Wrestle Ropes' Ready for the Weekend: May 2016 Week 3 - HOPE, CHIKARA UK, PCW, FNW, PWC, Pride, Ironfist, BWP, Reckless Intent, LCW Elevation and FSW

This week's edition will be slightly different from normal. Due to there being a lot of events this weekend we've decided to have a quick look at 11 of the shows taking place. So let's get Ready For The Weekend.

The wrestling weekend kicks off this Friday when HOPE Wrestling are heading to Bedford and the venue of Esquires. Three matches have been announced for the show with the main event seeing 'The Righteous' Joseph Conners taking on Ashley Dunn, a man who has faced the likes of Will Ospreay and El Ligero in recent months. Also scheduled for May 20th are Joey Ozbourne putting his undefeated streak on the line against two-time Kings Of Flight winner, Chris Tyler and White Tiger taking on DOA in singles action. 

This Friday shall also see CHIKARA teaming with Fight Club: Pro to kick off the first portion of their Aniversario tour of the UK "The Chikara Special", in Newport, Wales at The Neon. While the expected Chikara stars will be on the shows, there is also a wealth of British stars involved in the whole tour which takes place across the weekend. Highlights across the weekend include Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) facing The Colony (Soldier Ant & Fire Ant) in Newport, K.Y.S. (MK McKinnan, Pete Dunne & Damian Dunne) teaming up against Nixon Newell, CHIKARA Grand Champion Princess Kimber Lee and Heidi Lovelace at Fixxion Warehouse in Wolverhampton, before Fight Club: Pro Champion MK McKinnan faces Eddie Kingston in singles action at Bush Hall in London on Sunday. Chikara's UK Tour will then roll through Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow next weekend (and Bank Holiday Monday)

Moving on to Saturday and Preston City Wrestling will be making their debut in Liverpool at the Fusion Nightclub. The main event of that show will see Noam Dar taking on former WWE star John Morrison in a match which will be their third meeting in PCW. Grado shall also be in action on May 21st and has the chance to become a champion when he faces the current PCW Heavyweight Champion; Sha Samuels for the gold. Viper, who has just returned from Japan a few weeks ago will be facing Ireland's Martina in a first time meeting between the two. 

Saturday will also see Fight Nation Wrestling in action when they head to Eastbourne for 'Lethal Lottery'. The event will see Sammy Smooth, James Castle, Sid Scala, Jakey, Bruce & Ryan Smile participating in a tournament where the six men will be drawn into three teams. Those teams will face each other in a round-robin series of match with the team with the most wins going forward to the final. Those two men will then face each other in the final with the winner earning a FNW British Championship match. Speaking of the FNW British Championship, Mark Haskins will be defending the championship against Joseph Conners on Saturday. Ring Of Honor World Heavyweight Champion; Jay Lethal will also be in attendance on May 21st when he faces Josh Bodom in a non-title contest in Eastbourne.

Our friends over at Pro Wrestling Chaos are bringing back their hugely successful Total Chaos event this Saturday night at the Yate Leisure Centre in Bristol. The night sees a plethora of stars coming together except for one big difference. Nobody knows who they are facing as all the matches are decided at random on the night. Last year saw some great contests take place and this year is bound to be no different with the King Of Chaos Champion; Wild Boar, El Ligero, Mikey Whiplash and international stars, Colt Cabana and Johnny Gargano all taking part in the aptly named 'Total Chaos' event.

Heading south and Ironfist Wrestling are at the Rainbow Hill Social Club in Worcester. The show has two matches announced so far as Alex Gracie shall be defending the Flyweight Division Championship in an Infinity gauntlet match against Killian Jacobs, Chris Custodio, Matt Hovis, Tommy Sparks, Daniel Arrowsmith, El Kazador, Christopher Drew, Sugar Shay Morris and Joey Scott. Odds on Gracie leaving as champion are 10% and that's not the best chance for the champion. The show will also see the debut of Alex Windsor, formerly known as Liberty who shall be facing Millie Marks in singles action in Worcester.

Finally, Britannia Wrestling Promotions shall see all their championships on the line at the Denbighh Town Hall this Saturday. Marc Morgan shall be defending the PWI:BWP World Catchweight Championship against Danxig. Babyface Pitbull shall also defend the Champion Of Wales title when he faces Dave DelVecchio. We're guaranteed new BWP World Tag Team Champions as the vacant titles will be up for grabs in a match to be announced. There shall also be a 10-man rumble where the winner will hold a Money In The Bank contract for a championship match of their choosing.

