Live Review: PCW/ROH SuperShow of Honor II - Show 3

Would PCW and ROH be able to keep up things and improve on the previous two shows that weekend? Dave Mastiff would defend his PCW Heavyweight Championship against PCW Cruiserweight Champion Adam Cole in a Thirty Minute Iron Man main event, Noam Dar would tackle surprise opponent Drew Galloway, F.W.B. (Bubblegum, Iestyn Rees & Team Single) would engage with Dave Rayne, The Hooligans and X-Pac in eight man tag action, with six other matches including the likes of reDRagon, Dalton Castle, Martin Kirby, Roderick Strong and Cedric Alexander all also in action. 

Just like Show 2, a six way contest was used to open up the show, with Dalton Castle, Cedric Alexander, Silas Young, Martin Kirby, Ashton Smith and Charlie Garrett battling it out. Slightly longer than the first six man, I was a little confused that performers were having to tag in and out of the contest, whilst the previous six man was a free for all. My confusion didn't last long however as the bout was blink and you'll miss it fast, chock full of flips and big moves, just what you'd want from this kind of bout. Both Dalton Castle and the Interracial Love duo of Charlie Garrett and Ashton Smith stood out in particular with The Peacock of Professional Wrestling continuing to have the crowd in the palm of his hands with his silly antics and IRL using the match to put a spotlight on the relationship between the tag team, including a cheesy hand-holding dive to the outside. A big thumbs up for Castle getting the victory as after hitting his Bang-a-Rang spinning facebuster to Silas Young! Like a broken record, however, I have to point out how much I'd love to see the bouts go a little longer and also have some kind of consequence behind them.

ROH World TV Champion Roderick Strong and Lionheart's singles bout was a strange one for a number of reasons. A section were both men attempted to hit the Styles Clash on each other was cool, but I felt super uncomfortable when a section of the crowd began to chant for AJ Styles, due to the NJPW star actually injuring both men with the move. However, the crowd were on form for the rest of the contest and gave it a real boost, as they turned Strong's shitty little boots babyface, seemingly out of sheer disdain for the PCW regular. Unfortunately, it felt like the pair didn't manage to get out of 2nd gear, and despite the wrestling being perfectly fine, at times I felt like the duo were treading water until the finish. Lionheart walking out of the contest and getting counted out was a frustrating watch, but should hopefully increase the heat levels for the former PCW Heavyweight Champion heading into 2016 and give the former Champion more storyline involvement in 2016.

The next match was the first chance for the PCW faithful to get a good look at what War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson) can do as they went two on two with IWGP Tag Team Champions reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly), after the duo had been in the middle of an eight man tag on Show 1 and then a Four way tag on Show 2. But boy was it worth the wait. This was sheer unadulterated silliness, as the two teams went back and forth with various striking combos, whilst War Machine provided a number of power moves that made it look like the ring could collapse at any moment. Hanson's deadlift german suplex and samoan drop combination was stupendously well executed, and made the big man look like an absolute beast. As the near falls rolled in, the crowd got hotter and hotter, and whilst the well-known reDRagon remained the most popular of the two, the cheers for War Machine became noticeably louder as the contest went on, creating a great atmosphere inside Evoque. Hanson and Rowe went on to pick up their second victory of the weekend, following a Powerbomb and Splash combination, with Fish and O'Reilly allowing the big men to look incredible as they head towards an ROH Tag Team Championship bout with The Kingdom at ROH's next PPV, Final Battle.


The first and only singles bout of the weekend for former PCW Cruiserweight Champion, El Ligero came opposite former ROH World Tag Team Champion, Kenny King. The biggest talking point coming out of the contest was an angle where The Pretty Boy Pitbull seemed to have tweaked his knee off a dive, and was being carried away at ringside, only for him to attack Ligero from behind. There was some decent heat for King and the moment added the fuel that the contest needed, with The King of the Night dominating for some time. Ligero fighting from underneath allowed for some lovely action inside the ring as the Mexican Sensation attempted to find a comeback from somewhere. When Ligero did manage to pick up the win with the C4L, I couldn't help but feel that the match would have been so much better with an extra five or even ten minutes of action. The two were just about beginning to explore what they could do together in the ring and given some extra time they could have produced something really quite special.


BONUS MATCH, BAYBAY! Yes, unannounced before the show, F.W.B's T-Bone, Rampage Brown, Bubblegum and Iestyn Rees turned up and with Joanna Rose questioning whether their scheduled opponent Dave Rayne had been able to find any partners, we were about to witness something pretty damn special. The former PCW Cruiserweight Champion had an ace up his sleeve and announced The UK Hooligans (Roy Knight & Zak Knight) and the duo got the crowd going nuts, returning to the Evoque for the first time since early June. But if the crowd thought that was it, they were sadly mistaken as Rayne made easy work of a promo introducing, former WCW World Cruiserweight Champion, X-Pac! The crowd couldn't have gone more nuts if the Hooligans were handing out Snickers. Okay, maybe that's a lie because there was even more nutty goodness when 4 time WWE Intercontinental Champion, Scott bloody Hall was announced as the manager for the babyface team! That's one hell of a bonus match.


The crowd were stupidly hot for the tag bout, keeping up an energy throughout as they ran through their song book for the various competitors in the match. It was clear that all eight men were having a lot of fun out there and this reflected back on the bout, which was so very fun to watch. After a short face shine from X-Pac, it was Roy Knight who worked the Hooligan in peril role, with F.W.B. taking advantage of a ringside brawl to take control and then using a number of classic heel tactics to stay in control. I love me some old-school heel tactics in a tag match, keep the ref distracted and then take advantage and keep the ring cut in half, lovely stuff. The one disappointment for me, was that the hot tag that had been building for a while was completely wasted as the crowd was busy singing Bohemian Rhapsody to wind up Iestyn Rees (who looks a bit like a modern Freddie Mercury) and what should have been a big moment with a giant pop was left feeling flat. Partly down to some fans being easily distracted by a sing-song and partly down to the performers not paying enough attention to the ebb and flow of the crowd. After awkwardly standing at ringside for most of the match, it was awesome to see Scott Hall get involved, as Rees gave him some abuse and got a tooth pick to the eye for his trouble, before taking an X Factor and staring at the lights. 

