My Weekend of (British) Wrestling 20 - Pro EVW

Saturday 12th October 2013 - Pro EVW - Wotton Hall Club, Gloucester

The 20th edition of 'My Weekend of British Wrestling' and what better way to celebrate this than to cover a Pro EVW show! A welcome return to the site of Justin 'The Hammer' Sysum's greatest triumph to date - winning the Pro EVW Championship from 'The Shark' Chris Andrews a couple of months ago. Although the Wotton Hall Club appears to be smaller than some venues I've been to, the noise that the audience creates makes it seem like there are double the amount of fans in there!

Former Pro EVW Champion Chris Andrews

This show saw a welcome return of some of Pro EVW's regular guys (despite them being at last weeks show in Ross-on-Wye - I wasn't present for that so this show was nice to see them!). The first three matches featured ultra-babyfaces (good guys) and the meanest heels (bad guys). PJ Jones, UK Dominator and the Pro EVW Tag Team Champions The Magnums were all at hand to get the Wotton Hall audience furious and in hope that they would get what was coming to them. Chris Andrews, 'The Heartbreaker' Matty Harris and The Alpha Males would counter these heels and get great support from the fans in attendance.

The first match of the night pitted 'The Winner' PJ Jones taking on the much larger Chris Andrews. PJ would incite the audience within the first thirty-seconds of his entrance, claiming to be a 'winner' from the offset. This would, of course, get the crowd chanting that PJ was in fact a 'loser'. This character is so simple but so effective and it makes me smile every time. I often wonder if PJ's voice takes a bashing where he screams 'WINNER!!' so many times throughout?!

The Winner's Circle: An elite club... (photo: Superkick.co.uk)

This was a pretty solid opener with PJ getting in a lot of offence - something I'm used to with Chris Andrews opponents; despite his size, his opponents seem to be able to find a weakness and work on it to good effect - PJ doing so really well. Ultimately, Andrews' determination would show through and he would hoist PJ up for a devastating TKO for the win - probably one of the most impressive moves you'll see on a Pro EVW show! Later that night on the drive home, one guy would make a very good point that Chris Andrews is what a wrestler should look like - I couldn't agree more.

The second match would see experience go up against youth. The much travelled UK Dominator would make his way to the ring and berate the locals, explaining his code of conduct that they should follow throughout his matches. This would infuriate them. This is what I love about him; some things are done so well and almost effortlessly. He has a look and a manner about him that makes him instantly hated. Excellent.

His opponent, 'The Heartbreaker' Matty Harris, would come out with huge confidence and gain the audience's support straightaway. Unfortunately, Harris' inexperience would shine through as Dominator would quite literally take him to school, smashing him all over the ring and even towards the bar for all to see the punishment that he was dishing out to the youngster. A confrontation between Dom and a ringside fan would lead to the demise of Harris believe it or not. Dom would get in the face of the fan in question, demanding he be shown the respect he deserved; whilst referee Paz was checking on the fan, Dom would then deliver a crushing low-blow to Harris, easily rolling him up for the win. The Ultimate Rulebreaker showing why he has that moniker...

The last match before the interval was one that I was really looking forward to. The Pro EVW Tag Team Championships would be on the line as The Magnums would defend against the newly formed Alpha Males. There was a lot of back and forth early on before The Magnums would take control of Charlie Garrett, tagging in and out frequently and showing why they have been champions for the majority of the year.

Garrett would eventually get the hot tag to Rees who would take the champions to their limit; almost gaining the victory before the ref was pulled out of the ring by 'Dirty' Dick Riley. The Alpha Males would get their revenge for this act by pulling the ref out of the ring when it looked like The Magnums would retain. Towards the end of the match, it turned into an all-out brawl; both teams showing their desire to walk out as Tag Team Champions. Rees and Riley would battle on the outside as 'Filthy' Chris Walker would gain the sneaky and sleazy pin on Garrett after grabbing a handful of tights.

Can The Alpha Males eventually take the Tag Team titles?

At this point of the night, it seemed that this was easily the Match of the Night. It was going to take something really special to beat it. This match was a winner to me from the start as both teams are proper teams; they wear the same uniform and have common traits that reinforce why they are a team - both The Magnums and Alpha Males have this and more. I can't put my finger on why I liked this match so much other than as the match went on the excitement factor went higher and higher before The Magnums would cheat their way to victory.

