After a few months off, I’ve decided to return to the glorious world wrestling and have myself a little ramble about a bunch of shows that very few of you have any interest in. But still, it keeps me off the streets.
My big return (which I’m expecting to be met with streamers and welcome back chants from the VOW faithful) is a little bit shorter than usual, as it’s absolutely boiling in the UK right now and my planned writing sessions this week have all turned into “drinking beer in the garden” sessions.
Enjoy!
United States
Bar Wrestling – Bar Wrestling 41: And Out Come the Wolves – Thursday – American Legion Post, Baldwin Park, California.
Well, what a perfect promotion to begin my return with. Good old Bar wrestling. The home of Joey Ryan’s dick antics and a lot of other nonsense. Not my particular cup of tea, but the Baldwin Park faithful seem to love the sight of wrestlers bumping for the penis, so what do I know. Their next show, ‘And out Come the Wolves’ has a match that could be a GIF makers goldmine, with Brian Cage & Scott Steiner taking of the comedy boys of Joey Ryan & Orange Cassidy. Even if this was the only match on the card then I’d imagine it would still be enough to satisfy the Bar wrestling faithful, but they will also get the pleasure of seeing Luchasaurus take on Brandon Cutler, and Tommy Dreamer against Tyler Bateman. What the hell happened to Bateman? Just last year he was tearing up the tag scene in PWG and now he’s on Tommy Dreamer duty. Weird. Anyway, if you fancy checking out this big ball of entertainment then you can watch it on the Highspots Network
All Pro Wrestling – #Suckfree – Friday – Daly City, California.
The following day in Daly City, it will be All Pro Wrestling bringing the Indie goodness with their #Suckfree show from the Pacelli Gymnasium. The main event will see two of this year’s biggest breakout talents go at it for the APW Universal Title, with Jacob Fatu defending against Jake Atlas. Fatu is one of the best wrestlers on the Indies right now and Atlas has had a cracking year in PWG, so this is sure to be a cracking match. Shawn Spears will also be appearing against Indie veteran Matt Cross and Chavo Guerrero is making his debut for APW, taking on Papo Esco. Spears and Cross sounds interesting, I’ve always been a bit higher on the former Tye Dillinger than most and I’ve been enjoying some of his stuff so far. For more info, visit their Website.
Scenic City Invitational – Friday & Saturday – Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee.
One of the best tournaments in wrestling and the BOLA of the south (I’ll take full credit for that analogy) takes over the weekend in Tennessee. The Scenic City Invitational is always a fantastic weekend of wrestling and a great opportunity to check out some of the best talent in the South who maybe don’t get used in the bigger promotions. A 16-man tournament which has in the past been won by the likes of Gunnar Miller, Matt Riddle and last year’s winner Joey Lynch. Lynch will back again this year, facing his long-time rival Anthony Henry. These two had a fantastic match at the Scenic City Rumble in February and I’m expecting them to have another match of the weekend here. Other notable first-round matches include the battle of the big boys with JD Drake taking on O’Shay Edwards, Danial Makabe vs Tony Deppen and a match right out of the mid-2000s, B-Boy vs Slim-J.
The weekend will also include the always enjoyable Futures showcase tournament, which last year was the scene of Marko Stunt’s break-out performance. If you are looking for another Stunt like break-out this year then keep your eye on Zachary Cooper and Bobby Flaco. All of this year’s shows will be available to watch on IWTV. This tournament is always on my list of must-see stuff and I really can’t recommend it highly enough.
Southern Underground Pro – All Hell Breaks Loose – Sunday – Basement East.
I’ve fallen a little behind on my SupGraps, something which I’ll be soon be rectifying by binging their last couple of shows in time for Sunday’s ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’, as always from their Basement East venue which was used last week by GCW. This show will see a big four-way for the Bonesaw championship, with Brett Ison defending against O’Shay Edwards, Anthony Henry and JD Drake. With four of the best and most underrated wrestlers in the country, this match is going to be bloody awesome. The best-kept secret in Independent wrestling will also be dropping by, as Daniel Makabe teams up with B-Boy of all people to take on the Violence is Forever team of Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku (Am I the only person in the world who actually like the name Sadkampf?). Anyway, go check out some Southern Underground Pro and thank me later.
United Kingdom
TNT – Summer Explosion – Thursday – Fusion Nightclub, Liverpool.
TNT is a weird old promotion. While not looked at as one of the bigger, super Indie type companies that get all of the attention on our shores, they are always one of the best places to see the big names from the UK and even beyond. Somehow managing to merge together talent from pretty much every promotion under the sun. Their next show, Summer Explosion, which takes place on Thursday at Fusion Nightclub in Liverpool, will see the bastard PAC take on one of the last remaining legends of the UK scene, Jody Fleisch. I’m way too lazy to find out if this match has happened before but I’m sure these two must have crossed paths somewhere in the mid-2000s.
