Southside Wrestling Entertainment Battle Of The Ego’s 3 Review By Robert Shade

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Credit for all photos to Brett Hadley

When traveling down to St Neots for this show my son commented that this event had no imports on it and also said that he wondered if having two comedy matches on the same show was too much, when we travelled back home following on from the conclusion of this event he said that this was one of the most entertaining and fun wrestling shows that he had attended, given that this was our 8th show already this calender year and none of the previous shows were poor and the previous week we had been to the outstanding Dragon Gate UK show in Castleford this was some praise and words which I totally endorse.

On our previous visit to St Neots we had seen the high profile no ropes match in the El Ligero vs Ego Dragon (Martin Kirby) feud, this time around there was no single match which was as unique to view so again I wondered if this might pale a little in comparison, absolutely not, this show just like the previous SWE show in Letchworth demonstrated sthat Southside is a promotion which continues to grow as further emphasised by continuing improving production values with investment in lighting and entrance effects being used here and in terms of the in ring product every match in it’s individual way brought entertainment of the highest order to the vocal and very lively crowd which was absolutely absorbed throughout with the product being put to them.

 The first match of the night was a grudge match between Stixx and Jonny Storm - bit of background for those unfamiliar, Stixx is obsessing that SWE management is purposefully keeping him away from the Heavyweight title picture by matching him up with opponents who fully occupy him and do not allow him to challenge for the title, this is possibly true given the shenanigans that the despicable Harvey Dale brings at ringside, Stixx himself will have fully trained Mr Dale up on such tactics and as SWE is a promotion which is promoting class in every meaning of the word there is no such place in the title hunt for such a pair of wrestling rogues - such tactics led to this match up as in the previous SWE show at Letchworth Jonny Storm was in the final of a tournament to decide the number one contender for the heavyweight title when Stixx interfered costing Storm the match, this was the opportunity for Storm to take revenge, the match itself was of high quality with both fighters showcasing their undoubted quality in the ring, Jonny Storm quite simply is a technical craftsman, Stixx who took issue with me calling him a bitch in my Letchworth show review for all of his intransitive behaviour he is one hell of a wrestler, an advantage of Stixx running a wrestling school is that he has his own style of wrestling but he teaches others different styles which means that he too if necessary can wrestle in those differing ways which is why I have seen him have so many good matches - however his association with Harvey Dale has brought him down several levels and he has started to lose his focus on outwrestling an opponent and is forever looking to sneak a win by injudicious methods - back to the match after the action continuing in and out of the ring with Stixx always looking the more brutal and the more powerful, one moment in particular sticks in the mind when he held Storm up above his head like a small child and then just threw him with disdain, Storm just as predictably was always that little bit quicker and that little bit smarter, the crowd was rabid during this match up with cries of Lets Go Jonny filling the arena throughout, the passion shown by these fans during this encounter was matched by the passion shown by Storm and Stixx in the ring, just when it looked as if Stixx was going to get the win after some involvement from Harvey Dale, Jonny Storm quickly got the pin and then charged out of the building exiting through the fire door, he was pursued by Stixx and photographs have since appeared on Facebook of Storm driving off with Stixx running down the middle of the road in a furious chase, something tells me that we have not seen the end of this one!!!

 Next up was The Hunter Brothers vs The Bhangra Knights, I have seen the Hunters on three previous occasions and have always felt that they oozed quality both as individual wrestlers and as a team, they ran out with masks on which was the first time I have seen them do that, I mention that purposefully as later in the match review the reason will come to light, The Bhangra’s I had not previously seen wrestle as a team but I had heard and read of their quality so was looking forward to this match and I was not disappointed, if companies such as WWE and TNA ever wish to seriously consider rebuilding their tag team divisions then they should take a DVD of this match and study it, if they analyze it in detail they will be able to showcase so much of what makes tag team wrestling so wonderful when it is done properly, in theory the Hunter’s were the faces in this match but the wonderful exhibition of pure technical tag wrestling from both sides just earnt the wonder and the rapt attention of the assembled throngs and it was one of those occasions of which there were at least a couple more later in the show when you did not want either team to score a pin as it would have meant an end to such bewildering movement and syncronicity in the ring but as the match continued to develop into this perfect study for how to tag team wrestle in ran a couple of mystery fellas clad in jeans wearing the same masks that The Hunters ran out in and interfered attacking the Bhangra’s, from this the Hunters managed the win and will now face off with The Predators for the SWE Tag Team Title at Risky Business 2 on April 28 at Huntingdon.

We then had match number 489 or whatever it is in the feud lasting around three decades between one half of The Predators Joseph Connors and Mad Man Manson, Connors has quite simply found Manson quite simply maddeningly undefeatable and totally unavoidable in equal measure, tonight proved to be no different, the ‘match’ commenced with Manson informing us all that as he has absolutely no idea how to wrestle he wished to suggest alternative means of settling this feud, the first idea which was agreed to by Connors was for an arm wrestle to take place but after some Manson Mad Manson shenanigans this did not take place, this was then suggested that we could perhaps have them play Kiss Chase amongst other suggestions but in the end they settled for a game of Musical Chairs to settle this, this was absolutely hilarious please anybody who was there if I have missed a detail out on this piece of the show excuse me as I spent most of this time with tears rolling down my cheek at the Manson antics, I have seen this guy many times before yet he never ceases to make me laugh and to be fresh, he is an absolute genius, we started off this game (I cannot believe I am reviewing a game of Musical Chairs!!) with the two of them in the ring and two chairs whilst the music played, obviously when the music stopped they were both able to sit down so it continued, Connors tried to remove a chair so that we were down to one but behind his back Manson was replacing it so we kept on going for a while with two chairs, in the end we did manage to get down to one chair and Manson managed to win this game which resulted in Connors having a tantrum whilst he was busy doing this Manson rolled him up and scored the pin!!

We are now going to see a supposed! conclusion to this feud as match number 779 between them will also be at St Neots on 30 June during the Notorious 3 show which will be a blindfold match with the very interesting stipulation being that if Manson wins then he takes Connor’s position in The Predators! Now that I would love to see!!

