Live Review: RHP Numero Uno: Beers, Beats & Brainbusters (Marc Pearson)

Going to a new promotion can be a daunting experience. I’ve been to shows where there was myself and ten other people, on nights like that you feel embarrassed making any noise and feel sorry for the wrestlers who have to perform to an essentially empty room. On the other side of the spectrum I’ve been to shows where there was a hundred crammed in and everything was great. On the 10th of June I headed to the city of Gloucester (a city I’ve never been to by the way) to see how the new company of Riot House Promotions got on with their debut show entitled Beers, Beats and Brainbusters!

Before I go on let me just add something. I love seeing new talent, it’s something that I’ve made a mission of this year, to not just go to the same promotions that I’ve frequented the last 3 or 4 years (Futureshock, PCW and GPW to name but a few), so the draw of this show was that at least half the roster was made up with talent that I’ve never had the chance to see. 

On arrival I got a pleasant surprise, a quick head count resulted in roughly 100 people and a lovely looking venue. The show emanating from the Liquid Diva nightclub meant that there were no seats BUT that wasn’t an issue as everywhere I looked at had a decent view. The crowd was made up of a mixed bunch of rowdy fans, older folks (who I suspect were there to support their children/grandchildren) and they were vocal the whole night which made for a fun atmosphere. 

Speaking of fun (Segway!) the opening contest of the evening was pure fun as the team of The Magnums (Chris Walker & Dick Riley) defeated “Mr Massive” Chuck Cyrus and partner Robbie Roids. Having only seen Cyrus before I was looking forward to seeing what Roids and The Magnums could do. If the plan for the match was to entertain the crowd and get everyone warmed up then this was mission accomplished. Be it a mid-match drinking contest, Dick Riley being de-panted or Roids being exposed as wearing ladies’ underwear this never got boring and had a jaded old fan like me in stitches. 2 moments really stood out for me though. The first was Cyrus taking a line of pre-workout before getting the hot tag, I can’t believe I’ve never seen that spot before but man was it funny. The other was a bit mad but still entertaining as Chris Walker put a condom on his hand, liberally applied some lubricant then proceeded to administer what can only be described as an Anal Claw to Cyrus, who tapped out in quick time. Good stuff and the crowd loved it.

Match number 2 former NXT star Joel Redman beating Big Grizzly. I’ve only ever seen Redman play the white meat babyface, so to see him working heel was refreshing and I was seeing Grizzly for the first time. Redman made the match look effortless as he oozed charisma and confidence, playing up the crowd and looked great. Grizzly was super over with the fans and controlled the majority of the match which was a little odd, at times you almost expected Redman to make the big babyface comeback but then remembered he was a heel. He won with a sneaky rollup complete with heeley feet on the ropes much to the chagrin of the fans. They didn’t worry for long though as Grizzly hit Redman with a nice sit out chokeslam to gain a measure of revenge.

Match 3 saw Wild Boar defeat Charlie Garrett in a good match. I’ve only seen Boar work heel and only seen Garrett work face so seeing them in the other roles was again refreshing. Garrett brought a mop to the ring and much hilarity resulted as Boar pinched it and had a good long chat with it as Garrett was busy jaw jacking with the fans, who took great delight in telling him that he was a cunt! Back and forth with loads of nice looking strikes, suplexes and, of course, stalling from Garrett meant this one built to a frantic finish. A beautiful t bone suplex by Boar and a brainbuster from Garrett were the highlights and I for one was happy that we finally got said Brainbuster after the title of the show! Boar got the win with a lovely sit out powerbomb, he then snogged the mop to a big pop. 

Something quite amazing happened next. The ring announcer told us there would be a 5 minutes’ intermission, and, to everyone’s shock and amazement, it actually lasted 5 minutes!!! This followed the show starting bang on time made a very good impression on someone who is a stickler for time like me. 

The second half began with the massively popular tag team of The Fever (Christopher Queen & RyRy) beating The Heritage City Hitmen (Dave Eaton & Richard Diamond). 4 more men that I hadn’t see before so I was looking forward to this one, both teams have matching outfits so earn Brucie Bonus points! The Fever have a lot of fans and wear flashing glasses to the ring, which you can buy on the merch stand, that’s brilliant! This one was a much more cookie cutter tag match than the opener, with Queen playing your face in peril until he could get the hot tag to RyRy. A splash off the top rope by Queen getting the win. Nothing bad but nothing outstanding.

