Hello there, My names Jamie Hickman and new reviewer for PWPonderings. My main area i am going to be reviewing is British Indy wrestling DVD’s. For me at the moment indy wrestling in the UK is thriving throughout the country, boasting some really top class wrestlers and some really great shows are happening up and down the country. My main aim through my reviews and writing for PWPonderings is to try to attract new people to the UK Indy scene and hopefully try raise its profile a bit and get more followers for some of the promotions who’s shows i shall be reviewing.
I’d like to thank the staff at PWPonderings for giving me the opportunity and I hope to repay the faith they have shown in me with providing you the readers with some quality reviews to read.
I’ve only just started reviewing so i am still carving out my niche, so feedback from you the readers will be greatly appreciated. For my first article ill be providing the first two reviews I ever wrote, which were on Preston City Wrestling’s debut and follow-up shows.
Preston City Wrestling are a fairly new promotion in the UK, based in the North West of England they held their debut show last year on the 26th of August.
Preston City Wrestling (PCW) – A New Beginning (debut show)
Match 1 PCW Quater finals – Joey Hayes vs CJ Banks – ***1/4
A great way to open the promotion really hot opener to work the crowd up
Match 2 PCW Quater finals – Noam Dar vs Sam Bailey – **3/4
a decent little match up, i was really impressed with Noam Dar
Match 3 Shaun ‘The Hammer’Davis vs Luke Future and Aiden Powell – N/A
a total squash match which was a lot of fun
Match 4 El Ligero vs Prince Ameen – ***
Really good match with both men working to their strengths and a nice spot with the crowd, El Ligero is great and you can see why on the UKFF boards he was voted the best wrestler in the UK for 2011
Match 5 T Bone vs Dave Mastiff – **3/4
A good match up that was really heating up another 5 mins and this would have been a really good big man match up, T Bone was really impressive
Match 6 Dave Rayne vs Mad Man Manson – N/A
What can i say about this match well it was a great fun comedy match that had me laughing out loud a few time,there was however very little wrestling,but the crowd loved it
Match 7 Team Shag ( Colt Cabana & Greg Burridge) vs Martin Kirby and Nathan Cruz ***
Another really good match and great comedy which included a dance off between the two teams and the actual wrestling between the two teams was really good
Overall for a debut show this was really good, not a bad match all night and two good comedy matches which the crowd loved. The only negative was these two matches were both together and some may find this abit too much. As i am new to the British scene this was a first time i had seen alot of these wrestlers and i was impressed with all of them especially T Bone who has star written all over him. Head over to the Preston City Wrestling facebook page to get this show for the bargain price of only £5
Preston City Wrestling (PCW) – Road to Glory, September 23rd 2011
Preston City Wrestling held their second show just a month on from their first show A New Beginning, which i thought was a solid debut show and rather enjoyable, lets see how PCW faired with their second outing including the semi finals and finals in their quest to crown the first ever PCW Champion .
Match 1 PCW Championship Semi Final – Noam Doar vs Joey Hayes [***]
Joey Hayes opens the show yet again in another enjoyable solid opener, Noam Doars working of the leg was a joy to watch in a really competitive semi final match up, this match also allowed the PCW vs PBW storyline to continue with Lionheart assisting Noam Dar picking up the win over Joey Hayes.
Match 2 -Shaun ‘The Hammer’ Davis vs Luke Future, Aiden Powel and Corry E [No Rating]
Like from the first show, this was another enjoyable squash, Preston’s own The Hammer is massively over with the crowd and with time is going to be one of the main players with PCW, the guys is massive.
Match 3 – The Blackpool Blondes vs Disco Madness (Sam Bailey and Mad Man Manson) [**1/4]
A fun comedy match between these teams, Mad Man Manson is hilarious the guy is a class act and the wrestling in this match between the two teams was decent.
Match 4 – PCW Championship Semi Final – T Bone vs Kris Travis [***1/2]
Great match between T Bone and Travis, the match started with some brawling in the crowd and on route to them both making their way back into the ring where they both went at it at full tilt, with some great wrestling and some stiff action. T Bone came out of this match looking like a superstar. Shame this match couldn’t have gone on a bit long as both men would have torn the building down, but with the finals of this tourney happening later on in the night its understandable that the match time had to be kept down. I’d love to see these two have a bit longer and go at it again in the near future.
Match 5 – Lionheart vs Jack Gallagher [***]
PBW’s Lionheart contested with Jack Gallagher (who had a corker of a match with ROH Champ Davey Richards in July ’11 in FSW,i had that match at around about ****1/4/****1/2 level) in a fairly good match up. After the match the angle between PCW vs PBW was further enhanced with Lionheart calling out Kris Travis and both agreeing to a Last Man Standing Match at the next show of PCW vs PBW.
Match 6 – Dave Rayne’s Open Challenge [*]
this match was all storyline advancment, Rayne ended up accepting a challenge from a guy out of the crowd called Dave who turned out to be a PBW roster member and what ensured was a 3-1 beat down on Dave Rayne by the PBW guy, Noam Dar and Lionheart and them declaring war on PCW. leading on to ……
Match 7 – Noam Dar vs T Bone [***1/2}
Another really good match , Lionheart and ‘Dave’ were at ringside doing their all to distract T Bone and assist Noam Dar, until the PCW locker room lead by Kris Travis pilled out to run them off. With it down to Noam Dar by himself both him and T Bone went at it at a high pace and hardly no rest spots which is surprising considering they had already wrestled in the night. Again Noam Dar’s leg work was top-notch and T Bone’s selling of it was top-notch, accumulating in his leg lock submission really had me thinking he was gonna make T Bone tap. Both guys then went on to kick the shit out of each other and have a really good title match with T Bone in the end picking up the win.
Overall thoughts this show was a real improvement over PCW’s debut (which itself was really solid and good), and the story line advancement between PCW vs PBW,which incidentally is the name of the next PCW event is great i carn’t wait to get that show watched. Match of the night for me was T Bone vs Kris Travis, and really only the Dave Rayne match not being up to much but that was all just for storyline development. Putting the title on T Bone was the right move for me he has the look and the right man to be at the top of the company and is a really good worker for a big man,i wouldnt be surprised in a year or two if the ‘E or TNA gave him try out, i think he can be that good.
As i already mentioned these were the first two reviews i ever wrote, my style has since changed, but i still felt it important for you guys to see these reviews as i believe PCW are a top promotion in the UK. What they have produced in their first couple of shows, and the really good roster they have, it is scary how good this promotion could get.
To buy any of these DVD’s then head over to PCW’s Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/PrestonCityWrestling
If you would like to contact me, to offer feedback or ask any questions then you guys can get hold of me either by
E-mail – jamiepwponderings@gmail.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/JamieIndyPW