On Friday 18th March 2011, the IWF rocked the Innisfree Social Club in Longbenton. It wasn't a full house by any means (a little shy of 100 by most counts) but they were absolutely on fire as the boys delivered some fantastic hard-hitting, fast-paced action.
The first match out was Billy Morrison vs Jack Flash. Flash is still relatively new to the IWF but wanted to make his name by taking on what of the more experienced roster members. I actually have high hopes for Flash, despite the attitude, he's a very young guy with relatively little experience but it certainly doesn't show in his ring work as he really took it to Morrison. Despite Morrison's age, I hear he turns 50 this year, he's a tough bastard and managed to overcome a beating to catch young Flash in a Boston Crab for the submission victory. Big win for Morrison who has been short of them recently, but also a good showing for Flash, one to watch I'm sure.
Next was one of three match of the night candidates as Robbie Ryder faced 'The Twisted Messiah' Adam Christ in what closely resembled a brawl rather than a wrestling match. As I said in my previous blog, this match had the stipulation that said if Ryder lost he had to join the Disciples Of Christ so both men had motivation and brought their absolute best. Christ is notorious in the IWF for his "hardcore" style, he's absolutely nuts and Ryder took it to him in the ring, out the ring and through the fans. In the end, it could have gone either way, Christ was inches away from hitting his top rope splash but it was Ryder who hit a Springboard Moonsault to get the popular win. And when I say popular, I do mean popular. The crowd were lukewarm to Ryder on his arrival but by the end of the night, he was getting the biggest reactions of anyone and thoroughly merited from his performance.
Next up was Cuffed Chaos for an opportunity at the IWF Championship at any time. This was one to watch, my previous blog contained the rules so I'm not going to go through them again but I will run down the participants. Firstly, both members of Hot Wings were in there, Brett Eagle and Max Heat. Being GM, I often find myself the subject of complaint but Hot Wings took it to a whole other level last night, parading around a sign that read "Conspiracy Victims" because they weren't in the Tag Team Title match. I'll say it clearly now, they LOST at Neon in a No.1 Contender's Match to the Justice League so they don't get a shot. Frankly, they were getting an opportunity at an IWF Title match so they shouldn't be complaining but I'm sure I'm the least of their problems now. Two members of Redemption were also in, leader and North East champion, Tim Strange and Leon Kingdom. Despite pre-match speculation, they were on the same page the whole night, showing the strength of the group as a whole. Lewis Chambers and Katsu rounded off the 6, both of whom have crossed paths with Redemption recently so I was interested to see what happened when they inevitably collided. Lewis started the match with Brett Eagle for the first period, and they had some nice back-and-forth but it was when the first competitor was released that things got interesting. Brett's tag partner, Max Heat was first in which should have spelled trouble for Lewis but the young team of Hot Wings still could not get on the same page and Lewis showed some innovative offense to keep both at bay for a while before succumbing to the numbers game, made worse when Leon Kingdom was released next. Kingdom recently got the biggest win of his career over Chambers so they basically picked up where they left off battling it out around the ringside area and the stage during the course of the match but when first introduced Kingdom teamed with the Hot Wings members to beat down Chambers until Katsu was released and the former North East champion took it to all 3 with some breath-taking high-flying offense. In case you haven't worked out, Tim Strange was the last man released and he was the first man to make an elimination, defeating Brett Eagle after some mis-communication with Max Heat. Heat didn't even try to save his partner sending this team further into a downward spiral. Soon after, a recovered Eagle started blasting Heat for not making the save which allowed Katsu to roll up Heat and eliminate him and setting off an argument that led to the members of Hot Wings having a slapping match all the way backstage. Couldn't have happened to nicer guys. Meanwhile, in the ring, Kingdom was eliminated by Chambers after an incredible Falcon Arrow off the second, incredible probably not doing it justice, but straight after Chambers was eliminated by Tim Strange leaving the feuding Katsu and Strange remaining. What happened next was nothing less than an assault, Katsu had taken a lot out of himself earlier with his high-risk offense including a moonsault off the top to the outside and he had very little left when Tim proceeded to beat the crap out of him, using the No DQ stipulation to the full, he beat him around the room, using upended tables and chairs as weapons before trying to finish Katsu in the ring. Now the word 'heart' is used a lot in wrestling but I have rarely seen a better display of heart than Katsu showed on this night. Despite the beating Katsu had taken, he kept kicking out and fighting back, even after moves that beat Eagle and Chambers. In the end, Tim had to stoop to hideous methods to defeat him. He took handcuffs from ringside, cuffed Katsu's hands behind him and delivered two devastating Con-chair-tos to the defenceless opponent before pinning him. Tim wins the briefcase but the story was Katsu who was taken to the back and left the venue in an ambulance. Early indications suggest he is seriously hurt and may be out of action for a while.
