Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jun 15, 2017 11:05:16 GMT -6
www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/week-british-wrestling-lucha-forever-overcomes-venue-change-237301
THE WEEK IN BRITISH WRESTLING: LUCHA FOREVER OVERCOMES A VENUE CHANGE
BY ALAN BOON | @indysleaze | JUN 15, 2017 9:27 AM
Here are five things you need to know about British wrestling this week:
1) Dursun was the star again at FutureShock
After show-stealing bouts against Travis Banks and Flash Morgan Webster, Soner Dursun (and his Adrenaline title) are genuine main eventers for FutureShock Wrestling, impressively building their shows around a smaller wrestler when others are going in the opposite direction.
For the latest Reloaded, at the 53TWO Theatre in Manchester last Sunday, Dursun faced a veteran of the UK scene in Rockstar Spud, who has made only limited appearances on these shores of late while working for Impact Wrestling in the US.
The build-up to the show was all about Spud disrespecting Dursun, and he relied on every dirty trick in the book to try and beat him, but the end result was a successful title defense, and newly-won respect, for Dursun. After the match, it was announced that Dursun's next defense, on June 30th, will be against another veteran, Bubblegum.
FutureShock's Heavyweight Champion, Zack Gibson, did not compete, but was present at ringside, even taking the mic at one point to hail fellow heel James Drake before his match with Joey Hayes. This proved unwise, especially for Drake, as he provided a distraction which allowed Hayes to hit the JKO for the win. Gibson and Drake's uneasy alliance continues, but for how much longer?
The show also featured wins for The Sexy Gents (Sexy Kev & John McGregor) over Xander Cooper & his protege, Bobby Gage, for Thomas Wolfe against Jenson Blake (through Chris Egan-related shenanigans), and for Wonderland, who gained a measure of revenge over The Uprising, this time in a title match.
Danny Hope's match with Cyanide went to a no contest when Wolfe and Blake got involved. Next up for FutureShock is that June 30th show in Prestwich, and they return to Manchester in September.
2) A last-minute change of venue couldn't halt the Lucha train
After the success of their last show in Birmingham, which went out live on FloSlam, Lucha Forever returned to Manchester on Tuesday for their fifth outing, A Mod, A Kiwi & An Assassin Walk Into A Bar. Logistical issues forced a late change of venue, but there were few reported problems and Sascha's seems to have been an adequate replacement.
The show was headlined by a Lucha Forever title match, with Travis Banks defending his title for the second time against Mark Haskins. The main event for the promotion's sixth show -- their debut in Cardiff this Sunday -- had already been announced, but as a three-way involving both men, leaving the result up for grabs. As it happens, Banks won, but Haskins will get another shot (imagine that!) this week, alongside Shane Strickland -- who Banks beat to win the title at their debut show.
With Chief Deputy Dunne still injured, he recruited another member for the Anti-Fun Police in his ongoing war with Bea Priestley. Although April Davids achieved the rank of Sergeant, she still couldn't take Priestley down, and Dunne may have to wait until he is fit to enforce his law.
Priestley's boyfriend, Will Ospreay, returned from Japan -- where he reached the final of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament -- and beat Flash Morgan Webster.
The show also featured wins for El Ligero (just the one this time) over Drew Parker, WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne (against Kip Sabian), and for Bubblegum against the impressive Cara Noir, a late replacement for Chris Ridgeway.
The show will soon be available to watch on Lucha Forever's On Demand service, and that show in Cardiff this Sunday is sold out. They return to Manchester in July for Running Through A Wheatfield.
3) AJPW-bound Danny Jones topped the Dragon-Pro tree
Days after it was announced that he would be spending three months on excursion with All Japan Pro Wrestling later this year, Danny Jones defended his Dragon Pro Wrestling All-Wales Championship in the main event of their New Horizons show at Rodney Parade, Newport, last Sunday.
He faced fellow Dragon-Pro graduate Matt Horgan in a superb contest, and walked away with the belt still around his waist. The promotion's tag champions, The Brotherhood (Elijah Dahl & Joe Mezinger) also left as title holders but lost a non-title match to Beano & Big Grizzly, which gives the latter team a shot at the belts when Dragon-Pro return.
The fight to be the queen of the promotion intensified when "The Freaky Princess" Sierra Loxton was attacked by the strange Kaggy as she cut a promo, and with Celtic Crown Champion Jetta absent, these two should tear it up in the chase to go after her title.
