5 Star Wrestling Review // 8th February 2018

5 Star Wrestling's show on FreeSports was back for a second week, this time seeing the promotion return to Newcastle at the Metro Radio Arena. This week's episode featured Jake Hager receiving a shot at John Morrison's 5 Star Wrestling Championship, Rey Mysterio facing 5 Star Tap or Snap Champion Mark Haskins in a non-title match and Rob Van Dam seeking to gain some revenge on Zack Gibson as the two faced off one-on-one. Last week's show had been poorly received by most, surely this week couldn't be worse? Lets take a look. 

*No pics yet unfortunately because 5 Star hasn't published any at time of posting.

Jake Hager interrupted Zack Gibson

then...

Rob Van Dam def. Zack Gibson // Disqualification 

then...

5 Star Wrestling Championship // Jake Hager def. John Morrison (C) // Submission 

This week's main story continued to push RevPro's Zack Gibson as the promotions top Brit, as he was all over the show. First, he had a verbal confrontation with Jake Hager [Jack Swagger] about Americans and what have you, before losing to Rob Van Dam via disqualification after pushing the referee and refusing to let go of the Shankly Gates whilst in the ropes and then inserting himself into the main event and inadvertently causing Hager to win the 5 Star title from John Morrison with the Patriot Lock. Gibson's promo was along similar lines as last week, a worked shoot type deal ripping into the company for giving American's preferential treatment. Calling potential opponents "washed-up" is questionable, but it's difficult to question the energy that Gibson brings to the show which is often lacking in other areas. Some of the content about promoter Daniel Hinkels having a weird obsession with Hager, brought out the former WWE star, who said some things about some thing, mostly ripping on Britain for being a shithole. Not quite sure what the aim of this thing was and the lack of back and forth hurt the segment on the whole. 

Gibson's match with Rob Van Dam was not good and it appeared like that had absolutely nothing to do with the efforts of Gibson. I'm not sure it even had anything to do with the efforts of RVD because he seemed willing, but seemingly not able to perform. Almost every move in the match looked awkward at best and laughably bad at worst, with Gibson having to work extra hard to get the former WWE Champion up for moves. There was the overhead arm drag/suplex situation that ended with both men sort of falling over leaving no real idea over who had actually hit the move and a monkey flip on the outside that lacked any power behind it whatsoever. A DQ finish is usually deflating, but here it felt like the match was being put out of its misery. It's sad to see RVD in this way at the moment and the fact that he's booked for future matches for 5 Star does not fill me with hope, especially when you can't even justify that he's a draw, because of the sheer amount of empty seats in the arena, including some front row on camera side. 

Continuing the trend of shitty finishes in top matches, the main event saw Jake Hager win the 5 Star Championship from John Morrison, after Zack Gibson interfered once the referee had been knocked down. Gibson introduced the 5 Star title belt into the fray and after Morrison had sent Gibson to the outside, Hager took advantage, clanging the belt off Morrison's knee, before locking in the Patriot Lock to become the second 5 Star Champion via submission. The finish was moderately exciting in a hot mess, car crash kind of way, but after a handful of screwy finishes on the show having another in the main event was major overkill. The rest of the match was solid, but dull, with a crowd seemingly uninterested by either guy and seemingly a number of extra empty seats where people had decided to go home. The overall story of Swagger having counters for a number of Morrison's signature moves was nice and there was a good sequence into the Hager Bomb (please Greg Lambert or Joe Hendry start calling it this). Hager is a decent technician, but for me lacks that special something that makes him capable of being the figure head of a company. 

Rey Mysterio def. Mark Haskins // Disqualification

For the second week in a row, Rey Mysterio won his match by disqualification. This week's match with PROGESS' Mark Haskins was heating up nicely before Rampage Brown appeared, attacking Mysterio for the DQ and nailing a piledriver in the ring. That's three matches discussed so far and the third screwy finish. I understand the need to build storylines with weekly shows, but if all the matches end in interference or DQ to make another match for the next week, that then has a similar finish, then why is anyone supposed to be expected to invest in this product? That wasn't the only issue as the match had been pushed throughout the show as for Haskins' Tap or Snap Championship, a submission only strap, with Lambert and Hendry pushing the idea that Mysterio wasn't known for his submission prowess. This was switched just as the competitors made their entrances, with no explanation and the commentary team forced to flounder to come up with any reason whatsoever for this happening. Considering the finish, I'm not quite sure why the match couldn't have been for the belt, with only a few changes needed. The action was actually pretty good, apart from a sloppy rana on the floor, with the two connected nicely for a number of Haskins' signature sequences, whilst lifting the pace nicely. Free of the oppressive booking, Haskins and Mysterio could have a memorable match. 

5 Star Tag Team Championship // Charlie Sterling & Adam Maxted def. El Ligero & Jody Fleisch // Pinfall

After two semi-finals last week, 5 Star crowned their first Tag Team Champions this week as OTT's Charlie Sterling & IPW:UK's Adam Maxted, teaming as Max Money, got a victory over Defiant's El Ligero & ICW's Jody Fleisch with their tag finish, the Flex Account (Mid-rope dropkick into a spinebuster). This opened the show and was a sound way to bring the audience in, with lots of action as Ligero & Fleisch stayed on top for almost the whole match. The opening sequence with Fleisch out-manoeuvring Sterling was super slick and there was also a number of sweet double team moves thrown out there, especially in the closing stages. The story that Sterling & Maxted's power wasn't enough to match Ligero & Fleisch's pace was well defined with Max Money eventually resorting to underhanded tactics to gain any form of control. At points it was a little rough around the edges and there's some polishing that needs to be done by both teams, but at least all four guys was trying to entertain the audience and worked hard throughout the contest. We later found out in an interview with So Cal Val, that Max Money with defend the belts against the debuting UK Hooligans, Roy Knight & Zak Knight, next week. There was no reason given to why Knight & Knight were receiving a shot at the titles. 

