UK & Europe Current Wrestling Talk

[Grimmas]

I love Progress. For a variety of reasons.

 

1) The booking and storylines. Nothing is too complicated or silly. The wins and loses matter. They build up big matches over time. Love it.

 

2) The crowd. They are like ECW with their passion, but they are British so it's like watching a soccer game sometimes. It's not at an annoying level like most other companies though. It's passion for the wrestlers and product.

 

3) Cheap streaming service with all their stuff I can watch on the roku.

 

Talk about Progress, Rev Pro, WXW or whatever here.

[kingliam]

I love Progress. For a variety of reasons.

 

1) The booking and storylines. Nothing is too complicated or silly. The wins and loses matter. They build up big matches over time. Love it.

 

2) The crowd. They are like ECW with their passion, but they are British so it's like watching a soccer game sometimes. It's not at an annoying level like most other companies though. It's passion for the wrestlers and product.

 

3) Cheap streaming service with all their stuff I can watch on the roku.

 

Talk about Progress, Rev Pro, WXW or whatever here.

 

The crowd generally stay the right side of things, but can be a bit annoying in person. However, I do really enjoy the stuff the company churns out.

 

Another promotion I currently like is Attack Pro, although I'm not a huge fan of the guys in the main event stuff (Wild Boar, Eddie Dennis). Their undercard is really fun though.

[Boon]

Like I said in the other thread, just signed up for the service, half way through the Manchester and I have to say I'm well involved with the show, and enjoying it a lot.

[Luchaundead]

RPW is so impressing me lately I am starting to like it more than Progress for straight action but Progress still gets me excited with their longer form storytelling. OTT is putting on amazing stuff but it's getting hard to keep up with. And I'm such a huge fan of ATTACK right now because they are the only company really pushing Chris Brookes who is probably my current favorite grapple-fuck/WOS type guy.

[Phil Schneider]

I liked Chris Brookes when I watched the Shootstyle Tetsujin show. What other Brookes can I easily watch?

[Luchaundead]

I liked Chris Brookes when I watched the Shootstyle Tetsujin show. What other Brookes can I easily watch?

There is a massive amount of Brookes on youtube starting with this

 

He also has been working in a tag team called calamari catch kings with Mondai Lykos in attack and Jon Gresham in WXW both companies are pretty easy to watch especially WXW as it's on the Highspots network

[ButchReedMark]

Mught be worth merging this thread with http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/27934-modern-wrestling-in-the-uk

 

Anyway, in the most important news of all, TXW is returning in August. They're based in Coventry and it's the most fun promotion in the whole entire world. They also have had some blinders there in the past. Danielson vs ZSJ being a major highlight. It was pretty much ZSJ's home promotion a few years back.

[Phil Schneider]

I watched this match

 

 

Really fun stuff, Takayama looked good and I dug Brookes too

[Luchaundead]

I watched this match

 

 

Really fun stuff, Takayama looked good and I dug Brookes too

I have quickly become a huge fan of his

 

check these out

 

 

 

[ButchReedMark]

Brookes has done some fun stuff in TXW, had a great team/feud with Tyler Bate (WHo I think is currently still only about 19). Here they are tagging against the AWESOME Henchmen.

 

 

And here's The Henchmen vs James Mason and Mike Peace from TXW sister promotion AMP, which is a bit more family friendly.

 

[Gutenberger]

Beat me in creating this

 

What I love about the shows is the special live atmosphere. While it feels as if everyone's a big family, with all the special chants that come from beeing there a long time etc., at least I got the feeling of beeing accepted and really quickly getting into everything.

[NotJayTabb]

Mught be worth merging this thread with http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/27934-modern-wrestling-in-the-uk

 

Anyway, in the most important news of all, TXW is returning in August. They're based in Coventry and it's the most fun promotion in the whole entire world. They also have had some blinders there in the past. Danielson vs ZSJ being a major highlight. It was pretty much ZSJ's home promotion a few years back.

Totally on board with this, TXW are easily my favourite promotion in the UK, and are responsible for hosting my favourite match I've seen in person (ZSJ vs Pete Dunne in Jan 2014). They've been on hiatus for 18 months due to venue issues, but they were on a rich run of form when they went on break: "Bad Wales" Eddie Dennis was on fire as the deranged vainglorious champion, there was a great Chris Brookes/Tyler Bate feud that was scheduled to finish in a deathmatch after Brookes hung Bate with a bicycle lock to win their last match, and the Henchmen vs Titans of Terror match was going to be an awesome battle of massive, massive men. I'm beyond psyched for them to return.

