TonyPulis'Cap

Jack is a fascinating character, and as you say, definitely a very cool guy. I've plugged it before, but if you're interested you should definitely check out this documentary about him, filmed just before he was off to WWE. It'd a great watch:

This is a point I can really get behind. In terms of access to footage and I think in terms of match quality (even if a lot of matches have become somewhat samey in terms of their tropes and layout) then this is a definite high point in history to be a fan. However where I feel that the current wrestling scene is lacking, in terms of where it has been in the past, is not having those captivating angles or storylines that suck you in. A lot of wrestling companies today, from WWE right down to your local Indie often seem to be to be booking cards based around 'good matches' - what when cherry picked by someone or viewed in isolation will get some buzz - rather than feuds and rivalries. It maybe an obvious point, but matches that have context and buildup to them are so much better to me personally, and this is something that I feel isn't as strong today. However if I look at things through a very local spectrum, then in terms of the UK scene then this is a great time to be a fan.

The build up for this goes right back to the first FWA show of the year in March. New Frontiers saw the initial Shane/Steve Corino confrontation with the latter trying to hijack the show. As part of the angle, Doug annoyed Shane – newly revealed as the FWA’s Managing Director - by granting Corino an FWA Title match. In the subsequent match, Shane interferes to hit Corino with a chair followed by looking like he was going to go after Doug. For the rest of the year Shane was presented as the No. 1 heel in the company feuding with a series of different faces, while Williams was the fighting champion taking on all challengers. It was the obvious big match to return to and things would heat up in September. Following Doug coming to the aid of his protégé Aviv Mayan to stop Shane taking him out with a chair, Shane hired Joe E Legend (Just Joe of WWF 2000 fame) to take Williams out by busting him open on the title belt in an effective angle. This led to Hotwired, the last big show before British Uprising and the point of escalation. Firstly, you get Shane’s ringside confrontation with boxer Danny Williams, something that got decent mainstream press at the time. Later in the night you get Doug Williams (too many Williams’) interfering in the main event to give Corino the big win in the blow-off to his feud with Shane. Danny Williams would continue to be a part of the angle – appearing at the press conference for the contract signing – with the stipulation added to the match that if Shane lost he would have to fight Danny Williams. As so often seems to happen in wrestling however, the best laid plans would end up falling apart. Due to having a fight to prepare for, Danny Williams wasn’t contractually able to be involved further and he would not be at this show or appear for the company again. So that’s the rather extensive build up – Shane as the No. 1 heel in the company, and Doug the ace 22 months into his title reign. The storyline for the match is technician vs brawler with the inference that in a traditional match Shane is not on Doug’s level. This manifests itself before the bell with Shane getting on the mic to try and goad Doug into agreeing to a No DQ match. Thankfully Doug isn’t portrayed as an idiot babyface so politely declines. We also get FWA head official Steve Lynskey being removed as the ref for the match by commissioner Flash Barker, paying off another long running storyline of him being a corrupt official. The new ref then throws out Shane’s personal security to make it one on one. All of this makes the match feel really important and big time, but rather than feeling like the heel is getting his comeuppance, to me it feels too much like the deck is being stacked against the heel which he has to overcome, which is obviously not meant to be the way round you want it. To reinforce that Shane can’t hang with Williams when it comes to straight up wrestling we get Doug dominating the early stages on the mat – complete with Shane stooging nicely – before hitting him with a good flurry of knee strikes. When Shane goes to the outside to buy time, Doug follows him out with a great tope, which is not something I recall seeing him bust out often. Now that Doug has followed him to the outside however, Shane is able to take over with brawling on the floor – his strength – and by sending Doug through the time keepers’ area. Shane works a solid, if unspectacular little heat segment until we get a count out tease following Williams hitting a tornado DDT off the ring apron to the outside. From there we get a heated forearm, big boot exchange, but just as the match looks to be escalating nicely we get the start of the shenanigans. Today, people seem to have really taken against overbooking – perhaps due to it’s over saturation and lack of creativity – but I think it works here in the context of the storyline that Shane cant beat Williams in a fair fight. The rest of the card also features largely clean finishes as a contrast, although the overbooking would start to become an overused crutch with Shane as the heel champion in 2005. Following a ref bump we get Shane’s security returning for a group beat down until in a shocking moment we get the return of Ulf Herman seeking revenge on Shane. Herman – Shane’s former tag team partner had been gone a full year since British Uprising II when Shane had turned on him and broke his arm. He ends up taking out Shane’s security but then in the big moment takes out Doug by mistake. Williams kicks out of Shane’s One Night Stand finisher the first time but a second ends his almost two year title reign. Unfortunately the Herman vs. Shane rivalry would never get paid off with a one on one match and Herman would only appear at one more FWA show. This is very much an attitude era style title match, which people’s enjoyment of as a style will vary. The work itself was solid, and I liked the storyline of the wrestler vs. the brawler and Shane having to resort to cheating and short cuts to be on Doug’s level, but my main criticism would be of the heel seemingly being the one to overcome the odds. I know you get the interference from Shane’s security at the end and Doug losing due to Herman’s misplaced intervention, but before that, the match is booked around the playing field being levelled and the cards being in Doug’s favour, only for him to end up losing. (***) The bad taste also comes in part from British Uprising being the promotions major show and yet having a screwy ending with the heel winning the title, whereas at Uprising I and II, the face had walked out with the belt. With the benefit of hindsight I think it was right to shift the belt. Doug had faced pretty much every challenger and Shane was the hot hand. How far that was due to him booking himself that way is open to question, but having reviewed his 2004, he was arguably the best and most consistent performer of the year. Using your big show to kick off a new direction was also something I could appreciate, even if this show ends up being the company’s peak.