Match number 5 saw the Ginger Jesus Mike Bird losing to Matt Ridler. Like the previous match there isn’t really much to say about this one, nothing bad but nothing memorable. Having never seen Ridler before he looked good, cutting a decent heely promo before Bird made his way to the ring and cheating to win by distracting the ref, going low then hitting a spinning brainbuster for the win. Mike Bird shone here, looking like a star in a way that I’ve never really appreciated when I’ve seen him at promotions like Fight Club Pro.

As Bird left the ring the ring announcer said, “one bird leaves the ring, but don’t worry, 2 more are coming out” making reference to the upcoming woman’s match. I’d never have dreamed of saying a line like that in my time as a ring announcer! 

I’d tell you all about Toni Storm’s victory over Kat Von Kaige but I needed to nip to the loo as it started and in the time it took me to drain the snake the match was over, so it was short if nothing else. 

When you have men as talented as Pete Dunne, Chris Brookes and Tyler Bate in your main event you know it’s going to be a good match. I went into this one confident that because of the 2 heels (Brookes and Dunne) against one face that Tyler Bate would emerge victorious so was pretty stunned when Pete Dunne got the win. Annoyingly my phone’s battery had died so I couldn’t take any notes but everything was good and the crowd loved all 3 men. 

I had a really good time at this show, all the matches delivered in the ring, the crowd were decent, the show started and ended on time which is very very rare in British wrestling. I spend a lot of time in the area so I’ll certainly be at their next show

You can find out more about RHP on their Facebook Page, at this time there is no date announced for their second show. Photo Credits go to The Dude Abides Photography, who are also over on Facebook here. Get more Marc Pearson on Youtube, Twitter and Facebook. 

Best of British I - Revolution Pro Wrestling

In the first of a new series of articles, that will see British wrestling fans writing about their favourite promotion from across the country, Sean Taylor-Richardson takes a look at his favourite company, Revolution Pro Wrestling.

Photo credit - prowrestling.wikia.com

In 2013, I had a moment. As a dedicated wrestling fan of 18 years, I experienced an epiphany as it dawned on me that I had only really followed the televised American promotions. During the 1990s, when my interest was piqued and my obsession formed, I was fed a steady diet of grappling from the States: from the WWF on Sky to WCW via TNT and ECW by means of Bravo. In the noughties, WWE’s presence on Sky grew greater whilst TNA regularly found its way onto my screen. However, whilst in New York in April of 2013 (for a week of WWE related festivities), I had the chance to attend my first indy show. ROH were playing the Manhattan Centre. 

Now what happened that night is, without exaggeration, a blur (I’ll revisit the evening in a future article, Wrestling and beer: the drinking chronicles). Fortunately I managed to soak up more than pint after pint of Heineken and absorbed enough of the action and atmosphere to convince me to try indie wrestling when I returned to our British Isles. So later that year, I looked at the upcoming cards on the UK Indie circuit to see what took my fancy. In a wonderful moment of serendipity, a certain name appeared. It was the same name that appeared on my Sky Sports screen when I first fell in love with Wrestling in 1994. That name was Bret “Hitman” Hart.

Photo Credit - Revolution Pro Wrestling

On Friday 18th October 2013, myself and my brother attended the Revolution Pro Wrestling event, An Evening with Bret Hart. Photos were taken with a childhood hero and we left the Walkabout venue thinking nothing that weekend could top the previous few hours. But then the very next day we attended Rev Pro’s other offering: Uprising at York Hall. And what a show it was! Prince Devitt vs Ricochet and Zack Sabre Jr vs Davey Richards were 5 star belters. Noam Dar vs Michael Elgin and Marty Scurll vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (which featured a Bret Hart run-in) delivered in spades. As well as state of the art 21st Century wrestling, there was incredible comedy as Colt Cobana teamed with Grado! This event was one of the best shows I’d ever attended and proved that Indie wrestling was as deserving of my time and money as the big leagues.

