Jimmo's Angle Special: Interview: Chris Andrews

Chris Andrews

During my journey through the best (and sometimes worst!) of British wrestling, I have been lucky enough to rub shoulders with some great talents; experienced, inexperienced and underrated. It dawned on me whilst looking at this months 'One to Watch' in Fighting Spirit Magazine (plug!) that there are some great young, and unearthed talents that warrant showcasing in this way. I hope, in some small way, that I can give a little spotlight on such talents and maybe get them the recognition and exposure that they deserve.

I met Chris Andrews about a year-and-a-half ago and was instantly impressed by him both as a man and a wrestler. Although I can't claim to know him very well, I have always felt sure that he is a kind, polite, at times very quiet guy, that has a desire to do his best in everything that he attempts. I've always been sure that he has the look and skills to take him far in wrestling. I'm pretty sure that if you read any of my weekend of British wrestling reviews I have never had a bad word to say about Chris. This isn't due to a need to ass-kiss, but because I am genuinely entertained and impressed by what Chris brings to shows.

When Chris enters to his (usual) music of 'The Power', you're instantly blown away by the physical presence he has: clearly, Chris looks after himself and is a great example to any young and aspiring wrestler of how a you should look. If Vince McMahon is into big, chiselled, muscular wrestlers then he should look no further than Chris! I had quite a few questions for him that he was kind enough to get back to me on:

Jimmo's Angle: What got you into wrestling?

Chris: I think my Gramp used to record WCW in the early hours of the morning for me. My first real memory was seeing a match between Nailz and British Bulldog while my dad was flicking through the satellite channels. I asked if we could watch it and I then became a fan. The first big show I remember was Summerslam 92; shortly after that WWF did a world tour where they held a show in the Westpoint Arena, Exeter. Me, my brother, best friends and dads went to watch. There were some massive stars there: Legion of Doom; Shawn Michaels; Bret Hart; Yokozuna - all the big names except The Undertaker, which I remember being disappointed about; I wasn't really old enough to appreciate it, though.

How long have you been wrestling for?

9 years

Who trained you? Where did you find out about wrestling training?

I was trained by the UK Kid in 2005 at the VPW School of Excellence in Portsmouth. I knew I wanted to start training for a long time before I managed to start full-time. I did a few weekend camps at FWA [Frontier Wrestling Alliance] etc. Then a small school started in Exeter where we were trained by guest trainers each week, one of them was The UK Kid. He saw potential in about six of us including my brother Sam and close friend Joel Redman [WWE/NXT's Oliver Grey] and took us to Portsmouth to start full-time training.

How long did you train before being 'show ready'?

I was lucky really as I was a fairly gifted athlete growing up so found the physical side natural and seemed to pick up the movements and timing quickly. I think Tom (UK Kid) took us up there at the beginning of March and I did my first match on a show in May.

Did you feel ready when you debuted?

I felt ready; I don’t know how ready you can be really. Like a lot of trainees, my first match was with my trainer so I could be pulled through it and made sure I got a good pasting throughout [laughs]. I remember wanting to know everything that was going to happen in the match and memorise the whole thing. You don’t really start to understand the psychology and drawing real crowd emotion until you work a lot of shows so I didn't really get why we couldn't just do that; its all part of learning.

Early memories?

I started working for All Star, wrestling a lot to start with and usually did either one, or both, of the Butlins Minehead shows each week. That was great experience for learning how to control the crowd and share a dressing room with some very experienced veterans. I was lucky enough to wrestle some great talent very early in my career, one of which was against Daniel Bryan. The massive one for me (due to him coming off WWF TV/being in TNA at that time) was Billy Gunn. It was such a big opportunity for any wrestler let alone someone with only a few months experience in wrestling.

Impressively suplexing Dave Mastiff

What companies have you worked for?

I don’t think I could list them all but VPW (Varsity Pro Wrestling), RQW (Real Quality Wrestling), All Star, Premier Promotions, Wrestling.IE (Ireland), DWA (Devon), Pro EVW, LDN, Pride Promotions, Kamikaze Pro, House of Pain: Evolution, Wrestleforce, PWA (Plymouth)...

What companies do you see as the best/most established in the UK?

All Star have been running for years and run shows everyday so they would still have to be considered most established.

Who would you like to work for that you haven't yet?

There are a few companies that have caught my eye. Unfortunately, everyone else also wants to work for them, too; they include PCW, ICW, Rev PRO and Southside.

You're now branching out more-and-more from the South-West; what factors do you give credit for this?

Getting rid of my fuel guzzling truck [laughs]. I guess it probably comes down to having more time for wrestling; the more shows you do, the more people see you and the more shows you get offered. I drastically cut down my bookings around 2009 to free up some time to build a house for myself. I couldn't afford to take time off work for this so my evenings and weekends were pretty much taken up by it. It was a hard decision but I had to think about the future and there are no guarantees with wrestling. I was still able to squeeze in some shows but it was more like one-a-month or a small tour than the two-to-three shows a week I had been doing. When I finished the house I could get going again properly with wrestling.

Who are your closest friends in wrestling?

I don’t know if they would really be considered “in wrestling” as they were already my friends before and we got into wrestling together: my brother Sam Andrews and good friend Joel Redman. They are obviously both lifelong friends. The only other wrestlers I'm close to - who came to my wedding - are Nick Riley, PJ Jones and UK Dominator. I met them in about 2009 through Joel. I have recently been travelling with Iestyn Rees a lot, and have been joined by Nick [Riley] and Chris [Walker] (collectively, The Magnums), and Charlie Garrett who are all good company. I remain good friends with Tom (The UK Kid), too.

