Wrestlers on the card :-
With that being said, let's dive in...
Overdrive Championship Wrestling. Saturday 9th May. Cwmbran, Wales. Our very first Overdrive show! So, what brought us to Overdrive? The short answer is “Tommy Vril”; the longer answer is “the card was brilliant!”
6 matches announced, hosting talented British indie workers such as former WWE NXT Star Mark Andrews, Brendan White, James Ellis, Josh Holly, Kyri (formerly Kyriacos), the aforementioned Tommy Vril, and many others.
In the grand scheme of things, Overdrive is still a fledgling company. It’s been around for a couple of years and has one Championship that I can find: the Overdrive World Championship, which was recently won by Vril. The main event was scheduled to be Tommy Vril defending his Championship against his trainer, his mentor, the Workhorse of independent wrestling, Brendan White. Myself and Susie had seen Tommy wrestle Brendan for Attack! Pro Wrestling in the totally-unique Loco Klub in Bristol and it was brilliant. Typically repeat matches don’t tickle my pickle – especially if it’s repeat in quick succession – but the exception to that rule is when they’re great. So I grabbed us some tickets, some meet-and-greet passes, and we headed off to sunny Cwmbran.
While on the subject of exceptional local talent, it is great to see the world catching up with the hot-bed of wrestling talent that is the South-West of England and the South of Wales. Rayne Leverkusen has been signed by the WWE and now wrestles on NXT as “Lizzy Rain” – she’s smashing it! Young Welsh standouts Leon Cage and Tommy Vril recently had week-long tryouts with WWE…it’s incredibly gratifying and heart-warming to see these gifted performers getting opportunities to live their dreams. Long may it continue!
We’ve debated on this blog before the pros and cons of pre-show vs. post-show meet-and-greets and I still don’t really have a preference. If it’s pre-show, you can meet everyone at the start, then can relax for the rest of the show. Plus, it means you don’t have to hover around at the conclusion. You can head off straight away and the crew can start taking down the ring earlier. Better for them as it’s usually a late night. The benefit of post-show is that new attendees will have a chance to watch all the wrestlers and get to know them before meeting them. In Cwmbran it was pre-show.
The meet-and-greet at Overdrive is one of the best I’ve ever attended and for a few reasons :-
- The poster you get given to get signed is really cool.
- Almost all of the talent on the card were at the M&G.
- They all had different coloured pens. The poster really pops!
- The talent were having fun. Midnight Motion were drawing on Josh Holly, Brendan White was drawing on Tommy Vril…everyone was in a great mood.
- Because Overdrive is a slightly smaller show than the likes of Brit King, Attack!, Chaos, and New Wave, you get more time to talk. It was a relaxed-paced M&G. Because of that I got to have decent conversations with almost everyone.
In addition to the poster, I also bought a couple of signed prints from James Ellis and got pictures with virtually everyone on the card. It was great to finally meet Aluna properly after talking online and watching her perform for ages. Another interesting note from the meet-and-greet was that the groundswell of support for Tommy Vril continues to grow. There is just something about him. If you look at Tommy a year ago and now there is a marked difference in his appearance, his presentation, and his confidence. His first ever t-shirt seems to be plastered across quite a few fans at recent Attack! shows, No Mercy shows, Chaos shows, and Overdrive shows that I’ve attended. Wonderful to see!
Match 1: Hunter Maul vs. Ryan J. Williams
Classic “big man” vs. “little man” match. Hunter was on offence for the majority. Ryan had some chances to shine and almost beat the big man, only for the powerhouse to come good and win (which he should). It’s a well-told story in wrestling for a reason: it works. Both competitors did a decent job.