Rounding off the weekend on Sunday and Reckless Intent Wrestling are holding their Battle Of West Lothian tournament in Knightsridge, Livingston. The tournament shall see Michael Chase, Jam O'Malley, Sean Mercer, Theo Doros, The Westler, Rob Mills, Delsin Dayre and Jackie Grady compete in four quarter final matches, with the winner progressing to the semi-final and eventually the final all in one night. With a current champion and numerous top members of Reckless Intent's roster all vying for the win, it's a tournament with a lot of unknowns as to who will walk away the winner.

LCW Elevation are at Brockington College in Leicester on May 22nd with 'Ambition'. The main event will see 15 men compete in an over the top rumble match with the winner earning a match for the LCW Elevation Championship. The disturbing group of The Asylum will be in action this Sunday when they face the trio of Shauna Shay, Zak Northern and a third partner of their choosing. The Asylum have been running rough-shot for a while now. This trio will look to stop that momentum. Brett Ryans war against Joseph Conners will continue this Sunday when he faces another close ally of The Righteous one, Lucas Archer. Ryans has taken out Conners friends before and look to add another to the list.

HOPE Wrestling hold their second event of the weekend on Sunday this time in Warsop. The show will see Kyle Kingley try to do what his tag team partner, Robert Sharpe couldn't do a few weeks back, defeat 'The Mexican Sensation' El Ligero. Speaking of Robert Sharpe, he'll also be in action when he faces CJ Banks in singles competition. Martin Kirby shall be defending the HOPE Championship this Sunday as well when he compete against Lucas Archer for the first time ever.

The final event of the weekend will see Futureshock Wrestling back at the Stockport Guild Hall. The show shall see James Drake finally defend the Adrenaline Championship for the first time since January. It might be his last though as his challenger is Jack Gallagher, a man who is due to feature in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic in the near future. Fellow champion, Lana Austin will also be in action this Sunday but her championship will not be on the line. However, if her opponent, Violet Vendetta was to win, it would put her as a very serious contender to the Futureshock Women's Championship. Former Futureshock Champion, Xander Cooper will be competing this Sunday when he faces a man who is everything he is not, Sam Bailey. Both these men want a win over the other to put them on the path to hopefully once again become cahmpion.

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

Live Event Review: Fight Club: Pro Rise Against 2016 (KYS vs. Hunter Brothers)

On 18th March 2016, Fight Club: Pro held Rise Against 2016 at the Planet Nightclub in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. The show featured Fight Club: Pro Champion MK McKinnan teaming with fellow KYS member Damian Dunne to face The Hunter Brothers, AIW star Rickey Shane Page facing Clint Margera in a Death Match and "The Bruiserweight" battled "The Bastard" as Pete Dunne and Dave Mastiff squared off...but was it any good? Let's find out.

rise against 2016 match card

Match 1 - Three Way - "Calamari Catch King" Chris Brookes vs. "Text Book" Tyler Bate vs. "The Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor

Match 2 - Tag Team - The Facesmashers vs. Mike Bird & Nixon Newell 

Match 3 - Singles - "The Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne vs. "The Bastard" Dave Mastiff

Match 4 - Singles - Travis Banks vs. Trent Seven 

Match 5 - Tag Team - KYS (MK McKinnan & "Number 1" Damian Dunne) vs. The Hunter Brothers

Match 6 - Death - Rickey Shane Page vs. Clint Margera

fast-forward...Our host introduced us to the show, including giving us the rules for the evening, which weren't quite as catchy as PROGRESS' "Don't Be Dick"...

tyler bate defeats chris brookes and chuck taylor in a three way

A nice surprise to start the show as CHIKARA star Chuck Taylor made an unannounced appearance, interrupting Chris Brookes and Tyler Bate's match and joining in. This match was disappointingly short, barely scratching the surface of what Brookes, Bate and Taylor could do in the ring together and despite the action being of a high quality throughout I came out feeling a bit let down by it. Bate felt like the star of the contest though, with his dive over the top rope early doors being particularly impressive. He'd later deny Taylor the pin on Brookes following a series of kicks by hitting a Diving Headbutt on the top rope, before putting Brookes away with a sweet brainbuster. As opening contests go this got the crowd warmed up nicely, it would have been great to see this go at least ten minutes more to fully showcase all three talents. I can't help but wonder what they could have done in a main event slot.