Jay Lethal and Joey Hayes' ROH World Championship match was a strangely structured contest. Hmmm...I'm not sure that's the correct description, but basically Jay Lethal was mainly cheered, whilst Joey Hayes was getting some decent heat, whilst both had been presented as heels (or at best tweeners) on the earlier shows. But we got Lethal locking on chinlocks and steadily wearing down Hayes, before Hayes launched into a babyface comeback (Even shouting "I'm a babyface" whilst doing so, clearly noting the lack of crowd support). This meant that the crowd became weird throughout, how exactly are they supposed to cheer Lethal whilst he's working a wear down hold? Maybe the pair were expecting the crowd to quickly side with the underdog Hayes, but from the entrances it was clear who Evoque was behind and the two should have had enough experience to change things on the fly to suit the crowd. Despite all the moaning, the finishing sequence of the match showed some real quality, as Hayes went for a number of Crossfaces, with Lethal managing to escape and hit a Lethal Injection to retain his title.

Continuing the theme of his weekend, Sha Samuels dominated Delirious in a character driven contest. The pair chatting to each other in their trade mark style made for an entertaining spot, with Delirious' insane rambling matching up well with Samuels gruff and speedy cockney. Delirious running around the ring to evade Samuels was a highlight for me, as it was so simple in it's execution, but allowed both performers to show off the psychology of their characters. In his longest contest of the weekend (just over 7 minutes), Samuels continued his unbeaten streak as Delirious succumbed to the Sleeper Hold, like so many before him. 


Ever heard of Jack Baron before? No, neither had I when the PCW trainee cut a promo on the big screen revealing himself as Noam Dar's opponent for the evening. But as the skinny and excitable lad made it to the ring, he was attacked by a mystery assailant. That mystery assailant was Drew Galloway! A great surprise appearance, that got a big reaction from the crowd, before Galloway delivered a killer, curse-laden promo. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion's delivery was pitch perfect, rising and falling at the right points, full of passion and there couldn't have been a better way to fly straight into the third match of the series than Noam Dar coming out to get some. 


The two Scotsman put on a contest that was completely different from anything that we'd seen across the week end. Full of fire, the two made it feel like the genuinely hated each other as they brawled around the nightclub, battering the shit into each other. The Chosen One hitting a Crucifix Powerbomb through a fire exit looked amazing and may very well have been the stand-out spot of the weekend (that's if you could see it from your seat). The action inside the ring was just as good, if not better, as a battered Noam Dar worked the plucky underdog role nicely, fighting valiantly against the bigger man with the crowd well and truly behind their regular. Following some very near falls for Drew Galloway and some added drama with a ref bump and the re-appearance of Jack Baron, Dar was able to take advantage of Galloway suffering an injured leg after colliding with the ring post, by locking on the Champage Super Knee Bar and getting a submission victory. Galloway's selling prior to the move was spot-on, just liked we'd seen in their previous two bouts earlier in the year and therefore made the finish just that a little bit more satisfying. A huge moment for Dar in PCW, in what had been a marquee weekend for the 22 year old. PCW rarely does bouts with this much aggression behind it and that's why matches like this feel so special. 

Main event time, bay bay! Adam Cole and Dave Mastiff had arguably put on the best match of the 2014 weekender and seeing the pair in a 30 minute Iron Man match with the PCW Heavyweight Championship on the line, was a mouth-watering prospect. It's difficult to review a match like this, because half an hour is such a long time for a wrestling match in 2015 and so much can go on in that amount of time. The crowd were particularly interesting within the first half of the contest. Evoque became pretty quiet and you could hear many people chatting, I would suspect this was down to them knowing the match wasn't going to end for quite some time and that anything particularly important wouldn't be happening for quite a while. This is an experienced crowd who I'd guess have seen way too many Iron Man bouts than they should have and therefore know how things usually go. 


Iron Man bouts are made or broken, on how they are structured, there needs to be accuracy down to the second to keep the crowd engaged and to tell the most interesting story. The wrestling for the first twenty minutes was perfectly fine, but I'm not convinced by where and how the pinfalls came from. Adam Cole took a 2-0 from a small package and superkick combo by the time 8 minutes had passed, but Dave Mastiff had things tied up just 11 minutes later. This sort of meant the bout was back to where it began, with just over 10 minutes to go and whilst both men looked pretty tired, there was no narrative that could have been carried over. As soon as things were even, The One began to work over Mastiff's leg, which made things even more frustrating. I feel if we'd have seen something like this earlier on in the bout then we'd have had a much more compelling outing, especially with the quality of selling that Mastiff is capable of and leading to an even bigger moment when Cole locked in the Figure Four Leg Lock with the clock ticking.


I mentioned those last 10 minutes, with Adam Cole working the leg, and they were much more reminiscent of the bout they had last year, with the two upping the pace and working a number of slick reversals and big strikes, including one outstanding sequence. The crowd began to come to life at this point and gave the contest a boost having soaked up all the action for the previous 20 minutes. The Figure Four Leg Lock from Cole, with Dave Mastiff leading 3-2 was a marvellous moment with Evoque rocking and wanting to see more action. Cole holding onto the hold whilst Mastiff managed to roll to outside of the ring looked bloody awesome. The timing of the final fall was spot on as well, with Cole managing to pull a vertical suplex and drop it into a neckbreaker on his knee to even up the score. A slow burner for sure, but one chock-full of world-class wrestling and with a hot closing sequence.


Of course, that was never going to be it was it? Oh no, siree. After some debate, the contest was restarted under sudden death rules. The section after the restart was blisteringly good, with the two not holding back and at all in trying to get the victory and take the title, with Preston potentially on the brink of destruction. Then it was taken away from us, when that bloke Sha Samuels entered and beat down both guys. It was such a frustrating finish to a match that had gone over half an hour, and whilst it didn't even make that much sense (Why did Samuels wait until the sudden death?) it still got The East End Butcher a whole load of heat and added another chapter in his on-and-off feud with Dave Mastiff. I'd love to know why (in kayfabe) Mastiff and Cole didn't just restarted the match again, instead of getting up, shaking hands and then walking to the back. As much I'd have loved to have had a definitive victory here, here's hoping that Mastiff and Adam Cole will get to wrestle again sooner rather than later in PCW and settle the score....