What are your ambitions in UK wrestling?

Mainly to enjoy it; it's hard to say something like “to make a good living from it” as the money isn’t really there in Britain at the moment.

What are your ambitions in wrestling overall?

I would love to think I could make a good living from it. As I said before the money isn’t really there to do that in England so it would really mean moving overseas. I still want to give it a go and definitely won't write it off.

Biggest achievement to date?

Being asked to go to WWE try-outs and being invited back. Also, obtaining work in wrestling overseas.

What established wrestlers have you competed against?

Billy Gunn, Bob Holly and D'lo Brown (for VPW), Daniel Bryan and Sheamus (for All Star), and Kid Kash (for PWA) would be the most well-known due to them working with WWE. I have also been lucky enough to work with top British talent such as James Mason, Doug Williams and Karl Kramer.

You're wrestling TNA's Gunner soon; what are your thoughts on that?

Yes, that’s for a show in Plymouth for PWA on Sunday 4^th May. I'm really looking forward to it! Anytime you get to work with someone who has made it into a good position in the business can only be a good thing. He looks like a big, tough guy so should be good. On that show I am also looking forward to being introduced by Duke Nukem [laughs] - Jon St. John is doing the MCing who did the voice for the video-game.

• TNA's Gunner's message to Chris Andrews (link)

As I've said before, Chris is a top talent in the UK. Maybe his name hasn't reached as far as it should have by now but that will surely change the more people get a chance to see him perform. He has the look and experience that should be used on more shows across the country. He has had great opportunities against some big names that have been stars and are currently plying their trade in the biggest organisation in the world (WWE).

If you would like to know and see more then look out for him on local shows, Facebook and Twitter (@chris84shark)...

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

My Weekend of (British) Wrestling 30 - Pro Wrestling Chaos

Saturday 12th April 2014 - Pro Wrestling Chaos ' Triple Threat' - Filton Community Centre, Bristol

The 30th weekend of (British) wrestling saw me head down Bristol-way with MC Hank McCoy for another potentially top night of British wrestling at Pro Wrestling Chaos. The last show that I attended for Chaos was really pleasing and this looked like being no different as there were more wrestlers on the card with the added bonus of more talent on show. The main event would see a first-time-ever match with the triple threat between Mark Andrews, Eddie Dennis and Pete Dunne. That alone was a mouthwatering prospect as these are three of the biggest and brightest stars in the UK.

The night would start off with a tag team match as local favourites Dave Mercy and Alex Steele would take on the sleazy, sweaty Magnums (Chris Walker and Dick Riley). This was the first time that I'd seen The Magnums in a while and that realisation disappoints me; unfortunately whenever I've gone to a show they've been booked elsewhere?! Nothing has changed as far as they go, though - they still get the huge reactions from audiences with their drawn-out entrance that gives them time to connect with the fans and get inside their heads. Now their routine has added the bonus of being a little more aggressive. I like this; as much as they are funny a lot of the time, it's nice that, as heels, they've adopted a more aggressive side as it makes it easier to hate them. It's nice that instead of kind-of hating them AND laughing at them, the aggression means that you can hate them as is intended.

The next two matches didn't get my full attention due to outside factors and this also disappoints me as I was really looking forward to the 'Flash' Morgan Webster vs Damian Dunne match. These guys were two-thirds of the previous shows MOTN and from everything I've seen of them in the past, this was bound to be a top match. From the glimpses that I did see, it was flowing and exciting, with Dunne gaining the victory. 'Wild Boar' Mike Hitchman would also defeat Kay Jutler before the interval.

T-Bone

The second half would have my full attention and started with a hard-hitting, heavyweight bout between Jeckel and T-Bone. Although Jeckel was clearly the heel (based on the last show and his reaction this time out), it could've been seen as a heel vs heel match as T-Bone didn't give too much indication that he was to be cheered on arrival! Luckily, he's a guy that doesn't need to do much to get the appropriate reaction. Credit should be given to Jeckel, too, as he continually goaded the Filton crowd and made them hate him even more; this made T-Bone's job easier as being the one to shut him up. Two things that are worth noting from this match were the 'salad dodger' chant that was directed at Jeckel, as well as my assessment of T-Bone's face routine: two claps from him was all it took to get the audience to join in and get behind him. Simple but effective! This match also drew the loudest responses from the crowd at that point of the show.

The penultimate match saw the always entertaining Wild Galleons (yes, I say that after just two times of seeing them!) defending their places at Pro Wrestling Chaos against Gideon and his henchman 'Killbain'. It seems that Gideon's plan is to rid Pro Wrestling Chaos of the Galleons; picking them off one by one. They already have the 'scalp' of The Kraken and this time around they were looking to take out Roger The Cabin Boy. After a dominant display, which saw both Roger and Captain Dick both take a hell of a beating, The Doomsday Killers (Gideon and Killbain's collective name) picked up the win over Roger before abducting him, leaving Captain Dick alone moving forward. I also felt the hard chop that Roger took from Gideon at one point in the match, too... ouch!

The main event was next up and would have extra attractions added to it. Not only were we going to see three of the top talents in British wrestling but we would see championships, too. I'm still undecided about how I feel about having other wrestling promotions titles on your show, but I suppose it's a nice touch and in some ways gives an extra feeling of importance to the match.