This is for the FWA Tag Team Titles. For the year prior you’d be hard pressed to find a more over act in the company than Simmons, the loveable butler to the Duke of Danger. His reactions from the crowd had got to the point it had turned the whole Hampton Court act face, when traditional wrestling booking would’ve probably seen it building to a Ted DiBiase/Virgil master vs servant style match. The peak of ‘Simmonsmania’ was undoubtedly at Vendetta in July when Hampton Court won the tag titles from The Family in a double swerve that was executed perfectly. Unfortunately, as is often the way when it comes to underdog babyfaces, the chase and their big win is often the high point. Even just a couple of months later, you can already see the crowd starting to cool on the act. It doesn’t help that this match is not very good at all – the worst on the show. It never works out what it wants to be. That’s probably reflected in the challengers. Sloan and Knight were the classic wrestling ‘odd couple’ tag team that doesn’t get along; Sloan the stoic technician and Knight the loud, abrasive comedy heel. The vignettes the two would do on FWA TV throughout the latter part of 2004 were actually very funny, but in this match it results in a bit of a mess, with Knight trying to work seaside comedy and Sloan trying to work ‘indies/ROH’ style moves. Indeed all four guys just seem off their game. Colt Cabana is the guest ring announcer. He was in a ‘dark match’ that wasn’t included in The Wrestling Channel broadcast and you wonder whether he could’ve perhaps been better utilised on the main show. He teases a confrontation with Stevie Knight before the match, given both are comedy wrestlers. Comedy in wrestling is not for everyone, but I happen to enjoy someone like Colt’s ability to mould it with the wrestling. Unfortunately the opening comedy exchanges between Simmons and Knight here are pretty lame to an apathetic crowd. There is a really uninspired heat segment on Simmons leading to the Duke of Danger getting an incredibly underwhelming lukewarm tag. In fact the Duke is barely in the match at all. The finish sees Hampton Court’s manager Butter Cup the maid flirt with Knight ala Maria Kanellis/Karl Anderson and he follows her to the back, leaving Sloan isolated to eat the pin. This is a poor match that was a decent example of the fact the FWA operated a very small core roster. The UK scene of this point was nowhere near the massive depth there is today and in 2004 the FWA tag team division was basically non-existent. Teaming up more high profile singles guys like Storm/Fleisch and Tighe/Belton and having them go after the titles could’ve been a way of reviving it. (* ½)

