Just to be sure that the journey would be smooth and as direct as possible, I typed the address into the sat-nav and away we (me and the missus) went to St Neots. Things were going well until we came across a small village along the way where a electricity cable was blocking our way through. Great. Unfortunately, as we drove away, hoping the sat-nav would reroute us another direction, all it seemed to want to do was send us back down the same country lane!
Eventually, we took a chance on another direction and the sat-nav would follow our lead and finally reroute us to a more direct, and less village-orientated, way of getting up to the venue. I was a little nervous that this would make us miss the start of the show, but thankfully a lot of people were still finding their seats when we arrived at The Priory Centre.
Now that I've been to a Southside show, I can happily say that my preconceptions of it were wrong; I had gotten myself into the thinking that Southside was a promotion that attracted around 200 fans to a show, similar to most shows that are about. Now I'm not saying that 200 fans isn't a respectable amount, but when you're bringing in former WWE and ex TNA guys, I'd have thought that you would be a little reliant on a good draw (amount of fans) to help contribute to your costs that come with such additions.
Anyway, enough ramblings...
Positive: A Great First Impression
The venue, The Priory Centre, seems perfect for a wrestling show. There were a lot more than 200 there - normally, I have a bit of a headcount, but there were enough in there that I couldn't be bothered to spend the time to do so! - and the layout was impressive, too. There were the usual few rows at either side of the ring, with the addition of tiered seating as you entered from the bar. This is where we sat and it was a great view.
Negative: Uh Oh, It's Rob Maltman...
I hadn't seen Rob Maltman on a show since one of the first NBWA (Banbury) shows at the start of last year. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed back then and I wasn't on this showing either. As a ring announcer, he did an ok job of announcing guys down to the ring. His skills were a bit lacking on the presentation and MCing of the show. What I mean by this, in this case, is that the ring announcer shouldn't just be there to announce wrestlers down to the ring, he should also welcome and warm-up the audience ready for the evening's action. As a new fan to Southside, I might not be aware of what happens and any factors that Southside does differently than other promotions and it's the ring announcer/MC's job to do this for me. This didn't happen.
Positive: The First Match... Once It Got Going
The first match of the evening was a good choice as it got the audience a little more excited about the show than the MC did. It was a four-way match for Kay Lee Ray's Speed King (Queen?) title, with Robbie X, Jimmy Havoc and Zak Northern challenging her. Towards the end this got quite good. This made up for the constant need to do three, or four-person spots for the sake of it. In a way, this made the match different from other four-ways that I'd seen, but it did make me chuckle for the first ten minutes. Another positive of this match was that despite him being a c*nt (and a damn good, hated heel) at PROGRESS, Havoc is kind of liked by the Southside fans.
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| This is how I'm remembering Marty Jannetty... |
It saddens me to put Jannetty as a negative but it needs doing. He was the first ex WWE, ex TNA etc etc guy to appear on this show and it filled me with dread for the rest of them to come. He got a lukewarm reception from the fans at best (this will be addressed in a post on imports at a later date...), and was half the man he was back in his Rockers days. I realise that this match was second for a reason (in regards to the structure of the show), but it felt like Stixx was on the outside, or stalling for way too long. The positive of this match was the heat that Stixx gained in doing so, but as for a match between the two, it was awful. There was little wrestling from the two before Robbie X caused the distraction for Jannetty to get the win.
Positive/Negative: Flippy Tag Matches/Too Much Dives To The Outside
The third match would see a burst of pace with The Hunter Brothers going against Will Ospreay and former TNA star Chris Sabin. This was an exciting little match but highlighted something that I'm seeing way too often in British Wrestling. Now, I realise that a lot of guys' 'thing' is to jump and flip and fly and stuff, but at most shows I go to, everyone, up and down the card, is doing the 'dive to the outside' thing FAR TOO MUCH. I get that it's exciting and looks impressive, but the more it's done, the LESS impressive it starts to look. Eventually - if it doesn't already - it'll be perceived that anyone can do it = not so special anymore. It also brings about the 'this is awesome' chants everytime it happens. If all these dives are happening for that purpose then please come up with something original in your matches because just because fans have been conditioned to say 'this is awesome' at the drop of a hat, it doesn't mean that it is.
