Wrestlers on the card :-
“Chaos Rumble” took place at Yate Leisure Centre on Saturday the 13th of December. The card was scheduled to be 4 matches: Jay Joshua defending the Internet Championship against TK Cooper, Dani Luna defending the Maiden of Chaos Championship against Rayne Leverkusen in a 30-minute Iron Woman match, Nico Angelo defending the Undisputed King of Chaos Championship against rising star Shane Hook, and, finally, the Chaos Rumble itself: 30 people vying for the right to challenge the winner of Nico Angelo vs. Shane Hook in the future for the King of Chaos Championship.
Names already confirmed for the Chaos Rumble before showtime included Simon Miller, Harrison Bennett, Leyton Buzzard, Act Two, Charlie Sterling, and Matt Gatlin: so on paper the event looked like it should be incredible…but would it live up to the hype?
2025 has been an interesting year for myself and Susie. We started the year going to Brit King shows – with some SWW and Evolution thrown in – and have ended the year by retaining those 3 companies, but also adding in Attack!, No Mercy, New Wave, and Chaos. These four seem to be fairly intertwined and share crew and performers, so it’s been nice to get to know standout youngsters like Tommy Vril and Shane Hook throughout the year. Of course, other Welsh talent such as Danny Jones, James Ellis, and Nico Angelo have wrestled for Brit King so I was already familiar with their impeccable work.
Before the opening contest began, it was time for the meet-and-greet. Brit King typically do them post-show, while New Wave, No Mercy, and Chaos do them pre-show. I don’t really have a preference one way or the other. The wrestlers are always a blast to meet. I’ve yet to meet a douche at a British indie (can’t always say the same for Comic Cons). The space for the meet and greet here was very contained, making selfies a bit awkward. If the space was more accommodating it would have been nice to grab pictures with Harrison Bennett, Act Two, and Kyriacos as I’ve not had the chance to do that yet. M&G’s around the ring are always the best ones. There’s usually less bottlenecking and awkwardness…but this one was decent.
Conversing with the talent is always going to be awesome; and I’ve started to get to know people like Tommy Vril and Nico Angelo quite well, which is nice. I’m typically a bit awkward around new people. It’s not a lack of confidence. I’m fine with that. It would also be different if we were sat down having a drink…the issue is that my hands shake when I get an adrenaline rush of any kind. It’s my one major consequence of attempted suicide when I was 22. I miraculously survived, but was left with shaky hands when I get adrenaline. When I’m talking to the wrestlers, I have some adrenaline hit because I’m pumped for the show. That leads to shaky hands. When I’m in a M&G situation – finding pens, finding posters, people behind waiting me – I’m very aware of my hands shaking. Which makes them shake more. Which makes me get more adrenaline. Which makes them shake more…so I find myself in my own head a lot. The better I get to know people, the less adrenaline I get, and the more I relax and talk. It’s a bit of a cycle, but it’s getting better.
It’s at this point I want to say how much I fucking love No Mercy Wrestling. After the meet-and-greet, while waiting for the show to start, I spotted Chris Bevan and Leon Brando, so I went over to say hi. 30 minutes later, we stopped talking. It was really nice. It helped take away that little bit of anxiety I was feeling.
Onto the show!
Everything I review here will be available to watch in professional quality - full matches - from Chaos’ on-demand service soon. Please check it out. Please also check out their website to look at upcoming shows and how to buy tickets. Let’s all support the British indies as much as we can because, frankly, they usually put on a more exciting show than the well-known companies these days.
Match 1: 30-Minute Iron Woman for the Maiden of Chaos Championship – Dani Luna (C) vs. Rayne Leverkusen
Two of the best female wrestlers to come out of Britain. Ever.
I had a lot of excitement for this match. Dani and Rayne both bring it when they wrestle, so the prospect of 30 minutes was appealing. It was only days earlier that Dani Luna had the bloodbath dog collar match for TNA. She’s been one of the standouts from Britain for a while now, but she does seem to be on a particular tear at the moment. It’s great to see and she’s deserving of all the success. It’s always nice when British wrestlers do well in international markets – especially markets with TV deals like TNA.
Comparingly, Rayne Leverkusen has been one of the biggest British success stories of the last few years. Awesome look, fabulous hair, solid on the mic, and believable in the ring – with an impressive list of signature moves to boot – Rayne has everything you need to triumph. Both Rayne and her “Love At First Fight” partner, Harrison Bennett, are likely to get snapped up by WWE or AEW, or TNA sooner rather than later, so enjoy them while you can.
The opening section of the match saw Rayne and Dani exchanging blows on the outside right next to where we were sat. Some other highlights were Rayne’s German suplex followed by tornado DDT combination, Dani’s German suplex from the ring apron, over the top rope, into the ring, and Dani’s rope-assisted sit-out powerbomb.
