Wrestlers on the card :-
Before starting with the review, a
quick note - I've recently started a YouTube channel for independent wrestling
content in the U.K. It has near-daily 15-second videos I've dubbed
"Smackdown Showcase", it has match highlights (some of which are
embedded in this review), and more. The purpose of the channel is to shine a
spotlight on the incredible talent we have in the UK. Memorable moments,
memorable matches, hard-hitting action...if you'd be so kind, please could you
check out the YouTube channel. Like, comment, share, and subscribe!
With that being said, let's dive in...
It was our first time back at the incredible Loco Klub in Bristol since February, which, frankly, feels like an eternity ago. A lot of life has happened since then. My Father-In-Law (my Father in my eyes) passed away in January, we had his funeral in March, I had two friends pass away in May and July, then my Grandfather-In-Law passed away in September. In June the company I worked for put everyone at risk of redundancy. In August that risk became reality and everyone was made redundant with a final date of October 30th – 4 days from now as I write this. Thankfully, I’ve sorted my next job out already, but this year can suck a rotten teat.
I digress…
It was special to return to the Loco Klub for two additional reasons:
It was the 20-year anniversary of Mark Andrews’ professional wrestling debut.
“The Stallion” Chris Bronson was in the main event. His first Attack! main event.
Mark Andrews is a pioneer of Welsh and British wrestling. He’s done it all. He’s wrestled for WWE, TNA, Progress, RevPro, and more. He’s been Progress World Champion, RevPro Tag Team Champion with Flash Morgan Webster, TNA Tag Team Champion (also with Flash), and WWE NXT UK Tag Team Champion (you guessed it, with Flash!). That’s one helluva résumé. As impressive as Mark’s work in the ring has been, I feel his legacy is ultimately going to be outside of it as the owner of Attack! Pro Wrestling and as a trainer at New Wave’s Cardiff academy. We’ll get to it later in the review, but the 8-man tag that Mark participated in at “Goosebumps 11” contained 7 people that Mark had a had in training or exclusively trained, plus himself. The spider’s web of connection between Mark Andrews and professional wrestlers throughout Britain and the world is remarkable. With that being said, congratulations to Mark on 20 phenomenal years. It’s a tremendous achievement. Especially for someone who’s still in their mid-30s! Even though there’s 20 years of wear and tear on the knees, back, and neck, Mark still moves incredibly swiftly and gracefully in the ring…but more on that later. Here’s to another 20…or 10…I’m not sure Mark’s in-ring style is designed for a man in their mid-50s.
I’d also be remiss not to mention that Tommy Vril was greatly missed at the Loco Klub. Tommy has been out with a knee injury for the 2nd half of 2026 and his usual presence in Bristol was missed. Hopefully the knee is rehabbing nicely and Tommy will be back soon to remind us all that the cliché is wrong after all…wrestling is ballet. Hope you’re back soon, Prima!
Onto “Goosebumps 11”. “Goosebumps” was a two-night event for Attack! Pro Wrestling, with the first taking place at the hallowed grounds of Cathays in Cardiff on Saturday, followed by the Loco Klub on Sunday. “Goosebumps” is by design a little weird and wonderful (pun intended). It’s Halloween themed. Several of the wrestlers dress up in Cosplay for their matches. It’s great fun. Especially the penultimate contest between Chuck Mambo and Kyri.
Myself and Susie (Wifey extraordinaire) were in Birmingham on Saturday night to see Brandon Flowers (solo artist and lead-singer of “The Killers”) in concert. We decided to stay over. So Sunday morning saw us driving from Birmingham straight to Bristol for “Goosebumps”. The weather in Bristol was brutal. The wind was howling and bitterly cold. Nevertheless, we queued outside for an hour to get in. The doors opened and it was time to start the show in the cavernous halls underneath Bristol Temple Meads train station.
