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.

WQ: Week 9 - The Champion Of Champions

Disclaimer: If you're not sure what this is about by now, check out last week's question with a late entry now added, and send an email to AWBAblog@gmail.com if you want to join in.

This week I asked, what with all the quality champions across the UK, from Jimmy Havoc in PROGRESS to Kid Fite in BCW, if you were to put them all together in some kind of format (Battle Royale, Tournament, Points System, etc):

Who Would Emerge As The British Champion Of Champions?

Our first answer is incredibly in-depth and a fantastic read, so let's have Marco Piva set the tone!!

WQ: Week 8 - Match Of The Year

Disclaimer: Still haven't got a banner for this. Graphics was never my strong point.

What is my strong point is coming up with a question a week to ask a ragtag group of UK wrestling fans. Here is the 8th one so far. As ever, if you want to join in, it's just an email or a Tweet away. Check out the previous weeks, then settle in for the answers to:

What Has Been Your Match Of The Year So Far?

First up we have Wrestleropes (http://wrestleropesuk.wordpress.com/) who are always first on the scene with updated cards, results and other great UK wrestling stuff!! Their answer:

"I don't have a Match Of The Year, I have four.

1: SWA Zero1 Scottish Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage - Mikey Whiplash vs Joe Coffey - SWA 'Clan Wars', April 5th 2014

I've seen a few cage matches in my time, this one was the best. Not just in the UK but the best cage match I've seen anywhere. This match would have probably made it without the cage being involved just purely based on who was involved. The match had a lot of back story coming into it and had been building for months. When the match finally came round, it felt big and I don't just mean in "it's the main event" big, this felt like a special thing to see. If the match ever somehow becomes available to watch, watch it. It'll be 30 minutes you'll never regret.

2: Pro Wrestling Elite Heavyweight Championship - Dave Mastiff vs Grado - Pro Wrestling Elite 'Gradomania', July 19th 2014

I've been to quite a few shows and seen quite a few matches but I don't think I've experienced a match with an atmosphere like this one. Now usually most matches will have noisy sections and the odd quiet section. Not this match. The crowd were loud for this match from start to finish and rightly so. This match also had a back story to it and both men were really good in the match. It was a different Grado during the match. Yes, he was his usual comical self during the entrance but when the bell rung, it was a different Grado, a focused, no games, purely business Grado. That being said in the beginning Dave Mastiff was absolutely destroying him and it looked like a white wash was on the cards. Even writing about makes me want to see it again. To see the man they said would never hold a championship rise above the monster and achieve something for himself.

3: Mikey Whiplash vs Jack Gallagher - Pride Wrestling 'We Aim To Misbehave', June 7th 2014

The night before this match I'd seen both men wrestle in Cumbernauld for SWA and their matches were great. Both against Japanese wrestlers. However, the next night when they were in the ring together it was magical. I think it was the first time I had ever seen Mikey Whiplash as a blue-eye and I'll admit at first it was hard to adapt to. That being said, within 2 minutes of this match I'd forgotten all about it. This match was pure wrestling in it's simplest form. No springboards, no dives. The match left the mat at most a handful of time but yet it was captivating. Watch holds being applied that you could barely work out how they were applied let alone how to get out of them. Yet as we sat and watched, we saw each man counter the other. I really could have sat there for hours and watched that match. Hell, I'd still be sat there now.

4: Fierce Females Womens Championship - Kay Lee Ray vs Nikki Storm - Fierce Females 'Mad Maxine', July 20th 2014

Ever heard someone talk negatively about female wrestling? Show them this match and if it doesn't change their mind then they are a lost cause. That is how good this match was and not just based on female wrestling, based on all wrestling. Nobody can say they predicted how this match would go. I knew it would be good. I don't think I expected it to be that good though! Another reason this match is one of my favourites this year is due to the fact it was the catalyst for huge change in Fierce Females. We're seeing things that we've not seen before. At Fierce Females' last show, Kay Lee Ray used the term "we were the spark". Now she was relating this match but it could be said that this match was the spark which has reignited Fierce Females as a promotion. I'd love to and I think I will say in the future, I saw the match which was the spark."


Following on from that is Alan Reynolds, wrestling fan who has been following the Indies avidly since 2006. Alan:

"Match of the year has to be either Prince Devitt vs Mark Coffey, or the three team ladder match (Sumerian Death Squad v The Bucky Boys v The NAK), both from ICW Still Smokin' in March.

If I had a gun to my head, I'll go with the ladder match purely because it was slightly more memorable thanks to big Wolfgang throwing BT Gunn to the wolves from a great height as well as the result of Tommy End and Michael Dante walking out with the tag team belts."

A match I'm sure all of us who were there will never, ever forget!


Next up is writer and commentator Marco Piva (http://www.allwrestling.it/) with his choices:

"If I can go back to late 2013 (November, to be precise), I'd go for Joe Coffey vs James Scott at ICW Fear and Lothian. Short, but a masterpiece.

If it must be 2014... same two guys, 30-minute Iron Man match at the ICW Square Go, in January.

Nice and easy."

For those who maybe aren't aware, the Joe Coffey vs James Scott 'Iron Man' series of matches from 2013/2014 is one of the greatest series of matches ever. There was no real "we will do a Best Of 7 Series" sit-down at all, it was a case of two great wrestlers competing, then doing it again, and again, and again, to rapturous response from all.


Billy Strachan of OSWtv (http://oswtv.wordpress.com/) understandably struggles to pick only one:

"Of matches I've had the pleasure of being in attendance for, Kris Travis vs Ricochet at PBW Rock N Wrestle 2 and Ian Ambrose vs Martyn Stallyon at SWE Hell for Lycra XI.