Primate on the Modcast

then...

Joey Axl def. Morgan Webster // Submission 

This week saw the debut of chat show segment "The Modcast", based around the fact that ATTACK!'s Morgan Webster has his own podcast, with Defiant's Primate making his debut as the guest, before Joey Axl interrupted. Axl brawled with both men, before being challenged to a match by Webster, that concluded with Axl picking up the submission win with the Ayers Rock Lock. The chat show did not go particularly well, especially watching at home, as the set was embarrassing and I learnt nothing about Primate except that he is from Newcastle and happy to be there. The angle where Axl brawled with both was fine, even if these use of the set (which include a rack of clothes and chairs supposedly from someone's breakfast bar) ended up looking a bit shit. Having Webster challenge Axl to a match gave the audience a reason to come back after the break and the match itself was alright. Webster looked good on offence and sells well, but Axl appeared a step or two off pace at times. If we're to see another Modcast on the show hopefully it's got a bit more structure to it and allows the subject more time to get over an actual character or sell an ongoing feud.

Carlito & Chris Masters def. Dave Mastiff & Big Grizzly // Pinfall 

The teams that lost their semi-finals on the Liverpool show went head to head in Newcastle, with The Masters of Cool, Carlito & Chris Masters, going over RevPro's Dave Mastiff & Southside's Big Grizzly after Carlito pinned Grizzly with the Backstabber. The highlights of this came with Mastiff & Grizzly in control of Masters, mostly a sequence of moves in the corner that concluded with a cannonball from Mastiff, with big lads bringing some chaotic energy to their offence. Carlito's hot tag was flat for me and most of the audience it seems with both Masters of Cool being poorly cast in the babyface role, whilst Grizzly appeared to actually murder 17 time WWC Universal Champion when hitting a rolling fireman's carry slam. Seriously, that move looked horrible here. Making the babyface casting even more baffling, the Masters of Cool got the win when Master spat apple in Grizzly's face, leading into the Backstabber. Neither of the ex-WWE lads did all that much for me when they were with the fed and they do even less for me in this role.

Eddie Ryan def. PJ Black // Pinfall

Another impressive performance from PWC's Eddie Ryan this week as he picked up the victory over PJ Black with in one of the stronger matches on the show, with a variation of the Air Raid Crash. The crowd was quiet for most of it, but Black worked well in the heel role and managed to start getting some reaction in the second half of the contest, even if babyface commentator Greg Lambert no sold the underhanded tactics and kept saying both men were playing fairly. The story of Black's experience giving him the upperhand over a naive opponent was simple but worked for getting Ryan over as he managed to over power Black with a series of lovely suplexes. Black also pulled out a cute springboard moonsault, recovering well from the loose ropes to nail a good looking version of the move. This was a big victory, who mostly works in the Southwest and he's beginning to show why he's earned his spot on the show. He's certainly someone I'd like to see more of on the strength and potential of his matches with Black and Hager over the last two weeks. Later in the show, Hager interrupted Ryan as he was being interviewed by So Cal Val and whilst Hager's words had no correlation to what Ryan had actually being saying and the segment itself was trash, it will be interesting to see if Ryan gets a shot at the belt and I'd say that match is pretty much a lock for when the show rolls into Plymouth in two weeks time. Towards the end of the match, Bram was seen clearly front row, but this wasn't mentioned by the comms team and nothing actually happened.

BT Gunn def. Nathan Cruz // Pinfall

BT Gunn picked up his first victory in 5 Star, with a small package win over Nathan Cruz in a solid contest, with a weak finish. Cruz had cut a rambling promo about professionalism before the match, calling out Joe Hendry and talking a lot about his arse being exposed last week. Cruz attacking Gunn before the bell made sense as he sought revenge for Gunn bearing his arse last week. Even if the storyline was pretty lame, at least there was a storyline. The wrestling was all satisfactory, with both getting a stellar near fall as the pair wrestling a couple of nice sequences that saw Gunn come close with a rolling flatliner, before Cruz almost picked up the win with a double knee facebreaker. It was a shame that the small package that got the win looked awful, with it being unclear who's shoulders were supposed to be on the mat, because the call-back with Gunn pulling Cruz' tights down only to reveal Cruz had remembered to wear underwear this week actually made me chuckle and a good finishes would've pushed the match towards the match of the night spot. Still, it was one of the better matches on the show.

Rampage Brown def. Moose // Referee Stoppage

The referee of Rampage Brown vs. Moose had an absolute nightmare at the finish and pretty much ruined what could've been an impactful angle as Lambert and Hendry scrambled to explain what was going on. Basically, Brown attacked Moose before the match and then continued the assault in the ring, the bell rang, Brown hit a piledriver and the match seemed to be done, until the referee wouldn't let Brown cover him. Brown hit another piledriver, the ref refusing to count the pin and then called for a no contest. It was an utter fucking mess. The explanation from commentary made things worse after the break, explaining that the referee didn't award the match to Brown because "he didn't feel like he deserved to win". Just no, stop it. Surely, what happens is that the referee stops the match before the first piledriver, when it was clear Moose was out on his feet and the commentary team were discussing concussions, which is then followed up by Brown hitting a piledriver, to make him look like a real bastard and even more of a bastard when he comes back to hit another one moments later. A few tweaks and there was a really good angle in this, but the attention was on the wrong details and the referee seeming to botch his moment killed it. 

