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

Find Us 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Wrestle Ropes' Ready for the Weekend: January 2016 Week 4

We're back with another bumper weekend of British Wrestling events this week. This weekend we shall see Grand Pro Wrestling come 'Back With A Bang', witness an 'Outbreak' at Alpha Omega Wrestling and see what happens when you 'Chat Sh*t' at PROGRESS Wrestling. Let's get Ready For The Weekend!

Kicking off the wrestling weekend on Friday night and Grand Pro Wrestling are at The Rose Club in Hindley, Wigan with 'Back With A Bang 2016', their first show of the year. The event shall see The Island Brothers together as a team for the first time in over a year. Their opponents, The Bad Lads have been growing stronger as a team in the time that The Island Brothers have had other issues to deal with. Now the brothers are back together they will be looking to regain their place in the tag team division but face a big challenge right out the blocks. The GPW Tag Team Champions, Midnight Bin Collection will also be in action on Friday night as they join Joey Hayes to face The Hate League's Dylan Roberts, Danxig & Soner Dursun in a six-man tag team match. Joey Hayes has previous with The Hate League, most notably Soner Dursun who turned on Hayes during the North West League to join Dylan Roberts & Danxig. The Hate League will no doubt have their focus on winning gold in the near future and a win over the current tag team champions would certainly put them in the running for a title match. However, a win won't come easy over s
such a trio of Midnight Bin Collection & Joey Hayes. The main event for January 22nd will see both the GPW Heavyweight & British Championships on the line. At Grand Pro Wrestling's last event, Bubblegum & T-Bone ended up walking out with a different championship from the one they started the night. On Friday night we're going to see both men try to recapture the title they lost and walk away with both championships.

full card

*GPW British Championship Vs GPW Heavyweight Championship*

Bubblegum (c) vs T-Bone (c)

*Six-Man Tag Team*

Hate League (Danxig, Soner Dursun & Dylan Roberts) vs Joey Hayes & Midnight Bin Collection (Ste Bin Mann & Jet Fashion)

‘Magnificent’ Matthew Brooks vs DDL

The Island Brothers (Tabu & Rio) vs The Bad Lads (Drill & Mickey Barnes)

‘One Man Riot’ Craig Kollins vs Ashton Smith

Cyanide vs Noah

Travis Banks vs ‘The Priority’ Chris Ridgeway

Moving on to Saturday and Alpha Omega Wrestling kick off 2016 with 'Outbreak' at the Winter Gardens in Morecambe. After Chris Ridgeway's narrow loss to Stixx for the Alpha Omega Heavyweight Championship at 'Fightmare Before Christmas', Sam Bailey tweeted to Ridgeway to “keep his chin up” and that his “chance to shine would come”. Chris Ridgeway did not appreciate to encouraging words and a war of words was soon being traded on social media. Alpha Omega Wrestling never being a promotion to shy away from letting issues be settled in the ring have therefore scheduled a match for January 23rd between the two. Sam Bailey is one of the most popular men in AOW history, Ridgeway one of the most hated. Bailey will look to make his return to Morecambe a winning one. Chris Ridgeway looks to show Bailey that his time is right now and he's already shining bright. Since their arrival, The Referendum have been in pursuit of championship gold. A pursuit that they thought may soon be over when they were involved in a tag team match with Sexy Kev & Mr Big Shaun Vasey to crown the Alpha Omega Tag Team Champions. However something happened that The Referendum had never experienced before. They lost. When they then lost another chance to win gold, their leader, Laird Grayson (who was suspended) used a steel chair on Big Sexxxy. Tired of the oppression that The Referendum have forced on Alpha Omega Wrestling, Big Sexxxy challenged The Referendum to a street fight which The Referendum accepted on the conditions that the championships were on the line and that Laird Grayson would be reinstated if they won. The champions accepted the conditions. However Alpha Male Stallion added one of his own. If Big Sexxxy win on Saturday, Laird Grayson isn't suspended, he's fired! The main event at 'Outbreak' shall see Stixx defend the Alpha Omega Heavyweight Championship for the first time since his win. A win which he did not get to celebrate after being attacked by 'Local Hero' Joe Hendry just minutes after claiming the prize. Stixx wants revenge for his moment being taken away and he's prepared to put the championship on the line to do so. If Stixx allows his rage to take over then Stixx might not only be the first ever Alpha Omega Heavyweight Champion, he might be the shortest reigning one as well.

full card

*Alpha Omega Heavyweight Championship*

‘The Heavyweight House Of Pain’ Stixx (c) vs ‘The Local Hero’ Joe Hendry

*Alpha Omega Tag Team Championship: Street Fight (If The Referendum Win, Laird Grayson Is Reinstated, If Big Sexy Win, Laird Grayson Is Fired)*

Big Sexxxy (Sexy Kev & Mr Big Shaun Vasey) (c) vs The Referendum (Liam Thomson & Bobby Roberts)

‘The Priority’ Chris Ridgeway vs Sam Bailey

*Six-Man Tag Team*

RJM, Cyanide & Ryan Hunter vs ‘The Leader’ James Drake, Barricade & ???

