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

WCPW Fight Back Preview

So, this was initially supposed to be a look at the return of WhatCulture Pro Wrestling's Loaded Youtube series, scheduled to run every week at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester from this Friday. However, things have changed. Earlier this week, the company announced that due to changes in Youtube's monetization policy that now lists wrestling content as "non-advertiser friendly" broadcasting a show on the channel was no longer a clever move financially. 

Before I get into what WCPW have come up with to replace the 2nd June event, lets talk about Youtube and the changes they've made. To classify a whole genre of entertainment as "non-advertiser friendly" is quite frankly ridiculous, especially considering some of the other content that the site hosts. The move to make their website suitable and safe for all is a commendable move, but I can't get my head around cutting off the majority of the revenue stream to professional wrestling. There is pro wrestling out there that is all about the violence and I couldn't imagine straight-laced advertisers wanting to be associated with Japanese Death Matches but to generalise when the medium is so diverse, doesn't add up. Imagine banning advertising on all music videos, because some of them having swearing in them? Or advertising on all films because some have sex scenes? Ridiculous. Professional Wrestling at it's core is storytelling, mixed with athleticism and while there's been a few complaints levied at WCPW since their debut last year, no one could accuse them of producing content as "inappropriate". Youtube is a brilliant tool for professional wrestlers and professional wrestling companies, it would be a real shame if that was taken aware permanently.

Luckily, WCPW decided to still run on 2nd June and have created a bigger card of action featuring some of the top talent in the UK, including WCPW Champion Joe Hendry, El Ligero, Rampage, Dave Mastiff, Martin Kirby and more. The Fight Back against the new Youtube rules begins here, let's take a look at what WCPW has prepared for us. The event will air live on YouTube. Tickets are still available from wc.pw 

 
The main event will see Martin Kirby attempting to get the WCPW title back from Joe Hendry in a Last Man Standing match. After Kirby won the title from Drew Galloway in a 30 man Rumble at No Regrets in Newcastle on 29th April, it would be in his very first title defense that Kirby ended up losing the title to Hendry following a referee stoppage at Pro Wrestling World Cup - Mexican Qualifying in Coventry a day later. With Hendry willing to kick Kirby in the head, despite the then champion being clearly knocked out, in order to take the title from him, to say that Kirby wanted revenge goes without say. Last Saturday at Hendrymania in Edinburgh, Kirby got his rematch, only for Hendry's fellow Prestige member Joe Coffey to get involved and cost Kirby the match. There's plenty of animosity here with Kirby desperate to get one over on Hendry, not just for taking his title but the way in which it was done, whilst we know that Hendry will stop at nothing to stay on top of the mountain. This has the potential to be an all out war tomorrow night.

The Four-Way Number One Contenders match features an intriguing mixture of styles and personalities as Joe Coffey, Dave Mastiff, Rampage and El Ligero. Coffey's alignment with champion Joe Hendry and the Prestige could lead to some interesting developments and with one of the strongest records heading into the bout, having only two losses in 2017, one against Rampage last week and the other in a title match with Drew Galloway in March, as well as advancing to the Pro Wrestling World Cup. Mastiff debuted at No Regrets impressing in the World title Rumble and having to be ousted by the all star team of Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes, he's got history with all three of his opponents so it'll be interesting see how he slots into this one and WCPW at large. Rampage has picked up two victories over the Prestige recently and after taking part in the first WCPW title match he'll be desperate to get back in the hunt. El Ligero is the wild card here, not just in having a completely different wrestling style and is at least 70lbs lighter than everyone else, but he also hasn't been in a bit of tailspin since dropping the WCPW Internet Title to Cody Rhodes. There's no mistaking that Ligero is the underdog, but with three big lads battering the piss into or out of each other, he may get the opportunity to use his agility to his advantage. There's huge potential in this bout and a hell of a lot of talent, who comes out with the win though is anyone's guess. 