Also This Week

- ICW's Kid Fite and PBW's Lou King Sharp and Krieger kicked off when they found out they weren't booked again from So Cal Val, before heading out to the arena only to be removed by security wearing lime green.

- For the second week running a bloke holding a gas mask was shown standing outside the arena menacingly.

ATPW Scale Rating // 3.3/10

PG Tips #1 - Edge apologises to Vickie Guerrero and a Fatal Four-Way for an ECW Championship shot (22-25/07/08)

On 22nd July 2008, WWE's television output went from being rated TV14 to TVPG. 

This series plans to take a week by week look at how the RAW, SmackDown and ECW on Sci-Fi developed under this new rating, as well as the quality of the PPVs. The era hasn't been particularly romanticised, especially by the older generation of fans, but considering that those who were ten years old when WWE turned PG are now old enough to be attending University, it's certainly time to look back and re-evaluate just how good or bad for WWE the shift was in terms of quality. 

This week's edition see's us feature a Fatal Fourway for a shot at the ECW title at SummerSlam and Edge attempt at an apology to Vickie Guerrero following his affair with their wedding planner, Alicia Fox! 

We join the Universe just a few days after the last TV-14 PPV, The Great American Bash 2008/ Just to lend some context, here's the results from that PPV.

This week's trip to the "Land of Extreme" brings us a main event of The Miz, John Morrison, Matt Hardy and Finlay battling it out for a shot at Mark Henry's ECW title, which whilst sounding like an interesting match, makes little sense considering all four men lost on the PPV...but was the show any good?

Mark Henry received a new ECW Championship belt in Philadelphia 

An eventful opening segment to begin the show, as we get a new ECW title belt, a promo from Tony Atlas and Colin Delaney (who Atlas calls "Collars Delaney" for reasons) explaining his heel turn from two days earlier. It's not a good segment by any stretch of the imagination, but there was something persevely entertaining about watching Teddy Long and Atlas stumble through their awkwardly worded promos. Considering the show is in Philadelphia, the home of the original ECW, Atlas gets very little heat for mentioning that fact and then telling the crowd "for all of you all, who tired to hold onto yester year, you're going to get squash". I would've expected the comparisons between the two ECW brands to met with at least some kind of derision, but this crowd is almost completely apathetic towards Atlas and his charge Mark Henry. Perhaps by after two years of WWE's version of ECW the crowd had gone past the point of caring that it bore zero resemblance to the rebellious company that Paul Heyman used to run. However, they do come alive once Colin Delaney starts burying Tommy Dreamer, eating up Delaney's burial, before Long gets a nice pop from announcing we're getting Dreamer v Delaney next! 

• Tommy Dreamer def. Colin Delaney. An almost complete squash match for Dreamer here as he gets his revenge on Delaney with a flurry of offence, before picking up the victory with a Dreamer DDT. 

• Backstage - The Miz and John Morrison are upset about dropping the WWE Tag Team Championships two nights earlier, but both put each other and their clothing over, before shaking hands and wishing each other luck in the main event. 

• Promo - Actress Jenny McCarthy will be at Saturday Night's Main Event on August 2nd, to promote the organisation, Generation Rescue. This was an organisation that advocated that autism was caused by vaccinations, which is total utter trash and should never have been promoted on WWE's television product or anywhere else. 

• Evan Bourne def. James Curtis [KC James]. Bourne looks pretty good here, even if extended squashes for high-flying babyfaces don't really work all too well, we did get to see Bourne landing on his feet out of a snapmare early doors, as well as a rana out of a pop-up from Curtis, before a shooting star press got the three count. Bourne was then able to dodge a post-match attack from Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neeley, who had been on commentary. 

• Backstage - A weird backstage segment where Assistant General Manager Tiffany [Taryn Terrell] told Ricky Ortiz about her education, before Teddy Long placed Ortiz in a match next week after Ortiz had claimed her was undefeated after just one match on the brand. 

Matt Hardy def. The Miz, Finlay and John Morrison to earn an ECW Championship match

Despite a shaky start and some terrible commentary from Mike Adamle, this ended up being a more than competent television main event. The opening played up the partnership between The Miz and Morrison, but lacked any notable action as we got the four repeatedly splitting off into pairs and not a whole lot else. The action in the first third was dull and slow and despite all four men being in the ring for an extended period of time, not much actually happened. However, once the action spills to the outside things begin to pick up, as Morrison and Finlay brawl on the outside, before Miz & Morrison are able to hitting their catapult into a forearm smash and then elbow drop/backbreaker combination using the barricade on the Irish man. After this things are much better, with Miz and Morrison trying for victories on Hardy, whilst trying to outwit each other at the same time, before we get a couple of sequences with all four men involved that are particularly well-done. The finish is a frenzied affair with Finlay nailing Miz with a Shillelagh, before getting knocked to the outside himself with a roundhouse kick from Morrison, leading into Morrison springboarding into a Twist of Fate from Hardy to take us home. Despite the early awkwardness and the lack of any convincing near falls, the last five or six minutes featured some really good TV action and provide us with the first recommended match of the PG Era. 

• In Arena - Mark Henry comes out to the ramp for a stare down with his SummerSlam opponent. 

ATPW Scale Rating - 3.83/10 

A good main event, but beyond that there wasn't much on this episode and it's clear that WWE isn't putting a whole lot of effort into the brand or anyone on it. Colin Delaney cut a strong promo in the opening segment, but was surrounded by bumbling speeches from Teddy Long and Tony Atlas and then had his feud with Tommy Dreamer almost immediately put to bed. The build towards Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry at SummerSlam begins next week so it shall be interesting to see how that is handled and where the likes of Finlay, John Morrison, The Miz, Evan Bourne, Chavo Guerrero and Tommy Dreamer find themselves fitting onto the hour long show.

