Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jun 9, 2016 13:13:34 GMT -6
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THE WEEK IN BRITISH WRESTLING: WHERE DOES WILL OSPREAY'S BOSJ WIN RANK HISTORICALLY?
BY ALAN BOON | @indysleaze | JUN 9, 2016 10:34 AM
Here's 5 things you need to know about British wrestling this week...
1) Will Ospreay is the Best Of The Super Juniors.
Forget any arguments: Will Ospreay cemented his place at the top of the UK pecking order with a fantastic win in Japan this week. Although Sheamus - who began his career on the UK & Ireland indy scene - winning the WWE World title is inarguably a bigger accomplishment, Ospreay winning New Japan's Best Of The Super Juniors tournament in his first attempt - just two months after his debut for the company - is a huge, big, massive deal.
You could make a case for Wade Barrett's Intercontinental reigns, Paige's Divas championship, or even Finn Balor's NXT title to be equivalent achievements, but the difference is that Ospreay is still available to see on the UK scene, at least for now.
His dates may be limited due to his two-year contract with New Japan, but on Saturday, he'll be in action for his hometown RCWA promotion against Wild Boar, and then tussling with "Speedball" Mike Bailey on Sunday at the sold out York Hall for RevPro. After that, it will be July before we see him again, but the fact that you can still get in on the ground floor with Ospreay - who will go on to carve out a piece of history for himself in the coming years - is one of the wonderful things about the UK scene right now.
Another regular on the scene may not be around for much longer with Dutchman Tommy End having given notice to his home promotion wXw as he's rumoured to be going to NXT in the near future. End still has dates with a number of British promotions, and I'd catch him while you can. Even after Ospreay and End, the UK scene is so packed with talent that any number of them could be the Next Big Thing - see them now & tell all the cool kids you were there first!
2) RevPro warmed up for Zack Sabre Jr versus Angle.
With a huge, sold out show (1200 tickets gone) at York Hall on Sunday featuring Zack Sabre Jr versus Kurt Angle, Revolution Pro-Wrestling warmed up with a couple of smaller shows last weekend. On Thursday night, at the Portsmouth Guildhall, TNA's Bram defeated James Castle in the main event of a show that also featured Pete Dunne beating Mike Bailey in an RPW Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship match, Marty Scurll submitting Matt Cross, and wins for the Legion of Lords, Jonny Storm, and the team of Joe Royal & Prince Jato.
Three days later, at the Cockpit Theatre in London's Marylebone, the company taped TV, with Cross & Bailey once again joining the RevPro regulars, alongside recent additions Trent Seven & Big Damo. The show - which was opened by a superb three-way between Portsmouth School of Wrestling graduates Rob Lias, Kurtis Chapman & Dan McGhee - was main-evented by Dunne putting his cruiserweight title on the line against Cross, which lifted a warm & tired crowd to their feet. Dunne survived but has Ospreay in his near future - at Summer Sizzler on July 10.
RPW Undisputed British Heavyweight champion Zack Sabre Jr made an appearance to address the issues between he & tag-team partner Marty Scurll, who had been cheating to help the babyface Sabre Jr win matches. They agreed to disagree but Sabre Jr did use Scurll''s umbrella to save his pal after Big Damo went on the rampage after losing to The Villain.
Scurll is a wanted man right now with Noam Dar also on his case, and he may need the help of Sabre Jr and his RVLTNist teammates to survive the coming months. They had a mixed night, with Josh Bodom downing Mike Bailey but both halves of the RPW Undisputed British Tag-Team champions - Sha Samuels & James Castle - both losing. It was a good night, though, for Jinny, who won a Pro-Wrestling EVE guest match against Addy Starr, before getting into it with PSoW graduate Zoe Lucas.
The show should appear on RevPro OnDemand soon - as will Sunday's sold out show, which will be the only way you can see the huge event. Tickets are still available, however, for Summer Sizzler. You know what you need to do.
3) ATTACK! Pressed Start.