Since then, I’ve attended all three of the York Hall super shows held in 2014. Rev Pro guarantees the best quality imports on our shores. You want future WWE stars, Rev Pro books ‘em:  Kevin Steen and Prince Devitt (now going as Kevin Owens and Finn Balor respectively) spring to mind. How about a nostalgia act? Sting, Rikishi and Two Cool should be right up your street. If it’s the stars of New Japan, how about The Young Bucks, Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura and The Bullet Club. Invariably these acts matched up with the best of British talent: Will Ospreay, Martin Stone, Joel Redman and Sha Samuels to name a few. Samuels is particularly entertaining as he and his stable mates Terry Frazier and Josh Bodom work the crowd into a frenzy during their entrance and remind us all just how were supposed to feel about heels (speaking of Samuels, at a show in Sittingbourne, he once threw my brother’s shoe onto a window ledge).

Photo Credit - Sha Samuels

The matches work both as stand-alone, fantastic indie spectacles but also as part of on-going stories that entice you into counting the weeks until the next card. Nothing feels inconsequential. At the recent October Uprising event, world title matches and tag team wars were masterfully built for the forthcoming February show, High Stakes. This allows regular attendees to feel attached to the product and see each show as a must-see, an episode of wrestling drama not to be missed. My anticipation for Marty Scurll vs Spud and the eventual showdown between Redman/ Stone and Team Paige is undoubtedly greater for having been part of the live crowd that witnessed the electric angles unfold. 
   
Another thing that makes Rev Pro such a hot ticket is the setting: York Hall is special. Whilst the leisure centre on Old Ford Road in Bethnal Green, London garnered its reputation for
being one of Britain's best known boxing venues, it is quickly becoming a hotbed of wrestling (as evidenced by TNA recently filming some of British Bootcamp within its famed walls). Its history and legitimacy is an aspect that adds credibility to proceedings and is a factor many other indie venues just can’t match. The stars booked are skilled and the matches captivating but it is the combination of talent and venue that creates that oh-so-special atmosphere.  And the fans are fun fans to be around, loud and passionate but not too smart for their own good. There are cheers and chants but never an attempt to steal the spotlight from what happens in the ring. The people appreciate quality wrestling and show that respect by engaging purposefully with the show.

Photo Credit - UKFF

I’ve attended multiple Indie shows in the last two years. I enjoy Progress shows from Camden and had a good time at the IPW Super 8 tournament in Tonbridge. I’ve been to see Rev Pro in my local market, Sittingbourne, fairly regularly. But it’s the York Hall shows that I look forward to like I look forward to a Summerslam or Royal Rumble. The talent, the stories, the rich history of the venue; it’s a combination that in my opinion delivers the best night of wrestling that our thriving indie scene has to offer. If you haven’t checked them out yet do: in a couple of months, at February’s High Stakes show, AJ Styles is coming to play. Daniels and Kazarian step into the ring. And the most talked about podcaster of the year Colt Cobana returns in an angle already heavily promoted on the company website. Whether its hard-hitting wrestling, high spots or big gags, I can assure you Rev Pro at York Hall always delivers all that and more.

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Best of British will return in 2015! If you are interested in championing your favourite promotion, you can get in touch at acrossthepondwrestling@hotmail.com

Kamikaze Pro Lethal Weapon Review

Following a terrific Shropshire Wrestling Alliance show (Review - http://www.acrossthepondwrestling.co.uk/2014/08/swa-summer-blowout-review.html) the night before, Kamikaze Pro had the unenviable task of being the difficult second show of a double header weekend. With many of the same talents used by SWA the previous night, as well as former NXT Tag Team Champion Joel Redman (fka Oliver Grey), how did Lethal Weapon presented at The Collingwood Centre in Great Barr (As great as Dawley? I think not) live up to the expectations? Let's find out.

Match 1 - 

The Hunter Brothers (c) vs. Miracle Violence Connection (c)

For the Undisputed Tag Team Championships

After Born and Raised saw the Tag Team titles held up, following a double pin, this was the rematch to see who would take both title belts. 

This was a decent opening contest, but I feel that it barely scratched the surface of what these four guys could be doing. The match was very slow to get going, with the referee having to step in between the two teams a total of four times, this harmed the pace of the match and left me a little bit restless to actually see some wrestling. This would have been fine if the match was placed anywhere else on the card, but in the opening contest it was a bit of an overkill. 

