Wrestle Ropes' Ready for the Weekend: April 2016 Week 3 - FCP, Pride & RevPro

We're back and once again it's time for everybody to come aboard the.... weekly article? Yeah, so we're no experts at talking. What we are pretty good at though is telling you just a tiny selection of the great events coming up this weekend in British Wrestling. Let's get Ready For The Weekend!

friday
fcp planet terror vol. 2
wolverhampton, west midlands, england

Friday night kicks off another wrestling weekend when Fight Club: PRO are back at their usual haunt in Wolverhampton of The Planet Nightclub. The night sees Vol 2 of Planet Terror take place but it could be virtual bliss for us wrestling fans. Back at 'Rise Against' Pete Dunne was originally scheduled to face Clint Margera in a Death match. However, Dunne said that he would never compete in such a match and Rickey Shane Page took his place. Well this Friday marks Margera's birthday and FCP management have let Margera choose any match he wants as way of a gift. So Dunne will be in this match. He will be facing Margera. And it shall be an unsanctioned Death match! Clint Margera might not only be ripping open gifts, he could be ripping open Pete Dunne. For months, The Hunter Brothers have been at odds with The Facesmashers. Last month, Wild Boar & Dan Moloney said they wouldn't face Hunter Brothers again until they proved themselves. Well FCP think Hunter Brothers have proven their worth so these two teams are going to meet once again in an attempt to settle their differences. Whether we'll see the end to this war or not, we're seeing another battle in Wolverhampton this Friday. The main event on April 15th shall see MK McKinnan defending the FCP Championship for the first time this year. His opponent shall be having their first challenge for a championship in FCP, Nixon Newell. McKinnan has stated that he believes Newell has no place in the ring with him. Newell has proven without doubt that she is equal to any man or woman to grace FCP. If McKinnan thinks that Newell is no real threat to his championship reign then simply he won't walk out of The Planet Nightclub as champion.

planet terror vol.2 match card

*Fight Club: PRO Championship*

MK McKinnan (c) vs Nixon Newell

*Unsanctioned Death Match*

Pete Dunne vs Clint Margera

*Singles*

Trent Seven vs Zack Sabre Jr

*Singles*

Tyler Bate vs Travis Banks

*Tag Team*

The Hunter Brothers vs Wild Boar & Dan Moloney

saturday
pride carry on wrestling
glasgow, scotland

Moving on to Saturday and Pride Wrestling are hosting their first event of 2016 at their home of the Bridgeton Community Centre in Glasgow. The night sees championships defended and new threats emerge. Chris Renfrew and DCT have been battling over the N7 Championship since last year with Renfrew going to any length to remain champion. However, DCT's resilience has lead to Renfrew showing him a degree of respect. DCT's quest and hunger for the N7 Championship is still as strong as it ever was. He will not stop until he becomes champion. Each time he has come closer than the last. Could this be his time to topple Renfrew and become champion or will he come up short once again to the antics of the champion? Massimo Italiano is back in action at Pride after an impressive debut at their last event. This time round he's going one on one with possibly the most popular man in Pride, Bobby Roberts. Italino is a big hitter and he'll need to hit hard to get Roberts off his feet and down for the three-count. The crowd will almost certainly be behind 'Big Beefy' as he welcomes back the big Italian. When Pride finishes we shall know who has a guaranteed championship match as the 24/7 Challenge returns this Saturday. The past two challenges have been won by men who have both went on to become Pride Heavyweight Champion thanks in part to the any championship, anywhere clause. This 24/7 Challenge sees one of those men, 'The Lowland Superstar' Glen Dunbar once again compete for the contract. His long-time tag team partner, Alex Cavanagh and Christopher Saynt have also been announced for the match. The unknown in this match will come from the two unannounced entrants. Everyone in Pride Wrestling will want to be a part of this match as previous winners have shown it's potential to be a rocket to championship gold. The eventual winner will just have to overcome four other competitors to get that chance.

carry on wrestling match card

*Pride N7 Championship*

Chris Renfrew (c) vs DCT

*24/7 Challenge*

Christopher Saynt vs ‘The Lowland Superstar’ Glen Dunbar vs Alex Cavanagh vs ??? vs ???

