Battles Royal part 3

Disclaimer: You have read about the history of the Battle Royal, and how the format evolved in the 1990s with the Royal Rumble emerging dominant. Join me now in the final part of this series as I look at the 28th Royal Rumble as well as Insane Championship Wrestling's (ICW) 4th Square Go, share my predictions and turn over to the fans to have their say also.

Battles Royal part 2

Disclaimer: Check out part one to read the story so far, of how the wrestling battle royal grew out of the worlds of cockfighting and boxing. Tomorrow I will be looking at this week's Royal Rumble and Square Go, but for now join me as I look at WCW and WWF in the 1990s.

Battles Royal part 1

Disclaimer: First, I am definitely sure that is the correct terminology for the plural of a Battle Royal and I'm sticking to it! This Sunday, the WWE hosts the 28th Annual Royal Rumble and ICW have their 4th Annual Square Go coming up, so I decided to take you all on a wee historical look at the matches that spawned them, taking you into the modern era with part two and in part three have a quick round-table on who is most likely to win each event.

2014 - The Wrestlers

Disclaimer: There has been a plethora of End Of Year Awards, some good, some not so good. I would highly recommend checking out Breaking Baws "Golden Baws" podcast for probably the best example of doing it right. Anyway, this short series of posts is not an Awards post, rather it is simply me taking a moment to look back at the wrestlers, promotions, shows and events that stuck out at me over the previous twelve months.

I will have omitted a lot of people no doubt so do not take this as a definitive "Best Of", just a selection of highlights from 2014 before A Wee Bit About moves into the new year with a new focus - but more on that later. For now, here is to 2014!

AWBA: Fiona Fraser

Disclaimer: Welcome to another Wee Bit About, this time focusing on Scottish wrestler Fiona Fraser. Have a read of this article, check out the AWBA Interview with Fiona, and come see her on Saturday 20th September 2014 at Pride Wrestling.

Fiona Fraser - Facebook | Twitter | Contraband Photography

Fiona Fraser's journey into wrestling is unlike many others. Fiona is not a woman chasing a childhood dream, following in the footsteps of idols like so many before her. Fiona is not a lifetime scholar of the ring, having devoted her entire life to studying the moves and mannerisms of others in the hope of imitation.

No, Fiona is a woman who, barely three years ago, was channel-surfing one day and found Smackdown on TV and three weeks later googled "Scottish wrestling schools" and went from there. Her initial search took her to the Source Wrestling School (http://www.facebook.com/SourceWrestlingSchool) where it turns out she was a bit of a natural. Putting in the hard work necessary to form her craft, Fiona debuted in 2012.

For those of us who have seen Fiona live, you would never be able to tell she has only been a wrestling fan for such a short length of time, as she carries herself with the poise and talents of a wrestler far beyond her two professional years. That, in my eyes, is a much scarier prospect than someone who spent decades getting to this level.


The Beginning
As mentioned above, Fiona started off her wrestling career as a graduate of the Source school. Her journey has seen her wrestle for a variety of promotions including Fierce Females (which we will get to later), Pride Wrestling, the Wrestling Factory, and Pro-Wrestling: Eve, featuring on an iPPV event for that company.

But the place she will always call home is the Scottish Wrestling Alliance. Appearing on a variety of SWA shows, Fiona has notably appeared on every show in her native Motherwell since making her debut with SWA. Wrestling everyone from Nikki Storm to Bete Noire, fans who are only familiar with Fiona from her Fierce Females career should check out the following video. Skip to 21:00 to see a perhaps unusually positive reception for Fiona from her local fans, as she faces up against Bete and showcases the technical submission skills that she would go on to be known for.

Fierce Females

Within her debut year, a promotion that would become synonymous with Fiona was also making its debut. On September 2012, Fierce Females held their first ever show, and the very first match on that show was Fiona Fraser vs Nikki Storm.

Despite coming up short in that match, Fiona had made an impact on the Fierce Females crowd. Appearing in some capacity in every event to date, Fiona quickly made enemies in April Davids and Viper, but it was with the relaunch show Coming Of Age that a new saga would begin.

Facing up against the debuting Courtney, Fiona aimed to put on a wrestling clinic, taking her time to toy with her opponent. But Courtney never gave up, dug deep and persevered, clinching a victory that seemed to shock even her. That wasn't all she earned however - the anger of Fiona Fraser had truly awoken.

That rage spilled over into the next event, Return Of The Queen Of Hardcore, where Fiona took it all out on Viper during and after their match, getting some revenge for an attack made by Viper the previous year. That full match can be viewed here. Also noticeable was a growing respect between Fiona and the duo of Carmel & Sara.

But it was with Fierce Females return to Glasgow City Center that the Fiona and Courtney rivalry truly took flame. Utilising everything from her vast library of legit wrestling techniques, to plain bashing her opponent's arm against the wall, Fiona set out to dismantle Courtney's body and spirit. But as you can see from the footage (skip to the 14th minute of the second video), while successfully destroying her rival's arm, Fiona found that Courtney's spirit remained strong where her body failed her.