The episode aired on 25th July 2008 on the CW Network, having been taped on 22nd July at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia. The episode included Edge's apology to wife Vickie Guerrero after the previous episode revealed he'd been cheating with wedding planner Alicia Fox and an edition of The VIP Lounge (hosted by Montel Vontavious Porter) with Jeff Hardy, but was it any good? Let's take a look. 

The VIP Lounge with Jeff Hardy

I didn't enjoy this segment at all, but the Philadelphia crowd was massively into both men. The main thrust of it was that MVP was being a massive dick to Jeff Hardy, bringing up his suspensions, issues with drugs and the death of Hardy's dog, Jack, whilst Hardy looked uncomfortable with the content, delivered his lines with very little enthusiasm or believability and looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. Some of the dialogue was terrible here, when MVP bought up Hardy saying in WWE Magazine (remember that?) that he wouldn't get suspended again, Hardy replied with "I wouldn't, I'd be released", which, whilst in line with WWE wellness policy rules, is hardly the most inspiring babyface line. We close with Hardy pushing MVP over and shouting "You make me sick", for reasons I'm not quite sure. They'll both be involved in the "Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer" Battle Royal later on for a shot at Triple H's WWE Championship at SummerSlam. 

• United States Champion Shelton Benjamin def. Jimmy Wang Yang - A swifty victory for the US Champ with Paydirt, after cutting an uninteresting promo.

• A nervous Edge congratulated Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder on their Tag Team Championship win, before awkwardly looking at his hands for a bit. 

• Festus def. Curt Hawkins - This went under two minutes with Festus winning with a the one man flapjack, before his lame gimmick of going into a vegetative state when the bell rings for a pinfall allowed Hawkins and Zack Ryder to hit a double-team DDT on the Corn-Fed Colossus. 

The Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer Battle Royal for a shot at Triple H's WWE Championship at SummerSlam 

So when I saw the lineup for this battle royal and knowing the time period, I thought this was going to a car crash and it wasn't. Was it a classic? No. But it was well-booked and made the most of its components. We had Mr. Kennedy, The Great Khali, MVP, Umaga, Jeff Hardy and The Big Show; six men who didn't make it onto the Great American Bash card in an unusually thin over-the-top affair. This took away part of the spectacle of a battle royal, but also negated those early stages where a bunch of no hopers are thrown out. The opening portion was kept interesting with a couple of nice spots, like a Poetry in Motion to Khali from Hardy using Kennedy, a Khali and Show face-off being interrupted by a pair of thrust-kicks from Umaga and a Whisper in the Wind from Hardy to Umaga. The match built well towards its conclusion as Hardy eliminated Show by turning a powerbomb into modified hurricanrana that sent the World's Largest Athlete over the top rope, leaving The Charismatic Enigma alone with The Great Khali. The crowd was super hot for Hardy, with Philadelphia desperate to see the underdog overcome, however despite a Swanton Bomb and a low blow to escape a vice grip, Khali picked up the win, dumping Hardy over the top after a Khali Chop. We get a staredown between Khali and Triple H to end the segment and I am already dreading this match. 

• R-Truth is coming to SmackDown soon and we get a package of him in North Carolina talking about his time in prison. Truth had been having dark matches since March, included one before this episode with Sheamus O'Shaunessy.  

• Michelle McCool def. Maryse - Another quick bout as the first ever Diva's Champion picked up a submission victory with a MADT Heel Hook.

• The Brian Kendrick def. Shannon Moore -  A quick promo from Kendrick about his new persona, as he let the roster know that if anyone had a problem with him they should take it up with his bodyguard Ezekiel [Jackson]. This was followed up by Kendrick quickly going over Moore with The Kendrick. 

Hell Hath No Fury Like Vickie Guerrero

Edge and Vickie Guerrero were both brilliant in this segment as Guerrero took revenge for her husband's infidelity by reinstating The Undertaker and placing Edge in a Hell in a Cell Match with the Deadman at SummerSlam. Edge trying to explain away the footage claiming that "No means no, but she wouldn't listen" in regards to Alicia Fox and then explaining he only got involved with Fox in order to make sure the wedding went smoothly was played perfectly by the Rated R Superstar. Edge gets the cowardly cheat act just right, remaining entertaining and getting a couple of laughs, but also being utterly contemptible as a character and someone who you look forward to seeing getting what they deserve. Vickie seemed to relish getting to say something that the crowd would pop for and paced her lines wonderfully getting a huge pop for almost every word that came out of her mouth. The crowd went nuts for The Undertaker coming back, leaving Edge having to let them get on with it whilst looking terrified and trying to come up with a way out of facing his rival again. The segment could have done with a better conclusion as once the announcement has been made there was a lack of a climax or conflict, perhaps just playing Undertaker's music and a few special effects would've rounded off the segment perfectly. 

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.29/10 

Not a terrible episode, but not a great one either. This is pretty much saved by the strength of it's closing segment as Edge and Vickie Guerrero shone in an emotional climax that both played wonderfully, as the opening segment was dire and the Battle Royal was okay. Elsewhere the show was filled with short, inconsequential matches, that did very little for anyone. 

An interesting start to the PG Era as ECW and SmackDown took the leap first. The ECW Four Way main event producing the strongest action of the week, whilst the closing sequence of SmackDown was a great example of the chemistry between Edge and Vickie Guerrero and just why that feud involving the pair and The Undertaker worked so well. Across the three hours there was a lot of talking, with three of the five major segments being promo based and I noticed that the matches were a lot shorter than what we are used to seeing in 2017. When we begin to include next week, a show that is known to include more talking and entertainment segments, it will interesting to compare that to what the other two brands were offering, as the company moves away from the adult and teen orientated programming that caused it's late nineties boom and more towards the family and children market. 