There are too many great choices though like Scotty 2 Hotty vs Grado at WrestleZone Aberdeen Anarchy, Thunder Buddies vs The Hotshots at the same event was amazing, or Mike Musso vs Nathan Reynolds at W3L Live in Elgin. It's been a cracking year and I look forward to more top matches and bigger events."

As do I mate!


Now, I think it's time to chime in with my choice:

"I hate myself more than I think you guys do with the tough questions I set. I mean, look at the places I've been and the people I've seen wrestle this year. You've got the SWA, with Jack Gallagher and Mikey Whiplash tearing it up. Fierce Females have seen everyone from Sammii Jayne, to Nikki Storm, to Penelope and, well, everyone else put on amazing matches at every event. BCW's Just Uz (BT Gunn & Stevie Xavier) own the ring every time they step into it, while Kid Fite never has anything less than a stellar match. And ICW - they have put on 14 events this year, and with that wealth of talent and shows, how can you pick one individual match?

But pick I will.

I've wavered a lot on this choice. I wanted to pick a Fierce Females match as, on the whole, I think I've enjoyed that promotion the most this year. I wanted to pick a match that showcased a glimpse of the future, such as anything involving Kenny Williams or the Jack Jester v Joe Coffey v James Scott bout. But in the end, I have had to go with Jack Jester v Fergal Devitt at the ICW Square Go event back in January, for a few reasons.

I had seen Fergal Devitt wrestler before, but this guy was something else on that night. That match was one of those you could show a non-wrestling fan if you wanted them to see why we love this sport, and I know it cemented in a few people's minds that ICW was the place to be.

It was also before Devitt had fully left NJPW and before the NXT rumours became something more. It was that wonderful moment where we hoped we would see him again, but were not at all sure, so everything from the wrestlers to the crowd were left in the building that night.

Finally, it blended styles so perfectly. The Devitt staples were there. The Jester staples were there. It was just a phenomenal match, it is the one I have rewatched the most this year and it made me more than love wrestling. I already loved wrestling before that match, but it elevated my emotional involvement beyond the level it was at."


Mark Moore is straight to the point:

"So many to pick from but Prince Devitt vs Zack Sabre Jr probably tops the list for me."

Our last answer this week comes from Breaking Baw's Paul (http://www.breakingbaws.co.uk/) with his take:

"Noam Dar V Chris Hero at PCW in Feb. Cracking match. Two really talented guys that left it all in the ring.

Also saw Papa Shango wrestle that weekend :)

Was tough to decide between that and Devitt v Jester at Square Go.  Then Wolfie v BT Gunn from last Sunday (ICW's 1.21 Gigawatts, Great Scott! event) jumped in the mix too."

And that's all for this week.  Feel free to chime in with your take in the comments :-)

Update: A late entry from Tod:

"My match of the year so far worldwide would be AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki from the G1 Series in NJPW. This was a fantastic 15 minute match where (forgive the pun) the clash of styles worked really well. AJ Styles is probably the best performer in the world right now, working like an NWA champion from the 70's and 80's going in and working with top guys to make them look better as well as display his own talents. Suzuki is one of my favourite all time wrestlers as he's pretty unique, also worth checking out his mind boggling work with Mecha Mummy and his scary stuff with Ishii from last year.

In the UK it would be Devitt vs Zack Sabre Jr, really enjoyed the riotous atmosphere, the brilliant entrance by Devitt and Sabre showing why I think he might be a big name across Japan and ROH etc in the coming months / years (he's already working widely of course). These are two guys who I rate because they do all the small things, like the great performers always do, interacting with the audience, picking the pace up and slowing it down and carrying the crowd with them plus a great finishing sequence with near falls leading to the Bloody Sunday finish. Two guys looking like stars, giving their all and a hot crowd. Great stuff."

WQ: Week 7 - The Next UK Star To Appear On US TV?

Disclaimer: I assume by now you know what this is about. If not, check out our previous questions and pop an email to AWBAblog@gmail.com if you want your answers to be included.


This week I asked, what with Devitt about to appear on NXT and the second season of TNA's British Bootcamp show seemingly in full swing:

Who Do You Think Will Be The Next UK Star To Appear Regularly On US TV?

WQ: Week 6 - Fantasy Tag Team

Disclaimer: I'll try and pull my finger out and get a banner done for next week. Think a few folk BSOD'd at this week's question haha. If you want to join in, check out previous weeks and either email AWBAblog@gmail.com or Tweet me @AWBAblog.



Using At Least One UK Wrestler, Who Would Be Your Fantasy Tag Team?


Up first once again is Marco Piva.

"That's a nice question. And there's a lot of answers. First three that come to mind:

James Scott/Darkside and Kurt Angle
Kris Travis and Stevie Xavier
Chris Renfrew and Dean Ambrose

Lots of really talented UK wrestlers who'd make great tag teams, if we add the Americans to the equation... "


Thanks Marco. Second to answer this week was Mark Moore:

"Right now I would say Noam Dar and Adrian Neville (Pac) would be pretty amazing and if its past or present then what about Dynamite Kid and Davey Richards."


Personally out of the answers so far, I'd be most excited to see Dar/Pac and Renfrew/Ambrose. Let's see what Johnny from Breaking Baws has to add to the conversation:

"My fantasy tag team would be my main man of the moment BT Gunn, phenomenal wrestler! Great look and amazing leg work, tagging with Rob Van Dam (original ECW RVD). Got this crazy idea in my head of the 2 of them nipping aboot the ring doing flash as fuck double team moves, Double Killer boots and all that!

