BritWres to Impress // PROGRESS // Southside // BLW [Nov. '17 Wk 4]

We've got another week full of British and Irish wrestling ahead of us and this week we focus on PROGRESS Wrestling in London on Sunday with Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life, a double header of Southside Wrestling Entertainment shows in Sheffield on Saturday with Queen of the Ring 2017 and Ill Manors 2017 and Grandslam from Big League Wrestling in Yeovil, Somerset on Sunday. So let's look at this week's BritWres to Impress! 

Also this week 

Thursday // TNT Extreme Wrestling A Cold Day in Hell // Liverpool // facebook.com/tntextremewres/

Saturday // Premier British Wrestling Live // Dumbarton, West Dumbartonshire // pbwwrestling.com 

Sunday // Over The Top Wrestling Contenders 4: Road to the Elite // Dublin // ottwrestling.com/

Sunday // PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life // London // progresswrestling.myshopify.com

Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life is PROGRESS Wrestling's penultimate show at The Electric Ballroom of 2017 and they've assembled the sort of varied card we've come to expect from the Strong-Style specialists.

The event will be headlined by Travis Banks' third PROGRESS World title defence against two time PROGRESS Atlas Champion, Matt Riddle.  Banks has been on fine form since winning the World Championship from Pete Dunne in September, holding back challenges from Keith Lee in October and Mark Andrews earlier this month, but now steps in the ring with arguably his most dangerous challenger to date. In fact, The Super King of Bros picked up a victory over the Kiwi Buzzsaw back in July, as well as picking up impressive singles victories over the likes of Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, WALTER and more in the last twelve months. Riddle may be one of the few in PROGRESS who can match Banks for popularity and the lively Electric Ballroom crowd will almost certainly be treated to brutal strikes, off the scale physicality and a submission showcase when Banks and Riddle go head to head on Sunday afternoon. 

On Sunday, Jinny and Dahlia Black go to war. This rivalry has been rumbling for months, told in a wonderful promo from Black here. Things reached a head at Chapter 57, with Jinny and Black unable to control their dislike for each other in a four way number one contenders match also including Alex Windsor and Candyfloss. Before the night was over the former friends were scrapping backstage with more than a few curses thrown in each others direction. That brings us to Chapter 58, where the two will collide in a No Disqualification match, with the added caveat that the winner will receive a match for the Women's Championship. As if the pair needed any more reason to beat the shit into each other! Things could get ugly at the Electric Ballroom.

The rest of the card is full of intriguing singles matches, such as Eddie Dennis bringing his new found bad attitude to face Jack Sexsmith. Dennis has shown that his attention is completely on former partner Mark Andrews, shouting "Fuck you Mark" moments before nailing Chuck Mambo with a forearm smash at Live at the Dome last week. Even if Sexsmith hasn't had a one on one match since July and no singles victories since May, if Dennis is looking elsewhere there's always the chance that "The Pansexual Phenomenon" could cause the upset...or Dennis could just beat the shit into him... There's also a Women's Championship match with Alex Windsor getting the title shot that she won at Chapter 57. Toni Storm has proven to be pretty unstoppable as the inaugural champion, putting away the likes of Candice LeRae, Kay Lee Ray and Laura Di Matteo, so Windsor will have to bring her A-game and the intensity that we saw from a backstage confrontation earlier in the month.

Also on the card is a rematch from Chapter 56 as Strangler Davis puts his Atlas Championship match opportunity on the line against wXw World Tag Team Champion Timothy Thatcher, Joseph Conner's PROGRESS singles debut against "Flash" Morgan Webster and a qualifying match for Tetsujin's Beauty in Combat II tournament as Chris Ridgeway faces Damon Moser.

Saturday // Southside Wrestling Entertainment Queen of the Ring 2017 // Sheffield // southsidewrestling.co.uk/

Saturday // Southside Wrestling Entertainement Ill Manors 2017 // Sheffield // southsidewrestling.co.uk

On Saturday, Southside return to Sheffied for the final time in 2017, presenting a double header at Corporation. Queen of the Ring 2017 takes place in the afternoon, before Ill Manors 2017 closes out the day in the evening.