This would be announced as an Attack! Pro Wrestling 24/7 Championship match pitting the champion Pete Dunne against Mark Andrews against new Triple X Wrestling Champion Eddie Dennis (also sporting his belt for this contest). I have to admit that I firmly believed that Dunne would retain his championship due to it being from another promotion... I'm happy that I was wrong. Mark Andrews would capture the title after a fine finishing sequence: Dunne performed a German Suplex on Dennis and, a split second later, Andrews would land a Shooting Star Press on Dunne (whilst he was still on the mat). This match was easily the Match of the Night due to the flow, excitement and combinations of moves throughout.

Results

• The Magnums ('Filthy' Chris Walker & 'Dirty' Dick Riley) defeated Dave Mercy and Alex Steele
• Damian Dunne defeated 'Flash' Morgan Webster
• 'Wild Boar' Mike Hitchman defeated 'The Male Model' Kay Jutler
• Jeckel defeated T-Bone
• The Doomsday Killers (Gideon & Killbain) defeated The Wild Galleons (Captain Dick Morgan & Roger The Cabin Boy)
• ATTACK! Pro Wrestling 24/7 Championship: Mark Andrews defeated 'Dynamite' Pete Dunne (c) and Eddie Dennis (Triple X Wrestling Champion) to become NEW champion (MOTN)

Overall, a really nice show. Six matches with some top UK talent that is testament to how well this young promotion is doing. This is only their fifth show and they already have cards with guys like Mark Andrews, Pete Dunne and Eddie Dennis headlining AND putting on top class, exciting matches. It should be noted that the venue was a new one for Pro Wrestling Chaos and as a result I don't think that the Filton locals were schooled in how to react to certain things. Luckily, the entire cast of wrestlers and MC Hank McCoy know how to give the right pointers to get them to participate in the appropriate way - I'd give credit to McCoy's night-long enthusiasm and determination to keep the audience's attention as well as The Magnums, Jeckel, and the main event guys (as well as all on the show) for giving this audience a good starting point to wrestling shows.

I have no doubt that this venue will be a great venue to come back to. I can't put my finger on it yet, but Pro Wrestling Chaos offers something that the Bristol area WANTS and that's great for them, the fans and British wrestling's reach.

Check out Pro Wrestling Chaos' Facebook and Twitter pages for more, and up-to-date information... definitely a show you should go and see!

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

My Weekend of (British) Wrestling 29 - PROGRESS: Chapter 12

Sunday 29th March 2014 - PROGRESS Wrestling - Chapter 12: 'We're Gonna Need A Bigger Room' - Electric Ballroom, Camden Town

Leading up to this event I had an unusually high level of excitement. With PROGRESS' ascending level of popularity and reputation this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, but for people that know me, a high level of excitement for anything BEFORE it happens is very rare. I'm more the kind of person that is excited when that particular event; whether it be a holiday, party, show, whatever; actually starts. That way I can brace myself for any disappointment there might be. Somewhat negative, but there you go!

This show, on the other hand, just COULDN'T disappoint... from everything I'd seen (thanks to Ref Paz lending me previous show DVDs) and everything I'd heard (Ref Paz giving them great praise), along with the great looking card, there was just not going to be any disappointment at all.

The show started and we were welcomed by MC/Co-owner/Comedian Jim Smallman. I'd already seen Smallman on the PROGRESS DVDs that I'd been leant and understood his popularity and connection with the PROGRESS faithful. This guy is SO over with the crowd like nothing that I've ever seen before. As well as the audience being completely into the show before it even started, Smallman had the easy job of getting them even more ravenous before the first match!

That first match would see two guys that I'm not that familiar with but are clearly VERY popular with the PROGRESS crowd; Tommy End and Paul Robinson. This was a hard-hitting affair and a really great opener. It's unusual for me to see a face-vs-face opener and the fans be SO into it but already I could tell that I was part of a very different, and special, kind of audience than I'm used to.

The second match would be a unification match pitting Grado (equipped with his Bumbag Championship) going up against Mad Man Manson (with his Balls). This was, as expected, pure comedy from start to finish with a comedy staredown at the start to purposely-botched spots to add to the hilarity. I can imagine that some old-school wrestling fans would hate this mockery of wrestling but these guys (and this type of match) have a place on shows - ESPECIALLY with a smart crowd such as this one. The bottom line here is that this match was highly entertaining - with the standout moment being Grado and Manson performing the Titanic tribute in the corner. Grado would unify his Bumbag title with Manson's Balls after delivering a Rock Bottom, Stone Cold Stunner AND a Pedigree for good measure.

Match three saw a Natural Progression series bout between Will Ospreay and Liverpool's Zack Gibson. Again, I wasn't too familiar with either guy beforehand but Ospreay, in particular, really impressed me. AGAIN, he was hugely popular with the PROGRESS crowd.

In the fourth match a rivalry would come to a violent end (?) as The Bhangra Knights would take on long-time nemeses The London Riots in a Street Fight. Things got out of hand in the early going as RJ Singh took a hard kendo stick shot to the back. The Riots dominated for a large chunk of the match before the tide turned briefly. But, after laptops, road signs, keyboards and crutches, The Riots would get the win and leave the Bhangras laying helpless in the middle of the ring.

During the interval, Jim Smallman would continue to work tirelessly to entertain and please the show-goers by suggesting that he and fellow PROGRESS owner, Glen Joseph go around ALL of the fans and do Ellen-inspired-Oscar-selfies. Huge credit should go to both of them, as well as third owner, Jon Briley, for giving the fans every bit of them throughout the day.