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.75 (Good-Very Good)

This show was just shy of the high bar set by the first event of the weekend, but was still definitely a good evening of wrestling. The main event contributed massively to the rating because of it's length and whilst I had a couple of criticisms, I still feel that the bout was a quality main event with a nice slow burn build and raucous finish, Noam Dar and Drew Galloway's bout bought an aggression not seen elsewhere across the weekend and Galloway's surprise entrance was worked out very well, the Eight Man Tag Team contest was a lot of fun to watch, plus of course some more surprises in the form of X-Pac and Scott Hall made the in-ring segment incredible to have been a part of and the tag bout between  War Machine and reDRagon also deserves a mention.


Whilst Roderick Strong and Lionheart's contest had it's moments, there's no denying that the bout dragged the ATPW Scale rating down just a little bit, simply because it never really got going. The finish of the show with Sha Samuels causing the Double DQ in Cole and Mastiff's sudden death outing was a little disappointing, especially coming at the end of the show.


There's one more show left to review from the Weekend and that's of course, Show 4. With ROH World Champion Jay Lethal facing ROH World Television Champion Roderick Strong in the main event, Interracial Love tackling Martin Kirby and Joey Hayes, Dalton Castle going one on one with Silas Young as well as five other matches featuring the likes of reDRagon, Adam Cole, Cedric Alexander, Noam Dar and Delirious. Could PCW and ROH end the weekend in style? We'll have a review up very soon. 

Live Review: PCW/ROH SuperShow of Honor II - Show 2

After putting on a good show to open the SuperShow of Honor weekend, PCW and ROH looked to build on that with the 2nd event. Held at the Evoque Nightclub in Preston, Lancashire from 1pm on 28th November 2015, the show featured Jay Lethal defending his ROH World Heavyweight title against Doug Williams in the main event, as well as Noam Dar facing Cedric Alexander, Dave Mastiff defending the PCW Heavyweight Championship against Silas Young and five more matches involving the likes of reDRagon, Adam Cole, Dalton Castle, Martin Kirby and Roderick Strong. But could the 2nd show live up to the first...Let's find out.


If the crowd needed waking up for the early afternoon bell-time, then the Six way clash featuring Kenny King, Bubblegum, Dave Rayne, ROH World Television Champion Roderick Strong, El Ligero and Charlie Garrett, was the match to do it. The fast-paced, spot-based action never let up with numerous dives, flips and tricks, whilst also taking some time to venture into something a little more comedic usually provided by Rayne. Two stand-out moments for me were a sound back and forth sequence between Bubblegum and El Ligero, harking back to their Triple Threat bout the night before, and Dave Rayne hitting pretty much everyone with a cutter, which the crowd lapped up. When Roddy Strong walked out with the victory following a Sick Kick to Rayne, the crowd had remained lively throughout and were more than warmed up for the rest of the afternoon's action. 


Before the bell even rang for Dalton Castle's clash with Sha Samuels, the duo had had the crowd in stitches. The two characters made for a perfect combination and both men hammed up their performances to make the most of their limited interaction together. There were some splendid ad-libs from both, garnering many a chuckle from the crowd, who had been quick to warm to Castle in what was only his 2nd appearance for PCW. It's a shame that these two aren't part of the same promotion regularly, as a long running feud would have some real potential. 

Bell to bell the action was fairly short, but was essentially just a continuation of what we'd seen between Sha Samuels and Dalton Castle before the match officially began. With plenty of character based comedy, used to drive the storytelling, the contest had a lot of heart and was tremendously easy to watch. Samuels action was smoother than we'd seen the night before and Castle managing to get to the ropes a number of times whilst in the Sleeper hold was a simple and effective way of keeping the crowd hyped for the babyface Castle, whilst continuing to keep Samuels' looking strong. 

Ashton Smith had a real opportunity to show-off his skills against one of the finest wrestlers in the world next, in what was arguably the 26 year old Brit's biggest match in a PCW ring. Cole always being a step a head of Smith made up the back-bone of the contest, with the story playing off the experience difference between the two. Smith was given just enough offence in to allow him to look capable of surprising Cole, meaning that the Interracial Love member came out of the match all the better for being a part of it. His no-sell into Yurinogi sequence was brilliantly done and got a nice reaction out of the crowd on the near fall. It would seem like Smith is being positioned for a run with the Cruiserweight belt, as he was allowed to look like credible contender here, despite falling to defeat. A rematch down the line would surely be greatly received.

After his main event loss to Jay Lethal the night before, Noam Dar found himself in action against Cedric Alexander on Show 2. In what would be the longest contest on the show, the pair connected well to produce some quality technical wrestling in the early going, keeping a steady pace. Despite the quality of the wrestling, there was one thing that everyone came away with from this contest...the ONE chant. Basically, Dar and Alexander ran through a series of roll-ups and pinning combinations each of which would earn them a one count, with a young looking referee seemingly thrown by the situation. The chant would be adopted by the Preston faithful and become a major part of the rest of the weekend.


The pace began to lift throughout the bout, with the action gradually becoming more serious and harder hitting as the contest went on. A series of forearm trades was particularly impressive in their execution. The finishing sequence was incredibly smooth also, with the two going back and forth with a number of reversals, before Dar caught Alexander as he attempted an enziguiri and managed to lock in the Champagne Super Knee Bar for the submission victory. Dar locking in the submission got a big reaction, which almost certainly had something to with it being the focus of the main event contest the night before, and the fluidity of the transition was splendid. 


Oh sweet sweet, Kyle O'Reilly. Bless your cotton socks, fella. The reDRagon member came out looking a little bit worse for wear, for the teams Four Corners bout for the PCW Tag Team Championships with Team Single, War Machine and Martin Kirby and Joey Hayes. Undoubtedly the highlight of the lengthy pre-match entrances, the state of O'Reilly got a hearty chuckle from the crowd, who continued to chant for their newly adopted son. If you'd have wondered up to the bar the night previously, during Chris Brooker and Billy Kirkwood's comedy gig, you'd have known exactly what killed off Kyle for his first match on Saturday.