They would storm over any tag team division then would have the inevitable break up with BT turning on RVD calling him a liability ;)"


Could actually see that happening. Shame we don't have the RVD of yesteryear still around. Billy Strachan from OSWtv chimes in with:

"There will be a lot of great choices being made so I'll go out there with something different. I came up with an odd pairing as a fantasy team and I think it could work (in some weird way), Chris Renfrew and Matt Hardy. I have no idea why it would work but they could cut awesome promos, wrestle, brawl, bleed and pimp slap all that oppose them. Another big question being asked and one that there would be an infinite amount of answers. How about Drew Galloway and Damian O'Connor, two big dudes, one being all shaven and chiselled while the other is a huge bear, just going around kicking peoples heads off or booting them up the a….anywho. Kris Travis and AJ Styles would be amazing, BT Gunn and Low Ki, too many choices come to mind."


Nice. I really like the idea for Chris Renfrew and Matt Hardy, could imagine some really memorable promos there. Alan Reynolds adds:

"Joe Coffey and Minoru Suzuki. I can imagine Suzuki doing his usual angry bastard routine with Joe just murdering everyone in his way. A Suzukigun with Joe in it would be fearsome."


Thanks Alan, I'm now going to check out some of Suzuki's work to see exactly what you mean. My answer this week is:

"I personally am quite obsessed with NJPW at the moment, specifically Tomohiro Ishii. I had originally thought of a Joe Coffey/Tomohiro Ishii pairing, but as I began visualising them both being brutal beasts in the ring, shoulderblocking opponents and daring them to respond, I then began seeing the two of them as opponents, not partners.

So who do you team up with such strong men? Surely you'd need someone fast and high-flying to balance it out. So I put together a dream NJPW/UK tag team match-up, the team of Tomohiro Ishii and Stevie Boy/Xavier versus the team of Joe Coffey and Ricochet. That to me is a perfect mix of styles - strength, speed, agility, brutality. I would pay extreme amounts of money to witness that tag team match."


Our final answer of the week comes from Bruce Mackintosh. Bruce says:

"Mikey Whiplash & Raven  v  Al Snow & Jack Jester

Think this line-up would be an all out old school Hardcore match with foreign objects galore.


Nikki Storm & Paige  v Mickey James & Debbie Sharpe

Straight up heel v face tag match which would be a cracker in the world of the fantasy tag team. No doubt Sweet Saraya would make a surprise appearance and start a street fight with Bete Noire!"


I'm glad I wasn't the only one to make up a full match, no less two!! Those are both great matches and great meshes of styles.

So, a little short this week, but some great ideas. If you think of any more and want to add to this conversation, give me an email or Tweet. Enough additional choices and I'll re-do this question further down the line.

Until next week, thanks for reading / taking part!

WQ: Weeks 4 and 5 - Upcoming Shows and Suspension Of Disbelief

Disclaimer: Something went wrong last week, so you get two lots of questions and answers this week! As ever, if you enjoy this and want to take part, send me an email at AWBAblog@gmail.com


Week 4 - What Upcoming Show(s) Are You Most Looking Forward To?

and

Week  5 - Which One Wrestling Match Has Most Suspended Your Disbelief?

WQ: Week 4 - Postponed

Disclaimer: This whole post is one big Disclaimer.

No idea what happened, but the Week 4 "Weekly Questions" never sent. Unfortunately, that means there will be no Weekly Questions post today.

As a result, next week's will be a doubler, and it will be a bit more general than the usual UK-based fare. If you are interested in taking part, have a read of the last three and then send an email to AWBAblog@gmail.com or a Tweet to @AWBAblog

WQ: Week 3 - First UK Wrestling Experience

Disclaimer: This is the third of our Weekly Questions series. Weeks 1 and 2 were a bit objective, so I've made this week a bit more personal. If you want to join in, it's open to all - general fan, blogger, wrestler, whatever - simply send an email to AWBAblog@gmail.com or a DM if we're following each other on Twitter @AWBAblog 

(Oh and as ever, if anyone wants to make me a sweet Weekly Questions banner, feel free)


This week, I asked:


What Was Your First Experience Of The UK Independent Scene?

Our first answer comes from our newest member, Marco Piva who writes for http://www.allwrestling.it/ (Italian reviews) and does commentary for Italian wrestling promotion ASCA Wrestling:

"I started watching whatever I found on YouTube, and became a fan of Lionheart. Then I found out that ICW were doing a Royal Rumble-style thing and, being a lover of the Rumble(s), I decided to go. That was the first Square Go. I got hooked about 5 minutes into the show (Lionheart leaving the Gold Label, calling Red Lightning a "midcard jobber" - or "midcard jobby", I'm still not sure - then defeating him one on one), and I haven't looked back since - actually, I started widening my horizons to embrace most of the other local promotions. Also, I try to follow as much as I can of the biggest promotions south of the border."

Next up is my answer:

"Back when I was a wee boy, there were a couple of wrestling shows in our local town hall which I think I went to with my cousin Martin. I still have the autograph book and signed programme from that show, featuring the illustrious Legion Of Doom and even The Undertaker... yeah, I don't those were the actual WWF guys somehow.

Years later, as a teenager, my friend Ashley took me to a show. I do not know where it was, when it was or who it was, but it was in a sports hall, was really fun and I believed in the characters. But it still felt a bit cheap compared to the stuff on TV, but made me feel a bit better about UK wrestling. I never did make it to another show though.

Fast forward to 2012. I'd heard about ICW through various friends. People who weren't wrestling fans were telling me to go, so I considered it as a night out. Even caught a couple of the MyChannel shows, but I wasn't really feeling wrestling in general at the time. After thinking about it a while, they had a show (Santa Gravy) literally on my birthday that had just about sold out. I pulled the trigger, invited a bunch of people out as a bit of a different take on your usual birthday night out in town, and sent a message to Mark Dallas asking if there was any chance there were spaces on the guestlist or if I could collect tickets on the door as I was bringing a large group. Amazingly I got a reply, and that personal touch really impressed me.

