Hanham Community Centre was the venue for the first ever Pro Wrestling Chaos double-header. The first show, which went down in the afternoon, consisted of the quarter final and semi final matches of the tournament to crown Chaos' first ever Maiden of Chaos. There was also a Knights of Chaos tag team title match between the champions Project Lucha and their challengers The Brotherhood.
Once the doors opened and the fans flocked into the venue, there was a strange atmosphere around the place. That's not meant in a negative way, it's just that we've never seen an afternoon Chaos event before. How would the day pan out with two shows taking place? Well, I'm going to do my best to explain to you now. Maiden of Chaos Quarter Final Match - Jinny vs. Viper Our first quarter final featured two of the favourites for the tournament and two of the top women's wrestlers in the UK in WWE Mae Young Classic and World of Sport star Viper (a.k.a. Piper Niven) and The Fashionista, Jinny. After a solid opener, it was Jinny who picked up a submission victory to advance into the semi finals. Winner via submission - Jinny Maiden of Chaos Quarter Final Match - Sierra Loxton vs. Ayesha Raymond Time for our second WWE Mae Young Classic competitor in Ayesha Raymond. She got a really good reception but those cheers soon turned into boos when she irked the fans with her actions and treatment of The Freaky Princess. Unfortunately for Ayesha, she wasn't able to pick up the win here as she was pinned by Sierra who advanced to the semi final where she'd face Jinny later in the afternoon. Winner - Sierra Loxton By the way, apologies for the short reports on the matches. There's a lot of content to squeeze into this blog! Maiden of Chaos Quarter Final Match - Jetta vs. Session Moth Martina I was uncertain how things could stay 'family friendly' with Session Moth being in attendance and, well, they didn't really. There were a few four-lettered words thrown around but that didn't deter the crowd from supporting the woman who'd left her 37 kids at home. And it was she who picked up the win via DQ in a way that the late, great Eddie Guerrero would've been proud of! Being a huge Eddie Guerrero fan, this brought a huge smile to my face. Martina was announced as the winner and moved on to the semi final. Winner - Session Moth Martina Knights of Chaos Championship - Project Lucha (Martin Kirby & El Ligero) defending against The Brotherhood The big question on my mind here was "Who would be representing The Brotherhood?" After some apparent indecisiveness, it finally was decided that ELIJAH and Nathan Bane would challenge the champions. With their new leader James Drake as well as the intimidating Joe Mezinger at ringside, you couldn't help but feel that a title change would be on the cards in this match. As much as there was a hell of a lot of interference, Project Lucha kept fighting but unfortunately for the fan favourites, that was all in vein as The Brotherhood managed to pick up the win and become the new Knights of Chaos. I just hope that we get my wish of a Freebirds rule title reign where all four members of the group can defend the titles. That would add a level of uncertainty around title defences and keep everyone, Chaos management included, on their toes. Winners and new Knights of Chaos - The Brotherhood (ELIJAH & El Ligero) Maiden of Chaos Quarter Final - Dahlia Black vs. Jamie Hayter This was one I was really looking forward to. I've been a fan of Dahlia's for a while now and this was my first time seeing her live and I'd heard a lot of good things about Jamie Hayter. All of those good things were proven to be right and I was really impressed with the dominant performance put in by Jamie Hayter. She was equally as impressive out of the ring as well when dealing with a fan who started giving her some stick. She picked up the win in this match to advance into the semi final where she'd face Session Moth Martina in the main event of the afternoon show. Winner - Jamie Hayter Maiden of Chaos Semi Final - Sierra Loxton vs. Jinny Onto our first semi final and it was seemingly everyone's favourite for the tournament, Sierra Loxton, taking on The Fashionista Jinny. These two have a small history in Chaos after they were on opposite sides of the ring during a tag team match back in February. The Freaky Princess picked up the win for her team on that occasion, however this time around she ended up on the wrong end of the result as she tapped out to Jinny's devastating submission hold which also accounted for Viper earlier in the afternoon. Winner - Jinny Maiden of Chaos Semi Final - Jamie Hayter vs. Session Moth Martina Our final match of the afternoon show saw Session Moth Martina facing Jamie Hayter. Once again, Jamie was in absolute bitch mode! That's not meant as an insult in anyway because she's very good at it! That's one of her upsides which, for me as a fan is very entertaining. Unfortunately for Jamie, being a bitch doesn't always get you the win and it was Session Moth who advanced to the final in the main event of the evening show to face off against Jinny. Winner - Session Moth Martina As Martina celebrated her victory, she was brutally attacked by The Fashionista with the main focus of the assault being on Session Moth's ankle. Dave Mercy and other Chaos officials came out to stop the beat down which Jinny had put on Martina, but sadly it seemed as though the damage had already been done. Would Martina be able to compete in the final after such a brutal assault? You'll have to find out when the second blog is available...
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This show had probably the most appropriate name of the Chaos calendar thus far with what unfolded on Saturday August 23rd 2017. Unfortunately, I wasn't in Thornbury to witness the event, it was the first Pro Wrestling Chaos event I'd missed since 'The King is Dead, Long Live the King' in September 2015. Instead I was attending Fight Club: PRO's Project Mayhem VI weekender in Wolverhampton - Billy Johnson's reviews for those shows will be here in due course.