After this pick-me-up, and also contributing to a DVD extra, the Camden crowd were ready for the second half of the show which started with the crowning of first-ever PROGRESS Tag Team Champions as F.S.U (Mark Andrews & Eddie Dennis) took on Screw Indy Wrestling's Mark Haskins and Nathan Cruz and Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby). For me this was the match of the night. There was so many great sequences between the three in the ring (various combinations) as well as double and triple team moves. Two standout moments (amongst MANY) saw Eddie Dennis deliver a Samoan Drop AND a Fallaway Slam simultaneously to Travis and Haskins, and a moment of madness when all six guys would take each other out with stiff punches and kicks.

The match would finish when Andrews and Dennis would combine to become the FIRST holders of the Tag Team Championship - and as PROGRESS don't do things the conventional way, the championships wouldn't be belts, but instead a SHIELD; two halves (one for each wrestler) that combine to make up one complete piece with the PROGRESS emblem on the front. Different and refreshing.

The sixth, and penultimate match of the evening would be a match that I had looked forward to since seeing the card - Doug Williams vs 'The Bastard' Dave Mastiff. It's with regret that I say that this didn't live up to my expectations. It was a hard-hitting, SLOW affair. Maybe a little too slow at times. Something that also took away from the match was Nathan Cruz' valet getting involved (ultimately leading to her getting Powerbombed by Mastiff). I realise that this sets something up in the future between Cruz and Mastiff, but it would have been nice to see both guys really go at it without interference. There were definitely positives to this match, though; Williams schooling, and getting the better of Mastiff early on was funny to see, and the everything-shattering Cannonball delivered by Mastiff to get the win was a sight to see, too.

The main event of the evening would see a Fatal Four Way for the PROGRESS Championship; hated champion Jimmy Havoc would have to overcome the odds of three men trying to take the title away from him. Marty Scurll, El Ligero and Rampage Brown would all get their chance to inflict pain and violence on him throughout this match.

After seeing previous DVDs, I knew that Havoc was despised by the PROGRESS fans as well as having a very personal feud with Jim Smallman. Everything about this feud and the fans investment in it is just another positive for this company; to have the fans foaming at the mouth in this way is genius and so different to a lot of other shows in the country.

This match saw absolutely NO punches pulled. Credit to Havoc as he took a tremendous amount of pain throughout, being thrown into chairs multiple times, being hit with chairs and taking some really stiff-looking moves, most notably the powerbombs (and later Piledrivers) from Rampage Brown. All guys gave everything before Havoc would steal the win over Scurll at the expense of Brown.

Andrews confronted Havoc ahead of their rematch at Chapter 13

Results

• 'The Anti-Hero' Tommy End defeated 'Mr Wrestling' Paul Robinson
• Bumbag Championship/Balls Unification Match: Grado (c) defeated Mad Man Manson
• Natural Progression Series Match: 'Liverpool's No. 1' Zack Gibson defeated 'The Aerial Assassin' Will Ospreay w/ Paul Robinson
• Street Fight: The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) defeated The Bhangra Knights (RJ Singh & Darrell Allen)
• Inaugural Tag Team Championship: F.S.U (Mark Andrews & 'The Pride of Wales' Eddie Dennis) defeated Screw Indy Wrestling ('The Star Attraction' Mark Haskins & 'The Showstealer' Nathan Cruz) and Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) to become FIRST EVER Tag Team Champions MOTN
• 'The Bastard' Dave Mastiff defeated Doug Williams
• PROGRESS Championship: Jimmy Havoc (c) defeated 'Party' Marty Scurll, Rampage Brown and 'The Mexican Sensation' El Ligero

Wow. Overall, the best wrestling show that I've ever been to. And that isn't a negative to any other promotion that I've been to - PROGRESS just raised the bar for me when it comes to wrestling shows and it's due to two things:

• Jim Smallman: I briefly met Jim before the show and he seemed a really nice guy who CARES about his wrestling and his wrestling show. I've said this recently about another promoter, and it kind of seems an obvious statement, but not only it came across to me that Jim cared then, but throughout the show he conveyed his passion and commitment to the PROGRESS cause by performing and being a part of a hugely entertaining day/evening of British wrestling. He also MC'd the show... now, I'm used to the traditional MC (a la [my pal] Hank McCoy) but Jim brings something completely different. He doesn't dress like your typical MC and he doesn't have the usual mannerisms of your typical wrestling show MC. What he does have is one hell of a connection with his audience. They LOVE him and he loves them. I don't know if this is the main reason the fans are so passionate at these shows (apart from the 100% effort from the wrestlers) but it MUST be part of the reason.

  

  Jim Smallman

• The fans: The biggest credit of all goes to the fans. Yes, the wrestlers put on one hell of a show and Jim, Glen and John have done an absolutely fantastic job of getting PROGRESS to where it is today, but the fans are something else... before the show even started, they were READY. They were ready for their heroes, and they were ready to give Jimmy Havoc, The London Riots and whoever else they didn't like the abuse that they deserved; and why not? they paid for their tickets so why not make the afternoon as memorable as possible. The chants were epic and hilarious throughout, latching onto anything that could be chanted. Even the refs (Paz and Chris Roberts) seem to have a great connection with the audience as they mock them in the nicest possible way! 

One other thing of note was about the PROGRESS t-shirts. The one I bought was the Ramones-style shirt, and it's not hard to see why fans climb over each other to get one. It's a great looking shirt that highlights PROGRESS and wrestling itself. I couldn't help but feel that it's free advertising for the company outside of shows - fans (myself included) can wear the shirt with pride. Ultimately, more attention for this great, growing company!

If you would like to know more information about PROGRESS wrestling (and TRY to get tickets for future shows) then please regularly visit:

• Progress Wrestling Facebook page 
• Progress Wrestling Twitter page 
• progresswrestling.com 

 Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

Jimmo's Angle Special: Review of 'Supermen: A Story of British Wrestlers'

Last week, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak of Supermen: A Story of British Wrestlers, a documentary film by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, looking at what wrestlers go through in their careers. It consists of many interviews with British wrestlers and explores their varying opinions on a range of significant topics.

