September 16th 2017 | Edinburgh Corn Exchange
Discovery Wrestling celebrates three years with a packed line up at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange. I'm watching the show via YouTube. Before we kick off the review, there was a match cut from the show here as the Woman's Championship elimination match between Martina, Lucy Cole, Sammii Jayne and Nina Samuels ended abruptly due to Lucy Cole suffering an injury during the match. From the reports on the night, Disco staff cleared the venue hall so Cole could be attended to privately by medical staff. Understandably this footage wasn't shown on the uploaded event. As usual, we got Randy Valentine and Darren T Goss running down the line up before the first match took place. Lisa Marie Varon, Lou King Sharp & Michael Chase defeated House Of Saynt (Christopher Saynt, Jayla Dark & Theo Doros) by Pinfall. The show kicked off with a long entrance for The House of Saynt before Chase and Sharp entered. Sharp apologised as The Undertaker couldn't make it to be their tag team partner. They announced that Lisa Marie Varon had stepped in and the match was on. Lou King Sharp was cut off from his corner early on by The House Of Saynt, wearing down Lou until he finally made the hot tag to Chase and the match kicked up a gear with a chase flurry and Lisa Marie Varon looking fantastic in the ring. The match ended with Sharp launching himself off Chase's shoulders while he was sitting on the top rope, falling with style on top of Doros for the three count. A solid match to kick off the show, the moments between Dark and Varon are certainly wanting me to see a one on one contest in the future. Chase and Sharp, though total opposites, work really well as a team. Think an Enzo and Big Cass except both are actually very good wrestlers. Varon looked so excited to be in the ring and having the best view of the show, beaming throughout before she had her time with Dark which included a Widow's Peak. Really fun start to the show. Hotter Than Hell Edinburgh Invitational Semi Final - Aspen Faith defeated Chris Ridgeway by Pinfall. The first of the Hotter Than Hell semi-finals with Faith and Ridgeway squaring off. The match started slow, warming up, before Ridgeway brought in his big kicks. Both men fought outside while the referee continued his count. It was only at a count of 9 did both competitors pause and rush back into the ring. Faith took some dirty tactics, almost feeding off the crowd and their displeasure. Ridgeway countered a pinfall into a triangle choke then switched into a Rings of Saturn which was very pretty to watch. Both men threw kicks, forearms and punches but neither had a clear-cut advantage in the match. Faith landed a second rope moonsault but couldn't hit the tombstone. Faith snapped Ridgeway's fingers and Ridgeway replied by throwing kicks only to have his fingers snapped again. Ridgeway kicked out of the Tombstone at one but a follow-up Thunderbird Tombstone sealed it for 'The King of Catch'. A very even contest with both having a strong showing. Faith really looks effortlessly good in the ring. An earned victory from Faith who offered a handshake after the bout. Ridgeway replied with a kick to the head. Almost a double turn here with Ridgeway picking up boos following an unneeded Hotter Than Hell Edinburgh Invitational Semi Final - Rampage Brown defeated Mikey Whiplash by Pinfall. The second Hotter Than Hell semi-final started with a feeling out process with some really impressive wrestling, which just shows how great these two are, before Whiplash and Brown just went to battering each other with stuff chops and throwing everything at each other. Very little wasted motion as Whiplash aimed a good portion of the attacks at Brown's knee, chopping down the height advantage and using Brown's own weight to make matters worse. Whiplash had a lot of the offense as he wore down big Rampage. The finish almost came out of nowhere when Brown countered a kick from Whiplash and flipped him onto the turnbuckle and caught Whiplash into a piledriver for three. A clever match that really showed how vicious Whiplash is and the resilience of Rampage as he moves onto the final against Faith. I was thinking about how amazing a match Whiplash and Faith would have but after Rampage Brown's performance in this one I think Brown-Faith could be even better. Uncivil War Qualifier - Three-Way - The New Age Kliq (BT Gunn & Chris Renfrew) defeated Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) and The Kings Of The North (Bonesaw & Damien Corvin) by Pinfall. A lot of folk in the crowd didn't seem to know who The Kings of the North were and, to be honest, this was the first time I was seeing them in action. The match started slowly with Polo Promotions and The NAK working on Corvin and Bonesaw. At one point Jackie Polo and Mark Coffey ended up tagged in which had me hoping that they