The next match featured two of the newest international talents in the IWF, USA's Marcus Starr and Puerto Rico's El Valiente. Both made their IWF debuts at Neon and put on a decent show so I had high hopes for this match and to be honest, I wasn't disappointed. Their inexperience was more than made up for by their desire to impress, El Valiente hit a huge dive off the top rope to the outside in his efforts to get the victory, Marcus seemed too distracted on his pro-America crap, he could have won the match but chose to gloat, back when I was a manager that would have been a sackable offense but he's green, he'll learn. El Valiente ended up hitting Starr with a superkick for the well-earned victory, though I'll say now wasn't altogether keen on his entrance music, The Ketchup Song, really? At least he knew the dance to his credit. There were some post-match happenings worth mentioning, Flash Roberts formally of Redemption came out to complain about being fired by Tim Strange and offered his managerial services to both Valiente and Starr and was rejected by both. Now business dealings are all well and good in the back but in the ring is a place for action in my mind so I wasn't having him wasting time on a show trying to suck up to clients; so as General Manager, I made an executive decision to make him sound engineer for the evening, which was damn funny in my mind, perks of the job!!
The next match was a Triple Threat Tag Team Match for Redback Squared's Tag Team Championships, the challengers being the Minto Brothers and The Justice League comprising TY McFly and Kitty Morgan. Now both sets of challengers are hyper-popular with the fans so to decide who was more popular they decided to engage in a "dance-off" which was hilariously entertaining, though personally I would dissuade anyone from EVER suggesting the Redbacks dance again, for those of you who saw that last year, WrestleGateshead was just uncomfortable with the furry balls and all. The match was pretty exciting as it could have gone any way, all three teams giving as good as they got. I'd like to say now that the Minto Brothers evaporated any memories of bad performance in their last match in this one, they gave one hell of an effort and were back to their old selves. My theory is, it's the Power Rangers entrance music that does it for them, it was absent last show. In the end, the Redbacks capitalized on a Cutter by McFly to get the pinfall victory and walk out with the Gold. After the match, Adam Christ came out for reasons unknown and blasted the Minto Brothers and TY McFly with a chair, then he delivered a heinous chairshot to the back of Kitty Morgan's head as she tended to her tag team partner before Robbie Ryder returned and cleared him out the ring one more time to one hell of an ovation. Fortunately, the Mintos and Justice League were ok and were able to walk out the ring with their hands held high.