This is a scenario that I think shows how compelling storytelling can fall flat when a match fails to come together in the ring. Going in, this match had a number of interweaving and engaging storylines that deserved a chaotic and action packed payoff. In the end it falls massively flat. While other matches from British Uprising III perhaps deserve a critical reappraisal, this one still very much fails to hit the mark all these years later. The build up mainly centres on the disintegration of The Family; the religious cult heel group that had been the main antagonists in the FWA in 2003; and the baby face turn of Paul Travell. The increased levels of punishment Travell was taking in matches had led to the crowd starting to rally behind him. Having his head turned by the cheers of the crowd had increasingly put Travell at odds with The Family’s manager Greg Lambert and their new leader Drew McDonald. The resulting Family ‘civil war’ led to Travell turning his back on the group after suffering months of abuse and Lambert’s attempts to control him - costing the group the tag team titles. At the same time as Travell in storyline left the group, other members like Scott Parker and Ian DaSciple – holdovers from the pre ‘boom’ era of the FWA – also stopped being used by the company, meaning the birth of The Triad out of The Family’s ashes, comprising of McDonald, Raj Ghosh and a big jacked up newcomer called Thunder. Showing the strength of the company at this time to interweave different storylines, at the same time you had the rookie monster of the company Burchill being drawn in. In a match where a tag title shot was on the line, and in an effort to keep Burchill away from being able to challenge The Family, McDonald had interfered in a match between Simmonz and Burchill to give the former an unlikely upset count out win and end the latter’s unbeaten streak. So Travell and Burchill are the unlikely allies teaming up against a common foe. With the FWA determined to cement Travell’s face turn and push him to the next level, the original aim was to try to get Mick Foley in as their third man and help pass the ‘hardcore legend’ baton onto Travell. With that failing to materialise, Terry Funk was brought in to perform a similar role. When reviewing matches, I think most try to focus solely on what the people in the ring are doing without trying to factor in other things, either behind the scenes stuff or the booking. Sometimes in wrestling this becomes impossible to separate; what is being presented in the ring is a direct product of issues backstage. This is one of those examples. Knowing some of the tensions pre-match between competitors and clear differences in how they wanted to take things manifests itself 100 per cent in how the match is executed and why it comes across so badly. Greg Lambert’s book is incredibly enlightening for why this match is a mess, with the massively dysfunctional way it was put together, and the old school guys like McDonald and Thunder not wanting to do anything in the match that would put their younger opponents over. Onto the match then, and another moving part is Jimmy Hart as the special guest ref. In storyline this was an appointment by FWA Commissioner Flash Barker because of the duelling managers in Lambert and Dean Ayass on the outside, which had been another big part of the build up. The argument being that Hart would know their tricks as a legendary manager himself. While I like that idea, unfortunately, I’m not sure he really knows what he’s doing in the match… The match starts with some technical wrestling between Travell and Ghosh, but considering they are tag team partners that have broken up, you really want to see more aggression from them rather than exchanging hammer locks. The match quickly breaks down, but not in the fun crazy brawl sense rather in a messy incoherent sense. There are some fun punch exchanges between Funk and McDonald, as old veterans just going after each other, but as was clear from the way they intended to do business before the match, McDonald and Thunder barely sell or leave their feat, especially not for Travell, and not really for Burchill either. Thunder looks imposing with his look but he basically sucks and brings nothing to the table. This is his only match in the FWA. Travell brings some fun moments like an elbow drop off the apron to Ghosh on a chair and taking a back drop on the ramp, and Burchill hits some of his impressive power and agility spots, but too often he’s also forced to sell from opponents clearly not willing to work much with him. At previous FWA shows there had been quite a bit of heat on a Burchill vs Drew McDonald singles encounter but that’s something that we never get paid off. Given this match however that was probably for the best. Due to not wanting help Travell and Burchill to get over, McDonald – who had been a semi-regular for the company during the previous two years – was never booked again. In hindsight this should’ve been a crazy ECW brawl with lots of weapon shots and should not be the near 19 minutes long that it is. It’s just way, way too long. Travell ultimately ends up beating Ghosh to win the match in a pinfall that comes out of nowhere. There’s a nice ceremonial passing off the torch…or rather barbed wire baseball bat between Funk and Travell which gets a good pop but it will be interesting to see Travell going forward into the next year of FWA shows and whether this match achieved the desired result of getting him across as ‘the UK’s hardcore icon’. (**)

This is for the FWA All England Title and a match well built up over the summer of 2004 as an offshoot from the Alex Shane/Xavier feud. That also culminated in a Last Man Standing Match. A large part of the issue for how this match was received at the time was trying to live up to that previous bout. At the finish of that match, Vansen had cost Xavier by interfering on behalf of Shane who in storyline was acting as his mentor. The pairing of these two as opponents was wrestling 101, taking Vansen – the cocky good looking heel from London and matching him with Xavier – the stocky, Hawaiian shirt wearing Brummie who had become something of a people’s champion. The two had clashed for the All England Title at Vendetta in July, which had ended in a double KO. This is another example of the strength of FWA storytelling and booking in 2004; a stipulation suiting the storyline and a call back to the beginning of the feud. Xavier had then pinned Vansen in a six man tag at Hotwired in September to show that he could pin the Champ. As mentioned, the main issue for this match was living up to both the LMS between Shane and Xavier in April (a match I’d rate as **** and which was well acclaimed at the time) but also the level of violence in the hardcore matches that the company had put on previously. The legacy of ECW and what fans expected of a match like this meant going in there was definitely a desire for a violent spectacle. As I’ll outline, despite the hard work of the guys, it was met with some critical disappointment at the time for failing to live up to the expected ‘level of extreme’ that people wanted. As is the case for the whole of this show in general though, being viewed many years later I think that’s unfair and its a very good match. The first five mins in particular are great, with real fire and intensity from both guys. This is a Last Man Standing Match so thankfully no locking up – Vansen charges straight at Xavier in the aisle way to start and they brawl all over the ramp and stage area. I really like the way they use the environment - Vansen with a hurucunrana off the support beams of the entrance, Xavier with a moonsault off the stage - and as it’s different to the other matches on the card it stands out. I love the hate in what they are doing – there aren’t long periods of setting up elaborate structures or finding comedy items to hit each other for cheap pops. When they get back in the ring they don’t rely on weapons shots, rather beating each other down with strikes and kicks. There also aren’t constant 10 count teases at this point to break the flow. However the match does slow down when Vansen uses a belt to choke out Xavier. This section arguably goes on a bit long, breaking the flow, but there is a nice spot where Xavier is hung up over the rope and Vansen hits him with some stiff kicks. Throughout Vansen plays a great cocky prick, but playing to the crowd gives Xavier an opening and he gets an 8 count by giving Vansen an X Plex off the apron. This looked brutal, but I like the way that as Vansen is close to the ring he can use that as an aid to get back to his feet rather than looking heroic for surviving the move. While earlier I mentioned that it was good to not have lots of ref counting spots to interrupt the flow, I think in the closing stretch it could’ve actually done with a couple more teases to properly get over the stipulation and build the drama. As the match reaches its climax, Xavier uses the title belt as a weapon, which ordinarily would be an odd move for a bayface – even in a no DQ setting – but it actually works as a call back to how Vansen used it on him to help Shane with the LMS in April. But then the match seems to loss it’s nerve; I really liked how it hadn’t relied on weapon shots, but perhaps feeling the pressure I talked about of having a big enough ending, Xavier wastes ages trying to find stuff under the ring which isn’t there to try to set up a guardrail to put Vansen though. In the end, Vansen reverses the attempt and gives Xavier a South City Driller DDT off the top rope through the barrier. It’s the double whammy of a spot that looked really painful to take but at the same time left the crowd underwhelmed. I think there’s a lot to like in 90% of this match, but it needed a hotter, more dynamic closing stretch. The result also meant Xavier coming across as a choke artist, given he lost the feud to Shane and then failed to win the title with his shot at redemption. In fact, the commentators had played up his repeated failures to win the All England Title against different title holders. So while I can see why the company wanted Vansen to win – he had the greater potential and more long term value up the card, it’s a massive shame that after a banner year in 2004, Xavier would never be that hot ever again. (*** ½)

