Sunday 23 February 2014

My Weekend of (British) Wrestling 26 - Pro EVW: 'The System' Debut And Dominate

Saturday 22nd February 2014 - Pro EVW - Merchant's Academy, Withywood, Bristol
As the weeks and weeks went on, and this show got closer, I got more and more excited. I hadn't been to a Pro EVW show in about five months and the trip down to Bristol to see one was long overdue. There was an added excitement as I was told a few days before by talented MC/Ring Announcer and Manager (and my good friend), Hank McCoy that we were to perform commentary for the show. As I say, this excited me but also worried me a little - although I can write a couple of thousand words on here with ease, I'm always a little worried that I would freeze-up when having to talk for too long! But I would definitely give it a good shot...

Getting to the venue we would bump into some of the usual faces, and it was really nice to see everyone, as always. There were also some faces that I hadn't expected to see but were a welcome surprise anyway - Big Dog/Two Ton Tank was set to be on the show and this pleased me as it brought something different to a Pro EVW show. I was just glad that I wasn't doing the music/entrances for the show or there would be a potential beating in store for me if I were to mess his music up again!

The show got under way and we were instantly in for a treat with Chris Andrews facing one-third of 'The System' - the new faction in Pro EVW - Dom; formerly UK Dominator. Accompanying Dom to the ring was fellow System member, Tower. This is a fitting name as Tower is around six-foot-six or so.

As with every Chris Andrews match, this was a hard hitting, straight-up brawl; it was only ever going to be this as he faced the smaller, but dominant bully in Dom. At every opportunity, Dom would slow the pace down, gain the referee's attention and allow Tower to get involved to keep Andrews down; giving Dom the advantage at every turn. This, as good as, handicap match continued all the way to the finish when Dom would distract the ref long enough for Tower to deliver a huge Big Boot to Andrews to gift the win to Dom. This was a very sneaky win but was the first example that The System will do WHAT they want, WHEN they want.

The second match of the evening saw the technical master, 'The Professor' Gilligan Gordon taking on one-half of the highly popular Alpha Males, Charlie Garrett. In similar fashion to the first match of the evening, Gordon would slow the pace right down and dictate everything throughout. Eventually, he would get the win by gaining an advantage from the ropes.
The Tank
Things were not great so far for the fan favourites and it didn't look like getting any better as Pro EVW Heavyweight Champion, Justin 'The Hammer' Sysum would defend his title against, potentially, his biggest challenge yet - The Tank. The name is simple enough, but when you see this guy you will understand why he has this name - a huge, near 500-pound giant; and hugely tough-to-budge.

The Tank would dominate Justin throughout, punishing the lower back. This kind of strategy was only going to favour Tank and give Justin very little to work with if he was going to retain his championship. There were even chances for Justin to gain a count-out victory; this was something Justin refused to do - it seemed that he was willing to risk his championship reign for the sake of getting the three-count.

Against the odds, Justin did manage to get some shots into The Tank, picked him up for an impressive slam, before finishing his much larger opponent off with a modified splash from the top rope. Another impressive title defence for Justin.

During the interval, Hank (McCoy) and myself assessed our performance on commentary to that point and we (or more so, I) were surprised at how well we thought we had done! I was fully expecting to have little to say, but we both played off each other well and called the action, putting everyone over, all at the same time... fingers crossed that the audio comes out well as this would be a nice touch to the DVDs that Pro EVW produce. A step in the right direction.

After a short break, it was time for the arrival of the other half of The Alpha Males, the captain Iestyn Rees to take on another member of The System, Logan (flanked by Tower). This match really interested me as it would be Logan's debut on a show and he could not have asked for a better opponent than Iestyn. Despite being a first outing, Logan did really well before being helped out by his fellow System members to beat-down Iestyn and cause the disqualification.
The Alpha Males; Charlie Garrett (left) & 'The Captain' Iestyn Rees (right)
This would bring out Charlie Garrett to make the save, but the numbers were just too much as the three System members were helped out by Garrett's opponent from earlier in the night, Gilligan Gordon. The night was getting worse and worse for the faces, before Chris Andrews would rush to the ring and help the Alphas clean the ring of the new, dominant force of Pro EVW. After a few, short, to-the-point words from Garrett, we had our main event of the evening set - a six-man tag team match between The Alpha Males and Chris Andrews against System members Dom and Logan (with Tower) and their partner, Gilligan Gordon.

