Live Review // ATTACK! Pro Wrestling GooseBUMPS VI // Drew Parker vs. Splits McPins

ATTACK!'s Halloween spectacular was back for the sixth time with the Trinity Centre in Bristol as the host of the grizzly graps. This year's edition was hit by taking place on the same day as a NXT UK taping and a big RevPro event, meaning a whole host of regulars, including ATTACK! Champion Wild Boar and 24/7 Champion Pete Dunne, as well as the likes of Chris Brookes, El Phantasmo, Aussie Open, Millie McKenzie, Travis Banks, Eddie Dennis, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate were all absent. It was definitely a blow and a test of the depth of the ATTACK! roster, but offered up opportunities to the likes of Drew Parker and Splits McPins who main-evented in Halloween Havoc 2018, as well as The Hunter Brothers colliding with Team WhiteWolf in a "Grudge" match. The show also featured action involving Martin Kirby, Mike Bird, Damian Dunne, Chuck Mambo and Spike Trivet...but was it any good? Lets take a look. 

FUN fact - This was the first GooseBUMPS missing appearances from Pete Dunne and Eddie Dennis (with at least one of the pair having main evented every incarnation of the event, including together on the original and third shows), meaning Mike Bird and Damian Dunne are the only two to have wrestled on all six shows.

The show kicked off with an appearance from ATTACK! General Manager and general scamp Kid Lykos, who announced that former tag partners turned bitter rivals LK Mezzinger and Splits McPins would be taking part in Pick Your Poison at the show, with both men able to choose their enemies opponent. Cheers Lykos. 

A solid opener saw 2 time ATTACK! Tag Team Champion LK Mezinger pick up a victory over former ATTACK! Champion Damian Dunne. The bout continued the narrative of a disheartened Dunne, still recovering from the breakup of the Anti-Fun Police at the hands of Nothing to Prove in August, keeping things short and sweet as we were provided with glimpses of the old Chief including a thunderous spear that garnered a big pop from the Trinity Centre and that felt like it could have been a turning point. Mezinger didn't look out of place with a more experienced performer, working well in the spoiler role, as he mocked Dunne and provided the early ammunition with a massive slap. I'd like to see the character fleshed out slightly and a few of the disparate elements (the outfit, the cane, the nickname of "Your favourite scumbag" etc.) bought together more to create a better defined persona, but that will surely come with more singles exposure over time. Dunne attempting his springboard lungblower finish (without trademark "No Funahhhhh") was a running theme throughout, so of course it would eventually be his downfall with Mezinger able to transition into a cradle belly to back piledriver. It was a shame that the following move, a senton bomb, missed by a mile taking the punch out of the finish that really didn't require the top rope move after the more impressive piledriver.

FUN Fact - This was LK Mezinger's first singles win in ATTACK!, having previously suffered losses to Big Grizzly and Tyler Bate.

Nothing to Prove continued to gain momentum as ELIJAH put away Niwa in what was a strong showing from both performers. This was probably the best singles work I've seen from either as they paced the bout well and plotted in a few brilliant spots. I've been waiting to be impressed by both men for some time and whilst both have shown potential in multi-mans and tag outings, this was the first singles match that I've been genuinely into from Elijah, whilst in the case of Niwa, it's difficult to buy into someone you mostly see in scramble matches. It wasn't a must-watch classic, but both men took the opportunity and produced a match that was full of action and physicality. The obvious highlight of the match was the massive springboard coast to coast dropkick that ELIJAH used to knock Niwa off the apron on the other side of the ring, because it came almost completely out of nowhere and took me completely by surprise. I'm hoping both men get more opportunities like this one around the country because it will only be a benefit to both the performers and the scene in general.

FUN fact - Niwa is still searching for his first ATTACK! singles win, after previously suffering losses to Travis Banks in July and Mike Bird in August.

Okay, the first two matches had been alright, solid stuff, but where the fudge was my Halloween goodness? It came in the form of a Grudge Match for the Tag titles, which the Hunter Brothers took literally as they appeared to have been transformed into the spirit from Halloween classic, The Grudge. Team WhiteWolf on the other hand reminded us that "No one expects the Spanish inquisition" as the Spaniards arrived as the Monty Python sketch to hilarious consequences. Seriously, I struggled to breath through portions of this match, with some utter silliness displayed by both teams as they played up the roles and had a number of ludicurous interactions in the opening portion of the match. The variant on the cliche bridging pin reversal spot was the highlight, before the Hunters were offered a beer and quickly snapped back into their usual selves. From then the match shifted into something much more recognisable as The Hunter Brothers continued to show why they're thought of as one of, if not the, best tag team in the UK with a number of sleek tag team sequences including a lovely superkick spot. Whilst there was some miscommunication that lead to a really awkward dive spot, Team WhiteWolf still had a strong showing, flying about the place with ease and pulling out a number of cracking tag moves, including a missile dropkick variant of Total Elimination (Totaller Elimination?), as well as a top-rope Spanish Inquisition Fly from A-Kid. They aren't the finished article yet, but more matches like this will help them get there. 

FUN Fact - The Hunter Brothers have been undefeated since the break up of the Anti-Fun Police at WinterSlam 3, with their run as a duo extending back to the second night of Press Start VI.