Pre-Show Match: Tilly Rose vs. Lana Rae
Lana Rae’s career certainly seems to be going from strength-to-strength of late. A successful manager of The Blockbusters, the CoMISSioner for No Mercy Wrestling, at the infancy of what feels like a great feud with Violet Nyte there, plus wrestling for Attack! It’s great to see.
I was going to say that Tilly Rose is still in the infancy of her career, but she’s actually been around a few years now. It’s crazy how fast time is moving.
The match itself was good. Fairly short, sweet, and got the crowd amped for what’s to come for the remainder of the show - which is exactly what an opener is supposed to do. Both ladies showcased their skills well. Lana’s long-legged wheel kick to Rose while she was in the corner was great, but it wasn’t enough to put Rose away. Rose came back with an Unprettier for the 3-count.
Match highlights! :-
Match 1: Chicago Desailly vs. Andy Roberts
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I’ve said it before, but we were ringside for Chicago’s seventh ever match against JD Knight at Brit King Pro a couple of years ago. In the 2 years that have transpired since then, Chicago has had 200 more matches and has clocked up 20,000 miles a year on his car. He’s absolutely hustling. Fair play to the man. He’s truly gone all in. He’s putting everything into his career…and it shows. I look at the Chicago of September 2024. He was unmoulded clay. There was potential, but it was almost exclusively unrealised because Chicago was so green. I look at the Chicago of October 2025. The entrance was getting flashier. There was a light-up jacket. The confidence was growing. The presentation was starting to come together. Then I look at the Chicago of October 2026. The presentation has very much come together at this point. He’s cool, he’s likeable. He gets great crowd responses. His in-ring work is decent. He’s collected an amalgamate of flashy, impactful moves, and he’s getting to work with some long-standing veterans such as Andy Roberts, which is only going to continue to fuel his rise. I believe I’m looking at an Attack! main eventer and Title challenger within the next 2 years.
Andy Roberts is in stark opposition to this. He’s a 20-year Scottish veteran who has seemingly done it all on the British indies. Like Andrews earlier, Roberts’ longevity hasn’t slowed him down. He still looked very impressive in this match as he wore down the younger competitor.
Some of the highlights of the match included Chicago’s flying shoulder-tackle, followed by Chicago baseball sliding to the outside onto Roberts, only for Roberts to wrap Chicago up in the ring apron and pummel him. We also had Roberts’ clothesline turning Chicago inside out and his double-armed sit-out powerbomb. Finally, Chicago hit a beautiful pop-up sit-out powerbomb to Roberts to get a notable win over the veteran. Very competitive match.
Match 2: Luke Frehill vs. Ryan J. Williams vs. Paulo Cruz
This was the only unannounced match on the card.
The order of proceedings picked up the pace remarkably with the triple threat – it’s one of the benefits of having one in the first place. It allows for a much faster match, as someone can be down selling while the other two wrestlers continue to work. They can alternate in and out without having to compromise on selling.
It was our first time seeing Paulo Cruz perform live – one of two wrestlers on this card we can say that about (the other being Orsi). Cruz is a Portuguese wrestler who definitely brought the strikes with him. His kicks, punches, and general offence looked wicked. Crisp, believable, impactful…exactly the type of style that I personally enjoy most. He was very impressive. Someone we’d love to see back again and again.
Ryan J. Williams continues to shine. I wrote this about Ryan in a recent review for No Mercy Wrestling…
“Ryan
is one of those guys that we’ve seen around for a while. When he’s not
wrestling he’s always mucking in and paying his dues by crewing or running
merch. His progress over the last year has been fantastic – especially over the
last few months. The Williams we saw at Overdrive back in May was decent in the
ring, but not a loud, overt character outside of the moves. This Williams was
leaps better. He had swagger, he had energy, he had charisma, a cool ring
jacket, a smug demeanour. One of my very favourite things about indie wrestling
is that you get to see the talent at the start of their careers and watch them
flourish – sometimes ending up in WWE (Rayne Leverkusen, Pete Dunne), NJPW
(Zack Sabre Jr.), or other worldwide promotions.”
