This weekend was one
of them busy ones where I thought it would be a great idea to go to
two shows and then write up the reviews for both. This all equals
having not much of a weekend left, but in the case of this one just
passed, it was well worth it! From a wrestling point of view, this
weekend wasn't ever going to fail – Saturday I saw the likes of
Martin Kirby, 'Flash' Morgan Webster and El Ligero alongside some of
the best there is in the Bristol area (see the link) and on Sunday I
saw James Mason, 'Returing from a WWE tour' Stevie Starr, and one of
my favourite comedy heels, Mean Tommy Dean.
As much as I love
going to CHAOS or PROGRESS shows – quite possibly my two favourites
at the moment – I love going to see shows put on by Alan Ravenhill
and James Mason. You just cannot go wrong with these types of shows.
On a side note, I NEVER know what to call these shows?! I'm pretty
sure it's called 'Grand Slam Wrestling' but then I hear it referred
to as 'Superstars of Wrestling' (not to be confused with the
SUPERCARDS that are on offer down Gloucester way...). It could also
be called 'Welsh Wrestling' (in England?) but that's who I always
think this is 'in association with' and all that...
Anyway, what it is
is a great afternoon of wrestling for all the family (urgh, I feel
like I'm promoting it on the radio or something?!). Like my other
review this weekend, this review will probably be a complete ass
kissing affair, too! What I want to try and get across here, though,
is why this particular show is quite possibly one of the BEST in the
country without doing anything massively fancy. And I can imagine
what some of the die-hard fans of other promotions will think to that
comment; 'he's talking sh*t' or 'my promotion has eight matches and
there's loads of dives and stuff' and other hugely hilarious crap
like that.
Let the kissing-up
commence...
Positive: A Nice
Surprise...
When I've attended
Alan and James' shows in the past, there hasn't been what I'd call a
great turn out for them. I'd have thought that there's been around
the 80 mark at other shows, and that's not bad considering they don't
really use any online advertising (not that I can find, anyway!). The
advertising is somewhat old-school with flyers, posters and radio
plugs. I think it's sometimes hard to grasp what the single best way
to promote a wrestling show is but I've always liked the idea of
handing out and posting flyers to people – it's got a personal
touch to it; you've made that first connection with a potential
show-goer and made it seem that you want that individual to come to
your show. Anyway, when we walked into the hall of the Bracknell
Leisure Centre, I was pleasantly surprised to see a good-sized crowd
ready for some wrestling. In situations like this I don't really do a
proper headcount (sometimes I'm not THAT sad...) but scanning around,
I think there was around 150; pretty good for a one-off show.
Positive: Headset
Hank McCoy
This weekend I
really wanted to give my pal, Hank McCoy a shout out. On Saturday he
was slightly annoyed at a Twitter comment that suggested that he was
'annoying'. Whoever sent that tweet has no idea; you see him every
now and then at a show, I have to put up with him every week?!
Jokes aside, Hank
had a tough start to this show as the microphone decided to be a
bugger, resulting in him having to shout the announcements out to the
audience. I was at the back and could just about hear him so it was a
good effort to get the required information out there until a headset
was sorted for him to use for the remainder of the show. I kind of
hoped that he would wear it like he was Britney Spears but that never
happened!
 |
| Here's Hank with a crap example of my point |
Saturday's annoyance
at people questioning his work in tweets (not as bad as I'm making it
out to be!) and his professionalism on Sunday all makes me think that
this guy is so underused in British wrestling. Yes, I'm completely
biased because he's my mate, but Hank McCoy (if that is your real
name?!) doesn't just announce people for their matches; he doesn't
just shill merchandise and backstage passes; he works his ass off
from before doors open until the last person leaves because he
understands that he has a job to do; an IMPORTANT job that is
completely overlooked by a lot of promotions in the UK. I'm not
writing this to get him booked anywhere, I'm simply pointing out that
if you have a Hank McCoy (which you don't) on your show then you've
already got a great presentation that will attract fans back the next
time.
Negative: Because I
Need One Somewhere!
I need to admit
something. I f*cking hate 'Rockin' All Over The World' by Status Quo.
I really do. In my lifetime I have heard it thousands of times and
I'm sure generations and generations before me hated it too when it
came out in 1875. But I kind of love it a little bit when James Mason
enters to it (does that sound naughty to anyone else, or have I just
got a dirty mind?). It's such a happy, clap-along, babyface song that
it works so well. God damn you, James, for making me like Status Quo
a little bit...