The show also saw wins for Brendan White (in the opener, against Edwin Ricci), Cal Adams (over Josh Holly), Jeff Ramsey (who beat Bishop by DQ), and for Avatar & Oliver Sudden, who downed Reg & Karambe Jr.
In addition, the huge Dean Winter picked up an equally-massive win over former Dragon-Pro Academy head Mike Bird with a top-rope destroyer!
4) Stallion said a forced goodbye to Morecambe
Alpha-Omega Wrestling Champion "King" Ryan Grayson ran roughshod over the promotion once again at Morecambe Mayhem 2017 at the Carleton in Morecambe last Saturday, not only depriving the fans of seeing AOW Women's title action -- by claiming that, as head of The Referendum, he owned challenger Viper's contract and was forbidding her from appearing -- but also sent longtime Morecambe stalwart Stallion packing.
Stallion, the former XWA wrestler and recent Alpha Male (the head of AOW), had become angered at Grayson's recent behavior and challenged the champion to a street fight. This was accepted on the conditions that it was non-title and that if Stallion lost he would have to leave AOW.
Stallion did lose, in a terrific battle, and Stallion's first match in AOW (his past Morecambe appearances having been under different promotion names) will also be his last. Grayson's night did not end well, though, as guest enforcer Bobby Roberts hit him with a stunner to send the fans home happy.
The fans were also happy about the result of the opening bout, where Ryan Hunter finally got the better of Dean MacManus, and Hunter will now go after WWE UK's Sam Gradwell, who turned on him at War On The Shore.
Gradwell himself picked up a win against "The Grafter" Rick Markus, with Mr. Williams and the mysterious E-Bomb getting involved in the finish and post-match.
Williams had earlier lost to Joey Hayes, and there were also wins for Cyanide (over Matt Fox), Danny Hope (who beat Matthew Brooks), and for Hellbound, who defeated Big Sexxxy to become number one contenders to the AOW Tag Team titles.
And, despite Grayson's proclamation, there was a Women's title match as champion Lana Austin faced a surprise opponent -- "the living dead girl," Felony! With help from Hellbound, Felony picked up the win -- and the title -- to shock the crowd. AOW are back in Morecambe on August 5th for Vendetta.
5) Body Guy was dominant in Battle (and other stuff)
WWE UK competitor "Body Guy" Roy Johnson made a successful first defense of his Battle Pro-Wrestling title at In Battle Attack Is the Best Form Of Defence at Livesey Hall in south London last Friday when he beat Eddie Dennis.
The promotion acts as a de facto feeder to PROGRESS Wrestling, and features mostly graduates of the ProJo and associated acts -- Dennis had beaten Damon Moser and Matt Walker to secure the title shot.
ProJo graduates Amir Jordan, Earl Black Jr., and Spike Trivet picked up wins, and there were also victories for the team of Maverick Mayhew & Connor Mills, and for the London School of Lucha Libre's Nina Samuels. On the receiving end were some very big names, including Doug Williams, The London Riots, and James Castle. Battle-Pro return on August 4th with #WhatFisticuffs.
Also on Friday, but north of the border in Scotland, British Championship Wrestling pitched up at the Ballerup Hall in East Kilbride. Whereas previous BCW shows have dipped into the import pool, this was a homegrown affair, headlined by a BCW Heavyweight Championship match between BT Gunn and Jason Prime.
Gunn won, and from a stacked card there were also singles victories for Joe Coffey, Grado, and Jack Jester. In tag team action, The Aggression progressed in a tournament qualifier, and Stevie Xavier & Kay Lee Ray teamed up to beat Kenny Williams & Kasey Owens.
Making a quick return after their Bank Holiday weekend show were Ironfist Wrestling, who ran Bengeworth Social Club in Evesham last Saturday. The main event was an eight-man elimination match, won by Killian Jacobs, Millie McKenzie, Chris Royals & Xia Brookside over Xander Cooper, Joey Scott, Melanie Price & Dani Luna.
Ironfist Heavyweight Champion Mark Haskins defended his title against area standout Eddie Ryan, while the US tag team Extra Talented -- as seen in WrestleCircus -- picked up a win over Harlem Bravado & Owen Wall.