With a third match between the two recently ending in a double-countout, the ongoing battle between Courtney and Fiona Fraser is arguably the hottest feud in female wrestling at this moment. 

Mind Games
One aspect of Fiona Fraser's work that sets her aside from her peers is her threatening promos. Never afraid to speak her mind, Fiona can often be found musing upon her opponents and what makes them both tick, ultimately coming to the conclusion that she will prove herself a force to be reckoned with no matter what it takes. Check out her latest promo ahead of the eventual third matchup between Fraser and Courtney, then follow her YouTube channel for more.

Outwith Wrestling

As well as being a fantastic wrestler, Fiona is also an accomplished photographer. Check out Contraband Photography for some of her work, including incredible photoshoots with many of the top female wrestlers in Scotland right now.

The Future

Fiona Fraser can be seen live at Pride Wrestling on Saturday 20th September 2014. Also keep an eye on Scottish Wrestling Alliance events for appearances from Fiona, and Fierce Females will return to Glasgow's Walkabout on October 26th and November 23rd.

While waiting on those shows to take place, why not check out this Interview that Fiona kindly agreed to take part in with AWBA.

AWBA: Power Rankings (Shows)

Disclaimer: Following on my recent trend for slightly different articles, I decided to discuss the variety of promotions around the world that's currently tickling my fancy.  There's a term on predominately American sports websites called Power Rankings that rates each company in order from best to worst, updated every week. Well, I can't promise to do this every week, and I'm certainly not going to talk about every single wrestling show out there, but here is a wee bit about the wrestling shows that have captivated me lately.

AWBA: Upcoming Shows Update

Disclaimer: This is just a short update to this article on upcoming Scottish shows for 2014. I intend to do more in-depth looks and previews nearer the times, but I wanted to give you something right now to keep up to date with the news.

AWBA: Bete Noire

Disclaimer: This is the first of hopefully many articles on individual wrestlers. My idea for AWBA was never to be a review site, it was to give new fans to UK wrestling a step in the door, explaining a wee bit about who is who and why they wrestle. To that end, say hello to Bete Noire! (Please also check out the companion piece, An Interview With Bete Noire).

Bete Noire - Facebook - Blog - Twitter - Website

The French phrase "bete noire" can be translated as meaning "an anathema; a person or thing that one particularly dislikes. Evil. A cursed person to be avoided". As her opponents would agree, the translation is a fitting one for this Scottish wrestler.

A graduate of the Source Wrestling School (http://www.facebook.com/SourceWrestlingSchool) with a background in Judo, Boxing and Thai Boxing, Bete made her debut in 2011 and spent the next year wrestling for a variety of promotions including the Scottish Wrestling Alliance and Manchester's The Wrestling Factory.

However, it was the first Fierce Females show in September 2012 that represented a re-debut of sorts for Bete Noire. Facing fellow Scot Viper in a hard-hitting brawl that took both women through the audience and back, Bete went into the match a relative unknown but emerged as a force to take notice of.

From there, Bete formed an alliance with her opponent and the team of Bete & Viper made waves in the Pro Wrestling: Eve promotion down in England over the start of 2013. Bete made an immediate impact in fact, as on her PW: Eve debut on their Wrestle-Fever iPPV she would epitomise the "no regrets" style of wrestling that would come to define her, literally screaming "I regret nothing" before making a huge plancha dive.

The allure of a qualification spot in the tournament to crown the first ever Fierce Females champion would draw the partners back up to Scotland to once again face off against each other in a rematch even more brutal than before, at Insane Championship Wrestling's first ever show in Edinburgh, "Tramspotting".

Although tasting defeat in that contest, Bete was beginning to build a reputation for herself as a woman who would give it her all to win, no matter the personal cost. In a match highlighted by a death-defying leap from the top rope to the outside and finding herself on the receiving end of a swing into the metal post, while Bete may have lost blood and the match, she had won over the fans.

Fast forward a little to May 2013 and you can see the strides Bete had made in what is easily my favourite Noire match, and one of the most terrifying matches I've seen. At Fierce Females second show, "Luke Who's Yer Da?", Bete faced off against American sensation Crazy Mary Dobson in a brutal match featuring everything from chairs to a screwdriver, even a make-shift table. If the Tramspotting fight showed Bete's willingness to take punishment in the name of a strong wrestling match, this fight against Dobson showed her equal willingness at dishing it out.

Bete spent the rest of 2013 battling all over Scotland, ending the year with a title shot at the W3L Women's Champion Sara. 2014 would start off with a major change of scene for Bete, as she achieved a life goal of travelling to Japan to wrestle, competing with the Ice Ribbon (https://www.facebook.com/IceRibbon) company. Her time there included a match against Tetsuya Nakazato that was handily recorded by a fan.