There was a lot of buzz about The Sound of Violence after the show and I'm truly gutted to have missed it. Thankfully, the good people of Turning Face have uploaded the rough cut of the show in double quick time for those of us who weren't in attendance to be able to view it on demand. Jim and Aliki are two unsung heroes of the Chaos team so this is me giving them the credit they richly deserve for all of their hard work. 'Speedball' Mike Bailey vs. 'Dirty' Dick Riley The show kicked off with the first of the three North American stars on the card in Canadian wrestler, 'Speedball' Mike Bailey. Bailey has wrestled all over the world for promotions such as CZW, Smash, EVOLVE, Rev Pro, wXw and PWG just to name but a few. On the other hand, Riley is developing quite the reputation for himself and I'm glad I get to regularly watch his progress in Pro Wrestling Chaos. As I've said before, Riley has taken to singles action like a duck to water since his split from 'Filthy' Chris Walker in late 2016 and this again was another fine example of why he's regarded so highly by the Chaos faithful. Sadly for Riley, he was on the wrong end of the result here as 'Speedball' picked up a win in his Chaos debut in a fantastic opening back-and-forth contest. If they didn't know already, the fans found out what a phenomenal talent Mike Bailey really is. Here's to hoping he's booked for a Chaos show again in the near future! Hopefully one I'm in attendance for! Winner - 'Speedball' Mike Bailey Mikey Whiplash vs. Eddie Ryan Let's face it, Eddie Ryan is on a horrific streak of losses. He's lost to wrestlers such as Tommy Dreamer, Mr. Banana's and Alex Steele among others in recent months. What better way to prove himself than against a man who's been on somewhat of a roll this year in Mikey Whiplash? 'The Necromancer' has defeated some big names including The Brotherhood in a Steel Cage match alongside Team H8 at Unleashed in August. This was a brutal war with Eddie Ryan looking much more focused than he had in previous months. To be fair, he had to be. When going up against one of the all-time greats of British wrestling, you need to make sure your head is in the game. I think I'd say as well that this was probably my favourite match of Eddie's so far in 2017. We all love watching two big lads beating the hell out of one another and this match was just that! Much to my surprise, but perhaps not so much to Mr Ryan, it was he who walked out the victor. After Whiplash had been caught up in the ropes, ala Mick Foley - sans the loss of an ear as he pointed out on Instagram in the days following the event. Once Whiplash had untangled himself and made it back to his feet, 'The English Lion' locked in The Gator to pick up a huge win over a British wrestling legend. The win is a huge momentum booster for the unstable Eddie Ryan whereas I don't think the defeat will hurt Whiplash too much. Winner - Eddie Ryan Drew Parker & Mike Bird vs. Team H8 (Gideon & Jeckel) Following his deathmatch escapades the previous evening at Fight Club: PRO, Drew returned to "regular" action here teaming with a man who has become somewhat of a mentor to him over the past few months in Mike Bird. They faced the team who were part of the Steel Cage match at Unleashed last month in Team H8. I think it's pretty cool that Team H8 are still working together after the rivalry with The Brotherhood. It's added another level of depth to the tag division which is already pretty stacked. You could also add Bird and Parker to that as it seems as though The Wild Boar has walked away from his brothers after the defeat to Project Lucha Underground last month. As I'm sure most would have expected, this was an absolute war. Two teams going toe-to-toe, battering seven shades of poop out of each other seemingly because why not? Whether it was Bird and Gideon trading chops in the centre of the ring or Jeckel diving off the top rope to the outside, this was brutal. Even the ending was brutal and one could argue that Drew should've tagged his partner in after receiving more than enough punishment, looked to finish things in style but missed a high impact move. Bird came in to even the numbers up but was thrown to the outside by Gideon. Drew was then hoisted up onto Jeckel's shoulders as Gideon went up to the top and scored with an awesome DDT type maneuver and Jeckel covered 'The Urchin Prince' to take the winners share of the purse for he and 'The Red Emperor'. Winners - Team H8 (Jeckel & Gideon) King of Chaos Eddie Dennis vs. Rickey Shane Page - Non-Title Match Also fresh off of his evenings work in Wolverhampton the previous evening, RSP made his Pro Wrestling Chaos debut. Knowing I was going to be in Wolverhampton that week, I was incredibly gutted I wasn't going to be in Thornbury to see RSP. He's been one of my favourite American independent wrestlers for the last few years. Last year he wrestled for ATTACK! Pro Wrestling in Bristol and I missed him because I was on holiday with my family. Thankfully I was able to see him at Fight Club: PRO on Friday. This was my favourite match of the night for a couple of reasons. Firstly, for those who saw the aforementioned brutal deathmatch at FCP the previous evening, this match showed just how good of a wrestler Rickey Shane Page is. The guy hung in there for a good long while with one of the best we have on our scene right now. Secondly, Eddie has often been seen as a man who wrestles a comedy style and this showed that he's more than capable of mixing it up against a top wrestler in RSP. Sure Eddie likes to have a laugh, but he can put a stop to that and finish any opponent with a Next Stop Driver at any moment as he did here to Page! Part of me really thought that Page would win this non-title match, but at the same time it could easily have hurt the credibility of both the King and his crown...or title belt in this case. This is definitely a match I recommend you watch on the VOD or DVD (which is now available to pre-order over at www.prowrestlingchaos.com) Winner - King of Chaos Champion Eddie Dennis Post match, Eddie pointed out his good friend Alex Steele who was sitting in the crowd with his new wife. For those unaware, Alex had taken a hit on his bike and re-injured the ankle which he'd hurt last year at the All or Nothing event when he and Eddie became the first ever Knights of Chaos. Eddie called an emotional Alex into the ring and he told the fans about how he got knocked off of his bike and sustained the injury. Doctors told Alex that he'd likely never be able to wrestle again and the leader of the 'Steele Section' went on to thank everybody who'd helped him in his career to that point. Eddie returned to the ring to show respect for his tag team partner and friend and when assisting Alex in picking one of his crutches off of the floor, Alex viciously attacked Eddie with the other. The whole thing was a set up for Alex to turn on his partner, friend, the fans, Chaos management, literally everyone and everything. I'm really not sure what Alex's thought process was here, but