the facesmashers defeat mike bird and nixon newell

Things were taken up a gear as The Facesmashers and the newly formed partnership of Nixon Newell and Mike Bird put on a bostin' tag encounter, that provided plenty to enjoy. Seeing as Nixon and Bird have only teamed once before, I was impressed by them a lot in the early stages as their face shine featured some nice double team moves, like Bird launching Nixon off the top rope into a hurricanrana on Wild Boar. I was perhaps more impressed with the Facesmashers, as Boar and Dan Moloney have steadily worked themselves in being one of my favourites tag teams. They used a lot of cheating to stay in control of the second third of the bout, cutting off the ring and working over Nixon. I've said before that Nixon is one of the most easily likable performers in the UK at the moment, which makes her a perfect choice for the face in peril role in tag bouts, with her vocals being particularly strong. I'd be interested to see what could be done if she was the one waiting for the hot tag though.

The contest built nicely following the hot tag to Bird, although it was disappointing to see the legal man concept forgotten as can often be the way in tag bouts on the indies. Lots of action to follow, culminating in Nixon hitting a beautiful Vulture Culture Destroyer to Moloney, which got a big reaction from the Planet and a great near fall. It was Fight Club: Pro Champion MK McKinnan who would be the deciding factor in the bout however as with the referee distracted he nailed Nixon with his title belt and allowed the Facesmashers to win the bout. After Nixon and Bird had defeated McKinnan and fellow KYS member Damian Dunne on the last show it was nice bit of continuation, and a relationship with the promotions most hated heel can only be a good thing for Moloney and Boar, whose record in FCP now stands at four wins in five matches.

pete dunne defeats dave mastiff

The first ever Monster's stall match, or at least that was the case for Pete Dunne! Stalling can work and sometimes it can completely bomb, luckily this was the earlier option, with Dunne and Dave Mastiff able to hold the crowds attention, with very little wrestling in the earlier part of the match. The Bruiserweight spent a lot of the bout avoiding getting involved with Mastiff, jumping in and out of the ring, whilst getting involved in plenty of banter with the fans around the ringside area. This lead to a great moment when Dunne finally appeared to be ready to wrestle and "The Bastard" jumped out of the ring, getting more than a chuckle out of the Planet. 

When the match did get going there was plenty of cheating from Dunne, using any method that he could to keep himself in control. The crowd continued to be on his back throughout the contest, with a lot of the chants having to do with Dunne's hair style of choice the topknot. Dunne was almost caught with Mastiff's cannonball twice, but again used underhanded tactics to avoid it, including trying to pull referee Joel into the line of fire, leading to The Bruiserweight picking up the victory with a small package. Whilst I enjoyed the build towards it, I felt the small package itself didn't look quite as well as it could have, with Mastiff's size in comparison to Dunne making the finish look a little unbelievable. It does however continued Dunne's undefeated streak since winning the Infinity Trophy back in December, as he's gone over the likes of Tyler Bate, Zack Sabre Jr., Damian Dunne, Nixon Newell and now Dave Mastiff, he's in a rather interesting position with his fellow KYS member MK McKinnan holding the title belt he's got a shot for!

fast-forward...A quick interval and cheeky look at some carrot jam before we're back into the action...

trent seven defeats travis banks 

Opening the second part of the show, Trent Seven and Travis Banks put on a cracking undercard match. A lovely technical start between the two, as they exchange holds with ease, with an appreciative crowd leaning largely towards their regular, Seven. Having seen Banks work opposite the heel Chris Brookes on the last show, it was nice to see him get to bring a bit more of a vicious edge to his character here, as he definitely seemed more comfortable performing in front of the unique FCP crowd. To this end, both men were pulling out big strikes early doors after transitioning from their amateur wrestling at the start of the bout. Seven is one of the hardest hitters in the UK right now, with Banks' chest standing testament to this after just five minutes in.

