My Weekend of (British) Wrestling 32: Pro EVW

Saturday 24th May 2014 - Pro EVW - Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

I got myself along to only my second Pro EVW show this year on Saturday. In my attempts to get along to as many different wrestling shows, it has been difficult to juggle shows that fall on the same day. This coupled with life getting in the way has meant that this show was long overdue!

I always feel a level of loyalty when I do go down to a Pro EVW show as this is where I first got to see 'behind-the-scenes' of a wrestling show and I'll always be grateful for that. It's always nice to go along and see the likes of Tom (Logan), Kayleigh, Chris (MC), Chris (Ref), Lee (big), Lee (small), Justin (Hammertime), Smudger and of course, the gaffer, Robbo. It's nice to catch up and see how previous shows have gone. On Saturday, I was told how great the previous nights show had gone with Justin going up against former WWE star Chris Masters. In his time as champion, Justin has been fortunate to step into the ring with some pretty decent, and experienced, competition. He's always come out looking great and learning something along the way (I'd hope?!).

Although Saturday's show could've been seen as a lesser show, there were still huge talents on display. Unfortunately, the Ross-on-Wye locals wouldn't come out in force as the audience was the least I'd seen at a Pro EVW show. As the night went on, they would get more and more enthusiastic, and make as much noise as you could hope for from such a low turnout.

Nixon

The first match of the evening would see 'Wild Boar' Mike Hitchman taking on Nixon in an inter-gender match that I found intriguing. I was sure that Nixon would take a pounding from the bigger and stronger Boar, but there had to be more to this match than just a straight-up squash. Despite Boar gaining the decisive victory, Nixon really showed balls (for want of a better word!); she was resilient throughout and even got some impressive moves in along the way. The audience were a little flat through this match, but Boar and Nixon did wake them up as best they could leading to the second match.

One half of the Pro EVW Tag Team Champions, Charlie Garrett would take on 'Mean' Tommy Dean in the second bout. This would be something completely different from the first match as Tommy would bring the comedy in waves. I'm used to seeing him on local family shows around the Oxford area (and towards Wales) and his act works a treat wherever. It can be said that Tommy has the complete opposite look of Charlie: Tommy having a 'real man's body' compared to Charlie's chiselled, 'earned' look. My girlfriend would agree with this assessment as Charlie became her new favourite wrestler on this night! Both guys should be on more shows across the country for very different reasons!

The third match would be the standout one for me as Big Grizzly would take on the other half of the Tag Team Champions, Iestyn Rees. I really enjoyed this match as, normally, Iestyn is really good at matching men slightly bigger than him for power. He's great at making you believe that despite him being smaller (which isn't too often!) he can still overcome. In this match, both guys did a great job of showing that despite what Iestyn brought, Grizzly cut him off and gave him a kicking that you wouldn't normally see at every opportunity. Iestyn was probably within an inch of being beaten before Tommy Dean would return to beat on him further, causing a disqualification. This would bring out Charlie to even the odds and set up the main event of Grizzly/Tommy vs The Alpha Males (Iestyn/Charlie) later in the night.

After a short interval, we would be greeted with the presence of The System; Logan and Luthor, accompanied by fellow member Tower. They would be taking on Chris Walker of the Magnums and a mystery partner. This turned out to be Ricky Diamond. I took lots of positives from this match. Ricky and Logan are still learning their trade, but unlike a lot of trainees, they look the part and you can see the improvements both are making all the time. I haven't been to a Pro EVW show in a few months and both guys have definitely improved since I saw them last!

'Filthy' Chris Walker

Walker also impressed me. With the crowd needing waking up after the interval, Walker would constantly rally them behind Diamond, as he took a beating in the ring, with "Ricky" chants. This gained everyone's support and would help get everyone invested in the rest of the shows matches.

The fifth match would be an impromptu Pro EVW Championship match between Justin Sysum and Sam Bronson. During a raffle draw, Bronson would charge to the ring and hold Nixon (from earlier) hostage, threatening to harm her unless Justin would grant him a title match. Justin agreed and the match commenced with Bronson giving Justin a beating throughout. This was a good match but the finish would baffle me a little. Justin is as babyface as you can get in a wrestler/champion; he's a fighter, a fair guy and does everything by the book. On this occasion he rolled up Bronson due to interference from Nixon. In all the time I've been watching wrestling, this is the exact thing that a heel manager would do to distract the popular champion before 'stealing' one. The Ross faithful seemed happy enough with the win, but it did puzzle me a little.