The final match before the interval was surprisingly the SWE Heavyweight title match between the impressive defending champion Max Angelus and the imposing Number One Contender T Bone, I fully expected this match to be exactly what it was and that is a very hard fought match up between two guys who really do understand the value of this title given that the Heavyweight belt on one of the UK’s top promotions is prestigious. Angelus I have written before possesses in my book the most demonic kicks in the UK today, the impact sound always makes me wonder how his opponent still has his jaw in one piece come the end of the match, in addition to that Angelus is one of the most mobile around the ring heavyweights in the country and always puts on a strong show, T Bone is a wrestler that I have seen a lot of, initially I thought that he was good, increasingly and in particular in the past few months I get the impression that T Bone has really stepped up his velocity in matches, everything he does, each move just seems to have interest added in terms of its impact, they fought in and out of the ring again just like Stixx and Storm earlier in the night, most of the match I have to be honest and say that it looked as if T Bone was going to come out on top, he is a more experienced wrestler than Angelus and it looked as if he was using that extra bit of knowledge to his advantage seemingly anticipating the moves which Angelus was attempting then getting his own moves in with success and as I say with interest but Angelus is not the champion of a top promotion for no reason, I was at a House Of Pain show recently and saw him win a Royal Rumble going in at Number One and emerging victorious at the end, Angelus does not know how to lose, he does not know when he is beaten and for very good reason because it is damn difficult to defeat this warrior, after what looked and felt like a bit of a war and after a few efforts by both guys at big finishes Angelus scored the win to retain his title but T Bone did himself proud.

After the interval three matches remained, two of the matches we just knew would be awesome, how? by the match ups.

 The first of these matches was MK McKinnan vs Mark Haskins, McKinnan is an extraordinary young talent who just has the wrestling world at his feet, Haskins is more experienced but like MK he is a high flying technical genius of a man, this match oh boy, you hear of certain match ups being called dream matches, this was one to give us wrestling addicts a wet dream (although not literally!) they pulled so many moves out of the book, so many bursts of quickfire action, so many incredibly flexible and skillful ways of avoiding their opponents attack, so many high impact moments one of which left MK with a bloody nose that it was absolutely spellbinding to watch, when you dream of a match up and think what it could be like, then no longer do you require visualizations of it as it is happening in front of your own eyes the bigger task as a fan then becomes believing in this as reality, can it truly be this good? Well both this match and the final one truly were and have whetted my appetite even further for SWE’s forthcoming Speed King 2 tournament given that this could be a possible match up. In the end what was in my mind a shock outcome occurred as MK stole the win, it almost felt a bit like the student beating the teacher and whilst I do not think that Haskins has ever coached MK, given how young McKinnan is and the experience that Haskins possesses it shows you what a talent McKinnan already is and just how high he could go.

 Before the main event and the second technical masterclass of the second half of the show, we had the second comedy match with the other Predator Paul Malen taking on Loco Imbecile (of whom I shall have an exclusive article on next week), what can I say about this? I have already reviewed a game of Musical Chairs now I find myself having to describe Loco arriving at the ring carrying a Hello Kitty Lunchbox which he opened to reveal Jaffa Cakes which he then fed various members of the crowd with (but sadly not myself!), after a feeding session which certainly made the now infamous ‘Feed me more!’ chant perhaps more apt in SWE than WWE, Loco was still not ready for the match as he had some party poppers to pop! During the match once it did get going we had numerous chants for Jaffa Cakes!! Perhaps SWE should look into a sponsorship deal from McVitie’s after all who in the entire history of the Jaffa Cake has ever succeeded in getting around 300 people consistently chanting Jaffa Cakes! Also this is a Mexican jaffa cake eating party popper wrestler who had great difficulty in standing on the ropes and usually failing, in the meantime that perennial party pooper Harvey Dale who had accompanied Malen to the ring was busy tucking into Loco’s Jaffa cakes whilst Malen attempted to make some sense of Loco, very difficult to describe this match up as Loco Imbecile kind of gave me a vision of what it would be like if I ever climbed into the ring and that is not a pretty thought but this guy was hot with the crowd an amazing reaction for a new guy on the circuit and I am sure that even though in the end Malen did get the win Loco when sat on the plane back to Mexico no doubt eating Jaffa Cakes will be deeply satisfied at the impact which he already has made, my concern would be could he climb up the stairs onto the aircraft without falling over but perhaps they elevated him on board!

 Main Event and it is typical of Southside to do this as Southside equates to top class wrestling was the Speed King Title defence for Robbie X in the same venue where he won the title against the only other man to hold the same title Marty Scurll who was also the guy he eventually pinned after winning a four way last year to gain the title - this title is now one of the most coveted titles in indy wrestling given the forthcoming world class tournament coming in Nottingham on May 25, to go into that tournament as the defending champion against the card which the promoter Ben Auld has assembled would be an honour for any man to hold and that was exemplied by this match which was remarkably every bit as good as the earlier McKinnan vs Haskins match up, just one of the many funny but also prescient moments of the night was that before Robbie X/Scurll started the crowd were chanting ‘This will be awesome’ and indeed it was and more, Marty Scurll is an experienced wrestler these days and received a huge pop from the crowd for what is one of his home venues, given the man’s opportunities in TNA and Dragon Gate and his European wrestling pedigree you might have thought that as this raging battle wore on that he might think after receiving yet another hard hitting quick moving attack from Robbie X that he would just lie down, I mean Robbie’s moves were executed so well but Marty is made of much sterner stuff and he is desperate to have on his wrestling CV defending Speed King Champion announced to his name on May 25 before his match against Samuray Del Sol so he gave it absolutely everything he had, I saw Scurll hit every move I have seen him use previously and then again and again, finisher and signature and then finisher again, off the top ropes, The Graduation, punches, kicks everything was hurled at the 18 year old Robbie X, the crowd were ecstatic with this, we had already had an amazing night but this was more than just the icing on the cake, this was wrestling ecstasy, Robbie X is simply wonderful, a teenager who has had some challenges to deal with in life, who went on a year long losing streak in SWE but then had his breakout moment on the previous show at St Neots when he beat Scurll to win a title which produced an outpouring of emotion as real as I have seen at a wrestling show, back and fro went both the match as more finishers were hit by both talents, the crowd totally hooked also going back and fro, Lets go Marty went the home fans, Lets go Robbie went the travelling fans and also I think some of the home fans out of admiration for what this teenager was doing, sadly but also joyfully as it meant we reached a crescendo it finished Robbie X yet again hit his finisher and this time after kicking out of so many previously Scurll who had had three tough Dragon Gate matches the previous week winning two of them against international level stars could not prevent the outrageously gifted Robbie X from defeating him once more.

One hell of a show, it demonstrates that whilst when used properly imports definitely do add to a show and importantly to a UK wrestler’s experience we possess so much talent in the UK that a show this damn good is entirely home produced - or is it sorry Loco I forgot about your air miles accumulated to do this show what an Imbecile I am!!

Couple of final points to Paul Malen as the crowd said ‘Manson’s going to be your partner!’ and also as this show was about Ego’s I just had to mention Diamond Dale Mills the guy is a legend!

If you enjoyed this article please follow me on @shadetheshoot.