After using a wrench to defeat Sha Samuels last week, Drake finds himself in a Hardcore match with a man who has been known to take it to the extreme in WCPW, Primate. With victories in a Boiler Room Brawl and a Chairs match against Rampage, as well as two recent Hardcore wins against Scott Wainwright and Bad Bones, this is a position that Drake didn't look too happy with when Adam Blampied placed him in it. Either way this is gonna be too big blokes beating each other up with some toys. Also on the show, Zack Gibson gets a shot at Gabriel Kidd's Internet Championship and there's also Tag Team Gauntlet to work out who gets a shot at The Swords of Essex's (Wainwright & Will Ospreay) belts as Kid Fite & Lou King Sharp, Prospect (Alex Gracie & Lucas Archer), Johnny Moss & Liam Slater, Kings of the North (Bonesaw & Damien Corvin) and Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) battle it out. 

Also appearing - Viper, WCPW Women's Champion Bea Priestley and "Session Moth" Martina.

WCPW Fight Back airs live on YouTube at 7pm BST. 

Tickets are available from wc.pw. 

Doors open - 6:15 

Event Time - 7:00-10:00

Greg Lambert Interview - Ropes and Glory: The Emotional Rise of British Wrestling

At the end of last month, ATPW had the pleasure of talking to Greg Lambert, known for his work as a manager, commentator, promoter and Master of Ceremonies across the UK for the likes of PCW, RQW, FWA, Southside, IPW:UK and others. With Greg's new book Ropes and Glory: The Emotional Rise of British Wrestling, a sequel to Holy Grail: The True Story of British Wrestling's Revival out now, there couldn't have been a better time to speak to the 15 year veteran of the Brit Wres scene. 

ATPW - Tell us a little bit about Ropes and Glory, what's it about and what can people learn from reading it? 

Greg Lambert - It's about the last ten years of British wrestling history, through my own eyes and my experiences. Things that I've been involved in as a promoter or a commentator or a manager on the UK wrestling scene and also things that I've experienced by going to shows and also watching on the telly. Things that I've been aware through studying the British scene. It's the journey from 2007 to where we are now. British wrestling has never, it's just never ever been as good as it is now. Even back in the glory days of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, it's never had the attention and received the opportunities that we have now. So, it's the journey of where it was ten years ago, through the triumph and the tragedies along the way, to the return to British terrestrial TV with an episodic series.. It's amazing.  

When did you begin work on the sequel? 

Straight after the first book came out. Holy Grail: The True Story of British Wrestling's Revival was the first book and that was really picking up the story from the World of Sport era up to about 2007, but mainly focused on the FWA, which is the promotion even now that I'm most synonymous with. Straight after that came out in November 2012, I went on a book signing tour. Some of the material in this book is from when I was on that tour, that was the first time I went to an ICW show for example, going to PROGRESS Wrestling for the first time, as well. A lot of research spans from back then. 

How else did you go about collating the material and writing up the book in general? 

I think I'm blessed with a really good memory, I think that helps. I've got a pretty good memory for dates, but I've also got a book, which every show I've worked on I've kept a list of where the show was, the date of the show, matches on the show. So that's a good reference and some of it comes from the internet as well. There's a lot of interviews as well, with some of the top names in British wrestling. So you're getting their memories, their perceptions of what's happened over the last ten years. The likes of Rockstar Spud, Drew Galloway, Rampage Brown, Noam Dar... So it's not just my narrative, there's different opinions. 

The Foreword is written by Rockstar Spud, what do you feel was Spud's importance to the book and to the scene as a whole around this time? 

I'm extremely grateful to Spud for taking the time to write the foreword, because I really wanted him to do it, because he's one of my favourite people and favourite performers in British wrestling for the past ten years. The significance is I think Spud broke the mould for a lot of British wrestlers who aren't the stereotypical size, they aren't the stereotypical look, that you would associate with becoming an international star. There's been people like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Randy Savage, who came before and broke the mould for lighterweight wrestlers, but when Spud started out in the FWA in 2004, he was a different level of not looking like a wrestler. He worked on the body, he worked on the performance skills, he working on everything to the point where he became a champion with my promotion, the XWA, as it was. How Spud became the champion and the story, how he evolved from then and how he did in the second coming of the FWA and then to get to British BootCamp and to end up with TNA. That's a great achievement, he basically knocked the door down for a lot of British wrestlers to become stars in America, because he wasn't supposed to do it. He was never supposed to do it. He was told "You'll never make it, you're too this, you're too that" and he just didn't take no for an answer. He preserved and through brains and talent and drive, he made it. I think he set a great example for others.