Finally, there was the Irishman, Luke Frehill. Luke was over with the crowd. His war-cry and revving of his imaginary chainsaw arm soon reverberated around the stone walls of the Loco Klub as the audience parroted them back. Frehill’s popularity was a little odd, but amazing to see. The reason I say “a little odd” is because we’ve seen Frehill wrestle at the Loco Klub before. He was popular, but his popularity seems to have doubled since his last appearance there. I’m all for it as he’s a genuinely brilliant athlete and impressive talent. His body movements, selling, body shape, and frizzy yellow hair remind me of a 2009 era Dolph Ziggler, which is high praise. According to Cagematch he’s 24 years old and has been wrestling a few years, which I also find commendable as his ring presence and smoothness seem to outstrip his tenure inside the squared-circle. Frehill is certainly one to watch for the future.
The match was fast and ferocious while still remembering to sell the big moves. All three competitors had a good showing. They all had their moments to shine. They all had opportunities to win. It looked as though Cruz had the match won after a superkick to Frehill, only for Williams to dump Cruz to the outside and pin Frehill himself…but Frehill kicked out at 2. Cruz returned with a top turnbuckle double front dropkick. A hellacious German suplex to Williams followed, only for Frehill to take Cruz out with a clothesline from the turnbuckle. One Chainsaw clothesline (that’s what I’m calling it!) to Williams later and Frehill was declared the winner. Really good match. Best of the night so far.
Match highlights! :-
Match 3: 8-Man Tag Team Match – Team Andrews (Mark Andrews, Johnny Tab, Christon Creed & Hazzardous) vs. Team Gatlin (Matt Gatlin, Morgan Roberts, James Ellis & Aaron McRae)
We have so much to dissect here. You had three veterans (Mark Andrews, Matt Gatlin and James Ellis), plus five relative rookies. We’ve been watching all five rookies since the births of their careers in essence, so to watch their progress and opportunities grow has been inspiring.
The Tab has improved so much that he got a first name (Johnny). Of all the talented rookies in the match, he’s the one that caught my eye the most. He’s very smooth in the ring. He’s got great fluidity. Plus, he’s strong and has some unique movements. With 20 years of indie attendance under my belt, plus 33 years of being a wrestling fan, there’s little I see that I haven’t seen before. When something a little bit new or a bit different comes along, it makes an impact. It’s why Tommy Vril was such a breath of fresh air. Tab’s double back suplex was particularly impressive.
Christon Creed is 93% muscle at this point. He looks phenomenal. Aesthetically you could argue he was the most “in shape” in the ring (although a couple of others are certainly in that argument as well). We first saw Creed wrestle in Brit King a year ago and he’s certainly grown as a performer since then. He’s confident now…or appears it. If he continues to progress at this pace, his future in the business will be as bright as he wants it to be. He’s big, strong, and has a great look. He’s solid in the ring too. I’m not sure what he’s like as a promo. If he keeps incrementally improving the presentation and character work, he’s going to go far. There’s so much potential there.
While on the subject of promos…this is basically an across-the-board request…give the talent more time to talk. Almost every indie company follows the same pattern – wrestling heavy, character work light. When a wrestler is allowed to talk, it’s the same 30-second speech from a heel (insult the crowd, “shut up”, “bask in my excellence”, etc.). Give the talent some free reign to build characters and get comfortable talking in front of an audience. I promise you, we in the crowd are all for it. The more we get to know the characters, the more we’ll buy tickets and merchandise. It feels like the very definition of an easy win. One example of a company doing this well is No Mercy Wrestling. They let people talk more. They create video packages for feuds; they generate hype videos for social media. That’s the secret sauce that will lead to long-term prosperity in my opinion.