it's clear his friendship and partnership with the current King of Chaos is over. So it would appear as though Alex had taken inspiration from Mark Henry. However, if Alex has the same intentions as Mark in challenging for his promotions top title at the next show then he's sadly mistaken. However, as per the stipulation from the triple threat match involving Eddie, Alex and Morgan Webster from Unleashed, Alex isn't able to challenge for the King of Chaos title for the remainder of 2017. Mark Andrews vs. Big Grizzly Current Heir to th...wait is he? For those who don't remember, Chaos' new favourite kleptomaniac, Beano, took off with Grizzly's briefcase after their match at Unleashed. Clearly still incensed by 'The Original Badman's' actions, Grizzly served up a plate of punishment and pain on WWE Superstar Mark Andrews in this contest. It's nothing new for Mandrews being an underdog in terms of size and power, but this was something different as Grizzly seemingly wanted the jobs of Merlin Obadiah Cambridge and Rob Maltman as he took the microphone, berating Mark Andrews and the fans as he repeatedly chokeslammed Mark onto the ring apron. Soon after, the kleptomaniac himself, Beano came out with the Heir to the Throne briefcase, personalised with his own custom stickers, seemingly to taunt and tease the rightful Heir to the Throne. Grizzly briefly got his hands back on the briefcase but it was however soon knocked out of his grasp by 'White Lightning' back into the hands of Beano. Andrews soon after scored with his Shooting Star Press to pick up the win in his return to Pro Wrestling Chaos. Winner - Mark Andrews Veda Scott vs. Sierra Loxton The final international guest of the evening was former Ring of Honor superstar Veda Scott who has seriously improved in the ring over the last couple of years. I was always rather critical of her work in Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) Absolutely Intense Wrestling (AIW) but here she showed that she's put in some hard yards in recent times to improve. Big respect goes out to Veda for that. We all love to be proven wrong from time-to-time when it comes to that sort of thing! This was a good showing from both ladies, although if I'm putting my smart mark cap on, the result was obvious going into the Maiden of Chaos tournament at the end of October. The obvious result is in no way intended to knock the match because I enjoyed it. This win has to make Sierra a favourite for the tournament, however, she does face some tough challenges from wrestlers such as Dahlia Black, Jinny and her arch rival and my randomly drawn sweepstake's selection, Jetta. Winner - Sierra Loxton To my knowledge, the brackets are yet to be announced for the Maiden of Chaos tournament, however the wrestlers competing on that afternoon in Hanham will be: - Jinny - Jetta - Dahlia Black - WWE Mae Young Classic competitor Viper - Session Moth Martina (Really looking forward to see how she gets on in a family friendly environment) - Jamie Hayter - Sierra Loxton - WWE Mae Young Classic competitor Ayesha Raymond The quarter final and semi final matches will take place on the afternoon show and the main event of the evening show will be the final to crown the first ever Maiden of Chaos. Knights of Chaos Title Match - Project Lucha (Martin Kirby & El Ligero) vs. Modern Culture (Edwin Ricci & Matthew Horgan) - Two out of Three Falls So onto the main event, the first time the Knights of Chaos title match has main evented a Chaos show and it really was a damn good match. Horgan and Ricci were alone with no numbers game to assist them. With Morgan Webster no longer being a part of the Chaos roster and Danny Jones on a tour with All-Japan Pro Wrestling, the odds were even in a match involving Modern Culture for the first time in a very long time. The even numbers however didn't stop them from taking the first fall in this match however, they sacrificed a fall when taking out the Knights with the championship belts leaving the match at one for apiece in an attempt to gain the advantage to pick up the third and deciding fall. Alas, it was not to be as Project Lucha scored the pinfall to pick up the win and retain their championships. I've kept the review of this match very brief due to the aftermath... Winners and still Knights of Chaos - Project Lucha (Martin Kirby & El Ligero) Once the smoke had cleared from this match, The Brotherhood hit the ring and brutally attacked everyone and everything in sight, even going as far as taking out Merlin and Rob on commentary. Hell, I think the only two people around the ringside area who didn't get attacked were Jim Maitland and Charlie McConville. This was very reminiscent of the Nexus debut in WWE back in 2010 and watching it on Facebook (as this was aired live) gave me goosebumps and chills down my spine. It was a perfectly executed segment and a moment that will go down as one of the greatest in Chaos history I think. Once the brutality had stopped, The Brotherhood's music played and 'HE' was here. Under a mask, the apparent leader of The Brotherhood made his way to the ring with real purpose. A lot of speculation as to who the leader would be had been made over the previous weeks and months but I don't think anyone had predicted that it would be WWE United Kingdom star James Drake! The Grizzled Young Vet had arrived in Chaos, and you have to believe that his mission is to cause nothing but chaos! His first order of business was to cut out the Chaos logo from the ring canvas, and walked to the back with it draped over himself like a championship belt. This can only be a sign of things to come from this stable who seem to now be stronger and more focused than ever before now that James Drake is among the ranks! That just about wraps up this review. Remember to get your tickets for the Coalition of Chaos double shot for October 28th if you haven't got them already. As well as the previously mentioned eight wrestlers vying to become the first ever Maiden of Chaos, WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne and former Ring of Honor superstar Keith Lee will both be in attendance. If you wish to check out The Sound of Violence then get onto UK Wrestling On Demand for just £3.99 a month. All details for upcoming shows and the on demand serivce as well as merchandise can be found at www.prowrestlingchaos.com! Pro Wrestling Chaos returned to Yate for what was their biggest show of the year so far in front of over 400 fans at Yate Leisure Centre. There was a stacked card with absolutely zero filler matches announced. With an unpredictable evening ahead, most of the talk surrounded the main event King of Chaos title match between the King 'Flash' Morgan Webster, 'The Pride of Wales' Eddie Dennis and 'The Heavy Metal Hero' Alex Steele. The winner would obviously be named the King of Chaos, the man who gets pinned or submits would have to leave the promotion and the person not involved in the fall would not be able to contest for Chaos' top championship for the remainder of 2017. Intriguing!