The bout itself played off this element well, with Kyle O'Reilly struggling to hit a number of moves, in a comical fashion and being helped by partner Bobby Fish a number of times, whilst the crowd chanted "Get Kyle a Pillow" and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion rested his head on the top the turnbuckle. The action was kept fast and furious, with the eight men providing a lot to look at both at ringside and in the ring. The PCW and ROH tandems split off quite early in the bout and almost exclusively working with each other for the rest of the bout. For me, this was a shame as there could have been a bit more exploration of things like the past between Team Single and reDRagon, so it would have liked to have seen this one go a little bit longer. Seven minutes just isn't enough time for eight men to truly explore all the options open to them. Rampage Brown and T-Bone were able to claim a modicum of revenge on Joey Hayes and Martin Kirby as they pinned them following twin piledrivers to retain the PCW Tag Team Championships.


Despite losing to Doug Williams on Show 1, Silas Young was granted a PCW Heavyweight Championship shot on Show 2...go figure. Moving past that questionable decision, this was another stellar outing for Young in his 2nd bout for PCW and he linked up well with Dave Mastiff to create a technically solid encounter. With Young becoming more and more over as a heel by the minute, the Last Real Man spent a lot of the contest trading barbs with the crowd, encouraging them to chant and raising the atmosphere in the building once again. Mastiff was on form as well with a couple of funny one-liners that made it even easier for the crowd to get behind their popular champion. If it was a little longer and with a bit more drama then this contest could've been one of the stand-out contests of the evening, but it still worked as a way of adding another notch to Mastiff's championship bedpost.


In my first chance to see Lionheart in singles action since his heel turn a few months back and I was reminded of what a superb villain he is, in a match with Delirious. A couple of little touches throughout the match, allowed the Evoque to really get on the former Heavyweight Champion's back and the cycle continued. Lifting Delirious shoulder off the mat after having the contest won made him look like a massive dick and also provided a great near fall for the former CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas Champion. For what it was, I felt it perhaps went a little too long, with the crowd losing interest in the middle of the contest, by losing three or four minutes and slim-lining the action I feel the contest would have actually been improved. Plus that three or four minutes could have been given to something like the Tag Championship four way.

Main event time and Jay Lethal was clocking up his 2nd main event of the weekend, this time defending his ROH World Championship against former ROH Pure Champion, Doug Williams. The crowd seemed to take a while to warm to the very technical first two thirds of the bout, as the pair went back and forth, but on a look around the club it seemed like everyone was completely enamoured with the style and skill of the two men. There was even space to continue some of the storytelling from the night previous with Williams focusing in on Lethal's leg. The two had clearly worked with each other before (although not since 2010, but they did work TNA PPV's, TV and House shows between July and October of that year) and that helped to produce one of the slickest finishing sequence of the entire weekend. Williams was able to dodge the Lethal Injection and turn it into a Chaos Theory attempt, before Lethal himself managed a reversal hitting a Superkick and Lethal Injection to retain the championship, neither man put a foot wrong and capped off the 2nd show of the weekend well.

Finally....

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.20 (Good)

Whilst this shows rating dips slightly from that of the first show (6.85), we still got a good wrestling show on a Saturday afternoon. I'd be happy with either Dar vs. Alexander or Lethal vs. Williams being given the Match of the Night title, as both contests contained plenty of lovely technical wrestling and layed on the entertainment level thick. Perhaps my favourite part of the entire show however, was the back and forth between Dalton Castle and Sha Samuels prior to their match, thanks to both the performers and characters seemingly a perfect fit for each other.
The shows rating could have ended up being higher if a couple of minutes was shaved off the Lionheart vs. Delirious contest and handed to the PCW Tag Team Championship Four Corners bout. Even then I still think by this point we hadn't seen a bad match across the two shows and that's why both shows have managed to end up comfortably inside the "Good" range on the ATPW Scale.


Would PCW and ROH be able to keep up things inside the good range or even improve on that, with Show 3? Dave Mastiff would defend his PCW Heavyweight Championship against PCW Cruiserweight Champion Adam Cole in a Thirty Minute Iron Man main event, Noam Dar would tackle Drew Galloway, F.W.B. (Bubblegum, Iestyn Rees & Team Single) would engage with Dave Rayne, The Hooligans and X-Pac in eight man tag action, with six other matches including the likes of reDRagon, Dalton Castle, Martin Kirby, Roderick Strong and Cedric Alexander all also in action. We'll have a review heading your way later this week (as well as the last show of the weekend coming soon)

Live Review: PCW Heroes

Just one week removed from short trip to 53 Degrees for UCLAN Fresher Week, which saw The GZRS in back to back matches against Hayes & Kirby and The UK Hooligans, PCW was back at Evoque for the first time since the start of August, for Heroes. Dave Mastiff putting his PCW Heavyweight Championship on the line against former WWE United States Champion, Bobby Lashley in the main event, as well as the likes of Charlie Garrett, Drew Galloway, El Ligero, Iestyn Rees, Noam Dar and Tommaso Ciampa also on the card. Could the show be as heroic as the title suggested?


Before we get to talking about the first match of the evening, I'd like to take a moment to discuss the magnificence that is Xander Cooper's coat. Making his début appearance at Evoque (after losing El Ligero at UCLAN Freshers Week), the Futureshock Wrestling regular rocked up in a get-up that would get you battered in most nightclubs around the country and certainly "noticed" in a few others. All dark green and peacock feathery, Cooper looked resplendent as he headed down the Evoque steps to the ring. In a way, it was a shame that Cooper didn't get a one on one match for his (Evoque) debut, to really get the crowd familiar with his character (A small "You're just a shit Ric Flair" chant didn't really hit the spot)

Match 1 - Cruiserweight Championship Four-Way - Bubblegum (C) vs. Xander Cooper vs. Dean Allmark vs. Ashton Smith

      An adequate start to the show, this was what you'd expect from these four talented performers. The action was fast-paced and with it's fair share of flips (Allmark's Asai Moonsault especially standing out), but for me, it was the heel-face divide that drove the bout. With Bubblegum and Cooper seemingly joining forces early doors, the pair would be thwarted at almost every turn by Allmark and Smith (the latter ducking a crossbody by Cooper, sending him into the arms of Bubblegum, before nailing Bubblegum with a backstabber was the highlight of the contest), the champion had had enough of the partnership and nailed Cooper with a Pedigree for the victory, working as a satisfying pay-off to the narrative. For me, this was a little too short to really allow any of the four performers to shine as bright as they could have and to fully explore what could have been done in the ring, both in terms of the action and story-telling. (I think it's also worth noting that all three of Bubblegum's challengers had lost their previous match in PCW)