The Alpha Males; Charlie Garrett & Iestyn Rees

The main event would see the Tag Team Champions, The Alpha Males take on their foes from earlier in the night, Big Grizzly and Tommy Dean (collectively, The Welsh Warriors).

All in all this was a nice tag team contest and reminded me of tag team wrestling from when I was a kid. One guy (Charlie) would take a beating for 80% of the match before tagging in his team mate (Iestyn) who would eventually get the win. This really worked and went well with The Alpha Males' new tag-line of 'bring back 80s wrestling'. I think as heels, this line will make more sense, but as I have just described how the match went, it also worked as a babyface team. When Charlie eventually got to Iestyn to tag him in the audience gave one of the biggest pops of the night. That's a huge thing missing from wrestling these days that just WORKS.

Results

• 'Wild Boar' Mike Hitchman defeated Nixon in an inter-gender match
• Pro EVW Tag Team Champion Charlie Garrett defeated 'Mean' Tommy Dean
• Pro EVW Tag Team Champion Iestyn Rees defeated Big Gizzly by DQ
• The System; Logan & Luthor (w/ Tower) defeated 'Filthy' Chris Walker & Ricky Diamond
• Pro EVW Championship: Justin 'The Hammer' Sysum (c) (w/ Nixon) defeated Sam Bronson
• Pro EVW Tag Team Championship: The Alpha Males (c) defeated The Welsh Warriors

A nice return to Pro EVW for me. They always deliver and put on a nice family show. Also a little shout-out to Ref Chris - I have no clue about refereeing but I liked his authority over the competitors and his counts didn't seem as rushed as I'd seen them before. Another shout-out to MC Chris - I'm not sure if it's his accent that makes me think this, but he seems to have his own ways of doing things at times and it's nice to see. He seems 'into' the show and does add something to the presentation of the show.

A third shout-out to the masked cameraman... I know who you are; you're not fooling anyone...

If you haven't already; get yourself along to a Pro EVW show. Find them, follow them and like them on Facebook and Twitter, too.

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle

My Weekend of (British) Wrestling 31: PROGRESS: Chapter 13

Sunday 18th May 2014 - PROGRESS Wrestling: Chapter 13 'Unbelievable Jeff!' - Electric Ballroom, Camden Town

On the train to London, the excitement of my second PROGRESS show started to kick in. Added to this was the chance to experience the cuisine on offer down the road from the venue (The Electric Ballroom) at the local food stalls. With the sun in full force, everyone was in a good mood as we lapped up the different foods on offer; everything you could ask for.

Back at the venue and it was good to see everyone again. I can't claim to know anyone of them that well but I felt more comfortable this time around (compared to my first show) as I said hi to all including the very welcoming Jim, Glen and Jon (PROGRESS owners).

The show got underway with a special message on the projection wall from none other than Chris Kamara - the man who's catchphrase was used as Chapter 13's show title. Glen and Kammy did a great skit where Kammy was trying to grasp the 'This is PROGRESS, clap, clap, clap clap clap' chant to comedic results! As if the PROGRESS faithful weren't already rabid, expectant and up-for-it, this, along with Jim Smallman's introduction made for a great start to the show. For me, Jim knows exactly the right things to say at the right time. He is humble, genuine and has a connection with the fans like nothing I have ever seen before. Yes, I have said this before but it needs repeating! I have nothing bad to say about a guy that puts his heart and soul into putting on this excellent show.

Chris Kamara introduces Chapter 13 (link)

And I have to disagree with Jim's words from he, Glen and Jon: YES, the fans do make the show, but it's you THREE that put the shows together and entertain the F*CK out of us... THANK YOU!

I'll gush a little more later on other HUGE positives to the day outside of the wrestling, but let's give the actual wrestlers some exposure here...