With a couple of minutes left on the clock, it was 4-4. The ending sequence was full of near-falls, high-impact moves, and excitement. It really could have gone either way! In the dying seconds, Rayne picked up the victory and became the new Maiden of Chaos Champion, winning 5-4. She came to the outside of the ring and celebrated on the chair next to us! A great start to the night.
Match highlights! :-
Match 2: Internet Championship – Jay Joshua (C) vs. TK Cooper
Jay Joshua has been one of the best wrestlers in Europe in 2025. We first saw Jay wrestle live at the beginning of 2024 and over the last 2 years he’s markedly improved. He seems more confident, more agile, more self-assured. In fact, between “Chaos Rumble” and writing this review, Jay Joshua has become the RevPro Heavyweight Champion! One of the biggest, most prestigious titles in Britain! Congrats! We’ve watched Jay live quite a few times this year and every match has been great. He’s so damn good in the ring. This match was no exception.
Originally slated to be Jay Joshua vs. Danny Jones, Jones became unavailable for the event. Jay was given a respite and Danny’s No. 1 contendership will be taken advantage of in the future.
TK Cooper was a new name for us and he instantly impressed. Very athletic, great chemistry with Jay, and realistic offence. Speaking of offence…during the match Jay threw a forearm to TK’s jaw that looked – and sounded – like it killed him. I bloody love it when stuff is so crisp that it makes me suspend my disbelief and not know if it really connected or not. Jay is a master of that. It’s on the highlights video below.
Other cool moments in the match included the exchanging of superkicks/spin kicks, Jay’s clothesline that looked like it decapitated TK, and Cooper’s Frog Splash to Shooting Star Press combination. I also appreciated that there were call-backs to earlier in the match. Moves that worked for Jay earlier were countered by Cooper later. It was a well-told story. Especially for a match that was only announced a short while before the event. Jay ultimately won, but both left with increased stock.
Match highlights! :-
Match 3: Undisputed King of Chaos Championship – Nico Angelo (C) vs. Shane Hook
The match we were looking forward to most. Long-time readers of my wrestling reviews will know that we love Nico. I consider him to be the very best wrestler in Europe. Jay Joshua is great, Chris Bronson is phenomenal, Charles Crowley is the best character I’ve seen in years, but pound-for-pound, in-ring, Nico is #1 for me. It’s always a pleasure when we get to see Nico perform.
Shane Hook is part of a young generation of Welsh talent that is setting the wrestling world on fire. Hook, Tommy Vril, and Leon Cage are what I’m calling the “Holy Trinity of young Welsh talent”. Hook’s athleticism is almost unmatched by anyone I’ve ever seen live – Leon Cage, Nino Bryant, and Levi Cooper are 3 that are comparable off the top of my head – he’s ridiculously gifted athletically. What makes Hook stand out is that he has great grounding. All of the young wrestlers trained by New Wave have great fundamentals. Most importantly: selling. It’s a lost art form. The flips and the athleticism mean absolutely nothing if they’re not grounded in realism and storytelling. They’re the cherry on the cake of the match. Not intended to replace the cake. One perfect example of masterful selling is Kanji vs. Rayne Leverkusen from Attack! the day after this…but that’s a topic for another review.
2025 has been a year of gold for Nico. Chaos Champion, Riot Cabaret Champion, PROGRESS Tag Team Champion, started the year as Brit King Pro Junior Heavyweight Champion…all very well earned…but could Hook steal one off of him at the conclusion of the year?
It’s hard to put the highlights into words because there were so many: Nico’s elbow drop off the apron to the outside, Hook’s suicide dive to the outside, Hook’s springboard forearm to the outside, Hook’s corkscrew moonsault, Nico’s huge clothesline to Hook while Hook was mid-air, Hook’s moonsault from the top turnbuckle to the outside…you name it, the match had it!
Near-fall after near-fall. Huge moment after huge moment. Counter after counter. It felt at times as though Shane was about to be crowned the new Champion, only for Nico to kick out. The match definitely lived up to the hype. We watched a lot of great matches over the weekend of Chaos and Attack!, but this was the best for us. Both men are stars…but Nico left with the victory and the gold still around his waist.
Match highlights! :-
Shane’s chest was red and cut during the interval in-ring photos after the punishment of the chops from Nico Angelo!
...Looks thrilled about his life choices, doesn't he?
Match 4: 30-Man Chaos Rumble – Winner faces Nico in the future for the Undisputed King of Chaos Championship?
