TV Review: World of Sport Wrestling - Coffey Brothers v Ashton Smith & Rampage Brown

On 31st December, World of Sport Wrestling made it's return to ITV, with a one-off two hour special. The show was structured around qualifiers for a battle royal that would crown a new #1 contender, after Dave Mastiff won the promotions belt under suspect circumstances against Grado in the opener. This was highlighted by a tag team clash where The Coffey Brothers (Joe Coffey & Mark Coffey) faced off with Ashton Smith & Rampage Brown. With the likes of Johnny Moss, Viper, CJ Banks, Zack Gibson and El Ligero also in action, would the special lay the foundation for a World of Sport return? Let's take a look. 

The show's lone tag team contest produced some of the best action across the two hours as The Coffey Brothers advanced to the #1 Contender's battle royal with a victory over Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown. This match didn't exactly re-invent the wheel, but it didn't have to, taking the regular tag team structure and filling it out with strong believable performances from all four and some bloody good wrestling also. The two tandems dispositions and chemistry were put over well, with the big man/small man dynamic of Smith and Brown working much better than I had expected, considering they worked the villain role. The build towards the hot tag was exciting, with Mark getting a nice inside cradle near fall, before the tag to Joe got a pleasing pop from the audience. Everything from that point onward was spot on, with each team getting a good near fall in, including a very well worked distraction false finish off a Brown spinebuster, before heel miscommunication resulted in Smith taking a forearm and lariat combo for the pin. 

Match in a Sentence - A very good, simple tag structure, fleshed out by strong performances all round.

The strongest match was a cracking technical outing, that saw "The Mexican Sensation" El Ligero defeat Zack Gibson. These two have clashed numerous times over the last five or six years in places like Grand Pro Wrestling and FutureShock Wrestling and that familiarity was on show throughout with some silky smooth grappling as the two told a clear story. Gibson looked for the submission win with his Shankly Gates (Grounded top wrist lock), Ligero was just trying to keep away from the move, doing all his lucha things in search of victory. The match was taken up a notch when Gibson swung Ligero into the announce table, injuring the Mexican's arm and bringing a whole heap of drama to the rest of the match. Ligero sold the injury magnificently, helped by Jim Ross and Alex Shane on commentary, with some slick sequences, like Gibson reversing a second modified wheelbarrow facebuster attempt and locking the Gates, producing some thrilling television. Both men came out of looking like stars, with Gibson coming across as a vicious non-nonsense villain, whilst Ligero picked up the victory with C4L (Springboard Tornado DDT), despite the injury. If WOS Wrestling does get commissioned for a full run, a series of matches between these two has major potential.

Match in a Sentence - A very good wrestling match with a stellar story and well defined characters.

The seven man over-the-top battle royal saw Grado earn a title shot against Dave Mastiff in the show's main event, after he outlasted Johnny Moss, Sha Samuels, surprise entrant Davey Boy Smith Jr (Harry Smith), Mark Coffey, Joe Coffey, El Ligero and Kenny Williams. Whilst it was a shame to see talent like Williams and Ligero leave the match so early, their exits allowed for the unit of Moss and Samuels to built up, considering they were the only two who were yet to be involved in a match. DBSJ's participation was a well kept secret, especially considering the event was taped in November, and while the logic of him getting to enter whenever he pleased was flawed, it did allow for a cool moment when he came to Grado's aid when the Scot was left alone with Moss & Samuels. DBSJ's involvement produced the matches finest action when the former 2 time IWGP Tag Team Champion mixed up with Moss & Samuels with a number of impressive suplexes, before the numbers game caught up with him (Grado was supposedly too star struck to help out). The crowd was hot for the final flurry, with the TNA performer out maneuvering the villainous pair to advance. The post-match attack from Samuels & Moss appeared cut short the sugary sweet conclusion, with paramedics checking over Grado, although this was only putting the inevitable on hold.

Match in a Sentence - A battle royal that worked for the specific needs of the show, featuring a great moment in Davey Boy Smith Jr's entrance.

World of Sport got it's introduction to the Ladder match, with Kenny Williams earning a battle royal spot with a victory over Sam Bailey, CJ Banks and Delicious Danny in a fun affair that built nicely throughout, making the most of it's slender seven minutes run-time. The action might not have always been as crisp as it could have been, the camera team may struggled to keep up with the gimmick and Alex Shane was uncomfortably annoying on commentary, but when the match clicked it produced some lovely stuff, that went above and beyond my expectations of what the lads would be allowed to do. The winner Williams shone throughout with a lighting quick opening flurry, a nice sequence with Danny, as well as taking a German suplex from Banks off the ladder, before battling off all three of his adversaries at the top of a pair of ladders to claim the briefcase. A special mention has to go to Danny's dive off the top of ladder also.