The second half began with more Nothing to Prove success as Chuck Mambo (as a creepy face-painted Love Making Demon) defeated Martin Kirby (as Uncle Fester off of The Addams Family). A little bit spookier than the previous Nothing to Prove singles match, but with similar structure, it's difficult for those match not to merge into one in my head, but this was probably the strongest of the three. Whilst it lacked the emotional element of the opener and the big spot from ELIJAH vs. Niwa, this was just a good solid wrestling match, with the two working nicely together in their first one on one bout. Whilst it feels like Mambo is still settling into his heel character, the role allows for him to explore his style in ways that the happy-go-lucky surfer gimmick doesn't, with Chuck able to display (perhaps oxymoronically) both his technical talents and fiery brawling side. Kirby is, of course, one of the most dependable and consistent performers in the country and worked well in his role, getting the crowd behind him with ease, despite having not performed for ATTACK! in Bristol since December 2016, thanks to some offence like his springboard dropkick and by not being a part of Nothing to Prove. A nasty bump of heads on an O'Connor roll into sleeper hold could have derailed the finish, with Mambo suffering a nasty wound under his eye, but they kept on with a couple of good near falls for each, before the dreaded sleeper hold sealed the win for Mambo. 

FUN Fact - Martin Kirby has never won a match at ATTACK! in Bristol.

HALLOWEEN MADNESS! If there's one thing this show will be remembered for it's that Spike Trivet dressed up as Theresa May and came out to Dancing Queen. As soon as I realised what was about to happen, a few seconds into the famous song, until the end of the match I was in absolute stitches, with Trivet owning every second of his Bristol ATTACK! debut. He was part of a four way scramble, that also featured Mike Bird (as Big Mummy), Shay Purser (as Kung-Fu Panda) and Nico Angelo (as Tarzan), that was stacked full of the silliness that ATTACK! is most loved for. There was the ridiculous Big Mummy character, a parody of World of Sport legend Big Daddy, full of lots of insider stuff to pop those who got it, the delightful Purser just trying to Kung Fu shit and Angelo with a more animalistic twist on his super flippy and athletic self, what more do you want from a batshit mad four way? Trivet pulled it all together with his various Spinnatory attempts, with the match peaking when Trivet offered £20 to Angelo to do a dive for him, quickly swapping for banana when he realsied Tarzan didn't understand the concept, before striking Angelo in the junglefruits. The finish saw Bird going nuts with piledrivers and Steiner Screwdrivers for all, before Purser completely no sold a top-rope over the shoulder Tombstone and won with a swift punch to the stomach. This had actually been set up earlier in the match with Purser unable to use the move because of Big Mummy's big belly (a hoodie inside Bird's singlet) but with the belly now gone Purser was clear to hit the move and pick up the win. Side note: Purser moving up the belt classes of pro wrestling is really cute gimmick that will hopefully become even more interesting and dramatic as things progress. 

FUN fact - Mike Bird ties Travis Banks for most ATTACK! four-way appearances in 2018, although neither man has managed to win one.

The best thing to come out of all the absences on the show was that Splits McPins and Drew Parker got a big opportunity to main event in a singles match and grabbed that opportunity with both hands. With a Halloween Havoc No Disqualification type gimmick, this was a rough and tumble clash with plenty of menace behind it, with the pair having issues since the start of the year (including McPins' tag partner LK Mezinger (fka Lloyd Katt) defecting to NTP). The match built well throughout, shifting through the gears well, moving from back and forth seated punches to big shots with plastic wet floor signs to stapling balls and apron bumps, there was pretty much no let-up or lull as McPins and Parker consistently upped the ante. Parker's experience in the Hardcore zone/sphere meaning he was able to come out on top of number of exchanges was a nice little story, that threaded the match together, making this feel more main event than throwaway plunder brawl. Some big highspots helped towards this aim as well, with a nasty death valley driver on the apron from McPins and Parker's avalanche falcon arrow through a table being the most memorable. The finish saw things develop further with a clever ref bump that involved Parker stapling McPins mask back to front and putting referee Huw in place for a superkick, before thumbtacks and LK Mezinger arrived on the scene. Mezinger accidentally clobbering Parker with his cane almost immediately was a nice way of playing with the audiences expectations, especially after three previous Nothing to Prove victories, whilst McPins ended up with a convincing victory after a Full Moon and a solo More Bowl for your Buck into the drawing pins. These lads stepped up and using a few tricks to get there, produced a good main event that didn't look out of place on regular ATTACK! event. 

Post-match - There seemed to be issues between Mezinger and Parker, I'm intrigued to see if that leads to anything on the last few shows of 2018.

FUN Fact - Splits McPins has only lost one singles match in ATTACK!, to Tyler Bate at Club One Hundred #2 in September 2016. 