would try and pin each other but it wasn't to be. It wasn't long before chaos broke out as all three teams started going at it and the action was thick and fast. BT Gunn throwing himself off the top rope onto the waiting crowd with a trust fall was heart in mouth and the follow-up cactus clothesline from Mark onto BT over the barrier was beautiful. Just when it looked like Polo Promotions had it wrapped up, Uncle Bobby of the Buffet Club appeared and distracted Jackie Polo long enough for Nina Samuels to slide in and hit a low blow. Mark was in hot pursuit but Jackie was out of it, leaving The Kings of the North and The New Age Kliq to duke it out. Renfrew hit a T-Virus with an added superkick from Gunn during the lift for the win. Fun match once it broke down. Gunn and Renfrew's chops were blistering and another throwdown between The Kings and The NAK wouldn't be a bad thing. Joe Hendry defeated Dalton Castle by Pinfall. Joe Hendry had an incredible entrance with 'Why Does Dalton Castle Need To Fly'. The match started with some lovely wrestling which Darren T Goss pointed out that both were accomplished amateur wrestlers. The match got into a brawl with Hendry working on Castle's head after throwing him into the ring post. Both men began to Peacock to send the other off balance. It descended back into wrestling as Hendry went for the ankle lock, Castle fought out of it back Hendry locked it in again, Castle rolled out but Hendry dropped down to get the surprise three count. The match was good, but personally, it went a few minutes too long as there was a bit of a dip in action before the finish. Castle was just oozing with charisma and he and Hendry had some really nice exchanges. Alan Smith was out to thank the fans for coming but was interrupted by Dave Conrad who demanded either an opponent or for Alan to go backstage and dress appropriately. Alan headed to the back before saying that nobody paid money to see a fat promoter wrestling and that he had an opponent for Conrad... Matt Riddle defeated Dave Conrad by Pinfall. Matt Riddle entered to a loud reaction and for good reason, he was great in this match. Started slow with Riddle making Conrad look like an amateur by wriggling out of anything wrestling Dave was trying to do. Conrad did get a lot of offense in with Riddle taking a lot of stiff boots. The finish, just wow, Conrad went for his powerslam but was countered into a dragon sleeper by Riddle who then lifted him into a tombstone which connected. Conrad got straight back up to the shock of everyone, they traded kicks. Conrad then bounced back with a headbutt but as they both went down Riddle fell on top of Conrad for the three count. Conrad looked really really good in the closing portion of the match. Riddle was just brilliant throughout, he's just so so talented. Conrad declined a handshake after the match. Probably the best Dave Conrad match I've seen. Y Division Championship - Best Two Out Of Three Falls - Joe Coffey defeated Lewis Girvan by two falls to one to win the Y Division Championship. Now the main event. Girvan entered his 666th day as Y Division Champion and Joe Coffey entered firmly the favourite in the crowd. A big match feel between two phenomenal wrestlers. Coffey looked to be on fire by answering anything Girvan had to offer. A mushroom stomp from the barricade onto Coffey's back came with a wild scream from Girvan. Lewis proceeded to target the back of Coffey. While the referee had his back turned Girvan loosened the turnbuckle before kicking out of a roll up and sending Coffey's face into it, a Bloody Sunday later and Girvan went one fall up. Coffey retaliated in the second fall by taking it to the outside, throwing himself over the barrier onto Girvan and brawling through the crowd and even throwing in a big swing into a Boston Crab. When it got back to the ring they traded chops and headbutts on the apron before Girvan hit a sick cutter on the apron. As both struggled to their feet to make the ten count into the ring. Coffey shifted into another gear with uppercuts and splashes to wear down Girvan who looked to be slowing down, a missed enziguri from Girvan saw him thrown with a German Suplex and an Aw Ra Best Fur Tha Bells lariat for the pinfall making the match one fall to one. The third fall started with the two trading chops before it was Girvan's turn to fire up but a top rope scale was thwarted by a Coffey uppercut and a superplex from the top rope sending Girvan crashing down. Girvan pulled the referee in the way of a front dropkick as Girvan took advantage with another double foot stomp to the back. Coffey countered another Bloody Sunday attempt into a lariat. Faith entered behind the alternative referee and knocked him down to begin a double team on Coffey. Coffey fought off the Kings but ended up being in the centre of a Superkick Party before The Apter Burner looked to finish off Coffey