Winner - Bubblegum via pinfall (on Cooper) in 7 minutes, 34 seconds *STILL CHAMPION*

Match 2 - Singles - Charlie Garrett vs. Iestyn Rees with Joanna Rose

Two workers who clearly know each other very well (They've performed as The Alpha Males tag team in various promotions for the last two years), and who are both technically proficient in the ring. It would be difficult to fault any of the wrestling content of this match, but it was quite simply...a little bit dull. The pair seemed to almost be coasting here, with a crowd that had been slow to warm up not being drawn into the action, which was needed considering this match was happening for...reasons. I found Joanna Rose at ringside to be the most interesting piece of the puzzle here, and even she didn't come into things until the closing stages of the match, causing the distraction that would allow Rees to get the win with a big ol' Powerbomb. 

Winner - Iestyn Rees via pinfall in 11 minutes, 53 seconds.

Match 3 - Singles - Dave Rayne vs. PCW Tag Team Champion T-Bone with Joanna Rose

After Joanna  had offered Rayne a shot at the #Boom Championship, if he could beat T-Bone, Rayne didn't beat T-Bone in a sub-two minutes squash, that saw the PCW Tag Team Champion finish off Rayne with a sweet Tombstone Piledriver. Boom!

Winner - T-Bone via pinfall in 1 minute, 48 seconds

Match 4 - Singles - "The Psycho Killer" Tommaso Ciampa vs. "The Mexican Sensation" El Ligero

     Undoubtedly the highlight of the first half; former ROH World TV Champion Tommaso Ciampa and All Star Wrestling regular El Ligero put on a pleasing rematch of their Supershow of Honor clash from last November. Whilst I'd rank the original clash a little higher, this was still a quality encounter, full of hard chops and big impact moves. Ciampa impressed with his character work, quickly taking on the antagonist role by laying into Ligero before the bell, as well as causing a little girl to cry at ringside. All was good later, the girl isn't scarred for life and some people were really angry on the PCW Facebook page, if only they'd have really given him some heat in the match!. Both men got some great near falls, taking on a very Indy feel, as Ciampa came close with an over the shoulder belly to back piledriver on the apron and Project Ciampa, whilst Ligero seemed to have the match won after hitting a lovely frog splash. With the series now tied at one a-piece, I'm hoping that later down the line (I'd imagine sometime in 2016 now), that we get a third clash between the two, with the pair given a little bit more time to really put on a show.

Winner - El Ligero via pinfall in 11 minutes, 57 seconds.

Match 5 - No Holds Barred - Lionheart vs. Sha Samuels

Sha Samuels is one of my favourite heels in PCW and he's been built amazingly since debuting just over a year ago. So when The East End Butcher came out to Kris Travis' music I couldn't have been happier... I mean, obviously I showered Samuels with some boos, as did the rest of the crowd, but that's exactly the reaction it should have been getting. With Lionheart heading straight and wasting no time going after Samuels, the crowd was the hottest they had been all night and perhaps the most behind Lionheart I've seen since his return from injury. Unfortunately, the match couldn't quite keep things up, with the action never really living up to the No Holds Barred moniker. I mean, if you'd never seen a No Holds Barred match before, I'm sure you'd have thought it was bloody marvellous. Some brawling on the outside and some whipping with Samuels' braces (which didn't look particularly convincing), but compared to the action before the Noam Dar and Drew Galloway match later in the night, this was a fairly tame affair. The finish was well-done however, with Samuels locking in the sleeper hold, with a scarf for added measure, and it was good to see Samuels' momentum continue to grow.

Winner - Sha Samuels via referee stoppage in 10 minutes, 24 seconds.

Before the night's sole tag team encounter, there was a backstage skit, involving Sam Ward taking a piss....yeah. Then The Wards came out with a dog. A DOG! A BLOODY DOG! This went straight over my head, but seemed to get a decent reaction from sections of the crowd. It even garnered a "That was Awesome" chant, which I'm really not sure was supposed to be the reaction it should have been getting. Whatever. Wrestling.

Match 6 - Tag Team - Hayes & Kirby vs. The Wards

Another very short bout, the pre-match antics actually went on about three minutes longer than the actual in-ring action. But, in terms of action, this was the weakest bout of the night, with the four never seeming to connect. There was some decent continuation of Joey Hayes and Martin Kirby's storyline, although if not a little repetitious on previous goings on, with Kirby taking on the majority of The Wards' offence, before Hayes came in to steal the win. Whilst the Wards look okay on the attack, with a fine looking powerslam combo situation working as a nice near fall, but I was not sold on the duo when Kirby was powering up. Sam looked especially ropey, taking a bizarre shitty bump off of the Kirby's Dreamland that would end the match.

Winners - Hayes & Kirby via pinfall (Hayes on Sam Ward) in 6 minutes, 3 seconds

Before the rematch from August's The Fourth Awakens, could even begin, Noam Dar and Drew Galloway had brawled all over Evoque. Trust me, this will look magnificent on Blu-Ray as the pair really went at it, and the stuff that I could see clearly looked brutal and was done with an intensity that was missing from elsewhere in the night. Brawling on the booths, brawling behind the bar, a Fallaway slam from Galloway into a fire door, Dar sending Galloway head first into a wall. The two made the most of the environment provided and continued to get over the rivalry that began when Galloway attacked Dar at the end of their match in August. It's interesting that this action felt much more No Holds Barred, than the No Holds Barred match earlier in the night.

Match 7 - Singles - Noam Dar vs. Drew Galloway

High and away the match of the night, the action inside the ring was just as good as the action outside it. The pair looked almost effortless in there, with Dar quick to target the former WWE Intercontinental Champion's leg once again, straight away bringing back memories of how good their initial contest was. Galloway's selling was on point once more, making Dar's Champagne Super Knee Bar feel all the more dramatic, as Galloway managed to claw himself to the ropes. Whilst CSKB was clearly a big part of this and the last match, Galloway bought his own weapon with the Futureshock DDT. After attempting a swinging variation of the move earlier in the match, it was not one, but two DDT's that would eventually put Dar away. This was a bout that played off the original encounter, whilst being completely different at the same time, brilliant stuff. Give me more of this.