Her return from Japan has seen Bete take on all comers from LCW in England, to RCW in Spain and of course back home in Fierce Females, where Bete has faced up to Sammii Jayne, Nikki Storm and the legendary Saraya Knight so far this year.

With two Fierce Females shows coming up this year and a tag-team match with Viper against the team of The Owens Twins scheduled for ICW's Spacebaws event on 21st September, there will be plenty of opportunities to catch Bete Noire in Scotland this year. But now that she has spread her wings abroad, there is no telling where this incredibly talented, strong-styled wrestler will end up.


Hopefully I've gave you a nice wee bit about Bete, showcasing some of her great matches over the past three years. There's plenty more out there, and if you're interested in seeing her live I urge you to check out Fierce Females or ICW (details of upcoming shows will of course be published here). If you've had enough of me talking but still want more Bete Noire, you're in luck.

Bete graciously agreed to take part in an interview with AWBA blog, which you can read in it's entirety here.

For more of Bete, please check out her Facebook page and her blog "Cupcakes & Chinlocks" through our fantastic friends at Breaking Baws.

AWBA: Upcoming Scottish Shows

Disclaimer: I canny afford all this!! I really canny afford all this!!! But what I can do is promise you full previews coming up shortly. For now, here is a huge amalgamation of what is happening for the rest of the year as of right now!! (PS... someone please pay me, I really, really, really canny afford all this!!)
2014

It's been a cracking year so far, hasn't it? Fierce Females is back, Insane Championship Wrestling is on the rise, we've had Fergal Devitt, big Drew is back home. All sorts is going on, so here's a wee bit aimed at keeping track of it all...


AUGUST

The big news is Insane Championship Wrestling's "Everything's Coming Up Milhouse" month long event at the Edinburgh fringe. ICW were offering reduced price "Season Tickets", another groundbreaking idea from the company, but these have of course Sold Out. Some individual tickets remain for the shows, hosted in Edinburgh's Studio 24, and you have the following matches confirmed:

Sunday 3rd August - Get Mendoza!
Grado v Colt Cabana
BT Gunn v Tommy End
Dickie Divers v Dante
Joe Coffey v Darkside v Kid Fite v Noam Dar - Winner receives and ICW Heavyweight Title shot at the August 10th show
This event has SOLD OUT

Sunday 10th August - You Have The Right To Remain Dead!
Nikki Storm v Viper
Joe Hendry v David Devlin (the man formerly known as Yum Yum)
Damo v Lewis Girvan
Jack Jester is confirmed as appearing (presumably against the winner from the August 3rd show... presumably)
Grado and Colt Cabana will also be there in some fashion
Tickets still available at £12.50 via Ticketmaster

Sunday 17th August - Suspect Is Hatless (Repeat, Hatless)
Carmel & Sara v The Owens Twins
BT Gunn v Red Lightning
Chris Renfrew v Jamie Feerick
Grado, Jack Jester, Colt Cabana and Sha Samuels will also be there in some fashion
Tickets still available at £12.50 via Ticketmaster

Sunday 24th August - Ice To See You
Zero matches announced, as ever Grado, Jack Jester and Colt Cabana will be appearing
Tickets still available at £12.50 via Ticketmaster

In addition to all this, Colt Cabana will be hosting "The Art Of Wrestling" at Studio 24 a few hours before each show, tickets priced at £5 each via Ticketmaster.

If, like me, you can't make all the shows (I personally will only be going to Ice To See You - see you there), Breaking Baws are hosting another wrestling night at The Ark on Sunday August 10th. Come along to see Money In The Bank 2011 on the big screen, enjoy some cheap food and drink and a great atmosphere. Excellent place to meet fellow wrestling fans, that's The Ark at 46 North Frederick Street, Glasgow, G1 2BS (http://www.screampubs.co.uk/thearkglasgow) and the Facebook event page is https://www.facebook.com/events/352829214871432/



Also on the not-strictly-live-wrestling events front, World Wide Wrestling League (or W3L as it's known) is hosting a WWE Summerslam afterparty on August 17th/18th at Sportsters in Edinburgh. More details available here.

If you want to venture a bit further afield than Glasgow or Edinburgh, Dundee's Scottish Wrestling Entertainment are offering two shows in August for you:

Saturday 23rd August - SWE Uprising "Hellbound"
2pm show for all ages from Kirkton Community Centre, Derwent Street, Dundee, DD3 0AX
Colt Cabana v Grado
Contract signing for Chaz Phoenix v Steven Magners (Steel Cage, career v career match)
and more
Tickets are £12 for adults or £9 for under-14s via http://www.sweonline.co.uk/shop.html

Saturday 30th August - SWE "Hell For Lycra XI"
6.45pm show for all ages from Bonar Hall, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Ian Ambrose (c) v Martyn Stallyon (SWE Championship)
The legendary "Road Warrior" Animal v Damo O'Connor
Former TNA star Doug Williams v Joe Hendry
Chaz Phoenix v Steven Magners (Steel Cage, career v career match)
Marty Jones & Jay The Jackal v Johnny Saint & Felix Fortune
The Butcher Scott Renwick & The Trident v Mr News & Williams & Claymore & L.J.T. (8-man tag match)
Tickets are £17 via http://www.sweonline.co.uk/shop.html and include an autograph signing starting at 2pm