This is the only match on the card without a real amount of build-up or back story to it, although the storyline for Mark Belton is that he had never been given the opportunity to wrestle a big name import or US wrestler on an FWA show and felt disrespected. D’Lo had been a somewhat semi-regular for the company including challenging Doug Williams for the FWA Title at Crunch in April. Belton meanwhile, after some sporadic appearances was now being pushed as part of a heel unit with James Tighe and going into 2005 would be a much more featured performer. Reflecting the company’s goal to get behind Belton, this match looks like it was designed to get Belton over by giving him a win over an established imported name in D’Lo. While the logic is sound, the reality is very similar to Jack Xavier’s victory over Homicide at British Uprising II; the crowd just don’t buy the home grown guy at the import’s level. The fact the match is fairly bland and meandering doesn’t help. Belton stalls a lot at the beginning, which does elicit some heat, but when he starts to wrestle looks a bit nervous almost screwing up a hip toss to the outside spot. D’Lo in contrast looks really good when on offence, and gets a nice early shine segment including a springboard dropkick when Belton is on the apron (ala Chris Jericho), a flip over the ropes into a fakeout (ala Chris Hero) and then a stranding moonsault off the apron, all moves which I can never really recall D’Lo busting out before. Belton eventually takes over with a blatant low blow that he doesn’t even attempt to hide. The story the commentators push is that ref Steve Lynskey sees it but that it plays into the long running story of him being a corrupt official. It’s actually a nice little nod to what will happen in the title match later on, but is still very jarring for why it’s not a DQ, or at least a yellow card (I can’t recall if that was still a thing in the FWA at this stage). Once on top though Belton’s work is unfocussed and uninspiring – there’s no story to get into the match. D’Lo again looks good running through his hits but misses the Low Down. Belton then hits his top rope leg drop finisher for 2, although it doesn’t get much of a reaction as I don’t think the crowd knew it was one of his signature moves. The cheap ending of Belton faking a knee injury and then getting the win with a really ugly roll up while D’Lo is distracted puts a cap on a pretty blah match. (** ¼)