You mentioned earlier that about the numerous interviews that you conducted for the book, did you discover anything new from participating in these? 

Lots of things. Rampage's interview sticks in my head, as you read the book you'll discover a lot about Rampage Brown, his mentality as a professional wrestler and how it was for him going over to America as a young man and being a part of WWE developmental, before it became NXT. He was there with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, but he struggled over there to make any kind of an impact and he talks very candidly about that. He also talks very candidly about his experience on British BootCamp 2, which surprised me, some of the things that he said about that. I think a lot of people that read Rampage's thoughts will find those quite eye-opening. 

Dave Rayne is interviewed for the book. People will know Dave as the former promoter of FutureShock Wrestling and his role in PCW, predominantly, but I think people will get a different opinion of Dave when they read the contributions that he makes to the book. What an intelligent and quite emotionally sensitive guy he is, but also very clued up on wrestling as a whole. That's how I know him, but I think a lot of people will see a side of Dave that they may not have seen before. 

Also, Alex Shane. With the Second Coming of the FWA, which in itself is a great story, which is written out in a lot of detail. I think people will be really interested to read what he has to say about that. I think that people's perception of Alex, who can be quite a polarising figure, people's perceptions might change, for the better.

Greg, you've had numerous roles in pro wrestling over the years, but what brings you the most enjoyment professionally? 

Good question! Still booking, I would say. I've just started again, doing some storyline writing for PCW and I think when things go to plan and seeing an audience react, the way you want them to react and you see performers execute your vision, I don't think there's anything greater. I've never experienced anything greater. 

Commentary I'm really enjoying at the moment, really really enjoying, the commentary side of things. I did the Five Star Wrestling show in January on Spike, which was an incredible moment, personally and professionally, because it was the first live broadcast by a British-based wrestling company on UK television in almost fifty years. To be able to work with an incredible television company, the production people too, because they were really top level people that I was working with. The director was a guy who worked on World Cup Football, World Cup Rugby and some big big fights. To work with that level of people was great. To work with some of the wrestlers as well, some of the biggest names in the industry today likes Rey Mysterio, Drew Galloway, that was just incredible. It's great to commentate for PCW as well, being doing that for five years now, PCW is still a great promotion to work for. Lots of exciting things coming up. 

Within the book, you reveal a list of instructions you try to stick by as a booker, why do you think they are so important when writing and booking pro wrestling? 

I think, they're more reminders really. It's very easy when you're booking to lose sight of the big picture, so it's quite handy to have these guidelines in the back of my mind. Which I can always go back to and refer to. They do work. I've got numerous example of them working, but the main one I think is what the book is all about, the book is an emotional rollercoaster and done right booking should be an emotional rollercoaster. The quote by Dusty Rhodes that I talk about in the book "Wrestling is built on emotion" that's my mantra for booking and I think that's very much the mantra of the book as well. 

As a viewer, I certainly prefer to watch pro wrestling that has a clear vision. 

Yeah, I think this year's WrestleMania, you can tell, that they've got a much clearer vision, than they did last year. Every match seems to have been built up over time, with a purpose and you can kind of see where they are going, but some of the results of the matches are in doubt as well, which I think is great. Despite the fact you've got that clear direction, there's still a bit of uncertainty about which way they're going, but everything's logical and makes sense and that's what wrestling should be, I think. 

You've worked with a variety of performers throughout your career, from big international stars to young kids getting their first break. Is there anyone in professional wrestling that you'd like to work with, that you haven't got the chance to just yet? 

That's a good question! Yeah, loads of people actually I think. On the British wrestling scene, there's a young lad down south, who I really really rate, he's like the new Spud, a guy called Sid Scala. I love the character, I love his passion, he's a protege of Barry Charalambous, who was also a mentor to Spud and a lot other guys as well. You can see Barry's influence in Sid, because like Spud, he knows the value in cutting a promo, of making sure people remember him. It's not always about having the best wrestling match, it's about making sure that you're remembered and Sid does that. From a British perspective, I think he'd be a great person to work with.