The duo built in a brilliant narrative, focused around Seven getting more and more frustrated that he couldn't put Banks away, with this driving the second half of the action. A wicked reversal from Seven turning a tornado DDT into a suplex into the turnbuckle was the real turning point for things. The moment where Seven hit a piledriver and Banks kicked out on one got a terrific reaction out of the crowd, perhaps the largest reaction outside the craziness of the Death Match. The strikes got harder, faster and more intense as the contest went on with the two going back and forth and the crowd getting louder. After Banks had picked up a nice near fall with a flying knee attack, Seven made sure he wouldn't kick out of the next piledriver, by delivering a sick dragon suplex before hand and walking out the victor. A great match to start the second portion of the show, I'd love to see more of both these guys.

the hunter brothers defeat kys 

Fight Club: Pro's tag scene has been red hot over the last couple of shows and this was another world class effort from the division. You couldn't really go wrong with two of the most hated guys in Wolverhampton in KYS' MK McKinnan and Damian Dunne facing two of the biggest babyfaces in the promotion, Tipton's own Lee and Jim, The Hunter Brothers. The crowd was on fire throughout the bout, making everything McKinnan, Dunne and the Hunter's did feel even more important. The Fight Club: Pro Champion and his ally working over Jim Hunter provided a lot of entertainment, with McKinnan dragging a ko'd Dunne back to his corner to prevent the babyfaces making the hot tag standing out in particular. The crowd hammering away at the ringside cage as the performers built the action towards the hot tag was fantastic to watch and one of the reason why I love the atmosphere inside the Planet.

With KYS suffering their third loss as a team in a row, after Dunne took a barage of offence from Hunter Brothers' that culminated in a avalanche frankensteiner and frog splash combination, the group seemingly expanded their ranks. The Facesmasher's were out with chairs to take care of The Hunter Brothers and even though Nixon Newell attempted to help out (Mike Bird was conspicuous by his absense) it was the heel faction that stood tall at the end. With Dan Moloney and Wild Boar joining McKinnan, Damian Dunne, Pete Dunne (and the lesser-seen and now injured Jimmy Havoc) a considerable amount of the roster is now in the KYS faction, I'm very interested to see where this goes over the next few shows and how it affects McKinnan's reign as champion. Lastly, with such a strong and competitive tag team division I'd love to see FCP introduce a Tag Team title belt to give teams like Hunter Brothers and Facesmashers a real purpose in the promotion.

fast-forward...There was five minute interval to set up for the main event...

clint margera defeats rickey shane page in a death match

Well, this match was one of the most brutal things that I have ever seen. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this contest and it's probably the match that's caused me the most trouble when coming to review it. See, I know that this match was a hit with most of the Planet and I'm sure if you're a fan of Death match wrestling then you would have absolutely loved what Clint Margera and AIW star Rickey Shane Page put on here. But I'm not sure that I loved it, I'm not even sure if I enjoyed it. I found it extremely hard to watch at points, as the two upped the ante with numerous objects and I'm not sure if that's what I want when I'm watching wrestling, especially not in a match where the competitors have no prior history with each other or any strong reason to be doing sadistic things to each other...had the bout been with the man Margera had challenge to Death match, Pete Dunne, then I think I'd have be having less trouble in forming this review.

Let's go through some of the utter ridiculousness that was involved and then hopefully you'll know whether the match would be for you or not. The brutality began with Page sending Margera head first into some lighttubes on the outside, a horrible looking verticle suplex onto a seated chair by Margera, Page stapling a cup to Margera's head, Page stomping Margera's hand and head into thumbtacks, Margera hitting a DDT onto thumbtacks, a Death Valley Driver through a grid of carpet gripper (Yes...), and a finish that saw Margera discus forearm lighttubes into Page's head for the pin! Mental. I'd love to get into how stupid using a piledriver off the top rope onto a chair as a near fall is, but then I'd be here all day. You know what, all credit to Clint Margera and Rickey Shane Page for being willing to put their bodies through all that shit to entertain a few hundred people in a Wolverhampton nightclub, they both worked their asses off and went through a hell of a lot. Not because of the level of violence, but more because of the lack of any real purpose behind it, the match was perhaps not for me, but I know that a lot of people in the crowd enjoyed themselves and that there's definitely an audience out their for this kind of wrestling who would absolutely love to see this match. If you're a Death Match fan then I'd definitely recommend catching this one on DVD when it's out.

finally...
atpw scale rating - 6.95/10

Another great card of wrestling from Fight Club: Pro with a lot of variety spread throughout the card. The match of the night for me was The Hunter Brothers and KYS's tag match for the sheer investment from the crowd, as well as the build towards The Hunter Brothers comeback. I'm certain that many would give Clint Margera and Rickey Shane Page's brutal Death Match that award and a higher score than I gave it (The score goes towards the ATPW Scale Rating, but doesn't get revealed itself) with the match closing the show with something completely different to anything that had gone before it. The other marquee bout between Pete Dunne and Dave Mastiff was another different style, closing the first portion of the show of well with a character-based contest. 