Next week - RAW features a Tag Team main event pitting John Cena & Batista against John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Kane, ECW sees John Morrison and The Miz take on Finlay & Hornswoggle, SmackDown features a classic segment between Edge and Mick Foley, before the Rated R Superstar faces off with one of his signature foes, Jeff Hardy, on the final Saturday Night's Main Event.

Lucha Underground #3.20 - All Night Long...Again Review (31st May 2017)

On 31st May, Lucha Underground aired the 20th episode of their 3rd season, taped 24th April 2016 at the Lucha Underground Arena in Los Angeles, California, on El Rey. The show featured Johnny Mundo [John Morrison] defending the Lucha Underground Championship against The Mack [Willie Mack] in an All Night Long contest. But was it any good? Let's take a look. 

• #ICYMI - All the build towards towards The Mack challenging Johnny Mundo for the Lucha Underground Championship tonight in an Iron Man match. 

• Some live mariachi music before Vampiro and Matt Striker welcome us to the show and put over the match that's about to come.

Mundo and Mack battled to 3-3 draw, Mundo Retains Lucha Underground Championship

Gosh, if you're gonna do a mid-season break, you better come back with a bang and that's exactly what Lucha Underground did with as Johnny Mundo and The Mack went to war over the Lucha Underground Championship in an Iron Man match that went the entire length of the show. The match unfolded across fourty minutes of television time, twisting and turning, weaving a compelling story that built up Mundo as the villainous veteran willing to do anything to keep his title, whilst Mack was the talented underdog who didn't look like he could last the length of the show. The wrestling almost took a back seat to the epic storytelling, but when called upon both guys worked crisp and fast, with the first ten or twelves minutes was almost all in the ring and held it's own. 

Both men's character performances were terrific throughout, but the act Mundo has going at the moment with PJ Black [Justin Gabriel] also, is something else entirely. He just oozes pure dickhead in everything that he does and that makes it super easy to get behind whoever is against him. All of Mundo's falls played into this. The first saw him back out of some back and forth strikes on top of turnbuckle, holding onto the ringpost and leaning back, getting some good heat, before catching Mack, knocking him off the turnbuckle and hitting End of the World (Split Legged Corkscrew Moonsault) for the pin at around the 6 minute mark. Three minutes later and Mundo was at it again, grabbing hold of the ropes after slipping out of a Mack pin with roll-up to take a 2-0 lead. Then for his third, Mundo upped the game as he feigned an ankle injury after hitting a corkscrew plancha, only to kip up and DDT Mack onto a stretcher (that was bought in to take Mundo out of the match). Add the moment where he hid under the ring and then appeared to run away out of the other side, only to appear from under the ring after Mack had given chase to what turned out to be PJ Black, before both men took Mack down with kendo sticks, as well as asking the band to play a victory song with minutes left of the bout and you had an intensely dislikable character, who had cheated his way into the lead and who the audience wanted to see get the shit kicked out of them. 

The bout was chockful of massive spots, as Black, Son of Havoc [Matt Cross], Sexy Star and Ricky Mandel all got involved off the match, not just upping the drama as they caused the momentum to swing one way or another but also being part of some of the matches creative highspots. The first big big spot in the match involved Mack getting his revenge for the DDT on the stretcher by tying Mundo to the board and sending him down the Arena's steps, which was as visually thrilling as it sounds. Then the other lads started to arrive as Havoc countered Mundo and Black arriving with Kendo sticks and awoke a shattered Mack with some beer. Then in the aforementioned moment that saw Mundo implore the band to play a victory song, Star was revealed as the groups maraca player, leaping off the balcony onto Mundo and Black to a big pop. The way Mack equalled the scores at 3-3 was probably the most spectacular fall of the match as the Battle of the Bulls winner hit an over-the-shoulder piledriver off the apron through a pair of tables. There was so much woven into the fabric of the story that was told, with each spot coming at just the right time, building the excitement without taking away from what was about to come, that it never felt like the match was dragging and there was always something either happening or right around the corner. 

Ending a match like this with a draw is a brave decision, as there's always the chance that the viewer can feel let down by having spent 40 minutes plus with a match only to have it conclude with no decisive winner. However, the last two minutes of the match, made me desperate to see a rematch and even more desperate to see someone knock Mundo off his perch (what a mark, right?), that slippery bastard. It felt like pretty much everyone inside the temple felt the same way, as Mundo missed an End of the World onto a ladder and Mack slowly made the climb up the ladder after draping Mundo across the table. After Havoc and Star had dealt with Ricky Mandel's interference (with the clock still ticking away in the corner of the screen), Mack reached the top exhausted and splashed the Mayor of Slam Town through the table, only for time to run out just as he made the cover. Helped by the crowd's enthusiasm this was a captivating piece of television that pulled me in deeper as the story unfolded and by the end of the show I was hyped to see them go at it again on next week's episode. 

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.8/10 

There isn't much more to add in this part, the match was great, the whole episode was the match. Go and watch it and enjoy the silliness.

Making Noise, Drinking Cider: Maffew at PCW Road to Glory 2015 (Night 1)

Botchamania's Maffew makes his debut on ATPW, discussing his experiences at the first night of Preston City Wrestling's Road to Glory Tournament on 13th March.

