Post by DTP. on Jul 11, 2009 19:49:08 GMT -5
Hey there, Daniel again. I did this after I went to see the Doncaster-based promotion, One Pro Wrestling, back in April for night one of their 'To The Extreme' event.
Me and my dad travelled for an hour and thirty-seven minutes to reach Sheffield, noticing seven Eddie Stobart lorries along the way [well, we counted a half for every lone wagon we saw]. We originally tried getting into the Hallam FM Arena car park, but ended up going through it, asking a worker for directions. We got in another car park, but that wasn't it either. We finally parked up outside of the IceSheffield Arena, and it seemed pretty small from exterior viewage.
It was a pretty big line to wait in, actually, and there were some pretty interesting characters there. There was a guy dressed as Batman, and there also seemed to be quite alot of smarks at the event, aswell as some occasional freaks. A guy in a trenchcoat looking like a cross between Russell Brand and The Undertaker were there, aswell as guys with light-green mohawks.
We were given a band to put around our wrists, and because of this, we didn't have to wait in line much longer. We were escorted through to the arena.
It was an ice rink, just boarded over with the ring in the center, barricades and mats around with a plain and simple, small entrance, with the banner '1PW' on. The aisleway had been split in two, also, as merchandise seemed to dominate the arena, just like it did in Doncaster. DVDs on either side, me and my dad looked around for a little while. It was like 7:10 in the evening by this point, the show started at 7:30. Kevin Thorn was easy to point out, but it seemed like he was equal size to me. And another one I noticed was Martin Stone with the 1PW World Heavyweight Championship. Abyss was standing with many fans near us, also.
The ring set-up was in the centre of the floor on the ice rink, but there were only like fifteen rows of chairs around, and two tiers to watch on from. We had a choice of either tier to sit at, and me and dad decided to pick the one opposite the screen. It pretty much showed the 1PW logo and Bret Hart's titantron over and over again.
The show finally began at 7:30, as "Sweet" Stevie Aaron and a referee came out, the announcer, Stevie getting major heel heat, as he tried to get over by hyping the fans up for the event. Appeared as though there were 700 fans in attendance, but it seemed more small. Me and dad were on the second row on the tier, so half of our viewage was through the ice rink thick-glass screen. People had these inflatable bats also, and they batted them against the glass to create a really irritating noise. Aaron announced that a raffle would be taking place tonight, for two things; a portrait of Bret Hart on a canvas, and the WWF Winged Eagle Championship belt in which Hart wore in his reign as champ, back in 1992.
First match was underway, as Jerry Lynn came out to a huge pop. He always seems to be over with the British crowd. El Generico followed, his 'Ole!' gimmick is really over in England. Both men put on a mat-based, technical affair in which the audience were pretty dead for. They were hyped for more simple moves, but weren't all for the chain wrestling stuff. Generico tried the 'BRAINBUSTAH~!', but Lynn shook him off, and nailed a Piledriver for the win. Generico did an impressive Rob Van Dam-like sell of the Piledriver, bouncing up in the air after impact. Lynn and Generico shook hands afterwards.
We immediately went to the second match of the evening, as Sterling James Keenan came out to boos, he climbed into the ring and got cheap heat for being from the real Steel City, in Pennsylvania. He said that he was the one that rebuilt 1PW and he could easily destroy it. This signalled for TNA boy, Doug Williams to come out, wearing the Union-Jack jacket with Davey Boy Smith-like trunks, as those two put on a nice little brawl. It involved technical action, but the crowd were more into it than the opener. SJK got batted by young kids at ringside, too. There was a mark three seats away, and he screamed so loudly in his yorkie tone that it went right through me. Williams seemed to have more offense, but then SJK rolled Williams up for a sneaky win.
Next up, it was time for an old-fashioned 'World of Sport' style bout, featuring ten five-minute rounds. Colt Cabana came out to a big pop, but that soon changed as his opponent began to make his way out. Johnny Saint, major World of Sport legend, aged 70. In this one, Cabana seemed to of turned into a heel, as the fans cheered Saint on. Despite this, he was still hit by 'Mr Burns', 'Popeye' and 'Bingo is on Tuesdays' remarks from the crowd. They began to get more enthusiastic with this one, too. This one seemed to just showcase Saint's ability to reverse everything Cabana attempts, as Colt had barely any offense in. Cabana eventually rolling clutched Saint up in a weak spot for the win. Cabana and Saint shook hands after the match.
The main event of the first half of the show was up next, as it was Kevin Thorn teaming with Dragon Aisu to take on Martin Kirby and Kris Travis of Project EGO in a no disqualification texas-tornado rules bout for the 1PW World Tag Team Championships. EGO got cheered in this, as Thorn got nailed with 'you can't wrestle' and 'you got fired' chants. EGO wore jeans in this combat, as they rushed to the ring, straight into it, and the two teams brawled out to ringside. They pretty much demolished the place, chairs from ringside, barricades, even a board from the floor [used to cover the ice] was used. Thorn does do an amazing crucifix powerbomb though, he put Travis through two of them. It eventually came down to Travis and Thorn, as Travis picked up the win [in a spot I can't actually remember].