The highlight of the undercard for me came from Travis Banks and Trent Seven's lesson in strong-style storytelling, whilst a competitive tag outing between The Facesmashers and Nixon Newell & Mike Bird also provided good action. 

Somehow, the show manages to get exactly the same rating as FCP's last show, All the Best 2016 did! That's probably a fair reflection of the two shows, which both offering a strong variety of wrestling. I'm looking forward to more of the same on 15th April when Fight Club: Pro return to the Planet in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England for Planet Terror Vol. 2. Hopefully, we'll be back here in a month's time with another review! xoxo

Live Review: Fight Club: Pro International Tekkers 2015

Just six weeks removed from Rockstar, which saw MK McKinnan succesful hold onto the Fight Club: Pro over Tyler Bate and Rockstar Spud, Fight Club: Pro was back at the Planet Night Club in Wolverhampton, England to present the 2015 edition of International Tekkers. With a big championship ladder match pitting McKinnan against Clint Margera in the main event, as well as Dan Maloney, Eddie Dennis, KYS, Mike Bird, Moustache Mountain, Ophidian and The Wolves all being on hand for the show. Could Fight Club: Pro prove their Tekkers on the night?

Two performers who produced stand-out matches (End against Adam Cole, Brookes against Zack Sabre, Jr.) on the previous International Tekkers, I was expecting this bout to end up in a similar position and whilst it was a good bout, it didn't quite live up to my expectations heading in. That being said, there was still a lot to enjoy with some good story-telling that saw Brookes focus his attention on the leg of one half of the Sumerian Death Squad, with a number of nice submission holds, which sold very well by End. The highlight of the bout for me was a Diving Double Stomp by End, which saw wXw regular unable to get the pin because of the injured leg. The match felt a little too short to fully reach it's potential (coming in at just over 8 minutes), as End picked up the victory in his first match since dropping the FCP title in May.

The villainous KYS duo of Pete and Damian Dunne took on Dennis and Mike Bird in a quality tag team encounter, with the dynamics of the two teams playing well into each other and both getting a loud reaction out of the Planet. Eddie Dennis was your Pride of Wales in Peril, with KYS's working the crowd well, making it easy to get behind Dennis and will him on to make the tag to Bird, that's what tag team wrestling is about at it's core. The sequence that built to Dennis' hot tag was marvelous, edging into the realm of the OTT but worked well in this environment as Dennis crawled across the ring and fought off both Pete and Damian in order to get the tag. KYS continued their strong run of form with Pete able to get a sneaky roll-up victory like the dirty heel that he is, but not before a superb sequence that saw both of KYS taping out in the middle of the ring, only for the referee to point out that the combinations were wrong and no legal man was taping out another legal man.

This was the best match of the first half for me, as Ophidian and Dan Maloney put on a much better match than I had expected going in. That isn't to say that I don't believe in the talents of the two men, I simply wasn't expecting them to gel as well as did here. The two bought a power vs. speed style, as Maloney attempted to dominate the former CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas Champion. The pair bought a different style to anything else on the show, with a superb sequence that saw both men get near falls (Ophidian with a Double Knee attack in the corner and Maloney with a TKO) before both attempted the moves again but had them reversed, with the pace really picking up at this point. It was a big win for Maloney who was picked up the victory with a huge powerbomb and a second TKO, looking impressive doing so.

As has been seen a few times at Fight Club: Pro, putting two babyfaces opposite each other leads to a crowd that doesn't know who to get behind and therefore gets behind no one. This left the match feeling a little bit flat, with no one attempting to get the crowd involved in the action in the ring. The match was rather short, but didn't exactly come across as a squash with Robbie getting plenty of offence in on the bigger Mastiff. There was some interesting elements with Robbie attempting to use his speed, but it was Mastiff's power that came out on top as he caught Robbie with a big lariat after Robbie attempted a handspring cutter. The finish didn't quite look as convincing as it could have and I wasn't expecting the bout to end at that point. Both men are talented but this wasn't their best work.



