March 25th and my favourite night of the Pro Wrestling Chaos calendar: Total Chaos. A night where anything can happen. Nobody knows who's showing up, nobody knows what matches are going to happen, alliances can be formed and partners can face off against each other. Literally all of that and more happened on this show!
Firstly, I have to thank my good friend Mr Tim Ricketts for saving my backside once again. With me being me and rushing at the last minute to get ready for the show, I forgot to pick up my notepad and a pen before leaving and only realised once I'd arrived in Hanham for the show. Thankfully, Tim was once again a knight in shining armour for me by lending me a spare pen and paper. Thank you once again, Tim! You're an absolute gentleman! I got dropped off at the venue just as the doors were opening and bumped into two Chaos regulars in Craig Gilbert and Henry Arnold in the queue, two guys I absolutely love talking about wrestling with. We were at the back of the queue but Chaos in their usual efficiency ensured that everything moved along quickly and we weren't waiting outside for too long. Although, it was a nice sunny evening so I wouldn't have minded if we were outside for a few more minutes. After finding our seats, we bumped into a few friends inside and got chatting before the show started. I snagged myself the amazing new Eddie Dennis t-shirt which I'm wearing whilst writing this piece. £15 and an absolute bargain! Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Rob, welcomed us to the show and explained the concept of Total Chaos to the crowd before the competitors of the first match were selected by the Chaos Generator. Eddie Ryan vs 'Dirty' Dick Riley The first wrestler selected was Eddie Ryan who was sporting some shiny new boots (mentioned just for you, Craig). Ryan's opponent was everybody's favourite Dick...wait, what? Of course, what I meant by that was 'Dirty' Dick Riley was Eddie's opponent. Phew! I think I just about saved face there! This was a nice, solid opening bout between two well rounded wrestlers. Dick, sporting leopard print trunks and knee pads, played mind games early on with his more aggressive opponent. The mind games being gyrating at any given opportunity which made 'The English Lion' extremely frustrated. As usual, there were lots of "We love Dick" chants, but they all came to a brief halt when Eddie knocked Dick off the top rope and started a few minutes of domination and aggression. Eddie did chip in with a comment to the fans of "Look at your Dick now!" to which a few of us responded by looking at that particular area of our anatomy. 'Dirty' Dick managed to make his way back into the match, connecting with a Suplex, taking Eddie from the apron into the ring and also landing a picture perfect Spanish Fly. I've seen hundreds of them over the years and it is still one of my all time favourite moves. Soon after, Riley hit a perfect Moonsault, only for Eddie to kick out at two. A few minutes of outstanding wrestling from the former Magnum who has taken to singles competition like a duck to water. Unfortunately for Riley, he wasn't able to keep his hot streak alive after impressive wins in recent months. Eddie locked in his Cobra Clutch to force Dick into submission (I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere). The fortunate part of the outcome from this match was that I didn't have to listen to Phil Collins again. Sorry, I just can't stand that song. I do wonder if Eddie Ryan is still owed a King of Chaos title match. He won a number one contenders match against Eddie Dennis last Summer but hasn't had a one-on-one match for the belt. He was part of the seven man match from Thornbury in February, but never received a one-on-one match. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. Eddie Dennis & El Ligero vs Martin Kirby & Alex Steele This was a nice solid tag team match with a mixture of the usual comedy you'd see from these four as well as some good wrestling and storytelling. I've said it before that some people don't agree with comedy in wrestling, but you need to have it in my opinion. It adds variety to a performance as well as showing that the person putting the comedy across has an understanding of how to draw a reaction from a crowd. One fine example of the comedy in this match was where Alex was laying prone in the corner and Eddie wanted to do The Hardy Boyz old move, Poetry in Motion. Ligero must've thought that Eddie was an Olympic champion in the long jump as he got down onto his hands and knees in the middle of the ring. Eddie told him to move over to give him a better chance of landing the move. Finally, once Ligero was in position, Eddie ran up but was caught with a Hurricanrana from his usual tag team partner. The ending came about when Alex had seemingly re-injured the foot that he'd broken a few months