ICW Get To Tha Choppa Review By Calvin Berry

 New Tag Team champions were crowned as Insane Championship Wrestling returned to the Garage in Glasgow for ICW: Get To Da Choppa.

After their debut in Edinburgh a few weeks ago with ICW: Tramspotting, ICW returned to the Glasgow with a stacked show from top to bottom in front of a sold out crowd.

Before the show could start ICW owner Mark Dallas came out to address the crowd and announced that Fear and Loathing VI, ICW’s biggest show of the year will take place at the O2 ABC just up the road from the Garage.

ICW’s announce team Billy Kirkwood and Sean David were out next to start the show however they were interrupted by Chris Renfrew who did not want to wait about and wanted to face rival and former best friend BT Gunn straight away.

BT Gunn came down to the ring however a match never started as the two took out any referee who tried to enter the ring as mayhem broke out.

After a brawl Chris Renfrew picked up BT’s scissors and tried to stab BT with the scissors like he had done to him a few weeks ago at Tramspotting but security stopped him and the match ended as a no contest.
The in ring action finally got underway as two of the best tag teams in Britain faced off as Fight Club took on Project Ego.

This was a very good tag team match as both teams put on a show for the fans with a mixture of great action and comedy including a ‘double teabagging.’

Fight Club finally picked up the win after Kid Fite and Liam Thomson hit a nasty looking powerbomb/backstabber combo. After the match Fight Club tried to shake hands with Project Ego but Martin Kirby and Kris Travis left the ring sticking up their fingers up at Fight Club which will hopefully lead to a rematch down the line.

‘The Mexican Sensation’ El Ligero made his return to ICW next as he took on Mark Coffey of the Save Pro Wrestling Movement.

This was the first time Ligero had been in an ICW ring since ICW: Dazed and Confused back in 2010 but even with the crowd behind him, El Ligero could not pick up the win as Mark Coffey made him tap in a Boston Crab.

After the match the newest member of the Save Pro Wrestling Movement Nikki Storm ran out and teamed up with Mark to beat down Ligero until Leah Owens ran out to make the save and help Ligero clear the ring.
Jimmy Havoc was in action next as he faced off against James Scott.

Before the match began James Scott refused to enter the ring until Havoc got rid of the bin he had brought to the ring. Once the weapon had been thrown out of the ring,these two put on a very good technical match with Havoc proving that he is a good technical wrestler as well as hardcore wrestler.

Scott ended up using the bin to pick up the victory which did not go down well with Havoc who challenged Scott to a No Disqualification match next month at ICW: Get Your Rat Oot.

It was time for the first half main event as the Bucky Boys challenged S.T.I for the ICW Tag Team Titles in a ladder match.

These two teams have been battling on and off for nearly three years in ICW and this was a fantastic match with many memorable spots including Stevie Boy hitting an incredible Canadian Destroyer on Dickie Divers off the top rope!

Stevie Boy then took out Grange with a Coast to Coast with a ladder and both Bucky Boys then climbed the ladder to grab the belts and become the new champions as the crowd went crazy.

After the match Dickie Divers showed respect to the Bucky Boys,  clearing the air and asking for a rematch which they accepted, however as they left William Grange turned on Divers and left him down with the help of Sara. Grange then grabbed the mic and says it is time for him to concentrate on his push for the ICW Title and Divers is nothing without him.

There was some chaos during the break as Chris Renfrew and BT Gunn brawled through the crowd with the security struggling to split them up.

The show resumed with another edition of the Polo Lounge hosted by Jacie Polo with Rob McKai and Mark Sweeney as the guests.

Jackie Polo tried to conduct an interview with both guys however the two did not stay civil for long and a brawl broke out with a ring full of security having to split them up as Polo left in a mood.

It was time for some music as the ‘Teen Sensation’ Christopher, accompanied by his agent James R Kennedy was out to debut his new single for the ICW crowd but before he could sing the familiar music of Like a Prayer hit as Grado made his way to the ring.

Grado came down to stop Christopher from singing but he too was interrupted by Jamie Feerick who with Christopher attached Grado until the new Zero-G champion Wolfgang ran down to help and an impromptu tag team match was set up.

After a fun comedy match which included Wolfgang throwing Feerick into one of the bars! Back in the ring Wolfgang hit a senton bomb on Jamie Feerick and Grado pinned for the victory.

After the match all of the Save Pro Wrestling Movement ran out and jumped Wolfgang and Grado with Joe Coffey screaming in Grado’s face again, blaming him for his injury.As they continue to cause chaos, can anybody stop the Save Pro Wrestling Movement?

The 2013 Square Go winner Mikey Whiplash was in action next as he took on Noam Dar.

This turned out to be a decent comedy match however I was disappointed as I was looking forward to seeing two of the best in the UK face off in a technical match.

Whiplash was set to win but Kay Lee Ray interfered, allowing Noam Dar to roll him up for the shock victory.

It was main event time as Red Lightning put the ICW Heavyweight title on the line against Jack Jester.

This match turned into a brawl quickly as the two battled through the crowd and the Save Pro Wrestling Movement tried to interfere to help Red but they were chased away by an angry Wolfgang.

Jester looked certain to win the title however his rival Mikey Whiplash interfered and took him out with the ICW title belt, allowing Red to cover to retain the championship.

After the match Whiplash tried to cash in his shot at the title but the Save Pro Wrestling Movement attacked and held Whiplash down as the champion Red grabbed a mic and told him “you can’t cash in if you can’t get near the champ” as the show ended with the Movement running wild.

Get To Da Choppa was a packed show full of great action and memorable moments including a fantastic tag team titles ladder match.

With a great start to 2013 and the announcement that Fear and Loathing VI will take place at the O2 ABC, it looks like it is going to be another successful year for ICW.

Once again, thanks to @Calvin_Berry of http://talkingknockouts.com who can follow on twitter @TalkingKOs

PBW Live At The Pavilion Review By Calvin Berry

 Thanks to @Calvin_Berry of  http://talkingknockouts.com for providing this review follow them @TalkingKOs

In what was a big day for wrestling in Glasgow Premier British Wrestling kicked it off with an entertaining show at the Pavilion Theatre.

Returning to the Pavilion for the second year in a row, PBW put on a show full of top action that kicked off with the PBW Tag Team Titles on the line as Blaze and Rampage faced off against against one of the best tag teams in the UK today, Project Ego.

This was a good way to start the show with a fast paced tag team match and the crowd was fully behind the team of Blaze and Rampage as Project Ego’s antics wound them up. Blaze and Rampage finally managed to retain the titles after a double muscle buster on Martin Kirby.

The 2012 King of Cruisers Noam Dar was in action next as he took on Red Lightning.