Match in a Sentence - Despite some awkward moment, when it worked it worked very well and produced an entertaining match that stood out from the rest.

The opening contest saw Dave Mastiff win the World of Sport Championship by defeating Grado, with more than a little help from Johnny Moss and Sha Samuels. This was a solid opening contest that introduced the two characters in the match, the individuals at ringside and the general concept of professional wrestling well. This created an engaging match that was easy to get into, helped by the lively studio audience. With his experience working for TNA, Grado was almost definitely the right man for the role, with his selling in particular being very TV, allowing Mastiff to look like the rough and tough bastard that we know and love to hate. I would have liked to have seen Mastiff have little longer in control, but with the plans for the rest of the show it makes sense that this one would be kept relatively short. The interference finish, that saw Moss push Grado over the top rope, in the very first match bugs me just a little bit, but again with the plans for the show long story, it was almost necessary for things to happen like this.

Match in a Sentence - Introduced the concept and the characters, but wasn't long enough to do much else.

Any Other Business

• Viper went over Alexis Rose in a short contest, that made Viper look like a beast.

• In the main event, Grado overcame the odds to win the World of Sport title from Mastiff in a match that was way too short to tell the "injury" story, that had seen paramedics trying to keep Grado from competing, effectively. 

• The backstage antics, conducted by interviewer Rachel and also involving General Manager Mr. Beesley, gave the show a different dimension, whilst never feeling like they were about to take over from the in-ring content.

• The vignette's sprinkled throughout, looking back at the history of the show, featuring interviews with former stars and retrospectives on the likes of Big Daddy and Kendo Nagaski gave the show a nice link to the past.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.2/10

The return of World of Sport Wrestling produced a good television product that had an appeal across a number of age groups. The Coffey Brothers v Rampage Brown & Ashton Smith, as well as El Ligero v Zack Gibson produced the strongest wrestling, but there was a good variety across the card. Some elements of the booking did mean that parts of the show weren't quite suited to their placing on the event, however the ongoing story also managed to give a feel of momentum, leading up to the feel-good victory from Grado to cap off the two hours. 

There's certainly potential to make this into a series of hour long episodes, perhaps with more two hour specials, with the ground work already being laid for a number of future stories and matches. More WOS Wrestling, ITV pls.

Review - James Marston
Picture Credit - ITV

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TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #626 - Destination X 2016 - Lashley v Edwards (James Marston)

As the dust settled following last week's Final Deletion, TNA would look to keep the foot on the gas pedal presenting an Destination X 2016 special of the show. With a major main event with both the World Heavyweight and X Division belts on the line, a major debut and a big return, would the strategy pay off or would TNA careen off the road once again? 

In the main events conclusion, Mike Bennett would make good on his promise, as he'd attack the referee, causing Lashley and Eddie Edwards title for title bout to go to a no-contest, before he brought out former Ring of Honor stand out, Moose to clean house. Before all the match however, there was an in-ring segment between the two champions, that would start as interview conducted by Jeremy Borash and boil down to an attack from Lashley as he attempted to gain some extra leverage for later on. I'm usually not a fan of these kinds of segments that TNA like to do before a big main event, as they can cause over-exposure for those involved and take away part of the bout attraction later on. However, although I'd have preferred it to take place a week earlier, this bought an extra layer to main event, as Edwards' partner in The Wolves, Davey Richards made his return to the company from injury to save Edwards from a beatdown. Earlier, Lashley had cut a promo that had strong content surrounding Edwards underdog status, but was a little rushed in places.

A fairly simple match between Lashley and Edwards, which played out as a power v speed type affair, as Lashley would dominate his smaller his opponent with impact moves like a brutal overhead release belly-to-belly suplex onto the entrance. Edwards offence was mostly kept to hope spots with Lashley always able to get back into the match, surviving a nice tornado DDT reversal and a sitout spinebuster. There was a slip up from Lashley on a top rope spot, that unfortunately saw the two just decide to try to repeat the spot, which wasn't quite worth the wait. That was the exception to the rule however as the wrestling portion of the contest was a great watch and a compelling main event. The sport-entertainment portion started slow with a ref bump as Lashley had the contest won, but exploded in a brilliant false finish as Richards aided Edwards in hitting their Chasing the Wolf finish, before Bennett would make his mark. The debut of Moose genuinelly shocked me as many had thought he was heading to WWE, he looked like a beast here, taking out the Wolves, before a low blow from Bennett allowed him to hit the World Heavyweight Champion with a forearm. There's a lot of possibilities with Moose on board now, the next couple of weeks should be very interesting indeed. 