Once the match got going, there was some nice moments, like Dan Maloney attempting to block a punch and ending up on the receiving end of a DDT, and the majority of the wrestling was strong (bar a slip up on a hurracanrana, credit goes to Maloney for not selling). A handful of nice false finishes warmed the crowd up towards the end of the bout , including a nice tease at the finish as Miracle Violence Connection attempted a Doomsday Device, that was reversed into a victory roll, getting a nice reaction out of the crowd. The finish saw Hunter land on his feet following a second Doomsday Device, only for Maloney to strike with a Lariat to pick up the three count. A nice twist on the Doomsday Device, which kept the two sides looking pretty even, I'd expect a rematch between the two, hopefully it will be given an extra five minutes or so. 

Following the match, it seemed there was tension between Maloney and Bate, as Maloney attempted to walk out with both of the tag team titles. I'm not quite sure where this had come from, as there was no tension teased in the match or any real reason for this to be the case. MVC didn't seem to heel it up as much as they usually do for Kamikaze, a prime example being the use of a delayed vertical suplex, which is always going to get a pop out of the crowd, and rightly so. I am interested to see where this is going, because I think Bate is much stronger as good guy, whilst the opposite is true for Maloney, so a feud between the two could be interesting, but if that's the direction Kamikaze is going, I'm not sure why MVC won the tag titles here. 

Match 2

Violet Vendetta vs. Nixon Newell

This was Violet Vendetta's debut match in Kamikaze, opposite Nixon Newell who has become a popular face since debuting at Broken Down City in May. The crowd certainly didn't warm to Violet, giving her a reaction of utter indifference, and this match gave them no reason to change their minds. Whilst there was a good deal of intensity, as Violet charged Nixon back first into the ring post and went on to deliver a vicious looking kick off a chair, there was no real reason for this to be taking place, and even then it wasn't picked up on later on in the match. Violet did seem to be working the back following the attack on the ring post, but it was quickly dropped, following a lack lustre boston crab. 

Violet got in the majority of the offence until Nixon pulled a Superkick out of nowhere to pick up the victory. Whilst this was a good way to continue to present Nixon as the Face of the "Fighting Females" division (I imagine a title is on it's way once the division builds up), it certainly wasn't the match that the first One on One women's match in Kamikaze should have been. 

Following the match, Marshall X came through the crowd and was setting up to attack Nixon with a steel chair, before Chris Brookes ran out to make the save. A nice bit of extra build up for Marshall and Brookes match later on in the show, giving the feud an extra bit of depth. Good stuff. I was however a little disapointed to hear Ring Announcer and General Manager Lawrie Neal announce "I'm sure we'll see the rest of that STORY later", erm... story? Really?

Match 3

Dick Riley with Chris Walker vs. Joel Redman

Former NXT Tag Team Champion Joel Redman took on The Magnum's Dick Riley in an interesting contest. I say interesting because both men seemed to be working babyface at the start of the match, with the allegiance switching a handful of times during the match, which gave it a rather unique dynamic. 

The action in the ring for the most part was strong, and after struggling to connect in the early parts of the match, Redman and Riley grew into the bout, putting together a series of entertaining sequences and began to show signs of a real chemistry in the ring. Riley reversing a powerbomb attempt on the outside into a top rope crossbody and the pair trading lovely German Suplexes were both particular highlights. Oh yeah and there was a Reverse Freaking Rana from Riley, that I don't think anyone saw coming. 

The closing stages of the match however really elevated the match in my eyes. Redman had been wearing a huge knee brace throughout the match, and therefore I was disappointed when it seemed that it would not play a part in the match. However, that would change as after Redman had done a series of moves using his knee, he seemed to tweak it, and with Walker doing some great work at ringside, Riley kicked Redman in the knee allowing him to hit a Superkick for a good near fall. Riley continued to work over the knee effectively, removing the brace, before the finish saw Redman make a comeback with a powerful lariat, before struggling to climb to the top rope, continuing to sell the knee to hit a big knee drop for the victory.

A good debut match for Redman, possibly the strongest on the show and definitely the best match of the first half, whilst also giving extra depth to Dick Riley's character and The Magnums as a tag team in general. I'd happily see Redman return to Kamikaze Pro as he certainly has a lot to offer the promotion, I'm also looking forward to seeing where The Magnums go from here as well.