This was a fun comedy match with the crowd trying to put Red off during the bout by chanting “chubby” at him as Noam Dar egged them on. Red Lightning had the last laugh however as he pinned Dar to win in a roll up with his feet on the rope out of the ref’s sight and Red left laughing at the crowd saying he was “off to KFC.”

It was time for the first half main event as Wolfgang, TJ Rage, James Scott and Jack Jester battled in a fatal four way to determine the number one contender for the PBW Heavyweight title.

Wolfgang struggled in the early stages as TJ Rage, Jester and James Scott teamed up on him however the three began to argue over who would pin Wolfgang and the action broke out all over the Pavilion with Jester and Wolfgang fighting their way through the crowd!

Wolfgang finally managed to pick up the win, piling the three on top of each other, hitting a Senton bomb on them and covering all three at the same time to become the number one contender for the PBW Heavyweight title and end the first half on a high.

Back from a short break the action resumed with a rematch from last year’s PBW show at the Pavilion as Colosus Kennedy with Charles Boddington took on ‘The Mexican Sensation’ El Ligero.

Colosus Kennedy was out for revenge after Ligero picked up the win last year and he dominated most of the match using strength and with some help from Boddington at ringside.

Boddington’s interference however backfired as he laid out Colosus his briefcase when trying to hit Ligero and after laying out Boddington with a super kick, Ligero hit Colosus with a top rope splash and covered to pick up another win over the big Russian.

There was some mixed tag team action next as the team of Stevie Xavier and Kay Lee Ray took on Carmel and the PBW Heavyweight Champion ‘Bad Boy’ Liam Thomson.

This was a good mixed tag team match with the team of Xavier and Kay Lee Ray impressing the fans. Kay Lee Ray looked set to hit a senton bomb on Carmel to pick up the win however Carmel managed to block with her knees and ‘Bad Boy’ Liam Thomson pinned Kay Lee Ray to pick up the win after a nasty looking backstabber.

It was main event time and it was a Battle of Britain main event as Scotland’s BT Gunn took on ‘The Showstealer’ Nathan Cruz from England.

The crowd in Glasgow was firmly in the corner of BT Gunn as he entered the ring with a Scotland flag and the two put on a really good main event as they battled for the victory.

BT Gunn was able to pick up the victory after a top rope elbow drop to end the show on a high note and send the fans home happy.

PBW Live at the Pavilion was a really good event in front of an impressive crowd of over 800 fans who packed in to watch a fun show full of top action. Hopefully PBW will return to the Pavilion sooner rather than later.

The Superstar Billy Graham Experience By Rock Rims

 “The times they are a-changin’…” – Bob Dylan

     It was a Friday night in early 1980, and the whole family was excited as we sat in our seats in the World Famous Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.  This would be another memorable night of entertainment for me, as all opportunities to see wrestling live at the Olympic were.  And to add to the excitement, we were seated only 5 or 6 rows from the ring, thus we had a better vantage point of the action than we normally did.  And my Stepfather never let us forget it.

     For while The Olympic Auditorium had Jeff Walton for a publicist, my Stepfather was his very own.  “Man, look at these great seats!  We have better seats than almost everyone! The other kids’ Dads didn’t get them seats like this!” 

     The only thing that night that made him feel more impressed with himself took place during the intermission.  Sitting in front of us were two other Latinos who were about 16 years old, and at one point they both turned around, and one of them asked my Stepfather, “Who are you?”  Apparently, they thought he was a wrestler who had decided to get a closer look at the matches.  “Him?!” I thought incredulously.  While my Stepfather was a little bigger than lots of Latinos at that time, I hardly thought that he looked like a professional wrestler.  But then again, he did have a Carlos Mata type of body, and the wrestlers’ bodies at that time would look very different from what many wrestlers would look like in years to come.

     And as I sat there waiting for the intermission to be over and the program to resume, the thought of wrestler’s physiques and Carlos Mata made me flash back to about a year and half earlier, when I first caught a glimpse of what was undoubtedly the greatest wrestling physique at that time.  

     It was 1978, and I was at home watching Wrestling from the Olympic on the UHF channel and they were broadcasting matches that had been recently taped on Weds. August 30^th.  And it was Carlos Mata himself waiting for his opponent to arrive and enter the ring.  And soon would enter a man, who compared to Carlos Mata looked like a Giant of a man, and who had the most impressive physique I had ever seen on a wrestler!  The guy looked more like Lou Ferrigno, the bodybuilder/actor who played the Incredible Hulk on Television than he did any wrestler I had ever seen!  And what made him even more impressive to me, even before he performed a single move in the ring, was ring announcer Jimmy Lennon proclaiming that the man was a former WWWF World Champion.  I knew from the wrestling magazines that Bruno Sammartino had been the previous champion, and after having seen a profile of Bruno on the “Greatest Sports Legends” Television program, I knew that if this “Superstar Billy Graham” had beaten Bruno, he was a man to be reckoned with.  And while he would at times manhandle Carlos Mata during the match, it would still be a few years before I would begin to grasp what a tremendous impact Superstar Billy Graham would make in professional wrestling.

     His stay at that time turned out to be brief, and in actuality, this wasn’t the Superstar’s first trip through L.A.  In fact, after a brief time wrestling for Stu Hart in Calgary, Los Angeles would be the place where a young Wayne Coleman would begin his evolution to becoming Superstar Billy Graham, a legend in Professional Wrestling, and a charismatic innovator and forerunner in Sports Entertainment.

    But in the summer of 1970 it was still “Wrestling” so when bodybuilder turned wrestler Billy Graham showed up alongside the infamous Jerry Graham in promoter Mike LeBelle’s office, LeBelle along with Booker Charlie Moto and assistant Freddie Blassie, had their doubts about the duo. Fortunately, publicist Jeff Walton saw promise in the massive bodybuilder and the Graham brothers were given a shot.  While Billy’s stay was only a few months, the opportunity gave him much needed experience and exposure, and he enjoyed the local bodybuilding scene and the sunshine.  And shopping in L.A. also gave him the opportunity to begin crafting the part of his “look” that involved his wrestling attire.  

     For the “Superstar Billy Graham experience” would eventually become a multi-faceted one, a multi-layered one, with so much to offer.  With the feathered boas, the tie-dyed attire, the jewelry, the entertaining promos, the bumps and selling in the ring, the chiseled physique, and his amazingly charismatic presence, it was like having a multi-course meal at a fine restaurant.  Sure he wasn’t exactly a ring technician, and he’d be the first to admit that, but he excelled so much in presentation, the lack of a vast wrestling repertoire was easy to overlook.  After all, most meals in fine restaurants are presented so beautifully, are made to appear so appetizing, that you quickly forget just how small the portions are.  