This was a lovely fun show, with every match being somewhere in the solid to good range and nothing looking to outstay it's welcome. Whilst it would be wrong to say the absences weren't noticeable and that no match was without its issues, pretty much everyone that had to step up on these shows did and I think that's part of what made it such a lovely experience as a fan. Perhaps ironically this was most notable with the group that calls itself Nothing to Prove with all four members proving their ability and/or potential as singles guys across the card and whilst it's arguable that the group was seen too much on a six match card, the experience will be invaluable to all four as they continue to grow. ELIJAH out performed my previous estimations, whilst Drew Parker looked extremely comfortable in the main event. It's difficult to pick a match of the night, because I wouldn't class any one match as "must-watch", but there were certainly stretches of the Hunters vs. WhiteWolf, the four-way scramble and Parker vs. McPins main event that would make any of those three worthy winners. It's been questioned recently the effect that WWE running NXT UK events reguarly in the UK will have on the Indy scene, but If GooseBUMPS VI is anything to go by ATTACK! Pro Wrestling and British wrestling as a whole has enough talent coming through to keep things entertaining for quite some time and perhaps not having to rely on big names will allow new and fresh talent to come through.

You can check out the On Demand version of this show for yourself here - https://vimeo.com/ondemand/goosbumpsvi/295116631

Review by James Marston 

Photo credit - Ringside Perspective 

FCP DTTI Hangover (Live) Review

On 19th May, Fight Club: Pro found itself a new home at Starworks Warehouse in Wolverhampton and hosted the aftermath of their epic Dream Tag Team Invitational Easter weekender. The show featured a Six Man Scramble with Angelico, Jimmy Havoc, Jordan Devlin, Eddie Dennis, Dan Moloney and Clint Margera, the DTTI winners #CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) facing off with the debuting Scarlet & Graves (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) and The Hunter Brothers (Lee & Jim) and Travis Banks defending the FCP Championship against Trent Seven, as well as appearances from Kay Lee Ray, Joe Coffey, "The Regulator" Wolfgang, Kris Wolf and "Session Moth" Martina...but was it any good? Let's take a look, shall we? 

Pre-Show
Omari def. Dallaway, Johnny T & Fletcher 

These multi-man trainee "dark" matches had become a bit of a tradition towards the end of FCP's run at Fixxion, so it was nice to see them return for the Starworks show. These usually short and pacy matches work quite nicely at whetting the appetite for some a more substantial graps feast to come, like a nice soup with a crusty cob or whatever your starter of choice is...prawn cocktail, whatever. The first half of the bout was 1i1o type stuff, with a number of big strikes that left Omari with a bright red chest, then into the obligatory dive sequence, before a double german suplex spot was aided with an Omari enziguiri. For me, the best action on offer came when Kyle Fletcher and Omari went at it, putting together hard-hitting slick strike sequence as well cool spot with The Big O slingshotting to the inside and straight into a Fletcher superkick. Overall, the timing could have been better at points, but nothing that had a major effect and with this technically being a trainee dark match those kind of things are to be expected as the four being to iron out their creases. As with any starter this was a nice lead in for what was to come, without ever threatening to fully satisfy the hunger.   

Wolfgang def. Coffey 

The opener of the show proper was an interesting choice, as Wolfgang and Joe Coffey met in their most Southern match to date. Originally, Coffey and Wolfgang were scheduled to take part in a six man match, but Wolfie cut a quick promo and we had an all Scottish affair to kick things off in Wolverhampton. Now, I've thought about how to review this match more than probably any other match on the card, because in the moment, I just didn't get it. Not that I felt I'd seen a bad match, but one that just hadn't grabbed me in the way I perhaps expected it to do. Being the conscientious reviewer that I am and knowing that I'd enjoyed both guys on previous occasions, I thought I'd ask some of my wrassle pals what they thought and almost every single one of them seemed to have a higher opinion of the bout than I did.  I wouldn't say anyone raved about it, but they enjoyed the big lads battle, Marc Pearson noted the psychology in particular, but I still wasn't buying into it. 

I'm not sure why I did...not enjoy isn't the right phrase, because there was some lovely stuff and a few spots that I'll always pop for (Coffey's triple jump crossbody)...so perhaps the best term is fully appreciate. I'm not sure why I didn't fully appreciate this match. I've purposefully not gone back and watched it since, because I wanted to give my feelings on it from being there in the space and how it affected me. Perhaps it was the new venue, which is much more spacious than Fixxion and it took some getting used to the new atmosphere. Perhaps it was the ring breaking early on, when it looked like one of the board came at the very least loose on a bodyslam, which threw me a little off. Perhaps it was coming off a four man into a singles match that I expected to be a six man did something to me. I'm not sure. Looking back on my notes, it reads like a decent opener with some big spots like Coffey's running jump over the barricade and mid-rope moonsault from Wolfgang, before Wolfie picked up his first FCP after blocking a superplex and nailing The Howling. I'm looking forward to rewatching this and hopefully reappraising in the future, as well as getting to see how both fit into Starworks plans going forward. 

KLR def. Wolf

Kay Lee Ray's first FCP singles win against the debuting Kris Wolf from Stardom was a fun bout whilst it lasted but I came away a little disappointed. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this bout and I had a ball of a time watching it, but there just wasn't enough of it. After a technical start, the two had some jokes revolving around the height differential (KLR is 5' 8'' and Wolf just 4' 10'') including a surprise appearance from Viper to even the odds, we had KLR replying to Wolf biting her arm, by biting Wolf's tail and the two looking to use the new FCP set-up as much as possible. Kay Lee jumped off the barricade with a forearm and then Wolf used the new entrance way as a set off monkey bars, initially thrusting out for a kick and then transitioning into hurricanrana onto the floor. Creative stuff on the outside with the exploration of the new venue being a bit of theme for the whole show. 