And so we’ve reached British Uprising III, which if you’re into your BritWres history you may know as the biggest show the company would ever put on… but whose legacy would be part of the decline that would ultimately end up seeing the FWA go out of business in 2007. In terms of ambition and scope, Uprising III was the first (and only) time the FWA put on an arena show, running the Skydome in Coventry. This is an ice hockey arena with a capacity of around 3,500. I know in the current climate of All In, ROH getting 6,000+ for Supercard of Honor, ICW running the Hydro, and Progress running Wembley that this might not seem a big deal, but in 2004, it would’ve been a monumental achievement for a UK indie company to attract the amount of fans required to fill the building. It was a different time. As I’ve tried to document, the FWA had been putting on a run of successful shows to a fair degree of critical acclaim for the two years prior to this, but 2004 was a world away from the indie wrestling boom currently being experienced both in the UK and across the world. In the end, the company drew just under 1,800 fans that day – still I think it needs to be said, a hugely significant achievement and the biggest attendance in the FWA’s history – but it wasn’t close to a sell out and crucially not enough to make the money back on the resources put into it. In my view, even viewed with 2018 eyes, the production – in terms of the staging and lighting and the hype videos - were all very good. It’s just a shame there wasn’t the budget to sustain this level of investment. As I’ve done throughout my reviews of FWA matches and shows I really want to plug Greg Lambert’s book; Holy Grail: The True Story of British Wrestling's Revival – which is both an excellent read but also an invaluable resource for this period, given his role both in front of and behind the camera. His chapter on BU3 gives you great insight into why the event ended up not being the creative and commercial success that was hoped for. A lot of that has to do with the lack of organisational capacity of the FWA, with no real structure behind the scenes. However having re-watched almost all the FWA shows in 2004, it’s a card that in my opinion was built up excellently. Most of the matches on the show had several months of build up, with some great storytelling. 2004 was the year the FWA had a national TV deal courtesy of The Wrestling Channel and they used this as a tool to build up every match to where there was a reason for it to be happening and for you as a fan to be emotionally invested. In my eyes the show was built mainly on trying to attract fans through storylines and feuds, rather than ‘dream matches’ and big names. Despite the excitement going in, as you’ll see through the reviews of the matches, the event never seemed to capture the hype, although I think with 14 years of hindsight when I’m writing this, it’s a show that perhaps deserves to be seen in a more positive light. This opening match was marketed as a ‘next generation three way’ and the successor to the three way opener from British Uprising I that I’ve reviewed here: https://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/40001-james-tighe-vs-jack-xavier-vs-raj-ghosh-fwa-british-uprising-i-10132002/ That match was very well received, putting the pressure on the guys to deliver here. Indeed, while some at the time didn’t think it lived up to that match, I actually think this one is better. There is certainly more going on. As with the match from 2002, this is a pure spotfest. Spud - before he was a rockstar and well before being 205 Live General Manager – had made his FWA main show debut a couple of months before this and was already winning fans over. At this stage he was a fantastic undersized babyface flyer, eliciting a lot of sympathy from crowds, given he genuinely looked like everyone’s little brother. Jordan, and Mayan in particular were two young guys who had also been impressive for the company all year. There are far too many moves and sequences to recap here with all three busting out everything they have to try to win over the crowd and open the card with a hot start. It’s not as smooth in the transitions as it’s predecessor, but outside of the opening exchanges which are very much straight out of mid 2000s indie wrestling, I actually think this match benefits from being rougher around the edges and not *quite* as choreographed looking as the match from 2002. For the most part the match manages to stay away from the triple threat tropes of two men gang up on the other and then feign insult the other chooses to go for a pin, or throwing one guy to the outside so the other two can have a one on one match. As you would expect, Spud is a great sympathetic seller including one really sick looking bump when he gets wheelbarrowed head first into one of the ringside barriers Selling, or lack thereof, is of course a criticism you could make, but I don’t think there is anything *too* egregious or unbelievable, and the beauty of a three way match is that someone can be there to break up a pin rather than it have to be a kick out. Spud ends up getting the win when Mayan hits a springboard moonsault but is unable to cover (he’d come in with taped ribs) and Spud hits a phoenix star press off the top onto Jordan. This was a really fun X Division style opener that got the crowd into the show. (*** ¼)

Just as I was getting fully invested in Becky's chase for the title... as ever, shoved to the side once again. For all those that complain about Roman Reigns being shoved down people's throats, Roman wishes he was booked as strong as Charlotte.

I think these are some excellent points, and probably on the money for why he comes out with some of the things he does. When written down in a limited character medium, things can easily not come out as someone intends, and to be honest, he's far from alone in being awkward in a situation when trying to convey empathy or sympathy - and really who knows the right thing to same at times of tragedy? When I saw what he wrote yesterday, then probably like many other people, my initial reaction was "wow, that's a bit insensitive and cold" but on the flip side I also see criticism when someone in the public eye passes away for people seen to be too over the top for how much grief they are showing for someone they didn't know. Could someone around him perhaps point out that the things he says when someone dies may come across insensitive or tone deaf? Maybe, but then as highlighted, I think - and only he himself knows - that the way he expresses things is because of genuine desire to not see his contemporaries dying so young and in such in tragic, sometimes self inflicted circumstances.

A few that I think would be worth checking out, although sorry I don't have the dates - they should all be from the last couple of months: Fenix vs Rich Swann - good X Division match oVe vs Fenix, Pentagon and Rich Swann - this got a lot of love, although I wasn't as high on it as others - it's still a pretty fun spotfest No DQ - Tessa Blanchard vs Keira Hogan - hadn't seen much of Hogan but she plays a great fiery underdog babyface in this LAX vs DJ Z and Andrew Everett - both title changes back and forth Austin Aries vs Pentagon - at the Impact titled Under Pressure. In fact you pretty much can't go wrong with any Aries matches this year on Impact

100%. Indeed, feel like that underpins a lot of the on screen product and the 50/50 booking - as much as possible everyone wins! (whilst the flip side is that everyone has to lose of course...). The whole lack of consequences thing even translates to things like Cena's booking for quite a few years - lose a match/something bad happens - never mind, we don't want there to be any negative consequences! - shrug it off and onto the next thing!