Staying on the family-friendly front we have British Championship Wrestling presenting the Homecoming on Friday 29th August at the Grand Hall, 1 London Road, Kilmarnock, KA3 7AA (or Palace Theatre, KA1 3BN, sat-nav should get you to the same place). On that card we have the return of Drew Galloway (WWE's Drew McIntyre and former BCW Champion), former NXT stars Martin Stone (previously Danny Burch) and Oliver Grey (previously Joel Redman) and the BCW Tag Team Title will be defended with Champions "Just Uz" (BT Gunn & Stevie Xavier) vs "The Models" (Joey Hayes & Danny Hope).

Tickets are £25 (Front Row & Meet and greet with Drew & Poster & pre-show match), £15 (2nd Front Row & Meet and greet Martin and Oliver & Poster & pre-show match) or £10 (General Admission) or £30 (4x General Admission) from 01563 554 900.

Reckless Intent also have a pair of wrestling shows in August featuring:

Saturday 9th August - Cruel Summer
The RI Unit, Unit 9, Knightsridge Industrial Estate, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 8RA
Mikey (c) v Jackie Grady (Reckless Intent UK Title match)
Rawlins (c) v Lowblow (Reckless Intent World Title match, if Lowblow wins he is back in the company)
Falcon v Joe Hendry
and featuring Colt Cabana
Tickets are £5 from http://www.reckless-intent.com/buy or at the RI Unit Wed & Sun between 6pm and 10pm or through GM John Long on 07775 424425

Sunday 24th August - Sunday Slam
The RI Unit, Unit 9, Knightsridge Industrial Estate, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 8RA
A family friendly Sunday afternoon show from 1pm
Tickets are £5 or Family Of Four for £15 from http://www.reckless-intent.com/buy or via admin@reckless-intent.com

Saturday 30th August brings us Wrestlezone's "Battle Of The Nations 2014" at Aberdeen Beach Leisure Centre, Sea Beach, Aberdeen, AB24 5NR - the first event to be held there since Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks graced it in 1991. The card features:
Jack Jester v Crusher Craib (Wrestlezone Undisputed Title), Drew Galloway v Andy Wild (Battle Of The Nations) and Mr P v Red Lightning.
Tickets are £12 via http://www.wrestlezonescotland.co.uk/ or 01224 641122 showtime of 7pm, limited tickets also available at the venue itself.

Finally, the month will be rounded out with a double-header on Sunday 31st August with the following two events on at the same day, thankfully at different times so there's no excuse for not attending both:

Fierce Females - Strewth Sheila
Walkabout, Glasgow, 2pm
Confirmed: Nikki Storm gets to choose Kay Lee Ray's opponent, and Kay Lee Ray gets to choose Nikki Storm's opponent, in a "Pick Your Poison" double main event.
Tickets are £8 from Rufus T Firefly's on Hope Street, or from FierceFemales.co.uk

ICW - 1.21 Gigawatts Great Scott!
The Garage, Glasgow, 7pm
Confirmed: Drew Galloway will make his in-ring return to ICW, his opponent (and the rest of the card) to be announced shortly.
Tickets are £17 via TicketMaster

SEPTEMBER


Pro Wrestling Elite host "Fallen Angel" starring of course Christopher Daniels vs Noam Dar. Also scheduled for the Saturday 13th September show at the Ayr Town Hall, New Bridge Street, Ayr, KA7 1JX is a Tag Team Championship match between Project Ego and The Coffey Brothers. Tickets come in Platinum (£40 gets you entry at 5pm for a meet and greet with Christopher Daniels and pre-show bonus match), Silver (£15.75 each or £52.50 family, early entry for a pre-show bonus match) or General (£12.75 or £42.50 family) via http://www.prowrestlingelite.com/shop/event-tickets

Pride Wrestling the follow with "We Love It When A Plan Comes Together" on Saturday 20th September from Bridgeton Community Centre, 68 Dale Street, Glasgow, G40 4TL. The event features Joe Hendry (c) v Lewis Girvan in a rematch for the N7 Championship, and Pride Champion Glen Dunbar is scheduled to defend. Tickets are available via http://pridewrestling.co.uk/tickets/ for £10 General, £8 Concession or £38 for a family of four.... or my friends at BREAKING BAWS have an exclusive promo code if you click this link and head over to their site to enjoy 25% off your tickets. Result.

The very next day Insane Championship Wrestling gives us "Spacebaws" from The Garage in Glasgow (that's Sunday 21st September in case you're skim-reading). Tickets are £10 via Ticketmaster, TicketsScotland or Triple-G Music and the bill features all the up-and-coming talent including Viper & Bete Noire v The Owens Twins, and showings from ICW Zero-G Champion Mark Coffey, Joe Hendry, Kenny Williams, Solar, "International Sex Hero" DCT, David The Beloved, Christopher Saynt, Lou King Sharp, Saqib Ali, Lewis Girvan, Bobby Roberts, and Switch N Flick.

