[2000-09-23-FWA (UK)-The Rules Have Changed] Jody Fleisch & Kevin O'Neill & Blade vs Jonny Storm & LX Blade & Ross Gordon

[soup23]

We certainly don’t want to neglect the Brit scene and there are some glimpses within this match where you see the athleticism of Storm and Fleisch shine through, but overall this was kind of a mess with not much flow. No one else besides Storm and Jody are standing out from the pack either. Alex Shane has big size and does do some impressive moves like the one arm slam to Jody but he also has some kicks that couldn’t break an egg and was out of position at points. The match broke down a few times throughout and then ends rather suddenly for the face victory. *1/2

[Tim Evans]

This is an FWA vs NWA match. Chad is right that Storm and Fleisch stood out from the pack. Especially Fleish with his flying. The other guys look like backyarders.

[GSR]

A special UCW vs FWA challenge match with Jonny Storm and co representing the UCW.  There are people far more qualified to talk about the British 2000 scene than me, but Ross Gordon sounds very much like Ross Hutchinson who I thought was more of a promoter/mouthpiece (as well as being the former editor of Suckerpunch fanzine) as opposed to a trained wrestler.  If it is him it would explain why his stuff looks so bad (including struggling to apply a Figure Four) and why he mainly sticks to being a chicken shit heel who picks his shots.  LX Blade is an Alex Shane gimmick and he towers over everyone else.  Nice counter of the Fleisch top rope frankensteiner and one armed press aside, he was pretty lumbering and cumbersome.  Jodie was the obvious standout here and he and Jonny work some fast paced Lucha inspired sequences.  I adore their match from ‘Best of the Best 2’, but on the whole Jonny Storm is someone I’ve never truly been sold on.  I don’t know who is Kevin O’Neill and who is Blade, although it doesn’t matter as neither showed anything anyway.  Jodie lands a gorgeous Shooting Star Press and Gordon breaks up the pin.  LX with that one armed press into a fireman’s carry sit out slam on Fleisch for a two.  He tags in Gordon and gets him to hold Jodie while Jonny passes him a chair.  If you don’t know how this is ending you’re clearly new to the world of wrestling!  Of course Fleisch moves and Shane nails Gordon over the head with the chair.  Someone from the dressing room then runs out and attacks LX as Ross ‘the Boss’ is pinned by one of O’Neill or FWA Blade.  Gordon doesn’t sell the shot after dropping the fall, running around ringside and even forcing himself on the female ring announcer.  An all over the place match and not the best of starts to the British scene on the back of Dirtbike Kid/Sabu.