In a show that had "The Miracle" all over it, he began the night by attacking DJ Z after "That Yung Go Hard" had became #1 Contender to the X Division title by winning a Ladder match that also included Andrew Everett, Trevor Lee, Braxton Sutter, Rockstar Spud and Mandrews. Let's start with the positives here, this match was as fun as you would expect, with plenty of thrills and spills from the bell as DJ Z and Mandrews nailed Lee and Everrett with dual tope conhilos. There were also some clever moments like Spud biting Sutter's knee (as a call back to Sutter knocking Spud's teeth out last week) to stop him ascending the ladder and Sutter and Mandrews moving two ladders further apart as Lee tried to climb both, before DJ Z hit a front kick to the chicken nuggetts. The closing moments made DJ Z look strong as he fought off all of the Helms Dynasty, including seeing Everrett off the top of a ladder to the outside, en route to claiming victory. A fun and pacy bout, but the third week in a row where we've seen multi-man encounters for either the X Division belt or #1 Contender statues, meaning the division does feel slightly interchangeable and leaving everyone lacking a proper identity. I'll get into Bennett's over-exposure in just a mo. 

With more batshit crazy segments from Matt Hardy's house airing this week, the Hardy Boyz feud was clearly far from over after The Final Deletion. An in-ring segment brought us the core of the story this week with Matt proclaiming he would be making Jeff Hardy his "obsolete mule" Jeff's contract with TNA is apparently been terminated due to the result of last week's bout, so what an "obsolete mule" will involved, I have no idea. Matt was once again marvelous here, with his bizarre broken character continuing to run riot. He worked the crowd perfectly, having them eat out of the palm of his hand, by calling the Final Deletion the greatest match in history and just being generally annoying by shouting "delete" so many times. I'm find him mesmerising to watch at the moment. A few weeks ago I thought this feud had dragged on long enough, but all of a sudden I want more and with a emotional Jeff (now apparently only allowed to be called "Brother Nero") staying silent and calm throughout there's some legs left in this old dog yet. 

TNA has a problem of giving the audience all their eggs and then chucking the basket at them as well and that was the case as Mike Bennett suffered defeat against DJ Z. Yeah, that's the same Mike Bennett who'd previously been involved in the opening segment and would later be involved in the main event and the same DJ Z who had earlier won a multi-man ladder match. Even for TNA everything was moving way too quick here. The scrap was a solid watch, with similarities to the main event as DJ Z fought from underneath after Bennett berated him throughout the clash. DJ Z's speed was the main focus of the bout as he pulled off a number of quick reversals as hope spots and a beautiful tope conhilo. It was shame that DJ Z didn't look like he'd had a ladder melee earlier in the night, let alone sell the post-match beat-down though. The X-Division guys coming out to foil Bennett's plan of leaving the fight was a cool touch and was an entertaining pay-off to "The Miracle"'s time in the X Division. 

Sienna would hold onto her Knockout's Championship in a random Four Way, pinning Gail Kim in a conflict that also included Jade and Marti Bell. All three challengers have been prominent on TV recently, but whether anyone deserved a title scuffle was questionable given that all three had lost singles bouts over the last three weeks. Whilst all four women put in effort, the lack of build-up and the presentation, including the commentary, made this match feel completely throwaway. With the correct build this match could have felt huge. It was an easy watch that continued two feuds nicely (Kim & Sienna, Bell & Jade), while the best action came when Jade and Kim went toe to toe again, including a lovely German suplex from Jade. I think the contest would have been better off splitting the heels and faces and doing a tag bout, where extra storylines could be advanced whilst not devaluing the belt further with a thrown together championship clash. 

The only match on the show that didn't do anything for me at all, was Bram's victory over Abyss, thanks to Abyss' Decay stablemate and Bram's apparent lover Rosemary causing a distraction. The duo seemed to tread water waiting for Rosemary's inevitable appearance, going through the motions in a dreary clash. Things weren't helped by the commentary team talking about anything other than the match, despite their being a few weeks of back story heading in. Not a foot was put wrong between "The Monster" and "The Chesterfield Plague" but I don't like enough was done to draw me into the bout. At the conclusion of the scuffle, as Rosemary finally made her appearance, no one seemed to have a clue how they were supposed to be playing the moment. Everyone just looked confused at each other and I looked confused at the television screen. I'd been so into The Decay, but this feud is killing them for me at the moment. 

Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III would return from their suspension to beat seven shades of shite into each other, in a superb brawl around ringside and then to the back. There was a real intensity to the action as the two tore strips off each, with Galloway nailing some tasty knife edge chops and a swinging slam situation into the ring-post. It was a believable that the two had an genuine issue, because they both a ferocity to every little interaction they had, making sure each attack looked like it was designed to hurt. I'm really digging this feud at the moment, as it's all about the World Heavyweight Championship, without being for the World Heavyweight Championship. This can only make the belt look like a more worthwhile and precious prize to get your hands on, elevating the status of the strap. A big thumbs up that's been taking steady as well! 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.63/10

Another entertaining episode of IMPACT Wrestling, as the show featured good to great moments across it's card. There were a number of highlights for me, with Drew Galloway and Ethan Carter III's brawl being my favourite moment of the show, Matt Hardy continued to excel in his fascinating "Broken" character, Eddie Edwards and Lashley put together a strong main event and there was plenty to enjoy about the X Division ladder match. That's without mentioning the surprise debut of Moose and the return of Davey Richards. 

There were still problems, like a lack legitimate focus and coherent booking in the X Division, Women and Tag Team ranks. Random multi-man or women bout manage to plug the gap in airtime, but won't keep the fans hooked and show a lack of planning. If you want a Four Way title match, making sure each of the challengers have been built to look like contenders previously. The other major issue was the over reliance on Mike Bennett who took up a hell of a lot of screen-time. I loved Bennett to bits, but being involved in the opener, leading to match in the 2nd half, before being involved in the main event was way too much. 

With Dixie Carter announcing a Steel Cage rematch between Lashley and Eddie Edwards next week, and big matches like Galloway v EC3, the beginning of the Bound for Glory Play-Offs and more looming in the future TNA are showing more than a few signs of promise for the rest of the summer!

DVD Review: WWE Best PPV Matches 2015 (Match Compilation)

WWE's Best PPV Matches 2015 is out now on DVD, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all reputable home video stockists. The three disc DVD set features sixteen matches from WWE's PPV exploits between January and October 2015! Matches include Seth Rollins defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose in a Ladder Match, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar doing battle inside Hell in a Cell, Rollins, Lesnar and John Cena in triple threat action over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the first ever Tag Team Elimination Chamber as The New Day defend the WWE Tag Team Championships against The Prime Time Players, Los Matadores, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, The Ascension and Lucha Dragons, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Fatal Four-way, Randy Orton, Neville, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus and Roman Reigns going at it in the Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar main eventing SummerSlam and Kevin Owens challenging for John Cena's WWE United States Championship.

best ppv matches 2015 match card

Match 1 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – John Cena vs. Seth Rollins w/J & J Security vs. Brock Lesnar © w/Paul Heyman – WWE Royal Rumble 2015 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia, USA - 25^th January 2015)

Match 2 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender's – Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns – WWE Fastlane 2015 (Memphis, Tennesee, USA - 22^nd January 2015)

Match 3 – WWE United States Championship – “Hero to the Russian Federation” Rusev © w/”The Ravishing Russian” Lana vs. John Cena - WWE WrestleMania 31 (Santa Clara, California, USA - 29^th March 2015)

Match 4 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman (vs. Seth Rollins) – WWE WrestleMania 31 (Santa Clara, California, USA - 29^th March 2015)

Match 5 – WWE Tag Team Championship – The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) w/Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd w/Natalya – WWE Extreme Rules 2015 (Rosemont, Illionois, USA - 26^th April 2015)

Match 6 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Fatal Four-Way (If Seth Rollins loses Kane is fired as Director of Operations) – Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins © w/ J&J Security – WWE Payback 2015 (Baltimore, Maryland, USA - 17^th May 2015)

Match 7 – WWE Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber – The Prime Time Players vs. Los Matadores w/El Torito vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd w/Natalya vs. The New Day vs. The Ascension vs. The Lucha Dragons - WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 (Corpus Christi, Texas, USA - 31^st May 2015)

Match 8 – Singles – WWE NXT Champion Kevin Owens vs. WWE United States Champion John Cena – WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 (Corpus Christi, Texas, USA - 31^st May 2015)

Match 9 – Money in the Bank Contract Ladder - “The Apex Predator” Randy Orton vs. “The Man That Gravity Forgot” “The New Sensation” Neville vs. Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler w/Lana vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston (New Day) vs. “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns - WWE Money in the Bank 2015 (Columbus, Ohio, USA - 14^th June 2015)

Match 10 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder – Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins © - WWE Money in the Bank 2015 (Columbus, Ohio, USA - 14^th June 2015)

Match 11 – Triple Threat – Sasha Banks w/ Naomi & Tamina vs. Charlotte w/Becky Lynch & Paige vs. Brie Bella w/Alicia Fox & WWE Diva's Champion Nikki Bella – WWE Battleground 2015 (St. Louis, Missouri, USA - 19^th July 2015)

Match 12 – WWE United States Championship – Kevin Owens vs. John Cena © - WWE Battleground 2015 (St. Louis, Missouri, USA - 19^th July 2015)