The main event was everything I thought it would be and more. Big Kris and Assassin took to centre stage for the IWF Championship in one of the hardest-hitting title matches in recent memory. There were no special stipulations to the match so it was just two big bulls locking horns until one of them couldn't go anymore. This was a potential match of the year in my eyes, honest to God. It was Kris' first IWF Championship opportunity, his first real main event and he upped his game to levels I didn't even know he had. So impressed (on a side note, congratulations to Kris, his partner had a baby last week, Matthew). This could have gone either way and the crowd were so into it. It's very rare that Assassin is over-matched in terms of strength but he was forced to adapt his gameplan when it became clear that Kris' raw power and desire allowed him to dominate early, running over Assassin and throwing him clear across the ring with a thunderous fallaway slam. One thing I have to give props to both men, they put everything into the match hitting each other with the biggest moves in their arsenal and neither wanted to give it up, Kris kicking out of a Contract and on a number of occasions it seemed Kris had the match won but Assassin wasn't giving that belt up easy. In the end, a powerful spear put away the young challenger but there will be other days I guarantee it. All due credit to both men for putting on a tremendous contest, Assassin for showing respect to Kris after the match much to fan approval and Kris for stepping up to the plate when it counted and giving the best performance of his career so far. The moment was nearly ruined when Tim Strange decided he wanted to show up and cash in his shot for the Title but both Kris and Assassin joined forces to beat him out of the ring. It should be noted that since the bell did not ring, Tim still holds the briefcase allowing him a shot at the Title whenever he wishes.
So that was it, the IWF once again tore the house down at the Innisfree Social Club. The only negative thing is that we have to wait 2 months for the next one but it's going to be a big one. The Northern Rumble is set for the 28th May at the Team Valley Social Club. 30 men, 1 opportunity at the Title. If you thought Longbenton was filled with action and drama, nothing is more unpredictable than the Northern Rumble. I hope to see you all there.
Signed
The Award-Winning
Mr Hollywood
IWF General Manager
Sunday 20 March 2011
Sunday 13 March 2011
Not long 'til Longbenton
On Friday 18th March, 5 days from now, the IWF heads back to it's biggest venue and the sight of IWF's Anniversary Shows, the Innisfree Social Club, Longbenton. The IWF always brings it's best to Longbenton, it's our version of MSG. In fact, the last time IWF was at the Innisfree, yours truly made a rare wrestling appearance in an 8-man tag against rival company CRW. Which we won, by the way.
This time, we have a big card lined up, as usual subject to change and all that. The headline is Big Kris finally getting his IWF title opportunity against Assassin. Kris debuted with the IWF in 2010 as a member of Order 66 so I got to work with him closely and I would tell you then he had the potential to do great things, his size notwithstanding. Although he's still rough around the edges, he brings a passion which brings the crowds to their feet and brings opponents to their knees and he's only stepped it up this year beating Jimmy Blade, Robbie Ryder and former teammate Leon Kingdom to earn the No.1 Contender's Spot. After Redemption stopped him getting his shot at Neon, he's more fired up than ever after defeating the faction on "their night". His opponent is probably the most decorated Champion in IWF history, a 5-time champion spanning the entire history of the company. He's seen it all and is probably one of only a few men who won't be intimidated by Big Kris' size and power. It really is gonna be a clash of epic proportions and I can't freaking wait.
Next up, we have the return of Cuffed Chaos for an opportunity at the IWF Title at any time. Basically, 6 men in the match, 2 start with 4 handcuffed to the ringposts to be released at fixed intervals. Pinfalls and submissions determine eliminations and we keep going until one man is left standing. No disqualifications or countouts so normally all hell breaks loose and I expect the same on Friday. The match dynamic will be interesting, both Tim Strange and Leon Kingdom of Redemption are present, both members of Hot Wings (Max Heat and Brett Eagle), Lewis Chambers and Katsu. Will teams collide, Hot Wings have been at odds quite a lot recently anyway or will they come together to eliminate all others, I suppose we will see how strong Tim Strange's hold on Redemption is. A moment on Leon Kingdom, he's shown great potential in winning IWF's Newcomer of the Year and it may have been deserved but his actions in joining Redemption and becoming Strange's lackey is thoroughly disappointing and I actually hope he takes the opportunity for himself if he can get it. Both Chambers and Katsu have had their problems with Redemption recently, Katsu even took Tim Strange's North East title for a short while at the Tournament of Faith and Chambers was defeated by Kingdom at Neon though both returned in the main event to get the victory over that faction. To be honest, I've no idea how this match will go but it will live up to it's name.....Chaos.