Another debut would be seen as 'Mystery' would come to the ring to face Sam 'The Man' Beech. Young, exciting, high-flying Mystery entered the ring with confidence and style and instantly gained the audience's support. Unfortunately, the mysteriously masked one wouldn't get much time in the ring as the more experienced Beech would completely dominate him, working on the lower back before locking in a back-ripping Camel Clutch for the win.

On a side note, it was really nice to see someone work a body part for a reason - to lock in a submission move that should and did get the win. Simple and makes complete sense!

The main event was a really nice culmination of what had gone on throughout the show. The Alphas and Andrews had been screwed out of wins and beaten down by The System members and Gilligan Gordon all night and this was the opportunity to get some revenge before the night was done. Unfortunately, for long periods of the match, The System would show more dominance by cutting the ring off and working on Charlie Garrett. Just when it looked like there was no hope, Garrett would manage to tag in Andrews who would gain the advantage for his team... and when it looked like things were firmly in the faces favour, The System would make it even easier by WALKING OUT on Gilligan Gordon... a Chokeslam, a TKO and a rib-crunching Spinal Tap later and The Alphas and Andrews would gain retribution for the night. Really exciting and pleasing main event to send everyone home happy!
'The Professor' Gilligan Gordon
And on their debut show, The System showed that they will do what they want and not let anybody, or anything get in their way. This is really nice to see something new and different in Pro EVW (not that the usual things on the show don't work, but it's really nice to see that the odds will be stacked against the faces in Pro EVW from now on).

Results
  • Dom (w/ Tower) defeated Chris 'The Shark' Andrews
  • 'The Professor' Gilligan Gordon defeated Charlie Garrett (Alpha Males)
  • Pro EVW Heavyweight Championship: Justin 'The Hammer' Sysum (c) defeated The Tank
  • Iestyn Rees (Alpha Males) defeated Logan (w/ Tower) by disqualification
  • Sam 'The Man' Beech defeated Mystery
  • The Alpha Males & Chris 'The Shark' Andrews defeated The System (Dom & Logan) & Gilligan Gordon (w/ Tower)
Overall, a really nice return to Pro EVW for me. It was nice to do something different, too (commentary), and I'm really confident to give it another try if needed. When I started to watch British wrestling shows, I always wanted to help out in some way but didn't know what my calling was... obviously, I do this blog and I really hope that it helps in some way (no matter how small!). The commentary gig, no matter how long or short it might be for, makes me happy that I can help out in other ways, too.

I really want to give a shout out to Logan (The System) as I've seen him in training with Pro EVW and I've heard of his commitment to the Pro EVW cause and credit is due. He's a young guy who really wants to put the work in and learn this craft and that's such a great thing to see. This brings me to a very cheap plug for my article on THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING in British wrestling: Importance of Training article with Iestyn, Dom and Gilligan.

If you haven't already, please give this a read, like and share and spread the message. I managed to thank Iestyn, Gilligan and Dom for their responses and input into that article in person at the show and I hope they know it was very much appreciated.

The next Pro EVW show will be next Saturday evening (March 1st) at the Capital Venue in Gloucester for the 1st anniversary of the Kamil Memorial show. Stars retuning on that show will include JD Knight and a debut for UK star Sha Samuels... well worth a look!

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

Sunday 9 February 2014

Jimmo's Angle Special: Interview: The Importance of Training

It's been a while since I've conducted an interview in the category of 'Important Aspects of British Wrestling'. In the past, I have looked at the referee and the MC (Master of Ceremonies). Lately, it has dawned on me that, what could be, the most important aspect of them all should be addressed - training.

The reason that this needs focus is because over the course of the last year, my travels might not have taken me far (yet), but I have seen various wrestlers on various shows in the South of England. I have also heard some worrying stories with regards to the quality of training in British wrestling. I decided to get in touch with some guys that I have been lucky enough to meet, and chat with, over the course of that year - Iestyn Rees, Gilligan Gordon and The UK Dominator - and pick their brains about the importance of good, reputable training before starting off on the journey to becoming a wrestler.