One of the best tag teams from this side of the world, The Kings of the North will make their first defense of the TNT tag titles they won last month, against the current NXT UK tag champions The Grizzled Young Vets. That should be a lot of fun. The show will also see appearances from David Starr, Mark Haskins and El Phantasmo. Man, that’s a lot of contracted talent on one show. Visit their website to find out more.
Futureshock Wrestling – Tapped IV – Sunday – Fairfield Social Club, Manchester.
For those of you in the North, Futureshock wrestling will be hosting Tapped IV on Sunday at the Fairfield Social Club in Manchester. One of the UK promotions who get regular access to the NXT UK talent, they will be offering a very big main event with the current Futureshock and NXT UK tag team champions, Grizzled Young Vets battling it out with the promotions two singles champions Soner Durson (heavyweight champion) and Joey Hayes (Adrenaline Champion). Durson and Hayes are two of the best wrestlers in that part of the country, so that match will certainly be one to check out. The show will also see Chris Ridgeway return from his debut tour with NOAH, taking on the young prospect Luke Jacobs. Find out how to watch by visiting their website.
Rev Pro – Live at the Cockpit 44 – Sunday – The Cockpit, London.
Rev Pro recently announced they will be holding an 8-team tournament over the next month, with the winners going on to challenge for the IWGP tag titles at New Japan’s ‘Royal Quest’ show on August 31st. This is a great opportunity for a new team to get a shot on an actual New Japan show, and I would imagine the majority of the UK fans are hoping for Aussie Open to get the win and finally make their debut for the Japanese promotion.
The tournament’s first-round matches will be taking place on Sunday at Live at the Cockpit 44, with the aforementioned Aussie Open taking on Impact stars, The Rascalz, in an Indie dream match that already has me throwing my pants out of the window in anticipation. Team White Wolf will also be having their first-round match facing Dan Moloney & MK McKinnan. The Spanish youngsters have been heavily rumored to be NXT UK bound, so it’s hard to imagine them as possible winners of the tournament here. The tournament will also see a battle of the Rev Pro contenders, with Gabriel Kidd & Shaun Jackson going up against Kenneth Halfpenny and my fellow Welshman, Brendan White. I’m not too familiar with either Jackson or Halfpenny but both White and Kidd (who has recently been accepted into the New Japan LA Dojo) are very good. The production is usually pretty shit but if you are a glutton for punishment, the show will be available here.
Rest of the World
Wrestling GO – 3rd Anniversary – Friday – Blacktown, Western Sydney.
Time for a little visit down under to a promotion that I don’t think I’ve ever covered before, and one I know sod all about, Wrestling GO. The company, based in Western Sydney, will be holding their 3rd Anniversary show on Friday at the Marayong Community Centre in Blacktown. The show will include the 2nd and final rounds of the Ewan Monkleigh Memorial Cup, with Matty Wahlberg vs Kai Drake, Will Kiedis vs GATT and Bee Boy vs Bel Pierce.
The show is mainly being built around the debut of former WWE Cruiserweight champion TJP, who will be taking on Aussie prospect, Michael Spencer. TJP hasn’t really set the world alight since coming back to the Indies, but after recently being announced for the Super-J Cup it’ll be interesting to see how he’s doing here, especially against someone I’ve heard very good things about. There will also be a rather interesting intergender match, with the always awesome Mick Moretti taking on Jessica Troy. This show looks like it could be pretty great, so go check it out here.
New European Championship Wrestling – Pride and Honor – Saturday – NEW Hotspot, Bayern.
My first visit to the European mainland this week is for the German promotion, New European Championship Wrestling, who host Pride and Honor on Saturday at their regular NEW Hotspot venue in Bayern. Can’t stay I’m say too familiar with a lot of the talent of this show, but the main event will see Jack Wilder challenge Mexx for the NECW heavyweight championship. The tag titles will also be on the line with Wolf & The Bull battling The Iron Empire. Their website has more information than I could give you.
Tigers Pro Wrestling – Tigers Fang – Saturday – Marseille.
Sticking around Europe, I next move over to Marseille for Tigers Pro Wrestling, a promotion I have certainly never covered before. In business since 2010, they will be presenting their next show, Tigers Fang on Saturday. The promotions current TPW Strong Style champion, Eddy Marston will be making his 3rd defense of the title against the returning Ragnor Rok. The latter looks like a right scary bastard, so good luck Eddy. The only other match confirmed is a match simple between Leo Alaguero and Vince’NT. For more info, go here.
Ngen Lucha Libre – Rukatun II – Saturday – Primera Transversal, Maipu.
Let’s end this week in Chile for Ngen Lucha Libre, who will bring the Lucha to the Primera Transversal venue on Saturday for Rukaton II. The most intriguing match on the card so far will see two of the big boys of Chilean wrestling beating the shit out of each other as Factor Driver takes on Nocturno. Want to learn more about the wonders of Factor Driver? Visit their website.