back. Eddie, clearly worried about his friend, went to check on Alex to see what was going on. Alex was just playing possum though and attempted an inside cradle only for Eddie to kick out at two. Eddie, visibly unhappy that his friend tried getting a win the cheap way, soon put Alex away with a Next Stop Driver to pick up the win for himself and El Ligero. The questions this match left on my mind is "Where does this now leave contendership for the tag team division in Pro Wrestling Chaos?" Could we see more teaming between "Project Steele" and "The Lucha Dragons"? (Just don't tell Vince McMahon that's the name of this team). Or does everything go back to normal the next time we see these four men in Chaos? Also, has the relationship between Alex and Eddie been fractured because of Alex's actions? I guess we'll have to see what happens at 'Sweet Dreams' in Yate next month! Wild Boar vs Edwin Ricci (f.k.a. Richie Edwards) As I said earlier, the wonderful thing about Total Chaos is that anyone can face anyone. And when The Chaos Generator gives us a match like this where there's already beef between two guys, it makes the night that little bit sweeter. There's a high level of hatred between Boar and The Modern Culture stretching back to January when we had the controversial cash in of the Heir To The Throne briefcase by Morgan Webster. This match was short but sweet and gave Boar a chance to exact a little bit of revenge and to get a bit of frustration out of his system. However, Edwin Ricci had a rather impressive showing. I'd like to think that he proved to a lot of people in attendance that he can hang with the best that Chaos has to offer. Of course, Boar is one of the best on the Chaos roster so if Ricci proved he can hang with him, I'd reckon he could put on a good showing with anybody! As you may expect though, Boar picked up the win. He scored with a brutal powerbomb and followed it up with the Trapper Keeper for the 1-2-3. It's fair to say that Boar certainly put some stank on that particular package piledriver. But then, after all he's been through with the Modern Culture the last few months, who could blame him? Big Grizzly vs ??? Time for a nice surprise. Big Grizzly came out first looking like a boss! It's fair to say with Grizz that he's certainly improved a hell of a lot over the past year or so. He looks like he's trimmed a few pounds as well. Maybe that's no coincidence that he's improved. Either way, it's always nice to see when a wrestler is taking steps to improving their work. Grizzly said he's going to make a name for himself. The Chaos Generator decided Grizzly's opponent and it was none other than WWE Superstar Pete Dunne! (By the way, anyone who ever wants to contest that the guys who competed in the WWE UK tournament aren't WWE Superstars, go right ahead. I'm not sure what else you'd call a wrestler with a WWE contract though). Pete was making his first appearance in Chaos since July and he received a thunderous ovation from the crowd. It's a strange, yet awesome thing with Pete. Last year he was appearing as a heel in a lot of places and he's returning now as a huge babyface. I mean strange in a good way because he's such a natural heel. I understand fully the reasons why he's getting the babyface reactions from the audiences and I think it's awesome. Although, it's equally as awesome when he doesn't change in certain companies such as Rev Pro and Progress. Pete wasted little time in going to work on Grizzly, even hitting a Pedigree early on in the match. That's seemingly become Pete's thing as of late. Maybe it's a sign that he'll be called up to the main roster to be a part of Triple H's stable? That's a story for another time, though. This was a damn good match and I'd have to say my favourite two spots would have to be: - Pete using the turnbuckle as a weapon when he put Grzzly's finger in between the bolts on the buckle and bent it backwards. How his finger didn't snap I'll never know. - Dunne using a kids toy WWE Championship belt as a weapon and posing with it with the strap locked between his teeth. By the way, the WWE Championship is a good look on Dunne! Just saying... Not to discredit him in anyway, Grizzly had his moments in the match too. The best of which was when he countered Dunne's triangle choke into a powerbomb which 'The Bruiserweight' was only just able to kick out of. Also, seeing Grizzly using an enziguri was something I thought I'd never see. Glad to see the big man is expanding on his arsenal of moves! As you may expect, Pete picked up the win here with The Bitter End. That was pretty cool to see him hitting that on a much bigger opponent. I just feel sorry for anyone not in attendance who won't get to see this match because unfortunately it was for the eyes of the live audience only. As frustrating as that may seem to some, it's a totally understandable