Reckless Intent also have a pair of wrestling shows in September, all current details are as per their posters:

Sunday 7th September - Party In The Park

Saturday 20th September - Unleashed

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER

There are a whole raft of shows coming up in October & November which I will talk about in more detail nearer the time, but here are some highlights:

Premier British Wrestling have 7 events planned from Larbert, Alloa, Edinburgh, Greenock, Airdrie, Dumbarton and Barrhead. Click this link to see more but it will feature the likes of former TNA stars Christopher Daniels and Kazarian.

Scottish Wrestling Alliance are spending October building to Battlezone. Click here for details but October 18th is the date to keep in your diary - a 30 man rumble and a Tables Ladders Chairs match between Mikey Whiplash and SWA Co-owner John "The Bomb" Graham.

Discovery Wrestling have their debut show in Edinburgh on October 11th. Already boasting Chris Sabin, Crime Time and Mike Mondo it is bursting with imported talent, but importantly will also see UK stars Grado, Damien O'Connor, Sammi Jayne, Rampage Brown, Shanna, Damien Daniels and Marty Scurll. It looks huge for a debut show, event page can be found here.

Reckless Intent have five further events planned, taking them right into December in fact, all viewable here.

Insane Championship Wrestling are hosting their annual Fear & Loathing event, the 7th in company history, on November 2nd from the BARROWLANDS in Glasgow. Expect huge things, the even can be viewed here.

W3L will be hosting Wrestlution VIII on 21st November in Musselburgh, showcasing Mikey Whiplash v Nathan Reynolds for the latter's W3L Heavyweight title. Events page is here.

Finally, Fierce Females will be building up to the 23rd November where they will host Come & Say G'day from the Walkabout in Glasgow. Event can be viewed here, expect to see some intense action if Mad Maxine was anything to go by, and afterwards there will be the Survivor Series afterparty.

PS Big thank you to everyone on Facebook for pointing out any shows that I've missed. Any other details you think need added/updated get me at AWBAblog@gmail.com or @AWBAblog on Twitter.

PPS I'm also sure that SWA have a "Showcase" event on August 29th but can't find any details right now. I do however have a link to their other "Showcase" events throughout September and October - http://scottishwrestling.co.uk/events/ - enjoy.

AWBA: Fergal Devitt in ICW & NJPW (part 2 of 3)

Disclaimer: Check out Part 1 here to prepare yourself. As before, there will be 18+ videos featured in this article - view at your own discretion. Here we go.

Prince Fergal Devitt
Twitter 
Facebook 

Video credits: ICWOnline
Photo credits: (c) @MrDavidJWilson unless otherwise stated.


Building A Legacy
Fergal Devitt made his in-ring debut some time in 2001 and it is estimated he has wrestled in almost 800 matches since. His career got off to a great start, winning the NWA British Commonwealth Title by 2003 and wrestling in Ireland, the UK, France, Canada and the USA. It was during his US matches in 2006 that Devitt began to get noticed by New Japan Pro Wrestling, eventually wrestling his first match in Japan in April 2006, under the moniker of "Prince" Devitt.

In the following 7 years, Prince Devitt would grow to be thought of as one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. Picking up titles such as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship several times, as well as winning the Best Of The Super Juniors in both 2010 and 2013, Devitt was a highly decorated and loved foreigner in the Japanese promotion.

A lot of that adoration grew from his four years teaming with Ryusuke Taguchi as Apollo 55 - one of the most highly decorated tag teams in NJPW history, breaking records along the way. They were each individually able to win the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament and Prince Devitt even obtained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship three times during this era.

It was this third reign that spelled the end of Apollo 55 however, and the rebirth of Prince Devitt. A whole article could be written on the dissolution of Apollo 55 and the rise of Bullet Club, but at its essence was Prince Devitt's singles success, his frustration at not being able to win the IWGP Heavyweight title, and the inability of Apollo 55 to regain their tag belts. It all culminated with Devitt turning on his long-term partner and forming a new group of villainous foreigners, hell-bent on taking over NJPW.

(c) NJPW - Original photographer unknown

Bullet Club
Inarguably, Prince Devitt's Bullet Club group brought him to the attention of fans worldwide. Formed with Tongan wrestlers Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga, along with American Karl Anderson, the group has gone on to boast members such as former WWE and TNA star Doc Gallows, former ROH and TNA tag team The Young Bucks, and even a Latinoamerica spin-off group based in the CMLL promotion.