The show was amazing. I can remember the genuine hatred for Jackie Polo, the dazzling moves of the likes of Kay Lee Ray, and this was also meant to be Lionheart's retirement show meaning everyone was outpouring with gratitude towards him after a hard-fought contest with Wolfgang. The emotion, the sheer emotion, shared between the wrestlers and the crowd hooked me. I had no idea who was who or why was why, but I found myself chanting, cheering and yelling along. There were two DVDs on sale that night (the first Fierce Females and the Fear & Loathing DVD) and I bought the FF one and convinced my pal to get F&L (which I've since nicked) as I knew this was going to be a long-term thing. The Fierce Females DVD was equally awesome.

So there it was, hooked already. And it's become a bit of a tradition that on my next birthday show (100% Shenanigans) some friends came along for a night out and also found theirselves hooked, which leads a bit nicely into the next answer."

Says my girlfriend and wrestling trainee Sammie Jo:

"My first show was 100% Shenanigans for your birthday night out last year. My most vivid memory of that show was Mikey Whiplash diving out of the ring and coming back in with a gaping hole in his leg. He tried to carry the match but couldn't. I can remember screaming at you that he was bleeding out, before Grado came out to stem the bleeding.

Despite that being my welcome to ICW, I was hooked and haven't missed a show since (until Get Mendoza just there), and have began going to other companies including BCW and SWA which has led me to the Source Wrestling School - all from that first ICW night out."

Paul from Breaking Baws chimes in next:

"I got lucky. Last September ICW "There's Something About Maryhill". A great show, the hightlight was Wolfie V Red Lighting in a fight that went onto Maryhill Road and the shutters of Tesco were involved. Some night, hooked since."

ICW boss Mark Dallas - Sensing a theme here

Mark Moore, from www.tnanews.com, www.wwenews.net, Ressurrection magazine and www.surelycrabtree.co.uk, reveals:

"My first experience of the UK independent scene came in a live show in Clacton On Sea. My Dad took me to see WAW who were performing at the town hall. I remember just being so surprised at just how many other people were into what I was. This would have been around the year 1999 at a guess and while I had watched World Of Sport growing up as a kid I had never realised that actual real wrestling was taking place where I lived. 

The show itself was really good and opened my eyes a little bit to just how hard these guys and girls have to work in the ring. Being that close to the action gave me a completely different outlook on the business and the art of pro wrestling. After the show everyone was gracious with their time especially Sweet Saraya who made it point to talk to all the fans. 

It was at that point that I knew we had just as good, if not better, wrestlers here in the UK than what I had been watching on TV for years."

Billy Strachan who runs OSWtv.Wordpress.com and provides excellent updates on the latest UK wrestling news, is another 2012 fan:

"Bar a horrific WWF tribute show when I was 10 years old by WWF-GB, my first taste of UK Independent wrestling was SWE Hell for Lycra IX in the Dewars Centre in Perth back in August 2012. I drove from Elgin to Perth on little sleep to meet "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase. I also got to meet Tatanka and Chavo Guerrero. The show itself was brilliant, the highlights being "Ravishing" Randy Valentine jumping off a steel cage that was being held up by the other wrestlers and seeing Martyn Stallyon putting on a clinic with Chavo Guerrero. Then I drove back to Elgin, but even when I got in at 1am, I was still buzzing about the show. It made me want to check out all the local wrestling I could, so I did, and went to W3L in Elgin the month after. From there it snowballed and since then I've found myself spending any spare cash on trying to attend an event near me and spending any spare moment talking about it, watching it, writing about it, it's taken over my life really."


Lee Burton from Ringbelles provides an excellent answer:

"Firstly, I’m throwing aside my first experience of British wrestling, which was from a promotion called the American Wrestling Academy at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall in November 1991.  I had got into wrestling about 6 months before and was reading WWF Magazine religiously, and my dad thought he would try and understand what I was so interested in by buying tickets to this show.  After all, wrestling is wrestling, right?

Not quite.

What was presented was five matches of pure wretched garbage featuring a bunch of guys who knew a total of about a dozen moves between them, with the exception of one guy who had a couple of extra moves, making him the best of a sorry bunch.  Even as a ten year old boy, I knew it sucked, and my dad felt the same.  In fact, it was the last time he ever invested any money into my love of wrestling - the only other gift I received from my parents which had anything to do with wrestling was a videotape of the 1991 Survivor Series from my mum at Christmas 1992.

In fairness, my introduction to wrestling was not a good one, and a decade would pass before I would go to my next British wrestling event.

Going to university had meant I was able to share my love for wrestling with others for the first time in my fandom.  I moved into a flat in 1999 where one of the other guys living there watched the WWF as much as I did, so he loved that I had more than a hundred tapes for us to watch when we should have been studying.  There were fellow fans two doors up and two down, and another a further 3 doors down the road - with me introducing myself to the latter by sticking my head through his window while he played WWF Attitude on the Nintendo 64.

While other (read: cleverer) students were out on a Friday night drinking and engaging in carnal knowledge, we were down Riley’s watching Raw before heading home to play video games and watch old PPVs.  This led to us meeting up every August to watch SummerSlam during the break before the next academic year.  It just so happened that the day after the 2002 edition was a bank holiday, so a friend of mine suggested we went to watch a British wrestling show.  Given my previous experience, I was sceptical, but agreed as everyone else was up for it.

The show was the Frontier Wrestling Alliance’s Hotwired show, and I had a great time.  It kicked off with the cast of an MTV show coming out to insult the fans before being beaten up by FWA Champion Flash Barker, with one of them suffering damage to his vertebrae.  That show went on to become Dirty Sanchez.