Of the five rookies, Aaron McRae has the most defined character. The handsome, smarmy, self-absorbed douche-nozzle. However, it’s working. He’s an Attack! Tag Team Champion with James Ellis, he’s consistently featured across several promotions, and his stock is always rising. I reflect on the pre-show match that McRae and Tab had a year ago in the same venue. Back then they were both very new. “Greener than goose shit” is the expression. But look at them both now! It’s remarkable how much improvement they’ve both made within a year.
The remaining rookies, Hazzardous and Morgan Roberts, were also very good. I don't know these two as well as McRae, Creed, and Tab, having only seen them wrestle twice each, but I look forward to seeing more of them both in the future.
If the triple threat that preceded it was “fast and ferocious”, I’m not sure what to call this…carnage? I feel like I needed four sets of eyes at various points! It was absolute anarchy (in a good way). One of the things that was really apparent before the match and after the match is how much all seven men respect and love Mark Andrews. You could see the pride in the eyes of Hazzardous, Creed, and Tab for getting to tag with him. That’s why I said what I said earlier: Mark’s ultimate legacy will be teaching, training, and showcasing the next generation – or generations – of talent. I barely know Mark at all, but I feel as though that’s the part of his career that will ultimately give him the most fulfilment. Helping the stars of tomorrow get started today.
The match started as a traditional 4-on-4 tag team match before inevitably descending into chaos. A full-on brawl erupted. Some of the highlights included Tab’s turnbuckle backflip into a clothesline, followed by his double back suplex to McRae and Roberts. We had Gatlin’s Brainbuster onto his knee. We had Andrews’ backflip dropkick to McRae and Ellis. Creed & Tab launched Ellis into the air and onto Andrews’ shoulders for a sit-out powerbomb near-fall. That was great. Another epic spot was what I’m calling the Super-Cutter. Tab was on Gatlin’s shoulders. Gatlin threw him off his shoulders forwards into a cutter from Ellis. The match was over…but Creed made the save! Andrews hit a Frankensteiner off the top turnbuckle to Gatlin, followed by a top turnbuckle Stundog Millionaire for the win. SO much fun.
It was interval time. I took the opportunity to meet Luke Frehill. Have a chat, grab a selfie, grab a signed 8x10. I also got a couple of 8x10s signed by James Ellis too.
Match 4: 24/7 Championship – Josh Holly (C) vs. Orsi
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Holly entered the ring dressed as a doctor. Orsi entered the ring in a cow onesie. This is when Holly informed us that he’s not just any old doctor. No, no. He’s a vet and he’s going to put down the cow! The dastardly heel bitch! It actually led to a funny crowd interaction. There were two guys at the back of the audience who were chanting and yelling the entire show. Fair play to them; they had stamina.
Josh Holly: “I’m not just any
doctor...”
Audience member: “You’re also a nerd!”
Hilarious.
We already know “The Instant Classic” Josh Holly is a premier wrestler. I love the flag, I love the perm, I love the presentation. Holly is also great in the ring and seemingly can have a quality match with any opponent. In this case, there was nothing to worry about anyway as Orsi is fucking quality! Our first time seeing Orsi perform live was very, very impressive. She looked like a star. Obviously, we didn’t see her with the full presentation as she was wearing a cow onesie, but in the ring she was brilliant.
The match started with some loud, stiff chops from Orsi to the chest of Holly. Holly fought back with a back breaker across his shoulder. That was cool. Holly hit a snake eyes and big boot to Orsi. I loved the call-back later in the match where Holly tried it again, but Orsi countered with a big boot of her own. One of the best near-falls of the match came when Orsi hit a German suplex on Holly and followed it up with a great-looking spear. Holly kicked out.
Holly wrapped Orsi up in a sleeper hold. Orsi was fading. She just about mustered enough strength to fight it off…only to get a stiff forearm to the back of the head that sent her to the mat. Orsi appeared unconscious. As Holly lifted her up for the final blow, Orsi rolled Holly up with an inside cradle. We have a new 24/7 Champion!