Y’all know that I’ve been a fan of Hunter Maul for a while. There are very few “monsters” left in wrestling and those that remain are typically ‘large’ in size but not necessarily in muscle. Hunter is a throwback to the 80s and early 90s era of wrestling. He’s big, he’s strong…he’s believable. He’d pass “the airport test” as Vince McMahon would say (translation: turn heads because of his size and presence). Unlike some of the behemoths from decades gone by, Hunter is a terrific wrestler inside the ring as well. He moves with an explosiveness that is rarely seen in a man his size. If he doesn’t go on to become a New Wave Champion, a King of Chaos Champion, and an Attack! Champion, I’d be surprised. He’s the type of aura that sells tickets. He’s the type of monster heel Champion that you dream about. Imagine the younger, athletic babyfaces stepping up to take on a long-term, dominant heel Champion in Hunter Maul. Give him a long title reign and the roof would come off when a Leon Cage or Tommy Vril, or Shane Hook finally beat him.
Ryan Williams is someone that we’ve seen wrestle before, but never in a one-on-one match. He’s clearly putting in a lot of work in the ring as he’s improving at a swift pace – this is backed up by Chicago Desailly, who told me recently that Ryan works his ass off in training. There were some believable near-falls in the match from Ryan. A particular standout was when Ryan was on Hunter’s shoulders and reversed it into a crucifix pin. It felt as though he could genuinely get the upset victory at that moment…but the raw power of Hunter proved too much. Hunter rag-dolled Ryan. He launched him high into the air on multiple occasions, clotheslined him into next week, and ultimately won with an F5 and Spear. Good stuff.
Match highlights! :-
Match 2:
Vivika vs. Violet Nyte vs. Tilly Rose Abigail
Before the match could begin, “The World’s Worst Accident” Abigail attacked Tilly Rose so that she was unable to compete. Abigail took her place in the match.
We’ve been fortunate to watch “First of Her Name”, Vivika, wrestle live on many occasions. She always brings it. Actually, I believe she’s rather underrated within the pantheon of independent British wrestling. Great ring presence, phenomenal worker, looks believable against the men…put more respect on Vivika’s name, people!
It was our first time seeing Abigail in a non-Rumble match and our first time seeing Violet Nyte in general. Both impressed. Nyte in particular looked so polished as a performer. Her big boot was a thing of beauty.
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Abigail was the crafty heel, Vivika was the powerhouse that was suplexing everything in sight, and Nyte was the fighting heel – also doing a very good job of pissing off the kids in the audience. It was a back-and-forth, fast-paced match, which you’d expect from a triple threat. Everyone had moments to shine.
Just when it looked like Vivika had the match won with a hellacious clothesline to Nyte, Abigail threw Vivika out of the ring and stole the victory from under her. Another well-told story. The babyface left looking strong in defeat and the heel was victorious through non-chivalrous means, but perfectly legal within the confines of the match. Expect great things from all three in the future. Two heel winners in the first two matches. Quite rare. The audience with very little to cheer thus far…but don’t worry, it’s by design for the pay-off later.
Match highlights! :-
Match 3: No. 1 Contender to the Overdrive World Championship – Mark Andrews vs. Josh Holly vs. James Ellis vs. Kyri
On paper this had the makings of a “match of the night” contender. You have four talented performers that we’ve seen wrestle live again and again. I think I first saw Mark Andrews wrestle…gosh, 13 years ago! I’ll be ready for my walking stick any day now. The amount of skill in one ring at the same time is quite staggering. Due to this we had no idea who was going to win. You could make an argument for all four. That’s wrestling. Unpredictability.
Former WWE NXT UK Tag Team Champion, Mark Andrews, was the fan favourite. Josh Holly was by far the most hated heel. James Ellis & Kyri – friends within the match – were getting their fair share of cheers as well. It was weird to hear Ellis getting some cheers. Kyri too. I’ve only ever seen both work as heels before.
Given his size, athletic build, and connection to a top WWE star (Seth Rollins was one of Kyri’s trainers), you’d expect Kyri to end up in WWE at some point or another. He’s talented, charismatic, and ticks the right boxes. He’s more than worthy of the opportunity.
As anticipated the match was superb. Really exciting. A perk of a multiple man match is that the action doesn’t need to rest that much. Wrestlers can catch their breath while others are engaged in combat. The audience does need some opportunity to breathe. You can’t sustain excitement and energy throughout a whole night. It comes in peaks and troughs. These guys gave the match little pockets of time to do just that. That’s a sign of experience and confidence from all. One of the biggest “mistakes” I often see rookies make is being afraid of parts of the match when the crowd gets quieter. It’s nothing to fear. It’s expected. The match has to build.