What a tremendous article. Have always thought Melina gets a rough time of things, and being half of a punchline in that "what's the best match of all time? Melina vs Alicia Fox" stuff, but given the limitations of some of her opponents and also the time constraints and lack of focus Diva matches received at this time, she was bloody good. Stacey's article gets that across far better than I can express, but absolutely seconding people check out that match with Mickie James at Backlash 2007, and then also in particular the 'I Quit' Match she has with Beth Phoenix at One Night Stand 2008. I know this is mainly about Melina has an in ring competitor in her won right, but given the love I've seen from many people (rightly) on PWO for MNM, Melina was a huge part of why that act was so good. Looking foward to the next installment already!

So happy to see Karen Q get the opportunity. For someone that I don't think has been in the business too long she's already pretty polished and ROH really dropped the ball by not featuring her more. For those that haven't seen it, check out her No DQ match she had with Deonna Purazzo in Women of Honor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zVw3apuZjE

Impact has been a really solid, if at times fairly unremarkable (an improvement on the car crash of the previous regime(s) of course) weekly TV show for much of the year, but hopefully Slammiversary - which seems to be getting almost universal critical praise from those that have seen it - is the start of the promotion really starting to kick it in a creatively different direction to being WWE Lite. I've enjoyed a lot of the aspects of the promotion the last few months and been watching Impact far more regularly than WWE programming. I wish I could remember where I read it on Twitter, so apologies to whoever I'm taking this from without due credit, but someone highlighted (as SomethingSavage does above) that while WWE is all corporate buzzwords and people having endless matches with each other just to... earn the exact same match again or matches that exist simply for people to gain 'momentum' Impact feels like a promotion where people genuinely hate one another and then go into the ring to settle it. I could live without every show relying quite so heavily on weapons and brawling, but as has been pointed out, when you have such a bland show as Extreme Rules purporting to me 'extreme', a level of violence and intensity with really personal grudges and stories is very refreshing.

I agree, I thought Castle's run was solid and he brought a different and fun vibe to how we've typically been conditioned to expect the ROH Champion to be. In the end injuries derailed him, but I think he'll be positioned strongly when he comes back. Lethal may not be an earth shattering choice, but I think he's seen as a safe pair of hands, and actually, if you look at the shows in 2018 - and I've pretty much watched all of them, incl the TV, Lethal has been the most consistent singles guy in the company, putting on good to great matches every time he goes out there. Echoing your thoughts, it would be interesting to see if they would give Taven a shot at being a PPV main eventer in a singles match or even dare I say putting him over. Before this year I wasn't really a fan of him or the Kingdom but they've won me over this year. Taven is another guy who has had a really impressive year if you look across all the shows and I think could be close to breaking through.

Absolutely loved this match - these two teams have fantastic chemistry. I know criticism could be made of the lack of tags at times and all four guys being in the ring at the same time, but I enjoy the fact that by doing this they are deviating away from the standard work the heat to a hot tag. That obviously is tried and trusted for a reason, but with these guys, and especially the Bucks, the match works with the chaos and double teams. I loved the escalation and the frantic nature, and despite all the big moves, it never felt like overkill. I thought the Briscoes level of viciousness was spot on here. I watched these two teams have a great match live in London two years ago for ROH and I think this one was even better. As a nice warm-up/supplement check out the 6 man tag on ROH TV the week before with these two teams in as well. **** 1/2 for me.

EXACTLY!!!! Colombia produced a complete heel performance, full of every little trick in their arsenal, including multiple attempts at trying to distract the referee - it was pure wrestling 101! And England told the ultimate long term redemption angle - lose all those penalty shootouts and then finally win one. For those fans of long term booking this is a storyline 50 years in the making which actually had a payoff. Henderson's missed pen was a great false finish that I think most of the country bit on. Will stop now though, and as you say, stop derailing this thread!

This was a really fun match, where you got to enjoy pre BTE/Bullet Club Young Bucks just going out and having a great spotfest. As SLB highlights we get lots of old school Young Bucks sequences and they pretty much play traditional babyface for most of the match despite Super Smash Bros being the local guys. I like that they played up the past rivalry between the teams which helped Super Smash Bros to appear on the Bucks level despite them being off the mainstream radar nowadays. They did such a good job in the match that on a couple of occasions the crowd really bit on some of SSB's nearfalls. Everything was so smooth and crisp in the sequence and SSB seemed much less cartoony than the last time I saw them. I'm not sure if this was just a one off, but would love to see them get some more chances in ROH. Great stuff. (**** 1/4)

