Pro Wrestling Chaos' second event of the year came to us from Thornbury Leisure Centre. This was the second Chaos event from this particular venue after the epic 'Wrath of Khan' event from last Summer. (That is still my favourite name for any show Chaos have put on!) If 'Chaos B Ballin' wasn't a sold out event, it can't have been far off. I can't say I saw an empty seat in a venue which holds somewhere in the region of 500 people.
Chaos pulled in two American stars for this event in former WWE superstars M.V.P. and Melina. There was a pre-show "Audience With M.V.P." as well as meet and greets with both superstars. I wasn't in attendance for either of these but having spoken to people who were there, they were pretty good from what I can gather. As always, I arrived at the venue about 15 minutes before the doors opened. Unlike last time in Westbury-On-Trym where there weren't many people queuing when I arrived, people were coming out of the doors in Thornbury which is always a great sight when you arrive to a venue. I should explain that at Thornbury Leisure Centre, they allow people to queue in the reception area whereas in Westbury-On-Trym, there's no way of being able to do that. There wasn't much of a wait past 6pm before I was in the venue and found my seat. Front row as I will be for every Chaos event this year. A few members of the Chaos Club were already inside so I had chance to catch up with a few friends who I only see once a month or so. It's always nice to see those guys and girls! There was a cake and raffle ticket sale on. Some of you may remember the story we posted on the Facebook page about Isaac Wide. Isaac is wheelchair bound and currently doesn't have a ramp to be able to safely access his mothers house. That's all about to change however. Thanks to the donations of everyone via the Just Giving page and the funds raised at 'Chaos B Ballin', enough money has been raised to be able to get Isaac the ramp he needs. I'm not the most sentimental of people but it really brings a smile to my face knowing that there are so many people who were willing to help Isaac. I don't know him personally but I see him at every event and he's always got a smile on his face. Hopefully that smile is that little bit bigger now that he has his access ramp! Fair play to you, Isaac! I'm happy for you! And well done to everyone who helped or contributed to raising these funds! After scoffing down a couple of cakes (not good for the diet but good for the cause) and getting myself a drink (bottled water before anyone points out that I'm off the booze), it was showtime! Dave Mercy opened the show. After a few thank you's to the sponsors and the fans, it was down to business. Dave called out 'Flash' Morgan Webster who was stripped of the title after 'Mysterious City of Chaos' to return the belt. We didn't get 'Flash', but we did get his Modern Culture stablemates Danny Jones and Richie Edwards. They brought the belt to the ring with them and Mercy demanded they return it. After toying with the owner of Chaos for a few minutes, Dave snapped and threatened to fire both men if they didn't return the belt. Needless to say, the games quickly ended and the belt was returned to Mercy. Wild Boar then made his way to the ring and after The Modern Culture quickly scarpered to the back, Boar took what he believed was rightfully his from Dave Mercy: The King of Chaos title belt. 'Dirty' Dick Riley vs Charlie Sterling Charlie Sterling (F.K.A. Charlie Garrett) came in as a late replacement for the injured Andrew Everett. I was gutted not to be seeing Andrew, but I do love to see Bristol's own Charlie Sterling whenever he's about. Charlie was returning to Chaos for the first time in three years and Riley was hot off the heels of his big win against his former best friend 'Filthy' Chris Walker in January. I have to say that this was my favourite match of the night. I do like some "flippy graps" and this didn't disappoint for those who like that sort of thing. However, the big talking point wasn't the flashy moves that both of these two are more than capable of, but more so the antics of Mr. Sterling. After not being able to gain the upper hand on his opponent, Charlie decided to spit in the face of 'Dirty' Dick Riley to turn his hometown crowd against him. I thought it was a somewhat curious choice to turn a high-flying Bristolian against a Bristol crowd, but it worked! Charlie worked incredibly well as a heel for the rest of the match. The result came as a surprise to me. And I mean that in a good way! 