    And Billy completely understood that and it was an important part of the psychology of his wrestling.  And it was during his time in Roy Shire’s San Francisco promotion in 1971 that he would learn some of the most important lessons of ring psychology.  Initially, he was paired up with Legendary Pat Patterson and that was the best thing that could happen to Graham at that point is his career.  “Patterson was my mentor, “ Graham would go on to say, and when it came to ring psychology, Graham could hardly have a better one.  Under the tutelage of Patterson, as well as Ray “The Crippler” Stevens, and working with the likes of Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia, Billy would receive an education in what he described in his autobiography as “Mark manipulation”.

     And it’s perfectly normal for people to bristle at the thought that they’re being manipulated (and for some, to be referred to as a “mark”), for it makes them feel as if they’re being taken advantage of, made to appear foolish.  But in this case, I wouldn’t look at it as a “dirty” word.  Because for anyone whoever had exposure to the Superstar Billy Graham experience, they wanted to be manipulated.  That’s because unlike most situations where the manipulator is the sole beneficiary of the end result, here, everyone wins.

     Because Billy gave us what we asked for, what we wanted to see.  We wanted to hear what he had to say, even if it made us angry at times, even if he belittled his opponent, even if that opponent was our hero.  And we were gluttons for the punishment.  What he said on the mic made us want to see him in the ring.  He put asses in seats and viewers in front of television sets, and that was his job.  And no one ever got dragged kicking and screaming to those seats.  It’s where we wanted to be.  His promos were the entrée that whetted our appetite, made us look forward with eager anticipation to what was to come.  If we admired his opponent before Graham took the mic, we absolutely adored him afterward.  It made us root for him all the more so that he would topple the big man with the big mouth. And not only did we hope that our hero would do it, but we also knew that quite possibly, he might.  Because even though he belittled his opponent, Graham was clever enough to also acknowledge his prowess.  After all, who would want to pay or tune in to see him beat a “nobody”?  And yet, not everyone wanted to see the brash, arrogant Graham fall from grace.  His charisma, magnetic personality, and unique look and presentation certainly earned him a share of supporters.  Most wanted to see him soundly defeated, some wanted to see him victorious, but all wanted to see him.

And he wouldn’t disappoint.  Whether you were rooting for him or against him, when he was in the prime of his career, you always felt as if watching Graham was both time and money well spent.  And that’s a kind of manipulation that anyone can live with.  Billy was an artist, not only in his personal life, but in his professional one as well.  Some artists paint a picture with paints, writers do it with words, but all invite the viewer or reader to participate to a degree, to bring their own perspective, emotions, and interpretation to the experience.  And Billy did that as well, responding to the crowds, leading them where he wanted them to go, getting them emotionally involved, immersing them in the experience.  It was both theater and art at its finest.  

   And in order to do that, Billy would check his ego at the door.  He was a true professional, because for him, it was all about telling a compelling story, what would make the fans fell like they got their monies worth, and would make them be willing to come back for more.  One great example of this was the match where he defended the WWWF title against Mil Mascaras on December 19, 1977 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.  While Billy has mentioned that he felt Mil wasn’t willing to sell enough, having watched countless Mil Mascaras matches, I know that Mil actually did a little more selling than he typically does.  Regardless, the pairing still resulted in an exciting match, in large part due to Billy’s consummate professionalism, as he was undaunted by the minimal amount of time that Mascaras spent selling Graham’s holds and moves.

    Once the bell rang, the initial action was fast and furious, with Billy taking large bumps, begging off from Mil’s assault, seeming bewildered, overwhelmed, and consulting with his manager the Grand Wizard, as if to say, “What do I do with this guy?!!!”  And when Billy had the advantage, he was ever the arrogant, cocky, crowing bully, only to beg off again, take big bumps, and flop around on the mat like a fish out of water when his opponent turned the tide.  This was a formula that Graham often employed as part of his ring psychology, and as usual, the crowd ate it all up, and in a way that you just don’t see anymore.  

     Graham always made people want to see him “get his”, receive his “come uppings”, but it never really seemed to happen.  It’s interesting to note that many of his matches ended by count out or disqualification, but I don’t think that mattered much.  That’s not really part of his legacy.  Because even when he lost, he had delayed our satisfaction, increased our tension, made us have to come back for more.  And even when our relief would finally come, it would only be after he would draw things out.  And we enjoyed it more because he made us work for it, and during the time that we did, there was always an element of uncertainty as to what the end result would be.  It’s like comparing an easily won love interest to the one we had to work for. And if selling out Madison Garden 19 times out of the 20 that he headlined the card, if the fact that fans and wrestlers alike are still talking about the great memories they had of Superstar’s career are any indication, then no one’s complaining about the results.  While Superstar Billy Graham’s career at the top of the Professional Wrestling game and his reign as WWWF World Champion were brief, his legacy is immortal. - RR

Dragon Gate UK 2013 Tour Night 1 (22/2) Review By Aiden O'Brien

Naruki Doi vs. Lion Kid

All pictures provided by @andrewcarberry

This was the third time Dragon Gate UK ran a show at Broxbourne, each of the previous shows also being Friday night shows, and I have to say that immediately after the show concluded I strongly felt that this was the best DG UK Broxbourne show. Of course the Saturday night show also at Broxbourne ended up surpassing this one, but I'll get to that later. For now I want to stress at this point the Friday night show was DG UK's strongest Broxbourne show at that time. Before the show even began you could tell this tour was going to be a step up from previous tours as this years stage looked incredible and better than previous years. It almost looked like a Dragon Gate PPV entrance as you had the stable logo's plastered on either side of the two blue and red entrances and it looked incredible.