Match 4

Marshall X vs. Chris Brookes with Nixon Newell

With the previous encounter between the two, this was always going to be a heated affair. Add into the mix a solid pre-match promo from Chris Brookes, which managed to get the crowd to chant "Silly Bugger" and this feud was beginning to heat up nicely. 

The two brought a good energy into the match, with Brookes hitting an impressive Tope Conhilo at the start of the match to set the tone. The two traded moves on the outside, including a nasty vertical suplex from Marshall onto the wooden floor, given all the more reason to do so by the previous encounters between the two. The match flowed very nicely, both men hitting some nice looking moves for near falls, with Marshall coming close with a Falcon Arrow, before Brookes almost got the win with a Michinoku Driver. 

The finish was one of the cleverest of the weekend, as after Marshall had produced a bottle of Talc earlier in the match, it played into the finish as Marshall through talc into Nixon's eyes, before throwing Brookes into position for a blinded Nixon to hit a Vulture Culture Destroyer, accidentally handing Marshall the victory in the process. A great way to have Marshall pick up the victory, whilst also giving the fans a chance to see the Nixon's exciting finish move. A side note on Nixon's selling of the talc, which was spot on, and made the finish even more effective.

After the match, Marshall continued the attack. Unfortunately, a pair of handcuffs, supposed to be used to trap Brookes to the ring rope, didn't seem to function correctly which lead to an awkward exchange between Brookes and Marshall, luckily the pair improvised something that would the same effect, with Marshall going back to the talc again. This would allow Marshall to take down Nixon with the steel chair from earlier, before delivering a vicious double stomp with Nixon's arm trapped inside a steel chair. The moment was sold very well by Nixon and a few of the Kamikaze Pro roster who came out to help. The rivalry is building up nicely, I'm very much looking forward to seeing how things develop over the next few months.

Match 5 Damian Dunne vs. Ryan Smile (C)

For the Kamikaze Pro Championship

Heading into this one I wasn't completely convinced, Heel vs Heel matches are a rarity, and despite a similar match between Smile and Eddie Dennis at Sky's The Limit in May working very nicely, I still wasn't sure if lighting would strike twice.

There was a lot of stalling early on in the match, with the two best friends not wanting to fight each. So when Smile quickly picked up the victory with a remake of the infamous "Finger Poke of Doom" I was a little worried that that could be all she wrote for this match. Luckily, Kamikaze Pro isn't WCW and decided not to devalue their title belts, as the match was quickly restarted, and with a few clauses in place, we got a proper match after all. 

I like the story being told throughout the match, with the idea being that Smile didn't want to fight Dunne, at one point offering him Chicken Nuggets and Onion Rings (which got a duelling chant going), with Dunne doing what he had to do to try and win the title. The two created nice spots, like Smile hitting a suicide dive that sent Dunne through the chairs at ringside, which usually I'd pull up as being a babyface move, but seeing as both men are supposed to be heels I don't think it mattered quite as much here. 

After some solid near falls, including a beautiful Blue Thunderbomb from Smile and a very well done sequence that culminated in a two count for Dunne off a Brainbuster, the match reached it's conclusion with Smile hitting a Cross-legged Samoan Driver to pick up the win and retain his title. With all the stalling and the restart, this match did feel a little short, but it did what it needed to do with the time given.

Following the match, Acting General Manager Lawrie Neil revealed Smile's opponent for Line in the Sand in September, as former TNA X-Division Champion Doug Williams. This has the potential to be an outstanding match and with Smile pulling out a blistering promo on Williams post match, I'm sure the two will have something special for the crowd at the Cadbury Club come September 21st. 

Match 6

Robbie X vs. Pete Dunne vs. Jay Lethal (C)

For the ROH World Television Championship

The second ROH World Television Championship match I'd seen in two days, had an awful lot to live up to, following Lethal's terrific clash with Tyler Bate the previous night at SWA Summer Blowout. What made the previous match so good, was what was lacking from this one. Drama. There wasn't a point in the match where I believed Lethal wasn't walking out champion. Now, obviously that's a very hard task to pull off when Lethal is defending a different companies belt, but if the previous match could make me suspend my disbelief, then adding two more guys into the mix should have had even more chance of doing so. 