Although you could scarcely describe their regular output at ultra-serious, once a year the folks at ATTACK! Pro-Wrestling get very silly indeed. Press Start 4, from the Cathays Community Centre in Cardiff, was the latest in an annual series of events where the ATTACK! regulars dress and act like videogame characters, with regular feuds & storylines folded into the wackiness that ensues. There was added intrigue going into this year's show because the company's champion - a belt fought under 24/7 rules - was their referee, Shay Purser, who defeated Pete Dunne at their last show in April.
Purser wasn't champion for long, however, as Deputy (Damian) Dunne (of the Anti-Fun Police) robbed him of his dream championship in the opening segment, with help from Charlie Garrett, who was a (soon-to-be-failed) auditionee for the role in the AFP vacated by Officer Ryan (smile). Dunne returned in the show's main event, dressed as one of Pokemon's Team Rocket (who, he reminded us, were never fun), and teamed with Pete Dunne (Wario) & Kid Lykos (Shadow, from Sonic the Hedgehog) against Jim Hunter (Mario) & the ATTACK! tag-team champions Mark Andrews (Pikachu) & Nixon Newell (Princess Peach)! At the end of *that* match, Hunter pinned Dunne, and *he* became the new champion, much to the delight of the sold-out crowd.
The show also saw the creation of a new, serious ATTACK! championship, and a tournament was started to find the first champion, with Eddie Dennis (Master Chief) downing Tyler Bate (Duke Nukem) and Wild Boar (Blanka) beating Travis Banks (Solid Snake) to progress. As well as Martin Kirby (Agent 47) defeating Charlie Garrett in the opener, there was also an hilarious four-way between Mike Bird (Pac Man), Super Santos Sr (Armor King), Danny Jones (Dhalsim) and an anonymous Create-A-Wrestler, which received a standing ovation. The fun continues at ATTACK's next two shows - in Bristol on July 1st & Cardiff on August 21st - and Press Start 4 will be available on DVD soon.
4) It was 200 not out for IPW:UK.
Started 12 years ago by Daniel Edler in Orpington, Kent, International Pro-Wrestling: United Kingdom - or IPW:UK as it is more easily known - promoted 198 shows before this past weekend. With a show in Selsdon on Saturday bringing up the 199, their event at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge on Sunday was therefore a landmark for the promotion, and they celebrated in style, even bringing back Dean Ayass to MC the show.
The Selsdon show - titled Future 18 - saw wins for The Dazzler Team, Zack Gibson, Tennessee Honey & Scott Star, amongst others, and only served to whet the appetite for the main course, sensibly titled IPW:UK 200, the next day. Sunday's show was opened by a win for RJ Singh, on the comeback trail after retiring, over Nathan Cruz, and didn't let up from that point, with PCW's Team Single beating D-Generation Mex (with Nigel McGuiness as special guest referee), Tennessee Honey regaining the Women's title from Jetta, and an 8-man Scrum won by James Davis completing the first half.
Davis's win earned him a main event match against Joseph Conners (still subbing for IPW:UK Heavyweight champion Jimmy Havoc), which heel referee Artemis ordered him to forfeit. Davis refused and took a beating, which may spell trouble for Havoc going forward. Zack Gibson picked up another win - over Jonny Storm & "Blackbelt" Tom Dawkins - but all eyes were on a tag-team match, rumoured to be Johnny Kidd's last, fought under British rules, and won by Kidd & Doug Williams over Chris Hero (working a style he admires greatly) & James Mason.
It's no rest for IPW:UK, as they return on July 3rd in Rochester, building to their Biggest Show Ever in Brixton in September. All these shows will be available on IPW:UK On Demand.
5) Rishi Ghosh saw off all KAPOW! challengers (and other stuff).
One of a number of small, alternative companies bringing a little something different top the UK scene, the onomatopoeic south coast KAPOW! promotion delivered a weekend double last week, with shows in Havant & (yeah, me either) Cowplain. Saturday's Infinite Crisis, at the Leigh Park Community Centre in Havant, was headlined by a KAPOW! Hero-Weight title match bewteen champion Rishi Ghosh and challenger Panda Cub, won by Ghosh (which enabled him to defend the title the next night in Cowplain). The show also featured a rare appearance by former-FWA regular Dan Head, who beat Wild Boar, and a number one contenders' Battle Royale, won by Lookachu, which earned him a shot at Ghosh's title.