As for the show itself, it was a fun affair which allowed the fans to get more involved than I had ever experienced at a WWF show - and I had been to quite a lot by that point.  Notable moments included Solid Gold Scott Parker singing the chorus to Spandau Ballet’s Gold before hitting Mark Sloan in the head, and Sloan going for a chairshot outside the ring which went so awry that it hit a child at ringside in the head, leaving him with a bump the size of an egg.  It also saw Nikita - later Katie Lea Burchill and Winter - wrestle Paul Travell to a no-contest and Jonny Storm deliver a hurricanrana on Flash Barker after hanging from a basketball ring in his unsuccessful challenge for the FWA Championship.

The show made such a good impression on me that I bought tickets for the show it was setting up - British Uprising at York Hall in London that October - and numerous FWA shows after that, despite me living more than 100 miles away from the venues at the time.  From there, I got into watching Midlands Professional Wrestling, Triple X Wrestling, IPW:UK and more, making new friends and not having to wait 6 months for WWE to roll into town to watch some great wrestling.

Just thinking about it, if Hotwired had sucked I may not be watching wrestling today."

FWA's Flash Barker

Tod from http://surelycrabrtree.co.uk/ gives a fitting answer:

"Ok... so mine will show my age and is a slightly bizarre one that links nicely to the name of the website.

So my dad was not into any sports and especially wrestling but knowing that I had become very interested in it he bought a pair of tickets to a wrestling event in Peterborough (near where we lived) which had Big Daddy on the card! Not sure what age the guy was by then but he was still an attraction mainly due to his size an historical undefeated streak (no idea how real or how genuine this was).

So the event felt like it was in a very large bar (I was 12/13 I suppose) but may have been a night club or similar. it was boozy and smokey and all the matches were in the british three falls or a knockout round by round style. I can honestly say I don't remember a lot about the event or many of the matches, Big Daddy got a big response and several of the matches had 'heat' in a very old school way.

I wish now that I had more appreciation for the british wrestling style that is now so revered around the word but to be honest at the time it just wasn't what I had seen on TV which was WWF and WCW so it felt very small scale and old fashioned. But I did enjoy the event, watching a genuine star attraction / legend and it was great of my dad to take me to something he had zero interest in!

There you go. I think it was around 1990/91."

Big Daddy - The man, the legend

Stuart Wevling, fan and member of the #CarmelCorner, says:

"My first experience was a show in Grangemouth Town Hall in early 1994. Cannot remember a thing about it besides the British Bulldog wrestling (the real one, not one of those tribute acts). Speaking of the tribute acts I did go to a tribute show in 2000 featuring such awesome wrestlers as 'The Legend of Doom' and the skinniest Sting ever. Although they also had a real wrestler, the mighty Earthquake."


Alan Reynolds shares his experience:

"My first experience of the UK indy scene was a BCW show where Lionheart faced Andy Wild in the main event. A friend was going and I expressed interest in going so he got me a ticket. Only thing I really remember is cheering when Lionheart semi-turned on Andy Wild at the end of the night and having nearby people look at me in confusion."

Scottish wrestler Lionheart has been a feature in many of our first UK wrestling experiences

Wrestleropes has an interesting and rather circuitous answer:

"My first experience or exposure to the UK independent scene was actually at a TNA Fan Party in Glasgow which I won tickets to randomly during an episode on Impact on Challenge. I knew that there was wrestling within the UK but up till then I'd had no real contact with it bar seeing the odd poster in a shop window. 

The Fan Party had a panel of British wrestlers (Kay Lee Ray, Lionheart, Johnny Moss, Kid Fite) talking about stories and such. That was really the catalyst that really made e hunt out UK independent wrestling. About a month later I went to a Premier British Wrestling show and that was it. It hooked me. I intended to go along just to see what it was really like but by the main event came round as was emotionally committed to the show as much as anyone else in the building.

When I got home I made sure I knew the next show I could get to. A few months later the website started and the rest as they say is history."


Ryan Blackwood is up next:

"I’ve been going to ICW since April of last year. In terms of independent wrestling, I’ve not really branched further than ICW in terms of live shows (although I follow several promotions on DVD). I wish I could  have gone further afield but for a non-driver it can be a nightmare.

I’m trying to branch out though, booked up for the PCW/ROH super show in Preston, November and am hopefully gonna make it to BCW in Kilmarnock.

There have been some cracking matches I’ve missed out on because of it (see any Joe Coffey or Mikey Whiplash match). I suppose it’s a bit to do with trepidation and the whole idea of 'it wont be like ICW.'

That trepidation I mention is very much what I felt before my first ICW event. I had only just started getting back to wrestling properly in the lead up to 'Mania and had been getting told from my cousin for two months previous to the event. I just felt it was going to be garbage, ‘how can British wrestling be anywhere near WWE’ I would ask myself. But I wanted to see ‘mania so for 12 quid I thought hey-ho, why not.

The first thing to hit me was the queue outside the Garage; I thought he was mental to suggest we queue an hour early. As we all know, that’s kinda the norm now. 

Constantly in the queue all I heard was ‘Grado’. And that’s kind of the summary of my first indie event. ‘Grado’. That brings up another clear thing I noticed and still do, the fans are some of the best and most homely of any sport on the planet. I was there at the point where Jack Jester was injured so the closest I got to ‘hardcore’ was Jimmy Havoc being german suplexed onto a hamster cage by James Scott. That excited me enough to go back though. So much excited me and made me want more the next month. 

Just think of your first experience of the Bucky Boys, think of your first time hearing ‘like a prayer’, your first Billy Kirkwood skit to start the show, that first chair shot, that first flip, twist and turn. It was all just perfect.

Two things that annoyed me about that show though, one is in hindsight. The first, at the time, Toni Smoke was horrendous, shocking. I’ve heard a lot of people say he was cracking but it just done nothing for me. I’m also not a rap fan. Secondly, in hindsight, why the hell have the big hangovers not been back to ICW, they were fantastic.