Orsi had, oh, 75 seconds to celebrate before James Ellis and Aaron McRae (the Tag Team Champions collectively known as the “Pinnacle of Brilliance”) hit the ring, hit Orsi with their finisher (a powerbomb-cutter combination), and allowed Holly to pin Orsi, therefore reclaiming the 24/7 Championship! Boo!
Match highlights! :-
Match 5: Chuck Mambo (or “Count Chuckula” in this match) vs. Kyri
In my opinion, while the whole show was great, they saved the best for last. The final two matches were my personal favourites.
Simply put: two of the best in Britain right now.
Chuck Mambo is one of the absolute leader-of-the-pack babyfaces. He’s so likeable. In the ring, outside the ring. He gives off the energy of being an absolutely great human being. When you couple that with some spectacular in-ring work and some legitimate athleticism, you’re onto a winner. I wonder if Mambo has some gymnastics or circus background because his balance and body control is quite unique. It feels as though virtually every wrestler in 2026 is athletic and can do a moonsault, but Mambo’s movements do look different to everyone else’s. He makes it look effortless (I’ve no doubt it isn’t). There’s something special about him. That “it” factor. When Mambo is on the card, myself and my Wife are happy. We know it’s going to be a great match and we’re going to have some fun along the way. As I mentioned at the start of the review, life in 2026 has been really tough. Some Mambo escapism is always welcome.
How Kyri isn’t wrestling for WWE is a travesty. He’s young, in great shape, and has aura. He’s about 6’3” and was literally trained by Seth Rollins. Most importantly of all, he’s a bloody brilliant in-ring wrestler. He always has great matches. Plus, he’s creative. He utilises social media well and has an entrepreneurial flair. When he snapped his leg earlier in the year, he turned it into a merchandise opportunity! Surely, surely, it’s just a matter of time before Kyri flies over to NXT. His moustache and sleeveless bomber jacket deserve to be at the Performance Centre.
The match itself was a lot of fun. Vampiric Mambo entered first, in full Dracula make-up and (bad) Transylvanian accent. I was already loving it. Kyri was out next…with some clothes covering up his neck. So funny. The crowd finally convinced Kyri to take it off…only for Kyri to have another layer underneath. The match saw an attempted vampire murder with a Greggs steak bake, but to no avail.
The match started with a tilt-a-whirl hurricanrana from Mambo to Kyri. Mambo’s head got caught up in his cape and it took him a few seconds to get loose afterwards. Mambo followed this up with a dive from the 2nd rope to the outside onto Kyri. Mambo got Kyri back in the ring, grabbed his arm, and ran up to the 2nd rope so that he was straddling it. He bounced up and down from the 2nd rope to the top rope, to the 2nd rope, and then dived off into an arm drag. I’ve seen it before and it still really impresses. The balance is remarkable. It’s on the highlights video below.
Kyri fought back and managed to take over the match for a while. He hit a backbreaker, he gave Mambo some deep, impactful back shots (don’t ask…), and a strong big boot. But Mambo wouldn’t stay down. Mambo fought back. Mambo hit a Blockbuster from the top turnbuckle (while checking the ceiling height of the Loco Klub as the top of his head was close to the bricks). Mambo hit a springboard double-knee takedown to Kyri. 1…2…NO!
Kyri was getting desperate. He went for the ‘Hail Mary’ shot: garlic. Kyri grabbed a clove of garlic from his underwear (I thought he was just happy to see me) and held it up to Mambo’s face. Mambo managed to bat (pun intended) it away, bit Kyri, and delivered an inverted DDT (should have been an Impaler!) for the win. Awesome.