for good. As a third referee entered Coffey kicked out to the surprise of the crowd as they came alive. Girvan ducked a lariat and snapped on a Boston Crab of his own as Coffey dragged himself to the ropes for the break. Girvan aimed to finish the match with a lariat of his own but was countered into a Peacemaker as Faith pulled the referee out as Girvan started tapping. The referee sent Faith out as Girvan hit the lariat for a two count. Both men fought back as they looked to land that one final blow with plenty of counters and dodges. Coffey locked in the Boston Crab and started stomping on Girvan's head to finally lead the champion to tap out in a brutal end to a very impressive match. Both men looked like Champions, even in defeat and with Faith's interference, Girvan looked every bit of the main eventer that he had become in Discovery Wrestling. It took everything Coffey had to put Girvan away in an epic for Discovery Wrestling. He may've referred to himself as it but on this night he earned the name 'Mr. Discovery Wrestling'. A great even contest where both looked like stars and a fitting beginning of Coffey's reign that saw him scratch and claw to gain the gold. Overall: Another very entertaining show from Discovery Wrestling and, while I think it wasn't their best show of the year (which is The Elite show in my opinion), it was another strong showing for a promotion that hasn't had a bad show at all continuing a streak of brilliant events. You should check out this event on YouTube when you can.
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Discovery Wrestling returned to the Corn Exchange for another stacked event as their three tournaments are well underway. This show had several tournament bouts, a couple grudge matches and a title match, what more could you want? How about the debut of Mikey Whiplash and Matt Riddle…who just happen to face each other in a Hotter Than Hell Tournament match. Sound good? Let's watch…
This event is now available On Demand which is worth every penny. Uncivil War Qualifier - Dave Conrad & Deviation defeated The Fabulous Bakewell Boys (Jerry & Steakley Bakewell) by Pinfall. We kicked off with the second qualifier for Uncivil War, the winners would join Fight Club and two other teams in the final. The debuting Fabulous Bakewell Boys took on the powerhouse team of Dave Conrad and Deviation. I've been harsh about Conrad and Deviation in the past but they had a very good match to start the event. They showed plenty of personality and they didn't take themselves too seriously. Perfect when they're up against the shenanigans from Jerry and Steakley. Conrad built up towards a suicide dive only to flip off the crowd then Deviation followed up with a dive of his own. After 'the Dudley boys spot' attempt was scuppered by Dave Conrad, he and Deviation used a stunning dominator/cutter tandem move to finish Steakley Bakewell. A very entertaining match between two teams that are polar opposites. It wasn't a technical clinic but certainly fun. Sometimes opposites do attract. Hotter Than Hell Tournament Qualifier - Chris Ridgeway defeated Mark Coffey by Pinfall. A slugfest followed between Mark Coffey and Chris Ridgeway, the larger Coffey punished Ridgeway using his size and power to boot, chop and slam his opponent. Ridgeway used every morsal of guts to fight back with kicks, forearms and explosive suplexes but was met by the 'Power Forward' shot for shot. Ridgeway finally got the upperhand with a stiff kick to Coffey's skull to move onto the next round. A solid bout with plenty of hard hitting moves, stiff and nothing held back. Women's Championship Tournament Qualifier - Nina Samuels defeated Debbie Sharpe by Pinfall. Our third tournament bout of the evening, this time it was the turn of the Women's Championship Tournament. It was interesting to say the least, Debbie Sharpe came in with an attitude seeing as she'd spent her previous appearances attacking her former BAE Sammii Jayne but Nina Samuels, while making her debut, entered with a severe disdain for everyone and anyone. The crowd sided with Debbie Sharpe much to her surprise which didn't help with the whole, Nina Samuels being pretty unlikeable thing making her even more aggressive. Samuels was ruthless in her assault, Debbie did what she could to stay in the fight. Samuels scored the win with a Go To Sleep. A solid yet uncomfortable watch, after this match I've never wanted to see someone lose so badly. Job well done. The crowd gave Debbie a round of applause as she left, well deserved as she survived a mauling, just. Hotter Than Hell Tournament Qualifier - Mikey Whiplash defeated Matt Riddle by Pinfall. It's poetic that these two wrestled on a canvas as this was pure art. The match started with holds traded with Riddle aiming for the arm of Whiplash, who was working on the exposed ankle of 'The King of Bros', it then moved onto