Throughout it all however was Prince Devitt's undisputed leadership. With Bullet Club by his side, Devitt won the 2013 Best Of The Super Juniors tournament with an unprecedented unbeaten run. Despite this incredible achievement, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 on January 4th 2014, Prince Devitt was defeated by Kota Ibushi, putting an end to his 14 month reign as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, a match discussed the world over and which sets the scene for:

Fergal Devitt v Jack Jester - ICW Heavyweight Title Match

ICW: 3rd Annual Square Go

January 26th 2014

One of the most talked about aspects of the aforementioned Wrestle Kingdom 8 match, even more so than the outcome, was Prince Devitt's entrance. It's fair to say that even non-NJPW fans saw footage and images of Devitt done up as Marvel's Carnage supervillain. As awesome as that looked, his entrance at ICW's 3rd Annual Square Go was something else entirely:

The crowd's cheers for Devitt's "Venom" get-up were almost louder than for the hometown hero, defending ICW Heavyweight Champion and Hardcore Icon, Jack Jester:

Clips from the match can be viewed on the video below (Episode 2 of ICW Worldwide's Season 2 - match footage starts at 17:48):

If you can't be bothered watching the match above (what the hell is wrong with you?) here is a quick run-down with some awesome pictures from Mr David J Wilson. The match got off on Devitt's terms, with a chop and delayed dropkick stunning Jester into attempting to climb to the top rope, only to find himself in the Tree Of Woe position and recipient of another series of dropkicks.

It had become clear to Jester that he was not going to win this bout on anything but his own terms, so after a few moments of head-clearing with the ICW fans at ringside, the Hardcore Icon attempted to bring a chair into the ring, only to find himself dropkicked all the way into the crowd. Devitt then threw Jester's own chair at him, as the audience chanted "I C DUB" in approval, despite now becoming part of the violence.
 

From there, the wrestlers made their way back to the ringside area - only for Jester to throw Devitt back into the crowd on the other side of the venue. Compared to even the carnage of BT Gunn v Devitt this was on a whole other level of insanity, worlds apart from Devitt's debut against Wolfgang away back in 2012. While in those two contests Devitt was welcomed to the ICW ring, with this brawl he looked like he had been ICW for life. Putting paid to that sentiment, Devitt combined his Japanese stylings (a huge double-foot stomp) with his new ICW flavoured attitude - launching himself from the announcers' desk and through a table with Jester lying prone upon it.

This was fast looking like the night that Fergal would dethrone Jack, a situation that the crowd seemed shockingly to be lapping up. It felt right. It did not feel like an invader coming into the company and getting an undeserved title shot. After his last two matches, and with his look and attitude on the night, Fergal Devitt deserved this shot, and he was grasping it with both hands (and feet).

But a hard-as-nails Glaswegian with a deadly weapon can never be taken lightly. Jester managed to wrest control of his chair and the momentum of the match, striking back against Devitt and declaring he was about to meet the true face of I-C-W.

Shaking off the chops that had so displaced him earlier in the bout, Jester even absorbed a brainbuster from Fergal, kicking out at two. This spurred Devitt on to hit Jester with everything he had, but still the champion would not quit. Having absorbed incredible damage, Jack Jester finally managed to hit back and struck with his Tombstone Piledriver finisher to earn the victory, and the respect of one of the best in the world.

Post-Match
A world apart from Prince Devitt's last visit to ICW, this was a sporting contest from both wrestlers who gave it their all. The victory spurred Jack Jester on to defeat all comers throughout 2014, including a three-way match with former 2-time ICW Heavyweight Champion James Scott and the Iron Man Joe Coffey at the same time, and a FOUR-WAY bout with the NAK's Chris Renfrew (the man who helped put Devitt down during his last visit), the Homicidal Suicidal Genocidal Death-Defying legend that is Sabu, and the only other man who could claim a victory over Fergal Devitt in ICW, Wolfgang.

None of Jack Jester's defenses have been easy tasks, but his battle with Devitt at the turn of the year taught him how to dig deep and win on his terms, an experience I believe helped him overcome ever-increasing odds throughout 2014.

And Devitt? Not only did his appearance at ICW put an exclamation mark on the UK wrestling scene, it also proved a point. Since losing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight belt, the rumour mills had been buzzing as to whether Devitt would leave NJPW and sign for either WWE or TNA. No other option seemed credible.

Fergal proved in this bout that he didn't need either company, as his future in British wrestling was secure, should he choose to leave Japan. In doing so, he lent credibility to the already strong and growing British wrestling companies that what we have on these islands are a group of very special companies.

As for Insane Championship Wrestling, the 3rd Annual Square Go sold out in advance, starting a string of seven sell-outs across nine events so far for 2014, including the first ever ICW show in London, the first ever ICW show in Newcastle, Up And Atom in Edinburgh and Still Smoking at the huge o2 ABC in Glasgow (... more on that show to come). Their latest event, Shug's Hoose Party on 27th July 2014, sold out before a single match was even announced!! To say ICW's 2014 started off strong and went from strength to strength is putting it lightly.