Jimmo's Angle: Gents, thank you very much for your time! Let's start at the beginning: How long have you been wrestling for? Who trained you? How did you find the training?

Gilligan: I have been wrestling for eight years in May of this year. I started training at 4FW under Dave Sharp, James Dunn (JD Knight) and The Saint. I moved to SAS under Rockstar Spud, Charming Don Charles and Dave Mastiff (the latter has had the most input over the training in my career). In addition to these, I spent time travelling around with Al Snow, Nick Dinsmore (Eugene), Doug Basham and Vito (amongst others). I used to find training quite natural, being in a lot better shape than I am now. It was easy to get into as a result of having previous sporting experience playing rugby.
Dom: I have been wrestling for about twenty years and I was trained by Bully Boy Briggs. I found the training one of the hardest things in my life. It's not like the training they do today, it was much harder back then; you had to show that you can be a wrestler, not like today do.
 
Training back in the day was like this: After a four-hour drive to Doncaster, I had to start with a warm-up of running around the ring 100 times, touching each post. Then one-hundred press ups, four-hundred squats, and two-hundred sit ups - that was just the warm up! Then a three hour session on different things; sometimes you might do a session on just punching strikes so you could master it. If you got it wrong then you'd have to do more press ups but that was the norm. Then I had to wrestle for three years before I even got paid! On the way to venues I would get kicked out of the van a mile away from the venue and given a time to get there; if I didn't make it in the time given then it was another fifty press ups but that's the way it was if you wanted to be a wrestler. If he [the trainer] said carry the bags then you would carry the bags; if he said jump your reply would be 'how high'! You wouldn't moan about it or you'd get kicked out - it's not like now; if you don't like something, you just move to another wrestling trainer. Back then there wasn't many around so you had to do anything to get in the game. Also, if you walked into a venue it was up to you to walk around the room, introduce yourself, and shake the hand of everyone in there - to not do this was showing disrespect! Respect nowadays doesn't even seem to come into it. Respect for other wrestlers etc just isn't there. That's what I miss about the old times - the respect and crack.

Iestyn: I started wrestling training in July 2005 and had my first match in November 2005. I trained at the 4FW Academy under Dave Sharp, James Dunn (JD Knight) and The Saint. The training initially took place all day on Sundays 10am-5pm, in Swindon. I learnt the basics; break falls, chain wrestling, takedown and the simple moves. Once you could master those effectively we worked on match structure and working towards getting ready to perform on shows. The training was hard but I was lucky that there were a group of trainees that had either started just before me or just after, so we progressed well as a group. All of the group progressed on to 4FW shows around the same sort of time, I was then lucky enough to get to work with some of the best up-and-coming talent at the time - Dave Mastiff, Martin Stone, The Kartel (Terry Frazier and Sha Samuels). Working with these more experienced wrestlers really allowed me to progress at a quicker rate.

I then began to get bookings in a few companies and continued to work with more experienced guys and progress further, this included wrestling for Allstar Promotions across the country, IPWUK in Kent and the short-lived South Wales Championship Wrestling. It was the travelling to and from the shows with what became a regular car team of myself, Gilligan Gordon, Dave Mastiff, Joel Redman, Referee Chris Roberts plus many others that allowed us to discuss the show and our matches. This dissection of the matches really helped me improve. The match dissection continues to this day and is a great tool in helping me continue to refine and improve my wrestling.
Gilligan Gordon
Looking back, how essential do you feel that training was?

Gilligan: Imperative! Not just for the physical aspect but because that was how I made my connections. It was how I found my way into some of the places I did in the early years. Meeting people, networking, socialising – all the aspects of the business that get taken for granted and people don’t understand. I learned more of what not to do by observing others in training than I did anywhere else. So I did the opposite.

Dom: It was what made you what you were, it was hard. What more can you say? Most, if not all, the trainees of today would walk out and never come back.

Iestyn: The training I received, and still do receive from more experienced guys, is paramount to the continued improvement and evolution of my wrestling. There is always more to learn and ways to improve.

What do you feel are important factors when starting out to be a wrestler? What advice would you give to wannabe students?

