Main image by @RevProUK
Here’s five things you need to know about British wrestling this week:
1) RevPro lined things up for Epic Encounter
Revolution Pro Wrestling used the 15th edition of their monthly Live At The Cockpit series last Sunday to set things up for their latest big York Hall show, Epic Encounter, tonight in Bethnal Green. Although New Japan talent is in town, the undercard was still in flux but now looks much more fixed after what went down in Marylebone.
New Undisputed British Tag Team Champions CCK — Chris Brookes & Travis Banks — will make their York Hall debuts against the impromptu team of Martin Stone & Sami Callihan, which came about after Stone (who had just beaten Luke Phoenix) challenged Callihan — who had already been announced for the show — to face him, only for CCK to challenge them both to a tag team match.
CCK returned in the show’s main event, and defeated Ryan Smile & Shane Strickland in their first defense of their titles.
Aerial assassin Will Ospreay strikes — photo by ShootWrestle’s JD Howells
Interim British Cruiserweight Champion Josh Bodom will finally face Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion Will Ospreay to unify the belts at York Hall, and they warmed up for their, ahem, epic encounter by facing off in a tag team match which also included Bubblegum (on Ospreay’s side) and Zack Gibson (for Bodom).
Towards the end of the match, Ospreay fell heavily and there were injury fears, but he’s thankfully okay.
The show, which also featured wins for Eddie Dennis and the increasingly-unhinged Lord Gideon Grey over graduates of the Portsmouth School of Wrestling, set up one more contest for York Hall as former Undisputed Tag Team Champions Sha Samuels and James Castle clashed once more, which led to RevPro head honcho Andy Quildan declaring they should settle their differences in a no DQ match.
Epic Encounter — which also features The Elite, Hirooki Goto, and Hiromu Takahashi — is sold out but will appear within days on RevPro On Demand, where you can already see Sunday’s Cockpit show. They’re back at the Cockpit on May 7th.
2) King Grayson’s reign of terror continued in Morecambe
After ending the Alpha-Omega Wrestling career of BritWres legend Stixx (which hastened his retirement earlier this year), AOW Heavyweight Champion “King” Ryan Grayson has stood unchallenged at the top of the Alpha-Omega roost, and will remain there for some time if the evidence of last Saturday’s win over Danny Hope — the culmination of a three-year feud between the two, and the result of some clever plotting by the monarch — at War On The Shore 2017 is to be believed.
Grayson will next face Stallion at June’s Morecambe Mayhem in a street fight.
Grayson hits Hope with The Royal Decree — photo by Tony Knox
The promotion’s other champions were also successful in their title defenses on the show, with Lana Austin turning back international star Toni Storm to keep her AOW Women’s title, and AOW Tag Team Champions Solar Power surviving the challenge of Barricade & Alton Thorne by disqualification when Andrew Dekker attacked Cyanide.
Dekker had teamed with Barricade in the show opener, beating the team of WWE UK’s Sam Gradwell & Ryan Hunter, after which Gradwell attacked his partner.
Other clashes on the card saw Dean MacManus beat Hunter, and Joey Hayes win a no disqualification elimination match over Sexy Kev, Shawn Vasey, Matt Fox, Rikki Kray, and Mr. Williams. Photographer Tony Knox — whose brilliant work has gratefully graced this column on many occasions — was also inducted into the Morecambe Hall of Fame.
Alpha-Omega are back with that Morecambe Mayhem show on June 10th, which kicks off their summer season.
3) Liam Slater overcomes the odds — and Joseph Conners’ control — to manifest his Destiny
Liam Slater outlasted Screwface last Saturday to win the 20-man Destiny rumble which closed New Generation Wrestling’s biggest show ever.
Destiny, which attracted 1,200 fans to Hull’s City Hall (a promotion and venue record), saw Slater earn that shot at the NGW Undisputed Championship, which is still in the hands of Matt Myers. Myers had put the belt on the line against a surprise opponent of top heel Joseph Conners’ choosing, only to have to face Conners himself.
Conners, who surrounded the ring with his cohorts, looked to have the upper hand, but Slater — who had been in his thrall — suddenly turned on his evil boss and handed the victory to longtime pal Myers. Myers, who won the title from lifelong friend Nathan Cruz, will have to face a similar challenge down the line.