Winner - Drew Galloway via pinfall in 10 minutes, 9 seconds

Pull apart brawls are great, give me a pull apart brawl and I'll be happy! Who doesn't love pull apart brawls? Seriously, though, Dar and Galloway heightened things with their post-match confrontation, with a number of PCW Staff/Trainees getting in between the pair as they tried to tear strips off each other, after Galloway continued to batter Dar after the bell. Just like the previous bout, the goings on post-match intensified the want for a rematch and raised the feud to the next level, superb booking that was improved upon by two world-class performances. Big shout out to the trainee who couldn't wipe the "Look at me, I'm in the ring" smile off his face during the entire segment, because it wasn't a serious situation at all. 

After the thrill-ride that was the raffle, it was almost time for the main event. Before that though, Joanna Rose said something. She put over Bobby Lashley as her choice to dethrone Dave Mastiff as champion, which I suppose made some sense as Lashley may have gotten a more positive reaction simply because he's been on the telly. But I honestly don't think it was needed, as Lashley got plenty of heat walking out for just working for TNA and being alongside Joanna, who had already been out twice in the evening. 

Match 8 - PCW "World" Heavyweight Championship - "The Bastard" Dave Mastiff vs. Bobby Lashley with Joanna Rose

When your main event gets a "boring" chant, that pretty much says it all, doesn't it? This match was just that, boring. What would you do if the crowd was chanting boring? Slap on the fourth rest hold of the match, according to big Bobby. The match ran just shy of ten minutes; why are we having to have FOUR REST HOLDS! Yes, Lashley was "wearing down" Mastiff and all that, but there were surely more interesting ways to so, especially when the match was going less than ten minutes. Even then Mastiff had to resort to a low blow to get the victory, which I'm sure was in there to keep Lashley looking relatively strong for his TNA/Bellator commitments rather than do anything for Mastiff, before hitting his Cannonball to retain the title. 

Winner - Dave Mastiff via pinfall in 9 minutes, 53 seconds.

Iestyn Rees, T-Bone and Bubblegum were all out to give Mastiff some beats after the match, with The Bastard also taking a big spear from Lashley. The crowd clearly knew the score as the "Maaartin" shouts began, and out came Money in the Bank holder Martin Kirby. Kirby's partner Joey Hayes argued that Kirby shouldn't cash in, giving Mastiff enough time to recover and the trio fought off F.W.B to close the show. Not quite sure about this as the closing segment, as whilst it sent the fans home happy, the Kirby and Hayes stuff went on a little too long. The crowd chanting for Kirby to cash-in, despite Mastiff being their favourite Bastard was also a weird moment. One last point, F.W.B. have been trying to get the belt off Mastiff since he won the belt in July, so why didn't they want Kirby to cash in his Money in the Bank? The fact that they bought in Lashley for this show already shows they aren't too bothered about the title going to someone already in the group, right?

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating: 5.06/10

Galloway vs. Dar just about saves this show from dropping below a 5 on the ATPW Scale, with all three portions (the bout, plus action before and after) scoring high.


As you might have been able to tell from reading the review, I didn't enjoy the majority of this show, at all. If I was taking into account the fucking weird crowd (bloke who couldn't chant in time, drunken women, some shit chants that unsurprisingly didn't get going) then I think that the rating would be a lot lower, as I know that it certainly impacted on my enjoyment of the show. I wouldn't say there was necessarily a "bad" match on the show, although parts of the tag bout perhaps came close and the main event couldn't live up to the action directly before it. There was a lot of average or dull action throughout this show. More often than not the contests felt way too short to fully deliver on their potential also.


Having tickets to Shropshire Wrestling Alliance show on Halloween, I'm certain I won't be back for PCW's Halloween double header. My next trip to Preston will be for the PCW/ROH weekender in November...I'm expecting to have a much better time of things here, as last year's four shows were superb. But as it stands, I'm considering making those shows my last PCW shows for a while. 


A big thanks to Andrew Tomlinson for casting his eagle-eye over this. Very much appreciated. 

PCW The Fourth Awakens LIVE Review

Just under four weeks since Tribute to the Troops 2 (which saw Dave Mastiff defeat Chris Masters for the PCW Championship) PCW was back to celebrate the promotions fourth anniversary in style, with The Fourth Awakens. Packed with talent from around the world, the show was main-evented by current WWE NXT star and former ROH World Champion, Samoa Joe taking on an unannounced opponent, with the likes of Dave Mastiff, Drew Galloway, Joey Hayes, Martin Kirby, Noam Dar, Sha Samuels, reDRagon and more also appearing. The event also featured the well-anticipated return of Kris Travis, in his first PCW match since June 2014, after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Due to being stuck by the bar (outside of the main room in Evoque), I completely missed comedian Chris Brooker's opening speech, although I'd imagine it was a hilarious affair, as usual.

One Fall Six Way Match

Ophidian 

vs. 

Luther Ward 

vs. 

Dean Allmark 

vs. 

El Ligero 

vs. 

Charlie Garrett 

vs. 

Ashton Smith

 Anyone who's seen a PCW show will be more than familiar with the company's six way bouts, by now. If you're not, I'm sure you can figure out what six of PCW's cruiserweight division going at it could potentially look like. The match has become a calling card for the promotion. Plenty of fast-paced action and some quality spots spread throughout the bout, with Ashton Smith's double Olympic Slam and a superplex to the outside standing out as the pick of the bunch. The bout had an interesting dynamic, with the debuting Luther Ward impressing as the only heel in the bout. My only real complaint was that the match was fairly short, and all six of the men in the match could have benefited from a having a bit more time here. I also would have liked to have seen the bout have some kind of consequence (a shot at the Cruiser-weight title being the most obvious option), which could have added a little extra bite, when El Ligero picked up the win with a C4L on Smith.

One Fall Tag Team Match for the PCW Tag Team Championships.

Team Single (C) 

vs. 