Throughout this film, there are interviews with veterans such as Danny Boy Collins, Robbie Brookside and Dave Finlay as well as young, up-and-comers Joel Redman, Rockstar Spud and Marty Scurll. This was a really impressive thing for me as not only was there a great mix of old and young, but nearly two years after the filming of this documentary, some of these gentlemen have gone onto big things; Joel Redman has since been signed to a developmental deal with the WWE, Spud has made an impact in TNA in the last few months, Scurll has been on TNA's reality show British Boot Camp as well as an appearance on ITV's Take Me Out, and Brookside is now a trainer for WWE's NXT developmental system. Good choices by the makers of this film!

There are many themes and topics looked at in great detail in this film including why they got into the business, injuries, strain on family life and relationships. The subject that really interested me most was the comments made about training. There are very polarising views on this subject as the veterans admit that times have changed with regards to who can train, whilst the younger wrestlers concede that there aren't as many veterans around to learn from anymore.

I, like many other reviewers, don't want to give too much away here. So I'll keep this brief and say that if you are a part of the British wrestling scene or a fan, then this documentary is definitely for you. I'd like to think that it could give a good representation of British wrestling to outsiders, too; maybe it could even change some attitudes of ignorant, 'wrestling's fake isn't it?' people if they gave this film a chance. They could then understand the sacrifices that the wrestlers make in order to entertain us every weekend.

One of the many things this film highlights, that maybe none of us remember sometimes, is that these guys are regular people like me and you: They hurt mentally and physically at various times; they have families; they have dreams and are passionate about something; ultimately, they need to make a living (for those that do it full-time).

This film is available on www.supermenfilm.co.uk from Saturday 5th April (the day before Wrestlemania XXX). I urge you to take a look at it and spread the word of this thought-provoking documentary film.

Other links:

• Supermen Film Facebook page
• Supermen Film Twitter page

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

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!

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

Jimmo's Angle Special: Interview: Promoters and their Priorities (Part Two)

Part Two: Booking talent and Ambitions

This is the second part of my interview with three experienced promoters on the UK wrestling scene - Ben Auld (Southside), Dave Sharp (4FW) and Stuart Natt (CSF) - who kindly took the time out to respond to some questions that I felt would interest people with regards to promoting shows in the UK.

In this second part, I asked them what their priorities were with regards to booking talent and I finished off by asking about their ambitions for 2014 and beyond:

Jimmo's Angle: What things do you look for in a wrestler prior to booking them? (UK based or International)

Ben: Well in the UK the talent speaks for itself. Quite simply, I want to book the best and won't book anything less.

International talent; I look for two things and hope a guy/girl ticks both the boxes. Firstly, I want them to help me draw [attract] fans; they need to be able to entertain our fans. More importantly, they need to help elevate our guys. I believe my roster are on a par with the international talent and my thinking is how it will help them look like the superstars that they deserve to be.

Dave: Many things. To be honest, when I book people I compare them to my local lads that I have trained and see what they can potentially add that my lads don’t to the event. And believe me, the bar at 4FW is set very, very high. I look for attitudes in talent; are they here just to collect an easy pay day? Attire; does it look professional? Do they look like a professional wrestler or at least an athlete? Most importantly though, is whether they want to and/or can they help out my younger lads? Many, many things come into play.

Stuart: I look for lots of things. Some pros can be the best in-ring worker you've seen in years, but sometimes if they lack a decent gimmick it's all in vain. Then again, the fact they could wrestle all day long and you wouldn't see them use the same move twice is a brilliant gimmick in itself. Again, 'Something for everyone', so you have to look at the whole show and get the balance just right to keep people's attention for two and a half hours.

Another important thing is making sure anyone you bring in has a decent attitude so backstage is lively, fun, yet still a professional environment; that's very important! Being a team player is of huge importance; no place for anyone out for themselves and, in the process, damaging the card. You have to pull together as a team and help everyone to get over and leave the venue looking strong ready for the next event there.

JA: What benefits do you think there are in booking international talent? Ultimately, is the cost worth it?

Ben: There are lots of 'pros'. Two of the most important are that they help elevate my talent and my company.

The 'cons' are the cost and risk involved; the stress levels are a lot higher and if things go wrong then fans can be very disappointed.

Dave: There are many benefits to booking International talent, especially if it is someone who has travelled all over the world and can pass on knowledge. My main focus is to bring international talent over that can help benefit my crew; bringing over Dick Togo and Ultimo Dragon, for example, helped open more doors than I could've ever imagined. I always ensure a seminar is arranged with the talent as well to ensure all my students get to learn from them.

The 'pros'; depending on the name, that 'star' can generate big ticket sales, DVD sales and other merchandise and most importantly to me, help the young lads that come through the 4FW Academy.

The 'cons'; depends on who the talent is, to be honest. I’ve only really had one talent that put a massive downer on international talent for me. Apart from that, I haven’t had many issues to thinks about the cons of bringing international talent over. The cost is worth it for me; I’m not sure what anyone else does but I have a good thing in place which means it benefits me, 4FW, and the students greatly.

Stuart: Quite a tricky question. We've had the 'super shows' with half a dozen, if not more, imports.

Obviously these were received very well and, by all accounts, were great shows. But maybe that type of event has had it's time and has been and gone. With there being lots (and lots) of amazing talents in the UK we certainly don't need to rely on imports to draw a crowd. Look at the numbers some UK-only name shows draw. The Scottish scene, for example, has grown so quickly and they've created their own stars, something which is very important for not only the gate, but the future of the sport in the coming years.