The Brotherhood vs The 3 Demon Army - Steel Cage Match Another huge match and milestone for Chaos was the first ever Steel Cage match. This was everything we'd hoped for and then some! There was action, drama, unpredictability and Jeckel entering the match via a crossbody from the top of the cage! Yes, you read that correctly and yes, it was incredible! The rules were very simple - Two men would start (Gideon and Nathan Bane) and every two minutes a wrestler would be selected at random to join the action. Elijah and Mikey Whiplash were the next two wrestlers followed by Joe Mezinger and lastly, Jeckel. The winner would be the team who escaped the cage first. Bane was the first wrestler to escape the cage, albeit with an assist from Mikey Whiplash. You'd have to think that The Necromancer was thinking of using the numbers game to dominate Mezinger and Elijah. Whiplash was the next person to escape the cage moments before Elijah made his exit. This left Mezinger in a vulnerable one-on-two scenario and as it looked like both members of Team H8 were about to escape the cage, Mezinger prevented Jeckel from doing so while Gideon left his partner to face the mouthpiece of The Brotherhood alone. There were attempted run ins from Nathan Bane and Elijah but they were thwarted in those attempts by Mikey Whiplash, Gideon and Sierra Loxton who wielded a Singapore cane. Soon after the war on the outside was done, Jeckel managed to escape the cage to win the match for The 3 Demon Army, leaving The Brotherhood to ponder how they lost the biggest match in their young career. Winners - The 3 Demon Army While the cage was being taken down, Dave Mercy announced that for the double header event, Coalition of Chaos in October, Rhia O'Reilly and Sierra Loxton are the last two names to fill up the remaining spots in the Maiden of Chaos tournament. Also, during the evening show for that double header, WWE United Kingdom Champion will be in action. Charlie Sterling vs. Eddie Ryan vs. Paul London vs. Dick Riley Charlie must be getting fed up with seeing long entrances for his opponents. After facing Alex Steele at the previous event in Hanham, the Bristol native had to endure another long entrance, this time from former WWE Superstar Paul London. Speaking of London, it was great to see him not being the star of the show. Chaos have a very good habit of making sure the home grown talent on the shows stand out just as much, if not more so than the international stars. Something that can't be said for a lot of other promotions who I feel could learn a thing or two from Chaos when it comes to this sort of thing. Although he's not a fan favourite by any stretch of the imagination, it was awesome to see Charlie Sterling picking up his first win in a Pro Wrestling Chaos ring. It's more than fair to say that Charlie has had some of the most entertaining matches in Chaos so far in 2017 and picking up a win in the biggest show of the year has to be very satisfying for him after all of that hard work he's put in over the last six months. Winner - Charlie Sterling Big Grizzly's Open Challenge Big Grizzly was out next to address his open challenge. Who would answer the current Heir to the Throne? The answer - Nobody. At least if Grizzly had it his way nobody would've answered it. Grizzly said that the open challenge was cancelled and he'd be watching the rest of the show with the audience when Dragon Pro Academy graduate Beano made his way to the ring. Beano vs. Big Grizzly This was a classic case of David vs. Goliath here with the twenty year old Beano coming out to challenge a much more experienced opponent in Big Grizzly. As you can imagine, Grizzly dominated large portions of this match with Beano getting his shots in and eventually overcoming the big man for arguably the biggest win of his career. Once Grizzly had finished complaining about the result, he realised that Beano was eyeing up his Heir to the Throne briefcase. What ensued was a game of cat and mouse as Beano stole Grizzy's briefcase and ran for all he was worth. Grizz was unable to catch him, even tripping over in his attempts to retrieve his briefcase - much to the delight of the fans in attendance! Winner - Beano Project Lucha Underground vs. Mike Bird, Wild Boar & Drew Parker Welcome back, Drew! This was Parker's first appearance in a Pro Wrestling Chaos ring in over two years and it's more than fair to say he hit a home run with his performance in this match. He had some great tools to work with here. He teamed with the current ICW Tag Team Champions and faced the current Knights of Chaos and current CZW World Champion. Not bad company to keep, Drew! In a first for Pro Wrestling Chaos, this match was streamed live via Facebook for the world to see. I heard a rumour on the night that over 2,000 people viewed the match live via said Facebook stream. If that is true then that's absolutely amazing. Hopefully this becomes more of a regular thing for Chaos moving forward. The team of Project Lucha Underground took this one. Ligero and Kirby hoisted Boar up onto their shoulders and Strickland scored with a double foot stomp from the top rope to pick up the win for his team. Again, much like Paul London earlier in the night, Strickland didn't shine above the other five men in this match but shone enough so that everyone knew who he was if the didn't already. Winners - Project Lucha Underground Brendan White vs. Chris Ridgeway If there was an award for best wrestled match of the night then, for me, this match would win it hands down. Although when you've got two of the most talented young wrestlers in the UK in the ring together, what else should be expected? The debuting Chris Ridgeway left a great impression on the fans with the way he worked in this match and fans who regularly check out other South-West and South Wales promotions should be more than familiar with Brendan. The only disappointment I had was Brendan's new entrance music. Not that I disliked the song, but I was hoping to have a sing along to Survivor's Rocky IV classic Burning Heart. Much like Beano and Drew Parker earlier in the night, both of these men hit a home run with their performance and it's a match I highly recommend everyone checks out on UK Wrestling On Demand (for just £3.99 a month!) In what came as a big surprise to me, Brendan picked up the win. I say it was a surprise because of the waves Chris Ridgeway has been making around the country as of late. I fully expect and hope to see him back in Chaos in the future because 'Smashmouth' really is a damn fine talent. Winner - Brendan White Dragon Pro Academy vs. PCW Academy A battle two of the finest wrestling academy's in the UK. Representing Dragon Pro was Oliver Sudden teaming with the man who defeated Eddie Ryan at the previous event, Mr. Bananas and their opponents were Philip Michael and Sheik El Sharm. I hadn't seen much of Oliver Sudden prior to this show and hadn't ever seen the two men representing the PCW Academy, but suffice to say I was very impressed with everyone here. It was Sheik El Sharm and Philip Michael who picked up the win here. This was a match where I'd highly recommend keeping an eye out for all four wrestlers in the future! Winners - PCW Academy King of Chaos Championship - 'Flash' Morgan Webster vs. Eddie Dennis vs. Alex Steele This was quite possibly the biggest main event championship match in Pro Wrestling Chaos history. The man who took the pinfall or submitted would be forced to leave Pro Wrestling Chaos forever. The man not involved in the decision wouldn't be able to challenge for the King of Chaos title for the remainder of 2017 while the winner would walk away with the title and the bragging rights. All the right ingredients for a dramatic and emotional story, right? This had every ounce of drama and emotion that you could ever wish for in a wrestling match. There were near falls, moments where wrestlers could've submitted and even a spot where it looked as though Webster had re-injured the shoulder which kept him on the sidelines for most of 2016. This was the moment where Webster was taken to the back to get medical attention but he returned moments later, realising that both his title and place on the Chaos roster were in doubt with Eddie and Alex knocking ten bells to poop out of each other in the ring. Sadly for 'The Modfather', his return to the ring was all in vein as he ended up on the receiving end of a Next Stop Driver from Eddie and had his shoulders counted to the mat meaning the title had changed hands as the fans went absolutely wild for the new King of Chaos, Eddie Dennis. Although I was extremely happy for Eddie because he's genuinely one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, I was more upset that I'd not get to see my favourite British wrestler, Morgan Webster, in a Pro Wrestling Chaos ring again. Webster was one of two men who captured my imagination in British wrestling through attending Pro Wrestling Chaos events so to see him leave was highly emotional for me. Winner and new King of Chaos - Eddie Dennis So there we have it. Apologies for the review not having as much detail as usual. The story behind that is having written the whole thing out and then closing my web browser before I'd saved my work. Rookie mistake! The next event comes from Thornbury Leisure Centre on September 23rd. Announced for that event already are WWE Superstar Mark Andrews as well as wXw regular 'Speedball' Mike Bayley and former Ring of Honor star Veda Scott. Unfortunately, I won't be in attendance for this event as I'll be in Wolverhampton with my BritWres Review brother, Billy Johnson for Fight Club: PRO that weekend. Tickets are still available so if you wish to be there, make sure you go to www.prowrestlingchaos.com to get yours! Hanham Community Centre played host to the latest offering from Pro Wrestling Chaos with one of their marquee events 'Heir To The Thron3'. This is an event with the same concept as WWE's Money in the Bank where the winner of the Heir to the Throne ladder match has a guaranteed King of Chaos Championship opportunity.