'Dirty' Dick Riley picked up the "W" with a powerbomb pinning combination. The win shows that a lot of his past is staying in the past (namely 'Filthy' Chris Walker) and that he's moving forward with confidence and belief that he can achieve something big in Chaos this year. Riley showed respect to Charlie post match and just when we though Sterling was going to shake his hand, the Bristol native flipped him the bird and walked off to a chorus of boo's! Not cool, Charlie. And not family friendly either. Adam 'Flex' Maxted vs Jeckel This was a match I was quite excited to see. I've not heard much of Maxted, nor have I seen any of his work. In fact, the only thing I knew about him was that he starred in ITV's reality TV show 'Love Island' . I'm always intrigued to see how wrestlers who are new to me fare when I see them for the first time, though. It's fair to say that 'Flex' doesn't miss any time in the gym. That guy has muscles on top of his muscles! As for in the ring though, he was OK. Nothing flash but wasn't bad, really. Or at least not as bad as some people made him out to be anyway. 'Flex' picked up the win in this one, but it was the post match shenanigans of The Brotherhood that was the main talking point here. They hit the ring post match to put the boots to Jeckel however his former tag team partner, Gideon, hit the ring to make the save. Gideon extended a fist in an apparent attempt to reform the former Team H8, however Jeckel wasn't having any of it and blew Gideon off and left him hanging. More to come on this one later on... The Steele Dragons vs Project Lucha vs The Modern Culture - Knight of Chaos Title Match The first title match of the night saw Eddie Dennis and Alex Steele making their second defence of the Knights of Chaos titles. After the antics of The Modern Culture at 'Mysterious City of Chaos', Eddie Dennis and Alex Steele laid down the challenge for a triple threat match. Project Lucha and The Modern Culture accepted the challenge and that brought us to this February evening in Thornbury. This was a good match I thought which picked up more pace towards the end, as a lot of tag matches seem to do. There were a couple of moments that made me wince though involving Alex Steele. He scored with a topé through the ropes. I'm not sure if his head hit the guardrail, the floor, or both but either way for a moment or two he looked as though he didn't know which day of the week it was. Hopefully it was nothing too serious though. Although, if there was an issue, I'm sure the kicks to the head he took from Ligero didn't help too much! Towards the end of the match, The Modern Culture decided it was time to try to gain an unfair advantage and brought in the tag title belts. While the referee took one of them away, Martin Kirby got clocked with the other and moments later The Modern Culture were named the Knights of Chaos after picking up the biggest win of their young careers. Up next was the interval where people had the opportunity to purchase more cakes and raffle tickets or to just hang out and chat or check out some merchandise. It's always a nice chance to have a chat with other members of the Chaos Club and see what their opinions were on the first half of the show. I also picked myself up an El Ligero t-shirt and got to meet the man himself. It's funny, I've seen Ligero dozens of times over the years but hadn't met him until last month. Nice guy and a top, top wrestler in my opinion. We also had the raffle during the interval. Ten prizes up for grabs some of which included: - A framed COURAGE t-shirt signed by Diamond Dallas Page - Jeckel's seahorse costume - A Mexican flag signed by El Ligero - Gideon's Singapore Cane that he broke over Ian Williams' head - The chair which was destroyed in the Jimmy Havoc vs Wild Boar main event in January - The red nWk designed by Tom Smith which he threw into the ring at All or Nothing last year (Glad you got it back, Tom!) Gideon vs M.V.P. This was easily the most brutal match of the night with both men beating ten bells of "you know what" out of each other all over Thornbury Leisure Centre. Two blogs in and still no swears. I'm impressing myself here! However, as good and as physical as this match was, it was all about three men who don't even work for Chaos, let alone the fact that they weren't in the match. The Brotherhood came down to the ring to try to get their hands on 'The Red Emperor', however both he and M.V. P. managed to keep them at bay for a while. Eventually, M.V. P. picked up the win and The Brotherhood moved in to attack both men. The