Next up, Robbie Ryder and Adam Christ, if Ryder loses he must join "The Disciples Of Christ". This rivalry started after Christ had his head shaved and started recruiting his "Disciples", he even shaved Ryder's head towards the end of last year. Since then more and more "Disciples" have crawled out the woodwork but The Twisted Messiah seems to have had his sights set on getting Robbie Ryder to join him. I'm not sure what set off this obsession but Robbie Ryder would be an incredible ally to have onside and this Friday he will get his opportunity. Personally, I wish the best to Ryder, he's a good guy and popular with the fans but he wanted to get his hands on Christ and agreed to the stipulation so we will just have to wait and see.
The Tag Team Titles will be up for grabs as Redback Squared of Redemption defend against Justice League (TY McFly and Kitty Morgan) who defeated Hot Wings to earn the Number 1 Contendership and the Minto Brothers who failed at Neon to capture the straps from the Redbacks in what was ultimately a poor showing. I'm going to qualify that statement and say I am a fan of the Minto Brothers, I think they are an excellent young team but it seemed like they had an off-night that night and I hope they can perform up to the standard we are so used to seeing. The Justice League rightly earned their title shot when they defeated the 2010 Team of The Year, Hot Wings so I wish them all the luck in the world. Kitty was voted 14th Top Female Wrestler in the UK in a poll on the UKFF so it would be nice to see her become the first female IWF Tag Team Champion and TY's only reign was somewhat short (14 days I believe) so hopefully he gets the opportunity to atone for that. However, Redemption have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with, through whatever means necessary so it will be Tag Team Turmoil to say the very least for the Gold.
In a showing of the young talent and diversity in the IWF, we have a Puerto Rico vs USA showdown as San Juan's El Valiente faces off against California's Marcus Starr. Both guys really impressed me in their debut Triple Threat and really showed why they deserved their spot on the roster, particularly El Valiente who got the win over fellow IWF debutants Starr and Jack Flash. Starr wanted a rematch and I felt obligated to grant it, personally it's something I want to see, these two could really have a good future here down the line.
Finally, in an interesting clash of Old School vs New School, Billy Morrison will face newcomer Jack Flash. Many people said that Flash showed great comfort in the ring for someone so young but he will be against someone who has seen as much in the ring as anyone on the roster in 'Old School' Billy Morrison. A clash of styles just doesn't quite cover it and I'm as interested as anyone to see what comes out of it.
So there it is, IWF Longbenton Show, Friday 18th March 2011. A night that I hope many of you will attend as it's going to be a night to remember. A night only the IWF, the longest-running wrestling promotion in the North-East of England can deliver.
Signed,
The Award-Winning
Mr Hollywood
IWF General Manager
Edit: TY McFly has contacted me to inform me that in fact he held the Tag Team Titles for 29 days and the North East for 13. My apologies.
This time, we have a big card lined up, as usual subject to change and all that. The headline is Big Kris finally getting his IWF title opportunity against Assassin. Kris debuted with the IWF in 2010 as a member of Order 66 so I got to work with him closely and I would tell you then he had the potential to do great things, his size notwithstanding. Although he's still rough around the edges, he brings a passion which brings the crowds to their feet and brings opponents to their knees and he's only stepped it up this year beating Jimmy Blade, Robbie Ryder and former teammate Leon Kingdom to earn the No.1 Contender's Spot. After Redemption stopped him getting his shot at Neon, he's more fired up than ever after defeating the faction on "their night". His opponent is probably the most decorated Champion in IWF history, a 5-time champion spanning the entire history of the company. He's seen it all and is probably one of only a few men who won't be intimidated by Big Kris' size and power. It really is gonna be a clash of epic proportions and I can't freaking wait.