Once the action returned to the ring I was expecting business to pick up. We'd seen flashes throughout the match with some fast paced roped running stuff and a cool succession of near falls, but by this point I was chomping at the bit to see Wolf and KLR hit top gear and by the bouts conclusion I don't think we got anywhere close to seeing what the pair could have done together. A couple of near falls for each, KLR off a Gory bomb and a wheelbarrow suplex for Wolf and it seemed like the bout was heading towards it's crescendo and then Kay Lee slapped on a koji clutch and that was that. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, perhaps some more firey exchanges, perhaps a gear change, perhaps some cool submission escapes and just a general build up of aggression towards a conclusion, but I certainly wasn't expecting Wolf to tap so quickly. I'm hoping we get a rematch between the two, depending on how long Wolf spends in the country, because a second match building on the stellar work done here would take away my needy complaints. I want more, dammit.    

#CCK def. Scarlet & Graves and Hunter Brothers 

With Mark Andrews off the card, The Hunter Brothers joined #CCK's Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos and the debuting Rockstar Pro regular's Scarlet & Graves' Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz in a superb three way tag team match as the first half main event. I both hate and love #CCK, sometimes at the same time. I don't know when it happened but Brookes & Lykos have developed into one of the slickest tag team acts in the world. Ever little detail they've added over the past year or so, after branching out from Attack! into FCP, IPW:UK, Southside and elsewhere, Brookes spitting and chucking water at lads, Lykos never shutting up and never being able to hit a brainbuster and also those sicking fucking tag moves, those little details make them so easy to hate, but so entertaining to watch at the same time. When the best boys controlled, first Wentz and then Jim Hunter, they held the crowd in just the right place for the madness that was about to come our way. 

Christ, once the momentum swung towards the Tipton and Ohio connection, as Jim tagged in Xavier things became a balls to the wall sprint, with a shed load of highspots and more sicking fucking tag moves than you could shake a shitty stick at. Dives to the outside from all four of our heroes, big strikes, the Hunters swinging into dropkick, the sweet gory blockbuster that CCK do and that's not even the half of it, as Scarlet & Graves also won over a number of new fans with their high energy offence. My notes on this match got gradually less descriptive as the bout went on, to the point where my final bullet point was "Finish is a series of ridiculous things seemingly all happening simultaneously. It is fucking marvellous". If that's not a good enough description for you, go and watch the match and come back and tell me I didn't get it spot on.  

Devlin def. Angelico, Havoc, Dennis, Moloney and Margera 

OTT's Jordan Devlin picked up a big win on his FCP debut in an eclectic six man scramble, that showcased a real mixed bag of performers and went all over the building. With a variety of different styles, movesets and personas, this was never going to be boring, especially with the crowd so intent on trying to get the attention of Dan Moloney. The mach started with a series of strikes, before the six men worked a lovely sequence where Devlin and Moloney thwarted dive attempts from Angelico and Eddie Dennis, before Jimmy Havoc and Clint Margera got the better of the villain, hit stereo suicide dives and Dennis and Angelico went up and over to the floor. It was a structurally simple opening, but non the less it was effective, with the initial denial of the fan favourite flips meaning they meant a whole lot more when we got them, and more, shortly after. 

Then, of course, there was the crowd brawling. Boy was there some crowd brawling. Starworks is much larger than Fixxion so it seemed like everyone decided to make the most of the extra space. The enjoyment of this kind of stuff usually depends on where you happen to situated in the room and how much you can actually see and with most of the action happening towards the bar area at the far end of the room and me sitting front row towards the entrance way, I didn't manage to catch a whole lot of this. There certainly was some brawling, in different combinations. With six men in the match it would've been cool to have seen them split off into pairs and head into different sections of the crowd, so there was something different for each area to focus their attentions on, but unfortunately the bulk seemed to occur in the large space at the far end of the room. There was a great spot with Devlin reversing a Havoc piledriver into a backbody drop on the bar, which caused an odd series of hanging lightbulbs to swing about, as well as a sequence of back and forth forearms with the six sat opposite each other, however. 

Once back in the ring, the match produced its best action with some interesting combinations battling it out. Dennis cleaned house with forearms out of various situations, Margera and Moloney put together a good section together, Margera took an acid rainmaker as Havoc shouted "I'm sorry, I love you" for a nice pop and Dennis took out both the Callous Hearts with a Fallaway Slam/Samoan drop combination, a solid mixture of sleek sequences, back and forth wrestling, comedic near falls and multi-man spots. I would've liked to have seen a few more highspots making the most of the sheer numbers involved in the match, but that nitpicking didn't make this any less enjoyable. The finish saw each man consecutively taken out of contention with the aforementioned combination move from Dennis keeping Margera and Havoc down, before Moloney removed Dennis from the equation with a sitout fireman's carry facebuster, Angelico took out Moloney with a turnbuckle crucifix powerbomb, leading into a wicked Devlin package piledriver that gave the WWE UK competitor a surprising debut victory. 