*Singles*

Massimo Italiano vs ‘Big Beefy’ Bobby Roberts

*Singles*

Mr Byers vs Solar

sunday
revpro sittingbourne spectacular 2016
sittingbourne, kent, england

Rounding off the wrestling weekend and Revolution Pro Wrestling are at the UK Paper Leisure Club in Sittingbourne with their 'Sittingbourne Spectacular 2016' event. RevPro are well-known for the international match-ups and this event is no different with international stars in every match that has been announced. That is not be a slight at RevPro as they have scheduled some mouthwatering match up with the best of British stars. Pete Dunne only debuted in RevPro a few months ago during the Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship tournament. He went on to win that tournament and has been having stellar matches since. This Sunday looks to be no different as he faces one of the best cruiserweights in the world in the shape of Matt Sydal. Sydal has had a number of memorable matches in the past few years. This match could well be added to that list when he faces Dunne. When RevPro announced the first match for this event we knew the calibre we were getting. King Ricochet returns to RevPro to face 'The Aerial Assassin' Will Ospreay. Both of these men have appeared in the US, both are members of the New Japan Pro Wrestling roster. This is a match of world-class, epic proportions. Make no mistake this match will show why both of these men are the most in demand stars in the world right now. The main event will see championship gold defended as Zack Sabre Jr defends the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship against Michael Elgin. ZSJ won the championship from now WWE star, AJ Styles back in January. Not only did ZSJ win but he made Styles tap out to do it. Styles on that night declared the new champion to be one of the best in the world. A sentiment echoed by many others. He'll have to be indeed one of the best this Sunday as the challenger, Elgin, is a powerhouse of professional wrestling. Elgin has appeared in RevPro before and he impressed in a big way. Since then he has grown in talent and power. ZSJ is a technical wizard whose kicks are as hard as his holds are to escape from. He'll need those talents to counter the power and strength that Elgin will bring to the table on April 18th.

sittingbourne spectacular 2016 match card

*Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship*

Zack Sabre Jr (c) vs Michael Elgin

*Singles*

‘The Aerial Assassin’ Will Ospreay vs King Ricochet

*Singles*

Donovan Dijak vs ‘The Anarchist’ James Castle

*Singles*

ACH vs ‘The Beast Of Belfast’ Big Damo

Za

‘The Reborn’ Matt Sydal vs ‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne

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!

Merch Review: WrestleCrate March 2016 (Lily Lestrange)

It's only taken 5 months and 5 crates to do but I finally decided to write up a review of my March Wrestle Crate because it's gotten to the point now where the boxes are that good that I can't NOT talk loads about them to you all.

I've been subscribed to the crates since November when they first made the jump across the pond to the UK, courtesy of the same team who run Calling Spots Magazine. To be honest, the only disappointment I've ever experienced with my crates is that I only opted for the standard one when I first subscribed because I ended up missing out on some good stuff in that first box. The quality and diversity of these boxes are what keeps me subscribed; it also helps that you're supporting a small business whilst getting some excellent big brand products at the same time, along with unique items that the team design themselves so we're getting the best of both worlds. They do have a second chance store where you can buy some of the products from previous crates but when they're gone, they're gone for good so your best chances of getting these items at the best price possible is to subscribe and twiddle yer thumbs until the box arrives.

So, March's crate. It was probably the most diverse yet, which I didn't think was possible after the February crate (which I'll probably go back and review at some point when I can gather all the items from it... So in another 6 months then).

BEHOLD, IN ALL OF ITS GLORY. The wonderfully designed crate itself. You can't see from my darkly lit photo but the box is designed to look like a wrestling ring. I believe the design was a fan submission that they made a reality after it was sent to them over social media, which makes these crates even more special.

And here come the goods! In this crate we got two t-shirts, two DVDS, a signed 8x10, a mystery box and a puzzle game. I'm subscribed to the Ultimate crate so we get a bit more than the Standard crate subscribers.

As soon as I spotted this beauty I knew this would be my favourite item from this crate. If you don't get the reference then please donate all of your t-shirts to me so that I can wear them all at once and show them some love and appreciation. Sadly for me that won't be anyone, given how iconic this match is. For the purpose of the tape, this shirt references the moment in the Wrestlemania 24 match between HBK and Ric Flair where HBK mouthed "I'm sorry, I love you" to Flair before hitting him with a Sweet Chin Music and thus ending Flair's wrestling career (or so we thought, anyway).

The quality of the t-shirts have always been spot on with these crates. The print itself doesn't fade or crack after being washed, the colour doesn't fade and the material doesn't get all that bobbly way after a few washes, and they won't sleep with your wife when you're out of town. What more can you ask of a shirt, really?

The Brucey bonus this month was that, for the first time, we get TWO shirts instead of one. Because it's Mania season baybaaaaay and the Wrestle Crate crew are feelin' generous, fine and funky fresh.

I saw a lot of people on Twitter going daft about this shirt, particularly the ones that were fortunate enough to be travelling out to Dallas for Wrestlemania. The Sportatorium was the go-to venue for wrestling in Dallas since 1935 and it was open all the way up until the late 90s before it fell into disrepair and was finally demolished in 2003. World Class Championship Wrestling held their events there for years, then when the company crumbled it hosted the likes of Global Federation Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance shows but they weren't pulling in a big enough crowd to sustain themselves and had to abandon the old venue. So yet another piece of wrestling history that's commemorated by these shirts.

Next up we have a Wrestle Crate exclusive hand-signed print of Kenny Omega with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. The design is by Calling Spots regular artist Paul Cooper. The first thing that drew me into Calling Spots was the artwork and I've been a fan of Paul's work ever since so getting a signed print was a lovely addition to my collection.

There's usually a DVD in every crate and again this month we were spoiled as we ended up with two DVDS, one from Ring Of Honor and one from Chikara. I've not watched ROH in years and I've yet to watch either DVD but I've no doubt it will be up to the usual high standards that they hold. My only experience with Chikara is what I've seen on Botchamania which obviously isn't very good; all I know is that there's loads of different coloured Ants and a lot of failed flippity flip moves. They're actually coming to Glasgow in May and I'm going to get a ticket to see what it's all about so hopefully between that and the DVD I'm pleasantly surprised. Hopefully.

