My Weekend of (British) Wrestling 28: Pro Wrestling Chaos

Saturday 22nd March 2014 - Pro Wrestling Chaos 4: Last Man Standing - Shire Way Social Club, Yate

The aim of going to various different shows in 2014 continued yesterday with a trip down to Pro Wrestling Chaos. Leading up to this I was a little dubious as this was Chaos' forth show and my experiences of 'new' promotions (promotions just starting out) hasn't been great due to them doing too much too soon. I would be pleasantly surprised from start to finish.

I travelled down to the venue with MC Hank McCoy, who is a Chaos mainstay after two shows and this is fully justified. Yes, I'm biased because he is my good mate, but he really adds to shows and Dave (Mercy; promoter of Chaos) sees the importance in having an enthusiastic, well presented MC on his shows. Hank is definitely this. He also seems to have his own fans, too, with a 'Hank!' chant starting up from a few lads in the audience!

On arrival, I met a lot of the guys on the show and straight off there were a few familiar faces which eased any worries that I might have had before. The venue was a good size with plenty of seating; if filled, it had the potential to be a lively and loud evening of wrestling.

After a few messages over Facebook, I was pleased to meet Dave Mercy, the promoter of Pro Wrestling Chaos, in person. Hank had already told me what a genuinely nice guy he was and that came across with his welcome. As he moved around the room checking on the ring set-up and keeping all in good spirits, I could tell that he cared and wanted everything to go as well as possible (maybe an obvious statement?!) as well as having a nervousness about him leading up to showtime.

After looking at the card, it seemed a really good night ahead of us; most notably the triple threat match between Pete Dunne, 'Flash' Morgan Webster and Damian Dunne seemed a mouthwatering prospect. That's not to say the rest of the card wasn't, but I had no knowledge of the feuds that had been established in previous shows.

The opening match saw a rivalry continue, as well as the progression of the 'King of Chaos' tournament (a tournament to determine an inaugural Chaos champion), with 'Wild Boar' Mike Hitchman taking on one-half of Team Hate, Jeckel. This was a nice opener with several back and forths, a brutal, hard-hitting affair which Wild Boar would eventually win after a Running Powerbomb. Solid opener that got the crowd even more invested than they were!

'Wild Boar' Mike Hitchman

The second match saw local lad, Alex Steele taking on 'Mr Reem' Scotty Essex in a face-vs-face match. After the opening match's brawl, this match picked up the pace and presented something different. Both guys would show mutual respect throughout, and both were widely popular with the Yate locals. This was only broken up a little when Scotty started to show signs of frustration when he couldn't put his opponent away. The highlight of this match would be the running Shooting Star Press performed by Scotty Essex. At first, I thought he was setting Steele up for a People's Elbow before showcasing his athleticism!

The main event of the opening half of the show would pit three great young stars of British Wrestling squaring off in a triple threat match. The Dunne brothers, Pete and Damian would compete against each other as well as 'Flash' Morgan Webster. For me, this was the match of the night. It was flowing, exciting and had everything you could want from a triple threat; the various one-on-one parts to this match and the brothers teaming up to beat down Webster before inevitably turning on one another. The highlights of this match were the reverse Hurricanrana from Webster to Pete and Pete's finish to Webster for the win - I've tried to find what this move might be called and can only describe it as a Pumphandle into an F5/face plant... please enlighten me if you know?!

Match of the Night

As I say, this was the match of the night for me and saying that does not surprise me; all three guys put on great shows wherever I have seen them. This is especially the case with Pete Dunne who I have seen at three shows this year and he has been the standout performer each time. I also continue to be impressed by 'Flash' Morgan Webster and his gimmick. the whole Mod thing is great! From his music to his ring gear to his hairstyle to his attitude to the place that he is billed from (A Town Called Malice); everything ties in really well.

The fifth match also impressed me for a few reasons. A 'Seabirds Rules' match saw the less-drunk Roger-The-Cabin-Boy taking on Ian Williams. This soon turned into a tag team match as Gideon would come down to make up a tag team encounter; he and Williams would take on Roger and his fellow shipmate - Captain Dick Morgan. The match would be full of comedy; mainly thanks to Roger (The Cabin Boy) and his over-the-top selling, and would finish after an impressive Muscle Buster (Gideon) and Flying Elbow (Williams) combination.

By the sound of the locals, the Wild Galleons (as Captain Dick and Roger are collectively known) are super over and I think that's credit to both guys giving everything to their p*ssed up, over-the-top pirate gimmick - Roger, in particular impressed me and made me chuckle throughout playing the ultimate face-in-peril. There was also an appearance from The Kraken - the Wild Galleons' 'mascot', who would come down to help them; taking a Muscle Buster and completely no-selling it!

The Kraken... attacking Dick Morgan's ship?

The main event would see an end to a heated rivalry - fan favourite Dave Mercy would take on Mike Bird in a Last Man Standing match. Before this show I didn't really know about their feud, but after Bird's promo at the start of the match - telling Mercy's kids that they wouldn't have a dad after what he would do to him - and Mercy skipping his entrance so he could start this war, I knew that they had brought a very personal element into the match that would need a stipulation of this kind to finally settle things.

I'm not normally a fan of Last Man Standing matches as I find them a little anti-climatic (having to wait for a ten count over a three count), but this had a good story to it and you could tell that the Yate Audience were into it and firmly behind Mercy to get his revenge. I gathered by the end of the match that each guy's finishers were an RKO (Mercy) and a Gotch Piledriver (Bird) as they traded them towards the end to add to the drama of neither man giving into the ten count.

Results

• King of Chaos Tournament Semi-Final: Wild Boar defeated Jeckel
• Alex Steele defeated 'Mr Reem' Scotty Essex
• Triple Threat: 'Dynamite' Pete Dunne defeated Damian Dunne and 'Flash' Morgan Webster MOTN
• 'The Walking Nightmare' Gideon & Ian Williams defeated The Wild Galeons (Captain Dick Morgan & Roger The Cabin Boy)
• Last Man Standing: Dave Mercy defeated Mike Bird

Overall, an excellent show. Although I was a little cautious on the lead-up to the show, I had no reason to be as everyone put in a top performance - it's no wonder that Chaos has sold out all of their shows so far. Huge credit to all involved for that - especially Dave (Mercy), Nick (Gideon) and Rob (Jeckel). I'd also like to say that this was the most welcome that I have felt at a show - it had a really big family feel to it from the Yate locals watching to the guys that were on the show; that was probably the most pleasing aspect and a huge reason as to why these shows work!

If you would like to go to a Pro Wrestling Chaos show in the future then visit their Facebook and Twitter pages and keep up to date with the latest goings on - YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

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