The Queen of the Ring tournament debuted last year, with 3 time WWE Women's Champion Melina walking out the winner, after a victory over Kay Lee Ray in the final. This year's tournament features an array of internationally renowned female talent and perhaps none more so than Toni Storm. The current World of Stardom Champion has shown tournament acumen in 2017, winning PROGRESS' Natural Progression Series IV, the Cinderella Tournament and 5Star Grand Prix in STARDOM and wXw's Femmes Fatales, as well as reaching the semi-finals of WWE's Mae Young Classic. It's hard not to say that Storm is the favourite to take this tournament as well. Last year's finalist Kay Lee Ray is a 2 time Queen of Southside Champion and has won titles in ICW and WCPW in 2017, as well as reaching the finals of the Pro Wrestling: EVE title tournament. The always dangerous KLR faces Storm in the first round, a match that may very well decide the winner of the whole tournament! 

Another interesting first round collision pits Shanna against Sienna [Allysin Kay]. Shanna returns to Southside for the first time since March, having won titles in Japan and Germany, whilst Sienna debuts on the back of a year that has seen her hold both the Knockout's Championship in Impact Wrestling and GFW's Women's Championship. This could be a classic power vs. speed encounter. Also in first round action, Viper faces "Session Moth" Martina and current Queen of Southside Lana Austin looks to hold onto her title against debuting EVE Champion Sammii Jayne. A non-tournament scrap see's Kasey Owens go one on one with Saraya Knight.

When you look at the Ill Manors 2017 card, it's hard to look past the Triple Threat tag team bout. Scarlet & Graves (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) have been wowing audiences all over in 2017, with a crazy amount of creative tag team offence and individual flair, including a trip to Southside in May, as well as appearance elsewhere in the UK for the likes of RevPro, Fight Club: Pro and Lucha Forever. #CCK (Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos) might have only appeared once for Southside (a loss to Magnus & Doug Williams in March) but there's no denying that they are one of the most entertaining duos on the circuit, with a knack for the underhanded tactic. They even took the CZW Tag Team Championships from Scarlet & Graves in May. To outsiders, GBH members Damian Dunne & Kip Sabian might seem like the outsiders, but anyone who has been paying attention to Southside knows that this pairing will be no pushovers. They're undefeated in three as a duo, including a win of Scarlet & Graves in May. Expect an action-packed, shenanigan fest, that will leave you trying to get your breath back.

Chris Ridgeway is yet to taste singles victory in Southside, but has impressed against some of the world's best including Sami Callihan, Cedric Alexander and Ophidian. On Saturday, he'll have the challenge of trying to record his first win against one of Germany's best the debuting Bad Bones. Ridgeway might be known as a heavy-hitter, with bag of intensity and fire, but he'll be giving up, at least, 60 lbs to his opponent on Saturday, who is also known for possessing brutal strikes and dominating opponents. Bones is the current wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion and anyone who is yet to catch him in action is sure to be impressed by the man Bitburg when turns up in Sheffield. This has all the makings of an absolute belter. 

The card also features the controversial Bram facing Adam Maxted, former Southside Heavyweight Champion Robbie X up against Brady Phillips, the odd couple pairing of "Session Moth" Martina and Joseph Conners opposite Alex Gracie and Shanna, El Phantasmo vs. Gabriel Kidd and a trios match with Kasey Owens, Kay Lee Ray and Sammii Jayne battling Saraya Knight, Lana Austin and Sienna.

Sunday // Big League Wrestling Grandslam // Yeovil, Somerset // twitter.com/blwwrestling

I'm not sure if we've ever covered Big League Wrestling here on Across the Pond Wrestling, but the group has created a good deal of buzz for their show at Westlands in Yeovil, Somerset on Sunday, through the combination of an inter-promotional rivalry and an international first main event. 

That international main event see's BLW Heavyweight Champion Alberto el Patron [Alberto Del Rio] go one on one with one half of the PWG World Tag Team Champions, Matt Riddle. There's very little denying that this is a big time match anywhere in the world, whether you're a fan of AEP or not, his credentials in WWE and Impact Wrestling mean that he is a top calibre name, whilst very few indy performers have the same buzz as Matt Riddle has had in 2017. The two both have history in Mixed Martial Arts and employ a variety of submissions, strikes and throws to control matches. Will AEP be able to hang with a man almost ten years his junior? Will Riddle's lack of experience count for or against him? We shall see on Sunday, but if the pair are motivated and connect, there's no reason why they can't put on a match that Yeovil will be talking about for a long time to come. 