I use the imports as a 'thank you' to my regular fans. Obviously I need to cover their costs, but rather than rely on them to draw, I take them to regular venues which already draw very well as a nod to the customers who attend all the shows there regardless who is on, as they know they are going to have a great night whoever is appearing. Last year I had Sabu on a card, this year I have Chris Masters in a couple of months. In my early days, the imports certainly helped to draw new fans, then it was my job to keep those customers coming back each time regardless of the card.

JA: What are your ambitions for 2014 and beyond?

Ben: I believe we have cemented ourselves as one of the best promotions in the UK and I fully intend on taking us to even higher levels. We have spent more money on production and I believe our set-up is now one of the best in England. However, I still think we can improve.

Dave: Continue to grow as a person, business man and as a company. To learn more and more about business; not just the ‘wrestling business’, but wrestling AND business in general. Rebranding the entire product (which is currently well under way). Bring more students through my academy that add to the very high standard that exists. Run more events; I’m looking to be in charge of the company that sets the bar in United Kingdom Professional Wrestling.

Stuart: 2014 ambitions are simple: add a few new venues, keep my regular customers happy and to keep presenting good quality entertainment.

Jimmo's Angle: I really hope that wannabe promoters have been given, at least, a small idea about promoting from this interview. Like with the training interview that I conducted, I really hope that it will deter people who have no business running shows, as well as those that think that by watching WWE or whatever promotion, that it's easy to run a show themselves. Please be warned that it takes experience, dedication, (a lot of) money and risk to maintain a well run, successful, profitable wrestling promotion. As much as I may be 'small fry' on the British wrestling scene, I really hope that this (and part one of this article) can help people to make the right decisions and, in however small a way, STOP them from attempting to start something that could cost them a lot in several aspects of their lives.

I'd like to thank the three gentlemen; Ben, Dave and Stuart; for their time. They are three examples of how promoting wrestling shows is done in this country and I am excited to get myself along to their shows at some point in the next few months.

Each of their answers were a joy to read and enlightened me a little more on my journey watching British wrestling shows.

For upcoming events and general news, please visit:

• Southside Wrestling Facebook Page
• 4FW Facebook Page
• www.csfwrestling.co.uk

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

Jimmo's Angle Special: Interview: Promoters and their Priorities (Part One)

Part One: History and Show Priorities

On the back of 'The Importance of Training' interview that I conducted with three respected British wrestlers (Iestyn Rees, Gilligan Gordon and UK Dominator) last month, I wanted to tackle another aspect of British wrestling that deserves attention - Promoting. Similarly to the training that one should undertake to become a wrestler, the same dedication and know-how should be applied if someone wants to attempt to run a successful, profitable wrestling promotion.

I'm going to more and more shows and as time has gone on I'm finding that, as with the training aspect of wrestling being important, so too is making sure that a wrestling show is put on in the correct manner.

Something I've always hated about the big leagues in America (WWE) is that all decisions are made with the interest of making the most money. As much as I hate this fact (because at times it gets in the way of sense and logic), it makes complete sense to do... as much as you want to put on a great show for the fans, paying the bills and covering the costs that add up along the way are more important when planning a wrestling event.

To get an idea of a Promoter's mindset, and what is important to them from show to show, I was fortunate to get feedback from three experienced promoters on the UK scene: Ben Auld (Southside), Dave Sharp (4FW) and Stuart Natt (CSF). These gentlemen took time out of their busy schedules to give me an idea of their priorites.

Part one (of two) will focus on each man's history in wrestling as well as their priorities with regards to preparing for an upcoming show:

Jimmo's Angle: What is your wrestling background? What is your connection to your current promotion?

Ben: As a fan, the first event I ever watched was Wrestlemania 7; loved the Ted Dibiase/Virgil match for the amazing storyline; Boss Man vs. Perfect, and of course Warrior vs. Savage... I was hooked straight away.

The transition from fan to promoter started when I went to a TNA show in Coventry where I met a guy who told me all about 1PW, so in April 2009 I travelled to Doncaster to try it out. Again, I was hooked straight away. Funnily enough I was amazed at Project Ego and El Ligero who have all become good friends of mine. I started to go to more and more British shows and eighteen months after my first Britwres show I ran my very first show.

I have now been running for over three years, have run thirty-five shows in St Neots, Over, Huntingdon, Stevenage, Letchworth, Preston and Nottingham. We have used talent from America, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan.

Dave: I have been a fan of professional wrestling since the age of six, so for twenty-six years wrestling has been in my life. I’ve never stopped watching or wanting to be involved in some capacity since the day I saw my first match.

I started training to be a wrestler in 2001, where I attended several of the UK Hammerlock sessions and a few of the weekend camps. A local promotion opened the doors nearby and I started attending the sessions on a weekly basis. I haven’t wrestled for around three years now due to injuries and becoming a father and priorities changing.

4FW came about because of several reasons which I don’t really feel the need to get into as everyone has moved on from the things that have happened from ten years ago and I would hate to bring anything up that might rub someone up the wrong way. For the first year I wasn’t the promoter of 4FW but in year two myself and James Dunn took the promotion over and ran it together until October 2012, when James decided to step away from promoting and I now run 4FW on my own.

Stuart: I always attended every wrestling event in the area, from the age of about seven. I'd make my dad take me to all the events from my home town and up to seventy-odd miles away. I used to attend events on a regular basis in Bath, Bristol, Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth (as the family have a house on the harbour next to the Pavilion, so I could go watch the show, sleep and travel back seventy miles to school the next morning).