Purser def. Martina in a Fans Bring the Alcohol Match 

I'm still trying to come to terms with the Fans Bring the Alcohol match and to be honest with you, I don't think that I ever will completely. Referee Shay Purser's first FCP show since turning 18 saw him facing off with notorious boozehound and potential sexual deviant Martina with the fans supplying the alcohol, because it would've been weird if they'd bought their own booze with them. Most of my notes on this bout were single words, written in all caps, for example..."CHRIST". There was drinking, there was singing, there was referee Joel Allen wearing a bin bag, there was a pissed up version of an international, there was bronco busters for anyone who wanted one and it all felt like some kind of glorious dream. The kind of dream that you awake from with a start, slightly confused and questioning everything you once knew to be true. This probably wasn't a match for all, I'm not even sure if it was for me, but it certainly was an experience I won't forget in a hurry. 
  
JOEL DRIED THE RING. WELL DONE JOEL!

Banks def. Seven to retain FCP Championship 

Trent Seven and Travis Banks had been to war with each other before in FCP. Back at Rise Against in March 2016 when a frustrated came out with the victory in only Banks' second match in the promotion, before nine months Trav picked up his first singles win in FCP in a thrilling conclusion to the Infinity tournament. This match took a slightly different angle, as whilst Trent had become the default heel back in December due to the sheer investment the Fixxion crowd had in Banks' losing streak story, there was no mistaking that Seven was the villain here as the challenger cheap shotted the champion out of a handshake and we were off to the races. These two lads are two of the hardest hitters currently residing on our island and holy balls on a typewriter did they hit each other hard here. Strong style kicks and forearms and chops, brawling out into the crowd and doing a wonderful version of the spot where Seven misses a chop using the trussing for the lighting rig, when Seven and Banks face off you know you're going to get something physical, the kind of wrestling that makes you wince in a weird pleasure you're not quite sure how to deal with. 

Once the early brawling was done with, the two found the kitchen sink and through that at each other as well (obviously metaphorically, just in case you were wondering). The two went back and forth hitting big high impact moves, including a series of german suplexes one after the other, a dragon suplex, a seven star lariat and a burning hammer from Seven, a springboard roundhouse kick, a ringpost crotching and double stomp from Banks. Each move looked great, hit with ferocity and intent and that's not even the half of it. The proceedings seemed to get sillier and the reactions got louder as the match went on with each near fall seeming more improbable than the last. Banks kicked out a piledriver, Seven kicked out of a ridiculous coast to coast and then the champ kicked out of an avalanche piledriver, because why the fuck not? The best (or worst, if you're a miserable old bellend) part is that that wasn't even the daftest part of the match. Oh no, as we learned that Travis is pretty much indestructible as he took his third piledriver of the match and bounced back to his feet and the crowd went apeshit, before taking another dragon suplex and no selling the fuck out of that bad boy as well. A roundhouse kick and Kiwi Crusher later and Banks was still our Fight Club: Pro Champion after a thrilling 20 minutes of international strong style professional wrestling. I could watch Travis Banks v Trent Seven every day for the rest of my life and twice on Sundays and never get bored. Each of their matches in FCP has had it's own flavour, using different stories and situations to drive them, but always include great striking, crisp and dynamic big moves, some wonderful facial expression and terrific, awe-inspiring near falls. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.88/10

A very good debut show at Starworks for Fight Club: Pro and whilst I'm not completely sold on the new venue just yet, I am still sold on the wrestling content. Was the show on the same level as the Dream Tag Team Invitational weekend? No, but it didn't particularly need to be. I think the show took a while to find it's stride, but once the first half main event had blown me away with #CCK, Scarlet & Graves & The Hunter Brothers, the show didn't look back with a wonderfully varied second half, that concluded with main event owning the match of the night spot as Travis Banks and Trent Seven did what they do best. I can't wait to see what FCP has in store for us as we had into the summer, especially when Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate are available and there's not a chance I'm missing a single show.

Photo Credit - The Ringside Perspective.

Event Review: FCP Breaking Into Heaven - Clint Margera v Pete Dunne 2 *Falls Count Anywhere*

After a very good show on Friday and a superb show on Saturday in Wolverhampton, Sunday, 23rd October saw Fight Club: Pro head North for a show at Manchester Metropolitan University's Student Union in...umm...Manchester. 75 miles from their home, FCP presented a show that saw Clint Margera get a shot at Pete Dunne's FCP Championship in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, Trent Seven went one on one with Mikey Whiplash and Chris Brookes tangled with Fire Ant. With Kimber Lee, Nixon Newell, Shane Strickland, Orange Cassidy and Travis Banks featured on the undercard, could Breaking Into Heaven better the high standards that had already been set across the weekend and smash into Manchester with a cracker? 