I think if you read the book, you'll see the respect that I have for Mark Dallas as a promoter. I get on very well with Mark, I think he's great guy and I love his ethos for ICW. I love everything about ICW, in fact Scottish wrestling as a whole. It really does have a special place in my heart, the Scottish wrestling scene. I have a lot of respect for Mark. We're not the same in a lot of ways, but I think in terms of our theories of wrestling, there's a lot of parallels. It would be nice to do something with Mark at some point. 

I nearly had the opportunity to work with Kurt Angle, with Five Star Wrestling, but that fell through because he signed on to do WWE Hall of Fame. Which is great, absolutely great and well deserved. I didn't mind in the end, because I ended up commentating with Joe Hendry and Joe Hendry is a guy I really rate and respect and is thoroughly talented and enthusiastic. When you get the opportunity to work with a guy on Kurt Angle's level, it's a big deal and I still hope I get to work with Kurt in the future. 

In the first book, The Holy Grail, the Holy Grail was British wrestling returning to television, since then British wrestling has exploded and has indeed returned to television with WOS Wrestling, Five Star and WWE UK (depending on your definition of TV), what's that been like for you personally? To see British wrestling return to the big time? 

It's had me on the verge of tears, quite a few times, to be honest with you. Not miserable tears, the opposite. It's tremendous. I can't really put it into words. All I can really say about it is that when I started with FWA, when I worked closely with Alex Shane, that was always Alex's vision. Talk Wrestling, the TalkSport Radio show, it was always the vision. When you've worked closely with someone like him, bought into the vision and worked hard to bring the vision about...and in later years, there's other people who've taken up the baton and brought that vision forward and to the next level. I think when you've been involved for as long as I have and worked with the people that I have and seen them struggling and when you've done shows in front of 25 people and you've seen shows cancelled because you've not sold enough tickets and you've seen things go wrong and when you've seen terrible things happen...that when you get to this level, you're bound to be emotional about it. 

When the World of Sport special was on on New Year's Eve, it was quite something for me, as it was for everybody who has been involved in that struggle for years and years and years.

I think that's the real power of wrestling, that not only does it effect those outside the business, but it can have such a profound effect on someone like yourself. 

Yeah, it is. Done right, it's an incredible artform. It's so difficult to explain. One of the hardest things I find about wrestling is trying to explain it to non-fans, who just don't get it at all and in the end, it's not worth it. People are either going to get it or they're not. But those that do get it, there are a lot of us and it's really nice to share experiences like that. To share the same mentality with such a big group of people.

Do you have any future project lined up at the moment? What's next for Greg Lambert? 

I'll be at PCW, I'm still commentating for them, I'm doing the booking for the main shows and in regards to Five Star Wrestling, I'd expect an announcement soon. 

A special thanks to Greg Lambert for taking the time to speak to us. We'll have a full review of Ropes and Glory: The Emotional Rise of British Wrestling on atpw.co.uk soon. You can purchase your copy now, either in Paperback or on Kindle from Amazon and Lulu.

You can find more about Greg and Ropes and Glory here. 

Twitter - @RopesandGlory
Facebook - Greg Lambert - Wrestling

Interviewer - James Marston 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Wrestle Ropes One for the Road: January 2017 - RevPro, ICW & wXw/PROGRESS

Happy New Year and welcome to the very first One for the Road, a brand new guide to the month of Brit Wres ahead! We'll be focusing on one show for each week, whilst also showcasing a number of other events to make sure that wherever you are in the country, you know exactly the best places to go for your grap needs! 

This month we'll be starting with Revolution Pro Wrestling at The Cockpit in London on the 8th, before looking at Insane Championship Wrestling's first event of the year as they tape for Fight Club in The Garage, Glasgow on the 15th, before heading back to the capital for the final two weeks of the month, with RevPro holding High Stakes 2017 at the hallowed York Hall, Bethnal Green on 21st and closing up with PROGRESS Wrestling teaming with Germany's Westside Xtreme Wrestling at The Dome in Tufnell Park on the 28th.