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It's always fun going to re-visit Preston, which is surprising considering how miserable the place is. I spent three years there at UCLan and felt relieved when I left, safe in the knowledge I’d never need to visit the North-West section of GreyLand. Then as soon as I leave, Preston City Wrestling takes off in a big way and I find myself buggering back to it on a semi-regular basis. Life, eh?

I wasn't actually going to go to their Road To Glory two-day event due to a lack of commitment from mates. Going to wrestling by yourself can sometimes be fun but like a lot of things, they're much more fun with someone else. A vote of confidence, really. But on Friday afternoon one of my friends informed me''oh yeah, me and this guy are going and you can sleep on this guy's couch so you don't need to get a hotel'' and I fucked out of bed (Not to self: change to ''I left work'', makes me look more proper) as quick as possible and ran to the train station to get to Preston via Carlisle.

The wonder of Carlise train station

Oh yes, bloody Carlisle station. Every other train station in England has realised how useful those big neon boards are that tell you which trains are going where but OH NO, NOT CARLISLE. That's for those upper-class train stations. So everybody runs around looking for a station helper (or whatever they call Fat Controllers in 2015) to ask which train is theirs. ''The last VHS in Oxfam'' as Malcolm Tucker would say.

PCW's 'thing' is mixing up a range of imports new and old with the best wrestlers in the UK. That already makes for a unique experience but the shows being held in the Evoque Nightclub (in the middle of a dance floor, in fact) with fans nearly drowning in booze ensures there's no such thing as a dull PCW show. On the journey there, I was notified that Alberto Del Rio and Justin Gabriel (the two most prominent wrestlers in the advertising) would not be there. Gabriel was out due to VISA issues (a UK wrestling tradition almost as old as Big Daddy) and Del Rio was out with a leg injury (that didn't prevent him from wrestling days later elsewhere, just saying) but PCW managed to secure Carlito and Christopher Daniels as replacements so ''wunderbar'' as Tudor Tenpole might say. 

I missed the first few matches (but I got to read some of Rik Mayall's autobiography on the train so swings and roundabouts) but arrived in time to see Bubblegum pin Ashton Smith to advance in the tourny. My mates and I stood next to the entrance ramp, so I was in fair position to throw praise at the good guys and hurl death at the baddies.  I’m old fashioned though. In 2015, crowds are more than happy to cheer whoever the bloody hell they like, which presents us with situations like Matt Hardy vs. Rampage Brown. 

Now, you’d expect the special guest to be the fan favourite, but because Rampage is generally considered one of the best wrestlers in the UK and is a PCW mainstay, the crowd was fairly split. This despite Rampage being part of the main Heel stable Team Single. Making this crowd even more complicated, PCW brings in people from everywhere (I currently hail from Newcastle and the guys around me had travelled from Leeds) and in the UK a wrestler’s hometown has an impact on if he gets booed or cheered. So even though big, bad Rampage spent most of the match pounding away and gloating against a former teen heart-throb,  the air was filled with conflicting ‘’We all hate Leeds Scum’’, ‘’We all love Leeds Scum’’ , ‘’V1’’ and ‘’We Want Jeff’’ chants. So yeah, got all that? Christ that was like typing out a Games Workshop manual. 

The anarchic crowd response fuels the action, even if sometimes the crowd loses itself and focuses more on entertaining themselves than respecting the match. Matt Hardy won after squeaking a pin to the sounds of high-pitched cheers and gravelly-voiced boos. The amount of imports PCW brings in gets criticised by some (to be cynical, they’re usually from UK wrestlers who probably see it as a spot they could be taking. BLOODY YANKS, COMING OVER HERE AND TAKING OUR JOBS etc.) But there’s no arguing with moments like Matt Hardy taking photos during the intermission at £20(!) a pop...and a large queue immediately forming. There’s method to this ma(tt)ness. Fair play to him but I went and got some Hooch (which like Matt Hardy was popular years ago).

Erm...

Second half started and forget everything I said about the Heel/Face/North-East/North-West divides as Carlito wrestled T-Bone. T-Bone is a large tattooed man who everyone hates. And fears. There’s been a lot written about how the age of the Heel is over because wrestlers focus on cool moves to ensure they get a reaction (and get booked again), there’s no wrestlers that can be considered actual Heels. It’s a good debate to have, which is why it’s refreshing to see T-Bone wrestle. As soon as he hits the ring and the people next to me are sure he’s out of ear-shot, they start telling me stories of how T-Bone is genuinely T-Bone all the time. Other wrestlers may be cordial with wrestlers after shows....but not him. The best story told during his intro is how T-Bone stared at a fan for the entire time during his match, after the match and then after the show too, all the time staying silent. In the age of the fan feeling smarter than the wrestlers because they have the internet,  T-Bone’s smarter than all of them put together. If Team Single is The Four Horsemen, T-Bone is Tully Blanchard: the evillest and most irredeemable of all Heels.

Carlito’s loved by the crowd because he’s cool and not T-Bone. To the dismay of the crowd, Carlito loses and T-Bone continues to make people uncomfortable.

Crowd gets really hyped for the next match, which is between the always lovable John Morrison and the beloved Will Ospreay. Last time I saw Ospreay wrestle was in IPW:UK and there were members of the crowd attempting to run in to save him from the beating he was receiving from Paul Robinson. I try and get a ‘’JoMo’’ chant going to the tune of Gary Glitter’s ‘’I’m The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)’’ but North-West people think that chanting a song by a nonce is in bad taste. They were all singing to Michael Jackson later on so fuck ‘em. Anyway, Ospreay is really making a name for himself as The Next Big Thing of UK Wrestling, which I think is unfair as the guy’s already made it in my eyes. Both men showcase their physical prowess (and JoMo still looks stunning) and ability to flip and flop without destroying the low ceiling with eventually JoMo taking it. Ospreay has that Daniel Bryan level of over, whenever he loses he gets cheered after. Good times here.