Match 13 – Singles – Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. The Undertaker – WWE SummerSlam 2015 (New York City, New York, USA - 23^rd August 2015)

Match 14 – WWE Diva's Championship – Charlotte (Team PCB) w/Becky Lynch & Paige vs. Nikki Bella (Team Bella) © w/Alicia Fox & Brie Bella – WWE Night of Champions 2015 (Houston, Texas, USA - 20^th September 2015)

Match 15 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Seth Rollins © vs. Sting – WWE Night of Champions 2015 (Houston, Texas, USA - 20^th September 2015)

Match 16 – Hell in a Cell – Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. The Undertaker – WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 (Los Angeles, California, USA - 25^th October 2015)  

Commentary - John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Michael Cole & Jerry "The King" Lawler

The set is presented by former NXT Tag Team Champion Corey Graves, who turns up about two or three times per disc, to act as seque and to break up the action. Once the chosen matches from each PPV are shown there's also a cool little highlights package for the PPV, with each taking on a slightly different feel.

The set get's off to a great start as Brock Lesnar defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a barn-burner of a Triple Threat against John Cena and Money in the Bank Contract Holder Seth Rollins. It's a match that the rest of the set will struggle to follow as the trio string together a series of spectacular spots and near falls that have the Philadelphia crowd hooked. The type of match that you will only see in WWE, it's put together with a real craft and the structure helps to drive the bout throughout. A physical thrill ride from start to finish, for me this is the best contest WWE put on in 2015, an absolute must-see.

The good times continue as Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns duke it out for a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in an aggressive contest. The viciousness that both men bring to this one makes it stand out, making the title look so important. There's a strike sequence towards the end that is pretty much perfect and should have been a star-making moment for Reigns. 

John Cena and Rusev's WWE United States Championship match isn't one of the matches I'd have chosen to represent WrestleMania, with the WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match and Seth Rollins and Randy Orton's battle both being better matches. That being said, this one has plenty of WrestleMania pageantry surrounding it, and is still a good storytelling contest. Whilst some of the action isn't as crisp as it should have been, I still found that I enjoyed the match much more on a second viewing, so if you didn't enjoy the bout originally, I definitely recommend giving it another chance.

Roman Reigns continues to put on star performances in a terrifically physical bout with Brock Lesnar over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Despite a fairly hostile Santa Clara crowd, Reigns handles himself well and the crowd become less of a factor as the bout goes on, as Lesnar and Reigns' both put on quality performances in their respective roles. With a great finish that see's Money in the Bank contract holder Seth Rollins interjecting himself into the contest, providing one of the most memorable moments of 2015. Reigns' Last Man Standing match with The Big Show from Extreme Rules is overlooked in favour of Cesaro & Tyson Kidd defending the WWE Tag Team Championships against The New Day in pacy contest that manages to showcase both teams well.

There's a lot of fun action on display in a Fatal Four-Way contest between Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. There's some quality interplay between the four characters that makes the match for me, with some especially good stuff between the three for Shield members, Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns. The added storyline with Kane's job as Director of Operations being on the line does end up holding the match back at various points, leading to surprisingly weak finish.

The first ever Tag Team Elimination Chamber is next, as The New Day defend the WWE Tag Team Championships against The Prime Time Players, Los Matadores, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, The Ascension and The Lucha Dragons, in a spot-laden contest. Whilst the match is an entertaining watch, it's booking is questionable throughout, struggling to get a pace that suits the contest. The finish sequence has it's moments, but it bagginess ends up letting it down, I'd have preferred to have seen Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins main event get this slot if I'm honest.

John Cena and Kevin Owens put on a tremendous Champion vs. Champion bout, that works brilliantly as an introduction to the then NXT Champion on the main stage. It's spot-based action, but with just enough narrative to keep things ticking, in front of hooked Corpus Christi audience. Driven by a passionate Owens and a frustrated Cena, there's some world class near falls here, kicking off one of the years strongest feuds in styles. 

You can't really go wrong with a Money in the Bank Contract ladder match, and whilst this year's bout isn't a vintage outing, there's still plenty to enjoy. The seven man contest involving Randy Orton, Kane, Neville, Dolph Ziggler, Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston and Sheamus, is much more focused on dramatic moments, than it's usual non-stop action style and thus the bout has a rather different feel to that of the majority of it's predecessors. It's definitely fun whilst it lasts, but doesn't feature anything particularly memorable, therefore I wouldn't have minded on bit if we'd had the second Kevin Owens vs. John Cena match in it's place.