numbers were seemingly too much until Jeckel came out to make the save and really took it to The Brotherhood. Jeckel, M.V.P., and Gideon managed to despatch of the three men looking to make a name for themselves. Once everything had settled down, there was a handshake and show of respect between Gideon and M.V.P. Would we get a fist bump this time between Gideon and Jeckel? The crowd chanted, cheered and pleaded with Jeckel to join forces with his former Team H8 partner but once again Jeckel turned him down. I absolutely love what Chaos are doing here. They're building up a brand new team in The Brotherhood without them actually needing to wrestle by having them go after two veterans of the Chaos roster as well as teasing us with a potential Team H8 reunion. Very smart booking and I can't think of a single reason why this isn't the best thing going in Chaos right now. Young, hungry guys going after two of Chaos' top guys. What's not to like? Melina & Sierra Loxton vs Jetta & Jinny Continuing their rivalry dating back to November, Jetta and Sierra Loxton met again in a tag match featuring former WWE Superstar Melina. This was a great move by Chaos getting Melina in. She didn't do much in the match, but did enough in and out of the ring to earn her pay. Remember: How an import carries his or herself outside of the ring is just as, if not more important than what they do in the ring. From what I can understand, there were nothing but positive reviews from the people who had the opportunity to meet her and the way she spoke about Sierra Loxton over social media was amazing. Putting someone over doesn't necessarily have to be in the ring, remember! My one gripe with this match actually had nothing to do with the wrestling. It was more the chap who decided to walk in front of everyone in the row of seats where I was sat to take pictures of the former WWE Diva's Champion. Now, I don't have a problem with people taking pictures at events whatsoever. We all do it. What I have a problem with is that this chap called out to Melina to pose for him while she was wrestling. That's just not on. It's disrespectful to Melina, the women she was working with, Chaos as a company, and disrespectful to all the fans who he got in the way of during the match. Fingers crossed this was a one off situation and it never happens again. The match itself was fine with Sierra taking a beat down for a large portion of the match from Jinny and Jetta. Sierra eventually came back and made the tag to Melina who may not be as good as she was back in her WWE days, but she's still got it without question. The feelgood moment was the fact that Sierra finally managed to pin Jetta to pick up her first victory in a Chaos ring. Is this the end of the rivalry between Sierra and Jetta? Or does Jetta feel as though she has something to prove after losing to 'The Freaky Princess'? Only time will tell there. I wouldn't mind seeing them go at it one more time, that's for sure! Wild Boar vs Mike Bird vs Big Grizzly vs Jimmy Havoc vs Dave Mastiff vs Eddie Ryan vs 'Flash' Morgan Webster - Seven Man No DQ Elimination match for the vacant King of Chaos Championship The main event was upon us, in what was in someways one of the most unpredictable matches in Chaos history. Seven men all very deserving of the position in the match for very different reasons. Seven men willing to put everything on the line for glory. Seven men, hungry to be crowned King! I suppose it should come as no surprise to anyone who follows Chaos closely enough that pretty much everyone was gunning for Websters blood in this match. While some of the other six competitors don't necessarily see eye-to-eye with the fans, they all love this company and understand what it means to be the King of Chaos. Especially in the cases of Mike Bird and Wild Boar who are both former King's of Chaos. The biggest shock, perhaps in Chaos history occurred in this match when Wild Boar was the first man eliminated by Big Grizzly! I've never known such a stunned silence at any wrestling show I've ever been to. I just remember looking around at the crowd and there wasn't one jaw off the floor. I think most people expected Boar to be there at the end but this was really well done in my opinion to keep the fans on their toes. Next to go was Dave Mastiff who was pinned by Eddie Ryan and quickly following that was Big Grizzly who succumbed to Websters Strangler submission (I may have those two eliminations round the wrong way, but both men were eliminated in very quick succession). This left us with four