Pete Dunne collected his second successful FCP Championship defense in as many days, with a victory over the man who last defeated him in FCP, Clint Margera. The bout began with a similar moment to Dunne's bout with Trent Seven on Pulp Fixxion Part 2, where The Bruiserweight attacked Margera before the bell, calling out the FCP management for making him defend the belt against a "Death Match Worker", only for Margera to turn the tables and make the match Falls Count Anywhere, because...he bloody did. The duo brawled around the Union, fighting on the apron, around ringside, into the fans and onto the stage area. This fracas was punctuated by elongated "Pet-er" chants for Dunne (in reference to a moment from PROGRESS Chapter 37, a week earlier just half a mile away). At times it became a little too much and distracted from the action, which may also have something to do with Margera being a relatively unfamiliar face to the Northern audience. This isn't to say that there wasn't plenty of good to very good stuff going on (Dunne hitting a Tombstone Piledriver on the stage, being the stand out moment), but that it often got overpowered. 

Just like the night before there was plenty a shenanigan in the finish of this on. Chris Brookes made the save for Dunne following Margera hitting an avalanche Death Valley driver and then it all seemed start happening. Ref bumps, biting, wet willies, all sorts of things were occuring, but the long and short of it was that Dunne retained the title with a Rear Naked Choke. There were even more antics post-match, with Trent Seven came out to help Margera, only to be beaten down by Dunne and Brookes as well. This would lead to Jimmy Havoc returning to the promotion, turning on former KYS pal Dunne and turning babyface in the process, as he hit Brookes with an Acid Rainmaker. It was a cool end to the show and after a lengthy time off it's good to see Havoc continue to make his return in different promotions and shake up their stories and rosters in the process. I can't help but feeling that having Havoc announced as already appearing on the show, impacted a little on the moment, as anyone who was paying attention could see exactly where ir was going. Potentially having Havoc come out and cut a return promo earlier in the night before coming back out for the save, would have given the moment more of a swerve factor, but preferably I would've liked this to be a complete surprise.

The semi-main saw Mikey Whiplash defeat Trent Seven, giving Whiplash his second victory in as many days over former FCP Champions. If you've been following British professional wrestling over the last twelve months, then you'll know that Whiplash and Seven have been tearing it up in Insane Championship Wrestling trading victories in Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester, with things spilling over to Scottish Wrestling Alliance in Motherwell and a special show presented by Jimmy Havoc in Glasgow. So as was to be expected, this bout was slickly put together and stiff as fuck as Whiplash and Seven tore strips out of each other and hit the majority of their big moves in an intense scrappy match. There was a lot of back and forth, with reversals and strike battles, with the story playing out as two guys who are extremely familiar with one another and had an answer for seemingly even the most severe assaults. 

If I was surprised to see Whiplash defeat Margera on Saturday, I was flabbergasted that Whiplash pinned Seven with a Gotch-style piledriver, only moments after withstanding a Bret's Rope piledriver (silly, silly nearfall). With two big wins over the weekend, Whiplash would seem to be becoming a regular for FCP, but having already gone through two of the promotions top babyfaces and with FCP currently looking a little heel heavy, I'm intrigued to see how he'll fit in next year. Bouts with the likes of Tyler Bate, The Hunter Brothers and Nixon Newell should provide some great variety, with the returning Jimmy Havoc offering another attractive prospective match up. Seven sold the loss like an absolute boss and after back to back losses he looked not just hurt from the rough clash, but emotionally drained as his quest to regain the FCP Championship seems to have hit a stumbling block. 

In a surprisingly long opener, Chris Brookes picked up his third victory of the weekend, this time besting Fire Ant. This bout was very much in the CHIKARA vein, as the pair mixed some good quality wrestling exchanges with a number of comedic spots and general hijinks. It was clear where the bout was heading from the very beginning as after being a piss-kidney to a loud fan, Brookes repeatedly asked the ref to back Ant up, causing Ant to end up actually outside the ring himself. It was corny spot, but both men, as well as referee Joel, played it perfectly. As Brookes' gimmick is developing into someone who would really rather not be wrestling, after taking control of the bout he took Ant out of the ring and out of the room, into the bar area of the student union, before legging back to the squared circle in attempt for a countout. The moment was made by a couple of verbal quips from Brookes once he got back inside the ring.

One of the spots that I was most looking forward to was Brookes (who is still a turd) going for his, now signature, wet willy spot. You can't do a wet willy on a masked man/ant. The spot didn't let me down and went flying passed what even my twisted imagination had conjured up on the drive to Manchester. After initial confusion by the lack of ears, Brookes pulled a canister of bug spray from a black fabric bag and really went to town with it. I don't know the international rules of wrestling completely, but I'd imagine that bug spray doesn't result in a DQ, because what if there's like bugs, that aren't wrestlers, trying to get involved? Exactly! Following this spot the pair mixed things up with some pacy sequences and a couple of nice near falls, including a Brainbuster from Ant and Michonoku Driver from Brookes. The Calamari Catch King would win with his now familiar closing sequence, getting a submission with his double armed octopus stretch, although Ant had previously been able to reverse the rope-hung whiplash neckbreaker, as repeating that sequence began to pay off in more interesting variations. 