The next night, at the Acorn Centre in Cowplain, Ghosh versus Lookachu main-evented The Infinity Gauntlet, but Ghosh once again came out on top, only to be told he'd be facing Jigsaw at KAPOW!'s next show on July 23rd. The Infinity Gauntlet also featured the debut of the repackaged Maugrim as Kamen Okami, and had appearances from Ash Draven, Wild Boar, Panda Cub & Dan Head. KAPOW! return, on July 23rd, in Wickham, with an as-yet-unnamed show.
From the small to one of the UK's biggest, and the return to Preston after a sojourn to Liverpool for Preston City Wrestling. They promoted a disappointingly-beheading-free There Can Be Only One at the Evoque nightclub on Saturday, and almost delivered a title change to their rabid audience. Noam Dar, who challenged PCW Heavyweight champion Sha Samuels at the beginning of the show, believed he had beaten the East End Butcher to win the title, only for co-general manager Joanna Rose to announce she hadn't sanctioned the match. This led to a match being announced for August to decide just who is in charge of PCW.
The show was headlined by a 10-Man Gauntlet match, and the night acted as a series of qualifiers for that main event, with The Hooligans, Alex Boylin, Dave Mastiff, Dave Rayne, Drew Galloway, el Ligero & Sha Samuels's Firm (The Lond Riots & Sammy Smooth) all going forward. Drew Galloway outlasted the other 9 men in the gauntlet to earn a PCW title match. Next up for PCW, who are revamping their On Demand service, is their annual free show, Tribute To The Troops, at the Preston Guildhall on June 25, with a return to Blackpool a week later.
Moving even further north, Wrestlezone returned to the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen for Aberdeen Anarchy on Saturday night, with Tatanka, Carlito, Bull James (Dempsey) & Hurricane Helms joining Big Damo & Viper and the WZ regulars to pull in a huge crowd. The show was main-evented by a WZ Undsiputed Championship match, which saw Scotty Swift pin Crusher Craib to retain his title. The show also featured Stevie Boy, Sami Jayne, Lewis Girvan & Lou King Sharp, and you should check Wrestlezone's Facebook page for details of future events.
THE WEEK IN BRITISH WRESTLING: WHERE DOES WILL OSPREAY'S BOSJ WIN RANK HISTORICALLY?
BY ALAN BOON | @indysleaze | JUN 9, 2016 10:34 AM
Here's 5 things you need to know about British wrestling this week...
1) Will Ospreay is the Best Of The Super Juniors.
Forget any arguments: Will Ospreay cemented his place at the top of the UK pecking order with a fantastic win in Japan this week. Although Sheamus - who began his career on the UK & Ireland indy scene - winning the WWE World title is inarguably a bigger accomplishment, Ospreay winning New Japan's Best Of The Super Juniors tournament in his first attempt - just two months after his debut for the company - is a huge, big, massive deal.
You could make a case for Wade Barrett's Intercontinental reigns, Paige's Divas championship, or even Finn Balor's NXT title to be equivalent achievements, but the difference is that Ospreay is still available to see on the UK scene, at least for now.
His dates may be limited due to his two-year contract with New Japan, but on Saturday, he'll be in action for his hometown RCWA promotion against Wild Boar, and then tussling with "Speedball" Mike Bailey on Sunday at the sold out York Hall for RevPro. After that, it will be July before we see him again, but the fact that you can still get in on the ground floor with Ospreay - who will go on to carve out a piece of history for himself in the coming years - is one of the wonderful things about the UK scene right now.
Another regular on the scene may not be around for much longer with Dutchman Tommy End having given notice to his home promotion wXw as he's rumoured to be going to NXT in the near future. End still has dates with a number of British promotions, and I'd catch him while you can. Even after Ospreay and End, the UK scene is so packed with talent that any number of them could be the Next Big Thing - see them now & tell all the cool kids you were there first!
2) RevPro warmed up for Zack Sabre Jr versus Angle.