That's not to say that this match wasn't entertaining because it was. There were some really nice moments that used that extra body in the ring to the matches advantage, like Lethal looking Robbie in a Figure Four Leglock, before catching Dunne in a Crossface and an Inverted DDT/Neckbreaker combination from Dunne. There was also some nice back and forth exchanges, with all three men exchanges chops and forearms, before Lethal delivered a sweet Superkick to Robbie. 

As is important with big US names, those that came specifically to see Lethal were treated to the majority of his signature moves, including the Lethal Combination, Hail to the King and after a few attempts the Lethal Injection that would eventually get the win. Lethal looked very much the professional in the ring, and as with his match with Tyler Bate, it's the little nuances to his performance that really help elevate his match, specifically going to battle Robbie on the top rope after Robbie took a little too long on a dive to the outside. This meant there was no awkward standing around for Lethal and Dunne and allowed the match to flow nicely, as Robbie eventually hit his move. 

I was interested to see how Robbie X worked as a heel, after turning on Dunne at the previous show, but apart from refusing to get in the ring at the start of the match, I didn't really see much of a difference. His move set was essentially the same, a Moonsault Plancha is never going to get you any heat, is it? There was also very little follow to his attack on Dunne during this match, the opportunity was there to further the feud between the two, building to a one on one match down the line, I don't feel like that was fully realised at any point. This might be a bit premature, but after seeing Dunne work heel elsewhere, it might have best if Dunne had been the one to turn instead.

Finally...

It would be unfair to compare this show to the one the previous night, as on it's own merits this was an enjoyable show. Certainly not the strongest I've seen out of Kamikaze Pro, but it still had it's moments with the two matches either side of the interval battling it out for my match of the night. There were a few things that niggled me, and I feel like the main event was a missed opportunity, but with most of the show being used for furthering storylines, it did it's job quite well. I'm interested to see where a number of the feuds are heading, and I'll definitely be back at Kamikaze later in the year.

Supermen: A Story of Britsh Wrestlers Documentary Review

I recently got offered the opportunity to get a sneak peek at a Supermen: A Story of British Wrestling, a documentary featuring interviews from a number of different British wrestling personalities. 

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Filmed over a year in 2012, it seems as if the documentary may have struck lucky with the talent available to it at this time and where they have gone onto. Firstly, there's Dave Finlay, who had been released by WWE in 2011 (after a house show incident, where he authorised The Miz to interrupt the US national anthem), and made only a handful of appearances on the UK independents (including Southside Wrestling Entertainment, one of the filming locations for the film) before being rehired by WWE in 2013. Then there's Doug Williams, who was working a more reduced schedule in TNA than years previous, meaning he was working the UK scene more often (including Brit-Wres Fest, another filming location) and on the opposite end of the scale, Rockstar Spud, who began filming TNA British Bootcamp in 2012 and has since gone on to become a major part of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV in the US and Challenge over this way. Veteran wrestler Robby Brookside has become a trainer for WWE's developmental league NXT, whilst Joel Redman has morphed into NXT's Oliver Grey winning the tag titles alongside Adrian Neville (the former PAC) as part of British Ambition. Alongside some other upcoming British names such as Robbie X and Jimmy Havoc, as well as more veterans in the form of Danny "Boy" Collins and Dave Taylor, this hours worth of footage feels star studded from the outset, and the big names draw the audience in, allowing some of the lesser known guys to really shine in this. 

The documentary kicks off with a series of personal tales about getting into the business, which produces some interesting incites, non more so than that of than former TNA British Bootcamp star Marty Scurll , who talks about how wrestlers replaced his father as male role models in his life. The passion that Scurll feels for the business emanates through the screen, and it's difficult to not want to see him succeed further in wrestling after hearing his words. Matt Jarrett and his mother Lorraine also become stars early, as they tell about Jarrett's troubles, the pair are an enjoyable double act who crop up intermittently throughout.