Positive: The Structure So Far
Nobody probably gives a sh*t about this, and maybe I've looked at it wrong here, but the structure of the show flowed very well in the first half (and the second half, too). The audience was woken up and excited in the first match. They were then brought down in the second match (WAY down) before being thrilled and excited (again) in the third match. The fourth match would bring them back down to earth again before getting a hard-hitting and different kind of tag match from the first, when Project Ego and The Sumerian Death Squad clashed, which aroused them (mildly) further before the interval. I can't remember who told me about this rollercoaster analogy for the structure of a wrestling show, but it seemed firmly in place here!
Positive/Negative: 8 Matches or 5 Before The Break, 3 After
I can't complain about the quality on display on this show. That's why this is a positive more than a negative. Great to see a good amount of British talent mixed in with current American talent in Sabin and Strong, and the nostalgia of having HBK's little buddy and a real, live Native American. But eight matches seems a lot and having five of those before the interval drained me a little. It probably didn't help that it was pretty stuffy in the venue, which made the concentration wonder at times. I assumed that after the fourth match we would get the interval, so went out for a toilet break and drink only to realise that another match was starting! Not a huge moan, but worth noting that it's a lot to take in over the course of a show.
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| Sumerian Death Squad (photo credit: Brett Hadley) |
Again, a tiny thing really, but where were all the heels in the first half? The first match didn't seem to have any heels; they all shook hands at the end; everyone got a good reaction throughout and on leaving. The Hunters and Ospreay/Sabin were all following the rules, RJ Singh and Tatanka were very polite to each other despite the cultural differences that they probably have coming from two different Indian walks of life. That only really left Stixx and The Sumerian Death Squad as obvious heels? And even the SDS (Sumerian Death Squad is quite long to type!) got a huge cheer at the end of their match?!
I realise that wrestling fans are smarter than the average bear these days but was this a case of Southside following Vince McMahon's crazy idea that there are no babyfaces and heels these days? I hope not as the MOST basic and fundamental aspect of wrestling is 'good vs evil' and that should always be adhered to. I can imagine that it didn't help having the former WWE/TNA etc etc on the show in this case, as nine-times-out-of-ten they're going to get cheered regardless!
Positive: Did I Mention This Is A Good Venue?
Unlike a lot of venues I've been to, at The Priory Centre you didn't need to queue for the toilets or bar, there was a good amount of space to chill out, take a walk outside during the interval, or even have your photo taken, and get an autograph, with your favourite babyface (take your pick out of them from the first half!). These are the small things that make a big difference.
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| Match of the Night due to the nature of it |
As Maltman started the second half, a fight seemed to break out in the entrance way, below the tiered seating. It appeared that someone had been slammed into the wall below us and some of the reactions from the faces in the audience that I could see would suggest that this was a proper fight between a couple of fans. A few seconds later, I could now see who was fighting and all was right in the world again... it wasn't a couple of worked-up, 'it's still real to me, dammit!' fans going at it but the ACTUAL start to the second half as a street-clothed-wearing Paul Malen would take on his former tag team partner, Joseph Connors.
I'm not too familiar with this feud, but I've seen and read enough to know that the former Predators (wrestlers, not sex attackers) were now fighting (in Southside, at least) and it was becoming quite the rivalry. Knowing that made the start of this match all the more enjoyable. I really liked that instead of the usual ring entrances and blah blah blah, they just said 'f*ck it, there you are! BOSH!'... and the fight's on. It gave the match an edge and showed the hatred that has been building up between them to the point that they can't wait for the hotel reception bell to ring and make this official.