Gilligan: Ask someone in the know first if they are reputable. Pro EVW (Gloucester), House of Pain (Nottingham), AllStar, Brookside’s (Leicester), Fight Club/AWE (Midlands) and 4FW (Swindon) to name a few around the country (not an exhaustive list!). Then when you get there: study, work hard and commit. Engulf yourself in it. Don’t be afraid to switch off from time to time but if you want this you have to commit 110%. Watch as much as you can but make sure you are absorbing it. Train as much as you can, but don’t burn yourself out. Speak to as many people as possible, but never out of turn. Be nice and make friends. Ask for advice. Take everyone’s advice but don’t necessarily listen to it all. And stay in shape. When you get on shows – KEEP IT F*CKING SIMPLE!! Learn how to work every match on the card 1st, 2nd, Main… wherever. Then do that match when you are booked there.

Dom: Give everything, never give up, don't expect anyone to give you anything. Go out and get it for yourself; you will get lots of promises that will not be delivered.
UK Dominator; 20+ years wrestling
Iestyn: Do some research into the schools you could attend. When I was starting I went on the internet found the three most viable schools that were possible to attend. I looked at their websites and I chose the school with most professional looking set-up and wrestlers they produced. At the time I had little-to-no knowledge of British wrestling as it was then. Nowadays there are more schools - good and bad - but the product is much more visible (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc) therefore I would suggest to all potential trainees to research the schools; find out who the trainer is; has he been working a long time for respected companies? Have any of his trainees also progressed to work for well-known companies? Are the facilities of a good standard?

The advice I'd give to potential trainees is get yourself to a basic level of physical fitness so you are able to perform basic body weight exercises squats, push ups etc for fifty reps at least as a minimum. Secondly, be prepared to get things wrong and be criticised; the skills you need to wrestle are very different that of most activities you will have undertaken. Therefore, you will make mistakes. Expect constructive criticism and take this on board - your trainer/coach is trying to help you.

Do you think there is a problem with youngsters going to the wrong places/people to get trained? Are there any measures that can be taken to stop this from happening?

Gilligan: Yes, there is a problem. It’s like germs – if you don’t clean up they spread. I have had a fair few accusations thrown my way and I maybe a hypocrite in some of the things I say about staying in shape but when it comes to training I have a grounding that means I can say people need to get the proper advice. Measures? Not unless the whole thing becomes Governed and regulated by a proper authority.

Dom: Trainees will train then think they can be trainers; you will always get this, it will never stop until the top promoters get together to stop it, or a governing body is set up.

Iestyn: There is a huge problem with poorly trained people that start their own schools who don't give the correct training for young adults attending their schools. The only way to stop this would be to have an independent governing body which would advise on the necessary skills and requirements needed to be a Professional Wrestler and then a Professional Wrestling Trainer. Unfortunately, I can never see this happening.

Basically, how important is it to get the right training?

Gilligan: Essential. In all aspects of the business. A lot of it people can’t teach you, you have to learn as you go. But that comes with experience and you won’t get the experience without the training. Sunrise/sunset.

Dom: Look around you and have a look at the shit that's going around. You can tell the ones that have had good, decent training and the ones that have had bad training.
Iestyn: As I've eluded to above, the right training is essential. If you are taught the basic fundamentals poorly you won't be able to progress to the more complicated aspects successfully. Therefore, you become a danger to yourself and, more importantly, your opponent. Furthermore, you will leave a bad impression of wrestling in the minds of paying customers of the shows you work on. Therefore, those customers are less likely to support British wrestling in the future.

Do you have any success stories of people that you have trained and if so could you share them?

Gilligan: Justin (The Hammer) Sysum. His story will write itself. (The Monstrosity Known As) Richtor went on to end his run at a higher quality level than anyone ever anticipated. However, I would say I have “helped out” more people than I would dare claim to have trained. A group of us travelled the road together; helped each other out in so many ways. We affectionately called ourselves “Car Team” – me, Dave Mastiff, Iestyn Rees, Sam Beech (at various times in the past also Chris Roberts, Mark Haskins, Spud (TNA), Joel Redman (WWE/NXT's Oliver Grey), Derice Coffie, T-Bone and Mad Man Manson). I was a couple of years behind some of them but we progressed together. Look at that list of names; that’s a top quality card anywhere in the country.

