► Show Spoiler
This is booked to be the first major show in my promotion, hence the debut of two new titles alongside the big deciding match in a number of early feuds.
Match #1 for the inaugural Lightweight Championship: - Oliver Carter vs Curtis Murray
On one hand you have Murray, the brash and arrogant youngster, and on the other you have Carter, criminally underrated and finally being given his big break. Both men are good high-flyers and would be suited a brisk, ten-minute opener to crown a new champion. Carter would be the one to triumph, with Murray reacting angrily and trying attack him post-match to set up a heated rematch down the line.
Match #2: Hardcore match - Martin Kirby vs Tucker
This would be the first big grudge match in the promotion. Kirby, who works equally well as a face and a heel, immediately made a name for himself by calling out Tucker. He criticised the Northern Irishman for not travelling and not being dedicated to the craft. Tucker took major objection to this and he and Kirby have engaged in a number of bloody brawls, with no definitive outcome. As such they come together here in a hardcore match, with the winner establishing themselves as one to watch. I’d have Kirby go over and target Oliver Carter and his new Lightweight title.
Match #3: Kay Lee Ray vs Rhea Ripley
With the first women’s champion in my promotion to be crowned later in the show, the two women not involved square off in another singles match, with the winner logically moving into title contention. At 21 Ripley is clearly a hot prospect and would work face, with KLR feeling aggrieved that once again she’s being overlooked for a younger talent. This would be one of the shorter matches on the show, with KLR showing a ruthless side that puts her in the frame for a shot against the winner of the women’s title match.
Match #4: Dan Magee vs Sean Kustom vs Pete Bouncer vs Wild Boar for a future title shot of the winner’s choosing
Four up-and-coming talents are next up in a match that would allow all men to showcase their talents to the audience and offering the winner a title shot of their choosing. That flexibility could lead to a variety of different outcomes and permutations coming out of this show. I’d book Boar to be the star of the match, showing real fire and landing his patented package piledriver on Dan Magee. At that point Kustom would thrust him from the ring and steal the win, earning himself a title shot and also starting a rivalry between him and the Welshman. As for Magee and Bouncer, they’d both get good showings but are not ready to be pushed commodities as yet.
Match #5 for the inaugural tag team championships: The Arrows of Hungary (Dover & Icarus) vs The Coffey Brothers
The two leading tag teams in my promotion, they’ve already had two matches and currently sit at 1-1. The rivalry had been entirely sporting until this show, with this match serving as the decider for the inaugural tag titles. There would be two booking directions - either belt up the Arrows and have the Coffey’s attack post-match to set-up a rematch for the next big show, or have the Coffeys show a more villainous side and get the big win, allowing them to move on to other teams. I’d go with the former, as it would time for other tag teams to form and a real division to come to fruition.
Match #6: Women’s Championship - Sammii Jayne (C) vs Charlie Morgan
This would be the first of three big matches to close the show and would be one of the most-heated. Jayne would be the first women’s champion and would look entirely dominant in doing so, beating Morgan handily in their first couple of encounters. Morgan is a crowd favourite though and had earned another opportunity by pinning Jayne in a tag team match. That’s very different to winning in singles though - could she finally get over the hump and dethrone Jayne, or would the champion’s reign continue?
I’d go with Jayne, much along the lines of the WALTER/David Starr feud. Morgan would get closer than ever to winning, but still falling a little short. That would then lead to Jayne against KLR for the belt, a match KLR would win. Following on from then there would be the possibility for a three-way and perhaps Morgan with the title then defending against the woman she’s never beaten.
Match #7: No #1 Contendership for the World Title - Trent Seven vs Mark Haskins
Both men are big names on the European scene and more than capable of being the star of a promotion, but both had already fallen to current champion Jordan Devlin. As such, this match represented another chance for both men to separate themselves from the pack and get another title opportunity. Seven would fulfill the role of loveable babyface, the crowd favourite, whilst Haskins would be a heel, focussing on his cerebral, submission-based offence. This would go long, allowing Seven to demonstrate more of the excellent selling and crowd reaction he did in the NXT Tag Title match, with Haskins eventually locking in a stretch muffler to the point the referee has to stop proceedings. That would allow Seven to look strong and not be pinned, but also for Haskins to look dominant and a real threat to the winner of the main event.
Note: These two have had four singles matches previously, with Seven winning all of them, so this would be an interesting and fresh option, perhaps showing Haskins had to delve ever deeper to get over the line.
Match #8: Ladder War for the World Heavyweight Title - Jordan Devlin (C) vs Marius Al-Ani
This would be Devlin’s fourth defence of his world title, but his first-ever meeting with the talented German, Marius Al-Ani. Al-Ani would carry over his recent heel turn from wXw, deciding that nice guys always finish last and that he needs to be a bit more conniving to win his first major world title.
Devlin and Tucker beat Al-Ani and Pete Bouncer prior to this show in tag team competition, allowing the champion to pick his stipulation for this contest. He opted for a ladder match, deeming that the nature of the stipulation would force Al-Ani to revert to his ways of old, someone Devlin knew he was considerably better than. That said, Al-Ani has a near perfect record in ladder matches over in Germany, so did the Irishman know what he was getting himself into?
This would go around 25 minutes, with both men taking big bumps and being cut open during the match. Devlin would eventually secure the win after landing a double stomp, an homage to Balor, from one ladder to a stricken Al-Ani on another, before scaling the ladder again to grab the title. Al-Ani would work the match mostly as a face, utilising all of his high-flying athleticism, but this defeat would cement his heel turn. He would eventually win the title, having incorporated a more powerful and ground-based offence into his arsenal.
Devlin meanwhile would await Sean Kustom’s title opportunity, as well as Haskins, someone he has considerable history with...