‘One Man Riot’ Craig Kollins vs ‘Ultraviolent’ Chris Silvio

Lana Austin & Alexis Rose vs The Referendum (‘The Best In The Galaxy’ Nikki Storm & Carmel Jacob)

The weekend is rounded off with another sold out event from PROGRESS Wrestling who are back at The Electric Ballroom in Camden, London with 'Chapter 25: Chat Sh*t Get Banged'. The main event for January 24th shall see the PROGRESS Champion, 'The Aerial Assassin' Will Ospreay defend the championship against 'The Villain' Marty Scurll. This match came about after Marty Scurll took it upon himself to attack Ospreay after a successful title defense in Manchester. Threatening to break the champion's arm unless he was given a championship match, PROGRESS management were given no choice but to agree. Scurll then showed why he is known as 'The Villain', smashing Will Ospreay's arm with a steel chair anyway. Since then, this match has become personal with Ospreay asking for the match to be no disqualification which was granted. Yes, there is gold up for grabs on Sunday but it's more than that. It's personal. Whoever walks away with the PROGRESS Championship will have the luxury of knowing who their first challenger will be as 'The Star Attraction' Mark Haskins and 'Liverpool's No.1' Zack Gibson will compete to become the number one contender to the PROGRESS Championship on Sunday. Both of these men have an impressive run as of late with neither being defeated in recent months. Both have a valid right to challenge for the gold but only one man's run is continuing past January 24th. For anyone who follows PROGRESS Wrestling and their ENDVR events will know, the women of PROGRESS have been at the forefront. They have main evented shows and delivered show-stealing contests every time. Now they are going to show once again what they can do when Pollyanna, Toni Storm, Jinny & Dahlia Black compete in a fatal four-way match this Sunday at 'Chapter 25: Chat Sh*t Get Banged' in Camden, London.

full card

*PROGRESS Championship: No Disqualification*

‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll vs ‘The Aerial Assassin’ Will Ospreay (c)

*PROGRESS Tag Team Championship*

The Origin (‘The Showstealer’ Nathan Cruz & ‘The Mexican Sensation’ El Ligero) (c) vs FSU (‘White Lightning’ Mark Andrews & ‘The Pride Of Wales’ Eddie Dennis)

*Winner Chooses A Stipulation For The London Riots Vs Sumerian Death Squad On March 27th*

Rob Lynch vs Michael Dante

*PROGRESS Championship Number One Contender*

‘The Star Attraction’ Mark Haskins vs ‘Liverpool’s No.1’ Zack Gibson

*Fatal Four-Way*

Pollyanna vs Toni Storm vs Dahlia Black (w/ TK Cooper) vs Jinny

*Winner Qualifies For The Natural Progression Series Semi-Finals*

Tyler Bate vs Damian Dunne

‘Flash’ Morgan Webster vs Paul Robinson

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

Spotlight: HXC Wrestling

A brand new monthly feature for Across The Pond Wrestling as each month we take a look a British Wrestling company. This month, it's the turn of new Manchester based Hardcore outfit HXC Wrestling.

For a company who only had their debut in April, HXC Wrestling has certainly created a hell of a buzz for itself. After selling out it's original venue for their first show One Dark Night, it was decided to move the show to Manchester Met University's Student Union, which also sold out.

HXC has made the bold decision of making all it's events 18+, with the majority of professional wrestling companies becoming more kid friendly, on the back of WWE's new PG era, a gap in the market has opened up for companies like HXC to exploit. The fan that existed during the ECW age and the attitude era hasn't just gone away and in fact many of them are hitting their late teens and are not being catered for by main stream wrestling anymore.

HXC makes use of both local and national talent with Stixx, T-Bone and Cyanide main eventing One Dark Night. And with top UK talent Jimmy Havoc heading to Manchester for their second show Chaos A.D. the talent on show is about to go through the roof. "I'm one of the most well known names in Hardcore wrestling in the country and have been wrestling around Europe for the last 10 years, but never in Manchester" Havoc explains, "then I get a call from HXC saying they want me on their roster. Can't say that's a bad call on their part, lets just hope Manchester is ready for what I'm going to bring to the party."

They also aren't afraid to listen to their fans and if something needs changing they want to know about it. With promoter Mike Hough explaining "After the phenomenal success of the One Dark Night, we've gone all out to make sure the card for the second show really meets the expectations of the fans", he continues, "as much as we already had future plans for CHAOS A.D in place, we have taken the feedback of all our fans who attended the first show and injected it into the second. We want to continue to give the people what they want and that is the best way to do it".


With a stacked card heading into Chaos A.D. once again taking place at MMU Student Union on Saturday 8th June, including double main events Clint Margera Vs. T-Bone and Jack Jester Vs. Jimmy Havoc alongside Zack Gibson Vs. Mad Man Manson, Loco Mike Mason w/Rebecca Mason Vs. Mikey Whiplash w/Violet Vendetta and Sam Bailey Vs. Cyanide w/Chris Egan. It looks like this upstart promotion will go from strength to strength, continuing to build it's name and serve a forgotten area of the wrestling community.

 You can find out more about HXC Wrestling at hxcwrestling.com as well www.facebook.com/hxcwrestlinguk and by following them @hxcwrestlinguk on Twitter. Tickets for Chaos A.D. are available from www.ticketline.co.uk.