The Hunter Brothers (Lee Hunter & Jim Hunter)' only appearance across the weekend saw Ashley Clementine (Kimber Lee) and Orange Cassidy unsuccessfully answer the open challenge laid down by Lee and Jim. Considering both were already on the show under different guises, it was a mild disappointment when Clementine & Cassidy came out, probably because the open challenge gimmick often leads to a lot of speculation. The match was entirely dictated by the Clementine & Cassidy's gimmick of being The World's Laziest Tag Team. At first, I was quite into the idea with Cassidy putting on weak head locks and both going to sit in the crowd after taking chops from Lee & Jim. It wasn't "laugh so much it hurts" funny, but it was still funny. However, for me it ended up dragging, as the single joke was stretched across almost fifteen minutes without really having a big punchline. It was mostly entertaining, but could have done with losing five minutes or more. Had this been the third night in a row of seeing the Hunter Brothers, then I think I would've enjoyed the change of pace for Lee & Jim, but with this being their only match of the weekend and with very little tag wrestling at all over the three days, a Hunter Brothers bout with a hot local tag team would have felt fresher than a bottle of Tropicana. 

The strongest contest on the show was Shane Strickland going over Travis Banks, in a bout that presented a nice style clash. Banks desperation to get a win in FCP was stamped all over the action once again, this time from the very beginning as Banks upped the aggression level with Strickland matching it and the pair producing a pacy and dynamic opening sequence that set the tone for what was to come. The crowd was well split between the two and both worked the Manchester audience well, keeping things fairly even with a string of top quality reversals. Banks catching Strickland coming out of a Rolling Thunder into a German suplex and Strickland swiftly hitting a Spanish Fly as Banks charged in looking for his running knee strike are the two moments that spring to mind initially, but the bout was full of similar switches and swerves.. The match didn't have as many strong near falls as the Banks v Fire Ant match from the night previously, but it managed to tell a different story within the established narrative in a distinct style. I would love to see the pair have a rematch at some point as an extra five or even ten minutes would have only benefited these two creative performers, especially as they become more familiar with each other.

In the sole women's outing on the show, Nixon Newell defeated Kimber Lee in a hard-hitting battle. The contest fell into a similar pattern that we'd seen from the other female matches that weekend, with the pair trading moves. Forearms, chops, kicks, a few more kicks and a german suplexes. A spot where the pair hit each other with bicycle kicks looked particularly well-done, as I've often seen that moment look awful if not timed right and not built to in the right manner. In comparison to the Newell v Kay Lee Ray match from the previous night, the bout had a little more aggression and omph behind it, especially in a sequence where Newell hit a head butt and a German suplex, before Lee would reply threefold. I would've liked to have seen a little bit more action before the finish to really develop the hostility between them, with Newell wanting to even the score from their previous match in May. The bout concluded with Lee missing a high-angle senton bomb and Newell nailing a picture perfect Vulture Culture Destroyer for the pinfall. 

Continuing his more than impressive weekend, Dan Moloney won a four way contest pinning TK Cooper in a match that also included Ethan Silver and Drew Parker. It was even more of an imposing victory because not only did Moloney call out anyone to face him, but he ended up with three opponents and finished the match standing tall over all of them. The bout concluded with an incredible double powerbomb on Silver and Parker, before a deadlift spinning sitout powerbomb to Cooper, making Moloney look like an absolute (super)beast. Moloney completely owned the space during this one, especially in that final stretch and after the match. Outside of Moloney looking like a top tier talent in the making, the rest of the four way was an entertaining spot fest that managed to fit an awful lot of action into a short amount of the time. Cooper, Silver and Parker could certainly play a role in FCP in the future, with the trio all offering something a little bit different to what's already on the regular roster.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.75/10

Show in a Sentence - A good start for FCP in a new city, but couldn't match the two previous show.  

Match of the Night - Shane Strickland v Travis Banks

Words - James Marston

All images are the property of Fight Club: Pro.

Wrestle Ropes' Ready for the Weekend: July 2016 Week Two - FCP, SWE & RevPro (Andy Scotland)

This weekend as with almost every weekend, British Wrestling is bulging with events all over the country. This week's edition see's us in Wolverhampton, Stevenage and London with some pretty big shows. So without any further ado, let's get Ready For The Weekend!

The weekend kicks off on Friday with Fight Club: PRO at the Fixxion Warehouse in Wolverhampton with 'Rage Against The Death Machine'. 

The main event shall see 'The Death Machine' Sami Callihan bring his rage to FCP when he faces the man who has been the foundation of the promotion, 'The Super Don' Trent Seven. Both of these men are known for a style which can be brutal at times. We expect this match to showcase the strong style these men are known for. 

We've spoken before about the issues between The Hunter Brothers and the Facesmashers. Well things have still not been settled between these two teams and doesn't look like it will be any time soon. To add another chapter to their storied rivalry, Hunter Brothers will be in singles action when Lee Hunter faces Dan Moloney while Wild Boar shall compete against Jim Hunter. Don't expect two matches that have clean decisions is all we'll say about these contests. 

Travis Banks arrived in Fight Club: PRO a number of months ago and was an instant hit as he has been all over the country. He's back again this Friday and he'll have possibly his biggest match since relocating to the UK when he faces the WWE Cruiserweight Classic's Zack Sabre Jr. Banks has impressed everyone as we have mentioned and this shall be a real test and opportunity to impress even further when he faces a true world-class wrestler in ZSJ.