The conflict between BLW and fellow Somerset promotion Ultimate Pro Wrestling has been burning for quite some time. There's been twists and turns across a number of show's, including UPW's Final Resolution earlier this month. This leaves us with an Elimination match on Sunday as both promotion have selected five competitors to represent their brand. This includes UPW Champion Josh Bodom representing Team BLW, BLW Tag Team Champions Big Grizzly and Dave Mastiff on opposite sides and the BLW promoters brother, Adam Da Silva representing UPW! The full teams are as follows; Dave Mastiff, Dick Riley, The Brothers AWE and Adam da Silva for UPW, Josh Bodom, Sid Scala, Psycho Phillips, Big Grizzly and Chris Walker for BLW. That's two talented teams, but you just know that it's not going to go down without shenanigans and hijinks. Whichever promotion stands tall on Sunday, this match should end up being a great showcase for wrestling in the south west. 

Also on Sunday, the rivalry between Eddie Ryan and Chris Andrews culminates in a Street Fight, Harlem Bravado faces off with Dean Allmark in what should be an action-packed junior heavyweight clash, former tag team partners Kieran Bruce and Jake McCluskey go head to head and Mae Young Classic competitor Ayesha Raymond faces Jamie Hayter. The whole show is available on PPV via the Fite app.

We'd like to wish everyone competiting for PROGRESS, Southside, BLW, TNT, PBW, OTT and anywhere around the country this week the very very best. To the fans enjoy the action and don't forget to send your reviews to acrossthepondwrestling@hotmail.co.uk 

See ya next week for more BritWres to Impress!

Article by James Marston

Live Event Review: RevPro Live at the Cockpit 10 - The LDRS vs. British Youngbloods (James Marston)

I've been meaning to make it down to a Revolution Pro Wrestling show for quite sometime now and despite having earmarked a couple of shows to travel to over the last few years, the combined effects of timing and location have usually stood in the way. However the stars aligned on 3rd July 2016 and I made my first trek down south for a RevPro show, Live at the Cockpit 10. With familiar names from previously attended shows, like "The Villain" Marty Scurll, Zack Sabre Jr. and Jonny Storm, as well as guys I've been wanting to see more of like Josh Bodom and Jake McCluskey, could RevPro live up to their stellar reputation?

In an intriguingly chosen main event, RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. and "The Villain" Marty Scurll, collectively known as The Leaders of the New School, scored a victory over The British Youngbloods, "The Moonsault King" Jake McCluskey and "The Bruce" Kieran Bruce. I say "intriguingly chosen" because British Youngbloods had lost all three of their previous matches in RevPro, none of which have main evented the shows they were placed on. On the other side of the match, you've got a current and a former RevPro British Heavyweight Champion and two guys who have graced RevPro's main event on numerous occasions. Any match ZSJ and Scurll are both in these days is probably going to main event, but McCluskey and Bruce's previous outings for the company meant that pushing them into a main event slot, opposite two world traveled opponents, gave the bout a bit of a lop-sided feel. That isn't to knock either McCluskey or Bruce's abilities, but just that they haven't been booked like a team deserving a main event slot, let alone a slot against the current champion of the promotion. 

Once you'd got past the rather strange atmosphere of the entire room (except for one guy) just wanting to see Scurll and ZSJ batter the shit out of two people, without it really not mattering who those two people were, this was a fun, entertaining main event. There was a complex story that weaved it's way throughout the contest, that may have not been for the more casual of fans, but for someone like me it was captivating stuff, as ZSJ became frustrated with Scurll's villainous ways at many points within the bout, allowing for Bruce and McCluskey to capitalise. The crowd didn't seem to want to have anything to do with The British Youngbloods, which may have something to do with them coming across as fodder for the LDRS's on-going storyline, although both men looked more than competent in the ring. 

The closing stages of the bout saw some brilliant back and forth between the two teams, with all four men getting involved in the action that seemed like it would never stop with both sides gaining strong near falls and a ridiculous amounts of superkicks being hit. The finish was timed perfectly and played right into hot crowd who had been demanding "Arm Bars & Chicken Wings" all match long, so when both holds where locked on at the same time the roof almost came off the Cock Pit. A great way to end the show giving the fans exactly what they wanted. ZSJ would end the show with a short promo, staking a claim to a British Tag Team title shot down the line, as he heads into a big title defense against Katsuyori Shibata on 10th July. I've a feeling there's more than one twist left in the tale of the LDRS over the next few months with the slow build meaning that any potential pay-off will be even sweeter. 