Next up, we have the return of Cuffed Chaos for an opportunity at the IWF Title at any time. Basically, 6 men in the match, 2 start with 4 handcuffed to the ringposts to be released at fixed intervals. Pinfalls and submissions determine eliminations and we keep going until one man is left standing. No disqualifications or countouts so normally all hell breaks loose and I expect the same on Friday. The match dynamic will be interesting, both Tim Strange and Leon Kingdom of Redemption are present, both members of Hot Wings (Max Heat and Brett Eagle), Lewis Chambers and Katsu. Will teams collide, Hot Wings have been at odds quite a lot recently anyway or will they come together to eliminate all others, I suppose we will see how strong Tim Strange's hold on Redemption is. A moment on Leon Kingdom, he's shown great potential in winning IWF's Newcomer of the Year and it may have been deserved but his actions in joining Redemption and becoming Strange's lackey is thoroughly disappointing and I actually hope he takes the opportunity for himself if he can get it. Both Chambers and Katsu have had their problems with Redemption recently, Katsu even took Tim Strange's North East title for a short while at the Tournament of Faith and Chambers was defeated by Kingdom at Neon though both returned in the main event to get the victory over that faction. To be honest, I've no idea how this match will go but it will live up to it's name.....Chaos.
Next up, Robbie Ryder and Adam Christ, if Ryder loses he must join "The Disciples Of Christ". This rivalry started after Christ had his head shaved and started recruiting his "Disciples", he even shaved Ryder's head towards the end of last year. Since then more and more "Disciples" have crawled out the woodwork but The Twisted Messiah seems to have had his sights set on getting Robbie Ryder to join him. I'm not sure what set off this obsession but Robbie Ryder would be an incredible ally to have onside and this Friday he will get his opportunity. Personally, I wish the best to Ryder, he's a good guy and popular with the fans but he wanted to get his hands on Christ and agreed to the stipulation so we will just have to wait and see.
The Tag Team Titles will be up for grabs as Redback Squared of Redemption defend against Justice League (TY McFly and Kitty Morgan) who defeated Hot Wings to earn the Number 1 Contendership and the Minto Brothers who failed at Neon to capture the straps from the Redbacks in what was ultimately a poor showing. I'm going to qualify that statement and say I am a fan of the Minto Brothers, I think they are an excellent young team but it seemed like they had an off-night that night and I hope they can perform up to the standard we are so used to seeing. The Justice League rightly earned their title shot when they defeated the 2010 Team of The Year, Hot Wings so I wish them all the luck in the world. Kitty was voted 14th Top Female Wrestler in the UK in a poll on the UKFF so it would be nice to see her become the first female IWF Tag Team Champion and TY's only reign was somewhat short (14 days I believe) so hopefully he gets the opportunity to atone for that. However, Redemption have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with, through whatever means necessary so it will be Tag Team Turmoil to say the very least for the Gold.
In a showing of the young talent and diversity in the IWF, we have a Puerto Rico vs USA showdown as San Juan's El Valiente faces off against California's Marcus Starr. Both guys really impressed me in their debut Triple Threat and really showed why they deserved their spot on the roster, particularly El Valiente who got the win over fellow IWF debutants Starr and Jack Flash. Starr wanted a rematch and I felt obligated to grant it, personally it's something I want to see, these two could really have a good future here down the line.
Finally, in an interesting clash of Old School vs New School, Billy Morrison will face newcomer Jack Flash. Many people said that Flash showed great comfort in the ring for someone so young but he will be against someone who has seen as much in the ring as anyone on the roster in 'Old School' Billy Morrison. A clash of styles just doesn't quite cover it and I'm as interested as anyone to see what comes out of it.
So there it is, IWF Longbenton Show, Friday 18th March 2011. A night that I hope many of you will attend as it's going to be a night to remember. A night only the IWF, the longest-running wrestling promotion in the North-East of England can deliver.
Signed,
The Award-Winning
Mr Hollywood
IWF General Manager
Edit: TY McFly has contacted me to inform me that in fact he held the Tag Team Titles for 29 days and the North East for 13. My apologies.
Monday 7 March 2011
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