Wrestlers on the card :-
• Saime Sahin
• Ryoya Tanaka
• Eddie Ryan
• Chris Bronson
• Tiger Ali
• Antonio De Luca
• Danny Jones
• Nico Angelo
• JD Knight
• Josh Knott
• The Blockbusters: Jordan Sparkes & Toby St. John
• Giovanni Giorgio
• Lazarus
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Here's
a promo video to show you what you're missing out on if you haven't
been to a Brit King Pro event. Do yourself a favour and buy tickets.
They regularly put on shows in Swindon, Oxford, Cardiff, Gloucester,
Bristol, Pontypridd, Portishead, Thatcham, Emersons Green, and other places! The
ticket prices are more than fair and I guarantee you'll have a great
time! One of the things that separates Brit-King from most indie
companies is that their events are story-driven. They give you
cliffhangers that make you desperate to attend again next time. As I
said before, watching wrestling is pretty much always fun, but watching
characters and stories develop is where the art truly lies in my humble
opinion.
With that being said, let’s dive in…
Another month, another Brit-King Pro show! This is becoming very commonplace for us as this point. In my humble opinion Brit-King is the best professional wrestling company in the U.K. that you might not have heard of. Give them a chance. They're blow your expectations away! One thing that was new at this event was that some people came over to me and told me these reviews were the reason why they discovered Brit-King and subsequently bought tickets. That was fantastic to hear.
Giovanni Giorgio (announcer/commentator) welcomed us to the show with Drew, referee extraordinaire. The planned line-up was 5 matches: Eddie Ryan defending his Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Championship against "The Italian Stallion" Antonio De Luca, an all-Welsh brawl between Nico Angelo and Danny Jones, a tag team match between Swindon legend Saime Sahin and Dragongate star Ryoya Tanaka against the long-time former Heavyweight Champion Chris Bronson and arguably the best in-ring worker in the company, Tiger Ali. Post-interval the event would conclude with The Steel Serpents taking on the always-loveable Blockbusters and then finally a Royal Rumble main event! What a card! One noteable omission from the show was the Junior Heavyweight Champion and my predicted future Heavyweight Champion, Prince Phoenix. I'm sure he'll be back for the next show...causing riots and nearly getting punched by fans once again, I've no doubt.
This show definitely delivered value for money. Not only were the matches good-to-fantastic, but the show length ended up being around the 3-hour mark - 90 minutes, interval, 60 minutes. The interval was slightly longer than usual due to the overwhelming demand for in-ring photos with Saime Sahin and Ryoya Tanaka, but more on that later...another 5 minutes was taken up by Eddie Ryan's entrance and the crowd wanting to cheer for and interact with le Champion.
Match 1: Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Championship - Eddie Ryan (Champion) vs. Antonio De Luca
Opening the show with the Heavyweight Championship match was an interesting choice, but definitely set the tone for the rest of the night. It was a 25-minute technical clinic between two experienced veterans that have wrestled for Dave Sharp for 15 years. De Luca was back to his career-usual role of being a heel. A role I feel he's naturally a better fit for. He's a good babyface; he's a great heel. The heat that De Luca generated within minutes meant that he couldn't speak on the microphone at the start of the match. Every time he tried to talk, he was drowned out by boos. Chants of "pizza boy" rung throughout the theatre. Another thing to note is that the crowd size for Brit-King keeps growing and growing. Wrestling is going through a boom period in general - particularly with WWE now being on the more readily available Netflix - and coupling that with Brit-King starting to grow and develop a reputation for putting on epic events has created a recipe for success. The team should all be very proud of themselves. Some of the highlights of the match :-
This was my first time seeing Eddie Ryan in the role of Champion as opposed to challenger and it appears to be a role he thrives in. I can't believe WWE or another big worldwide company hasn't snatched up Eddie over the years because he's the total package. He's got the body, the look, the experience. He understands wrestling psychology, he's easy to root for, and he's capable of having decent, long matches as was proven here. The match rocked back and forth for 25 minutes; both men getting an even amount of offence in. Ultimately, the beloved Eddie Ryan retained his title.
Match 2: "The Man With A Black Heart Of Gold" Nico Angelo vs. "Made Of Stone" Danny Jones
It was my first time watching Danny Jones wrestle live and he did not disappoint. First impressions are that he's a very special talent. He seems genuinely likeable, he's in good shape, he's aggressive..."aggressive" is a word I'd associate with both of these Welshmen actually. I've always likened Nico to a "Welshmanian devil" - so aggressive, so ferocious! He looks like he belongs in the ring with the heavyweights because of how aggressive he is. You instantly believe he'd hold his own against them. In the ring he reminds me of Chris Benoit in that way.