The show kicked off in a slightly different fashion with Chaos owner Dave Mercy coming out to the ring in a Hawaiian shirt singing and dancing along to Redbone's awesome song Come and Get Your Love. Over the past few years, we've come accustomed to Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal being the Chaos theme. I don't mind a bit of Dizzee Rascal, but I'm hoping Come and Get Your Love is now a permanent change because it's a damn good track! Dave had a huge announcement for the 'Coalition of Chaos' double header in October when Pro Wrestling Chaos returns to Hanham. That announcement was that we will see an eight-women tournament to crown the first ever Maiden of Chaos. The quarter-final and semi-final matches will take place during the afternoon show and the final will main event the evening show. All of that happens on October 28th and tickets are on sale now. Go to www.prowrestlingchaos.com for more details. The first competitor for that event has already been announced with former ICW Women's Champion and WWE Mae Young Classic competitor Viper taking part in the tournament. Heir to the Throne Ladder Match The seven men contending for the Heir to the Throne briefcase here were Mike Bird, Jimmy Havoc, Big Grizzly, Matt Horgan, Mikey Whiplash, Dick Riley and Joe Coffey. Once all seven men had entered the ring, the trio of The Brotherhood tried to make their presence felt at ringside. Unfortunately for them, they were sent packing by all contenders in the match aside from Matt Horgan. He tried to get a few cheap shots in once The Brotherhood had left the ringside area and needless to say, those tactics failed rather miserably. Unfortunately for the newest member of Modern Culture, he ended up on the wrong end of a beat down from all six of his opponents. In a match filled with drama and hard-hitting spots, I think it's more than fair to say that the most dramatic and hard-hitting moment came when Horgan ascended to the top of the ladder. Unfortunately for Horgan, his attempt to retrieve the briefcase was stopped by Mike Bird who proceeded to hit Horgan with a devastating piledriver off of the ladder onto the canvas below. The drop must have been at least eight feet and sent the Chaos Club into a frenzy around Hanham Community Centre. Another major talking point was The Brotherhood's return to the ring. Their target was Mikey Whiplash, who scored the pinfall on Nathan Bane at the previous event, UnBroLievable, in June. Unfortunately for The Necromancer, he was forcibly removed from the match by The Brotherhood. This only helped to make way for the eventual winner Big Grizzly to climb to the top of the ladder and retrieve the briefcase for undoubtedly his biggest win in a Pro Wrestling Chaos ring. In a fantastic moment after the match, Grizzly, a monster heel in the land of Chaos, received a tremendous ovation from the majority of the audience. I think it's fair to say that the fans may not necessarily agree with his tactics at times, but everyone who attends a Chaos event respects the level of ability that Big Grizzly possesses. He's certainly one of the best big men in British wrestling and I for one can't wait to see him cash in his title opportunity on whomever the champion may be. Winner and 2017 Heir to the Throne - Big Grizzly Alex Steele vs. Charlie Sterling The number one contender for the King of Chaos Championship, Alex Steele, was in action next against a man who's certainly impressed many fans over the past few months in Charlie Sterling. This match perfectly showed off what both men are all about and the crowd lapped up every second of it. Whether that be the shenanigans with Alex's little finger or Charlie making a fool out of himself by slipping whilst climbing to the top rope. In that sense, he reminds me of William Regal who was never afraid to make himself look a bit silly for the amusement of the fans. It's a trait that I admire and respect. I do talk a lot about the moments where Charlie amuses the fans with his clumsiness, but I also respect the hell out of him for his athletic ability. There aren't many big guys who can do the things that Charlie Sterling can in the ring. It's a testament to why he's regarded so highly on the British circuit by promoters and fans alike. Unfortunately for Mr Sterling, he wasn't on the right end of the result here as Alex Steele picked up the win as he continues to build momentum. After the match, Alex announced that he's going to take his King of Chaos Title opportunity at the next event, Unleashed, in his hometown of Yate. Winner - Alex Steele Knights of Chaos Championship - Modern Culture (Edwin Ricci & Danny Jones) vs. Project Lucha (Martin Kirby & El Ligero) This was a rematch from the last event in Westbury-on-Trym where Matt Horgan ended up costing Project Lucha the Knights of Chaos Tag Team Titles. Martin Kirby and El Ligero were told that if they lost here, then they would not get another title match. As unfortunate as this was it was more than fair as this was their fourth opportunity at the titles in 2017. The first major talking point in this contest was the apparent injury to Martin Kirby. As the fight went to the outside, Kirby was seemingly injured when Danny Jones hit him with a piledriver on the ring apron. Referee Paz rushed to check on Kirby, who lay motionless on the floor for a moment until he was helped back up to his feet. Edwin Ricci saw an opportunity to cause further damage, however, exclaiming "I don't care if he's injured" as he burst back into the action and took down the severely hurt challenger. This now meant that The Mexican Sensation was left on his own to fight the young, brash duo of Jones and Ricci who systematically took their time in picking apart at the wily veteran, looking to score another victory to add to their ever-growing impressive CV of accomplishments since coming together during mid-2016. What the champions seemingly didn't take into account was the resiliency and heart of El Ligero who fought valiantly to fend them off as best he could. What the champions most certainly didn't take into account was the resiliency and heart of Ligero's partner who, possibly against his better judgment, returned to the ring to aid his brother in arms. The earlier attack on Kirby, and two-on-one scenario which Ligero found himself on the wrong end of for most of the match, unfortunately, seemed to take its toll on Project Lucha, because when the referee was distracted, Ligero was clocked in the head with one of the title belts and was pinned in the middle of the ring. However, we had a saviour on this night when Chaos cameraman Benjamin Allen played back the footage to Paz, showing him that underhanded tactics had won the contest for Modern Culture. Paz ordered the match to continue, much to the chagrin of the champions, one of whom found himself on the end of a big right hand from Paz when pulling him from the ring when it seemed as though -Project Lucha had won the titles. That brief distraction didn't matter too much, however, as a few short moments later, Danny Jones pinned for a three count and we now have brand new