Dom: I never trained but did help out Drew McIntyre (WWE) with some words of wisdom; how to show-out and improve showmanship. I can also say the same with regards to Joel Redman.
Joel Redman has found success in America
Iestyn: I have had a small hand in helping out some up-and-coming wrestlers who I feel have the potential to go as far as anyone in the business. Two of those would be Justin Sysum and Charlie Garrett. The physical abilities of these two athletes are comparable to another wrestler who I have spent a lot of time with and that is Joel Redman. He was the epitome of hard work and determination and you can see where those traits have gotten him.

Finally, how rewarding is it to see someone succeed and progress?

Gilligan: My legacy will likely be the successes of others. I like to think I have had a positive impact, despite my indiscretions and disagreements, and that I have been part of a group that really helped to remind people that the wheel is round.

Dom: It's an amazing feeling to see people further their career in wrestling. There's also a bit of jealousy!
Iestyn (right) with up-and-comer Charlie Garrett

Jimmo's Angle: You can see from these answers that with the correct training you have a much better chance of progressing in your wrestling career. Dom, Gilligan and Iestyn have all pointed out at various times how hard it is to get anywhere - quite simply, you have to want it, work for it and have no excuses.

I really hope that the right eyes see this article and take the advice of these guys. Between them they have around forty-years worth of experience - there is an enormous amount of useful information that they could give you; and they're not the only ones. As they have said, search for the reputable companies (as they have listed some above), ask about their experience and choose a training facility and trainers that will train you in the appropriate way.

Facebook pages for the above companies/potential trainers:
Above everything, ensure that you get the right training from credible trainers. As Iestyn pointed out in the interview: with the wrong training '...you become a danger to yourself and, more importantly, your opponent.'


Support British Wrestling
@jimmosangle

Sunday 2 February 2014

Christian Hating...

And this isn't a religious thing...

So, Christian returned (again) and 'earned' a spot in the Elimination Chamber match. I don't even like The Miz, but to steal his crappy catchphrase - 'REALLY??'.

I know that there are a lot of Christian fans out there that will defend him whatever the case may be, but I really don't understand his appeal OR him being deserving of the spot that he takes up every time he returns from injury. He came back in similar fashion last year to compete in the 'Allstar' Money in the Bank ladder match before having a forgettable feud with Worthless Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio - and that's a dig at the championship rather than Del Rio.
Christian defeats Jack Swagger on Smackdown
This time around he is completely out of his depth as that title has now been swallowed up into a newer, seemingly more prestigious championship - the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. To retain a level of prestige, only a certain few should be challenging for it and deemed a serious contender. Christian isn't one of them.

Let me explain what I think this.

Yes, Christian is a two-time World Heavyweight Champion (let's not kid ourselves thinking him being a two-time ECW Champion means anything) but that in itself is a joke. In my opinion, Edge retired and his little 'brother' was there enough in reality and storyline to warrant a title match - thus prolonging the wait for a Del Rio reign. Christian is Intercontinental or US Championship level; always has been.

And I don't care how long he's been with the company, either (see also Killings, Ron).

If you discount his run in that Mickey-Mouse-organisation (TNA), he's been around the WWE since 1998. This doesn't entitle him to be in the main event (see also Killings, Ron). He was always in Edge's shadow throughout their run and stood out briefly in 2001 when he turned on his brother.
Prestigious title; crap company
The bottom line is he's had his time, he's won a hell of a lot of championships and was one-half of a very successful tag team. Unfortunately, injuries have played their part in killing any momentum that he gains and the last two years have highlighted this further.

As for the other Chamber qualifier - Antonio Cesaro - no, he's not a threat at the moment, but DESERVES a chance to shine. Cesaro's opponent on Smackdown this past week - Dolph Ziggler - deserves even more than that; see video below...

Dolph Ziggler's WWE App promo (Smackdown 31/1/2014)

As I've said in previous articles; the older guys (Christian; RVD) need to step aside and let the younger, hungrier guys have the spotlight (see also Batista, Dave for 'older guy steals spotlight from younger guys').

@jimmosangle