A packed Hull City Hall
The event, which was filmed for the brand new series five of British Wrestling Weekly (which airs on local cable channels in the UK, on the Fight Network in the US and Canada, and hosted on What Culture Pro Wrestling’s YouTube channel), saw further interference in NGW’s business from RJ Singh and his students.
Not only did his influence help Alex Gracie & Cayden Lay beat Team Sports to gain spots in the rumble, he also opened the show by berating NGW Academy graduate JD Boom, only to be confronted by Justin Sysum, who has spent the last year performing on the live Marvel Comics arena tour.
Sysum picked up the victory to underline his credentials, but the NGW GEN:X title scene is still unclear as a number one contender’s four-way match went to a time limit draw. The title — also held by Myers — is in the sights of El Ligero, Robbie X, Bubblegum, and Singh-acolyte Jake McCluskey, but nothing could separate those four.
Finally, Nathan Cruz — who lost the Undisputed title last time out to Myers, came out to address the crowd when he was attacked by NGW Tag Team Champions Insane Fight Club. The Scots were thwarted by Zack Gibson, and an impromptu tag team match was made, which Cruz & Gibson won, but Joe Hendry declared that he & Kid Fite were not putting the titles on the line.
NGW return to Hull on June 9th, but are running the Butlin’s holiday camps shows throughout 2017.
4) Scotland isn’t all ICW
Mikey Whiplash’s Source Wrestling School put on a showcase in the Glasgow suburb of Shawlands last Friday, with a mixture of rookies and bigger names.
The Insane Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champions The Marauders bossed the main event, beating The Underdogs, and the former champions Polo Promotions were also in action, downing The Titans of the North. Whiplash, Aspen Faith, and Christopher Saynt were also in action, and Source has another showcase on April 28th in Govan.
Whiplash opens the show in Shawlands
East of the capital, in Airdrie, Premier British Wrestling ran the Town Hall last Saturday, with some of Scotland’s biggest names. The show was headlined by a win for Mark Coffey over Mikey Whiplash, and Mark’s brother Joe was also in action, losing to Aaron Echo in what must be considered a slight upset.
The show also featured a title vs. title clash, as the PBW Tag Team Champions Lou King Sharp & Krieger were disqualified against The Marauders, and there were also wins for Davey Blaze, Dylan Angel, and Emily Hayden. PBW return on April 21st and 22nd, with WWE UK’s Pete Dunne in town.
Continuing the Scottish theme, Target Wrestling popped north of the border to Annan’s Corner House Hotel, where The Tyne Wolves defeated The Coyote Kid & Spyda on top.
Though Target Heavyweight Champion Shady Nattrass was absent, his chasing pack picked up wins, with Damon Havok, Karnage, and Ryan Hunter being successful in singles action, and Medallion teaming with Ivy Mist to beat Luke Ross & Chris Cage. Target are back on April 22nd for their 4th Anniversary show in Carlisle.
5) Xander Cooper is Ironfist’s Ultimate X (and other stuff)
Ironfist Wrestling are ramping up their schedule in 2017 — including traveling to other local towns — and they gave their hometown Hereford fans a treat last Saturday with X Games at the Richmond Club Place in the town.
The show was headlined by an Ultimate X match, and Xander Cooper made a rare trip to Midlands to beat Chris Brookes, Killian Jacobs, and Clayton Jackson to take the X and win the match.
The show featured an Ironfist Flyweight Championship match, which saw Chris Royals beat Alex Gracie to win the belt, and also saw wins for Joey Scott, Sebastian Knight, and the team of Xia Brookside & Millie McKenzie in a women’s tag team match. Ironfist are next in action in Halesowen on May 5th, with Matt Riddle scheduled.
Killian Jacobs flies at Chris Brookes — photo by Wrestleography
Also last Saturday, over the border in north Wales, PCW ran Wrexham in conjunction with the Wrexham Comic Con, and held a mini-tournament to find a number one contender to Bubblegum’s PCW Cruiserweight title.
It was won by the veteran Dean Allmark, who beat Philip Michael, Drew Parker, and Tel Banham in a four-man final, after each of them had won a qualifying match.
In a clash of the heavyweights, Tyson T-Bone beat James Drake, and there was mixed tag team action which saw PCW Academy graduates Big T Justice & Lauren defeat Seymour Gains & Rhio. PCW are back on April 21st, with Lucha Underground stars Angelico and Jack Evans.