There were four people in front of us, they seemed like pretty cool people, but one of them vanished after the first match and I didn't see him again. A girl with medium lengthed hair and another with dark red hair. There was a guy with them, he looked just like Michael Jackson, with a pale face and black curled hair. It was like short but had a long section on it. Pretty funny. Interval lasted thirty minutes. It was 8:45 when everybody's favourite announcer, Stevie Aaron returned to the ring...But I forgot something...ZOMG G-MAN CAMEO~! If you don't recall my 'To The Extreme' report, G-Man was a guy with long hair who wore a ski-mask and played the annoying bitchboy of heel 1PW World Heavyweight Champion, Sterling James Keenan. He was just used to equip the ring, as he prepared it for the next part of the show.
Bret Hart came out to the arena to his theme, an awful loud ovation from the audience, as he began to talk about how he's had a great career and that he knows the older spectators in this arena know him more, and the next generation seem to be forgetting him. Hart says that he has had many great moments in Sheffield, but really only mentions one, a match with Rick Martel. That got a tiny pop, but it seemed like a desperation move to deliver a great line. He says that this may be the final time he will be in the United Kingdom, but he will be watching the rest of the show just like us, and he's as much a wrestling fan as any of us.
The next section started off quickly, as Stevie the ring announcer got more heat, just rambling and announcing the winners of the raffle. Then, the Aaron Curtis group came out, consisting of Curtis [assuming he was the soliciter/lawyer manager], Fight Club [Kid Fire and Liam Thompson] and Dave Moralez. Moralez got crapped on for being fat, as any random Brit would insult a fat guy for that. Moralez actually reminds me of a British Stan Hansen. They cut a promo on Lionheart, before he ran down to the ring, only to be beaten down by Moralez and Fight Club, before a young duo wearing Paul London and Brian Kendrick's exact turquoize attire ran down to the ring for the save. Their names were never announced, and I have no clue who they were, but they seemed pretty damn athletic and agile. It was a fast-paced match, and it ended with Moralez and one of the Londrick-impersonators, as he nailed two powerbombs before linking it up with a decapitating lariat [the Londrick impersonator landed RIGHT on his head, Hansen-esque] for the win.
The second match after the interval was for the 1PW Openweight Championship, as Nigel McGuinness took on Johnny Moss in what was similar to the opening bout. It was great technical action, even going around ringside, but the audience just weren't too occupied by it. They popped mainly during the near-win positions both men had, aswell as back-handed chops. Moss had McGuinness in a cradle, which nearly gave us a new champion, but Nigel switched it the other way, McGuinness getting the sneaky win. Nigel acted like the face at 'To The Extreme', but here he played the heel, despite the fans cheering him. Babyface Moss for the heel reaction.
The next bout was a bit of a cock-up. A boxer vs wrestler match between hometown light-heavyweight boxer, Ryan Rhodes and 'Darkside' James/Scott Gallagher. I say James/Scott because when Gallagher entered, his name appeared as James Gallagher, but silly Stevie Aaron called him 'Scott'. He was wearing MMA gear, and apparently has had previous skills in fujitsu. Anyways, they both came out with their posses, as Rhodes unintentionally turned heel by saying the British Boxing Commission had denied him to compete. This made Darkside look a bit of a twat, as he was cheered, but insulted the fans in his thick, Scottish accent. Darkside battled Rhodes' bouncer instead, who I am led to believe was Iceman, but I'm not so sure. The audience saw through it, yelled 'we want wrestling', as Darkside kicked 'Iceman' repeatedly to no-selling, as the bigger man kept closing in on Scott/James. Gallagher got a weak win via chokehold. He jumped on the big man's back and 'choked' him. Gallagher, the supposed heel got a face reaction, as he called Rhodes out repeatedly. Rhodes, the supposed face then got booed, as he knocked Darkside out cleanly in one punch.
Up next was the main event, as it was Abyss taking on Martin Stone for the 1PW World Heavyweight Championship. Before this, however, Abyss came to the ring, as he was interrupted by Spud, who came out as a rockstar gimmick, like Christy Hemme back in the Rock and Rave Infection faction in TNA. He got squashed by Abyss, as he called Martin Stone out.
Stone out, and boy oh boy, does he look jobber-esque. He's supposed to be the 1PW World Heavyweight Champion and dresses like he's a traditional 80s jobber. Abyss towered over Stone, and he worked over him throughout the match, taking him out to ringside and trying to get the audience to nudge and get a noise. Unfortunately, the audience didn't care too much any longer, as there were still people interested, but not as much as the other bouts. Two ref bumps took place, as Sterling James Keenan then rushed down the aisleway, costing Stone the match via chairshot. This gave Abyss the win and possibly the title. But no, it had to be a screwjob decision. Abyss was immediately stripped of the title and returned to Stone. Abyss took out SJK, as he raised Stone's hand. Bret Hart also came out to hold Stone's hand up also.