Match highlights! :-
Match 6: Attack! Pro Wrestling Championship – Drew Parker (C) vs. “The Stallion” Chris Bronson
Bronson main eventing for Attack! in the Loco Klub. Fuck yes! This was a 9-year journey. From first match to first main event for Attack! Pro Wrestling was circa 9 years. Bronson has earned the right. I flit back-and-forth on who I believe the single greatest in-ring worker on the British indies is right now. Nico Angelo? Jay Joshua? There are ten or fifteen people in the conversation for me and my personal tastes…but I’ve ultimately settled on Bronson. “The Stallion” is numero uno. I’ve been writing about Stal for years now, but here’s something I wrote recently that I feel sums it up…
“Every movement looks impeccable. His bumping and selling are amazing. Like a blend of some of the finest from the 80s/90s, such as Curt Hennig. His offence looks believable. He’s comfortable on the microphone…and he’s always looking to improve or tweak something existing. Two good examples are his leg flails while performing an elbow drop from the top turnbuckle or – as is the case in this match – his top rope backflip DDT ala Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero from Halloween Havoc 1997. I’m not sure if he’s ever done this move before. I haven’t seen him do it. Fair play! He’s always surprising us.”
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Standing across from Bronson was the recently turned heel Drew Parker. The former fan favourite has switched gear and turned his back on the people. Bastard.
Drew has been on a tear this year since returning to Attack! after a lengthy hiatus from the company. After being with Attack! from close to the start, Parker finally managed to win the “big one” and become the Attack! Champion after defeating Dani Luna back in June (who’s now an AEW wrestler!). Since then he’s had stellar matches with a plethora of wrestlers including 1 Called Manders, Danny Black, Nino Bryant, Jay Joshua, and Kid Lykos before arriving in the Loco Klub to face “The Stallion”.
I had a lot of hype for this match. Arguably my favourite venue, my favourite in-ring worker, and a great Champion in Drew Parker. It was going to be difficult for this match to fail. Thankfully, they smashed it out the park(er)!
1…2…3, DING-DING-DING. It was time to start. Attack! doesn’t have a ring bell, so the crowd start each match with a “ding-ding-ding”.
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The match opened with the usual tussle before a huge hurricanrana from Bronson. Another thing about Stal I’ve noticed is that he switches up his offence subtly depending on if he’s wrestling heel or babyface. I’m not sure if that’s a conscious choice or not, but I’ve certainly noticed it. It’s another great touch.
Bronson delivered a brutal spear to Parker. He hit the ropes hard and repeatedly before making contact. Very Bron Breakker-esque. The speed was impressive. Bronson followed it up with a double powerbomb for a close 2-count. The crowd enjoy that one. Bronson moonsaulted off the turnbuckle, only to receive two boots to the face for his trouble. Parker was on the comeback…but not for long. Bronson hit a top rope elbow drop reminiscent of Randy Savage to Parker and then a huge clothesline for yet another close 2-count. Bronson was given a lot of offence and time to shine in this match.
Bronson launched Parker into the ropes, but Parker sprang around them ala a 619 and returned with a cutter to Bronson. He followed it up with a massive Swanton Bomb! 1…2…NO! Did Parker just miss his chance to retain? Bronson with another great combo: a hellacious spinebuster and moonsault. 1…2…NO! Neither man will stay down!
Bronson hoisted Parker up for a Tombstone Piledriver, but Parker turned it into a victory roll and snuck a win against the challenger. Parker retains the Championship! It was a great example of a well-told story. The babyface challenger looked strong and dominant. The heel champion retained through a moment of brilliance rather than by overpowering or out-wrestling the babyface. Very good stuff from both men. A worthy main event.
Match highlights! :-
As far as Attack! goes, they have 3 more shows to close out the year…
“Fresh Blood” in London on Saturday the 7th of November and “Under The Mistletour” on Saturday the 19th of December (Cathays, Cardiff) and Sunday the 20th of December (Swansea). We’ll be at Cathays.
Another great show in the Loco Klub by Attack! Pro Wrestling. They’ve become a staple event for us every quarter at this point.
Until next time, stay safe, stay strong, and keep kicking ass. I’ve been your friendly, neighbourhood Shangel. That’s “Shane-gel”, not “Shan-gle”.
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