 

Aside from TXW, I'm lucky to have a few good promotions running near me: HOPE seem to be putting on shows almost every week in the backposts of the East Midlands, and their core roster is really good: guys like CJ Banks, Joseph Connors, Martin Kirby and Jack Jester. The show I'm going to this Friday has Jester/Kirby as the main event for the HOPE title, which should be a blast.

 

Also a fan of House of Pain Wrestling, who I mentioned in the little-used "Shows You've Been To In 2016" thread. They're an academy promotion, with all the matches being between trainees of Stixx's HOP wrestling school. The shows are only £5 for 6 matches, and there are some really decent prospects coming through. Joseph Connors has already made a name for himself in the UK, and there are other guys like Gabriel Kidd and Zak Northern who should be working for bigger promotions.

[TonyPulis'Cap]

For those who are into Progress and the like, it might seem a bit tame, but for the last year or so I’ve really been enjoying NGW, the promotion that forms the basis for British Wrestling Weekly. Because of being filmed for TV, the production values are really top notch and the Hull City Hall where they run some of their big shows looks fantastic on screen with big crowds. They also run the Liverpool Olympia, which is such a cool building – loved being there to watch ROH Unified back in the day – and through that they are sort of an RPW but for the North, although they don’t really use the big US or Japanese imports at all (which I do like as it gives the UK guys more time to shine).

 

As I said, the presentation and storylines might be a bit cheesy or basic for some, but it’s just good old fashioned storytelling, and you can tell from the large numbers of kids and families at the shows that they are going for a different market than the likes of Progress or ICW, which is why I like them in a way, everything’s really simple. Typically their title holders have nice long runs with the belt with long term build, with I think the last three champions each having reigns of around a year.

 

Their streaming service is not as good as the others, run through the British Wrestling TV site that does all the Wrestletalk TV stuff, but it’s pretty cheap – think £3.99 a month – and if you catch up on some of their old shows you’ll see some good storytelling and some pretty decent matches. The weekly TV show is which is on Youtube is also a really breezy 45 minute watch.

 

Particular recommendations would be the excellent Rampage Brown vs El. Ligero 30 min Iron Man match from their Eternal Glory 2014, or any of the matches from the Davey Boy Smith Cup in 2015, which was a round robin tournament that involved Nathan Cruz, Zack Gibson, Mike Hitchman and Bubblegum. A qualifying match for that tournament, also from Eternal Glory 2014, involving Gibson and Will Ospreay built around Gibson dismantling his arm is also very good. Sort of like a precursor to the Ospreay/Kushida match in a way.

[concrete1992]

Side Q: Anyone here purchase the wXw Season Pass for 2016?

[Gutenberger]

I was thinking about getting, but due to limited financial possibilities couldn't afford it.

[Indikator]

I'm not aware that Vimeo (the wXw provider) is troublesome in any way, of course I can't guarantee that because of the usual language/country crap. I wouldn't expect any problems.

 

As wXw is now pretty much a touring company it might be a good idea to categorize certain cities, show concepts and crowds as you really can't compare some East German rednecks from Limbach-Oberfrohna with the weekend tournament crowd of smarkish superfans who spend lots of money. I still haven't seen shows from half of the cities, but I've been to pretty much all environments already, even had the experience of 100 solemn locals in Bitburg.

[Luchaundead]

Side Q: Anyone here purchase the wXw Season Pass for 2016?

I was thinking about it until I saw the sheer volume of stuff from wXw that is on the Highspots Network and I'm not one of these people that needs to see everything ASAP so I'm fine waiting a bit to see it later on so I'll work with if they stop uploading everything I will think about the season pass. I know people to have moral or principal issues with High Spots something that kept me from signing up as quickly as I normally would have as well but now that I have it I really appreciate the service it has a really varied and gigantic library of worthwhile stuff

[soup23]

Watched Progress 29

 

Dante vs. O'Connor - The Atlas Hoss tournament sounds like an interesting premise but most of the guys don't excite me in the slightest. This was a lumbering match that had the heavy power moves feeling like they had minimal impact. Neither guy has a presence which is key in matches like these. I worry for Dante as a singles guy separate from End in PROGRESS.

 

Flash Morgan Webster vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - I watched a match from these two from Southside before this one to get a feel of how things would transpire. They did a really good job of making this feel like a big match before it started. This was the most I have ever enjoyed Webster. He showed some toughness and worked really well and implementing his flashy offense here. Sabre has been on a tear this year and it looks like he will be a huge contender in the cruiser tournament proper. I did like how in the Southside match, Webster got caught in the Breaks Special from the 450, but here they mixed that up with Sabre getting the knees in. Very good stuff. ***1/2

 

Pete Dunne vs. Jack Gallagher - Another really good match. Gallagher has a strange look but does everything well and he has a charisma to him that reminds me of Dalton Castle. I enjoy that he also has some legit toughness in him. Dunne is really one of the more solid heels in Progress as I would put him in the same boat as Robinson and Gibson. ***1/2