Knights of Chaos Champions! It's fair to say that Jones and Ricci were brilliant champions but unfortunately, this wasn't their night. Congratulations go out to Martin Kirby and El Ligero on winning the titles in this awesome contest. They'll be at the next show in Yate in August, however, the titles will not be on the line. Instead, they'll be teaming up with their good friend, Shane Strickland, to reform Project Lucha Underground. Unfortunately for anyone hoping to see Danny Jones at Unleashed in August, that won't be happening. Danny will be in Japan working for All-Japan Pro Wrestling for the next three months. Here at BritWres Review, we would all like to wish Danny Jones the very best of luck during his time in Japan. Winners and new Knights of Chaos - Project Lucha The interval was up next where there was an opportunity to have an in-ring photo with the current Insane Championship Wrestling World Champion Joe Coffey. Joe was extremely nice and I sincerely hope that we get to see him wrestling in Chaos again in the very near future. The Brotherhood (Joe Mezinger & Nathan Bane) vs. Team H8 (Gideon & Jeckel) The first match in the second half of the show was one which had been brewing for months. Bane and Mezinger made their way to the ring first and looked ready for a fight. As the familiar sound of Drowning Pool's 'Bodies' hit, the audience waited in anticipation for the war to begin. The only issue was, where was Team H8? They weren't coming down the entrance ramp. Instead, they blindsided The Brotherhood, taking the attack to them initially in the ring, then on the floor. Hell, Jeckel even smiled so you could tell he was having fun! The Brotherhood eventually took control and Elijah came to the ring to assist his brothers. Mikey Whiplash came out to even the numbers but was stopped in his pursuit of revenge after The Brotherhood cost him a victory in the Heir To The Throne match earlier in the night. Soon after, Sierra Loxton came out wielding a Singapore cane and took the fight to The Brotherhood. Again though, the numbers game caught up and Loxton was taken down. Then just when we thought The Brotherhood couldn't get any more sadistic, they tied Gideon, Jeckel and Whiplash to the ring ropes and set up a table in the ring. Bane made his way to the top rope and his brothers hoisted Loxton up onto his shoulders in a powerbomb position. Dave Mercy rushed to the stage and told Mezinger, Elijah and Bane that they could have whatever they wanted. Mezinger declined Mercy's offer and Bane proceeded to powerbomb Sierra through the table. Dave Mercy, who looked completely overcome with shock and anger, advised The Brotherhood that they'd be competing at Unleashed in May against Team H8 and Mikey Whiplash. The match? Well, it'll be taking place inside of a 16-foot high steel cage! I honestly don't have the words to describe what was going through my mind when Dave made that announcement, but my God is that match going to be both incredible and brutal! The Brotherhood vs. Team H8 - No contest Eddie Ryan vs. Mr Bananas Eddie dominated large portions of it but was easily distracted by the crowd when he could have been picking up the win. That's become a common theme for Eddie Ryan over the last few months. He really should've stayed focused but neglected to do so and ultimately that's what cost him the victory here. Yes, you read that correctly, Mr Bananas beat Eddie Ryan via pinfall! Beating Eddie was quite possibly the worst thing that Mr Bananas could've done as after the match he was on the wrong end of a vicious beat down from 'The English Lion'. It's fair to say that Eddie went bananas on Mr Bananas! I'm intrigued to see if there will be any ramifications for this assault. Winner - Mr Bananas King of Chaos Championship - 'Flash' Morgan Webster vs. Eddie Dennis Prior to the match, the video which Eddie released on social media explaining his decision to resign from his day job as a junior school headmaster was played on the big screen. There was a standing ovation for 'The Pride of Wales' who looked absolutely pumped up for this match. In comparison, the Champion seemed a tad concerned to tangle with his fellow Welshman initially. Either that or the King of Chaos was playing mind games with Eddie. The crowd hoped that Eddie would get a fair crack of the whip in this title match, but when the Modern Culture are involved, you know that's never going to happen. All three of Webster's stablemates came out to ensure that their leader's title stayed around his waist. Alex Steele made his way to the ring to assist his good friend and tag team partner but unfortunately, that only hindered Eddie. With two referees down, Alex and Eddie looked to seize an opportunity to take down the King. As Eddie held Webster up, Alex looked to use the champion's helmet against him. However, as is usually the case, the heel champion ducked out of the way and Alex bounced the helmet off of his friend's head and Webster then scored with the Eton Rifle after dumping Alex out of the ring to ensure the title stayed around his waist. There was a serious level of dissension in the ranks between the Steele Dragons after all was said and done in this contest. Eddie was clearly frustrated that his good friend had cost him the top honour in Pro Wrestling Chaos but Alex pleaded his innocence by saying it was an accident. How will this play out now with Alex getting his King of Chaos title shot next month in Yate? Will Eddie get himself involved in that match? Hell, could Eddie even be a part of that match? There's only one way to find out and that's by getting yourself a ticket to Unleashed which is sure to be an incredible event! Winner and still King of Chaos Champion - 'Flash' Morgan Webster So that wraps up another instalment of Pro Wrestling Chaos. I'd have to say that with the announcements and surprises which we had here that this was probably my favourite Chaos event of 2017 thus far. There are lots of possibilities for matches Unleashed at Yate Leisure Centre in August and I personally cannot wait for Chaos to return to my hometown. Two huge international stars have been signed for Unleashed in current CZW and Lucha Underground wrestler Shane Strickland as well as former WWE Cruiserweight and Tag Team Champion Paul London. There will also be a Q&A session with London prior to the show taking place at Yate Leisure Centre. All ticketing information is available at www.prowrestlingchaos.com On June 3rd 2017, Pro Wrestling Chaos returned to Newman Hall, Westbury-on-Trym to bring us an event that was fantastic, it was phenomenal, it was...UnBroLievable! Six matches which all delivered either by way of storyline purpose, the quality of the in ring product, or both. There were several debuts, twists and turns and above all else, there was plenty of chaos! And that's what these shows are about! I've been a fan of Chaos since their second event (as per my recent blog My Life as a BritWres Fan over on the Facebook page) and I still get just as excited before a show as I did back in 2013. That's a credit to those who run this little promotion in Bristol.