(I have a particular love of this shot - the usually stoic Nico Angelo cracking a smile at Danny Jones' crowd engagement during his entrance)
This match was hard-hitting. I've said that a few times reviewing Brit-King shows, but this really was. Rumour has it that Nico Angelo suffered a jaw injury during the match, which isn't remotely surprising because both of them were landing hard shots. It's the type of wrestling I personally really love. I'm all for athleticism and showmanship, but if it doesn't grip me as realistic, it takes me out of the moment. We all know wrestling is pre-determined, but there's no need to remind us by completely missing your punches and kicks. Both Nico and Danny's offence looks believeable. They are two Welsh badasses. A particular highlight of the match comes in the first highlight video below. Nico tried to shoulder-block Danny Jones and Danny went nowhere. A member of the crowd yelled "oi mate, he's made of stone", which made everyone laugh and even got a response from both Danny and Nico. Good stuff. A hot, engaging crowd really makes the difference at any live wrestling show and this one had it all night. The crowd was hot, energetic, and made their opinions known.
Danny Jones got the victory and wrapped up the second match of the night. Another belter.
Match 3: "The Silverback" Saime Sahin & Ryoya Tanaka vs. "The Stallion" Chris Bronson & Tiger Ali
Match of the night. Hands down. Ryoya Tanaka is something of a rising star in Japan's Dragongate and it's easy to see why. He is incredibly likeable. He was smiling and engaging with the crowd, and taking selfies, and flying around the ring all night. The other three gentlemen in the match have a long and storied career with Brit-King Pro and indeed 4FW before it. Two former Brit-King Pro Heavyweight Champions and a former 4FW Heavyweight Champion. You can't go wrong putting these four men in a ring together...which nearly didn't happen as Chris Bronson's car broke down on the way to the show! It was great to see Tiger Ali back from injury. In fact, Saime and Chris Bronson have both had injuries of their own recently as well. They all looked back to their brilliant best in this match. From the first second it was fast-paced, high-octane, high-flying stuff. I've said it on Twitter already, but the U.K. indie scene should be ashamed of themselves. How many men Saime's size do you see performing hurricanranas and moonsaults with such grace? Saime, Chris, and Tiger are all world-class performers. Tiger Ali has been putting on banger after banger for 15 years now. This match had everything: high-flying, fighting outside of the ring and into the crowd, genuine near-falls...everyone was given a chance to shine. I was proud for them and for the company at the end of the match! Those are the type of matches that grow companies.
A particular highlight during the match was when Ryoya dived out of the ring onto Tiger Ali, then proceeded to walk over to me, take the mobile phone out of my hand, and record a video of himself with Susie and myself in the background. A great memory.
The offence in this match was crisp. Everything looked good. The chemistry between the four was excellent.
Saime Sahin and Ryoya Tanaka got the victory and kept the fans happy heading into the interval: an interval where you could get a professional photo taken in the ring with them both for just £5 - an offer that a lot of attendees took Brit-King up on. The intermission went from the usual 15 minutes to 30 minutes because of the demand, which was brilliant to see.
Match 4: The Steel Serpents (JD Knight & Josh Knott) vs. The Blockbusters (Toby St. John & Jordan Sparkes)
This was a repeat of the match I saw in Swindon in January, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing as you can see how the chemistry and performers have evolved since the first meeting. In this case, it was apparent that the teams are familiar with each other because the dynamic was very good. I've been watching JD Knight wrestle for many years and he's always been a solid worker. One thing I've appreciated about him more and more as time has gone on is his comedic timing. He's not a comedic wrestler, but he likes to have some fun in the ring. Case in point: what I'm going to refer to as the "arm spot". JD and Josh take it in turns to work on the arm of a Blockbuster in their corner. Later in the match, JD gets cocky and decided to attack the arm while facing the other way (into the crowd). What he's unaware of is that he's got Josh's arm, not Toby or Jordan's. Toby and Jordan then both exit the ring and walk around to JD's line of sight and start clapping. JD's reaction to his error was priceless. Really great stuff.
Josh is someone that I believe is ever-improving. Even in the 4 months I've been watching him wrestle I feel like he's gotten better. The Blockbusters are a favourite of both Susie and myself as well. They're just so damn likeable. Their entrance is full of energy, they both have smiles that make you warm to them instantly, and they're damn good workers in the ring as well...as they should be. They were both trained by the Heavyweight Champion, Eddie Ryan.