chops, uppercuts, kicks, throwing everything at each other. No wasted movement. Contorting submission holds, two men who were on equal footing throughout, pushing each other a little further. Riddle used blistering kicks that echoed throughout the venue. They knocked lumps out of each other including some vicious elbows to the head from Whiplash. After Mikey kicked out of a Go To Sleep, Riddle locked in the Bromission but Whiplash rolled Riddle onto his back and scored a pinfall. A beautiful match. Aspen Faith defeated Joe Coffey by Disqualification. A grudge match, Aspen Faith has been a thorn in Joe Coffey's side for months since costing Coffey his shot at Lewis Girvan's Y Division Championship. Faith then wasn't the most helpful when Team Discovery lost to The Elite. It didn't take long for Girvan to get involved in this one but it didn't always help with Coffey sending Girvan packing on several occasions. The distractions were fruitful with Faith able to take advantage and work down the arm of the Iron Man which restricted Coffey's German Suplex attempts before Joe decided that he only needed one arm and threw Faith back like it was nothing. A Coffey crossbody was countered into a beautiful armbar from Faith which was timed to perfection. Girvan got into the match again as Coffey hit the Aw Ra Best Fur Tha Bells, Coffey had enough and threw the referee out of the way to get his hands on Girvan which drew the disqualification. Referee Sean Mclaughlin gave a huge amount of leeway but to give him his due, nobody touched the referee so it's justifiable. Coffey was enraged on the mic, ballistic at what happened and demanded Lewis Girvan one on one for the Y Division Championship. Shenanigans aplenty, a highly enjoyable encounter. Michael Chase & Lou King Sharp defeated The House of Saynt (Christopher Saynt & Theo Doros) by Count Out. This one started hot, Sharp looked vicious in the early going with a takedown to Saynt before being picked apart by The House. Saynt and Doros had some beautiful tandem moves including a codebreaker into a deadlift German suplex. Just as it looked like Sharp and Chase were going to pick up the win, Saynt pulled Doros out of the ring and let themselves get counted out. Gloating that Chase still didn't get what he wanted. It stopped just as it was getting going but made logical sense with Saynt not wanting to give Chase what he wanted. It was a solid match with plenty interest created for this feud to continue. Y Division Championship - Lewis Girvan (c) defeated Danny Boy Rodgers, Lucha DS & Joe Hendry Main event time and Joe Hendry was revealed as the forth man in the match following LJT's injury. They teased Faith being the forth man which would've been brilliant but this was still a cracking replacement. Straight into the action to kick off with Girvan handling a lot of the offense early on. Lucha DS looked highly impressive with his flips, including an imploding standing 630 which looked lovely. After a dodgy looking tower of doom German suplex with all four involved, Lucha was gone after a Freak of Nature from Hendry. Danny Boy Rodgers wasn't around for much longer and we were down to Girvan and the Local Hero. Some fantastic Peacemaker/Ankle Lock transitions and counters traded but it looked like one final Freak of Nature sealed the win for Joe Hendry and a new Y Division Champion. As Hendry was awarded the belt, referee Sean McLaughlin saw that Girvan's foot was under the bottom rope which would have broken up the pinfall. As Hendry protested, and then taunted by Aspen Faith, Lewis struck with a low blow then a Saturday Crush to gain the pinfall following the restart. Very fun match, Lucha DS looked great, Joe Hendry was on fine form but the star of the match was Lewis Girvan. He had his working boots on yet made everything look effortless, always in the thick of the action proving why he considers himself the best wrestler in the world. Overall - After the incredible previous two shows this one was a little bit of a dip, there were solid to great matches but not a lot that makes me feel the need to rewatch the whole event all over again like The Elite event, as an example, possibly Riddle/Whiplash. The crowd seemed pretty quiet by the main event until the end when Lewis Girvan escaped with the title once again. A fine show though, the journey now begins to June 23rd at Portobello Town Hall where we will see Sammii Jayne versus Toni Storm in the next Women's Championship Tournament match up, a match that is worth the price of admission alone, and the returning Angelico versus the debuting Joseph Conners. www.OSWtv.co.uk A huge sold out crowd on hand at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh for Discovery Wrestling on a Wednesday night. The set up looked phenomenal with the long aisle through the crowd and the lighting was fantastic. The aesthetics were great…but how was the in ring action?