With a huge, sold out show (1200 tickets gone) at York Hall on Sunday featuring Zack Sabre Jr versus Kurt Angle, Revolution Pro-Wrestling warmed up with a couple of smaller shows last weekend. On Thursday night, at the Portsmouth Guildhall, TNA's Bram defeated James Castle in the main event of a show that also featured Pete Dunne beating Mike Bailey in an RPW Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship match, Marty Scurll submitting Matt Cross, and wins for the Legion of Lords, Jonny Storm, and the team of Joe Royal & Prince Jato.
Three days later, at the Cockpit Theatre in London's Marylebone, the company taped TV, with Cross & Bailey once again joining the RevPro regulars, alongside recent additions Trent Seven & Big Damo. The show - which was opened by a superb three-way between Portsmouth School of Wrestling graduates Rob Lias, Kurtis Chapman & Dan McGhee - was main-evented by Dunne putting his cruiserweight title on the line against Cross, which lifted a warm & tired crowd to their feet. Dunne survived but has Ospreay in his near future - at Summer Sizzler on July 10.
RPW Undisputed British Heavyweight champion Zack Sabre Jr made an appearance to address the issues between he & tag-team partner Marty Scurll, who had been cheating to help the babyface Sabre Jr win matches. They agreed to disagree but Sabre Jr did use Scurll''s umbrella to save his pal after Big Damo went on the rampage after losing to The Villain.
Scurll is a wanted man right now with Noam Dar also on his case, and he may need the help of Sabre Jr and his RVLTNist teammates to survive the coming months. They had a mixed night, with Josh Bodom downing Mike Bailey but both halves of the RPW Undisputed British Tag-Team champions - Sha Samuels & James Castle - both losing. It was a good night, though, for Jinny, who won a Pro-Wrestling EVE guest match against Addy Starr, before getting into it with PSoW graduate Zoe Lucas.
The show should appear on RevPro OnDemand soon - as will Sunday's sold out show, which will be the only way you can see the huge event. Tickets are still available, however, for Summer Sizzler. You know what you need to do.
3) ATTACK! Pressed Start.
Although you could scarcely describe their regular output at ultra-serious, once a year the folks at ATTACK! Pro-Wrestling get very silly indeed. Press Start 4, from the Cathays Community Centre in Cardiff, was the latest in an annual series of events where the ATTACK! regulars dress and act like videogame characters, with regular feuds & storylines folded into the wackiness that ensues. There was added intrigue going into this year's show because the company's champion - a belt fought under 24/7 rules - was their referee, Shay Purser, who defeated Pete Dunne at their last show in April.
Purser wasn't champion for long, however, as Deputy (Damian) Dunne (of the Anti-Fun Police) robbed him of his dream championship in the opening segment, with help from Charlie Garrett, who was a (soon-to-be-failed) auditionee for the role in the AFP vacated by Officer Ryan (smile). Dunne returned in the show's main event, dressed as one of Pokemon's Team Rocket (who, he reminded us, were never fun), and teamed with Pete Dunne (Wario) & Kid Lykos (Shadow, from Sonic the Hedgehog) against Jim Hunter (Mario) & the ATTACK! tag-team champions Mark Andrews (Pikachu) & Nixon Newell (Princess Peach)! At the end of *that* match, Hunter pinned Dunne, and *he* became the new champion, much to the delight of the sold-out crowd.
The show also saw the creation of a new, serious ATTACK! championship, and a tournament was started to find the first champion, with Eddie Dennis (Master Chief) downing Tyler Bate (Duke Nukem) and Wild Boar (Blanka) beating Travis Banks (Solid Snake) to progress. As well as Martin Kirby (Agent 47) defeating Charlie Garrett in the opener, there was also an hilarious four-way between Mike Bird (Pac Man), Super Santos Sr (Armor King), Danny Jones (Dhalsim) and an anonymous Create-A-Wrestler, which received a standing ovation. The fun continues at ATTACK's next two shows - in Bristol on July 1st & Cardiff on August 21st - and Press Start 4 will be available on DVD soon.
4) It was 200 not out for IPW:UK.
Started 12 years ago by Daniel Edler in Orpington, Kent, International Pro-Wrestling: United Kingdom - or IPW:UK as it is more easily known - promoted 198 shows before this past weekend. With a show in Selsdon on Saturday bringing up the 199, their event at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge on Sunday was therefore a landmark for the promotion, and they celebrated in style, even bringing back Dean Ayass to MC the show.