 

Eaver vs. Moser - This Week in Wrestling touched on it this week when they reviewed Progress 28, but I don't think either of these two guys are ready to step up into a high profile position just yet. They both have the character work that is engaging and also some moves they can execute well but they are unable to put it all together into an engaging match. This was really disappointing and felt anticlimatic as a tournament final

 

Black and Elizabeth vs. Jinny and Pollyanna- Really fun character stuff here and good story and work to back it up. I am glad that the next Natural Progression tournament will be all female and think Jinny in particular could be a real break out star in the next year or so. ***

 

Coffey vs. Rampage Brown - This match wouldn't end. Another sluggish, mundane affair with the big guys. I just feel apprehensive when I feel like Flash Morgan Webster has more impact on his strikes on this night than these two guys do

 

FSU & London Riots vs. The Origin - A really fun 8 man tag with a lot of people able to get a shine. Nathan Cruz isn't great in ring at all but he is such a loathable character and I think he did enough here that I can compare him to The Miz in WWE in that he adequately did his job. Gibson continues to be someone that really could main event a show if given the opportunity. The Riots sold the leg injury well and the timing of the comeback was well done. ***

 

Tommy End vs. Marty Scurll - Two guys that I like but don't love. The match kind of followed that tone. It was worked well and had some brutal individual spots but also didn't have the connective tissue to really make it a classic. I continue to struggle mightily with The Villain as an overall character as it just feels like someone trying way too hard everytime I see it. ***1/4

 

Overall a show with some great consistency at points but also some pretty big low points. Middle of the road from the PROGRESS shows I have seen.

[Laz]

ICW is my favorite overall UK company because of how little care is given to crafting great matches rather than compelling storylines. As a testament to Mark Dallas and his booking abilities, Chris Renfrew might be one of the worst wrestlers I've ever seen, but the booking overcomes it and makes his involvement worthwhile.

 

Progress is right behind it in terms of my favorability. Great matches, really solid long term storytelling, and that two of its focal points since opening (ZSJ and Ospreay) are now gaining such incredible international momentum speaks to the average level of quality that the company puts out.

[van_Fair]

wXw's Superstars of Wrestling Night 1 has been uploaded on Vimeo now. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/wxwmtw2016/165403735
I attended the show live and watched it again yesterday to make sure the matches I liked hold up on rewatch.

wXw World Tag Team Title Match
Cerberus (Ilja Dragunov & Julian Nero) (w/Adam Polak & Dirty Dragan) © vs. Sumerian Death Squad (Michael Dante & Tommy End)

I was quite excited when this match was announced late for this card, as I am quite a big fan of Ilja Dragunov and the SDS. But I ended up being disappointed by this. There was some nice crowd brawling to start off, but it slowed down afterwards and then just never went into another gear. I liked it a bit more on rewatch but it was still just a match.

GFW NEXGEN Title Match
Sonjay Dutt © vs. Black Fire

This was quite fun although it took them a while to hook the crowd. The NEXGEN title is supposed to be GFWs version of the cruiserweight/x-division title and for that it looks ridiculously huge. Then again who cares about GFW. Sonjay Dutt is still very good and I think he is a bit wasted being attached to the hip with Jarett. Black Fire was not someone I was a huge fan of based off previous work, but he is one of those workers that comes across a lot better and more charismatic live. This probably should have been the opener as it was the style of match that is more suited to that.

Singles Match
Bobby Gunns vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Bobby Gunns is one of the most talented guys on the wXw roster and he has come a long way in the past 6 months. He actually beat ZSJ at the wXws shoot style tournament Ambition and so this the rematch from that. This really is more of an exhibition with both guys showing off their technical skill and unfortunately I have to say they lost the crowd a bit here. Nevertheless this is worth a watch just to watch Bobby Gunns as he is definitely a guy people should keep their eye on.

Singles Match
Axel Dieter Jr. vs. Sasa Keel

Until the next match this was my match of the night. This was just a great Speed vs Power fight and it devolved into just a drag out brawl towards the end. Keel has an amazing presence live and the dude is just incredibly strong. I did not like the finish at first but thinking about it afterwards and watching it again it makes sense with the storyline they are telling with ADJ. Early on Keel got his nose busted open and in a great visual that was unfortunately missed by the cameras he had the blood running down his teeth while Axel had him in a hammerlock. This might become my favorite match from this card again if I rewatch it a couple of times. I love how they are fighting for every hold and it just becomes incredibly nasty very quickly.