Opening the show and weekend was the evening's dark match as Martin Kirby beat Stixx. I often sing the praises of Kirby as I feel he has been a really underrated credit to the UK scene over the past few years and now he's deservedly appearing for the majority of the top UK promotions in high-profile slots and has more than earned his place on the DG UK tour. But Stixx, who I was one of the vocal ones wondering why he was on the first DG UK show in the dark match, fully deserved his place also as these two had a great back and forth big man vs smaller, lighter opponent match. To begin with it was a battle of power vs speed as Stixx as the much larger and heavier had the natural advantage so Kirby really had to attempt to keep at an arms distance away from him to start. In a move I had never seen done before Stixx was outside the ring while Kirby took to his back on the ring apron, lifted his legs up over his head to catch Stixx's head in a rana off the apron. The big man was able to regain control of the match after that, kicking away the ring steps away from the turnbuckle so he could whip Kirby full force right into the steel post, but Kirby took hold of the ringpost and swung his body around it, his legs going over the ring apron and through the bottom rope to meet the charging Stixx in a dropkick. Very impressive and Kirby clearly was on a goal of bringing his A game, but inside the ring Stixx was able to dominate with a variety of back-breakers after first catching Kirby as he attempted to slingshot himself back into the ring onto Stixx but instead received a knee to the back. Stixx is one of the best big men in England right now, but he does have his moments of surprising agility. In this match he was more restrained although a running cross body right into Kirby in the turnbuckles stood out. Both men went for finishers by this point in the match, Kirby missing the Fame-Asser but Stixx got Kirby with a Black Hole Slam that Kirby was somehow able to kick out of. The two then engaged in a pinfall exchange which didn't exactly look the smoothest with the height difference between the two but Kirby ended it with a STOP! Enziguiri was a stroke of genius. In yet another move I've never seen before, Stixx went to the top rope but Kirby was able to cut him off and crotch him on the top turnbuckle. Kirby climbed up the turnbuckle behind him and then leapt back first down onto Stixx in a senton right onto the crouched Stixx. Near to the finish Stixx was in the turnbuckle, Kirby came charging and was able to catch the out-stretched leg of Stixx and then throw it through the ropes. Rather than run off the ropes on the other side, Kirby's jumped out onto the ring apron and ran the length of it to perform a boot to Stixx's face. With Stixx down on the mat, Kirby went to the top but Stixx rolled out of the ring. Kirby attempted to press his advantage but was caught with a clothesline right to his feet when he was on the ring apron. Inside the ring it looked like Stixx was finally going to be able to take the win, but Kirby rolled him up into a pin for the win to make his DG UK record 1-1 and Stixx's now 0-3.

 In the first official match of the night Lion Kid scored the upset of the weekend, potentially of the year, when he beat Naruki Doi. This match came about after the last tour when Doi as part of the villainous Blood Warriors took on Team UK on the first night at Broxbourne and during the match Doi attempted to remove Lion Kid's mask. Eventhough 16 months had passed since last they were in the ring and Doi had forsaken his heel-ish ways by now being part of World-1 International since last March, but there was still a lot of animosity between the two as Doi made his intentions known to attempt to take Kid's mask before the match even began. And this wasn't Lion Kid's usual mask as for the occasion he'd upgraded his whole attire with a shiny new more silvery mask with manes of fur. Considering Doi's outward heel-ish actions, the two wrestled civily at the start of the match, fighting over a wristlock. Kid picked up the pace with an armdrag and a springboard into a rana to send Doi out of the ring. It didn't look the smoothest so credit to both men for pulling it off. After being shown up like that Doi was even more aggressive with his strikes and made a strong effort to remove the mask and tore at Kid's mask to rip bits of fur from it, smiling all the while. Doi hit the first hard chops of the weekend, but each team Kid took the hit and "RAWR"'d right back into Doi's face but the last chop was a thud right to his throat that shut Kid up. Doi tied up Kid into the ropes to be able to hit his running dropkick full force into Kid's chest leaving a very visible boot print and then followed it up with his diving senton to the back as Kid was hung up in the ropes from the top rope. Doi dominated with a Dai Bosou!, his running cannonball splash and looked to have things wrapped up with the Doi 555 and then a Baktare Sliding Kick but Kid miraculously kicked off. Rather than go for his "kill" move in the Muscular Bomb, Doi attempted to once and for all remove the Lion Kid's mask only to be surprised with a Samson Clutch roll up and Kid to take the victory. Major, major upset and it really shocked me that Kid won and Team UK immediately started off with a big win. But that didn't sit too well with Doi who immediately after the match had ended attacked Kid. He followed it up with another big Dai Bosou and then proudly dragged Kid right into the middle of the ring so he could un-mask him, Kid immediately covering his face with his hands and burying his head in the canvas as Doi so gleefully displayed the mask in hand. Good start to the weekend and the issue would continue for these two into the next night as they were already set to square off again in tomorrows four-way.

Noam Dar vs. Jimmy Susumu

After such a good start for Team UK, Noam Dar hoped to make his main card DG UK debut and start of his trial series weekend as successful as Kid did, but standing in his way was the first of three former Open The Dream Gate Champions he would face, Jimmy Susumu. A fair bit has changed from the last UK tour as at that time Jimmy Susumu was Susumu Yokosuka and one of the most beloved DG UK roster members but only a month and a half after the last show for the second time in his career he would lose his name in a match and be repackaged as Jimmy Susumu. Jimi is a Japanese word which stands for "plain" or "boring". But Susumu and several others have embraced that and turned it into a term of endearment in the Jimmyz stable. Noam Dar is a hot prospect in England as well as potentially international in the future and whereas he's faced some of the best America has to offer with former WWE stars, current TNA stars, ECW legends and the current hottest names on the Indies, this was the first time he'd stepped in the ring with a Dragon Gate competitor so he had to step up his game considerably to show that not only was he a future star, but that this future is imminent. And to start the match the two wrestled the match evenly on the ground, fighting over little things like leg take downs and head scissors. Dragon Gate are more known for the fast paced, highly athletic, big move type of matches but they do the little things on the mat and tests of strength and power to make it look like a genuine struggle for control and that's where Noam Dar fit in perfectly. Susumu worked the crowd perfectly, engaging them to cheer wildly whenever he raised his arms and then silence them by simply bringing his hands down. During a simple shoulder tackle display of strength and will power between the two Noam took the advantage by doing exactly what he's known for and he drop-kicked Jimmy's knee right from under him. From there Dar was of a singular mind and worked Susumu's knee, although Susumu returned the favour and dropped Dar on his knees repeatedly in kind so the two both attempted the Knee Bar and Figure Four respectively. I felt that Dar really stepped up with strikes this weekend as his elbows, double handed palm thrusts, headbutts, European uppercuts and kicks all looked sharper than normal, knowing well that against a guy like Susumu he had to work a little more snug. Dar has one of the best suicide dives in the business right now and he really got all of Susumu when he landed on him. Dar continued his assault of Susumu's knee and even had him trapped in two or three more attempts in the knee bar, but each time Jimmy was able to reach the ropes to Dar's increased frustration and desperation. And just when it seemed that Dar couldn't win Susumu really laid him out with a Jumbo No Kachi! lariat that Dar somehow kicked out of it. But in the most sickening Mugen (A double underhook gutwrench into a DDT) I have ever witnessed Susumu practically planted Dar face first right into the canvas for the very convincing three count. I was worried for Dar's health after the last time the ref put his hand down to the mat but fortunately he was alright although that visual of him being driven face first right into the mat will stay in my mind for a long time. A good match in which Dar suitably stepped up and stood toe to toe against a former Open The Dream Gate Champion and one of the most well liked members of the DG roster in England.