men: Webster, Ryan, Havoc and Bird. Eddie Ryan was the next to go when he was pinned by Jimmy Havoc after Jimmy hit 'The English Lion' with a devastating DDT onto a steel chair. It's no wonder Eddie is crazy with all the shots to the head he takes with weapons! The next elimination was Jimmy Havoc who was pinned by Mike Bird shortly after Eddie Ryan's elimination. As you can imagine, Jimmy wasn't too happy and vented his frustrations to ref Mark. What we had next was 10 minutes or so of great athletic, dramatic wrestling between two of the finest this country has ever produced in Mike Bird and Morgan Webster. I've seen Webster and Bird go at it before on VOD for other promotions but never had I seen it live until now and it was amazing. Just when it looked as though 'Ginger Jesus' had put his former student away, out came The Modern Culture to take out ref Mark so he couldn't administer the count. Paz, who was on the outside, didn't see or hear Webster tapping out in the ring when Bird locked a submission move in. Bird released the hold and Webster managed to roll under the ropes to avoid more damage. The Modern Culture had made their mark on the match and it was only ever going to benefit one man and that was their leader! After a vicious shot to the head with the helmet, Bird kicked out of a pinning attempt at one, much to the delight of the Thornbury crowd. Webster however is not one to accept failure and used the helmet several more times before locking in The Strangler. Bird was out cold though as Paz called for the bell giving us a new King of Chaos champion. Personally, I was over the moon with the result, and not because I'm such a huge fan of Webster. Let's put kayfabe to one side for just a moment. Here is a guy who 10 months ago busted an ankle and a shoulder wrestling Zack Sabre Jr. in a qualifying match for the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament. After 10 month of rehabilitation, hard work, determination and an evident burning desire to come back and be better than ever, he'd won arguably the biggest match in Pro Wrestling Chaos history! Myself and a few of the other Chaos regulars do have a bit of banter about my love for 'The Modfather'. I can always be seen cheering him on at shows whether he's a fan favourite or a rule breaker. Until I'm given a very good reason to not cheer for him, it's going to continue. Sorry lads! Let's bring back our old friend kayfabe now that that's out of the way. The fans were clearly livid with Morgan's chosen path to win this match. There was nothing illegal about any of it though as the match was No DQ, but it wasn't the honourable thing to do. Not that this bothers Webster one little bit. As far as 'Flash' is concerned, it's a results based business and you win by any means necessary. And if the fans don't like that...well, that's their problem! That just about wraps up this review. Another solid show from Chaos in front of a lively audience in Thornbury. The Modern Culture left this show a few pounds heavier as we move onto the most unpredictable event of the Chaos calendar: Total Chaos 2017 which comes to us from the Hanham Community Centre on March 25th. No matches will be announced for this event (think PWG's Mystery Vortex) and wrestlers will be drawn at random throughout the night. As has been proven at the past two Total Chaos events, literally anything can happen on this night, and usually does! Over half of the tickets have been sold already for this event so make sure you head over to www.prowrestlingchaos.com to order yours. You won't want to miss out on this! A quick thank you just to end off this blog to Tim Ricketts. In my hour of need when my pen decided to be a bit rubbish and not work during the opening match of the show, Tim kindly offered to share his notes with me, which is the reason why this blog able to happen so soon. Thank you so much again, Tim! I owe you a drink or two at the next event! Remember everyone to follow Pro Wrestling Chaos on all forms of social media and subscribe to their On Demand service for as little as £3.99 per month! https://www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingChaos https://www.instagram.com/prowrestlingchaos/ https://twitter.com/chaos_wrestling ukwrestlingondemand.com (also includes Triple X Wrestling, Shropshire Wrestling Alliance and Ultiamte Pro Wrestling all for £3.99 a month!)
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By Darren Dyer17 year veteran of viewing graps. Archives
February 2018
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