I didn't miss an episode of World of Sport / ITV Wrestling, either; started watching when I was five or six and still have dozens of Betamax tapes as I recorded it every week. When we upgraded to VHS I happily spent my youth filling hundreds of tapes with WOS and the NWA Worldwide shows that used to air in the early hours.

Over the years I went to hundreds of shows and after a while got invited along to training, I was 16 I think. Not going to mention any names as I don't want to give them any publicity, but looking back it was the sh*ts! After a short while I got put on shows - some good, some bad. I was lucky enough to meet the Noble brothers, Andy and Steve. They ran decent shows and held weekly training sessions; this is where I realised how shit it was where I was and how good things should be. It just made me more passionate. A couple years passed and I just pulled out and opened up CSF in my home town. I did it because I care about the state of wrestling and wanted something better in the area. What was here was a joke so I started out on my own to run those who were already here out.

JA: What are your main priorities (business-wise) when organising a show?

Ben: My main priority is to deliver to the fans and make money. But I will never put money before quality, if I ever have to do that I will quit. I have worked my b*llocks off to garner the rep we have. Luckily, we have built a really good fan base who trust us to always deliver. What a lot of fans don't understand is there are many ways to make money from wrestling so we work hard on DVD sales and merchandise. If our shows are great and only break-even on the door, then we still have other avenues to profit from.

Dave: Book dates with venues with plenty of notice. Promote, present my business well, promote some more and make money. Come show day I know I have put everything into it promoting-wise, so my priorities then turn to ensuring that what I have advertised is what I present in the most professional way possible.

Stuart: CSF is fifteen years old. At first, my priority was to drive the sh*te out of the area. Within my first year I had held three events in my home town and branched out to another venue an hour away. Within a couple of years I had five or so regular venues, all doing well and attracting big crowds. The events were big; I used a cage gimmick and had big production. I had Jake ['The Snake'] Roberts with us for a year; he behaved quite well! Plus Honky Tonk Man, so I guess it was more about the 'wow!' factor back then, bringing these huge events in each venue three times a year and going all out.

My priority now, as it was when I started, is to put on the very best all-round show - 'something for everyone' - it's fine jumping off cages and having the Americano glamour, but you will always need some good ol' rasslin on the card.

As time passed, I became more aware of my budget in each venue and had to cater for very different audiences. I have two children now so I can no longer p*ss the money away, I have to set a budget, work with it and generate a profit, something which can be very difficult in some towns.

JA: What tools and ways do you use to promote your shows?

Ben: I use Facebook, Twitter, fan forums, posters, leaflets, newspapers; it's always hard to judge what is most effective but if I had to choose one thing it would probably be Facebook.

Dave: Presentable and professional looking posters is priority number one. Along with banners and sometimes newspaper adverts, anywhere and everywhere I can advertise my product for free, social media, forums, websites, etc. Flyers are not high on the list as it is very hit-and-miss on whether you actually hit the market you are aiming for.

Stuart: I've always felt the best way to promote the next show is during the [current] show. Nice gee-up for the next event's feature attraction, tease a few of the other up-coming bouts and rotate the stars.

In lots of venues we use a video wall so during the interval we can show videos of future events and plug the dates. I am also a big user of local media; local websites, newspapers and radio. After that, obvious things like posters and door-to-doors. Obviously the last couple of years has seen a huge increase with the use of social media as an advertising tool. This is growing and becoming very important; an easy and affordable way of staying visible.

Jimmo's Angle: I would like to thank all three gentlemen for their time and responses to my questions. in the next part of this interview, Ben, Dave and Stuart will discuss what is important to them with regards to booking talent and their ambitions in wrestling.

In the meantime, please check out the Facebook pages and Twitter accounts of all three promotions and get along to a show...

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

My Weekend of (British) Wrestling 27 - Kamikaze Pro 'Project K'

Saturday 8th March 2014 - Kamikaze Pro presents 'Project K' - Cadbury Club, Bourneville, Birmingham

My aim of going to a range of shows this year continued as I went to my first Kamikaze Pro show of 2014 - Project K. On paper, the card looked really good with UK talents Pete Dunne, Eddie Dennis and T-Bone being joined by a couple of imports from America, ROH (Ring of Honour) TV Champion Tommaso Ciampa and former WWE star Trent Barreta.

Former WWE star Trent Barreta

Now, to a lot of people, these two gentlemen were probably the 'draws' and who people had flocked along to see. For me, the likes of Pete Dunne, Justin [The Hammer] Sysum and The Bhangra Knights were who I'd travelled up to Birmingham for. These are the guys that I'm more familiar with and KNOW what they can do consistently. That being said, I take nothing away from Ciampa and Barreta as they had great matches and made their respective opponents - Dennis and Dunne - look even better than they already are.

Also, going into this show, I was very interested in seeing Battle Squad: Awesome. I'd never seen them before but had heard good things. Earlier this year, along with the support of Harvey Dale, they have managed to get a huge number of votes and secure a PCW (Preston) tag title shot. This got me thinking that there must be something about them worth seeing.

I wasn't wrong, as the second match on the card saw The Bhangra Knights face them in a 'face vs face' match. This was something that really worked as there was a lot of talking amongst them; RJ Singh and Dave Andrews had a comedic exchange, accepting that they weren't going to match the speed and excitement that their tag partners had just displayed moments earlier; being a face vs face match, there was also no need to sneak up on each other to gain an advantage. As a result, you knew that you were going to get a straight-up 'who's the best team' match - this is exactly what we got.