The dastardly heels, the Steel Serpents, got the victory.
Match 5: 12-Man Royal Rumble Match
Order of entry :-
1. "The Stallion" Chris Bronson
2. "The Silverback" Saime Sahin
3. "The Italian Stallion" (lots of Stallions!) Antonio De Luca
4. Tiger Ali
5. Ryoya Tanaka
6. JD Knight
7. Josh Knott
8. Toby St. John
9. Jordan Sparkes
10. Giovanni Giorgio: yes, you read that correctly. The ring announcer was in the Rumble!
11. Lazarus
12. "Made Of Stone" Danny Jones
The Royal Rumble main event was great fun. It followed a logical format that was designed to create heat on the heels and sympathy for the babyface, specifically Saime Sahin. It was Saime vs. 3 heels soon into the match. Saime had an uphill battle from the start as the match was initiated by Chris Bronson pummelling Saime with a yellow steel chair. The only two omissions from the Rumble that were in action earlier in the night were Eddie Ryan and Nico Angelo. Eddie makes sense as he's the Champion. He doesn't need a Rumble win. Nico made less sense, which is why I was worried he'd been injured - especially as I could see him communicating with Drew, the ref, towards the end of his match with Danny Jones. The perception was certainly that there was an injury.
Giovanni getting involved in the match was fun. I'm not sure if he was a last-minute substitute for Nico's spot or if it was always the plan, but Giovanni did a great job during the limited window he was in the match. Giovanni making the sign of the cross when squaring up to the Blockbusters was fantastic, as was him declaring on the microphone "I have been eliminated!" after getting dumped out of the match by the Blockbusters about 10 seconds after he made the cross. Good stuff.
Ryoya Tanaka's elimination was a decent spot in the match. I have no idea who Lazarus is. I'm not sure if he was an existing wrestler or someone that impressed earlier in the day during the Ryoya Tanaka seminar, but he definitely has a distinct look - tall, broad, and pale, with long hair covering his face. He hit Toby St. John at one point and I thought Toby was legitimately knocked out because the strike looked so devastating.
The final four in the match were the same four that started the match: Chris Bronson, Saime Sahin, Antonio De Luca, and Tiger Ali. The three heels once against beat down the Swindon legend. The odds were stacked against Saime...but one-by-one Saime eliminated Tiger, then Antonio, then Chris, to win the Royal Rumble and send the fans home happy. It was a decent main event. Post-match Chris Bronson and Antonio De Luca attacked Saime, so Eddie Ryan made the save. Not sure if this is setting up a tag team match for the return to Swindon on September 13th, but that would be an interesting prospect. I know for sure that myself and Susie will be there. We fly to Los Angeles and Las Vegas a few days after the September show so it will be a nice way to warm up for the holiday.
Order of elimination :-
1. JD Knight
2. Josh Knott
3. Giovanni Giorgio
4. Jordan Sparkes
5. Toby St. John
6. Lazarus
7. Danny Jones
8. Ryoya Tanaka
9. Tiger Ali
10. Antonio De Luca
11. Chris Bronson
Winner = Saime Sahin
After the show, myself and Susie went to the meet-and-greet with the wrestlers as usual. I've got into a habit of getting unique pictures to get signed - a lot of which are portrait photos taken by the incredibly talented Emma Meek. On this occasion, I had things for Chris Bronson and Tiger Ali to sign, plus Drew (referee). I think Drew was genuinely excited to have something to sign other than the event poster....he even has his own little stamp that he puts next to the autograph! Drew is every bit as important as the wrestlers. The "third man" in the ring is an unsung hero because the match won't flow correctly without a decent referee keeping control of the action and acting as a liaison between the participants during the match.
We also got Ryoya Tanaka's autograph and a Dragongate t-shirt from him. His autographed 8x10 is a thing of beauty: his signature, Dragongate written on it, his name in Japanese (I think?), a star, and the date the autograph took place. It's one of the better looking autograph pictures I've seen...and between wrestling shows and helping to organise Comic Cons, I've seen a lot. I took a picture with Drew and then Ryoya to mark the occasion, then we headed back to Gloucester after a very, very long day.
As is typical for Brit-King the show was phenomenal. Seriously, go buy tickets if you haven't already. If you live further afield, an on-demand service for Brit-King is supposed to be coming later in the year so soon enough you'll be able to see all of the events from the comfort of your own house...but nothing beats the live experience! Myself and Susie will be at the Thatcham show on June 7th, the Swindon show on September 13th, and we're toying with the idea of going to the Emersons Green show on June 21st (my 36th birthday), so I'll see you there!
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