Next up we've got this wee thing; a little puzzle game with Sami Zayn on it. The great thing about these crates is that you really don't ever know what you're gonna get inside of them. Sometimes it's colouring books, sometime's it's bottle openers and sometimes it's wee slidey puzzle games to fry your brain with. I spent about 30 seconds muddling the little tiles up thinking "oh aye, I'll be able to solve this again no bother" and then proceeded to spend the next half hour after that calling Sami Zayn every name under the sun because I just kept making it worse. I remember having a toucan version of this game when I went to Flamingo Land as a kid and I remember a similar temper tantrum so I probably should have known better. I think at one point I tried to pry the tiles out of the toucan one with my wee fat fingers so that I could re-arrange them and pop them back into place but that didn't end very well either (DO NOT try and pick the bits out of your Wrestle Crate puzzle game please, or I'll end up in the jail because someone's kid has choked on Sami Zayn's tiny square head piece).

And finally we have this, which asides from the first shirt was my favourite part of this crate. A MYSTERY BOX. There are 12 different figures to collect from these boxes ranging from the Bellas to The Rock. I of course saw the Rock one and crossed my fingers that I would get him...

... No dice. I did get the Undertaker though, which is fine. IT'S FINE. I DIDN'T WANT THE ROCK ANYWAY (no but seriously if you got The Rock then please swap me so that I don't need to spend £100 trying to find the wee bastard in different boxes and end up with 50 of the same Hulk Hogan figure).

As you can hopefully see from my grainy photos, these are really good quality little vinyl figures. The designs are quite basic which is to be expected from a mystery box figure but the paint job is good and he doesn't topple over when you stand him up which is always a plus. I've got a shelf full of figures so if one falls then they all bloody fall; this usually occurs at some ungodly hour and frightens the life out of me so aye, figures that stand up are always good.

And that's it from March's crate! Overall I can't complain about the quality or quantity of anything in the crate, it's amazing value for money. If you buy a shirt at a show you're looking at £15 minimum so with the two shirts alone you're already getting more than what you paid for. The Ultimate crate that I get is £21.99 a month + £4 shipping within the UK, and the Standard crate is £ plus shipping. The Standard crate is a good way to dip your toes into the water but if you take a look at the amount of cool stuff that's been included in previous

Ultimate crates, I'd highly suggest you go all in and subscribe to the bigger crate to avoid the disappointment that is missing out on cool items from the Ultimate crate. Since Wrestle Crate jumped across the pond to the UK I've seen other similar crate subscriptions pop up online but from what I see the quality of them just doesn't compare. With Wrestle Crate you get a huge variety of high quality, unique products that for the most part are exclusive to Wrestle Crate.

You can see what all the fuss is about and sign up for a crate of your own here: www.wrestlecrate.co.uk

Balls Mahoney 1972-2016

ATPW would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of 3 time ECW World Tag Team Champion Balls Mahoney who passed away yesterday at the age of 44. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

Opinion: WWE Newbies - Evaluating April 2016's recruits to the Performance Center

So WWE announced ten shiny new recruits that will be training at the WWE Performance Center today. All of whom will have hopes and dreams of causing a storm on WWE NXT and eventually rocking our worlds on Monday Night RAW and Thursday Night Smackdown, grabbing that brass ring and becoming bonafide WWE superstars over the next few years. But how does the class of April 2016 look? Is there anyone that could potentially become the next breakout star? Or will they all be on the vast WWE scrapheap by this time next year? Let's take a cheeky look at this lads and lasses. 

babatunde aiyegbusi

This big lad has been on WWE's radar since last Summer, so it was no surprise to see him finally get signed. Originally from Poland, Babatunde Aiyegbusim moved to the US to play for Brock Lesnar's former NFL side the Minnesota Vikings during their off-season period and despite only a short run for the team, connections made with comedian Jimmy Kimmel landed him a WWE tryout last summer in Orlando. He's a big lad at 6ft 7in and a billed 350lbs (closer to 330) and has reportedly impressed WWE big-wigs with his laid-back charisma and character. He has a lot going for him and if he puts the work in at the Performance Center, there's certainly the potential for WWE to have a new big guy to push. The main problem I see here is that certain higher ups within WWE will be overly impressed with his look and build and push him too hard and too fast, before he's adequately equipped himself with all the skills that their are to learn from the great trainers at the Performance Center.

bianca blair

Another athlete that WWE have been keeping tabs on for a while now, Bianca Blair has completed in a variety of different sports, including hurdling during high school and college, before moving into CrossFit and weightlifting. She's said to have an impressive strength that will surely give her an advantage at the Performance Center, whilst her distinctive look should also stand her in good stead. In interviews she's revealed that she suffered from the eating disorder bulimia while at college in 2008, so there's a positive story to be told about her recovery that could make her a potential stand out on WWE's performance center reality series Breaking Ground. Again with no previous pro wrestling training a lot of this is all down to how well she reacts to the training at the Performance Center, but having shown an ability to shift between different disciplines in the past she very well may flourish over the next few years.