After the interval, MC Hank McCoy would announce that at the December 7th show (at the Capitol Venue, Gloucester) there will be a Ladder match between The Alpha Males and Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) to decide new number one contenders to face The Magnums at a later date. Whilst mentioning Hank McCoy, it should be noted that I thought he did an excellent job. Although there were signs of nerves - this was to be expected after a small lay-off from MC-ing - he would put in a clear, confident and enthusiastic performance all night, even making fun of himself and carrying on with the show when needed. Professional.

The action returned after the interval with a special match that would lead into the main event nicely. Gilligan Gordon would take on The Monstrosity known as Richtor in 'Richtor's Farewell Tour' - I should point out that this isn't a retirement. Soon, Richtor will leave us for a while and come back BETTER, BADDER and ANGRIER, ready to destroy whoever crosses his path. With this goal in mind, his recent matches have seen him over-power some top talent and this match against Gordon would be no different.

Richtor

In fairness to Gordon, he fared better against Richtor than some have just lately, giving the big man problems throughout the match. The ending would be academic, though, as Richtor would show power and dominance Vader-bombing Gordon in the corner for the win. That makes it three wins in a row for The Monstrosity known as Richtor; could this mean that a title match is in his future? If so, would the champion stand a chance against this mountain of a man?

The main event of the evening would see Pro EVW Champion Justin 'The Hammer' Sysum take on his biggest challenge to date - against the experienced, and much travelled, former TNA star 'The Anarchist' Doug Williams.

In the early going, Doug would somewhat school Justin, this was coupled with a show of mutual respect as both men felt each other out. Throughout this match, the Gloucester audience would show there support for Justin, cheering him but also jeering Williams at times. As this went on Williams would get frustrated and become more aggressive as a result. This would continue for the rest of the match, with Williams also beginning to taunt the locals with sarcastic applause to his own moves. This would aggravate Justin's fans further and almost solidify Williams as a heel.

Towards the end of the match there would be some great sequences between the two. At one point, Justin would go for his 450 splash, Williams moving out of the way only for Justin to land on his feet with complete control. Impressive. A few moments later, Williams would go for his finisher Chaos Theory, only for Justin to counter it into a roll up. Again, impressive. As it was unclear who would walk away as champion, things went up to the top turnbuckle, with Justin eventually hitting a Sit-down Powerbomb to finally get the hard-earned victory.

This was an excellent main event to the show. It completely surprised me as I felt that they would have an 'ok' match due to Justin's inexperience. I am very pleased that I was proven wrong and that this match was as exciting and flowing as it was. In a recent interview, Justin said that one man would leave as champion and one man would leave broken; I think that both men left better for it - Justin with a invaluable match and win over a very well respected talent, and Doug can now say he faced a great local talent that will only get better and better as he continues to improve. Everybody wins.

UK Dominator

Results

• 'The Shark' Chris Andrews defeated 'The Winner' PJ Jones with a TKO
• The UK Dominator defeated 'The Heartbreaker' Matty Harris (w/ Katy) with a low-blow/roll up
• Pro EVW Tag Team Championship: The Magnums (c); 'Dirty' Dick Riley & 'Filthy' Chris Walker defested The Alpha Males; Iestyn Rees & Charlie Garrett when Walker rolled Garrett up
• The Monstrosity known as Richtor defeated Gilligan Gordon with a Vader-bomb
• Pro EVW Championship: Justin 'The Hammer' Sysum (c) defeated 'The Anarchist' Doug Williams with a Sit-down Powerbomb

Another home-run from Pro EVW! Five excellent matches with some great talent kept me, and the Gloucester audience excited and hooked throughout. Everyone played their parts; MC Hank McCoy with a nice return to ring announcing on this show, and Referees Paz and Chris being capable and calling things down the middle - Paz even managing to salvage his trousers this show...

The next Pro EVW show will take place on Saturday 2nd November at Cinderford Miner's Hall, Cinderford - be sure to be there! For more (and up-to-date) information on this event please visit the Pro EVW Facebook page and follow them on Twitter - @ProEvoWrestling

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