The big international attraction of the night was The Wolves, who squared off against fan favourites Moustache Mountain. The Wolves quickly took advantage of just how over Tyler Bate and Trent Seven's team is in the promotion, by quickly turning heel, with a sizzling promo about how much of a shithole Wolverhampton is, whilst also making a number of references to their home promotion, TNA. With some fantastic work, the tone was set for the match, with a lively crowd chomping at the bit.

This was a lot of fun to watch, helped along by a red-hot and creative crowd who got on the back of the Wolves throughout the match for their relationship with TNA and especially, Dixie Carter. Edwards and Richards lapped it up and gave it all back to the fans, whipping them up even more and the cycle continued. It was helped, of course, by the fact that Bate and Seven are two of the most over performers in the promotion, and that the Wolves pull out a series of dirty tricks to stay in control of the match, making good use the promotions cage set up.


Whilst the character and crowd work was of the highest quality, the action in the ring was able to match it. Things were very physical inside the ropes with a number of tasty chops and forearms thrown either. With a handful of lovely false finishes for both teams with The Wolves coming close with their version of Chasing the Dragon, whilst the crowd seemed convinced that Moustache Mountain had been able to pull of the victory with a moonsault and splash combination. Davey's "This is For Dixie" Double Stomp was also a nice touch. The Wolves were able to pick up the victory, but Moustache Mountain proved they can hang with one of the most polished tag team duos in the world today.

A marvellously brutal affair, this was a fitting main event of the show, highlighting two of Fight Club: Pro's most prolific performers, MK McKinnan and Clint Margera, in a ladder match for the FC:P Championship. McKinnan's heel persona has developed into one of the most easy to hate anywhere in the country and the fans certainly let him know how they felt about him, with some rather vicious chants at times. McKinnan revelled in it, of course, even getting engaged with the crowd and at one point reminding me that I am indeed a "fat cunt". This character work provided a good groundwork for the pair to batter each other for nearly twenty minutes!


This match was chock-full with sweet highspots, like Margera jumping off the top of the entrance way to put McKinnan through a bit of wood (not quite a table), which looked magnificent inside the Planet. The ladder got plenty of action also, with both men taking some nasty bumps onto the hardware, as well an occasion where McKinnan sent into into the face of Margera on the outside. There was one section however that everyone was talking about post-match, that saw McKinnan's KYS bedfellows get involved and tie Margera's hands behind his back and allow McKinnan to deliver a series of vicious chair shots. This kind of violence in wrestling is either going to Me your bag or it's not, but it certainly made for a great reaction out of the crowd. For me, perhaps this should have been the finish of the match, based on the sheer brutality alone, but Margera getting sent off the top of the ladder to the outside through another bit of wood worked well enough.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.14

Another top notch show from Fight Club: Pro with a good variety of action on display. Dan Maloney impressed in his big match with Ophidian, whilst The Wolves killed their heel persona and knew exactly how to work the crowd opposite Moustache Moutain and the main event ladder match was a true specactle, I wouldn't argue with anyone who suggested either of those three matches as the best on offer.

There's more to come from Fight Club: Pro as they will be back in action on 23rd October. FCP announcing the date of their next show made me a very happy chappy. Find out more about the promotion here.

Fight Club: Pro Rockstar Live Review

I've been to plenty of Fight Club: Pro shows over the last year or two, but I've yet to review a show. The main reason for this is that I'll usually write notes as the show is on-going, but the atmosphere and set-up of FCP doesn't really allow for such things. So I've tried something a little different here, taking advantage of the shows two intervals to scribble down some (at times undecipherable) notes. Please let me know what you think of this new style on Twitter @ATPWrestling or Facebook.

The show featured the return of current IMPACT Wrestling star Rockstar Spud, who would factor heavily into the story of the show, top UK stars like Fight Club: Pro Champion MK McKinnan, Infinity Trophy holder Chris Brookes, Jack Gallagher, Nixon Newell, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and many more.

Match 1

One Fall Six Pack Challenge for the Number One Contendership to the Fight Club: Pro Championship

Rockstar Spud 

Damien Dunne 

vs. 

