undertaker’s streak had ended at WrestleMania 30. This super-professional management type was a wrestling fan.

Talking at work in the coming days, more fans came out of the woodwork: one guy said he watched highlights regularly on YouTube whilst a female colleague lamented that her boyfriend had taken to putting her on a list whenever she upset him. Wrestling, we are often told, is for kids. People tell us it’s not real (my brother’s response that he’s sure he hasn’t imagined it, often silences this claim). It is a conundrum to many: why would adults, professionals, management types be interested in that?

So what does make wrestling so appealing to responsible people who apparently should know better? In no particular order, here we go…

Admire the craft.

When wrestling is bad, it’s panto. But when it’s good, its theatre, Shakespeare for the masses. Many sophisticated types might scoff at that but some Shakespeare is just ridiculous: really how clever is A Midsummer Night’s Dream with its weird little fairies and donkey men? I’d take the yearlong build to the Mega Powers exploding over that. Hell, I’d take Vince McMahon with his arse out in Madison Square Garden over that.

Arsene Wenger once said that “football is an art, like dancing is an art - but only when it's well done does it become an art”. The same is true of wrestling: the best stories, promos and matches become art in my eyes. Watching a performer grow and reach a certain level is captivating: as they hone their craft and perfect their skills, they become more than an entertainer, they become an expert practitioner. I’d argue that in the last year, John Cena has gone from kid friendly superhero to respected veteran because the sense is that he has developed his game. And just as London has the Tate and Tate Modern, wrestling accommodates contrasting tastes: whether it be Mick Foley vs Randy Orton in a hardcore match or Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll tearing it up in a back and forth high spot war, the complexities of wrestling, its combination of drama and sport, athleticism and psychology, surely demand at least a grudging respect.

What’s wrong with panto?

So I said that when wrestling is bad, it’s panto. And sometimes, that’s no bad thing. At a PROGRESS Wrestling show a couple of years ago, I saw Grado and Mad Man Manson re-enact Titanic halfway through a match. I wouldn’t call this art in itself but it was funny and the crowd certainly enjoyed the moment. And funny is good. Chris Jericho’s current act is at least half-way house between panto and theatre: yes, the slow build to the end of his friendship with Kevin Owens is the trademark of a strong narrative structure but his promos are over the top and all the better for it. Sometimes, we are invested in the drama of wrestling and delight in the blood and fury of a combative feud. But sometimes, we just want to be entertained so give us some funny. As long as it isn’t boring or offensive, wrestling can’t really go wrong.

We don’t have to take it seriously.

If you’re under 18 and reading this, you need to know something. Life is hard. Work is tough, the responsibilities of being an adult can be all-consuming and the news is just terrifying. We need to be able to switch off and football doesn’t achieve that: Arsenal games have caused me more stress and anxiety than 10 Brexits. With footy (or other competitive sports), the result matters too much: it can get in the way of the spectacle. That’s not an issue with wrestling: we know its pre-determined so the result doesn’t matter. We can just enjoy the show, its intricacies and its melodrama for what it is. I equate live wrestling to be as close to watching a gig as it is a football match: there’s a sense of inevitability and security, knowing you’ll see something familiar and comforting; maybe some new material but plenty of old classics. No stress- just a performance to immerse yourself in.

Nostalgia

This is a big one for me: again, this may be to escape a dramatically changing world or to alleviate the pressures of adulthood, but isn’t there something re-assuring about revisiting your childhood? It’s just so easy to do this with in wrestling as opposed to other interests. Dennis Bergkamp will never play for Arsenal again so I can’t reconnect with my younger self by watching him grace the field in a way that wrestling enables me when Goldberg steps back in the ring. The stars of our youth have never really left wrestling in a way that they do in real sport: when an ex-player returns to a club as manager in the sporting world, they are transformed, both physically and in their role and demeanour. In wrestling, our childhood heroes are still presented as the supermen they were way back when: 2016 Goldberg doesn’t look much different to the 1998 version. And has Hulk Hogan really aged between 1983 and 2016?

Why wrestling? Because it’s both art and disposable fun. Because it is both drama and comedy. Because it is, first and foremost, about enjoyment, valuing performance over results and evoking nostalgic feelings of joy. Because it has given the world The Rock and one of the biggest entertainment dates on the calendar. Because it is something I’m already passing onto my son- now through old Hasbro figures; one day through live shows and road trips. Come to think of it, why don’t more people like wrestling? I’ll have to ask the boss…

Words - Sean Taylor-Richardson (@GrownManCenaFan)

Images, Editor - James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Match Card

*PROGRESS Championship*

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

*PROGRESS Tag Team Championship*

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

*Atlas Championship Tournament - Group B*

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

Pollyanna vs Dahlia Black

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

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

Pastor William Eaver vs Mikey Whiplash

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

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

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

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

Match Card

*Absolute Championship Tournament Quarter-Final*

Tyler Bate vs HT Drake

*Absolute Championship Tournament Quarter-Final*

Martin Kirby vs Micky The Dragon

Toni Storm vs Little Miss Roxxy

‘Mr Massive’ Chuck Cyrus vs Johnny Moss

Liam Lazarus vs Dave Mastiff

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

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

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

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

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

*Match Card*

ICW World Heavyweight Championship

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

ICW Women’s Championship – Last Woman Standing

Carmel (c) vs Sammii Jayne

ICW Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarter-Final

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

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

Iestyn Rees vs DCT

Trent Seven vs Wolfgang

Davey Boy vs Jack Jester

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

Kenny Williams & BT Gunn vs Stevie Boy & Lionheart

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

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

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