Positive: A James
Mason Opener
This will never,
ever be a negative. If you need someone to open your show then book
James Mason (he's got a lightening strike on his singlet that makes
him go faster!). I have never seen a bad opener involving James Mason
(apart from against Justin Sysum, but that must've been Justin's
fault!) and I don't think I ever will. It's one of the most important
things to get right on a wrestling show and James never fails to
deliver.
And then there's
Tommy Dean.
I wish I hated Tommy
when he comes out for a match, but I never do. I just find myself
laughing at his 'manliness' or whatever he calls it. I'm in awe of
his chiselled physique and 28-inch biceps. He is a wrestling god. I'm
glad to say that he makes a James Mason Opener that much better,
because James has to beat someone, right?
Positive: Why I
Think That This Show Is One Of The BEST In The Country
Let me get to the
point here. I've looked forward to going to one of these shows
because I knew it would be my favourite to do a review on. This show
was made for doing a positives and negatives post on as it highlights
one of my key beliefs when it comes to British wrestling.
This shows layout is
the layout that should be used more. Match one was a simple, flowing
affair that gets the audience involved, wakes them up and gets them
ready for the night ahead. Match two slowed things down a touch and
got the audience ready for match number three, where, on this
occasion, there was a big shiny belt to look at and say
'OOOOOOooooooooo' in amazement. After the hard-hitting championship
bout there was an interval so everyone could regroup, get a drink,
and the kids could recharge their batteries before screaming their
lungs out for a further two matches (yes, just two matches in the
second half – don't overdo it and kill your crowd's energy by
making them sit through a WWE-amount of matches; you're NOT WWE in so
many ways so don't copy them!).
This consisted of a
match to remind everyone it's time for wrestling again (congrats to
Jutler and Tagori for that) and then the main event which saw a tag
team contest between four 'backstage brawlers' from ealier in the
night. The heroes win, the villains get laughed at and get chased
out, and your audience leave knowing that good prevailed over evil.
How f*cking difficult is that to do? Not very.
One of the best
things about this layout was something that Chris Walker (Magnums)
pointed out to me in the car ride home from CHAOS on Saturday: people
need to understand their position on the card; if there's a powerbomb
in the first match then how is your main event going to top that, for
example? Instead of getting all of one's 'sh*t' in because it's your
'opportunity' to shine and blah blah blah, how about just doing your
job in your designated part of the show. If you get to the main event
one day, do as many powerbombs as you like.
 |
| The Smiling Psycho (does that work?) |
Positive: This Kade
Callous Fellow...
I'd never seen Kade
Callous before. I think he's a Welsh Wrestling regular (right?) and
that's one of the shows that I'd like to check off the list so I'm
sure I'll see him again. Just a quick note here about him; I really
liked his crazy-smile-to-angy-psycho look that he did throughout the
afternoon. I think it's something he does well and, for me, it's
unique to do it AND do it right.
Positive: New Attire
Just lately, I'm
blown away that James Mason seemed to have a new singlet – the one
with a lightening strike on them – and NOW I'm even more blown away
that Tagori – the Japanese Warrior with matching music – also
appears to be sporting new gear since the last time I saw him?! Maybe
they could tag sometime? (I genuinely feel dirty for attempting such
a crap joke...)
Results
- James Mason (w/Status Quo) defeated 'Mean' Tommy Dean
- JD Knight defeated Antonio De Luca
- British Heavyweight Championship: 'Returning From A WWE Tour' Stevie Starr (c) defeated Kade Callous
- Tagori defeated Kay Jutler
- Stevie Starr and Antonio De Luca defeated Kade Callous and JD Knight
I should point out
that I've given Stevie Starr the moniker 'retuning from a WWE tour'
because I think it is both genius and hilarious that it's used to
introduce him! Sometimes I just sit here and amuse myself...
 |
| I couldn't find a picture of Tagori, so here's Tajiri (close enough) |
Anyway, what a
fantastic show this was. It's amazing how such a simple show can get
just as good a reaction as some of the regularly-run shows that there
are around the country. I really hope that I have conveyed this in
this post as it really is pleasing to see a show that sends you home
in a good mood with the least amount of effort (not to say that there
wasn't effort from the performers, but it seemed so effortless to get
the appropriate reactions throughout the afternoon!).
If you can get to a
Ravenhill/Mason/Grand Slam Wrestling/Whatever They Call It show then
I urge you to. It is a fantastic family afternoon of simple-to-follow
wrestling, with lots of laughs and a great feel-good ending... unless
Tommy Dean is main eventing, of course...
Support British
Wrestling
@jimmosangle
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