We've also picked out other shows from 4FW, Attack! Pro Wrestling, Britannia Wrestling Promotions, CSF Pro Wrestling, HOPE Wrestling, House of Pain Wrestling, IPW:UK, Ironfist Wrestling, PROGRESS, Pro Wrestling Chaos, RevPro and Wrestlezone.

Week One

RevPro are kicking off 2017 in style with a bumper card of action for their twelfth Live at the Cockpit event. Some of the best talent in the country will be on display on Sunday 8th, in what promises to be a varied evening of the grappling arts. 

The main event is a star studded affair, as two makeshift tag teams collide when former British Heavyweight Champion "The Villain" Marty Scurll sides with former British Cruiserweight Champion Pete Dunne to clash with Shane Strickland and "All Day Star" Ryan Smile. You may struggle to find two wrestlers who had better 2016's than "The Villain" and "The Bruiserweight", as they both exploded on the world scene. However, in RevPro, Dunne found wins hard to come by after losing the British Cruiserweight belt to Will Ospreay last July, but he's had some world class competition and on the other hand his partner, Scurll, had a vintage year, picking up big victories over the likes of Jushin Thunder Liger, Ospreay and Martin Kirby. Strickland and Smile will be hoping that their similiar high-flying styles, as well as their clash last October, will help to create an instant chemistry to keep them one step ahead. No matter who kicks off 2017 with a victory, expect this one to be a thrilling clash of styles, that could very well blow the roof of the Cockpit!

One of the most intriguing matches on the card is a collision between the hard hitting Trent Seven and the submission based Zack Gibson. Seven has made quite the impact in RevPro since debuting last May, even challenging Zack Sabre Jr. for the British Heavyweight Championship, just a few months after making his debut. Gibson will be hoping that he'll be able to make a similar impression as he makes "Liverpool's Number One" makes his overdue debut. These kind of styles clashes can often result in fascinating matches and with both looking to find leverage within RevPro, things are evenly poised to create an absolute classic. The result could very well come down to who can withstand the most punishment.

Dave Mastiff will make his first RevPro appearance since October 2014, as he clashes with Tyler Bate, in a match which I have dubbed the "Black Country Battle". Whilst Mastiff returns after suffering a heavy run of defeats to the likes of Doug Williams and Rampage Brown, Bate will be stepping into his first RevPro singles match with a point to prove. Despite Mastiff having an over 100 lbs weight advantage, Bate may be one of the strongest wrestlers pound for pound in the country and should be more than capable of holding his own against his more experienced opponent. Expect this one to be full of intense strikes, deceptive speed and tasty suplexes, as the duo meet for the very first time.

Also on the show, Joel Redman and Charlie Sterling (Charlie Garrett) put their British Tag Team Championship against a returning London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch), Josh Bodom faces "The Pride of Wales" Eddie Dennis in a rematch from November, after losing the British Heavyweight Championship to Katsuyori Shibata, Zack Sabre Jr. looks to get back on track against RJ Singh, The Revolutionsists (James Castle & Sha Samuels) go up against Kurtis Champman & Josh Wall and Dan Magee takes on Rob Lias.

Also This Week

Friday 7th 

Attack! Pro Wrestlng/Fight Club: Pro Wrestle House 2017
Wolverhampton, West Midlands

Week Two

ICW's first show of 2016 see's them hit their regular haunt of The Garage in Glasgow for a taping of their Fight Club television show on the Sunday 15th.

At the last Fight Club taping of 2016, Lionheart interfered in "Local Hero" Joe Hendry's bout with The Wee Man, hitting a superkick that would result in the upset loss. At the first taping of 2017, Hendry has the chance to gain some revenge on the former Zero G Champion as the two go one on one. Hendry is always entertaining with his wacky parody entrances, but he may not be in the mood for japes at The Garage after the embarrassing defeat that Lionheart handed him. Lionheart will be hoping that a victory over Hendry will put him back in the hunt for the Zero G title he lost at Fear and Loathing, but The Local Hero will not only want to get himself back on track but he'll want to dish out some pain. This could be a scrappy affair and may only be the start, but with the intensity levels rising it may be difficult to look away.