Match Card

‘The Death Machine’ Sami Callihan vs ‘The Super Don’ Trent Seven

‘The Violence Machine’ Travis Banks vs Zack Sabre Jr

Dan Moloney vs Lee Hunter

Wild Boar vs Jim Hunter

Pete Dunne vs ‘Anti-Hero’ Tommy End

Chris Brookes vs Clint Margera

Moving on to Saturday and we head to Stevenage for Southside Wrestling Entertainment "Gunning For Glory" at The Gordon Craig Theatre. 

The show will see the feud between Stixx & Flips' Stixx & Chris Tyler and The Second City Collective's Ryan Smile & Damian Dunne continue. These two teams have been fighting back and forth for ages with Stixx & Flips finally securing themselves a shot at the SCS's SWE Tag Team Championship. However before their championship match, both teams shall meet again in a six-man tag team match with Marshall X joining The SCS and former WWE star D'Lo Brown aligning with Stixx & Flips. Both teams will be looking for the win give them a mental advantage over the other before the gold is on the line. 

Robbie X turned on his partner a number of months ago and since then has had no contact with SWE. That was until very recently when he challenged Mark Haskins to a street fight. Haskins has been waiting for the chance to gain revenge and wasn't ever going to back down from this challenge. The unknown in this match is what sort of mental state shall Robbie X be in. He was extremely angry and aggressive the last time we saw him in SWE. Could he be even more dangerous now? 

The main event this Saturday will see the bad blood between The Righteous Army and El Ligero finally come to an end. Hopefully. We'll see Righteous Army's Joseph Conners, Paul Malen, Kay Lee Ray & The Pledge face Ligero, Nixon Newell, Hardcore Holly and a fourth mystery partner in an elimination match. If Ligero's team defeat Righteous Army, then they shall be force the disband immediately. However a loss for Ligero would see him forced into joining Righteous Army. This is a match that neither team can afford to lose for their long-term future.

Match Card

8-Person Tag Team – If The Righteous Army Win, El Ligero Joins Them. If They Lose, They Disband Forever

The Righteous Army (‘The Righteous’ Joseph Conners, Kay Lee Ray, Paul Malen & The Pledge) vs ‘The Mexican Sensation’ El Ligero, Nixon Newell, Hardcore Holly & ???

Stevenage Street Fight

Robbie X vs ‘The Star Attraction’ Mark Haskins

‘The Aerial Assassin’ Will Ospreay vs DJ Z

The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) vs The Inter-Coastal Violence Connection (‘Calamari Catch King’ Chris Brookes & ‘The Violence Machine’ Travis Banks)

Six-Man Tag Team

The Second City Collective (‘All Day Star’ Ryan Smile & ‘Number One’ Damian Dunne) & Marshall X vs Stixx & Flips (‘The Heavyweight House Of Pain’ Stixx & ‘The One And Only’ Chris Tyler) & D-Lo Brown

Zack Sabre Jr vs ‘The Death Machine’ Sami Callihan

‘Anti-Hero’ Tommy End vs Bubblegum

Open Challenge

Billy Gunn vs ???

Shane Strickland Confirmed To Appear

Finally we end the wrestling weekend with a trip to London which is where we tend to end our weekends through either coincidence or just luck. This weekend see Revolution Pro Wrestling's 'Summer Sizzler 2016' take place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.

The main event for this match is the calibre that we have come to expect from RevPro as Zack Sabre Jr will defend the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship against Katsuyori Shibata. This match would not look out of place on a New Japan Pro Wrestling event and could well be one of the best matches we see in 2016. This match is so difficult to call that RevPro have already ensured that Shibata will be available for a future event in the event that he wins this Sunday. London is likely to see something very special. 

Pete Dunne has risen to the top of RevPro at lightning speed, capturing the British Cruiserweight Championship on his first night. Since then he has delivered stand out matches each and every time. His challenger this Sunday is well-known for standing out as he's the 2016 New Japan Best Of The Super Juniors winner and former champion; 'The Aerial Assassin' Will Ospreay. These men have already had and shall continue to have the most successful year of their young careers in 2016. A win for both men would only add to that success. 

Matt Sydal has been a regular visitor in Revolution Pro Wrestling and has a number of highly rated matches with men of similar size and style. However this Sunday he'll have a match with a man who is everything that is opposite of his style, 'The Beast Of Belfast' Big Damo. A true heavyweight who is known for his hard-hitting style. Sydal has worked for the biggest promotions in the world and faced equal world class competition. Damo will add to that world class competition this Sunday but he shall be an opponent the likes of Sydal may have never faced before. Talent and speed shall be Sydal's allies in this match. Damo will know Sydal's skills and will look to add another international scalp to his impressive list of opponents.

Match Card

Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship

Katsuyori Shibata vs Zack Sabre Jr (c)

Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship

‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne (c) vs ‘The Aerial Assassin’ Will Ospreay

Undisputed British Tag Team Championship – Fatal Four-Way

The Young Bloods (Kieran Bruce & Jake McCluskey) vs Joel Redman & Charlie Garrett (c) vs Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm vs The Legion Of Lords (Lord Gideon Grey & Rishi Ghosh)

‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll vs ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey

Tomohiro Ishii vs Josh Bodom

‘The Beast Of Belfast’ Big Damo vs ‘Reborn’ Matt Sydal

Moose vs ‘The East End Butcher’ Sha Samuels

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!