Next up, long-time favourite Martin Kirby took on surprise star Christopher Daniels. Daniels has been wrestling for donkey’s years but since the Bad Influence change he’s never been better. Both men take it up to Tim Curry levels of ham and embrace the crowd’s chants of ‘’Crystal Maze’’, ‘’which one’s which?’’ and best of all ‘’Martin Kirby’s wrestling his dad.’’ Both men excel in the fun, fast-paced wrestling genre and the result is...a fun, fast-paced match. Kirby took the win and danced to Numa Numa.

And your first main event (of three) was a big deal. A year ago, AJ Styles delivered the Styles Clash to Lionheart who ended up landing the wrong way and getting legitimately fucked up. No storyline or bullshit, the poor sod thought he would have to retire. One of the realest reactions I’ve been a part of was Lionheart announced his return at the PCW/ROH weekender to take on the former model (but still a cock) Joey Hayes. The crowd were overjoyed at the idea of the underdog returning, especially because they hate AJ Styles now (When Cedric Alexander explained his favourite match was against AJ Styles, everyone in PCW stopped what they were doing and booed unmercifully) and tonight in the main event, he returned...

...to a less than great reaction. Man this was sad. The noticeably quieter crowd (apparently because some people left now the imports had gone) were respectful but it didn’t stop people saying loudly ‘’yeah, Lionheart’s not very likable is he?’’ and being convinced Lionheart was going to turn heel in his big comeback match. Some crazy logic there. Despite teasing some neck-related moves, Hayes thankfully fell to Lionheart to give us a vaguely happy ending. Grim.

After the show, there was comedy from the reliably rugged and rough Chris Brooker and Billy Kirkwood. I don’t want to recap anything as it’d mean telling their jokes and that’s their bread and butter so just take my word for it (Lots of nob gags.) They finished their set with Karaoke with Dave Mastiff, the ref who looks like Garfunkel, Dave Rayne and Uhaa Nation. By now, everybody was aware of Uhaa’s imminent departure but it didn’t stop him tearing his shirt to ‘’Real American’’ and doing the Vince walk to ‘’No Chance In Hell.’’

The rest of the night got blurry as more Hooch was consumed, words were said and Chris Masters blanked me. Then we went to The Dog (the last open pub in Preston) and sang to ‘’Wanna Be Like You’’ and had those Vodka Slushies that are cheap and...none of this has anything to do with wrestling so I’ll end it.

UNTIL THE NEXT SHOW.

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You can find out more about PCW on their website, Facebook and Twitter pages. You can catch Mr. Anderson, Davey Richards and Angelina Love there on 29th March, as well as Kevin Nash, Rob Van Dam, Eric Bischoff, Justin Gabriel, Juventud Guerrera, Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven on April 24th and 25th.

Don't forget our 24 hour Challenge begins at 4am on 30th March, with site founder James Marston attempting 24 articles in 24 hours for MIND, the Mental Health Charity. If you'd like to donate, you can do so here www.justgiving.co.uk/acrossthepondwrestling 

WWE Brothers of Destruction DVD Review

WWE's Brothers of Destruction is out now on DVD (There's a Blu Ray version too), available from www.wwedvd.co.uk. The single disc set features a number of matches featuring The Undertaker and Kane as a tag team, during their 2001 and 2006/08 runs, featuring matches against the likes of Edge & Christian, John Morrison & The Miz, The Dudley Boyz, Mr. Kennedy and MVP.

A rather curious addition to the WWE Home Video library, this single disc look at Kane and The Undertaker's on-off tag team, whilst skirting around their numerous feuds in between. The set kicks off with a No Disqualification match against Edge & Christian from an April 2001 episode of Smackdown. This is a decent start to the set, showcasing Kane's selling ability as he works the Demon in Peril role nicely whilst Edge & Christian take turns picking apart Kane's injured arm. It's a shame that this is a TV bout, as it leads to a lot of over booking to build towards BOD's match with The Two Man Power Trip at Backlash 2001, as there is a lot of chemistry between the two teams that goes to waste in closing stages. 

Three months later on Raw and it's a Tables Match against The Dudley Boyz. Whilst the crowd is red hot throughout the bout, this match doesn't offer much, with the tables stipulation really adding nothing to the match. After showing promise early on with some nice brawling between the four, the bout is too short to really present anything of merit. Highlights include Jim Ross calling a table "a chair", some hilarious selling of a big boot by Bubba Ray Dudley and a horrendously timed finish. 

On the following week's episode of Smackdown, it's Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo who are next in line to feel the Brother's wrath, this time with the WCW World Tag Titles on the line. This match pretty much sums up everything that was wrong with the Invasion angle, as whilst no one would attempt to argue that O'Haire and Palumbo were anywhere near Kane and Undertaker in terms of star power, they are made to look like complete chumps for the majority of the match. This, of course, makes this a rather dull affair, with nothing particularly standing out. 

The first and only PPV bout on the disc rounds of the look at the pair's 2001 run as they face Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon in a Steel Cage bout at SummerSlam to unify the WCW and WWF Tag Team Titles. This match really should have been simply Undertaker vs. Diamond Dallas Page, as that is essentially what the bout spends it's time trying to set up in a rather convuluted way. Whilst there is a handful of nice spots like Kane's Powerbomb to Kanyon into the corner of the cage and a top rope Chokeslam from Taker, this is once again a rather onsided bout with no real drama, and a crowd that sits on it's hands for most of the action. 