nikola bogojevic

Another big new recruit, Nikola Bogojevic is Greco-Roman wrestling star from Wisconsin. Having won a Bronze medal in the 2014 Pan-American Games and spent time training at the US Olympic Training Center, it will be very interesting to see how this near 300lber develops his in-ring style at the Performance Center. Another clearly talented athlete, but I can't find much about his personality or performance skills, maybe this will be something that he'll have to develop to get noticed over the next twelve months.

carolyn dunning

The female recruits for this class are a real mix bag, with Carolyn Dunning coming from a bodybuilding and modelling background. I think it's difficult to suggest how Carolyn may cope in WWE, as the landscape of women's wrestling in the company has changed drastically over the last two or three years. Obviously thanks to her bikini bodybuilding and then modelling career, she's gonna look pretty damn good out there, but unfortunately for her there's a bit more to the females division in WWE right now. 

macey estrella

Considering Macey Estrella was the first name on the list with any formal training, there's surprising little information about her around. She's trained by a bloke called Tom Caiazzo at somewhere called American Premier Wrestling...both of which can also find hardly any information about, so I've no idea on the quality of the training or how much training she's actually had. However, her past in the US Marine and Marine Corps SWAT team will mean that WWE will be keen to push her, as they love all things US army.

nicola glencross

Formerly known as Nikki Storm on the independent circuit, Glencross has competed in ten different countries, including the UK, USA and Japan, over he 7 year career, so far. Most frequently seen in SWA, ICW and EVE, Glencross has a strong technical style that should allow her to mesh with the likes of Asuka, Bayley and Emma. I'd expect Glencross to be moved onto WWE NXT television perhaps as soon as the next set of TV tapings to help bolster the women's division that has looked a little thing on the ground since losing Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks not too long ago. Having previously been trained by NXT coach Robbie Brookside (as well as current ICW World Heavyweight Champion Big Damo) Glencross could very well end up being the shining star of the April 2016 class.

terrance jean-jacques

Rounding off a pretty legit class of blokes, we have an All-American Wrestler, with a 32-2 record at the University of Iowa, Terrance Jean-Jacques. He's even competed in and won an MMA bout back in 2013. There seems to have been a push on big guys with this class and there's the potential that Jean-Jacques could get lost in the mix, in what is surely going to be a competitive group. However, he's got a strong look and we've seen amateur wrestler shine in WWE over the last six months with American Alpha being the best example. One problem for Jean-Jacques could potentially be a previously broken vertabrae in his back, but I'm sure we'll find out if that's going to be much off an issue as soon as he starts getting put through his paces by the NXT coaches.

danielle kamela 

The final woman of the class, Danielle Kamela is a product of the KnokX Pro Academy, where she trained under WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi and former EWP Heavyweight Champion Gangrel. The pair have previously trained the likes of former WWE United States Champion Rusev, former WWE wrestler Troy McClain and former AAA star Steve Pain, so Kamela should have a strong foundation on which to build upon with WWE. Her lack of in-ring experience may also actually play in her favour, as she may well be easier to mold than those with more than herself. I'd also expect her time working for FOX Sports in Arizona to help her with the televisual performance element of her new job and wouldn't be surprised if WWE decided to utilise her as an on-air personality on NXT as she continues her wrestling training. 

michael nicholls

Formerly known as Mikey Nicholls, Michael Nicholls is probably the most accomplished wrestler in this class, alongside the final member, who was his regular tag team partner as part of TMDK. Nicholls is a former 2 time GHC Tag Team Champion and has previously wrestled in Japan, his home country of Australia and the USA, most regularly for NOAH, EPW and NWA Pro. With a 15 year career already behind him, Nicholls is another one who should be more than ready to step straight onto programming, whether that be on his own or with the next man we're about to talk about...

shane veryzer

The other half of TMDK, the man formerly known as Shane Haste is just as an accomplished performer as his partner. Holding many of the same accolades and achievments as Nicholls, thanks to their eight years tagging together, it would seem like a no-brainer that we've see Nicholls and Veryzer continue to tag together when they make their debuts on NXT. The Australian duo have the potential to make a splash in NXT's tag team division which has lost Enzo & Cass and The Vaudevillains over the last few weeks, with a potential clash with American Alpha being a mouth-watering prospect for anyone who's followed the two teams. 

Well that's the April 2016 recruits to the WWE Performance Center. I hope that you enjoyed this look at their prospects and found out a thing or two about the ten people who very well maybe the future of WWE. We'd like to wish everyone of the group the very best with their careers and look forward to seeing their progress over the coming months and years.

TV Review: WWE NXT #191 (Crews vs. Samson)

On 6th April 2016, WWE aired the 191st edition of NXT, which had previously been taped on 1st April 2016 at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, USA, on WWE Network. Apollo Crews and Elias Samson looked to settle their differences...but was it any good? Let's find out!

nxt #191 match card

Match 1 - Singles - Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson 

Commentary: Tom Phillips & Corey Graves

Ring Announcer: Greg Hamilton 

Sponsor: Tapout & JC Penney

fast-forward...Cathy Kelly introduced highlights of American Alpha's NXT Tag Team Championship victory over The Revival, followed up by a brilliantly emotional interview with the new champs...Highlights of Asuka winning the NXT Women's Championship at NXT Takeover: Dallas were next, followed a superbly understated promo from former champ Bayley...Highlights from Austin Aries' win over Baron Corbin on his WWE debut at NXT Takeover: Dallas aired, followed by a top quality promo from Aries...More highlights from NXT Takeover: Dallas followed  showing Finn Balor retaining the NXT Championship over Samoa Joe at NXT Takeover: Dallas was next, followed up by a spot on promo from a knackered looking Balor and Joe refusing to be interviewed...A recap of Elias Samson interrupting Apollo Crews on NXT #190 aired as the pair prepared for their match later in the night...