The Broleivers

Hmmm...How to review this match? Essentially, what was supposed to happen, didn't happen, and what was supposed to happen wasn't much in the first place. Without going into it too much, Rampage Brown and T-Bone legitimately battered Josh Bodom and Ryan Hendricks for an uncomfortable couple of minutes. The majority of the Preston crowd couldn't have cared less for the debuting Broleivers or their fate chanting on for the usually hated Team Single. The finish saw the referee call for the bell with Bodom in a rear-naked choke from Brown, despite the move clearly being in the ropes and Bodom seemingly never tapping. Make of this what you will. It was not an enjoyable experience to watch this one at all, I'd paid to watch pro wrestling and this wasn't pro wrestling.

Following the match T-Bone, who for some reason was suddenly sporting a funky hat, challenged the winners of the upcoming reDRagon vs. Martin Kirby & Joey Hayes bout for a match later down the line, a strange thing for a heel tag team champion duo to do.

One Fall Match

Dave Rayne 

vs. 

Iestyn Rees

Going in, I was wondering how exactly Dave Rayne and Iestyn Rees would approach this one, with their styles of wrestling being very different. However the pair put on an enjoyable encounter, that although fairly short, played to the strengths of both men well. With a strong structure, that involved Rayne giving Rees the old fashioned run around in an attempt to take control of the match and plenty of comedy thrown into the mix, as one would expect with Rayne. The finish furthered Rayne's issues with General Manager Joanna Rose, as she appeared at ringside with Rayne's #Boom belt, allowing Rees to take control and hit a huge powerbomb to pick up the win. Plenty to enjoy in this one, with some strong storyline development, as Rees' powerbomb after the match suggested that we may see a rematch between the two, further down the line.

One Fall Match

Noam Dar 

vs. 

Drew Galloway

This bout was right up my alley, with Galloway and Dar putting together a top-quality effort. Some strong story-telling which saw Dar focus the majority of his efforts on Galloway's right knee, including hitting a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes, as well as off the top rope! The former Chosen One's selling was spot on throughout, with just enough touches  and winches on the knee, to keep the injury in the mind of fans, meaning that when Dar locked on the Champagne Super Knee Dar, twice, it meant so much more, and got a lovely reaction out of the Evoque Nightclub.

Whilst the crowd in many places around the country would have been split down the middle for these two Scotsman, Preston quickly decided they were behind the regular Noam Dar, serenading him with the usual chants. Galloway's demeanour, walking out slowly with head down and hair across his face, made it easy to side with Dar, over the more well-known former WWE Intercontinental Champion, with Galloway clearly playing to this kind of reaction, unlike previous imports who have clearly been thrown by the reaction opposite the ever popular Dar. The current leader of The Rising's offence seemed very scrappy, suiting his demeanour and adding something different to the show as a whole. 

With two huge near-falls, that got both got terrific reactions out of the live crowd, for Galloway, including a Tombstone Piledriver, it was Dar who was able to pick up the victory, capturing a frustrated Galloway in a small package for the pinfall. Whilst it was a shame not to get a true pay-off on Dar working the leg earlier in the match, it could easily be argued, in kayfabe, that the injured leg made it harder to escape the small package, so all is well with me. A post-match attack from Galloway following a handshake, turning him full-blown heel in PCW, would suggest this isn't the last we've seen of the current ICW World Heavyweight Champion in the promotion, a rematch with Dar certainly wouldn't go a miss for sure.

Elimination Three Way Match for the PCW Championship

Chris Masters 

vs. 

Dave Mastiff (C) 

vs. 

Bubblegum

I can't say I was particularly over joyed when Joanna Rose added Chris Masters to the match, mainly because Master's does very little for me, however his involvement here did provide a solid narrative, and allow babyface champion Dave Mastiff to be seen as the underdog, a role that one of our top five bastards is very rarely able to be in. The best reaction of the match came when Masters' asked Bubblegum to lie down for him, and whilst the logic may have been a little flawed (Why not wait to eliminate Mastiff?), the masses rallied behind their favourite Rent Boy, with Bubblegum eventually able to eliminate Masters with a roll-up. Strangely, Joanna Rose instantly banished Masters' from F.W.B. and PCW, turning him into an awkward babyface, whilst Bubblegum remained heel, despite having the crowd support earlier on. 

With Mastiff quickly able to take advantage once inside the ring, the big man from the Black Country picked up the win with a Cannonball in the corner to retain his title. It was a shame not to be able to see a little more of a one-on-one contest between Mastiff and Bubblegum, as I was interested to see how the dynamic was going to play out when heading to the show. However, this worked well as a way of building Mastiff as a dominant champion, who the crowd is clearly behind when placed against the right opponent. Another potential match for a future show, whilst the Bubblegum babyface turn tease seemed well received, there was a lot to take away from this bout. 

That wasn't the last we'd see of Mastiff on the night, as Joanna revealed that he would Samoa Joe's opponent in the main event, with the current WWE NXT star heading out for an intense stare down.

After a quick fifteen minute interval, with your regular wetting of whistles and perusing of the merch desk, it was back into the action.

One Fall Match

Rockstar Spud 

vs. 

Lionheart

Unannounced before the show, this match seemed to fall flat with the crowd. The problem seemed to be that both men are currently protagonists in the promotion, and so, as can often happen, the crowd was unsure on who they wanted to get behind and therefore...didn't get behind anyone. There were smattering of chants for Spud and a "Sexy Bastard" chant or two for Lionheart, but beyond that the match was mainly played out to crickets. The match having very little consequence or a build heading in, didn't help proceedings either, as there was no particular reason for anyone to care about who picked up the win.

The action in the ring was perfectly fine, as you'd expect with two of the most well-travelled performers here in the UK. The pair flowed nicely in the ring together, and every move looked crisp throughout, I don't think I could pick fault with the action at all. Rockstar Spud's selling was particularly strong, which perhaps made it even more frustrating to watch, as if Lionheart had been playing a full-blown heel role, which was teased at points, it would have completely changed the match around with the crowd being able to truly get involved in the action. Lionheart picking up the win cleanly with a Lifting Side Slam, followed by a Frog Splash, was a big win for the Pro Wrestling Elite promoter and gives him some momentum heading into PCW's autumn and winter shows, with particular eye on the collaboration with Ring of Honor in November.

One Fall Tag Team Match

reDRagon 

vs. 