BxB Hulk vs. Mark Haskins vs. Marty Scurll vs. CIMA

Team UK dominated the first half to allow the second half to be made up entirely of Dragon Gate roster members against each other, but the story in the last match before intermission was less about UK vs Dragon Gate and was more about survival. Current Open The Dream Gate Champion CIMA and runner up of TNA's British Bootcamp, Marty Scurll both entered this four-way match up with negative records. CIMA's DG UK record stood at 2-4 while Scurll's was 1-5. A minus five loss record for any DG UK roster member regardless of their standing elsewhere would result in them being cut from the DG UK roster and as this was a four-way the winner would go +1 while all three losers, whether they were involved in the result of the finish or not, would go -1. So this was a must win situation for Marty Scurll as his DG UK career was literally on the line. But on the flip side Mark Haskins and BxB Hulk both had positive DG UK records with both tied on 4-2 and while -5 saw you cut from the roster +5 had a reward of any match of that person's choosing. So this match was more about the story of Scurll's desperate struggle for survival, CIMA's determination to be the one to eliminate Scurll from DG UK as retribution from being pinned by him the last time in Broxbourne, Haskins attempts to save his Team UK comrade even at the expense of his own record, and BxB Hulk merely wanting to spit wine in peoples faces before kicking said faces off. Haskins and Scurll worked as a well oiled team at the start of the match isolating CIMA with constant tags. CIMA rolled out of the ring to make Hulk legal (Lucha rules) but when Scurll evaded Hulk's clothesline and ran straight through into a suicide dive outside the ring onto CIMA. Again Team UK teamed up against Hulk and the two showed why they were a team on the previous tour as they had Hulk run the ropes through and over them, Haskins then taking him down to the mat for Scurll to come off the opposite rope with a knee to the back of Hulk's head. Hulk was able to fight off Haskins and Scurll with pin-point accuracy kicks but Hulk and CIMA weren't able to work half as well as Team UK. They got along for the most part, CIMA even having to instruct Hulk to converse in English due to their location, but when CIMA trusted Hulk long enough to hold Haskins or Scurll in a camel clutch for Hulk to come off the opposite rope in order to kick the Englishman he instead made the decision to kick CIMA on the top of the head. Haskins was isolated and worked over, primarily by Hulk although CIMA did tag in a few times although the trust between the two DG roster members was gone, but after an extended heat period he was able to make the hot tag to Marty. By this point the structure of the match had completely broken down and all four were involved without tags, Haskins now making it abundantly clear that he wanted to save Scurll and repeatedly allowed him to go for pinfalls. Here I was wondering whether Haskins would even end up being sacrificed himself for Scurll to survive. But eventhough you could argue all the clear signs were pointing towards Scurll winning before the weekend even began with everything on the line, when Hulk sprayed him in the face with wine and CIMA rolled him up, everyone was buying that as the finish but Scurll survived. Haskins and Hulk fought away from the ring after Haskins dived out of the ring and they then made their way towards the stage where Hulk went for the E.V.O but Haskins escaped and hit a superkick but before Hulk collapsed to the floor, with Haskins on his knees after the force of the superkick, Hulk took Haskins head off with a First Flash on his way down onto the stage. Inside the ring with Hulk and Haskins out of the picture, CIMA hit Scurll with the Perfect Driver but again Scurll kicks out. CIMA went to the top for his ultimate finisher, the Meteora, but Scurll was able to move out of the way. With CIMA stunned Scurll was able to lift him up onto his shoulders in torture rack position and then bring CIMA back first right onto Scurll's knees, one of Scurll's finishing moves and the move that he used to pin CIMA the last time they were in Broxbourne. But Scurll wasn't done there, it would take more than that to pin the current reigning and defending Open The Dream Gate Champion so he pulled out a second finisher and what he'd been using as a "kill" move over the past year, a Tombstone piledriver was the death blow and Scurll achieved for the second time in his career a pinfall over CIMA. But this wasn't the same as October 2011 as this time he pinned THE Champion in Dragon Gate right now and became the first Englishman to pin CIMA during his latest reign, something not even PAC could do in any fashion. This was the biggest victory of Scurll's career as he just pinned CIMA during his third reign as OTDG in a Title reign in which he has just amassed the most defenses and is on course for surpassing Naruki Doi's 15 month reign. So this result was huge as to date the only American to directly beat CIMA in Dragon Gate USA is Johnny Gargano on his way to becoming their Open The Freedom Gate Champion via submission both times and now here was Marty Scurll who has pinned CIMA twice, the latest time when he was top of the food chain in Japan.

So thus far the first half had been good and had major upsets like Lion Kid pinning Doi and Scurll pinning CIMA, both of which would come into play tomorrow. The crowd had been alright for the first half, maybe a little bit flat but then I always find this to be the case with Friday night Broxbourne shows. But things just entirely kicked up a few extra gears as soon as we returned from intermission with an incredible sprint of a match between Akira Tozawa and Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! Horiguchi had to replace El Generico only a week before the tour began during the Generic Luchadore signing with the WWE and out of the three matches Horiguchi slotted in to replace Generico, this was the match I was most looking forward too. These had a fantastic King Of Gate finals last year in which Horiguchi won, so this match started hot. IHeartDG has the match timed at 10:19 whereas the man with the time in BritWres, Gadge, has it down at 8:41 so I'm more inclined to believe Gadge as this was an absolute blitz of a sprint between two incredible wrestlers who really know how to work this style of match. Before the bell even rang both men were tense and ready to spring into action so when that bell sounded both ran at each other, Tozawa missing a bicycle kick attempt. Horiguchi had the early advantage after that avoidance but as is customary, Tozawa took control by grabbing and yanking away at the hair extensions at the back of Horiguchi's balding head. H.A.G.E is Japanese for bald/ing and Genki has now spent a decade either loving or hating that chant depending on his face/heel alignment. And the chants were in full force during this match with the crowd torn between Tozawa and Horiguchi, some even cheering for both. As always this didn't sit well with Genki as he was able to fire back, bellow out "Don't touch my hair!" before catching Tozawa in a rana. From there he declared "I am angry" and the two went at it with a bit more intensity this time, Tozawa getting Horiguchi in the turnbuckle to deliver some Kobashi style chops, much to the crowd's enjoyment, but when Horiguchi still showed signs of fight with a beaten chest, Tozawa merely punched him straight in the jaw. In another Tozawa staple he was able to hit consecutive suicide dives onto Tozawa and really set the crowd on fire. And the finishing stretch was absolutely sublime. Horiguchi went for the Backslide From Heaven, but Tozawa rolled through and went for a German but Genki reversed it into another Backslide attempt which once more Tozawa slipped out before any time the ref could get his hand down to the mat and got a snap German suplex. Tozawa then hit a deadlift German, but that didn't get the three count. When he went for his Straight Jacket German, Genki once more reversed into the Backslide but Tozawa was able to kick out just before the three. But shortly after Tozawa was able to capture both arms and complete the Straight Jacket for a decisive three count, this move is still Tozawa's ultimate finisher. Absolutely incredible sprint that the entire crowd loved and a contender for one of the best matches under 10 minutes to be fun and absolutely enthrall the crowd with the wrestling talent on display.