Credit must also go out to Jim Maitland of Turning Face who got this show out on the UK Wrestling On Demand channel within days of it taking place. Record time to the best of my knowledge so huge credit and respect to Jim for this and for finally getting pyro at a Chaos event! Something that man has been campaigning for for the last 18 months on social media and he finally got his wish! Cheers Jim! Dave Mercy addressed the live crowd before the show began to thank everyone for their support of Chaos as the promotion will soon be celebrating its fourth birthday. In that time Chaos has seen many wrestlers come through the doors who've either been to the big dance prior to their Chaos appearances, or have since gone on to bigger things. We've seen names such as Kenny King, Jonathan Gresham, Chris Hero, Rhyno, Tommy Dreamer and Hardcore Holly to name but a few in a Pro Wrestling Chaos ring over the years. A who's who of North American wrestlers to go along with a few of the British wrestlers who've been working for WWE in recent times such as Jack Gallagher, Pete Dunne, T-Bone, Roy Johnson and Mark Andrews. With names like all of those mentioned, it proves that Chaos has developed a fine reputation in their four years as a staple of wrestling here in the south-west. Charlie Sterling vs Cara Noir vs Brendan White There were two debuts in this match. Well, sort of anyway. Brendan White was making his official Pro Wrestling Chaos in ring debut and put in one hell of a performance against a recent regular for Chaos in the hometown boy Charlie Sterling and the man who once previously competed in a Chaos ring as Tom Dawkins - Cara Noir who is one of the most mesmerising and intriguing wrestlers I've ever seen live. I'd seen Cara on a Lucha Forever iPPV a few weeks prior to this event and thought that everything about him oozed awesomeness. From the mystique of his entrance to the flamboyance of his motions and his killer instincts in the ring, Cara Noir could become a force to be reckoned with in British wrestling for a long, long time to come. Charlie Sterling has featured in several opening bouts at Chaos events in recent months and I honestly couldn't think of anyone better suited to that role. That's not intended to come across in a negative way whatsoever. Charlie has a natural charisma about him that very few possess where he can work as a heel or as a face and either way you're still entertained. He doesn't mind making a fool out of himself, like he did in this match by having his backside exposed by Brendan White, but at the same time, he's so good in the ring that he can draw you in with his amazing high flying and technical ability. Certainly one to watch for the future! It was Cara Noir who picked up the win in this match by pinning Brendan White after scoring with a neckbreaker across the knee (think Adam Cole's finisher the Last Shot) for the three count. I certainly hope that we get to see a lot more of Cara Noir and Brendan White in Chaos moving forward. I'm a huge fan of both men and although I haven't touched too much on Brendan, I'm sure I will very soon when reviewing a Chaos event. He's a great, humble guy who in my opinion will go on to have a very successful and prosperous wrestling career. Winner - Cara Noir King of Chaos Number One Contender Match - Alex Steele vs Eddie Ryan This one has a fantastic backstory to it. Alex felt as though he was screwed out of the title at Sweet Dreams in April while Eddie has felt as though he's been screwed by Chaos management for a long time having never received his one-on-one King of Chaos title opportunity which he earned last Summer after defeating Eddie Dennis. So with both men having a legitimate claim to a match at the main man in the company, Chaos owner Dave Mercy signed this contest which didn't disappoint. As you'd expect, Alex had his hometown crowd behind him for the entire match. The Heavy Metal Hero has always had a great amount of support in a Chaos ring and I can't see that stopping any time soon. On the other hand, to say that Eddie Ryan isn't the most liked person in Pro Wrestling Chaos would be a gross understatement. Usually flipping out or claiming to be cheated out of things makes the fans think that Eddie is nothing more than a cry baby who can't earn what he feels he deserves. Once again, Eddie felt cheated by the result of this match and with good reason this time. Alex appeared to suffer an injury to the foot which he broke eight months prior at All or Nothing and when Ryan moved in to take advantage of the situation, ref Paz prevented him from doing so due to Alex's apparent injury. However, it was seemingly all a ruse by Alex to lure Eddie into a pinning combination to pick up the win and once again become the number one contender to 'Flash' Morgan Webster's King of Chaos Championship! Winner and new number one contender - Alex Steele The Brotherhood vs Team H8 & Mikey Whiplash w/ Sierra Loxton It's fair to say that The Brotherhood and Team H8 despise one another and won't stop fighting one another until they're satisfied that the job is done on the other. Another person who has legitimate beef with The Brotherhood is Sierra Loxton who was attacked by the rabid pack of wolves the last time Chaos was at Newman Hall in January of this year. Unfortunately for 'The Freaky Princess', she'd sustained a broken hand recently meaning that she wasn't cleared to compete on this show. She had, however, found a more than adequate replacement in British wrestling legend 'The Necromancer' Mikey Whiplash! The thought running through my mind throughout this match was whether or not Jeckel and Whiplash could co-exist knowing their history over the last twelve months. Regular attendees will remember the brutal Last Man Standing match from Total Chaos 2016 which led to Mikey being fired by then owner Pariah Khan as well as both men being on opposing sides during the huge elimination tag team contest at All or Nothing last October. There were frequent tags early on for the fan favourites in this one and none of them were between Jeckel and Whiplash which I thought had answered my question. That was all up until after sustaining a vicious beat down at the hands of The Brotherhood, Whiplash managed to make a tag to Jeckel. The issue was that the younger trio of Mezinger, Dahl and Bane were seemingly too much for Jeckel until he managed to make a tag to his Team H8 partner, Gideon. Whiplash soon after found himself in the ring as the legal man along with Nathan Bane. Both men traded some big shots in the ring and when Bane thought he had 'The Necromancer' down for long enough, he went after Sierra Loxton on the outside. Whiplash managed to get Bane back to the centre of the ring and soon after hit him with the Zombie Maker to pick up the win for his team. This feud is by no means over between Team H8 and The Brotherhood! Winners - Mikey Whiplash and Team H8 The interval was next where there was an opportunity to have an in ring picture taken with either Matt Riddle or Sierra Loxton. I'd already ordered a pre-show meet and greet with the 'King of Bro's' which I was unfortunately unable to attend but the good people at Pro Wrestling Chaos were cool and allowed me to do this during the interval. Riddle was cool, super friendly and seemingly had a great time talking to the fans. Amazing to see someone who genuinely wanted to spend time meeting and talking to people. 