The match of the night would be a superb contest that saw Trent Seven defeat Mark Haskins after hitting a one-armed piledriver. The match was announced as a British Strong-Style Challenge and boy did it live up to that moniker as the pair beat seven shades of shit into each other. As fun as it is to see two guys batter each other, the story of the match was the thing that drew me in and kept satisfied throughout. After hitting his arm against the ring post early on, the limb would become a constant problem for Seven throughout the match, as he winced with every move he hit. It was played perfectly by "The Super Don" at every turn, as he attempted to swap arms when hitting uppercuts and struggled to hit a piledriver because of the arm. The fact that Haskins uses a Bridging Fujiwara Armbar as a finish bought even more drama to the contest. 

A big part of this contest for me was the crowd. There was a clear divide between those rooting for Haskins and those rooting for Seven and this create a superb atmosphere within the Cockpit and seemed to bring the best out of each competitor. Both seemed to hit a little harder and to move a step faster. I think by the end of the match the duo had earned the respect of the others supporters, with Seven especially seemingly having won over a lot of fans during the match for his gutsy, character-driven performance. It may have been almost three years since these two have faced off, here's hoping we don't have to wait that long for the next one!

Tasked with opening the second half, Pete Dunne would pick up a victory over Noam Dar, after nailing the WWE Cruiserweight Classic competitor with his British Cruiserweight Championship belt. This wasn't your typical cruiserweight type bout though with the action remaining very grounded and technical as both men looked to employ signature holds. Dunne would focus on Dar's arm, whilst Dar would mainly go after Dunne's knee, however unlike the previous Haskins v Seven bout it didn't feel like either of these injuries every fully became the entire story or the driving force of the contest, which was mainly the fast paced exchange of holds and submissions. 

The bout really picked up in the closing stages with a number of quality transitions from hold to hold. A brilliant false finish came when Dar slipped out of a Tombstone Piledriver attempt by Dunne and managed to lock in the Champagne Super Knee Bar with Dunne scrambling to make it to the ropes. Obviously the previous work on the knee from Dar made the moment even more dramatic, with the crowd clearly behind Dar, with their support growing the longer Dunne was in the hold. This lead nicely into the finish as the villainous Dunne once again cheated his way to victory, managing to keep Dar out of the title picture for now. It will be interesting to see if the attack goes anywhere over the next few months and if Dar is granted a title shot. A rematch between the two would definitely be welcomed.

The only title match of the night would see Charlie Garrett & Joel Redman manage to retain their belts against The Legion of Lord's Gideon Grey & Rishi Ghosh, after some shenanigans. This was an entertaining tag bout, that pretty much stuck to the regular format, with just enough to hold the attention and warm the crowd up, whilst still being a paint by numbers affair. This being my first trip to RevPro, I'm not sure how much the dusty finish was needed, as we initially saw The L.o.L. get the victory after Grey had used his cane, only for the referee to see the cane, re-start the match before Garrett & Redman picked up a quick victory with a roll-up. The fact that we'd see Pete Dunne use a similar tactic later in the show muddies the water further. The situation wasn't helped by a bit of awkwardness following the re-start. It was weird that Garrett & Redman seemed to leave their most exciting offence for their post-match attack on Grey's ring jacket. 

Josh Bodom would pick up his third RevPro victory in a row, defeating Jody Fleisch in a decent match, following interference from The Revolutionists stable match, James Castle. This was another straight-forward bout, that although enjoyable throughout, never seemed to kick into the next gear. The crowd was interestingly split between the two men, despite Bodom's attempt to heel it up with a couple of vocal insults towards Fleisch and I think this effected a lot of the work that was on display. It's telling that despite writing my notes directly after the match had finished I couldn't think of much to note down. Not a bad match, but nothing memorable.

Linked with the Bodom v Fliesch match was Jonny Storm's victory over James Castle, as he gained a pinfall win following The WonderWhirl. This match was following directly on from the Bodom/Fliesch encounter with both men ending up ejected from ringside after trying to get involved in the early stages. Similar to the match before, at times it felt like both men were going through the motions as they waited for the next part of the angle to happen. However, Castle's act seems much more over as a heel and therefore I think this match was the more satisfying watch. Both Bodom and Fleisch would be back before the matches end, with Fleisch nailing Bodom with a lovely moonsault off the apron that would lead into the finish.