crews defeats samson

In hindsight, I'm glad this match was put on this show and not included on the NXT Takeover: Dallas live special, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the match wouldn't have received anywhere near the amount of attention and time it got here, and there's also a strong possibility that had it been on the live special that it would have taken time away from other matches, that were, let's be honest, more interesting that this. I've begin to be turned around on my opinion on Elias Samson over the last couple of weeks and after an impressive performance opposite Johnny Gargano on NXT #189, I feel that Samson upped his game once again. He put together some nice stuff with Apollo Crews, more than holding up his side of the bargain against his more experienced opponent. A couple of little things that he does really drew me into the bout, with his facial expressions in particular standing out. They made him look like an utter bellend and made me want to see Crews hit him in the face. Lovely stuff (not my words, the words of Shakin' Stevens)

Whilst probably won't live long in the memory, what made Crews vs. Samson so enjoyable to watch was just how hot the crowd was for both guys. Samson's pre-match song got him a load of heat with Dallas, allowing Crews to get a big pop on his entrance and the two just ran with it from there. Samson kept being a nob and Crews always had his funky offence to pull out if given the space. Best example of this was Samson trying to fuck off mid-match and Crews saying "Nah m8" and nailing his rival with moonsault. Crews finished things off with a bicycle kick and his Spin-Out Powerbomb to seemingly bring this short feud to a close. With Crews debuting on Monday Night RAW just two days earlier, it will be interesting to see just how much we see of the One Man Nation on NXT going forward, whilst Samson will need some re-building after two straight losses. 

nakamura vs. zayn aftermath

Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura went to war at NXT Takeover: Dallas and just as the fans shouted "Fight Forever" this show featured the first of what is surely to be many replays of the bout stellar action over the coming weeks, months and years. As usual a great production on the highlight video from WWE, however I still think it's difficult to give the match justice in anything but it's full form. Go and watch it now! Both men gave interviews to close the show. Zayn's underdog character came across nicely as he seemed to suggest that we'd be seeing less of him on NXT, whilst strongly putting over Nakamura. The King of Strong Style had most of the talking done for him by former WWE Crusierweight Champion Funaki, but his closing line set the scene for the weeks to come and summed up his appearance in Dallas. The King of Strong Style has arrived! 

finally...

atpw scale rating - 4.25/10

Obviously with this show being mostly a recap for NXT Takeover: Dallas it had a bit of an impact on the show's rating. With so many highlights packages placed back to back, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this weeks so was completely missable. That being said, Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson was a very watchable match, that showed both men could own it on a big stage. It was a shame that WWE decided not to tape more action for this week's show, as they have previously done at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn and NXT Takeover: London, just to give the show a bit more beef. 

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #612 (Young vs. Hardy *Six Sides of Steel*)

On 5th April 2016, TNA aired the 612th edition on IMPACT Wrestling, which had previously been taped on 17th March 2016 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, USA, on POP TV. The show featured Jeff Hardy and TNA King of the Mountain Champion Eric Young tangling inside the Six Sides of Steel and Drew Galloway defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Matt Hardy...but was it any good? Let's find out! 

impact wrestling #612 match card

Match 1 - Six Sides of Steel - TNA King of the Mountain Champion Eric Young w/Bram vs. "The Charismatic Enigma" Jeff Hardy 

Match 2 - Street Fight - "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero vs. Lashley

Match 3 - TNA Knockout's Championship Three Way - Jade vs. Madison Rayne vs. Gail Kim (C)

Match 4 - TNA World Heavyweight Championship - Matt Hardy w/Matt Hardy Brand: Rockstar Spud & Tyrus vs. Drew Galloway (C)

Commentary: Jeremy Borash & Josh Matthews

fast-forward...A recap of Drew Galloway's TNA World Heavyweight Championship defense against Jeff Hardy from IMPACT Wrestling #611 and the aftermath involving Matt Hardy, Bram and Eric Young aired...

hardy defeats young inside six sides of steel

It was great to see the show start with a big match that was full of plenty of action again. This has been a format that TNA has been using a lot over the past couple of months and it's a refreshing change to the usual TV format. The action started well before the bell had rung as Jeff Hardy charged to the ring with a table, after Eric Young had begun berating the crowd. The pre-cage match brawl has never been one of my favourite cliches and it's one that TNA has used a number of times over the years, with Young and Bram using similar tactics a few weeks ago at Lockdown. I think that it actually distracts from the potential big match feeling of that any potential contest could have and whilst we did see Young attempt to piledrive Hardy on the floor, there was no real reason for this start and we didn't see it built upon once Hardy and Young were finally alone inside the cage.