Back To Japan
Prince Devitt was not done with Bullet Club, not by a long shot. The rumours may have started that he had left New Japan, but this was far from the truth. Despite the interference of Bullet Club throughout Prince Devitt's matches, a very rare sight in Japanese wrestling, Devitt was unable to seize the IWGP Heavyweight title during his run as Bullet Club leader. But other matters were soon to become his main consideration.

The day after Wrestle Kingdom 8, Prince Devitt's former tag-team partner Ryusuke Taguchi returned from injury to attack the former champion, re-igniting a feud that would see the two battle in a variety of tag matches involving the Bullet Club team of Devitt, Fale, Gallows, Anderson and Tonga taking on Ryusuke Taguchi and a variety of tag partners, with neither side gaining a distinct advantage over the months of fights.

A singles match was begging to be made, and at Invasion Attack 2014, one year since the event that saw Apollo 55 split so violently, Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi would finally meet one on one to settle the score. The Young Bucks, the two newest recruits to the Bullet Club fold, were keen to help their leader, but Prince Devitt made it clear this was to be a one on one wrestling match with no outside interference.

Despite this, the duo continually tried to push the subject, leading to a physical altercation between Devitt and the Bucks to keep them at bay. The crowd were beginning to sense something had changed in Prince Devitt. By the time Ryusuke Taguchi had managed to score the victory, he could tell it too. With his trademark facepaint smeared and a look of pain twisting his face beyond the physical punishment of the match, Devitt extended his hand to his former partner. With a handshake of forgiveness gained, Prince Devitt rolled out of the ring. It was to be his last match at New Japan Pro Wrestling.

But not his last at ICW....

AWBA: FF & ICW updates

Disclaimer: I've updated a few of my more recent articles with extra info, breaking news and some media. Rather than link to all of them individually, I've made this handy wee jump-off page for y'all.

Fierce Females
Mad Maxine preview
Has been updated with the latest announced match - Penelope v Debbie Sharp! Give the preview a read and please remember if you are interested tickets are still on sale for £10 and the show is this Sunday, 20th July 2014 at Walkabout in Glasgow!

UPDATE to the update - Fierce Females have literally the moment I published this announced yet another match for Sunday. Click the link above to find out who (and hear some words of warning from one of the competitors).


ICW - What's Your Boggle?
Live Results article
The live results have been updated with some photos and a fan-captured video showing the entire NAK attack on Wolfgang!!  Major thanks to Graeme Burley for that one. Additionally, the results have been re-posted to PWPonderings in a slightly different format. Feel free to read them both and feedback on the comparisons would be much appreciated.


Fierce Females
Coming Of Age and Return Of The Queen Of Hardcore - full events
Fierce Females have handily made both the Coming Of Age and Queen Of Hardcore events available free via YouTube. Have updated with all the videos and urge you to give them a watch. In case it isn't clear yet - get your ass to Mad Maxine!

Insane Championship Wrestling
Shug's Hoose Party preview
The week after Mad Maxine comes Shug's Hoose Party. I have updated the preview with the two title matches having been recently announced - Mark Coffey v Solar for the Zero-G Championship, and Jack Jester v Martin Stone for the ICW Heavyweight Championship. Get it read and start scouring Facebook hoping someone is selling their ticket - this show is SOLD OUT and takes place on Sunday, 27th July at The Garage in Glasgow.

Enjoy, and if you attend either Mad Maxine or Shug's Hoose Party, give me a wave ;)

AWBA: Breaking Baws

Disclaimer: Branching out a wee bit from talking about wrestling, to talking about folk that talk about wrestling. Breaking Baws is the first of that.

Breaking Baws
http://breakingbaws.wordpress.com/ // Facebook // Twitter

Four guys, four podcast jobbers. Breaking Baws is at its core four pals chatting about wrestling.

But it's four guys with a mission statement as well - to get Scottish wrestling the exposure it deserves. It's a mission statement I fully support. There are a ton of companies putting on fantastic shows all across the UK right now based from Scotland.

Breaking Baws has a Wordpress account as linked to above, and it's a pretty wide-spread affair. Previews of upcoming shows, reviews, focuses on specific wrestlers, even an article on how to get the WWE Network in the UK. Above all they exist to show what is out there in Scottish wrestling and do a great job at that.

Their Facebook and Twitter is always full of the latest buzz around Scottish and UK wrestling - the best of Retweets, links to events pages, if you are looking to find out more about the Scottish wrestling community, or "scene" if you like, follow them on both FB and Twitter and you will soon find a steady stream of the best links and news.

Creating and nurturing a community is the best aspect of Breaking Baws. They recently hosted a night at Glasgow venue The Ark whereby a PPV (Wrestlemania 17) was chosen by the audience to be shown on the big screen, and everyone who was into wrestling - whether a lapsed fan, an ICW hardcore inmate or a newcomer to grappling - was encouraged to hang out, have a drink or something to eat, and just chat and interact with each other. It was a great vibe and I personally met a few new folk from all three categories above.