situation where unless WWE are getting paid to allow their contracted wrestlers to appear on VOD or DVD, then these types of matches are for the live experience. An added motive for people to get to shows in my opinion. Up next was the interval which went on a tad longer than usual after the house lights decided to turn heel on us and stopped working. Thankfully, somebody put 50p in the meter and we were underway again. No meet and greets for me on this occasion, but there were opportunities to get a picture with The Bruiserweight during the interval. Gideon vs Jeckel The two former members of Team H8 were the next to be selected by The Chaos Generator to face off against one another. Before the match could get underway, that pack of rabid wolves known as The Brotherhood made their way to ringside. However, before they could strike, Dave Mercy and a large amount of security ran them off from whence they came and the match was able to finally get underway. There were lots of Seahorse chants aimed at Jeckel in this match. At one point, Jeckel did break the PG rule by flipping the bird and essentially telling a few of us to "go forth and multiply"...just not as politely as I've explained it to you. Tut tut Jeckel! There were lots of children present in Hanham! Jeckel picked up the win in this one but it was the aftermath that was the talking point. The Brotherhood came back to the ring and destroyed both men. Joe Mezinger called out Dave Mercy telling him to get his backside out and called him a not very nice name. I shan't repeat it because this is a family blog. Dave came out and told Joe to mind his language. Having seemingly been pushed, Dave gave The Brotherhood what they wanted: Contracts with Pro Wrestling Chaos and told them that they'd be competing at the next event in Yate on April 29th. Who will The Brotherhood be facing? Keep an eye on social media to stay updated on this situation! Mike Bird vs Jimmy Havoc Now this was a match that just spiralled out of control rather quickly...but boy was it fun! The amount of times us front row folk had to vacate our seats was unreal. Firstly there was the suicide dive by the 'Ginger Jesus' where he and Jimmy ended up in at least the third row. Bad journalism, but I can't remember what the second reason was. In my defence, there wasn't much time to write notes in between getting up and sitting back down before having to get up again. The third time, Bird hit a Tope Con Hilo through the ropes. He looked like he landed on his head but seemed to be OK. Both of these warriors battled both on the floor and the stage at Hanham Community Centre. There was a spot where Jimmy smashed a door into the head of Mike Bird. I didn't see it because I was taking notes, but I heard it and if that's anything to go by, I'm sure Bird is still feeling it! I think my favourite part of this match was when Bird came down off the top rope and Jimmy caught him with an RKO type of cutter and followed it up with an Acid Rainmaker which Mike kicked out of at two. Shortly after that, Jimmy levelled Mike with a destroyer which had no effect. Mike then returned the favour to Havoc, but again it had no effect. Bird wrapped up the victory shortly afterwards with a crucifix powerbomb, followed up with a Gotch style piledriver to pick up the win. There was a show of respect between the two after the match which was great to see. The war that these men went through perfectly exemplified what Pro Wrestling Chaos is all about. Hats off to both of them! King of Chaos Championship - 'Flash' Morgan Webster vs ??? The main event had arrived and out first was our champion 'The Modfather' Morgan Webster accompanied by his Modern Culture brother Danny Jones. But who would his opponent be? The Chaos Generator spun the wheel and selected none other than Jones himself to face the number one guy in Chaos. 'Flash' devised the plan of Jones laying down for him so he could retain the title. Jones seemed more than happy to do it...until he powered out of the pin attempt at one which got a great reaction from the audience. Especially when it looked like Webster was going to poop in his pants! Jones did say he was only messing about and happily lay down for Webster to get the pin and retain his title. A successful first defence for the 'King of the Mods'. However, this wasn't the end of the night for Webster. As he and Jones celebrated like Wales had just won the World Cup, the music of Wild Boar hit as he came to the stage with a steel chair in hand. Boar challenged Webster to his rightful rematch for the King of Chaos title which Webster accepted under one condition: The loser of the match would no get a title opportunity for the rest of the year. Boar pondered on Webster's offer for a brief moment before telling 'The Modfather' it was a deal! Webster had one added stpiulation - No disqualifications. King