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Order of entry
1) Matt Gatlin
2) Simon Miller
3) Jack Knudsen (Act Two)
4) Aaron McRae
5) Benjamin Harland (Act Two)
6) Curt Atlas
7) Tommy Kyle
8) Josh Holly
9) Tommy Vril
10) Kyriacos
11) Joseph Conners
12) Joe Blazr
13) Visage
14) Lionel Da Silva
15) Jay Fradley…sort of…(Josh Holly)
16) Aluna
17) MJ Bale
18) Luca Romeo
19) Jeffery Degnan
20) Leyton Buzzard
21) Harrison Bennett
22) Nishiki
23) Flash Morgan Webster
24) Charlie Sterling
25) Eddie Ryan
26) Chicago Desailly
27) Adam Crater
28) Nino Bryant
29) Hunter Maul
30) Leon Cage
Lots to digest here. Lots of new names for us. Lots of returning favourites.
Matt Gatlin – the former ELIJAH – is an unsung workhorse of British wrestling. Not particularly flashy, but fantastic in the ring. Believable, strong, and intimidating. Gatlin started the rumble against British legend Simon Miller. I watch Miller’s YouTube channel all the time and have done for years, but it was my first time watching him wrestle live. He’s very impressive. Gatlin and Miller were a great choice to start the rumble. Rumbles are long. Typically about an hour. So starting strong and keeping the energy up is of paramount importance.
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Act Two are one of the best tag teams in the country. Easy to love, athletic as hell, hilarious, charismatic, great teamwork…I really like Act Two. They’re one of the discoveries of the year for me.
We’ve seen Aaron McRae crewing multiple shows this year: New Wave, No Mercy, Chaos…it was nice to finally see him in the ring. Another Welsh youngster with a lot of potential. In fact, we got to see Aaron have a full match the next day at Attack!: A dark match against The Tab.
Some of our favourite wrestlers of the last few years were in the Rumble…
Tommy Vril: One of the most talented character wrestlers I’ve seen in years. Mesmerising entrance, ever-improving in the ring, totally unique character.
Tommy Kyle: Not seen him wrestle much live, but he’s a standout performer. So smooth!
Leyton Buzzard: Another find of the year for us. Watched him wrestle live for the first time recently at Chaos’ “November Pain” against Nico Angelo in a match-of-the-year contender.
Charlie Sterling and Chicago Desailly: Two guys I’ve seen lots through Brit King and SWW. Always a joy to watch.
Eddie Ryan: I’ve been watching Eddie wrestle live for nearly 20 years(!!!). Didn’t know he was going to be at Chaos. Was a very pleasant surprise. Eddie is a class-act. A polished, elite-level performer.
But onto the match itself….
Josh Holly did what Josh Holly does…stacked the odds in his favour as Chaos’ General Manager. He was eliminated; he attacked Jay Fradley and nicked his spot…he banished Jeffery Degnan from the match…good heel work, pal!
Some other really cool bits of the match were little Jack Knudsen trying to tackle Simon Miller – a behemoth – to the ground and failing spectacularly. Tommy Kyle’s athleticism during the match deserves its own mention. Josh Holly was about to throw Visage out and his wig came off. That was hilarious. In a sea of male performers, Aluna really stood out as impressive during the Rumble. Hunter Maul is an absolute beast! Throwing competitors over his head with ease. Truly enormous powerhouses aren’t as common in 2025 as they were in the 80s and 90s. Maul really stands out. He brings something totally different to the card. Not just mass, but intensity…and he can move well for a man of his size!
The final six dissolved into a three-on-three brawl for a while: Charlie Sterling, Leyton Buzzard, and Josh Holly on one side; Harrison Bennett, Leon Cage, and Flash Morgan Webster on the other. Ultimately, two remained – the long-time main-eventer Harrison Bennett and the promising young prospect Leon Cage. This final portion of the Rumble was fantastic. It must have been 10 minutes of just the two of them battling. Very reminiscent of The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in the 2007 Rumble. Bennett almost won, then Cage almost won, then Bennett almost won, then Cage almost won…but in the end, Leon Cage, entrant #30, was declared the winner.
The show concluded with Nico Angelo coming to ringside to stare-down the Chaos Rumble victor.
A great Rumble, an awesome show, and an enjoyable night of wrestling action. Chaos: we will be back!
Rumble highlights! :-
The review of Attack!’s “Under The Mistletour” event from the Loco Klub will be up soon. Then it’s onto Stourbridge for Bridge Pro Wrestling’s benefit show for Millie McKenzie on Friday. I’ll also review that. Please consider donating to Millie’s GoFundMe! Chris Jericho has, of course, donated.
Please also check out the YouTube channel. It’s only been around 3 months and I have massive plans for it. Match highlights, 15-Second Smackdown Showcases, Character Spotlights, Top 5’s, Top 10’s…there’s a lot to come! The bigger the channel gets, the more I can help promote the wrestlers and the wrestling companies of Britain, which is why I started it in the first place.
For now, stay safe and I hope life is treating you well!
- Your Friendly Neighbourhood Shangel
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