The show promised a lot with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in action plus Will Ospreay making his debut against the current Ring of Honor World Television Champion. Universal praise and some match of the year contenders lined up I've headed to Discovery Wrestling On Demand to check out the show as soon as it was made available. Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) defeated The Buffet Club (Gene Munny & Rob Cage) by Pinfall. The show kicked off with Gene Munny and Rob Cage announcing that their finishing move is now called the Ainsley Lariat, complete with Ainsley Harriot t-shirts to go with this announcement, brilliant. The crowd were loud for Polo Promotions, which included the debut in Discovery for Jackie Polo. Fantastic tag team action to start off the event, Rob Cage was wonderfully creepy with his fake out cannonball into a lick of death which was cringe worthy but…that's what it was supposed to be. The Buffet Club were on the back foot for the first time in recent memory in Discovery Wrestling and were soon thrown up for the Old Man of Hoy and a sweet victory for Polo Promotions. Possibly cementing their intentions for being included in qualifying for Uncivil War. Great match, when you have Polo Promotions about there are always high expectations and they deliver more often than not, which is exactly what they did here. Joe Hendry defeated Liam Slater by Pinfall. Another debut in Discovery with Liam Slater, a name I was familiar with but not seen very much off. He took on the 'Local Hero', Edinburgh's own Joe Hendry. More of a wrestling match with holds traded with Hendry always able to overpower the smaller Slater. Slater relied on outwitting Hendry, then using his speed to apply holds quickly and effectively to wear down his larger opponent, using the single leg boston crab to take out the base for Hendry's power offence. It wasn't enough with Slater attempting a crossbody only to be rolled through into a Fallaway Slam by Hendry on one leg for the victory. Short and sweet with both men showing some great moves. Liam Slater certainly left an impression and would look forward to seeing him come back to Edinburgh in the future. Marty Scurll defeated Will Ospreay by Submission. More debuts in Discovery Wrestling, this time 'The Aerial Assassin' Will Ospreay against the current Ring of Honor Television Champion Marty Scurll. Interestingly, earlier in the day Will Ospreay won the Reckless Intent Hardcore Championship from Mr News due to the 24/7, also due this 24/7 rule this was technically a Reckless Intent Hardcore Championship match. Scurll was making his third appearance in Discovery Wrestling, he appeared in their debut show 'No Fear, No Mercy' and here he was involved in one of the best matches in Discovery Wrestling history. A showcase of Scurll and Ospreay, slick counters, a little bit of cheeky cheating with Thomas Kierans losing control of the bout with both using a crowd member's crutches to aid them to the chants of 'this is wrestling'. This was a masterclass on how to play a crowd and they were up for everything in this one. Ospreay is something else, there were flips all over the place with Scurll playing the foil on numerous occasions. Ospreay went for a second Cheeky Nando's Kick but Scurll countered with his own Cheeky Villian Kick, a couple finger snaps, hand stamps and a Crossface Chicken Wing and it was all over. A top quality match and one to check out again. Deviation & Dave Conrad defeated Michael Chase by Pinfall. A match made by Christopher Saynt as punishment for Chase jumping the barrier and attacking The House of Saynt last month. Chase went onto the offensive early to try and split the tag team but the numbers game came into play quickly with Conrad and Deviation using tandem moves to wear down the lone Chase. Though Chase dwarved Conrad and Deviation in height, the combined effort of two very strong and powerful individuals was enough to keep down Chase for the majority. There was an uncomfortable looking Dominator/Neckbreaker combination which hailed a long two count and just kept Chase in the running. Chase hit a Coast To Coast onto Deviation