The rest of the bout was built around two major spots. The first saw Young halt Hardy's Twist of Fate attempt, before delivering a piledriver onto a handful of seated chairs. The spot looked fantastic and probably should have ended the match, but, of course, Hardy kicked out. The second spot however was the match-ender as Hardy hit a spectacular Swantom Bomb off the top of the cage with Young placed on a Table to take the victory. A huge moment and a great visual, however I wish that the match had built to it a bit better, with more near falls and just a bit more story it all. For a feud that has been bubbling for quite some time in TNA the two never truly made me believe that they had any real animosity towards each other, beyond the two moments mentioned. A case of a bout not meeting it's full potential more than anything else here and still a cracking opener to a TV show and the best match all evening.

fast-forward...Dixie Carter spoke to TNA Knockout's Champion Gail Kim and Maria to discuss their on-going feud, with Dixie placing Gail in a title match with Madison Rayne and Jade later in the evening...

tyrus threatens to throw a spanner into the tna world heavyweight championship picture

This was marketed as Drew Galloway and Matt Hardy's last face to face before their World Heavyweight Championship match later in the show in another case of TNA rushing stories and giving weeks of booking in one go. Whilst Hardy's heel character continued to tread proverbial water going over similar ground, Galloway impressed me here the most as he held himself well with the title and delivered his promo confidently. Whilst the two clearly do have issues with each other, it was clear that this segment was created with the next few weeks in mind as their was a strong focus on Matt's brother Jeff, which meant that the two never really connected over the microphone. The swerve that Tyrus still has his #1 Contendership that he won back at Bound For Glory in October was an odd one. Perhaps it was an attempt to add some intrigue to the main event later on? Whether that intrigue was actually added too, I'm not so sure.

lashley defeats dinero in a street fight

A fun Street Fight here that told a simple but effective story and allowed Lashley to continue to look like a beast in the process. Lashley spent most of the match in control, just dominating D'Angelo Dinero in "The Pope"'s first singles bout on TNA programming since July 2012. There were a lot of similarities between this match and Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose's match at WrestleMania 32, with both matches having the same basic storyline, as Dinero used the weapons available to take control and to get some level of revenge on the Lashley. I'd have liked to have seen this go a little bit longer, but as a way of continuing to build up Lashley as The Destroyer and simultaneously keep him away from the TNA World Heavyweight Championship picture it more than did it's job. We moved closer to a huge contest between Lashley and Ethan Carter III, as EC3 made the post-match save for Dinero, however the two were kept apart once again as Mike Bennett attacked EC3 with a steel chair. This would lead into the next segment. 

ec3 and bennett's issues heighten 

This was the highlight of the show for me. After Mike Bennett had attacked Ethan Carter III, EC3 called Bennett back to the ring and the two had a brilliant verbal joust. I thought both men were on top form on the microphone here, and made me sit up and take notice as the duo bought a passion to their delivery that made it feel like they genuinelly hated each other. Whilst I've been pleasantly surprised with the quality of EC3's babyface run, Bennett produced the stronger material here as he ripped on the crowd and talked about what's changed for EC3 since he (Bennett) debuted at start of the year. Bennett makes it easy to hate him, EC3 has been on fire since his babyface turn, I want to see what they can do together inside the ring! The backstage brawl that lead to Bennett escaping in parked car gave us just a tease of what it could be like and although I'd have preferred to have seen this next week to prolonge the story, it did top of the segment nicely.

jade defeats gail and madison to win the tna knockout's championship

With Women's wrestling taking a major stage this past weekend, it would have been nice to have seen TNA come out and remind us why their Women's division was once thought to be the strongest in television wrestling. With the match being a three way, comparisons to another bout that took place on Sunday evening would surely be running through every fans mind as they watched. Unfortunately, this bout was sloppier than a soup sandwich and uglier than a barrel full of hairy arseholes. Credit to the women for trying to do a handful of three person spots, but pretty much all of them failed to work, mainly due to poor timing. The finish was a shambles also, as Maria got involved and clobbering Gail Kim off the top rope with the flimsy looking TNA Knockout's belt, before Jade hit a weak looking STO for the win. A disappointing start to Jade's first title reign, I'm unsure why she stopped using the Package Piledriver as her finish. However after seeing some of the miscues in this match, it's probably as good thing she stopped! 

fast-forward...Backstage, TNA Senior Producer of Creative and Talent Development Billy Corgan suspended Al Snow for a week without pay for his attack on Grado last week and demanded a public apology...

edwards refuses to team with helms, beer money brawl with the decay

LOTS OF THINGS ARE HAPPENING! I wasn't interested in the Eddie Edwards and Gregory Shane Helms storyline last week and I was less interested this week. Basically, Helms wanted to team with Edwards and it was clear that Edwards was never going to team with him, but they dragged it out over a week. I mean, if there was one storyline that didn't need more time it was this one! Why doesn't Helms want to team with his protege Trevor Lee? The TNA X Division Champion has stood their for two weeks and hasn't had a match in over a month. At the moment the X Division is pretty much defunct anyway. After Beer Money had made the save for Edwards (Helms got all uppity about something or another and took off his horrible green jacket), the madness continued as The Decay interrupted their promo and they brawled around the ring. I've got a lot of time for The Decay and it was pleasing to see them booked strongly, but this segment was complete clusterfuck at best. 