I think I came in at a perfect time, it was the start of Jackie Polos big storyline with Mark Dallas and the site of that utter genius turn/reuniting of the NAK in a loser leaves town match between booty and Renfrew. The finish left me wanting more, it had certainly done a hell of a lot more for me than any WWE TV had done for a long while, it brought the love back to wrestling. I’d say I probably see about 15-20 hours of wrestling a week and I put that down to independent wrestling. It made me branch out from WWE, it made me look into different styles, made me appreciate them and made me wanting to watch and learn more and more.

Independent wrestling in my opinion is at an all time best point right now and more importantly; I think British wrestling is at its highest point ever. 

I for one am ecstatic to be a part of it and look forward to seeing is undoubted rise to bigger and better things.

Think I’ve rambled a bit but there ya go. My first experience of the independent wrestling scene."


Our man from America, Des Delgadillo (http://www.thingsdessays.net/) probably didn't get his first foot in that door at a live ICW event, but here's his perspective:

"My first experience with British wrestling was a second-hand experience, but awesome nonetheless.

In 2002, a promotion fronted by British wrestling stalwart Alex Shane tried to bring British pro wrestling back to the prominence it enjoyed before it was stamped out at the end of the 1980s when ITV decided to cancel the World of Sport show. The Frontier Wrestling Alliance's plan was pretty simple: Let’s make wrestling awesome. And they did.

The first event I saw is probably the most historic for the FWA, the 2002 “Revival” show, an event that mixed American imports like Eddy Guerrero and Brian Christopher against exemplary British talents like Doug Williams and, my personal favorites, Jody Fleisch and Jonny Storm.

FWA was all about building drama into pro wrestling while still preserving the sports feel that the British wrestling scene of old was so keen on presenting.

Thanks to the Talksport radio program, wrestling fans got to listen to a live national broadcast of the show. I watched what was an unfortunately edited version that aired on British TV several months later, and even though a lot of the matches were shortened for TV constraints, the main matches were left in their entirety, and I loved every moment of the action. That Revival show encouraged me to plunge into more British indies, buy a ton more DVD’s, and appreciate wrestling from across the pond. That, in turn, took me on a journey back in time where I learned to appreciate the golden years of World of Sport, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

The FWA eventually fizzled out, then came back and fizzled out again. But their influence on the British scene can’t be forgotten. It was Alex Shane’s dedication and hustle that made fans take notice of wrestling in their own backyard once again. And it is Alex Shane who has spearheaded the wrestling content fans now get to see on Challenge TV, including WrestleTalk TV and BWC British Roundup. Shows like these that reach a greater audience than anyone could have ever imagined happened because of Alex Shane’s dedication to preserving a business. I’m glad I was able to watch the first step in bringing that business back."


Bruce Mackintosh joins in with his experience:

"Unfortunately I don't remember much of mine due to being rather young when I attended. My dad took me to see indie wrestling at the once very reputable Magnum centre in Irvine. Any ayrshire wrestling fans probably went to this but all I remember is not understanding why there was no WWF wrestlers* on the bill (excuse my young and naive self on reflection). Now I'm back into wrestling after a few years out and glad to say that the Scottish scene is solid and always excited to see and hear all the build up of new events. Got plenty of shows to come up with ICW/FIERCE FEMALES, Discovery Wrestling, WWE and TNA among the tickets I've got. 

(* I do remember there being a fan dressed as X PAC in attendance but even I wasn't falling for it.)"


Finally we have Adam Wilson with a combination of a 2012 start, ICW and of course Lionheart in his answer:

"The first time I experienced a UK independent show live was ICW: Hadouken! back in September 2012. I was aware of the UK scene prior to this having watched the likes of Drew Galloway, Mikey Whiplash, Lionheart and others on Youtube (and The Wrestling Channel when it existed), but due to money/location at the time attending shows wasn't an option for me, thus the extent of my knowledge was still pretty limited. Shortly prior to Hadouken, a friend of mine moved to Glasgow and noticed the poster for the show at the Garage in the City Centre (which made attending pretty easy), and the booking of Fergal Devitt sealed the deal. We both went, and now the idea of missing an ICW show makes both of us genuinely ill."


That's us for this week, remember if you want to take part you're more than welcome :-)

WQ: Week 2 - Which Is The Hottest UK Promotion Right Now?

Disclaimer: This is the second of our Weekly Questions series (Week 1 can be viewed here), where I ask a group of UK wrestling fans a question, every week surprisingly enough, and we compare answers. It's free to all if you want to join in - just send me an email to AWBAblog@gmail.com or a DM if we're following each other on Twitter @AWBAblog - wrestler, fan, blogger, podcast maker, whoever you are, your opinions are wanted.

(Oh and if anyone wants to make me a sweet Weekly Questions banner, feel free)


This week, I asked:


Which Is The Hottest UK Promotion Right Now?

I am going to answer first this week, because my answer has changed and I'll burst if I don't give it:

"If you had asked me this question last Wednesday (when I did actually ask myself) I would have chosen Fierce Females after much deliberation. A solid build up from the small Coming Of Age show earlier this year, the promotion put together a few age-old storylines of good versus evil and respect, delivering us the greatest turn I've witnessed this side of Chris Renfrew destroying Mark Dallas and re-inventing The NAK. There is so much momentum steadily building right now for what is seen as a gimmicky idea by even many wrestling fans (an all female promotion), yet with the strong matches featuring the best of Scotland along side some great visitors from Bellatrix, it was amazing and there are two further shows on the horizon bringing the total to five for 2014, a great feat for a company who had only put on 3 shows between 2012-13.

But then Sunday happened. Huge mainstream attention due to the appearance of stars of TV's Still Game, the presence of the BBC cameras responsible for the great Insane Fight Club documentary back in March. The upcoming Season 3 of ICW Worldwide. Four shows at the Fringe. The booking of the Barrowlands. Selling out left, right and center. Wrestlers from NJPW, NXT, England and our own backyard willing to do whatever it takes to try and gain the ICW Heavyweight belt. And finally.