We transition nicely into talk of the old days of British Wrestling, and whilst Robby Brookside and Ray Robinson's talk of how breaking into the business used to be, won't be particularly surprising to any seasoned wrestling fans, Rockstar Spud's talk about missing those veterans in the locker room, to learn from, is the real point of interest for me here. Brookside's talk about worrying that the British style is being superseded by that of America and Japan is an interesting one, especially with Brookside now working as a trainer for WWE.The crisp editing pays of as Dave Taylor and Jimmy Havoc chat about their diverging styles presented almost as a conversation between the two parties, cutting between each man at the relevant point to allow the other to retort. Whilst it isn't particularly new ground, at times, I began to wish that you could see this conversation for a real, as almost a wrestling version of Question Time.  Promoters Ashcon and Abbas Rezazadeh's talk about the old British style being dead has more than just a hint of hyperbole about it, but there is certainly a following for their deathmatch style of wrestling, even if it's not something that I'm particularly fond of myself. (And yes guys, I'd much rather see a World of Sport legend than Matt Morgan)

A trip to Wickes with Ashcon and SOME GUY sheds more light on the deathmatch, as they pick up all they need from the hardware store, including a tub of barbed wire, who knew?! Whilst this is mildly entertaining, it's the look at Havoc's match with Mike Mason that stands out as a highlight. Following the pair around as they recover and then give their thoughts on the match is reminiscent of the scenes following Randy The Ram's deathmatch in The Wrestler. A really intriguing look into that type of wrestling and the damage it can do to the bodies of the performers who chose to go down that route. 

The theme of injures develops with a number of interviewees chiming in on this one, including Jamie Hadley's casual mention of having a pain killer addiction. It's at this point that as fan you remember that what you see in the ring has an effect on the performers long after they get behind the curtain. This often get's forgotten in discussions amongst fans, so it's definitely a good thing to see it presented in that way here.

As he has been on TNA television over the past few months, Rockstar Spud continues to shine here. He comes across as a humble guy, contrasting with the character we see on Impact Wrestling, as he talks about not knowing anything until he has worked for WWE (I wonder if he still holds this viewpoint?) and regretting not spending more time with Robby Brookside. We hear from one of Brookside's students, Jimmy Meadows, as well as seeing some fascinating footage from Brookside's training school in Leicester.

It's then the turn of veterans Fit Finlay and Doug Williams to get the focus, as Finlay talks about dealing with the stardom that being on television for WCW and then WWE afforded him, alongside a great tale from Brookside of how Finlay kept his hardman image in Germany. We hear from both Williams and his wife Claire, as they tell us how wrestling has effected their relationship, with a number of wrestlers chiming in with their own experiences, as Williams mentions never being in WWE, and began to imagine how that would have effected their relationship further.

We close up with the cliché question "What does wrestling mean to you?" which is a mixed bag of ending for me. Whilst many talk about wrestling being their life, Alex Shane decides to talk about wrestling as a metaphor for life. It seems like he's trying too hard to say something clever, at times trying to convince himself that what he's saying is actually making sense. The two stars of the documentary for me, Robby Brookside and Rockstar Spud round things out nicely, with feel good answers, in fitting end to the documentary. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary, it was complete joy to sit an watch for an hour, as you can probably tell from reading the above. I would've have liked to have seen certain stories explored deeper, and more footage looking at the lives of wrestlers interspersed between the talking heads would have been fantastic. Personally, I think the documentary had scope to go at least half an hour longer than the version I saw, if not another hour, but whether someone else would sit and watch for that long is a different kettle of fish. 

Below is some information about how the film will be made available (taken from the press release). I reccomend that you at least go and watch the film on it's Saturday 5th April (the day before Wrestlemania XXX) and if you don't think it's worth at least a FIVER to get your own copy on DVD then we might have to have some words.


The film will be available for FREE on www.supermenfilm.co.uk and hosted on YouTube. Viewers will be able to ‘tip’ money via PayPal ­ which will help go to covering the costs of production. Donating £5 offers the viewer a physical copy of the standard edition DVD to be released in May. Donating £10 offers the viewer a physical copy of the Collector’s Edition DVD also to be released in May. Adding £2.50 to any of those offers will upgrade them to Blu­Ray HD versions. 

The standard edition DVD/BluRay will feature a standard copy of the film.The Collector’s Edition DVD/BluRay is a double­disc pack that comes with the standard copy of
the film, and a bonus second disc with additional full interviews of Rockstar Spud and Dave
Finlay, and additional match material. There is potential for these extras to change, depending on viewer feedback.