Jim Hunter 

vs. 

Dave Mastiff 

vs. 

Tyler Bate 

vs. 

Eric Ryan 

vs. 

Robbie X

With Rockstar Spud attacked before the match could even get started by MK McKinnan, it was McKinnan's fellow K.Y.S. member Damian Dunne who would step up and take Spud's place in the match. Whilst many seemed disappointed that Spud would not compete (although I'm sure most were expecting to see him later on in some capacity), Dunne's presence gave the match a different dynamic, giving fans someone who they definitely didn't want to see win, due to his association with the champion. This could have been played up a little more in the bout, to give the action a bit more bite, but it's absense didn't have a detrimental effect at all.

The match was blink and you miss it fast, with some big spots and sweet dives to the outside from the number of the competitors involved, with the crowd completely hooked and lively from start to finish. For my liking this match went a little short, which is the main draw back for multi-man bouts with no elimination gimmick, as just as the match seemed to be moving into a high gear it was over, with Tyler Bate hitting a beautifully done German suplex on Dave Mastiff (Yes, a German Fucking Suplex on Dave Mastiff!) Again the action that was presented was off a very high quality, with everyone playing their part in the match well, I'd have just liked to have seen an extra five minutes or so of action to really satisfy my hunger here.

Match 2

One Fall Tag Team Match

The New Welsh Action Heroes 

vs. 

Dan Maloney & Wild Boar

An enjoyable slice of tag team action, I felt that these two teams complemented each other well both in terms of size and style within the ring. The match took your regular tag team format, and did this well, with Wild Boar and Dan Maloney working over Mike Bird with quick tags and everything else you'd expect from a villainous duo, including double teaming numerous times to cut short a potential comeback and hot tag from Bird. This meant that Bird's comeback was taking out both Boar and Maloney on the outside of the ring by sending them into the cage, felt a lot bigger of a moment than it would have, thanks to the struggle he'd gone through. 

The match transitioned into a back and forth battle with (with Bird selling on outside for a while), featuring some enjoyable hard hitting, that had a nice pace to it also. The finish was Maloney hit an assisted powerbomb on Eddie Dennis, with Boar able to keep Bird at bay on the outside to give his team the victory. For two tag teams in their infancy this was a well done tag team encounter, but I'd be interested to see what kind of bout they would be able to produce if they all teamed regularly together, not just in Fight Club: Pro but around the country also.

Match 3...Match 4

One Fall match for the Infinity Trophy

Chris Brookes 

vs. 

Nixon Newell

and then...

Rockstar Spud

Chris Brookes and Nixon Newell's feud has been brewing for sometime, after Brookes' turn on his former Vulture Squad partner back in December at Infinity. This match played up that feud well in Nixon's first match back in the promotion since February's All the Best, with some vicious throws from Brookes into the cage gimmick, with Brookes looking to win by countout on a number of occasions. Aside from this and inside the ring, the wrestling was very crisp with the pair showing the chemistry that you'd expect from a duo that has been teaming up all over the country (and leaving a trail of Match of the Night contests in their wake) for the last year or so. 

The finish was nicely done with Nixon cut off just when she was getting a head of steam, as Brookes connected with his trusty Infinity Trophy, with referee Joel distracted, and Brookes picking up his third defense of the trophy (and seemingly busted Nixon open). With Brookes having to cheat to win, and the aggression shown at points during the match, a No Disqualification based match would certainly seem to be on the card in the future, to give a fitting culmination to their rivalry. I'm sure most in attendance would be interested in seeing a rematch, I know I certainly would.

The plot of the evening thickened when Brookes would issue an open challenge to any "past, present or future" Fight Club: Pro wrestler, with Rockstar Spud answering the call to a nice pop. The match that followed was simple, but effective, with Spud surprising Brookes with a flurry of offence early on, before Brookes took control (once again with the help of the cage), before Spud launched into a short comeback, hitting the Underdog (corner springboard cutter) to capture the Infinity Trophy. Brookes now has reason to complain about losing the Trophy, but the fact that he was the one to open up the challenge will make him look like a whingy sore loser, suiting that character down to ground. A longer rematch would also hit the spot. Spud's promos after winning the Trophy where he claimed he was "Fight Club ******* Pro til I die" was believable, passionate and even hinted at what was to come later in the evening.

