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Friday, November 2, 2007

Legends Wrestling League…….That was TAG Wrestling! By Oliver Newman

Company: Legends Wrestling League
Date: Tuesday 30th October 2007
Time: 7:30pm
Attendance: 162
Price: Adults £5, £4 with LWL Flyer (Downloadable from http://www.lwluk.co.uk) Kids £3. £1 off if you wear Fancy dress to this show.
Location: Legends Members Club, Oxley Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 1QN.

The Ring Announcer welcomes the crowd to LWL’s 2nd Anniversary and comments on how there is only standing room inside the Legend’s Members Club this evening.

Platinum Paige vs. Kris Navarro

The contest starts with an arm-drag by Navarro, followed quickly by a couple of hip-tosses and an Enzuguri. The fans clap, Paige cuts Navarro off with a short elbow,  and chokes him with his boot. Kicks to the back and chops to front and back follow as he starts to control the match, a snap suplex gets the first pinfall attempt of the night (for a two count). Paige knees Navarro in the back and applies a chin-lock “You’re not cheering for him now” the fans start clapping and slamming against the tables. Paige locks Navarro in a mid-ring sleeper hold, after Navarro’s hand drops twice he fights back. Ducking two clothesline attempts before hitting a flying head scissors and a wheelbarrow into an arm-drag. Following up with a Spear but that only manages a two count (as Paige gets his foot on the ropes). A second Spear misses and Paige quickly follows up with a German suplex for a close near fall, and a huge T-Bone suplex but that gets 2 also (so he berates the referee for the lack of 3 count). Paige sets up for his Impaler finisher but Navarro rolls him up for the 1, 2 and 3.

Match Time: 9 minutes
Winner: Kris Navarro

My Thoughts:
That was a good back and forth match to start LWL’s 2YA show! Navarro’s performance was good once again and Paige showed a good improvement over last month’s slightly shaky match. I was gutted about no Sykes vs. Navarro 2 after they put on a fantastic match last month, and to be honest I still am (hope to see that feud continued at some point down the line) but this was a good way to kick off the show.

‘Mr #1’ Jonny Costello vs. Sik Nik Dutt

Costello plays limbo with the microphone cable, the match starts with a clap-off which Dutt wins. Lock up Costello with power advantage pushes Dutt down, second time around Dutt reverses and shoulder-blocks and hip-tosses Costello down to the mat. Costello rolls out of the ring and rings the bell! Dutt follows with a dropkick through the ropes, Costello steals a fan’s water bottle and then pulls Dutt out. Costello hits Dutt with a throat chop and another before chopping the steel ring post! Dutt takes control slamming Costello’s hand on tables, etc. Costello kicks the rope as Dutt returns “I’m a Champion/You’re a Bell-End” shouting contest. Costello clotheslines Dutt right on the bridge of the nose, so Dutt in return drops him on his head with a Hurracanrana for a two count. Dutt follows up with a whip/bulldog and splash combination for another two count as Costello’s foot is on the ropes. Dutt attempts the tornado DDT but Costello reverses into a full nelson slam for the 1, 2 and 3. The fans clap for Dutt as he leaves.

Match Time: 12 minutes
Winner: ‘Mr #1’ Jonny Costello

My Thoughts:
Another enjoyable match, good back and forth contest between the two competitors. Mis-timed clothesline and hurrancanrana added a lot to intensity of the match and were real OUCH moments! Costello showed he can wrestle and brawl as well as he wrestles comedy matches. Dutt put forth another good performance and that made another good match for the LWL fans to enjoy.

Mad Dog Maxx w/ ‘Mr #1’ Jonny Costello vs. Tracy Smothers

Pre match:

Maxx endears himself to the crowd “Shut your stinking mouths up! I’ll kick your teeth down your throat” Smothers enters to a huge roar from the crowd, causing Maxx & Costello to roll out to the floor. Maxx is both cheered and booed as he takes the microphone “I’m a wrestler/you’re a fat t***” he shouts at a fan. “If he (Smothers) touches my s***, kill him” he tells Costello. “Shut your mouth and listen to me! You may have wrestled 3 bears but tonight you’re wrestling a Mad Dog. You’re a rebel, a cheat and scummy. But you’re a great wrestler and the king of the dance-off” Fans start a “Tracy Smothers, Tracy Smothers” chant, Tracy takes the mic “Are you all having a good time! Is it good to be alive and in Wolverhampton, Tonight!” The fans cheer loudly, “Was that the biggest piece of crap you have ever heard! You Costello are a transplant rebel and I’m going to put your head up you’re ass. By the time this match is done you’ll have a different respect for me and all these fans”.