Singles Match
Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay

After it ended this was easily my match of the night and it still is the best match I ever watched live. I went into it with tamed expectations as this did not have the stakes of their Progress match so I suspected them to not go all out. But going all out is exactly what they did. They worked an incredibly fun spot fest and kept up a frenetic pace throughout the entire match. Not a huge amount of psychology to be found here, but it is still well worth a watch. These guys are just so good at what they do and the crowd went just absolutely mental at the end of this match.

Singles Match
Big Daddy Walter vs. Gangrel

Better than expected honestly. Walter is awesome, but I have never had a high opinion of Gangrel's wrestling skills. He held up his end of the bargain better than I thought, especially considering his age and the fact that he is not really an active wrestler anymore. It was fine for what it was.

wXw Shotgun Title Match (Special Enforcer: Nigel McGuinness)
Da Mack © vs. Kim Ray (w/Ivanov)

Kim Ray is an amazing heel, it is just so much fun to boo this guy. He has an all time great shit eating grin and he is incredibly over with the crowd as a heel, which with the smarky crowd in Hamburg is quite an achievement. His arsenal is flashy enough to keep the crowd invested but not too flashy that it gets him cheered. Da Mack is decent enough as a wrestler, but he is charismatic enough to make him a very like able baby face. The Nigel and Ivanov was kept to a minimum so overall a enjoyable match.

Tag Team Match
Emil Sitoci & Jurn Simmons vs. Jeff Jarrett & John Klinger

This was all shtick and it was great live. Jarrett basically worked this like an 80s tag match in Memphis and he might be the ultimate carny coming out in full Bullet Club gear. The heels who are both Dutch took a lot of abuse from the crowd based on the fact that the Netherlands failed to qualify for the European Championship and Jarrett encouraged the crowd with every chant. Unusually he was a baby face here and him as a baby face at this stage of his career is much more enjoyable than his heel work. The match itself was fine.

Overall: I definitely recommend this show as no match was bad and two outright great matches with Axel Dieter Jr vs Sasa Keel and Will Ospreay vs Marty Scurll.

[pantherwagner]

There will be another Lucha Libre show in London in two months. I'll probably go even if the lineup doesn't look all that exciting. There are two very good craft beer pubs nearby so that helps.

 

THE GREATEST SPECTACLE OF LUCHA LIBRE

FRIDAY 1ST & SATURDAY 2ND OF JULY 2016

YORK HALL, BETHNAL GREEN LONDON

DOORS: 6.30PM / SHOW: 8PM

Mexico’s iconic masked superheroes return to the UK to perform in “The Greatest Spectacle of Lucha Libre”, an electrifying two-day extravaganza at London’s York Hall in Bethnal Green on the Friday 1st & Saturday 2nd of July.

The spectacles feature a stellar line-up featuring the mighty Silver King (aka Ramses in the film Nacho Libre), international wrestling star Juventud ‘Juvi’ Guerrera, Brazilian capoeira masked luchador Zumbi, high-flying luchador Cielito, El Paso’s magnificent Magno as well as Mexico’s female stars Lady Apache and Chika Tormenta, plus the UK’s own Lucha Libre stars, the heroes of ‘Lucha Britannia’ that feature the exótico Cassius and the incredible Pure Britannico amongst others.

London’s famous York Hall will be transformed into a Mexican Arena with a retro and futuristic style, transporting audiences to a timeless era where legends and new lucha stars battle in epic live confrontations of Good vs. Evil.

[soup23]

Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 2/7/16

 

Rev Pro has this for free the next couple of days on their demand service. I usually am not distracted by production and announcing but I did think both were a detriment here. The way some of the moves were filmed were not flattering to Ospreay and the announcers were overselling the action in general. Ospreay overall had a slight off night on his high flying moves. The Cockpit does feel like a condensed space so I don't know if that played into or not but he wasn't really accurate on his big dive at the closing moments of the match. I thought Sabre was fantastic here. I liked him emphasizing the neck as that means Ospreay can run through all his flashy offense in the comeback and it wont cause any selling issues. Sabre really attacks the neck here with some great variations on straight jacket submissions, a brutal Tiger and Dragon suplex, a sick dragon sleeper with his arms locked behind his back and finally finishing Ospreay off with the submission where he sits on the neck that I really should learn the name of. This was a match that didn't have the ambition of the Evolve match but it told a great story and Sabre was a wonderful ring general throughout the match. ****

[van_Fair]

wXw has put up the Sasa Keel vs Axel Dieter Jr match, that I raved about on the last page, for free on this weeks Shotgun. Unfortunately they cut out a few minutes early where Sasa Keel gets his nose busted open. Still a really good match.

 

[Boon]

 

Left side looks decent, if Hero goes to the final he's got some great potential matches en route...

[Luchaundead]

I'm seeing End over Hero in the semi leading to End v Whiplash final. Just seems weird the only two with heat are on opposite sides of the bracket.