fast-forward...Backstage, Matt Hardy cut a promo on his upcoming TNA World Heavyweight Championship shot, with Tyrus slowly walking towards him...

galloway defeats hardy to retain the tna world heavyweight championship

Not the greatest match technically that you'll ever see, but I had a lot of time for this TNA World Heavyweight Championship match. This bout was full of sports-entertainment frills and tricks, as Matt Hardy and his Matt Hardy Brand faction played their role well. The ridiculous amounts of shenanigans from Hardy got the crowd well behind Drew Galloway and drove the contest. A particular favourite of mine was Rockstar Spud crawling underneath the ring and attacking Galloway whenever he had the opportunity. I also had a lot of time for Hardy pretending to have an ankle injury, distracting the referee to remove his boot, therefore allowing Spud to jump off the top at Galloway and then with the refs attention on Spud, Galloway ended up taking Hardy's boot to the head! All these antics from Hardy meant that when Galloway forced "The Icon" to tap to Iron Maiden it meant a whole lot more. After defeating Jeff Hardy last week and Matt Hardy this week, Galloway closed the show holding the TNA World Heavyweight Championship looking like one of the strongest champions the company has had for a long time. 

finally...

atpw scale rating - 4.66

A strong opener with some major spots and an entertaining story based contest to close the show. So how did this show end up getting a below average rating on the ATPW Scale Rating? Well it certainly wasn't anything to do with Mike Bennet and Ethan Carter III's brilliant tete a tete which I thought was the strongest part of the entire show. It wasn't Lashley and D'Angelo Dinero's Street Fight either, which was a stellar effort and raised the stakes of Lashley's heel run. So what lead this show to have such a dissapointing rating? It was, of course, the dreadful Women's three way bout. Take that match away (and probably the weird clusterfuck segment with Eddie Edwards, Gregory Shane Helms, Trevor Lee, Beer Money and The Decay) and you've got a really good television show. With that contest I just can't give the show a higher rating for a two hour piece of TV. If there was ever a time to have a bad women's three way bout, it most definitely wasn't this week!

There's promise in key areas of the product at the moment, but I'm hoping to see improvements in the Women's, Tag Team and X Divsions over the next few weeks. 

Wrestle Ropes' Ready for the Weekend: April 2016 Week 2 - TW, PWC & PROGRESS

When a sports season reaches it's conclusion there is a small break, a time to recover. Well wrestling has no off-season and while the biggest weekend in professional wrestling may now have past for another year, British Wrestling still has a packed weekend of action coming up. This week we're firstly head to Carlisle to celebrate an anniversary before going back south for the biggest show in a promotion's history. Then just to round off the weekend we'll jump across to Manchester on Sunday. Let's get Ready For The Weekend!

friday

target wrestling: 3rd anniversary

carlise, cumbria, england

Kicking off the weekend on Friday night and Target Wrestling are at The Venue in Carlisle to celebrate their 3rd anniversary. To celebrate their 3rd year, Target Wrestling have announced a trio of international names to compete. One of those names is 'War King' Eddie Kingston. A former CHIKARA Grand Champion, Kingston is well-known for his violent and physical style. His opponent is one of the most violent man not only in Target Wrestling but the whole of the UK. One half of the current Target Tag Team Champions; Chris Renfrew. Both of these men have held gold in numerous promotions during their careers and have done so with more than a hint of ruthlessness. It's not really a question of who will walk out the winner but rather who will go the furthest to win. While Renfrew faces a man of violence, his tag team partner and fellow champion, BT Gunn will compete against a world-renowned high flyer in 'The Juice' Juventud Guerrera.  A former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Guerrera has worked for almost every international company on the planet. Gunn is considered to be the best wrestler in Europe by a number of fans and wrestlers. He could well cement that distinction this Friday with a win over 'The Juice'. The main event for April 8th shall see the current Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion; Jay Lethal come to Target Wrestling. He will be competing against the current Target High Octane Division Champion; Shady Nattrass. However, while both men may be a champion, after this Friday, one shall not be as this will be a dual championship, winner takes all match. Lethal has won championship gold all over the world and could well add to his collection. Shady Nattrass has beaten some of the biggest international names in professional wrestling but a win to become the ROH World Heavyweight Champion would be the biggest yet.

3rd anniversary match card

*ROH World Heavyweight Championship/Target High Octane Division Championship – Winner Take All*

Jay Lethal (c) vs Shady Nattrass (c)

*Singles*

Chris Renfrew vs Eddie Kingston

*Fatal Four-Way*

Martin Kirby vs Alexander Henry vs James Scott vs The Coyote Kid

*Singles*

BT Gunn vs ‘The Juice’ Juventud Guerrera

*Tag Team*

Havok & Karnage vs The Proven (Caz Crash & Sam Wilder)