Although The Ark event was a blast and I look forward to it continuing on a monthly basis, the lynchpin of Breaking Baws is far and away the Podcasts. With over a dozen under their belt, they are beginning to gather a lot of steam. Recent interviews with the best of Scottish talent including Chris Renfrew - covering everything from booking for Insane Championship Wrestling to the worst of WCW storylines; Dickie Divers - chatting about decapitating fans and getting into wrestling; Damo - sharing his views on the Scottish scene and running the SWA training school; and a two-for-one with Viper & Bete Noire - discussing Viper's start in wrestling, Bete's sojourn to Japan and how it feels to have the wrestling and 'real' worlds' lines merge.


I cannot state enough how excited I am by Breaking Baws right now. These guys are genuinely excited by everything surrounding Scottish wrestling, from the rings to the blogs. Their event nights in The Ark are a great idea, the podcasts are informative, and their just really great, enthusiastic guys. Please check them out if you are in any way interest in wrestling, Indy promotions, the Scottish scene or just having a great time.  

AWBA: FF - A Brief History

Disclaimer: This was intended as the intro to my Mad Maxine preview, but ended up taking on a life of its own. I hope you enjoy this brief history of the Fierce Females story so far.

Fierce Females - Mad Maxine

Sunday 20th July - 7pm doors, 7.30pm showtime

Walkabout, 128 Renfield Street, Glasgow, G2 3AL

Tickets available via FierceFemales.co.uk or in person at Rufus T Firefly's, 207 Hope Street, Glasgow, G2 2UW - Priced at only £10 each!

FF Online - Facebook // Twitter // FierceFemales.co.uk

I plan on doing a more in-depth look (or looks) into the history of Fierce Females, but in order to properly set the scene I'm going to provide you with a short summary of events so far.

The year was 2012. The month was September. The venue was The Arches. And the company was then called ICW: Fierce Females, an affiliated "sister" promotion of Insane Championship Wrestling run by Mikey Whiplash. The first show hosted a variety of talent on a great card, starting with "Miss Nicola" Storm taking out Fiona Fraser and ending with a brutal Last Woman Standing match officiated by current ICW Champion Jack Jester which saw Kay Lee Ray and Carmel fight all over the ring, the ringside and even the unforgiving concrete confines of The Arches.

From there, the company grew to The Garage in May 2013, as Kay Lee Ray overcame two challenges in one night to be crowned the first ever ICW: FF Champion, seeing off Rhia O'Reilly in the semi-final then Viper in the final.  The show also boasted Carmel Jacob overcoming Canada's own Leah Von Dutch and another visitor, Crazy Mary Dobson, making such an impression in her war with the ever-hardcore Bete Noire that she was booked the very next night in a match with Jack Jester and Jimmy Havoc (well I say match... as anyone who has seen that instant-classic will testify to, it was a war on par with the battle with Bete). Both of these shows have been released on a pair of great DVDs.

Third up was a show in The Classic Grand in September, a little under a year on from the first ICW:FF show. This saw a great mixture of homegrown and visiting talent - the English (Ayesha Ray), Canadian (Portia Perez), Irish (Rhia O'Reilly) and American (Crazy Mary Dobson) were all represented along with Carmel, Kay Lee Ray, Viper, Fiona Fraser, Bete Noire, Nikki Storm and many more. It was an amazing night showing the best of both worlds - and I haven't even had to mention the Fierce Females debut of former WWE and TNA star Amazing/Awesome Kong!

This would be the last Fierce Females show to feature so heavily foreign talent, and also the last to come with the ICW moniker. It is the first show to be featured on digital download however, so if you are interested head over to the Fierce Females website to view each match and keep for as little as a few pounds/dollars.

As hinted at above, with the new year came a new name and a new attitude. Fierce Females would from now on be known only as Fierce Females, and the ethos was a rebirth of sorts. I did terrible injustice to the first of the new shows hailing from the Source Wrestling School, but the smaller venue, more intimate show and fresh focus on local talent made for a compelling evening, that saw a one night only tournament crown a new #1 Contender in Samii Jayne, and the entire locker room band together to stand up to Carmel Jacob and Sara, otherwise known as The Glamour Gym, and their dastardly ways.

The follow up show, extensively reviewed here, saw Samii Jayne take on the returning Kay Lee Ray in a match that made its way out of the venue and spilled onto the streets and even onto a car, The Glamour Gym tried to permanently take out at least one Owens Twin, and Nikki Storm come out on top in another one night only tournament to be the current #1 Contender.

Coming Up Next
So here we are, and now the scene is set. Mad Maxine is right around the corner and coming up next I will detail a bit more extensively what each match means in the context of the past and future of the company. Stay tuned, check out the events that have gone before, and for the love of Foley get yourself along to Mad Maxine. Meanwhile, now may be a good time to pick a side. Are you with the forces of The Owens Twins, or are you with the #CarmelCorner? Do you want to see underhanded tactics taken out of Fierce Females, or do you condone violence and victory by any means necessary?