After a short video package, it's onto the duo's 2006 run as they battle Mr. Kennedy and MVP on a December episode of Smackdown. Another dominant performance from the Brothers as the two build towards a pair of Gimmick matches against their opponents at the Armageddon PPV. The match itself is dull as dishwater, with a shoddy TV finish, the only highlight is a sick looking DDT from Kennedy to Kane on the outside after the match, before it all goes a bit nuts with a hearse. 

A February 2008 episode of Smackdown saw the pair take on the duo of Mark Henry and Big Daddy V. If that match sounds appealing to you, you should probably stop reading this blog. If I were to tell you that the bout goes over ten minutes and you still think it sounds like a good idea, you should probably stop watching wrestling. The bout takes what feels like an age to settle into anything resembling a flow and despite a nice spot involving a Henry bearhug to Kane, the bout falls apart when BOD are tasked with a "Double Chokeslam" to Big Daddy V, which essentially involves the big man taking a back bump. 

Luckily, the set manages to end on a high note with an April 2008 jaunt to ECW to face John Morrison and The Miz. This is a decent slice of tag team action, with some of the best psychology of the set as Miz and Morrison pick apart Kane's injured leg, with almost every piece of offence focused on the injured body part, not to mention Kane once again proving a fantastic seller. Throw in all of BOD's signature moves and you have a decent little match, that whilst never threatening to become a classic if a great relief after sitting through the Mark Henry & Big Daddy V bout. Also Mike Adamle is on commentary, Mike Fucking Adamle!

Finally...

This DVD was a frustrating watch, as whilst it does a good job of showcasing Kane and Undertaker as a dominant tag team that doesn't make the matches particularly interesting to watch on their own merit. The first and last matches are probably the only ones that I would say I enjoyed from this stand point and even then I wouldn't tell anyone to go out of their way to see them. It also feels like a missed opportunity to only have the pairs match against The Rock and Steve Austin and their six man tag alongside Daniel Bryan against The Shield from Raw in 1998 and 2013 respectively as Blu-Ray exclusives, as these are surely the pairs best matches as a tag team. If you catch it in the bargain section, maybe give it a look, but honestly you won't be missing out on anything if you don't.

WWE Superstar Collection - Sheamus DVD Review

WWE Superstar Collection - Sheamus is out now on DVD as an www.amazon.co.uk exclusive, currently priced at £5.45. This single disc set looks at the WWE career of Sheamus between December 2009 and January 2012, expect to see Sheamus go up against some of WWE's best around that time, including Chris Jericho, Edge, Daniel Bryan, John Morrison and Randy Orton!

Content Listing

WWE Championship Tables Match

Sheamus vs. John Cena (C)

WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, 13th December 2009

WWE Championship Fatal Fourway Match

Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. John Cena (C)

WWE Fatal 4-Way, 20th June 2010

King of the Ring 2010 Final Match

Sheamus vs. John Morrison 

WWE Monday Night Raw #914, 29th November 2010

United States Championship Match

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan (C)

WWE Monday Night RAW #929, March 14th 2011

2012 Royal Rumble Match

Joined in progress from when Sheamus enters at #22 (also including Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, David Otunga, Wade Barrett, Jey Uso, Road Dogg & Kofi Kingston)

WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January 2012

Review

I found this one disc, 90-minute presentation to be a fairly entertaining look back at the WWE career of Sheamus. After a short intro package, you are thrown straight into the action as Sheamus chases his first WWE Championship in a Tables Match against John Cena from WWE's inaugral TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs PPV. It's a decent enough encounter with plenty of suspense based spots and a decent storyline based around Cena's supposedly injured back, which for the most part Cena sells pretty well. I'm still not sure if the finish is a botch though! Up next is an exciting Fatal Fourway bout from the aptly named Fatal 4-Way as Sheamus chases the WWE Championship again, with Edge and Randy Orton been thrown into the mix this time. This is what you'd expect with the action staying at a fairly high pace, with plenty of false finishes and signature moves, unfortunately the finish to this one holds it back. The match of the disc comes in the form of the 2010 King of the Ring final, as Sheamus takes on John Morrison. This probably isn't the best match that these two had, as I remember them having a stellar series of matches in the latter part of 2010, but it's certainly entertaining with both men coming off looking better for being apart of it. It's strange to see Sheamus slipping down the card as he challenges for Daniel Bryan's United States Championship on Raw in 2011. It's a decent enough match, but these two certainly had bigger and better later, nothing particularly memorable here. To round of this disc we get the tail end of the 2012 Royal Rumble from Sheamus's entry at number 22. There isn't anything particular notable in this one, until the very end with the final two men left in, as they both put on a good display with a number of exciting spots to close the disc.

I found this to be a nice little look back at one of WWE's more underrated wrestlers of the past year, but also one of WWE's success stories, as Sheamus is one of the few wrestlers who have risen up through the WWE ranks over the past couple of years. The action for the most part is entertaining, and pretty easy to sit and watch, and for less than a fiver you can't really go wrong with this disc, the match with Morrison would be a nice addition to any ones collection. It's a shame Christmas has come and gone as this would have made for a nice stocking filler for the kids. 

Top Three Matches on Superstar Collection - Sheamus

1. King of the Ring 2010 Final Match

Sheamus vs. John Morrison 

WWE Monday Night Raw #914, 29th November 2010

2. 2012 Royal Rumble Match

Joined in progress from when Sheamus enters at #22 (also including Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, David Otunga, Wade Barrett, Jey Uso, Road Dogg & Kofi Kingston)

WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January 2012

3. WWE Championship Fatal Fourway Match

Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. John Cena (C)

WWE Fatal 4-Way, 20th June 2010