Match:

Fans chant “Tracy, Tracy” once more as Maxx rolls out. “Mad Dog sucks” chant starts up “Mad Dog doesn’t suck” he replies. “Old poodle” is shouted out by a fan! Smothers and Maxx lock up and after a clean break Maxx accuses Smothers of pulling his hair (which he hasn’t done). Waist-locks are traded with Smothers adding a snap-mere once again Maxx complains of hair pulling. The fans clap and after reversing an arm-lock Maxx pulls Smothers by the hair to the mat! “Cheat” chant starts up, Wrist-lock once more this time Smothers gets the advantage and pulls Maxx’s hair. Maxx shouts “Tracy’s been pulling my hair, tights, poking my eyes and punching my balls!” and then challenges him to a dance off. The first 2 vs. 1 dance-off I have seen, Maxx and Costello have some moves (but the fans still boo), Smothers is the king and wins yet another dance-off. Smothers misses a back elbow and gets caught by a vicious lariat by Maxx for a close near-fall. Smothers pokes Maxx in the eyes and hits a Flatliner for a two count. Maxx returns with a spine buster of his own “I swear to god it’s over!” but it isn’t. Costello tries to distract Smothers but gets forearmed for his troubles, he has distracted Smothers long enough for Maxx to hit a chain assisted lariat for the 1, 2 and 3. The fans boo loudly at Maxx & Costello and cheer loudly for Smothers with “Tracy, Tracy and Please don’t go” chants.

Match Time: 23 minutes
Winner: Mad Dog Maxx

My Thoughts:
Well that was just superb! Not the most complex match but it didn’t need to be. Smothers and Maxx showed just how to play with a crowd’s emotions to the best effect with the match produced. The best atmosphere I have experienced since I have covered LWL shows, Maxx and Smothers put on a good wrestling match, with great crowd interaction and a dance-off. That left a lot of fans very happy and the fans that had strangely never heard of Tracy Smothers before, now have a new hero! Great stuff all around.

INTERMISSION

Dan Ryder & Marcus Kool vs. Steve Valentino & ‘Metro-Sexual’ Danny Devine

Valentino jaws with the crowd “Old woman bow down, before me”, “Your both faggots” chant starts up directed at Devine & Valentino. “Emo” chant is directed at Valentino and a “Let’s go Ryder” chant also. Valentino kicks Ryder and Judo throws him to the canvas, “Valentino/He’s an emo” duelling chant. Valentino applies the arm-lock, Ryder skilfully turns it into a swinging arm-lock and reverses out! Ryder quickly follows up with a Japanese arm-drag and an arm-lock of his own before Valentino tags in Devine and Ryder tags in Kool. Kool hit’s the 6-1-9 on Devine or so he thought, Devine amazingly catches Kool and applies the Sharpshooter! It’s not locked in for long though, due to a Ryder Enzuguri, Valentino kicks Ryder’s injured leg and Devine locks in the Sharpshooter on Ryder. Kool connects with a Superkick on Devine knocking him into the ropes for a 6-1-9 which Kool hits this time, Ryder struggling through the pain climbs up to the top rope and connects with a picture perfect 450 splash for the 1, 2 and 3. Kool rolls Devine out of the ring and the fans clap Ryder & Kool.

Match Time: 19 minutes
Winner: Dan Ryder & Marcus Kool

My Thoughts:
Well that was an absolutely tremendous tag team match! From bell to bell it had everything a great tag match has, energy, isolation of one man (Ryder in this match), old school tag wrestling and a great finish (Devine’s reversal of 6-1-9 into a Sharpshooter was a personal highlight!). One of the best tag matches I have seen based on action and atmosphere and only second behind The Briscoe’s vs. Shingo & Doi (ROH in Liverpool in March ’07) as the best tag team match I’ve seen this year and a good contender for British Wrestling’s match of the year also. The best compliment I can give this match is it’s the kind of match that makes my efforts to publicise British Wrestling worth while!

Christian Lees:

The fans chant “Who and who are ya” as Lees makes his way to the ring. Lees asks “Are you enjoying the show?” The fans cheer in approval “I’m not” Lees replies causing the fans to boo loudly. “Get a haircut” chant starts up, Lees continues “The use of Tracy Smothers signifies to me this is a B-Show” The fans disagree with chants of “Shut the f*** up!” “I’m from the LWL academy like Kris Navarro (huge cheer) but I’m seen as second string!” Fans respond by chanting “What and Christian is a w*****”. The fans boo as Lees leaves.

My Thoughts:
Well I went from wondering who Lees was to having a good understanding of him, so I say job done. It was difficult to hear what he was saying over crowd noise though, he made the fans take notice of who he is and what he is about, now I await to see him wrestle.