*Singles*

Rampage Brown vs Lionheart

saturday

pro wrestling chaos - heir 2 the throne

whitchurch, bristol, england 

Moving on to Saturday and we head to Pro Wrestling Chaos who shall be holding their biggest event to date when they make their debut at the Action Indoor Sports in Whitchurch, Bristol. Now when we said this was their biggest show to date, we didn't mean in size although they have already broken their own pre-sale record. No, what we mean is that PWC will make genuine  world-first history as the Ring Of Honor World Heavyweight Championship and TNA World Heavyweight Championship shall both be defended on the same show. Now you could excuse PWC for just using that news to make you want to come to this show. But that is not the style of PWC. This show is stacked from bell to bell! There are three championship matches, one of them a tables match. There is a Falls Count Anywhere match, a Ladder match, a Mountevans Rules match and a tag team championship tournament match! As we mentioned, both the ROH World Heavyweight Championship and TNA World Heavyweight Championship will be defended. Firstly, Jay Lethal shall be defending the ROH World Heavyweight Championship against 'White Lightning' Mark Andrews, a well-traveled, world-class wrestler in his own right and more than a challenge to Jay Lethal. 'The Pride Of Wales' Eddie Dennis, another hidden gem of British Wrestling, shall look to make history for himself as well on April 9th by becoming the first ever Welsh-born TNA World Heavyweight Champion when he challenges Drew Galloway for the gold. Mike Bird and El Ligero will look to settle their differences once and for all when they meet for a third time in a Falls Count Anywhere match. With each man holding one win over the other, they are without doubt going to do all it takes to pick up the deciding victory and end this long running rivalry. A few months ago, Pro Wrestling Chaos hosted a match between Johnny Kidd and Pete Dunne under traditional Mountevans Rules. For those unaware, Mountevans Rules dictate that a competitor may score a fall by pinfall, submission, knockout, technical knockout or disqualification with the winner being the most falls after three rounds. The match was so well received that Pro Wrestling Chaos have now brought Kidd back for what shall be one of his last matches. His opponent is a man who is the embodiment of the Mountevans era, Jack Gallagher. This match will be nothing short of pure wrestling joy. It is a chance to seem a legend in one of his last matches, doing exactly what he does best and doing it with one of the best.

heir 2 the throne match card

*King Of Chaos Championship – Tables Match*

Jeckel (w/ Pariah Khan) vs Wild Boar (c)

*Falls Count Anywhere*

‘Ginger Jesus’ Mike Bird vs ‘The Mexican Sensation’ El Ligero

*ROH World Heavyweight Championship*

Jay Lethal (c) vs ‘White Lightning’ Mark Andrews

*TNA World Heavyweight Championship*

‘The Chosen One’ Drew Galloway (c) vs ‘The Pride Of Wales’ Eddie Dennis

*Heir To The Throne Ladder Match – Winner Earns A Championship Match At Time Of Their Choosing*

‘Evil’ Ian Williams vs Gideon vs KillBane vs ‘Mr Massive’ Chuck Cyrus vs Panda Cub vs Eddie Ryan vs Alex Steele

*Mountevans Rules*

Jack Gallagher vs Johnny Kidd

*Knights Of Chaos Tag Team Championship Tournament*

The SX Express (Scotty Essex & Paul Robinson) vs DND (Danny Duggan & Cieran Donnelly)

sunday
progress wrestling - chapter 28: please please please let me get what i want
manchester, england

Finally rounding off the weekend and PROGRESS Wrestling are back at The Ritz in Manchester for 'Chapter 28: Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want'. Another stellar event is promised in Manchester with seven contests confirmed for this Sunday. Following Chapter 27, Mark Andrews and Eddie Dennis were attacked by The Origin in what has been an on-going saga between the two teams for a number of months. So PROGRESS have signed a match between F.S.U and The Origin's Nathan Cruz and El Ligero in an attempt to end this battle. The Origin's PROGRESS Tag Team Championship shall be on the line and the match shall be fought under No Disqualification rules. The Origin could continue their reign in PROGRESS or F.S.U could walk out as two-time champions. This past weekend, Marty Scurll made history with Will Ospreay as they fought in Dallas, Texas for the PROGRESS Championship. 'The Villain' walked out still the champion and will head to Manchester as such. However he will not be defending the championship again as he has refused to do so. While he may not be a defending champion on April 10th, he will be a competing one as PROGRESS management have announced that he shall be holding a non-title open challenge to anyone in attendance this Sunday. Whoever answers the challenge may not leave as champion but a win over Marty Scurll could well set them up with a future championship match. At Chapter 27, PROGRESS Wrestling announced a new championship and tournament that will take place in the coming months. The Atlas Championship shall only be open to those over the 205lb weight limit with the tournament to crown the inaugural champion consisting of two groups of four men with the winner of each group meeting in the final on September 26th. The tournament gets started this weekend and the first match shows us what we have to look forward to as T-Bone face Austria's Big Daddy Walter in a Group A match. Both men will want to start the tournament off with a win and make a statement on their intentions. Quite simply, we're getting a heavyweight collision this Sunday.

chapter 28: please please please let me get what i want match card

*PROGRESS Tag Team Championship – No Disqualification*

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

*Natural Progression Series Semi-Final*

Ashton Smith vs Damon Moser

*Open Challenge*

‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll vs ???

*Atlas Championship Tournament – Group A*

Big Daddy Walter vs T-Bone

*Singles*

Jinny (w/ Elizabeth) vs Toni Storm

*Singles*

‘The Star Attraction’ Mark Haskins vs Flash Morgan Webster

*Tag Team*

The Dunne Brothers (‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne & ‘Number One’ Damian Dunne) vs Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven)

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!