A completely different Ladder match next as Dean Ambrose goes after Seth Rollins WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a brutal contest. With much better spots and a compelling narrative that's told well throughout, Rollins and Ambrose take their feud to the next level. Dean Ambrose puts in a terrific performance fighting from underneath, cementing his place as one of the companies top babyfaces, whilst Rollins continues to be consistently good throughout his title reigns. It's unfortunately let down just a tad by poorly booked finish and it's length may not be for everyone, but it's still quality encounter that's well worth a watch.

The first match that doesn't really belong on the set is a Triple Threat match between Brie Bella, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, that doesn't quite hit the spot. That isn't to say that it's a particularly bad match, and there is plenty of nice wrestling in there, but there's nothing here that makes it stand out from the pack, either Sheamus vs. Randy Orton or Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt would've been better choices from this PPV. John Cena and Kevin Owens complete their trilogy with another outstanding bout over the WWE United States Championship. Whilst there's a number of similarities from the first two, this is still a great watch full of big spots and big near falls. The St. Louis crowd give the duo a great reaction throughout as they bring their feud to suitable crescendo. 

Two of the best brawlers to ever step foot in a WWE ring throw bombs at each other, as The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar duke it out in the main event of SummerSlam. There's lots of riffing off their WrestleMania XXX clash, which ups the drama stakes and lends well to the epic storytelling of the bout. A big improvement on their last outing, the finish is a little bit of a weird one, which ends up lessening the near falls that had come before it somewhat.

Charlotte challenging for the WWE Diva's Championship against Nikki Bella at Night of Champions was arguably the best women's outing on PPV in 2015 and rightly earns itself a slot on the DVD. There's some solid wrestling and a great narrative throughout that make this one stand out above the rest of the pack. Seth Rollins' WWE World Heavyweight Championship defense against Sting is a strange choice for the set, especially when compared to the match Rollins had minutes earlier with John Cena over the WWE United States Championship. While far from a "bad" match, an injury to Sting in the last portion of the bout leave the contest feeling more than a little flat come it's conclusion. 

Strangely the set finishes off with the main event of October's Hell in a Cell PPV, ignoring the two PPV's that came in November and December, as The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar brought their close to a brutal conclusion inside the demonic structure. It's a bloody brawl of a contest, that manages to tell a superb story as two of the best go toe to toe. Personally, I think this one of the best Hell in a Cell matches for a very long time, with plenty of memorable moments and a terrific conclusion. The post-match antics with The Wyatt Family though probably didn't need to be included and leaves the set feeling a little incomplete at the end.

finally...

dvd rating - 7.63/10

On match quality alone this is a brilliant DVD set, that despite having a couple of questionable inclusions manages to keep the good times rolling for pretty much the entire 8 hours plus running time. Three or four years ago, this would've been a much have set, but the WWE Network now makes it pretty easy to skip through all these matches and even make an improvement on the matches that are chosen for this one and even actually complete the year with the two PPV's from November and December. 

I found this to be an enjoyable watch from start to finish, but it's difficult to recommend something that only has about ten minutes of content that isn't available at a cheaper price somewhere. However, if you've got a poor internet connection then this is the set for you, I suppose.

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.

Special Event Review: WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

Over thirteen weeks removed from Takeover: Unstoppable, it was time for the highest attended event in NXT history, Takeover: Brooklyn, live on the WWE Network. The over 15,000 in attendance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York witnessed Kevin Owens chasing Finn Balor's NXT Championship in a Ladder match, as well as Jushin Thunder Liger, Samoa Joe, Sasha Banks, Apollo Crews, The Vaudevillains and more in action, but could it live up to the hype? Let's find out.

Kick-Off

The panel this time round saw Renee Young as the host, with 4 time WWE Women's Champion Lita, former NXT Tag Team Champion, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton joining as the guests. 


A video package for Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin piqued my interest, being very well put together and included some nice promos from each man, after I'd ripped into this match in my preview it actually had me believing the match could be interesting. Lita chatting about where Joe had come from made me chuckle as she had clearly been told not to mention TNA, because TNA. 


The same Apollo Crews promo that's been airing for the last few weeks was next, it was a shame that the panel didn't spend too much time talking about Crews' début following it.


Perhaps the pick of all the promo videos for tonight's show was the one looking at Bayley and Sasha Banks bout over Women's Championship, not only where the production values the usual high standards, but it told a relatable story with both women coming across very well. Whilst talking about the match, Graves cutting off Saxton in the middle of a sentence to disagree with his point, was a great touch and showed the passion both men had for their chosen performers. 


A link up outside to Greg Hamilton and Dasha Fuentes with some fans was the worst thing all night long, with the pair looking completely out of their depth. 