Kid Fite has been engaged in a bitter feud with former The 55 stablemate Sha Samuels over the last couple of months, including a Falls Count Anywhere match that ended in a No Contest when Fite bundled Samuels into the boot of a car and drove off. However on the 15th, Fite finds himself against a rather different opponent in the shape of the high-flying Charlie Sterling (Charlie Garrett). Sterling impressed in his debut in Bristol, before gathering more support when making his Garage debut last month and it's clear that the Bristolian has bucket loads of potential. With Fite clearly pre-occupied with his war with Samuels and finding victories few and far between since the split of The 55, this could be the opening that Sterling needs to gain some momentum and perhaps look towards earning a Zero G Championship shot later in the year. 

Chris Renfrew and Stevie Xavier are two ICW staples both looking to get back into the title picture, after both being unable to capitalise on big victories at Fear and Loathing in November. Renfrew suffered a #1 Contenders match loss to Trent Seven at the last set of tapings, whilst Xavier was unable to take the belt from Wolfgang at the same event. With the Square Go just around the corner, both will be looking to start rebuilding their momentum, which may make these two dangerous men, even more determined to pull out the victory and prove to Mark Dallas that they deserve to be in the mix. Add to that the years and years of history between the pair that's seen them align together in the New Age Kliq as well as wage war with various partners, there will certainly be no loved lost when they go toe to toe once more in The Garage! 

Also scheduled for the taping is Davey Blaze taking on DCT, Andy Wild and Lewis Girvan competing in the final of a tournament to crown a #1 Contender to Kenny Williams' Zero G Championship, Tag Team Champion Jackie Polo meeting Iestyn Rees, a Fatal Four-Way between Sammii Jayne, Debbie Sharpe, Kasey and "Session Moth" Martina where the winner will earn a shot at Kay Lee Ray's Women's Championship and "The King of the North" James Scott facing Christopher Saynt.

Also This Week

Friday 13th 

Attack! Pro Wrestling #Club100 THREE

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

House of Pain Wrestling January Special

Nottingham

Saturday 14th

Britannia Wrestling Promotions 

Denbigh

House of Pain Wrestling Debut Day 2 (Jan Special)

Nottingham

Pro Wrestling Chaos The Mysterious City of Chaos 

Bristol

Feat - Wild Boar v Jimmy Havoc

Sunday 15th

PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 42: Life, the Universe and Wrestling

Birmingham

Week Three 

On Saturday 21st, RevPro host their first show at York Hall of the year, as they present High Stakes 2017. This event sees a number of big name international talent hooking up with some of the countrys top performers, including the return of British Heavyweight Champion, Katsuyori Shibata.

Marty Scurll vs Zack Sabre Jr has been building and building within RevPro for a long time and on 21st at York Hall the pair will finally collide as the Leaders of the New School EXPLODE! The pair had been in a fairly uneasy alliance in 2016, tagging against the likes of Matt Sydal & Ricochet, but that all came crashing down following a loss Los Ingobernables of Japon (SANADA & Tetsuya Naito) in November when Scurll turned on ZSJ. Even when teaming, neither seemed to be able to agree with the others tactics when inside the ring, whilst the two have certain similarities in their will to win, it was clear that each had their own techniques to attaining victory. The two have come face to face in places like wXw, PWG and PROGRESS in the past, but when they come together in RevPro the York Hall may see their most intense masterpiece to date. This will be special.

Shibata v Riddle. Like why should I have to write anymore? It's Katsuyori Shibata v Matt Riddle. British Heavyweight title on the line.

Back Globar Wars UK in November, Pete Dunne suffered defeats to Yuji Nagata and Tomohiro Ishii on consecutive nights. He's also suffered losses to Will Ospreay and Ricochet in the later half of the year. Despite the 23 year old's rise in 2016, perhaps he just wasn't ready to tangle with NJPW's elite roster. Perhaps, things have changed in 2017? We'll find out if Dunne is up to task at High Stakes as he goes up against YOSHI-HASHI. The Bruiserweight will be desperate to prove himself, but YOSHI-HASHI won't exactly be a push over, after a banner year that included a G1 victory over Kenny Omega. The Headhunter will also want to make an impression on his RevPro debut. This may come down to who wants it more, but it'll be bloody fun to watch it all play out.