Negative: The Hotel Reception Bell
I know I'm being picky here, but as the show went on I could see the efforts of everyone and, as I said before, knew my preconceptions of Southside were wrong. This is clearly a set-up that are looking to move forward and progress, but that bell needs getting rid of! At the start of a match I need a 'BONG! BONG! BONG!' or whatever noise a wrestling ring bell makes(!) and not a 'ding! ding! ding!' sound that a hotel reception bell makes.
Positive: The Best Chris Masters Match There's Ever Been...
I realise that he probably had a few in WWE, and also whilst he's been over here for whatever promotions he's worked for, but to me Chris Masters will always be the guy that did the Masterlock Challenge FOREVER and never really had a match until he faced Shawn Michaels. He went into obscurity when John Cena came along and was the first(?) to break the hold... because, y'know, John Cena ruins everything and all that...
Positive/Negative(unfortunately): Former WWE And TNA Guys, Current ROH Guy And Nostalgia
Chris Masters got the biggest 'former WWE/TNA, current ROH guy' pop of the night. Marty Jannetty, Tatanka, Chris Sabin and Roderick Strong got 'ok' reactions. I really thought Jannetty would get a bigger reaction, and maybe he did on Saturday's shows, but yesterday (Sunday), nobody really cared. Or a better way of putting it would be that not enough people cared. As their matches went on Tatanka, Sabin and Strong did get better reactions but they faced a similar problem to Jannetty - the bottom line is that the majority of the audience (and this is the case with a lot of family-orientated shows) don't really know these guys, or remember the older ones. Masters probably got the best reaction for three reasons; he's been over here doing the rounds for a while now; he looks like a typical, jacked-up wrestler; he's more relevant as he's not been gone from WWE for that long (in comparison to the other WWE guys).
Positive: Taking The Missus To Wrestling Shows
On a personal note, it's getting very pleasing to take the girlfriend to wrestling shows. She's probably been to more shows than a lot of 'wrestlers' have been to and she comes away pleased that we made the trip, and even compliments the things that went on throughout the evening. When watching wrestling shows, she sees things a lot simpler than I do. She hasn't been exposed to what happens behind the scenes and can appreciate what she's seeing without judging it too much. I envy her for this because I lost that a long time ago, and while I enjoy watching the shows, and doing these posts, I sometimes wish that I wasn't so critical at times. It's also funny to me when The Hunters come out and she likens them to Orlando Bloom (we were a little way from the ring!), so now they will affectionately be called the Bloom Brothers when she sees them.
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| Ok Chris, you win; I lose... |
Positive: Roderick Hitting Some STRONG Backbreakers
Really enjoyed the main event with Southside Champion, Mark Haskins going against one of the best that ROH has ever had in Roderick Strong. This was a nice opportunity for Haskins to go against a recognised worker from America and nice for the fans who know him and ROH. For some reason, I remember the backbreakers that Strong delivered to Haskins in this; one of them was across his shoulder and looked really painful.
Results
- Speed King Championship: Kay Lee Ray (c) defeated Jimmy Havoc, Robbie X and Zak Northern in a four-way match
- Marty Jannetty defeated Stixx
- Chris Sabin & Will Ospreay defeated The Hunter Brothers
- Tatanka defeated RJ Singh
- Southside Tag Team Championship: Sumerian Death Squad (c) defeated Project Ego
- Grudge Match: Paul Malen defeated Joseph Connors
- Chris Masters defeated Eddie Dennis
- Southside Heavyweight Championship: Mark Haskins (c) defeated Roderick Strong
I'll happily admit that, despite growing up watching WWF/E and watching guys that were on this show, they don't sell this show to me: BRITISH talent sells this show to me - guys like Mark Haskins, RJ Singh, The Hunters and Project Ego, just to name a few. These are the guys that make me go to shows and see what they'll come up with next.
If you can get along to a Southside show then I urge you to. Find them on Facebook and Twitter, follow them and look out for the latest info on future events!
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@jimmosangle
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