Martin Kirby & Joey Hayes

With an intriguing pace and slightly off-kilter story, this was a delightful slice of tag team action from start to finish. Almost all of the story was focused on PCW regular's Joey Hayes and Martin Kirby's precarious partnership, with Hayes presenting Kirby with a brand new pair of trunks with his name on them prior to the match, setting the tone for what was toe come. reDRagon worked over Hayes for a good portion of the bout with their usual hybrid style, much to the delight of the Evoque, building nicely to a hot tag to Kirby. With the bout lifting in tempo for the closing stages, with the highlight of Kirby's run as the proverbial house of fire being a double Northern Lights suplex. 

The action was spot-on from bell to bell, and as the bout headed to a climax (following the hot tag to Kirby) the two teams lifted their respective games and the pace to create some good tag team action, with the performers seeming to gel together early on. reDRagon's combination that see's Fish hold an opponent in a wheel barrow position, followed by a double underhook DDT by O'Reilly, before O'Reilly pushes the opponent into a wheelbarrow suplex from Fish, always impresses me for it's creativity and flow, and worked nicely as a near fall here, with the teams going back and forth for a good few minutes either side. 

The Hayes and Kirby story continued to develop when after Kirby had hit Kirby's Dreamland and seemingly had the match won, Hayes tagged himself in, leading to a disagreement between the two and Hayes kicking Kirby in the stomach and tossing him to the outside. Whilst this worked as the finish to the match (after reDRagon took advantage and hit their Chasing the Dragon finish for the win), it was surprising to see Hayes and Kirby split up so early, meaning that the incident was a little underwhelming at the point it came at. reDRagon move onto a Tag Team Championship bout in November, whilst Hayes and Kirby will supposedly now be working a singles feud, perhaps involving Kirby's Money in the Bank briefcase, over the next few shows.

One Fall Match

Kris Travis 

vs. 

Sha Samuels

The moment Kris Travis walked out to wrestle for the first time in a PCW ring since June 2014, was a truly special moment. One of those moments that only pro wrestling can create, when a full to brim Nightclub can show their appreciation to a man who suffered with stomach cancer, for coming back to entertain us. Kris Travis is certainly a one of a kind performer in the ring, but making a return to pro wrestling, when many would have called it a day, makes him a one of a kind human being. Trav is the fucking man, man.

The match itself featuring some superb storytelling and Travis and Sha Samuels had the crowd in the palm of their hands from start to finish. Samuels, the cockney wanker that he is, made Travis' stomach the focus of his attacks throughout the contest, with Travis' selling being so good that at times it was uncomfortable to watch. Travis' fight back produced a stellar false finish with the Shooting Star unable to put away Samuels with a Double Underhook Piledriver. Travis even became the first person to successfully escape Samuels' sleeper hold for another big moment. It was, however, not the fairytale comeback that the crowd was looking for with Samuels able to put Travis away with another Sleeper Hold, this time with his leg wrapped around Trav's waist. For me, having Samuels win here was the right decision for everyone involved, with Samuels getting some lovely heat from the crowd, whilst Travis now has a much more interesting story to follow as his comeback continues. 

A raffle happened, who doesn't like a raffle. With the crowd being directed to the screens, former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat was announced as making an appearance for the promotion on October 31st. 

One Fall Match for the PCW Championship

Samoa Joe 

vs. 

Dave Mastiff (C)

For what would many would mark as a dream match, Evoque was very subdued for this one. Maybe it was that the match started way after ten o'clock, maybe it was the crowd needed to come down after the emotional rollercoaster that was Travis vs. Samuels, maybe the match suffered from a similar problem as the previous Spud vs. Lionheart match, maybe it was because we'd already seen both Mastiff and Joe earlier in the night, I'm not quite sure what it was that caused the crowd to be relatively quiet for this heavyweight clash. 

The pace of the start of the match seemed to suggest that the match could potentially be going long, with the pair exchanging holds at a low pace and Joe especially working a headlock for a long time. Although this wouldn't come, there were a handful of nice suplexes delivered from both men (although not warranting the "Suplex City" chant that broke out) and a submission sequence from Joe also stood out, with Joe transitioning from an STF into a Crossface. With F.W.B. and Iestyn Rees charging the ring following a Cannonball from Mastiff, I was left scratching my head a little bit, as the run-in caused the disqualification that allowed Mastiff to retain the title, exactly what the pinfall on Joe would have done. 

The show closed with Chris Masters heading out to make the save for Joe and Mastiff and the trio being able to fight off the four heels. It was Joanna Rose however who had the last word, announcing that Mastiff would be defending his title on October 31st opposite former 5 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Jarrett. With the pair having a heated exchange back in April at 5upershow - Show 3, this one looks set to be an intriguing encounter indeed, especially if Jarrett's wife, Karen, is involved.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.69

Another strong showing from PCW, that produced a number of matches that I wouldn't argue if someone wanted to call match of the night. Travis vs. Samuels had some superb emotional storytelling, Dar vs. Galloway produced top performances from both men, whilst reDRagon vs. Martin Kirby and Joey Hayes was an unusual bout, but worked well thanks to four top-quality workers.

While there wasn't a "bad" match on the card (let's not talk about Team Single's Open Challenge at this point) there were points when the match failed to capture the crowd, with the biggest example being Lionheart and Rockstar Spud's bout, which would be heavily based around the reasons mentioned above, but could also have done something with the match being chosen to open the show, in a show that seemed to struggle to a gain good flow, in terms of match placement. Having Travis vs. Samuels directly before the main event would work as an example of this. 

With some pleasing storyline development (Mastiff vs. F.W.B., Dar vs. Galloway, Travis/Lionheart vs. Samuels, Hayes vs. Kirby, reDRagon vs. Team Single) this anniversary show seemed much more focused on the future than it did the past. This is a PCW that is continuing to grow as a promotion, and it's was great to see the promotion looking to build, rather than looking back at past successes.

With just over three weeks until the promotion hits Blackpool for Bank Holiday Bash (which is free by the way), which will feature 2 time ROH World Tag Team Champions The Wolves, 3 time TNA Knockout's Champion Mickie James, former  WWE United States Champion Mr. Anderson, former IWGP Tag Team Champion Magnus and former WWE World Tag Team Champions Too Cool, you can find out more about Preston City Wrestling by clicking the name.