Usually, my uncontrollable smile face is reserved for James Mason shows, but this match had me grinning from ear to ear because of the flow and the tag team work that was on show - I really appreciated the tandem work that both teams put in. I'm just a sucker for proper tag teams who look alike (character and attire) so this match ticked all boxes.

As I started this segment about Battle Squad: Awesome, I'll finish it with them: I don't know much about them but I gather their gimmick is that it's an Avengers tribute with Andrews as Captain America and Chase as Iron Man (due to their tights). I've also checked them out on Twitter and they've also got the alter-ego thing as well. I LOVE that! As my journeys will take me further north in the coming months, I really hope to see these guys more (maybe in Southside or House of Pain?).

After four paragraphs on my favourite match of the night, I should say something about the rest of the show! The first half really worked for me; Justin Sysum and T-Bone were in the opening match and this was something that I knew wouldn't fail as I like to refer to T-Bone as the 'king of the openers'; along with James Mason, Bone can't have a bad match when opening the show. Along with the audience being into this show from the start, Bone and Justin put on a nice little opener that had the audience giving the appropriate reactions throughout. Job done. After speaking with Justin after the show, YES there did seem to be a couple of mistakes, but I've got no doubt at all that he'll work on them and improve as he has done for well over a year now!

The main event of the first half of the show saw a ROH TV Championship match with 'Pride of Wales' Eddie Dennis challenging Tommaso Ciampa for his title. I thought this was a nice touch by Kamikaze/Ciampa for allowing this (or whatever permissions were needed) as it gave the show a little more importance that a title from the USA could be showcased over here. Along with the spitting on the belt (by Dennis) and the derogatory comments made about ROH (again, by Dennis), it all added to a heated brawl between the two and a really nice back-and-forth match that ended with the (somewhat predictable) win for Ciampa, AND the further elevation of Dennis.

ROH TV Champion Tommaso Ciampa

Dennis does the Wales/Sheepsh*gger denial thing and because of it he is comedy and entertaining everytime I've seen him on shows!

Just after the interval, things took a slower pace leading into the main event of the evening. First up was Stixx (heel) taking on Birmingham's own Rick Van Damage.

I really like both guys, but despite this being a, kind of, battle of the heavyweights, it didn't quite flow that well. I was expecting Stixx to carry this match as he's the more experienced of the two and that was definitely the case. I've only seen Van Damage a handful of times in the last year but there seems to be the same issues that I've always had with him; he's kind of stiff looking and robotic at times. He could also do with cracking a smile, too, as if he's the face (and our hero), then we need a friendly face to cheer for. I really hope that this is taken in a constructive way as I hate giving what can sometimes be seen as negative comments.

Also on this night, the Kamikaze Pro Championship was also defended as the popular Robbie X challenged Ryan Smile. This started with a really nice, flowing exchange before the pace would drop just a little. The one thing that I couldn't get past was that towards the end, there were a couple of instances where Smile kind of no-sold a couple of moves and a chop from Robbie X before gaining the win convincingly. I'm not too big on Smile in the couple of times that I've seen him, but a huge positive that I will say is the intensity he showed in the last thirty seconds of this match before getting the pinfall. It was an intensity from a guy that WANTED to defend his title successfully. This impressed me.

The main event of the show pitted Birmingham's own 'Dynamite' Pete Dunne against former WWE star Trent Barreta. As I said earlier, Barreta wasn't the thing that sold the show to me before I came, Pete Dunne, however, WAS one of the things that made the trip up to Birmingham more than worth it; I'd already seen Dunne take on Zack Sabre Jr at a Triple X Wrestling show in January and it was amazing.

'Dynamite' Pete Dunne

Barreta vs Dunne would be a great match for a different reason, though. Yes, the wrestling aspect was faultless, but it was the story of the match that impressed me the most.

The start of the match was a friendly, respect-showing exercise; shaking hands and even hugging-it-out, too - this got a really good reaction. Then for the first half of the match it was a solid 'face vs face' match before frustration set in. Barreta would show more of more signs of annoyance as Dunne matched him move-for-move. The line of the match, and the thing that shifted Barreta from face to heel was when he screamed at Pete, "you think you're in my league?". This set the tone for the rest of the match as Barreta threw everything at Dunne and he kept kicking out and coming back for more. Eventually, Dunne would get the win, a hug and the respect of his American counterpart. Equals and rightly so.

I really love it when guys come to this country and 'do the right thing'; yes, they are the 'stars' but they should be here to make our guys - our EXTREMELY TALENTED guys - look that extra bit special. Credit to Ciampa and Barreta for doing so.

Results

• T-Bone defeated Justin 'The Hammer' Sysum (Justin was then attacked by Marshall X, setting up a future match between the two)
• The Bhangra Knights; RJ Singh & Darrell Allen defeated Battle Squad: Awesome; 'Diamond' Dave Andrews & 'Adrenaline' Danny Chase (MOTN)
• ROH Television Championship: Tommaso Ciampa (c) defeated 'Pride of Wales' Eddie Dennis
• 'The Heavyweight House of Pain' Stixx defeated Rick Van Damage
• Kamikaze Pro Championship: Ryan Smile (c) defeated Robbie X
• 'Dynamite' Pete Dunne defeated Trent Barreta

Overall, a really good show with great showings from both Americans, but more importantly, from our own talented UK guys!

Making strides; Robbie X

Kamikaze Pro's next show will be on Sunday 30th March. Check out their Facebook page and/or Twitter account to see the latest news and to enquire about tickets - a great night out for all the family.

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

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!

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@jimmosangle