Elsewhere on the show, Martin Stone returns to RevPro to face NJPW's Jay White, former TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee collides with Trent Seven and Charlie Sterling & Joel Redman put their British Tag Team Championships on the line against former ROH World Tag Team Champions War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe).

Week Highlights

Friday 20th

4FW Price of Glory 2017

Bristol

Saturday 21st 

4FW New Year Wrestleution 2017

Swindon, Wiltshire.

Ironfist Wrestling TBA 

WrestleZone Summerhill Showdown 2017

Aberdeen

Sunday 22nd 

4FW Adrenaline Rush 2017

Bristol

CSF Pro Wrestling 18th Anniversary Event 

Bath, Somerset.

HOPE Wrestling 

Corby, Northamptonshire.

IPW:UK Supershow 6

Rochester, Kent.

Feat - John Morrison v Marty Scurll

Week Four 

Rounding out January, PROGRESS is bringing Germany's best, Westside Xtreme Wrestling to London for the very first time with a stop of the We Love Wrestling Tour arriving at The Dome in Tufnell Park on 28th, just one day before PROGRESS' own Chapter 43: Tropic Thunderbastard in Camden.

The main event will see one of Britain's finest getting a rematch for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship, a title he lost on the same night he won it, as "The Villain" Marty Scurll goes up against Axel Dieter Jr. The pair have gone back and forth over the last two years, picking up victories over each other in Oberhausen, Magdeburg and Hamburg, including competing in a brutal "I Quit" match as part of last year's 16 Carat Gold tournament, but when they clash in London with the title in the line, the stakes are higher than ever before. I'd expect the atmosphere inside The Dome to be very different from the pairs clashes in Germany and by the time the two come to the ring the place should be rocking, driving the pair to go that extra step, creating the potential for some real magic. This will be technical, vicious and personal, but most of all it will be wrestling that you just can't take your eyes off. 

16 Carat Gold is one of the most respected tournaments in all of pro wrestlings, that produces some of the best wrestling of the year and has been one by some of the biggest names in Independent wrestling, El Generico, Chris Hero, Zack Sabre Jr, Bad Bones, Tommy End and more. At The Dome, Pete Dunne and Jody Fliesch have been given the opportunity to earn a place in the 2017 edition of the tournament as they clash for the first time ever in a Qualifying match. It's been over ten years since Fleisch wrestled in wXw against the likes of Claudio Castagnoli, PAC and Mike Quackenbush, but he returns looking to show that he can still keep up with one of this generation's hottest talents in Dunne. If The Bruiserweight can stand tall, this may very well be passing of the torch moment.

Two former wXW Unified World Wrestling Champions will get an opportunity to show London what the promotion is all about as WALTER goes up against a man who only lost the belt last month, Jurn Simmons. With WALTER being the tag partner of current champ Axel Dieter Jr as part of Ringkampf, a victory for Simmons will send a real message to the new champion. Perhaps surprisingly the two have never met one on one, however there's plenty of history between the two over the last few years, fueding as part of The AUTsiders and Keel Holding teams in 2014-15, before eventually tagging together successfully in the tail end of last year. The familiarity should only act as catalyst for a hard-hitting fight as both look to prove that 2017 is going to be their year.

Also announced for the evening is PROGRESS Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) challenging for the wXw World Tag Team Championships against A4 (Absolute Andy & Marius Al-Ani. 

Week Highlights

Friday 27th

House of Pain Wrestling January Weekender (Show One)

Nottingham

Saturday 28th

4FW Live!

Thatcham, Berkshire.

House of Pain Wrestling January Weekender (Show Two)

Nottingham

Revolution Pro Wrestling Contenders: Revolution Rumble

Porstmouth, Hampshire 

Sunday 29th

4FW Live!

Portishead, Somerset.

HOPE Wrestling Empire

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

HOPE Wrestling Presents

Derby

PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 43: Tropic Thunderbastard

London

That wraps up this month's preview of the British wrestling schedule. Of course, there are many more events taking place over the thirty one 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!

Article: James Marston

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