Drew Galloway has returned.

It is hard to believe that less than a year ago there were worries that Mark Dallas' group couldn't sell out the o2 ABC and risked a lot in venturing there. It is hard to believe that less than two years ago an ICW show in Edinburgh was seen as foreign and strange. Now it is seen as groundbreaking, paving the way for Newcastle, London and beyond.

ICW is on the curb of something huge. The numbers their shows are pulling in are no mean feat. The promotion is still boasting something for everyone. Talk about it amongst social media is as strong as any other wrestling promotion, at least anywhere I'm looking. Upon reflection, Insane Championship Wrestling is the only real choice, and with a double-header coming up August 31st, with Fierce Females being hosted once again in Walkabout at 2pm and ICW then taking residence back at The Garage at 7pm, Glasgow is truly blessed with two of the hottest UK promotions right now."

Next up is wrestling fan Alan Reynolds with his take:

"Hottest UK promotion right now? Definitely a tie between ICW and PROGRESS. No other companies have nearly the same amount of buzz surrounding them (which isn't meant as an insult, ICW & PROGRESS just have the world in their hands just now). Things like the BBC documentary for ICW & PROGRESS having a run of shows at Sonisphere has definitely helped elevate the two promotions alongside strong shows (PROGRESS get a big shout out here for putting Chapter 13 up for free on Youtube. A cracking show, get it watched if you haven't watched it already. Fuck, even if you've watched it watch it again)."

Well Alan, this one's for you:

Back to the question, we have Billy Strachan, the man behind OSWtv.Wordpress.com :

"Hottest promotions right now have to be ICW, Fierce Females and Progress. The build up to Discovery Wrestling's debut show in October though may just blow them all out of the water, we'll just have to wait and see. There are companies that are still rising like Scottish Wrestling Entertainment. Reckless Intent are starting to make a name for themselves but to keep the answer simple ICW, Fierce Females and Progress."

All the way from our USA office (by that, I mean my email inbox) we have Des Delgadillo (http://www.thingsdessays.net/) weighing in with his outside perspective:

"I live in the U.S., and when we talk of U.S. promotions, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s name gets thrown around quite a bit. Why? Because they provide a level of dream matches that you probably won’t see anywhere else. They also have a ridiculously passionate and supportive fan base that adds something to every show. 

Let’s have that same discussion about the U.K. scene, and I think Progress Wrestling comes close to, dare I say, the PWG in the U.K. They run countless dream matches but don’t go nuts with the imports, and the Progress fans are some of the greatest in the world. Not to mention the guys who run it are some of the greatest, most outstanding gents I’ve ever known, even slightly. 

Yay, Progress!"

Stuart Rodgers, a UK podcaster who talks about both the UK and US independent scenes via his awesome podcast at http://www.theindycorner.com, has this to say:

"Very subjective  of course, depending on where you are in the UK, can affect what you choose. I have been fortunate to travel round and soak up the atmosphere of many UK promotions and I see even more on DVD. The only one I've never seen live in person in it's home is ICW. I was at the first show they put on in London and it was a unique experience as there were a number of fans that had travelled down from Scotland. 

Now I did say at the beginning, depending on where you are may affect your choice and for me this may be the case, my choice for hottest promotion is Fight Club: PRO out of Wolverhampton. They always run at The Planet nightclub, they have the ring surrounded by a cage permanently. As the venue is a nightclub you can imagine the crowd is very rowdy, the cage takes a pounding by both the wrestlers & the fans. 

I always enjoy my time at Fight Club: PRO, great crowd and the guys always give 100%. 

YouTube has various matches and clips from the promotion so give it a look."

Will definitely be checking that out, thanks Stuart!

An interesting photo from the last Fierce Females show via @MrDavidJWilson

Mark Moore, the man who has wrote for www.tnanews.com, www.wwenews.net and Ressurrection magazine, as well as being on a weekly podcast at www.surelycrabtree.co.uk, has this response:

"Wow, that's a great question......a real toss up between several promotions at the moment but I think maybe ICW has the edge due to the mainstream attention the BBC documentary and Grado have generated. Obviously it takes more than that though and ICW have put on great shows that fans always seem to be returning to which is a credit to Mark Dallas as much as anyone else. Moving outside of Scotland and still selling out was a huge step and shows just how big ICW are getting. 

Also it would be remiss of me if I didn't mention PROGRESS who are phenomenal and selling out 700+ for events and WAW which has provided so many great talents that have gone on to America and achieved stardom like Paige and Magnus."


Tod from http://surelycrabrtree.co.uk/ delivers one of the most thorough answers this week, with:

"I'm so pleased to say that I think this is a really tough one to answer right now, I think so many UK promotions are producing top class events that choosing just one will be hard! 

I could go with my 'home team' here in the East of England Ricky Knight's WAW have been producing top class wrestling and top class wrestlers for many years and with the addition of Bellatrix and the academy shows there is something for everyone. So they are, to me, a highly credible candidate. 

PCW have grabbed the attention of a lot of people with their use of world class stars on the shows to support the UK talent that they have on board already. I think they are as hot as anyone at the moment in terms of being noticed and being known. 

Up in Glasgae ICW have probably had one of the best and longest runs of recent times, they have mixed up fantastic local talent, made a genuinely bankable star out of Grado, strategically used external talent very wisely and have managed to get mainstream attention and a great reputation. This is a vibrant promotion with a great future. 

This is Progress... clap clap clap clap... A unique look and feel, top line UK talent and a mix of experience, academy and top world stars being brought in make me think that the guys behind this promotion may have found some magic in a bottle. They even turned the misfortune of having audio and video problems into a positive by putting out their 'Unbelievable Jeff' show free on youtube - winning them a whole new audience of admirers. Turning a negative into a positive, that's what you always have to try and do. 