It was time to look at the main event, with another solid promo for Kevin Owens and Finn Balor's NXT Championship Ladder match, with a sound look at the build up heading in, including their bout at Live in Tokyo: Beast in the East. The panel got a little lost talking about this one, as Saxton started to talking about Mr. T for reasons that will never be fully understood.

Special Event

Triple H kicking off the show with a distinct off-mic promo to the camera was a great way to start the show, with The Game having complete control over his audience. 


Whilst it was surreal to see Jushin Thunder Liger make his way to the ring for his first ever WWE match, at the age of 50, Tyler Breeze's entrance, with a New York catwalk theme, was a simply ridiculous spectacle and set the tone for the intentions of the rest of the show.

As an opener, Tyler Breeze taking on the débuting Jushin Thunder Liger worked nicely, with the pair working well together to create a smooth encounter. Whilst the in-ring action was decent, the narrative took the match up a level, with Breeze quick to escape two Liger Bomb attempts, whilst Liger himself was busy mocking Prince Pretty's signature poses, which the crowd lapped up. Liger picking up the win was a big surprise here, just because I expected NXT to put over their regular Breeze, and I'm still not quite sure how I feel about Breeze coming out on the losing side. Having Breeze's arguing with the referee eventually lead to his downfall (and allowing Liger to finally hit a Running Liger Bomb) at least protected The King of Cuteville some what and losing to someone of Liger's calibre is hardly an insult, but it felt like this match was a missed opportunity to make Breeze.


Winner - Liger via pinfall in 8 minutes, 42 seconds.


As the replays ran, I couldn't help thinking if WWE plans to use Liger again soon, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing a rematch between he and Breeze.

Before the Tag Team Championship bout began, it was time to find out who The Vaudevillains had found to counteract Blake and Murphy's valet, Alexa Bliss. It was only Blue Pants! The crowd went nuts for the SHIMMER regular, with the other talents building well to the reveal with some nice back and forth on the microphone and a call back to previous episodes of NXT with Alexa attempting to slap Aiden English. The segment got an even bigger thumbs up from me because English and Simon Gotch were both sporting blue wrestling gear.

In the preview for this show I talked about how it was time for the tag team division in NXT to really step up to the plate, and that they certainly did here. The two teams just seemed to click from the outset, with all four men looking very comfortable working with each other and knowing seemingly knowing each others characters inside out (Something to be expecting considering they've worked 25 matches on TV and Live Event since September 2014) The match built well on a solid foundation, with two very good false finishes, that had the crowd right where they needed to be, with English coming close off a Senton and Blake almost stealing a win with a school boy roll up. English picked up the win for his team, following the Whirling Dervish, and it definitely felt like the right time for the Vaudevillains to pick up the titles and bring this chapter of their feud with Blake and Murphy to a close. 


Winners - The Vaudevillains via pinfall in 10 minutes, 14 seconds.


The Vaudevillains reaction to winning the titles, framed by an appreciative crowd, really helped to put over the titles meaning further, and with William Regal announcing a Tag Team tournament in memory of Dusty Rhodes, it certainly set the ground work to build a stronger division on. 


A SummerSlam promo, centred around the rematch between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, reminded us that there was some other show on this weekend. 


It was a real treat to see Apollo Crews walk out, in-front of all those people, his ad-libs to the camera were a nicely touch that sold his moment well. His match with Tye Dillinger was an extended squash, but a very entertaining one that showed off what TAFKA Uhaa Nation can do. Believe me, there is a lot more to come from Crews, the crowd already seemed into him by the time of his victory celebration, so here's to more from the former Dragon Gate star.


A video package for Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin piqued my interest, being very well put together and included some nice promos from each man, after I'd ripped into this match in my preview it actually had me believing the match could be interesting. Seeing Samoa Joe walk out in front of 15,000 people in New York was a far cry from the last set of TNA tapings in the city in January. 

This SO much better than I thought it was going to be and was exactly what it needed to be. The back and forth between the two, with the pair almost mirroring each others actions, made for a satisfying start to the match. Both men managing to foil one another dive attempts, and latter spending a long time in one another's submission holds, made the pair look evenly matched in the ring and allowed Corbin to shine against the more experienced former ROH World Champion. My only real criticism would be neither man selling the submission they had been in later in the match, with Joe especially seeming to forget how long he spent in Corbin's heel hook. With the Lone Wolf unable to hit End of Days despite a few attempts, Joe turned a pin attempt from Corbin into a Kokina Cluth and picked up the win when Corbin passed out, in a strong finish that won't hurt Corbin, but also gives Joe some more momentum heading towards the next Takeover event in October. The best match either man has had in NXT.

Winner - Joe via submission in 10 minutes, 28 seconds.


With the replays running, I couldn't help but think what NXT are going to do with Samoa Joe next, they're still searching for the best way to use Joe, hopefully this is them turning the corner. 