Those in the UK might have caught it on Monday, but there was an excellent 30 min documentary on Viper (who competed as Piper Niven in the MYC last year) that was really excellent. It was shown on BBC 1 which is a channel available to every household and I hope it got a good audience. Following the two Insane Fight Club docs that BBC also showed previously, ICW has been able to get some good publicity, but this was about Viper's personal story rather than any companies and I thought she came across fabulously. I've been a big fan of hers for a couple of years now - she's usually one of the highlights on an ICW show - and I thought she was in the top 3 or 4 performers in the MYC last year. It tells her story over the last few months, competing in Scotland and then also follows her on a tour of Stardom in Japan. Given her size, I know that there's a temptation to present her in matches as a bully heel but watching a show like this, she is just so damn likable that you can't help but root for her. She seems a lovely person, and came across really well. I hope she might be in the next MYC again, but given I think she's signed up to the new ITV World of Sport project I'm not sure if that will be possible. Anyway, for those in the UK you can watch it on the iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0b6q36l/fight-like-a-girl For those elsewhere in the world I'm sure there are ways you can find it! While talking about Viper, just to show how much you can get behind her, this was a promo that I think is bloody brilliant for the raw emotion she's able to convey and that needs wider viewing

Not really knowing anything about MMA, I can't comment too much on Punks skills (or lack thereof), but from my limited understanding, it was clearly going to be a long shot right from the start. Unlike some guys in wrestling that have a background in a discipline that could have translated to some success, or could have given them any sort of base to work from - be it an olympic background, high school amateur wrestling, kick boxing, judo, karate etc. etc. - as far as I could tell, Punk didn't really have anything that would help him try and make that leap - unless people here more informed know of anything? Fair play to him for giving it a try though. I know he's been paid well - but he's still tried to do something where getting punched in the face for real is an occupational hazard, so he gets my respect for that. Where he goes from here of course is anyone's guess. What with the trail he's been involved in, it feels like a guy who could quite easily never want anything to do with wrestling ever again.

So, there was quite the build up to this match… You have to go all the way back to May 2003 and Frontiers of Honor – the joint FWA/ROH show for the original genesis. Corino had been originally lined up to be part of the ROH team, however this came at a time when in storyline he had formed the imaginatively titled ‘The Group’ that was trying to fight against the company, so as he’s revealed in interviews since he didn’t think it made the most logical sense. Whatever the exact reasons, he didn’t end up appearing on the show which led to Shane going on his wrestling radio show to publically criticise Corino. Eventually the two would bury the hatchet behind the scenes, but publically there was no acknowledgement and so when Corino ‘unexpectedly’ came out of the crowd at New Frontiers in March 2004, the internet savvy FWA crowd were all over this ‘shoot’ angle. At New Frontiers Corino confronted Shane, effectively taking that show hostage and with both cutting some personal promo’s on one another. Rather than having them clash that early they wisely held off on a Shane/Corino match, instead Corino faced Doug Williams for the FWA Title that night (the beginning of the long build-up to Shane and Williams for British Uprising III) which Shane ending up interfering in to cost Corino his chance of winning the belt. In June 04 Corino and Shane were then set to be on either side of a tag match at Carpe Diem but this time flight problems prevented the match. While obviously a blow at the time for that show, in the long term it ended up adding even more heat and anticipation for the one-on-one match between them. Before we finally get to the match itself, Hotwired is also remembered as being the show where the FWA managed to get some fairly decent mainstream publicity for an angle between Shane (spinning multiple feuds at the same time) and British boxer Danny Williams who had got notoriety for knocking out Mike Tyson in his comeback match shortly before this. While not on an Austin/Tyson level from 98, it was all shot and carried off pretty convincingly with officials separating the two when it kicked off. The end result was FWA management stripping Shane of his title as the company’s Managing Director and setting the stage for this match. With the great build for this match, there is a real buzz amongst the crowd and thankfully we don’t get any lockup to start – they fire off on each other with forearms right from the start. Shane plays his role really well in the beginning, trying to bail to the outside to buy time and get away from Corino’s fury, but without going full chicken shit heel, which wouldn’t feel natural given his size. You get that sense of hatred coming through in Corino’s work and the crowd brawling on the outside has energy and intensity to it, rather than the somewhat limp walk and brawl that can often turn into. With Shane trying to escape through the crowd, Corino channels his inner ECW and takes him up and down the bleachers and across the staging area. As I’ve mentioned before the way the Broxbourne Civic Hall was set up made for a great building to brawl across. When they are on the stage, Shane ends up pile driving Corino on it and the result is one of the legendary Corino bladejobs – it’s a nasty amount of blood, but again, fits exactly with the story of the match. While the brawl between the two is fun, it’s the home stretch and the different run in’s that make it memorable. When the ref gets bumped, we get Shane’s personal security goons (including Martin Stone/NXT’s Danny Burch) getting involved before being fought off by Jack Xavier, Aviv Mayan and Ross Jordan who had already teamed up against the security earlier on this show, all of whom had also had issues with Shane during the past several months. With them fighting round the building we then get Shane’s protégé Hade Vansen looking to take out Corino, until he’s taken care of by the FWA Commissioner Flash Barker to a massive pop. Showing the strength of the storytelling in FWA in 2003/04, in storyline terms Vansen was the one held responsible for injuring Barker’s leg at British Uprising II the year before and that had forced his retirement so it’s fantastically cathartic to see Barker getting to pummel the cocky Vansen with punches. We get a number of really good false finishes and near falls until karma captures up with Shane in the form of Doug Williams hitting him with the FWA title belt allowing Corino to hit the lariat for the win and a great reaction. While the Williams interference at the end might not feel natural given it’s a babyface helping to outnumber the heel – it again works in the context of the story. The show before, Shane and his cronies had ambushed Williams, and wiped his blood on the title in a great angle, before stealing the belt. In blowing off one feud they were also using the match to build up the Williams/Shane title match for British Uprising III. Watched in isolation, I’m not sure people would get too carried away by this match – on a technical level it’s a fairly bog standard brawl, although there is great intensity and time isn’t spent setting up over choreographed plunder spots that would take you out of the moment of feeling the hatred - but it’s all elevated by the build-up, over a year in the making and which had seen several plot twists and turns to get there. In the match itself there are lots of run-ins and ref bumps, what you might describe as ‘over-booking’ and seen in a negative light. This of course, when done too much and done to excess can be a turn-off, but when done right it can be a fantastic storytelling tool. In this match the context means it all makes sense, interweaving several long running and interconnected storylines, to both blowoff the Corino/Shane rivalry but also build-up multiple matches for British Uprising. It’s great pro wrestling. (*** ¾)