I had thought that YAMATO vs Mochizuki would end up being the match of the weekend, but in the end it didn't even take match of the night. I'd say it tied with Tozawa/Horiguchi as the second best match of the night. But I absolutely loved this match. This match had me hook, line and sinker from the moment it started and kept me gripped right until the final bell. After the sprint in the last match, these two were a lot more pre-meditated and took things slow at the start of the match. These two have incredible chemistry against each other and their three previous matches since 2010 are favourites of mine. I said that Dragon Gate is more known for high-octane sprint wrestling as shown in their Six Mans and matches like Tozawa/Horiguchi, but their epic singles encounters that start slow and build up to insane finishing stretches where each man has to struggle and calculate ways and moves in which to keep the advantage over their opponent are equally as prominent and just as good. And YAMATO and Mochizuki do that style of wrestling so well, especially when in the ring against each other. After the sprint of the last match the crowd was slow to react to these two testing each others strength and wrestling on the mat, but Mochizuki's hard thud-like kicks soon woke the crowd back up. And Mochizuki really lit YAMATO up with those kicks, with pin-point accuracy aiming for the arm/shoulder region. The kicks continued outside the ring and Mocchy even ended up slipping on beer when his foot was already in mid-air after connecting with YAMATO. Mochizuki snapmared YAMATO down onto the floor to deliver a kick right to the spine. The two battled on the ring apron, Mochizuki capturing the same arm of YAMATO's he was kicking and brought him crashing down onto the steel frame of the ring apron with an arm wringer. Inside the ring YAMATO attempted to fire back with elbows with his other arm, but Mocchy again caught YAMATO's weakened arm but when he began to slam it down onto his own shoulder, YAMATO slipped his arm free and caught Mochizuki in a sleeper hold. Things continued to escalate as it became a battle of submissions, Mochizuki still went for YAMATO's arm but YAMATO kept grabbing hold of Mocchy's leg for an ankle lock, a submission move loved by both. YAMATO's elbows were tested against Mochizuki's kicks, at one point Mochizuki looked to be gearing up for a knock out kick only for an elbow to the face to momentarily rock him but when YAMATO went to follow it up with a second, Mocchy finally landed that hard kick to YAMATO's face. The fact that both of them so love the ankle lock came into play as both men were able to reverse and put the other in the same hold, over and over again. All the work towards YAMATO's arm came into play when Mochizuki pulled a Kimura lock out of nowhere, but YAMATO was able to make it to the ropes. By this point it was becoming clear that this match was going to end via submission, Mochizuki on a side note is an incredible seller when in a submission hold as he may even be inches away from the ropes but his selling of the pain he's in makes it look like he may as well but on the other side of the ring for the effort required to make it to the ropes and break up the hold, so both men started looking more towards their big moves. YAMATO had the sleeper hold/Galleria combination but Mochizuki was able to escape. Mochizuki has those knock out kicks and the Twister, but YAMATO kicked out. It took Mochizuki's big move finisher, the Sankakugeri to the face (a second rope springboard kick directly to the face) to put down YAMATO for the three count. Fantastic match, these two really bring out the best in each other. But then my expectations were a little too high so I'd only rate this on par with their first singles encounter before the Open The Dream Gate Title was added to the equation. But still I said I would kill to see Mochizuki vs YAMATO live and I have to say this was still a fantastic match that built and built until the finish.

Ricochet vs SHINGO

 My match of the night had to be Shingo vs Ricochet. This was absolutely incredible, a truly spectacular contest and worthy main event. I'm not someone who has to think the main event has to be the best match on the card, it just needs to be a spectacle and have a main event feel about it. As Ricochet's European debut and someone who has more than earned his place on the Dragon Gate roster winning 3 Dragon Gate Title's all within a year of debuting, he faced off against THE man in DG UK, Shingo, who main evented all three nights of the previous tour - All in winning efforts might I add - and was in the main event of each night of this tour. The last time Shingo main evented Broxbourne it was against PAC in a brilliant power vs speed/high-flyer battle in which power won. PAC was the man who Ricochet defeated to win the Open The Brave Gate Title in November 2011, and Ricochet is likely to the man to take PAC's spot as the greatest high-flyer in both Dragon Gate and Dragon Gate USA. Maybe even now DG UK? But Ricochet has a completely different style to PAC, PAC is very stoic and English in nature, whereas Ricochet is very outward and charismatic in nature and he showed that by having the audacity to mess with Shingo's mullet in the opening few minutes of the match. If we learned anything by Horiguchi vs Tozawa earlier, you don't touch another mans hair, and Shingo made him pay dearly by throwing him halfway across the ring in a display of power after a test of strength and then unloading on him with chops and punches in the corner. Ricochet is capable of absolutely breath-taking and graceful displays of athleticism, none more impressive than a corkscrew Sasuke Special where he was able to take Shingo down outside the ring and land on his feet in order to high five fans. Ricochet really is one of the most graceful flyers in the world and he really showed that with standing moonsaults, running shooting star presses, corkscrew roundhouse kicks and his 630 Senton. Shingo was as impressive as always, I am yet to see Shingo in anything that wasn't close to MOTN, MOTN itself or even a MOTYC. And he was in fine form on this night being the base and foil for Ricochet's impressive aerial offense while putting forth some impressive displays of power himself as he was able to throw Ricochet up in the air, hit several Made In Japans including a dead lift version and sealed Ricochet's fate with a Last Falconry. A truly incredible contest that featured too much action for me to even begin to attempt a play by play. An absolutely epic main event that may have even bettered the Shingo/PAC match due to Ricochet's charisma.

Like I said at the beginning after the show had ended that night I felt that this was the strongest Broxbourne DG UK show to date. Looking at Gadge's match times bell to bell the entire (main) show was just under 80 minutes long. So it really was all killer no filler. Each match bettered the one that had proceeded and the card just built and built masterfully with each match having something different to offer so by the time the show ended the crowd was on the edge of the seat by the time Shingo finally put Ricochet away. There's not a weak match on the entire show, the first half was good and highly enjoyable, but the second half was absolutely incredible and worth a DVD purchase for the last three matches alone. What an excellent start to the weekend!