of Chaos Championship - 'Flash' Morgan Webster vs Wild Boar Webster sent Danny Jones to go after Boar on the stage and when he got there, he was met by the chair which Boar had in hand and I honestly couldn't tell you both how many times Boar used it and how hard he hit Danny with it. Now that one half of the Knights of Chaos was out of the way, Boar looked to feast upon Webster as he stalked his prey. He even used one of the most unusual weapons I've ever seen in a wrestling match - A Coca-Cola can (other brands of cola flavoured soft drinks available!) Webster was soon able to gain the upper hand as both men fought on the stage with Webster throwing Boar down the steps. Webster even quite possibly the most incredible Hurricanrana I think I've ever seen. With Boar at ringside and 'Flash' on the stage, 'The Modfather' jumped over the steps separating the stage from the ring area and landed the perfect Hurricanrana on the floor. Even the biggest of Webster haters had to appreciate that! With Webster firmly in control of his adversary, he set a chair up between the top and middle turnbuckles. Now, as we all know, whenever someone sets any weapon up for a big spot, it usually backfires. This occasion was no different as Boar sent his fellow Dragon Pro Academy alumni head first through the chair. That wasn't the last we saw of the chair either as moments later, Boar clocked 'Flash' with a wicked shot. The other members of The Modern Culture soon made their presence felt as Edwin Ricci made his way to the ring, but he was soon dispatched of with more sick chair shots meaning 'The Modfather' was alone and was powerless to stop the piledriver that Boar hit onto the chair left in the ring. Just as Danny Jones reappeared, Morgan kicked out just in the nick of time to save his championship. Jones was soon sent packing once again as Boar took him out with a vicious powerbomb meaning we once again had an even one-on-one contest. Wild Boar thought he'd had the contest won moments later when he scored with a powerbomb and his Trapper Keeper piledriver but once again the tenacious champion found away to stay alive in the match. As the challenger looked to secure his third King of Chaos title, he ascended to the top rope but as he came down looking to hit his version of the Frog Splash, Webster showed more of that tenacity and rolled out of the way meaning Boar crashed hard on the canvas. Webster caught Boar with a running knee and locked in The Strangler which the former champion had no escape from and tapped out to ensure that Webster left Total Chaos 2017 still the King of Chaos! Post match, Webster got on the mic and delivered a heartfelt speech about how Chaos kept him around through his injury and he was grateful for that because it kept him relevant throughout a turbulent time in his career. Being around gave him something to work towards when he came back and made sure the fans didn't forget about him. You could tell there was legit emotion in Webster's voice and face when delivering this speech. That was up until he told us that he didn't need any of us and told us that we can all kiss his bottom! Again, that's the polite way of putting it. So another Chaos show in the bag and I'd argue strongly that this was their best show since All or Nothing last October. The unpredictability of The Chaos Generator as well as the surprise appearance of WWE Superstar Pete Dunne were worth the price of admission alone. Add to that the wars of Mike Bird vs Jimmy Havoc and Wild Boar vs Morgan Webster and I felt as though we robbed Chaos a little bit here. The next event comes from my hometown of Yate on April 29th at Yate Leisure Centre. Something big always goes down in Yate so believe me when I say that you'll want to get yourself a ticket for this event because it's going to be off the hook! No matches have been announced thus far however two big international stars have been announced in 'The King of Dong Style' Joey Ryan, who I'd love to see either team with or face Dick Riley, and former two time ECW World Heavyweight Champion Tommy Dreamer. There will also be An Audience with Tommy Dreamer which I will most definitely be attending! Tickets for all Pro Wrestling Chaos events can be purchased through their website - www.prowrestlingchaos.com Remember to follow Chaos on all forms of social media as well: Twitter - @Chaos_Wrestling Instagram - @prowrestlingchaos Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ProWrestlingChaos On Demand - www.ukwrestlingondemand.com - Just £3.99 per month. Includes all events from Pro Wrestling Chaos as well as events from Triple X Wrestling, Shropshire Wrestling Alliance and Ultimate Pro Wrestling.
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By Darren Dyer17 year veteran of viewing graps. Archives
February 2018
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