Hotwired 2004 was the last stop before British Uprising III – the biggest event in the FWA’s history. It kept in play most of the key storyline’s heading into the big show and was another excellent event in a consistent run of quality shows for the company in 2004. Sadly however, rather than the FWA being spring boarded onto greater success, for many, this was the peak of the curve and the company would soon after start it’s downward slide. For Greg Lambert - both a performer with the company and part of the creative at this stage – in his book Holy Grail, September 2004 and this event was the FWA’s highest point. This six man tag was all about the ever escalating Hade Vansen and Jack Xavier rivalry over the All-England Title, but the strength of FWA storytelling in 2004 is that the other guys in the match are also interlinked. Vansen’s heel turn at the end of 2003 had really improved things for a guy that had been floundering as a bland and pretty unlikeable face, but his association with Alex Shane as his protégé is what got him over. Going all the way back to Crunch in April 04, his interference cost Xavier the last man standing match with Shane. Since that point, Xavier and Vansen had fought for the title at Vendetta in July – which ended in a double knockout – before Xavier won a Round Robin tournament in Enfield beating Vansen in the final to get himself another title shot at British Uprising III the month after. Vansen then is partnered by Stixx (still going on the UK scene today) and Martin Stone (NXT’s Danny Burch, just breaking into the business) who were both part of Alex Shane’s personal security team and therefore also aligned with Vansen. Xavier is partnered by two young guys - Aviv Maayan and Ross Jordan (still competing on the UK scene as RJ Singh) who had both been foes of Shane/Vansen in the summer, including Mayan getting a big upset win over Shane. This is a really fun 6 man tag, with lots of action, although you can tell a lot of the guys were still very green, with a few sloppy moments. We get some good heeling early on from Vansen, who is always looking to tag out when Xavier comes in, but that means the other guys get a good opportunity to showcase themselves. Stixx and Mayan have an excellent opening sequence, with their version of the famous Low Ki/Amazing Red exchange from ROH with some really rapid counters. As he has throughout most of 2004, Mayan looks really polished for a guy still very fresh into wrestling and it’s a real shame he dropped out of wrestling just a few years after this. All three faces get the chance for some shine early until Ross Jordan gets planted with a nasty powerbomb by Stone to turn him into the face in peril. There’s nothing too dynamic about the heat segment but even this early into his career you can see the potential in Stone – everything he does is sound and looks vicious. As is usually the case with a 6 man tag, we get a run of everyone hitting some big moves, including dives from all the faces to the outside. Stixx breaks up Xavier’s first attempt at getting Vansen up for his X-Plex finisher with a spear, but he manages to get it second time around to build their title match at Uprising III by showing he can pin the champion. (***)

I always really enjoyed that spot too. I'm not sure if he still does it, but it used to be a fairly regular move that Austin Aries would do. He's about the only guy I've seen do it in recent years though.

To add to the love this show is getting, I'm really enjoying the format - this is the perfect level of serious discussion with humour - exactly the right balance. While the Monday Night Wars - particularly as you get into the Austin/nWo periods - are well documented, it'd great the level of detail and analysis you are going into as well as highlighting all those smaller details that tend to get forgotten under the weight of the big iconic segments that we always see on the RAW anniversary shows. I went back and watched all the RAWs and PPVs from the WWF in 1997 on the Network which was a fantastic year, but given I've been wanting another Network rewatch project to get into may have to start following along with all the shows as well as your podcasts.