The first match saw Darrell Allen step in to replace the injured Marty Scurll to face the dominating Rampage Brown. Despite Rampage being part of the Screw Indy stable, he is starting to get hugely popular with the PROGRESS audience. This is not the only heel that gets this type of reaction and is just one example of the fans showing their appreciation of what they see regardless of the good guy/bad guy divide. This was similar to the End/Robinson opener from the last show in that it was a to-the-point, exciting opener to get the crowd (even more) crazy for the rest of the show. Darrell used his speed for long periods against the bigger, stronger Rampage before his luck ran out. A Piledriver later and Rampage would pick up the win in a match that only heightened both men's popularity.

Pete Dunne and Robbie X would make their PROGRESS debuts in the second match of the day, competing in the Natural Progression series. In a way, these two guys had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain as they attempted to wow the fans where some might not be too familiar with them. I've been lucky enough to see Pete compete about four times already this year and he hasn't disappointed in ANY of them outings. I've only seen Robbie a couple of times at most and, in all honesty, hadn't warmed to him yet. I've heard the buzz and seen the matches that he's been in at Southside etc, but this was a great opportunity for him, and Pete.

I fully expected Pete to be the one to shine here, but it was Robbie that would win the PROGRESS fans over with his extremely red face. Even from the distance that I was from the ring, it was a sight to see. There was a back-and-forth between Robbie and the fans on this subject which resulted in a 'he's got a red face on his face', reminiscent of the Wyatt Family's similar chant in WWE. This was really funny and made the fans, and ME, warm to Robbie and realise his worth. This coupled with a great debut from both he and Pete made this the surprise match of the night. I knew that it was going to be good, but I thought that it would be completely overshadowed by everything else on the show. I'm very happy that I was wrong and these guys fully deserve more matches in PROGRESS. 'Please come back', Robbie.

Match three saw the massively popular Tag Team Champion, 'The Pride of Wales' Eddie Dennis taking on the newly repackaged Michael Gilbert. Gilbert used to be Mikey Whiplash, someone that I am not familiar with at all. He has now taken on a gimmick of not needing a gimmick, despite one fan pointing out that 'being a w*nker IS a gimmick'. This was a funny match at times with Eddie becoming Eddie Mysterio Jr at times and showing his Lucha side. Gilbert would get the win and would show up later, too.

Kris Travis (Project Ego)

The number one contendership to the Tag Team Championship would take place before the interval pitting four hugely talented teams - Screw Indy (Haskins and Sha Samuels (replacing Nathan Cruz for the night)), Project Ego, London Riots and The Swords of Essex - in an elimination match. The first part of the match would get a little frustrating for me as it seemed like everone was going through the motions before an elimination would take place. An elimination just didn't seem to be coming before the match would drastically pick-up thanks to an eight-man brawl. This would see Paul Robinson thrown on top of everyone on the outside, followed by both Ego members jumping over the top rope to add to the chaos. This part would then be completed by young Will Ospreay taking flight on top of his opponents in the most impressive move of the segment.

Things would break down quickly after this: Ego and Screw Indy would continue the fight up the entrance way, to the stage and get counted out by ref Chris Roberts. This would leave the Riots and Swords of Essex to fight it out for the right to face the champs. After taking great punishment from the Riots, Ospreay would break free to try to tag in only to be left high-and-dry by Robinson - walking out on his partner at the critical time. Despite Ospreay's best efforts, two Riots were too much to overcome. This was a really exciting second half to this match with a great twist at the end.

Before the interval could start, the Riots, joined by PROGRESS Champion Jimmy Havoc, would start to beat on Will Ospreay in a Reservoir Dogs-style, complete with 'Stuck in the middle with you' accompanying the torture. Luckily for Ospreay, Defend Indy wrestling members Mark Andrews, Eddie Dennis and Pete Dunne would make the save... but no Paul Robinson.

The first half of the show was great and it dawned on me that the second half had the potential to blow it all away... it was a scary thought to think that we were about to get three more matches of high quality. This. Is. PROGRESS, I suppose..

Fifth on the card was El Ligero taking on Tommy End - both immensely popular in the Ballroom. I was really looking forward to this match as I have NEVER seen a bad Ligero match and Tommy End made me a fan after his match with Robinson at the last show. Unfortunately, just like with the Mastiff/Williams match from the last show, this one somewhat underwhelmed me. I hate, hate, HATE writing that, but it's the truth: it just seemed very stop-starty all the way through to the interference from Michael Gilbert. There were some great exchanges and hard-hitting moves at times but the stuttery nature of the rest really hurt it. I need to stop having ONE match that I'm excited for more than the rest as it has been the one that I've picked fault at both times!