In Pro Wrestling: EVE action, Jinny would pin the debuting Zoe Lucas after nailing a Face Lift (Middle Rope X-Factor) in a solid women's match. This was the first time I'd seen Lucas in action since I worked on a Southcoast Wrestling show last year and I have to say that she's come on leaps and bounds, both in terms of interacting with the crowd and in developing an exciting and different moveset. Her ability to draw sympathy from the audience was aided by the fact that Jinny is a heat magnet literally everywhere she goes and manages to rile up a crowd simply by looking at them. Despite one nasty slip on a Japanese Arm Drag, both women managed to fit a lot into their allotted time, showcasing themselves and their opponents well. The double strike sequence was particular highlight. 

Josh Walls and Kurtis Chapman had a bit of an exhibition match, as they were working as part of the ring crew. Unfortunately this bout was wrapping up just as we finally entered the building, but both guys looked to progressing nicely in their development. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.30/10

This was a strong show of British wrestling with a lot of different styles on show throughout the card. The top end of the card really shone though, with Mark Haskins and Trent Seven throwing out the Match of the Night with a brilliant example of British Strong-Style that would hold up against pretty much anything anyone else is doing around the world right now. Pete Dunne and Noam Dar put on a great technical bout, whilst the main event tried to do something different with it's storytelling that just about paid off with a good match, despite the choice of opponent being questionable for a main event (again, not a dig at McCluskey or Bruce, just that their previous booking for the company didn't make them look main event calibre)

The undercard suffered a little because of it's screwy booking and having the Bodom v Fleisch followed straight away by Castle v Storm meant that the card ended up dragging just a little at this point in the evening. The stand-out bout from the lower half of the card for me was actually Jinny and Zoe Lucas' bout as the crowd was into the action and characters, whilst one performer continued to develop into a true star of the Brit-Wres scene, whilst another showed promise for the future.

I'm looking forward to catching more RevPro in the future, as I feel like I've only just scratched the surface of what the company has to offer with this Cockpit show. I traveled down to London from the Midlands, so if you're in London and aren't attending these shows then you really are missing out on a great evening of entertainment. Sort yourselves out. You can even check out their shows on demand, RPW on Demand including Kurt Angle vs. Zack Sabre Jr.! 

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

Futureshock 71 Review - Marc Pearson

Tiny little intro before I go on. I'm Marc P and I'm a massive British Wrestling Fan. Some of you may have seen my reviews of both British shows and WWE shows on YouTube. Futureshock is where my love began and they have a very special place in my heart. I'd missed their last show after being out of the country so it was a very long 3 months since I had last ventured to the guild hall in Stockport for my fix. Naturally the show I missed has been called one of the best in company history! Featuring the return to the ring of both Davey Richards and Jack Gallagher, something I was very gutted to miss! Anyway, onto tonight's show which featured the promise of a new Trophy Tournament winner. A fight between 2 brothers over the family name and a guaranteed one on one match for the Futureshock championship after the scheduled match at Futureshock 70 was turned into a fatal four way with the inclusion of the aforementioned Richards and Gallagher. 

Joe Vega defeated T Bone in a decent match to advance to the trophy tournament finals. Bone was actually my pick for the whole tournament as I fully expected Gibson to win the title in the main event and would love to see those 2 have a feud later down the line. After Bone had tossed Vega around like the proverbial rag doll Joe was able to roll up Bone for the win. A very frustrated Bone absolutely destroyed Vega's knee with a pink steel chair after the bout.

In the other semi final Xander Cooper defeated Don Meacho, the 2 stable mates teased fighting after both cutting promos on the Futureshock YouTube page, if I'd done a predictions video as I planned I would have said that I smell a rat. A stable this young would never have in fighting They did tease a few moves but a FINGER POKE OF DOOM got the win for Xander. See some may not like this but I loved it as we had a final where either man winning was good, If Vega overcame the injured leg it was all good and if Cooper defeated an injured opponent, he's a heel so he'll take it. All good 

Got to say that when The Nordic Warrior answered the Blackpool Blondes open challenge my heart sank as I could see his partner being someone like Sparx and it being an easy retain for the Blondes. Seeing Dave Rayne coming out to the closest I've seen to a babyface reaction was surreal to say the least after seeing him as Futureshock's main heel for the best part of 2 years! The match had shenanigans a plenty, Rayne wrestling in the tweener role complete with pulling the ref out to break a pin. I was truly GOBSMACKED when they hit a double team back cracker to get the win. Wouldn't have called that in a million years, I fully expected the Blondes to feud with the absent Project Ego over the tag belts in the new year so this was a big surprise. 