Having Stephanie McMahon do a little intro for the Women's Championship match was a nice touch that gave the match some extra weight for those who aren't regular NXT viewers. Perhaps the pick of all the promo videos for tonight's show was the one looking at Bayley and Sasha Banks bout over Women's Championship, not only where the production values the usual high standards, but it told a relatable story with both women coming across very well. Sasha Banks came to the ring in fucking Escalade and surrounding by body guards, Bayley had wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men and lots of them, what more do you want.

WWE fans are used to having a Diva's match before the main event, it gives them chance to go to the toilet or perhaps exchange cash for delicious food stuffs. This wasn't a Divas match, it was a wrestling match. A bloody good wrestling match. Bayley and Sasha Banks worked their arses off from start to finish to create a compelling collision, that despite lagging from tiredness kept me completely engaged from start to finish. Part of me wishes that this had gone on last, because there was everything that you'd want as a main event, great physical action, a brilliant story, dramatic near falls and a red hot crowd.

Let's talk a little about that story, which stands out as the strongest element of the bout. Sasha's frustration at being unable to put Bayley away early, lead to her removing Bayley's protective gimmick on her hand (She broke her hand earlier in the summer) and then the fun really got started. Sasha's character really shone again in this moment, with a viciousness that a lot of WWE women's performers just don't show in matches, helped along by some tremendous spots focused on the hand, included drilling the steel steps into the hand. Sasha stamping the hand with Bayley locked in the Bank Statement was another fantastic touch, that allowed Bayley to look super tough when she made it to the ropes. The match built to it's conclusion tremendously, with Bayley hitting a SUPER REVERSE RANA, before hitting the second Bayley-to-Belly of the match for the victory. 


Winner - Bayley via pinfall in 18 minutes, 22 seconds *NEW CHAMPION!*

Following the match, Charlotte and Becky Lynch arrived to congratulate Bayley on her victory, making for a great moment, that fit in with the storyline leading in of Bayley feeling like she being left behind (as well as being able to defeat Charlotte, Becky and Sasha in consecutive matches). Even Sasha joined in the celebration (after some thought), which was an interesting development considering her issues with Charlotte and Becky in WWE at the moment. I have to admit to feeling a little bit emotional watching the four standing in the ring, having watched what they have helped to build over the last year or so, so I'll forget that it didn't make a lot of sense in kayfabe, because fuck kayfabe.


NXT is coming to the UK, hell to the yeah...if you're asking, I'm going.


It was time to look at the main event, with another solid promo for Kevin Owens and Finn Balor's NXT Championship Ladder match, with a sound look at the build up heading in, including their bout at Live in Tokyo: Beast in the East. Seeing Finn Balor's entrance on a big scale was pretty damn special, with added Demon's knocking around the entrance ramp, Balor looked like a star as he made his way to the ring.

A completely different match to Sasha vs. Bayley, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens' Ladder match over the NXT Championship was much more spot-focused, than it was a story-telling epic. Luckily the spots that were used were top quality, with Owens missing a cannonball and colliding with a ladder in the corner, Owens falling off the ladder onto another bridging from the corner, Balor taking a vicious powerbomb on the apron and a lot more. This style of match worked here, thanks to the intensity that the two performers bought to the match, with Owens especially doing some strong character work throughout. It was a real shame that the crowd just didn't want to get on Owens back, even with the former NXT Champion pulling out the old tease a cool move, then do an eye poke spot, as this could have added an extra element to the overall package.


The small amount of storytelling that was there was done well, with Owens seemingly losing his cool when unable to get the belt, delivering two big superkicks to Balor, before attempting a Fisherman's buster off the top of the ladder, of course, this didn't end well for Owens (see above). Having seen two other ladder matches this weekend already (Fight Club: Pro and Futureshock Wrestling reviews coming soon), I was probably one of the hardest to please fans watching this bout! But when Balor reached and grabbed the belt, following a silly Coup de Grâce off the top of the ladder, I'd been thoroughly entertained once more. Both men worked hard for each other and the fans and I'll always appreciate that.


Winner - Balor in 21 minutes, 26 seconds. *STILL CHAMPION!*


Balor's win completed a clean sweep for the babyfaces on the show, so it'll be rather interesting to see who steps up to challenge him next, with Kevin Owens seemingly rapping up in NXT.

Finally....

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.33/10


Another wonderful NXT show and this time in front of a ridiculously sized crowd. Without a bad match on the show, and two outstanding main events, Takeover: Brooklyn has left SummerSlam with a huge challenge. Sasha Banks and Bayley in particular deserve all the praise that is coming their way right now, for their superb encounter, maybe it's time for Vince to take notice and really allow his female performers to shine.