Tommy End

It probably should be said that with how different each match was, it was probably in Ligero and Tommy's minds to come up with something different. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me this time. NEXT time I KNOW will be better!

The penultimate match of the night is the one that I wrote the least notes for. This is because I was in complete AWE of what I was seeing. I wanted to see every move, every hold, every exchange and every reaction. Jim [Smallman] is absolutely right when he says that Zack Sabre Jr and Prince Devitt are two of the best WRESTLERS in the world. Obviously, that's down to opinion but I think few could argue with that statement - from everyone on the UK scene, these two are well known to have learnt their trade extensively - and it showed.

I'm not going to go through the match move-by-move, or spot-by-spot, as there was so much to this match, and so much more than the wrestling, that was impressive. Devitt's entrance was/is something that you have to see live. On this night he was painted as The Joker (Heath Ledger version), complete with Joker entrance/ring attire - I say ring attire as it seemed he would compete in the shirt, tie and waistcoat!

Devitt's entrance, facial expressions and mannerisms were very reminiscent of The Joker from the film. I really don't want to sound sh*t here, but it wasn't just a wrestling match; it was a performance. I hope that is seen as a compliment as it is fully intended as one. These are two guys that know EXACTLY what they are doing in the ring at ALL times.

Ref Paz & Prince Devitt

I felt sorry for Mark Andrews and Jimmy Havoc having to follow that.

Luckily, and thankfully, the PROGRESS fans LOVE Mark Andrews and absolutely HATE Jimmy Havoc. I love how much they hate him. It is so fresh to see fans nearly come to blows with guys like Havoc and the Riots. 'It's still real to me, dammit!' should be something that more people should say and believe in as that suspension of disbelief is what makes wrestling REALLY fun. I've read some tweets from fans this morning that say Jimmy Havoc is the best heel that they've seen live and I have to agree with them. His entrance, mannerisms and disdain for the fans and Jim Smallman make him so hated. A job well done.

This match stepped out of the shadow of Devitt/Sabre Jr due to the passion shown by them AND the fans' love/hate for the competitors. Everything was used from chairs to small step-ladders to various tables set up and demolished by Havoc and Andrews' bodies. The tables looked thick and unforgiving so fair play to both guys for putting themselves at risk for our bloodthirsty pleasure!

Unfortunately, Andrews could not wrestle the PROGRESS title away from Havoc due to interference from the Riots and then Paul Robinson; confirming his new hated status by being the deciding factor at the end. That ending sets so much up for the next show(s) and was a great way to make sure we all get our tickets for next time around...

Paul Robinson would have an eventful Chapter 13

Results

• Rampage Brown defeated 'Dazzling' Darrell Allen
• Natural Progression series: 'Dynamite' Pete Dunne defeated Robbie X
• 'No Gimmicks Needed' Michael Gilbert defeated PROGRESS Tag Team Champion Eddie Dennis (Eddie Mysterio Jr)
• Number One Contendership to the Tag Team Championship (Elimination match): The London Riots defeated Project Ego (Travis & Kirby), Screw Indy (Haskins & Samuels) and Swords of Essex (Ospreay & Robinson) - Order of Elimination: 1st: Project Ego/Screw Indy; 2nd: Swords of Essex
• Tommy End defeated El Ligero
• Prince Devitt defeated Zack Sabre Jr
• PROGRESS Championship (Ladder match): Jimmy Havoc (c) defeated Mark Andrews

Chapter 12 was my first PROGRESS show and was the best wrestling show that I had ever been to. I'm pleased to say that Chapter 13 topped it! The matches were great; the wrestlers gave 110% everytime; the storyline progression is simple, flowing and makes sense; the connection that Jim and the fans have is out of this world; the smile and pleasure that you take home with you cannot be beaten...

I urge you to get tickets to one of their future shows. If you can...

Check out PROGRESS Wrestling on Facebook and Twitter. Like them, follow them, track the latest goings on and GET YOURSELF TO ONE OF THEIR SHOWS!

Support British Wrestling

@jimmosangle