In one of the matches of the night Josh Bodom defeated brother Ryan in a superb contest with the Bodom family name on the line. I've watched a lot of PWG recently and this felt like a PWG match, very spotty match with not a lot of selling or storytelling but the big spots more than making up for it, seeing Ryan rock out a curbstomp made me smile a lot as did Josh's ridiculous chops that left Ryan's chest looking like chopped liver. An ace crusher off the top rope by Ryan was brilliant but a HUGE kick the head followed by a diving lariat got not only the win but the Bodom name as well! 

After the intermission Dan Evans (who is thankfully away from the Health & Safety gimmick he used to be involved with) teamed with Noah to defeat The Wristlock Rovers in an entertaining match. Noah's character work was very impressive here, singing twinkle twinkle little star as he wrestled, rising in intensity as he went along. Little touches like that will make the character go a long way. Wristlock Rovers are always entertaining, a double hiptoss over the ropes is referred to as a throw in and all the usual football references make me smile, DDL hitting a moonsault was new even if it took 2 attempts. Brass knux to the head of DDL by Evans  and I think it was a main event spinebuster by "Princess" Evans got the win.

While the Bodom brothers match was a great match because of its crazy spots. Xander Cooper defeating Joe Vega to win the trophy tournament was great because of some superb storytelling by both men. The story of this one wrote itself as Cooper worked the knee of Vega, Joe sold it like a 10 year veteran, constantly checking it. If he landed on it he grabbed the knee, when he walked he limped, it was all great stuff and the type of thing I wish more wrestlers would employ in their matches. Vega made heroic comebacks with the crowd fully behind him but Don Meacho came out and whacked Vega in the knee with the trophy then the self proclaimed man for all seasons put on what I can only really call a lovely Texas cloverleaf - figure four type thing to get the win. 

After not defending the Woman's championship since Futureshock 68 earlier this year current champion April Davids was stripped of the championship. Danielle Hunter came out and demanded that she be given the belt. But ring announcer Mark Adams informed her that Futureshock management had decreed that she will fight for the vacant championship at the next Futureshock Underground show against the monster Viper!!! That will be one hell of a contest! 

After a match like that it was going to take a really special effort for the main event of Cyanide defending the Futureshock Championship against Zach Gibson to top it, they tried their hardest but in this reviewers opinion they didn't quite do it. That's not to say it was a bad match, it just took a long time to get going. I'm not sure if Cyanide was full of a cold but he looked knackered after a few minutes of not exactly fast paced action. The match picked up when Zach hit a suicide dive onto Cyanide on the outside and he went crashing through the entrance set in an stunning and honestly quite scary moment and the sound guys could have been crushed by falling bits of set. Thankfully they were ok and the match continued with Cyanide's manager Chris Egan going to use powder on Gibson, but Gibson's number 2 for the evening - one Jack Gallagher - stopped his arm mid swing. Jack turned the arm so that the powder was flung into his own charges face. A blinded Cyanide then hit a massive chokebomb on his manager and even covered him thinking it was Gibson. The match then continued at a frantic pace with everyman giving it their all and the volume of the fans going up and up at every near fall until Zach was finally able to hit a Liver Driver (modified brainbuster) for the win and his second Futureshock Championship, becoming the first man in the company's long history to hold the belt 2 times!

I'm biased but there's no such thing as a bad Futureshock show. This was a really good night with some truly stunning in ring action. I can't praise Bodom Vs Bodom and Cooper Vs Vega enough, 2 matches that were completely different styles, yet both were completely captivating. 2 title changes is never a bad thing even if one was a complete surprise. I'm interested to see where the odd pairing of Nordic Warrior and Dave Rayne go from here. The company celebrates its 10th year in 2014 so it's going to be awesome to be along for the ride, and if you live within 50 miles of Manchester, you would be mad to not be there!
As this is my first written review, I apologise if there are any mistakes, so any feedback would mean a lot. And, if you have enjoyed this read please feel free to check out my youtube page at www.youtube.co.uk/marcrpears0n101 or you can find me on twitter @marcrpearson101
http://www.youtube.co.uk/marcrpears0n101.