So... I have to pick just one?! Right now I am going to go for ICW as the hottest, coverage on BBC is legitimate mainstream and so that has to sway me when I think about what 'hottest' means to me. WAW probably come in as the 'hottest' training centre / school given the attention Paige and Magnus have gained them and Progress / PCW are neck and neck for me in terms of hottest in ring product. 

There you go, everyone is a winner... what a wuss I am!"

Could we see a sequel? A lot of us seem to be dying to see one!

Ringbelles' Lee Burton weighs in:

"I may be going for the most obvious answer here, but Insane Championship Wrestling seems to tick so many boxes for this question. 

When you consider their mainstream media coverage over the past year, they have an edge over other promotions around the UK. Expanding from Glasgow into the Edinburgh Festival (a feat they’re replicating this year) as well as into England by venturing to Newcastle and London, they are turning into a real national force. With a legitimate superstar in Grado as well as female stars like Kay Lee Ray and Nikki Storm travelling to Japan and the United States, they have wrestlers spreading the word around the world, and others are taking notice. Having international wrestlers like Colt Cabana, Fergal Devitt and Sabu making multiple appearances doesn’t do any harm either. 

Sure, there are other promotions like PROGRESS and Southside producing great shows, but ICW has become a real event."


Ryan Blackwood once again produces a wonderful piece:

"I purposely left this this to write until Monday because as much as I already knew my answer to ‘hottest UK promotion’, I just knew that if I waited until Monday I wouldn’t have to write very much at all. 

All the respect in the world for Progress wrestling in London, they’re number 2, but there’s really only one logical answer for this one eh... 

Of course its ICW in what used to be Glasgow but is now just the UK. 

ICW is, like a lot on this thing, my home promotion. It’s the place I got my in for UK wrestling and it’s the place that just grew and grew as I watched in excitement.

Look at the meteoric rise since last year, look at the BBC taking interest, look at the ridiculously big crowds, look at the sell outs with ZERO matches announced, look at the 1100 sell-out close to two months in advanced with no imports, look at (spoiler alert) booking a venue in the barrowlands holding over 2000 people, look at being the only company in the uk to be able to go to cities in a different country and consecutively sell out, look at the stellar roster which is actually able to omit some of the biggest and best talent in the uk, look at Twitter and Facebook in the past few days. 

They’ve made it so their guys have arguably replaced those aforementioned biggest and best in the uk. 

What other company gets a tonne of UK wrestling sites, twitter pages, facebook pages referring to the companies show days as #ICWsunday (replace the ICW)? What other company can give us surprise devitt (twice) and surprise drew Galloway (formerly mcintyre)?? 

I don’t think this even merits any debate, and as much as I know others will disagree I’d like to say ‘I’ll be surprised if anyone disagrees’. 

If theres a race in uk wrestling for a TV spot I believe the only thing ICW has against itself is no London crowd.... Oh wait. 

Drew Galloway summed it up last night. 

“I'm Drew Galloway. Tell them I'm coming. Tell them ICW's coming, and Hell's coming with us!" 

HERE WE, HERE WE, HERE WE FUCKING GO".


Now, we have Wrestleropes leading us towards the end:

"I don't really think you can say there is one company that are the hottest. For me there are three promotions in the UK that could claim to be the hottest. Insane Championship Wrestling, Progress Wrestling & Preston City Wrestling. 

Insane Championship Wrestling - Does anyone who follows wrestling not know of ICW, really? They are probably the only company right now that can leave their home area and still draw huge crowds for shows. Newcastle & London being key examples of it. They been on mainstream TV and national newspapers and that is getting more frequent with each passing week. 

Progress Wrestling - What Progress have created in London is not replicated anywhere no only in the UK but possibly anywhere in the world. Last night, for example, they put their next show tickets on sale. Now these tickets are only available to those who sing up to a mailing list if you are unaware. Nevertheless, Progress sold every single front row seat in 60 seconds. An hour later they had sold over 500 tickets in total and at last word they had 60 tickets remaining. General sale doesn't begin till Thursday... if there is any left by them. Promotions would give their right arm to achieve sales of that speed. 

Preston City Wrestling - PCW were probably the first UK company to start the concept of multiple day events in the UK. They've also entered a partnership with one of the biggest promotions in the US in Ring Of Honor which is no mean feat for a company which is only about to turn three years old. They've brought in some of the biggest current names in wrestling along with legends from years gone by. PCW are at a point where they could almost get anyone they wished for a show."


Bruce Mackintosh comes in just before the end with:

"Although I've not had a chance to view or experience every UK promotion, I feel ICW / Fierce Females offer the most buzz and excitement in my eyes. They seem to be growing and developing at a great rate and seem to be uppin' the ante with every event they put on. I also have to mention Bellatrix too as they have a strong roster and more events with Fierce Females would be another top notch set of cards.

Long may it grow and continue to strengthen for the wrestling scene!"


And finally, Sammie Jo, my Better Half, wrestling trainee and fan of various Scottish promotions:

"Insane Championship Wrestling - it's a great blowout at the end of the weekend, you can have a good drink, enjoy yourself and forget about everything apart from wrestling. I've learned to expect the unexpected - surprise Devitt and surprise Drew!! The storylines are kept going and cohesive over the months, the attention to detail from Mark Dallas and his team is great. A lot of other promotions take the "showcase" approach to shows, as individual events, whereas ICW is like one long storyline. Catering to every fan, they always give up and coming wrestlers a chance at shows as well as bringing in the best of the best, the likes of Jack Gallagher and Sumerian Death Squad. Mention also has to go to the fan interactions, making you feel like part of the show, however sometimes it can go a bit too far *cough* teabagging *cough*"