Some memorable moments of the match included Mark Andrews standing moonsault and tornado DDT (he’s so athletic!), Kyri and Ellis’ 3D to Andrews, and Josh Holly grabbing Ellis’ fingers after an attempted eye-poke, directing the fingers into Kyri’s eyes, then rolling Ellis up for a near-fall. Ultimately, Josh Holly put Mark Andrews in a Figure Four Leg Lock. Ellis and Kyri entered the ring and pinned Andrews and Holly at the same time! We have TWO number one contenders! Does this count as the first babyface win of the night? I think so…
Match highlights! :-
Match 4: Aluna vs. Carla Nemes
The last time we saw Carla wrestle was under the guise of being a referee for British Kingdom Pro Wrestling. This was our first opportunity to see her wrestle under her more traditional gimmick of “The Spanish Dragon”, complete with sassy attitude, kickass make-up, and multi-coloured hair. It’s a very cool look.
Aluna is one of the biggest success stories of the last year in British independent wrestling. The current “Queen of Chaos” Champion is showing up absolutely everywhere and getting rave reviews wherever she plies her trade. New Wave, Attack!, Chaos, South West Wrestling, Bridge Pro, Overdrive, RevPro…she’s grafting hard. On top of that she’s continually getting herself into better and better shape. Aluna and Jay Joshua are one of the most talented wrestling couples in Europe, make no mistake about it.
We were excited for this match. Getting to watch Aluna perform again. Getting to see Nemes in her natural habitat. What’s not to love?
The match started at a frenetic pace, with Aluna delivering a hurricanrana to Nemes. But the power of Nemes was too much and she battered Aluna with suplexes, slams, and strikes. The dreaded Triple S! That was the story of the match for the first section: strength vs. speed and technique. That is until Aluna went full street fighter and headbutted Nemes. I love seeing that raw aggression.
A powerful German suplex from Nemes looked like it might get the job done, but Aluna popped back up and front dropkicked the back of Nemes’ head to get the victory. An impressive showing from both and the first proper babyface win of the night to make the fans in attendance happy. Solid work.
Match highlights! :-
Match 5: Midnight Motion (Chicago Desailly & MJ Bale) vs. James Taylor & Degnan
At the meet-and-greet, Chicago and MJ Bale made reference to the fact they’ve never won a match at Overdrive as a tag team. Would we be the good luck charm they needed?
…No…
…They lost…
Whether as solo performers or a tag team, Chicago Desailly and MJ Bale are two of the most promising young talents in the country. Very easy to like, very easy to root for, charismatic, and high energy. I hope they keep teaming together because if there’s one thing the U.K. is missing - in my humble opinion - it’s a thriving tag team division. Don’t get me wrong, we have some bloody fantastic teams about – Young Guns, Act Two, Greedy Souls, Subculture, Sunshine Machine, The Freshnas, and the Legion of Bloom just to name a handful off the top of my head…but if you compare the amount of thriving tag teams in Britain to the amount of thriving solo stars, there is a gulf. A young, talented, likeable team that are ever-evolving and improving would be an extra breath of fresh air in the division.
James Taylor is a bastard. He threw my poster on the floor after signing it and told me to write about it…so here it is…he’s a bastard. Degnan was the real talent in the team. After all it was he who got the pinfall victory for the team. Poor Degnan, having to carry the dead-weight that is James Taylor. “Big Jimmer” my arse.
It was, ultimately, another well-told story. Like all matches on the card. “Formulaic” doesn’t mean bad. It means good. There’s a reason the formula is used. It’s tried and tested. Here the heels worked over MJ Bale for the majority of the match before the hot-tag to Chicago was made. Chicago cleaned house for a while until the heels cheated to win (Degnan low-blowed Chicago and rolled him up for the three-count). Good stuff.
Match highlights! :-
Match 6: Overdrive World Championship – Tommy Vril (C) vs. Brendan White
Student vs. Teacher. Man vs. Monster. Ballet vs. Brute Strength.