The show also featured Manos the Destroyer and Kyle Fletcher, and Ironfist are next in action on June 30th with a FutureStars show in Hereford.
THE WEEK IN BRITISH WRESTLING: LUCHA FOREVER OVERCOMES A VENUE CHANGE
BY ALAN BOON | @indysleaze | JUN 15, 2017 9:27 AM
Here are five things you need to know about British wrestling this week:
1) Dursun was the star again at FutureShock
After show-stealing bouts against Travis Banks and Flash Morgan Webster, Soner Dursun (and his Adrenaline title) are genuine main eventers for FutureShock Wrestling, impressively building their shows around a smaller wrestler when others are going in the opposite direction.
For the latest Reloaded, at the 53TWO Theatre in Manchester last Sunday, Dursun faced a veteran of the UK scene in Rockstar Spud, who has made only limited appearances on these shores of late while working for Impact Wrestling in the US.
The build-up to the show was all about Spud disrespecting Dursun, and he relied on every dirty trick in the book to try and beat him, but the end result was a successful title defense, and newly-won respect, for Dursun. After the match, it was announced that Dursun's next defense, on June 30th, will be against another veteran, Bubblegum.
FutureShock's Heavyweight Champion, Zack Gibson, did not compete, but was present at ringside, even taking the mic at one point to hail fellow heel James Drake before his match with Joey Hayes. This proved unwise, especially for Drake, as he provided a distraction which allowed Hayes to hit the JKO for the win. Gibson and Drake's uneasy alliance continues, but for how much longer?
The show also featured wins for The Sexy Gents (Sexy Kev & John McGregor) over Xander Cooper & his protege, Bobby Gage, for Thomas Wolfe against Jenson Blake (through Chris Egan-related shenanigans), and for Wonderland, who gained a measure of revenge over The Uprising, this time in a title match.
Danny Hope's match with Cyanide went to a no contest when Wolfe and Blake got involved. Next up for FutureShock is that June 30th show in Prestwich, and they return to Manchester in September.
2) A last-minute change of venue couldn't halt the Lucha train
After the success of their last show in Birmingham, which went out live on FloSlam, Lucha Forever returned to Manchester on Tuesday for their fifth outing, A Mod, A Kiwi & An Assassin Walk Into A Bar. Logistical issues forced a late change of venue, but there were few reported problems and Sascha's seems to have been an adequate replacement.
The show was headlined by a Lucha Forever title match, with Travis Banks defending his title for the second time against Mark Haskins. The main event for the promotion's sixth show -- their debut in Cardiff this Sunday -- had already been announced, but as a three-way involving both men, leaving the result up for grabs. As it happens, Banks won, but Haskins will get another shot (imagine that!) this week, alongside Shane Strickland -- who Banks beat to win the title at their debut show.
With Chief Deputy Dunne still injured, he recruited another member for the Anti-Fun Police in his ongoing war with Bea Priestley. Although April Davids achieved the rank of Sergeant, she still couldn't take Priestley down, and Dunne may have to wait until he is fit to enforce his law.
Priestley's boyfriend, Will Ospreay, returned from Japan -- where he reached the final of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament -- and beat Flash Morgan Webster.
The show also featured wins for El Ligero (just the one this time) over Drew Parker, WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne (against Kip Sabian), and for Bubblegum against the impressive Cara Noir, a late replacement for Chris Ridgeway.
The show will soon be available to watch on Lucha Forever's On Demand service, and that show in Cardiff this Sunday is sold out. They return to Manchester in July for Running Through A Wheatfield.
3) AJPW-bound Danny Jones topped the Dragon-Pro tree
Days after it was announced that he would be spending three months on excursion with All Japan Pro Wrestling later this year, Danny Jones defended his Dragon Pro Wrestling All-Wales Championship in the main event of their New Horizons show at Rodney Parade, Newport, last Sunday.
He faced fellow Dragon-Pro graduate Matt Horgan in a superb contest, and walked away with the belt still around his waist. The promotion's tag champions, The Brotherhood (Elijah Dahl & Joe Mezinger) also left as title holders but lost a non-title match to Beano & Big Grizzly, which gives the latter team a shot at the belts when Dragon-Pro return.
The fight to be the queen of the promotion intensified when "The Freaky Princess" Sierra Loxton was attacked by the strange Kaggy as she cut a promo, and with Celtic Crown Champion Jetta absent, these two should tear it up in the chase to go after her title.