Match 5

One Fall Match

Trent Seven 

vs. 

Jack Gallagher

A bloody good match and no mistake. The type of wrestling that I could watch for hour and hours on end, the match was full of stiff strong-style strikes and some lovely submission sequences. Both men bought the aggression from the start, with Jack Gallagher constantly trying to put the match to bed with the cross-armbreaker, with the match breaking out into numerous back and forth strike and chop battles between the pair, with the crowd clearly behind former champion Trent Seven. A stand-out moment of the contest for me saw Seven reverse one of Gallagher's cross-armbreaker attempts into a gorgeous Texas Cloverleaf.

It was a shame that this was only Gallagher's second match in the promotion, as I feel a crowd that was more familiar with the Futureshock Wrestling regular would have provided a better soundtrack to what was a fairly even back and forth, face vs. face contest. Hopefully Gallagher will continue to be booked for FCP over the next six months, on the strength of this match alone I'd expect to see him get a much warmer reaction next time round, having earned the respect of what can be a hard to win over Wolverhampton crowd (Just ask Eric Ryan, who coincidentally walked out to crickets) 

Match 6...Match 7

One Fall Match for the Fight Club: Pro Championship

MK McKinnan (C) 

vs. 

Tyler Bate 

and then...

Rockstar Spud

Some of you may remember when I wrote an article gushing about Tyler Bate... and this match backed up everything said in that article. His opponent, the villainous champion MK McKinnan, wasn't too bad either (insert wink face), with the two working together very well to create a captivating main event that wouldn't have looked out of place anywhere in the country. That may be a slight fib, as whilst the match quality was top notch, the work that the two have put in prior in the promotion, McKinnan as the leader of K.Y.S. and Bate as one half of Mustache Moutain, meant that the crowd was red hot, creating a soundscape worthy of a match of this quality. 

With Bate catching McKinnan's knee with a drop kick early door and McKinnan hitting a backbreaker, the pair set to work on their respective body parts with a series of inventive moves and submissions, with Bate locking in a Figure Four Leg Lock for a nice near fall. Whilst the reversals and sequence continued to be slick, it's the selling that get's this wrestling nerd excited. McKinnan especially was on tremendous form in this regard, constantly grabbing at his injured knee when the action called for it, it's touches like this that allow the fans to be pulled into the action even further, which is surely the most important part of pro wrestling. After a great false finish that saw Bate kick out of a Pedigree, it was a shame that the second one seemed a little awkward, but only took away slightly from what was a terrific match, that no doubt saw Bate elevated within the ranks of FCP. 

Following the bout and a loooooong celebration by McKinnan that actually saw some people leave the building, Rockstar Spud made his entrance to a huge pop. With the Infinitiy Trophy acting in a similar fashion to WWE's Money in the Bank or TNA's Feast or Fired briefcases, Spud had a instant title shot and everyone knew exactly what was about to happen. The match felt almost like an Attitude Era main event, with shed load of interference and a handful of genuinely convincing near falls. If you can convince Marc P that a match is about to end and it doesn't, then you've done your job correctly! With Jimmy Havoc pulling referee Joel out of the ring, after Spud had hit a second Underdog on McKinnan, the match ended in DQ. Maybe a frustrating finish for some, but with FCP favourite and current commentator Clint Margera making the save for Spud everyone was sent home happy. Spud putting over Tyler Bate following the match was also a nice touch and gives Bate even more momentum heading into the next show, whenever that may be.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating: 7.25

For me, Rockstar was a show that was more than the sum of it's parts and the parts were pretty good on their own. The on-going story involving Rockstar Spud, that started at the start of the show with MK McKinnan costing him his place in the Six Pack Challenge, continued into the middle section with his defeat of Chris Brookes, before culminating in the main event with his shot at the FCP Championship, gave the show a completeness that means it would make perfect viewing for any wrestling fan, whether familiar with the product or not, whilst also spinning off a series of potential rematches. 

Trent Seven vs. Jack Gallagher and Tyler Bate vs. MK McKinnan can fight it out for the Match of the Night, both were top quality matches, with a different flavour. 

You can check out Fight Club: Pro on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links, keep an eye out for the next show being announced, otherwise you'll be missing out on one of the UK's hottest, yet most underrated, promotions.