but that was his last move as Conrad recovered and a moment later Chase was pinned for the three count. After the match Conrad hit a jackhammer and Deviation followed with the Claw before being being interupted by Lou King Sharp. Sharp chased them off The House of Saynt (well Chase with a chair behind Sharp did) before the duo exited. Chase looked great in this match, he was battered for the majority but hung on for as long as possible. Solid match and certainly draws more possibilites with Conrad and Deviation being used for Saynt's dirty work we could be in line for some fun multiman matches in the coming months. Martina defeated Ayesha Ray by Pinfall. This was…interesting. Two more debuts in Discovery Wrestling with the big, monstorous Ayesha Ray against the Queen of Sesh Style, the Session Moth, Martina. This wasn't a wrestling match but it was a, it was a something. A lot of shenanigans with Ayesha being less than impressed with Martina's raving and boozy antics. The Amazon countered a bronco buster into a sit out powerbomb which was incredible but missed a top rope move and left her open for Martina to scoop up a surprising win. It wasn't a wrestling match by any stretch but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) defeated Team Discovery (Lewis Girvan, Joe Coffey & BT Gunn) by Pinfall. My God the crowd were loud, dream matches were given a glimpse of with Kenny Omega and Joe Coffey, Omega and BT Gunn, every combination was a welcomed with a raucous reaction, even the boos towards The Kings of Catch when Girvan or Faith got involved. Truly something special to see. The Elite dominated the match which made perfect sense, the established and cohesive unit picked apart the Discovery team with triple team and tandem moves. The downfall for Discovery was Girvan's resistance to actually work with his partners, which made The Elite's job all the easier. The individual nature of the Discovery team didn't stand a chance in this but to see the likes of Coffey and Gunn mix it up with Omega was glorious. We got a fantastic main event with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks showcasing their dazzling move set with plenty of superkicks delivered. Aspen Faith attempted to interfere again but The Kings of Catch ended up eating a double Meltzer Driver and the Y Division Champion was pinned in the middle of the ring. After the match Joe Coffey challenged Girvan to a rematch at the next Discovery event before delivering his Aw Tha Best Fur Tha Bells lariat. It wasn't over for Girvan as BT Gunn threw him to the wolves and The Elite hit a triple superkick to end this wild event. Overall, the production was slick which is something I've picked at in previous shows On Demand, but this, this was something beautiful. Every match delivered nothing less than great, some better than others but overall it was worth watching from start to finish. Once again the commentary was on point, when you watch a show online you need quality commentary and Randy Valentine with the International Broadcast Analyst, Darren T Goss provide all the story points that the viewer needs and expands on the story told in the ring which is what should be happening while they also banter back and forth they exude charisma. One of the best Discovery Wrestling shows in their short history and continues the trend of top quality wrestling in the capital. Discovery Wrestling's next event on May 7th is already taking shape which will include Mikey Whiplash versus Matt Riddle, Mark Coffey versus Chris Ridgeway and Debbie Sharpe versus Nina Samuels. Quick Results: Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) defeated The Buffet Club (Gene Munny & Rob Cage) by Pinfall. Joe Hendry defeated Liam Slater by Pinfall. Marty Scurll defeated Will Ospreay by Submission. Deviation & Dave Conrad defeated Michael Chase by Pinfall. Session Moth Martina defeated The Amazon Ayesha Ray by Pinfall. The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) defeated Team Discovery (Lewis Girvan, Joe Coffey & BT Gunn) by Pinfall. |
Billy StrachanWrestling fan since the 90's Archives
November 2017
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