This is Tommy’s first time hold the major Championship in a promotion to my knowledge. The Championship that makes you the star. The one responsible for hyping up the event and bringing in the crowd. Before the event, Tommy cut a promo on social media. It was fabulous. Check it out here…
The story was, at its core, a simple one. Could Vril beat the larger, stronger man who taught him everything he knows? Could the student become the master? Has the era of ballet truly begun?
Before diving into the match, a massive congratulations to both Leon Cage and Tommy Vril for their recent WWE tryouts. Two of the most talented, likeable, hardworking guys in Britain. Just two years into his wrestling career, Vril is getting incredible opportunities and making connections with the right influential people. Irrespective of what comes out of this tryout, it’s a huge milestone and massive step forwards for them both. Well earned and well deserved.
But back to the match at hand…
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again for the people in the back: Brendan White is grossly underrated. He’s strong, he’s mean, he’s a great heel – a kid in the crowd ran up to him during his entrance. Brendan roared at him and the kid ran back to his mum and cried – and he’s a very talented wrestler (and trainer). One of the things that separates Brendan from some of the other worldwide talent is that his psychology is spot-on. Wrestling is awesome. We all love it…but the moves mean nothing if they aren’t sold.
During this match, Brendan dominated early. Until Vril started chopping at the knee of Brendan. Vril focused a lot of offence on the knee. Later in the match, Brendan sold the knee constantly. When he had to run, he sold it. When he dropped Vril’s head into his knee, he sold it. When the referee was knocked down and Brendan grabbed the Championship to hit Vril with, he sold it - to the point where his knee “gave out” and he couldn’t hit Vril. It was a master-class of wrestling psychology. With people like Brendan, Wild Boar, Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster, Dave Sharp and others at the helm, the future of British wrestling feels strong. Fantastic fundamentals mixed with the part that is so often missed in the 21st century: psychology.
Tommy Vril is, without doubt, one of my very favourites in all of wrestling over the last 2 years. Especially the last year. He’s really come into his own. From an opening match act with a cool entrance to a genuine star that is main eventing shows and getting WWE tryouts. He has something intangible that makes you root for him. A natural charisma and likeability that is rare. More and more Vril t-shirts are popping up in crowds all over Britain.
Is it his entrance? Partially. It’s bloody cool. I have a video of the whole thing on my YouTube…
Is it his overall look? The cool hair, the ballet shoes, the unique outfit? Partially.
Is it the fact he can wrestle? Cut promos? Puts effort and energy into everything he does? Is it his ability to sell? The honest answer is that it’s a combination of all. I love that Tommy utilises social media to hype matches and his character. He’s the heir apparent to Charles Crowley in that way. His ability to sell is also brilliant. When Brendan hit a strong piece of offence like a powerbomb or slam, Vril would fold up like an accordion. His natural ballet flexibility is a benefit for his selling.
The combination of these two premier athletes led to magic in Cwmbran, much like it did in the Loco Klub. Some of the highlights included Brendan’s Angle Slam and front dropkick to Vril into the turnbuckle, Brendan overhead pressing Vril onto the apron…I also enjoyed Brendan mocking Vril’s ballet dance moves. Good heel work. Vril’s Tarantula and springboard clothesline are always poetry-in-motion. Brendan suplexed Vril off the ropes from the apron inside the ring. Ouch. Vril hit a Swanton Bomb on Brendan. Brendan kicked out. Brendan Blackhole Slammed Vril. It looked as though the match was over. When Brendan pinned Vril, Vril reversed it into a pin of his own and got the upset victory! Great match! A worthy main event!
Match highlights! :-
Would we go back to another Overdrive show? A resounding “yes!” It was one of our favourite shows of the year so far. It’s an intimate venue, a rowdy crowd, and a talented group of workers. The only downside to the venue is that it’ll be a sweatbox during the summer…the things we do for stuff we’re passionate about, eh?!
I’ll be back for Brit King in Swindon, Cardiff, and Gloucester, then off to Attack!, No Mercy, and Evolution Wrestling in June. It’s becoming a very busy calendar!
Until then, stay safe, stay strong, and keep fighting.
- Your Friendly Neighbourhood Shangel
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