The show also saw wins for Brendan White (in the opener, against Edwin Ricci), Cal Adams (over Josh Holly), Jeff Ramsey (who beat Bishop by DQ), and for Avatar & Oliver Sudden, who downed Reg & Karambe Jr.
In addition, the huge Dean Winter picked up an equally-massive win over former Dragon-Pro Academy head Mike Bird with a top-rope destroyer!
4) Stallion said a forced goodbye to Morecambe
Alpha-Omega Wrestling Champion "King" Ryan Grayson ran roughshod over the promotion once again at Morecambe Mayhem 2017 at the Carleton in Morecambe last Saturday, not only depriving the fans of seeing AOW Women's title action -- by claiming that, as head of The Referendum, he owned challenger Viper's contract and was forbidding her from appearing -- but also sent longtime Morecambe stalwart Stallion packing.
Stallion, the former XWA wrestler and recent Alpha Male (the head of AOW), had become angered at Grayson's recent behavior and challenged the champion to a street fight. This was accepted on the conditions that it was non-title and that if Stallion lost he would have to leave AOW.
Stallion did lose, in a terrific battle, and Stallion's first match in AOW (his past Morecambe appearances having been under different promotion names) will also be his last. Grayson's night did not end well, though, as guest enforcer Bobby Roberts hit him with a stunner to send the fans home happy.
The fans were also happy about the result of the opening bout, where Ryan Hunter finally got the better of Dean MacManus, and Hunter will now go after WWE UK's Sam Gradwell, who turned on him at War On The Shore.
Gradwell himself picked up a win against "The Grafter" Rick Markus, with Mr. Williams and the mysterious E-Bomb getting involved in the finish and post-match.
Williams had earlier lost to Joey Hayes, and there were also wins for Cyanide (over Matt Fox), Danny Hope (who beat Matthew Brooks), and for Hellbound, who defeated Big Sexxxy to become number one contenders to the AOW Tag Team titles.
And, despite Grayson's proclamation, there was a Women's title match as champion Lana Austin faced a surprise opponent -- "the living dead girl," Felony! With help from Hellbound, Felony picked up the win -- and the title -- to shock the crowd. AOW are back in Morecambe on August 5th for Vendetta.
5) Body Guy was dominant in Battle (and other stuff)
WWE UK competitor "Body Guy" Roy Johnson made a successful first defense of his Battle Pro-Wrestling title at In Battle Attack Is the Best Form Of Defence at Livesey Hall in south London last Friday when he beat Eddie Dennis.
The promotion acts as a de facto feeder to PROGRESS Wrestling, and features mostly graduates of the ProJo and associated acts -- Dennis had beaten Damon Moser and Matt Walker to secure the title shot.
ProJo graduates Amir Jordan, Earl Black Jr., and Spike Trivet picked up wins, and there were also victories for the team of Maverick Mayhew & Connor Mills, and for the London School of Lucha Libre's Nina Samuels. On the receiving end were some very big names, including Doug Williams, The London Riots, and James Castle. Battle-Pro return on August 4th with #WhatFisticuffs.
Also on Friday, but north of the border in Scotland, British Championship Wrestling pitched up at the Ballerup Hall in East Kilbride. Whereas previous BCW shows have dipped into the import pool, this was a homegrown affair, headlined by a BCW Heavyweight Championship match between BT Gunn and Jason Prime.
Gunn won, and from a stacked card there were also singles victories for Joe Coffey, Grado, and Jack Jester. In tag team action, The Aggression progressed in a tournament qualifier, and Stevie Xavier & Kay Lee Ray teamed up to beat Kenny Williams & Kasey Owens.
Making a quick return after their Bank Holiday weekend show were Ironfist Wrestling, who ran Bengeworth Social Club in Evesham last Saturday. The main event was an eight-man elimination match, won by Killian Jacobs, Millie McKenzie, Chris Royals & Xia Brookside over Xander Cooper, Joey Scott, Melanie Price & Dani Luna.
Ironfist Heavyweight Champion Mark Haskins defended his title against area standout Eddie Ryan, while the US tag team Extra Talented -- as seen in WrestleCircus -- picked up a win over Harlem Bravado & Owen Wall.
The show also featured Manos the Destroyer and Kyle Fletcher, and Ironfist are next in action on June 30th with a FutureStars show in Hereford.