TGR w/The Boss vs. Chandler Scott Lee

TGR berates CSL “You like, all of this scum (points at fans) are nothing”. Slaps are traded between the two, TGR hilariously shouts “That hurt!” punches and clotheslines by CSL follow as the fans chant “Only one Paul Bearer” at The Boss. CSL fains hitting TGR and instead connects with a dropkick, TGR chokes CSL in the ropes and The Boss chokes him further with his tie. A nonchalant cover by TGR isn’t enough to put CSL away though. CSL whips TGR into the corner and goes for the 10 punch but TGR reverses into a running power bomb but only manages to get a two count! So he berates the referee, CSL hits a bulldog on TGR and goes to attack The Boss (he ducks down) and connects with his organiser to CSL’s head and with a Flatliner this match is over, 1, 2 and 3 count follows. The fans boo TGR who spits water at a kid in the audience.

Match Time: 11 minutes
Winner: TGR

My Thoughts:
Not a bad match by any means. TGR and CSL put forth a solid wrestling performance, the fan interaction was there also but this was at the point where a normal LWL show would be coming to a close, so that took a little away from the match. Solid match though, so definitely not a downer on a great show thus far!

Darkstar vs. Donny The Bull

Darkstar spits in Bull’s face (not a smart idea!), Bull takes revenge by showing that Darkstar isn’t tall enough for a test of strength with him. Bull continues with chops causing Darkstar to hilariously scream “Ahhhhhhhh and oh my god” The fans clap as Bull slingshot senton’s over the top rope! A Bull-Hole Slam follows and finally a big splash for the 1, 2 and 3. Darkstar falls down between the ring and stage!

Match Time: 3 minutes
Winner: Donny The Bull

My Thoughts:
Well that was short, sweet and to the point! Darkstar’s hilarious shouting added a lot to this match, Bull has potential and is incredibly agile (slingshot senton) for a big man. So this match got across Bull as new monster of LWL (if that is the case), so from that perspective not a bad match to have just before the main event.

Hardcore Rules Wolverhampton Street Fight for LWL Championship
Sykes vs. Mat Mensa ©

Official ring introductions for both men, “Wearing a Mensa shirt eh Granddad” Says Sykes to a fan in the crowd. “Let’s go Mensa” chant starts up, “This isn’t a popularity contest” retorts Sykes who then wipes himself all over with towel and throws into Mensa’s face. A fan shouts obscenities at Sykes, so Sykes confronts him the fans show support for Sykes by shouting “T*** him”.  The fans rally back behind Mensa once more with “Let’s go Mensa” chants, Sykes seamlessly turns a lock up into a headlock from the very start. Mensa reverses out into a wrist-lock of his own, Sykes trips Mensa and hits an STO before tying Mensa’s ankle up. Sykes climbs to the top rope and attempts a Senton but misses, Maxx appears and straight away attacks Mensa, Dutt comes out to even the odds. Maxx & Sykes hit a 3D on Dutt. Costello interjects making it 3 on 2 until Smothers enters! Smothers helps but is shortly afterwards low bridged out of the ring. Sykes dances like Smothers (taking his eye of Mensa) who locks in the Perfect-plex for the 1, 2 and 3. The fans cheer Mensa, Smothers and Dutt. Mensa invites Sykes back in but with the prospect of a 3 on 1 beat down Sykes thinks better of it. Fans cheer for Mensa once again as Smothers starts up an “LWL, LWL” chant to conclude the show.

Match Time: 16 minutes
Winner and STILL LWL Champion: Mat Mensa

My Thoughts:
That was a very good main event to end the show! Sykes and Mensa wrestled a good match and only used weapons infrequently during the match (including a KILLER Chair shot to Mensa by Sykes!!). Sykes took full advantage of the NO DQ rules by cheating right in front of the referee on numerous occasions. Mensa showed he has skills to be able to carry the LWL Title into the future. Good way to end a fantastic show!

Overall Thoughts:
Navarro vs. Paige was a good back and forth match to open the show, I still need to see Sykes vs. Navarro 2 though! Dutt vs. Costello was a good follow up match with two OUCH moments. Maxx vs. Smothers was basic but garnered the best crowd reaction I have heard in LWL thus far, tag match was one of the most intense, energetic and enthralling I have ever seen! Christian Lees Promo was ok I look forward to seeing him wrestle, TGR vs. CSL was a solid match in it’s own right. Donny The Bull looked impressive and Darkstar’s hilarious, Sykes and Mensa wrestled a very good main event with one KILLER chair shot and a crowd pleasing ending. The Ring Announcer did a great job, and I think just under 3 hours is a good time for a show. Congratulations to LWL on improving their attendance one again from 62 (last month) to a tremendous 162 (this month).

Match of the Night:
Dan Ryder & Marcus Kool vs. Steve Valentino & ‘Metro-Sexual’ Danny Devine

For more information on LWL check out our website: www.lwl.co.uk or http://www.myspace.com/lwleague

If you would like to contact me: www.myspace.com/brummieol