'Flash' Morgan Webster Announcement After the interval Morgan Webster made his way to the ring to announce that due to a contract stipulation, he didn't have to defend his King of Chaos title but was however willing to wrestle a non-title match against an opponent who met certain criteria. Initially, Webster hand picked Dragon Pro Academy graduate Matt Horgan who was working as part of the ring crew for the night. Just when it looked as though Horgan was going to get his biggest opportunity yet, the sound of Eddie Dennis' entrance music hit and out came 'The Pride of Wales' to accept the challenge set out by 'The Modfather'. Initially Webster refused Eddie's acceptance, however tried to blindside his fellow Welshman but the wily veteran Dennis was wise to Webster's attempted cheap shot and caught 'The king of the Mods' with a huge right forearm which led us into... Eddie Dennis vs King of Chaos 'Flash' Morgan Webster - Non-Title This started off with a brawl on the outside, at the beginning of which Dennis seemed to injure either his right arm or right hand. This didn't stop him competing a hard fought match however. That's an admirable trait to have in all honesty. Showing signs of an injury but going as close to 100% as he could. My hat goes off to Eddie here. A few minutes latter, I doffed my cap to Mr. Dennis once more as he picked up a huge victory over 'The Modfather' to earn arguably the biggest victory of his Pro Wrestling Chaos career. This situation has become even more interesting as Eddie Dennis has been named as Webster's next challenger despite the fact that Alex Steele earned the honour of being named the number one contender to Webster. Eddie will challenge Webster at Heir To The Thron3 on July 8th at Hanham Community Centre. Winner - Eddie Dennis Knights of Chaos Championships: The Modern Culture (c) vs Project Lucha Now if ever there was a time where you'd want Michael Cole to say 'vintage', the start of this match would be it with Project Lucha having plenty of fun at the expense of their opponents including Edwin Ricci being on the receiving end of a Martin Kirby wedgie! Yes, you read that right ladies and gentleman, a wedgie in professional wrestling. The first time I'd ever witnessed such an event at a show! If the beginning of this match was designed to spread joy and laughter, then the ending certainly was no laughing matter here as we saw a shocking turn of events. As El Ligero scored with a splash from the middle rope and went for the pin, Matt Horgan pulled ref Mark from the ring and struck Ligero which gave Modern Culture enough time to re-group and hit their finisher to pick up the win and retain the Knights of Chaos championships. Horgan revealed a 'Flash' Morgan Webster shirt after the match and had aligned himself with Modern Culture. The three men, proud of how the end of the match turned out, were joined by their leader on stage and celebrated as a unit. What does this mean for the tag team division in Chaos? Will Project Lucha get another shot at the titles, or will Chaos owner Dave Mercy have something else up his sleeve before the next event for Modern Culture? As always, make sure you're following Chaos on social media to find out the latest developments in the tag team division and also to find out if there will be any ramifications for Matt Horgan's actions. Winners and still Knights of Chaos - The Modern Culture PROGRESS Wrestling Atlas Division Championship - Matt Riddle (c) vs Mike Bird For the first time ever, the PROGRESS Wrestling Atlas Division championship was defended in a British promotion other than PROGRESS. The only requirement a wrestler needs to meet to be able to compete for this title is to be 205lbs or heavier. Bird weighed in at 206lbs and Riddle 215lbs in a match where strong style was at its absolute finest between one of the best kept secrets of British wrestling and the 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Rookie of the Year. If I tried to breakdown this match for you, I would not be able to serve it the justice it so richly deserves. I've been to over 20 Chaos events and for what my opinion is worth, this is the best match I've ever witnessed at a Pro Wrestling Chaos event. That's not to discredit the first Eddie Dennis vs Chris Hero match, or the efforts of 'Flash' Morgan Webster and Dave Mercy in 2015, but this match just had everything I look for in a main event. Despite the fact that there was no real backstory, these two certainly stole the show and if I was to dig out my Dave Meltzer match rating system, this would be in the five star category. The Chaos Club were split throughout this brutal, hard-hitting contest with lots of chants in favour of one of Chaos' favourites Mike Bird as well as several countering chants and songs as many fans rallied behind the King of Bro's. The atmosphere only added to the great action that was taking place inside of the ring and the more these two warriors threw at each other, the louder the fans got. Likewise the louder the fans were, the harder these two men went at each other. A fantastic dynamic! Unfortunately for the Chaos favourite, he wasn't able to pick up the win as he passed out to Riddle's devastating 'Bromission' hold as referee Paz called for the bell. Bird may have not won the PROGRESS Wrestling Atlas title on this night, but he certainly earned the respect of the champion and we also witnessed Riddle show a great level of respect for the Ginger Jesus as well. Bird congratulated Riddle on his victory and offered Riddle a shot at his and Wild Boar's ICW Tag Team championship. Riddle accepted the challenge for the match to close out a fantastic show. Winner and still PROGRESS Wrestling Atlas Division Champion - Matt Riddle Thus ends another Pro Wrestling Chaos review and in my opinion, this was the best Chaos show of 2017 so far. Once again there were lots of questions left after this show and one of these has since been answered with Eddie Dennis being named as the next challenger to 'Flash' Morgan Webster's King of Chaos Championship at Heir To The Thron3, Chaos' version of Money in the Bank. To keep up with the latest developments for the upcoming event at Hanham Community Centre, make sure you're following Chaos on all forms of social media for the latest announcements. |
By Darren Dyer17 year veteran of viewing graps. Archives
February 2018
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