The Selsdon show - titled Future 18 - saw wins for The Dazzler Team, Zack Gibson, Tennessee Honey & Scott Star, amongst others, and only served to whet the appetite for the main course, sensibly titled IPW:UK 200, the next day. Sunday's show was opened by a win for RJ Singh, on the comeback trail after retiring, over Nathan Cruz, and didn't let up from that point, with PCW's Team Single beating D-Generation Mex (with Nigel McGuiness as special guest referee), Tennessee Honey regaining the Women's title from Jetta, and an 8-man Scrum won by James Davis completing the first half.
Davis's win earned him a main event match against Joseph Conners (still subbing for IPW:UK Heavyweight champion Jimmy Havoc), which heel referee Artemis ordered him to forfeit. Davis refused and took a beating, which may spell trouble for Havoc going forward. Zack Gibson picked up another win - over Jonny Storm & "Blackbelt" Tom Dawkins - but all eyes were on a tag-team match, rumoured to be Johnny Kidd's last, fought under British rules, and won by Kidd & Doug Williams over Chris Hero (working a style he admires greatly) & James Mason.
It's no rest for IPW:UK, as they return on July 3rd in Rochester, building to their Biggest Show Ever in Brixton in September. All these shows will be available on IPW:UK On Demand.
5) Rishi Ghosh saw off all KAPOW! challengers (and other stuff).
One of a number of small, alternative companies bringing a little something different top the UK scene, the onomatopoeic south coast KAPOW! promotion delivered a weekend double last week, with shows in Havant & (yeah, me either) Cowplain. Saturday's Infinite Crisis, at the Leigh Park Community Centre in Havant, was headlined by a KAPOW! Hero-Weight title match bewteen champion Rishi Ghosh and challenger Panda Cub, won by Ghosh (which enabled him to defend the title the next night in Cowplain). The show also featured a rare appearance by former-FWA regular Dan Head, who beat Wild Boar, and a number one contenders' Battle Royale, won by Lookachu, which earned him a shot at Ghosh's title.
The next night, at the Acorn Centre in Cowplain, Ghosh versus Lookachu main-evented The Infinity Gauntlet, but Ghosh once again came out on top, only to be told he'd be facing Jigsaw at KAPOW!'s next show on July 23rd. The Infinity Gauntlet also featured the debut of the repackaged Maugrim as Kamen Okami, and had appearances from Ash Draven, Wild Boar, Panda Cub & Dan Head. KAPOW! return, on July 23rd, in Wickham, with an as-yet-unnamed show.
From the small to one of the UK's biggest, and the return to Preston after a sojourn to Liverpool for Preston City Wrestling. They promoted a disappointingly-beheading-free There Can Be Only One at the Evoque nightclub on Saturday, and almost delivered a title change to their rabid audience. Noam Dar, who challenged PCW Heavyweight champion Sha Samuels at the beginning of the show, believed he had beaten the East End Butcher to win the title, only for co-general manager Joanna Rose to announce she hadn't sanctioned the match. This led to a match being announced for August to decide just who is in charge of PCW.
The show was headlined by a 10-Man Gauntlet match, and the night acted as a series of qualifiers for that main event, with The Hooligans, Alex Boylin, Dave Mastiff, Dave Rayne, Drew Galloway, el Ligero & Sha Samuels's Firm (The Lond Riots & Sammy Smooth) all going forward. Drew Galloway outlasted the other 9 men in the gauntlet to earn a PCW title match. Next up for PCW, who are revamping their On Demand service, is their annual free show, Tribute To The Troops, at the Preston Guildhall on June 25, with a return to Blackpool a week later.
Moving even further north, Wrestlezone returned to the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen for Aberdeen Anarchy on Saturday night, with Tatanka, Carlito, Bull James (Dempsey) & Hurricane Helms joining Big Damo & Viper and the WZ regulars to pull in a huge crowd. The show was main-evented by a WZ Undsiputed Championship match, which saw Scotty Swift pin Crusher Craib to retain his title. The show also featured Stevie Boy, Sami Jayne, Lewis Girvan & Lou King Sharp, and you should check Wrestlezone's Facebook page for details of future events.