Overall, it was a good show, but there seemed to be some serious cockups and continuity errors during the show.
But I enjoyed it.
LINK TO 'TO THE EXTREME' REPORT:
wfigs.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wfuk2&action=display&thread=128030
Me and my dad travelled for an hour and thirty-seven minutes to reach Sheffield, noticing seven Eddie Stobart lorries along the way [well, we counted a half for every lone wagon we saw]. We originally tried getting into the Hallam FM Arena car park, but ended up going through it, asking a worker for directions. We got in another car park, but that wasn't it either. We finally parked up outside of the IceSheffield Arena, and it seemed pretty small from exterior viewage.
It was a pretty big line to wait in, actually, and there were some pretty interesting characters there. There was a guy dressed as Batman, and there also seemed to be quite alot of smarks at the event, aswell as some occasional freaks. A guy in a trenchcoat looking like a cross between Russell Brand and The Undertaker were there, aswell as guys with light-green mohawks.
We were given a band to put around our wrists, and because of this, we didn't have to wait in line much longer. We were escorted through to the arena.
It was an ice rink, just boarded over with the ring in the center, barricades and mats around with a plain and simple, small entrance, with the banner '1PW' on. The aisleway had been split in two, also, as merchandise seemed to dominate the arena, just like it did in Doncaster. DVDs on either side, me and my dad looked around for a little while. It was like 7:10 in the evening by this point, the show started at 7:30. Kevin Thorn was easy to point out, but it seemed like he was equal size to me. And another one I noticed was Martin Stone with the 1PW World Heavyweight Championship. Abyss was standing with many fans near us, also.
The ring set-up was in the centre of the floor on the ice rink, but there were only like fifteen rows of chairs around, and two tiers to watch on from. We had a choice of either tier to sit at, and me and dad decided to pick the one opposite the screen. It pretty much showed the 1PW logo and Bret Hart's titantron over and over again.
The show finally began at 7:30, as "Sweet" Stevie Aaron and a referee came out, the announcer, Stevie getting major heel heat, as he tried to get over by hyping the fans up for the event. Appeared as though there were 700 fans in attendance, but it seemed more small. Me and dad were on the second row on the tier, so half of our viewage was through the ice rink thick-glass screen. People had these inflatable bats also, and they batted them against the glass to create a really irritating noise. Aaron announced that a raffle would be taking place tonight, for two things; a portrait of Bret Hart on a canvas, and the WWF Winged Eagle Championship belt in which Hart wore in his reign as champ, back in 1992.
First match was underway, as Jerry Lynn came out to a huge pop. He always seems to be over with the British crowd. El Generico followed, his 'Ole!' gimmick is really over in England. Both men put on a mat-based, technical affair in which the audience were pretty dead for. They were hyped for more simple moves, but weren't all for the chain wrestling stuff. Generico tried the 'BRAINBUSTAH~!', but Lynn shook him off, and nailed a Piledriver for the win. Generico did an impressive Rob Van Dam-like sell of the Piledriver, bouncing up in the air after impact. Lynn and Generico shook hands afterwards.
We immediately went to the second match of the evening, as Sterling James Keenan came out to boos, he climbed into the ring and got cheap heat for being from the real Steel City, in Pennsylvania. He said that he was the one that rebuilt 1PW and he could easily destroy it. This signalled for TNA boy, Doug Williams to come out, wearing the Union-Jack jacket with Davey Boy Smith-like trunks, as those two put on a nice little brawl. It involved technical action, but the crowd were more into it than the opener. SJK got batted by young kids at ringside, too. There was a mark three seats away, and he screamed so loudly in his yorkie tone that it went right through me. Williams seemed to have more offense, but then SJK rolled Williams up for a sneaky win.
Next up, it was time for an old-fashioned 'World of Sport' style bout, featuring ten five-minute rounds. Colt Cabana came out to a big pop, but that soon changed as his opponent began to make his way out. Johnny Saint, major World of Sport legend, aged 70. In this one, Cabana seemed to of turned into a heel, as the fans cheered Saint on. Despite this, he was still hit by 'Mr Burns', 'Popeye' and 'Bingo is on Tuesdays' remarks from the crowd. They began to get more enthusiastic with this one, too. This one seemed to just showcase Saint's ability to reverse everything Cabana attempts, as Colt had barely any offense in. Cabana eventually rolling clutched Saint up in a weak spot for the win. Cabana and Saint shook hands after the match.
The main event of the first half of the show was up next, as it was Kevin Thorn teaming with Dragon Aisu to take on Martin Kirby and Kris Travis of Project EGO in a no disqualification texas-tornado rules bout for the 1PW World Tag Team Championships. EGO got cheered in this, as Thorn got nailed with 'you can't wrestle' and 'you got fired' chants. EGO wore jeans in this combat, as they rushed to the ring, straight into it, and the two teams brawled out to ringside. They pretty much demolished the place, chairs from ringside, barricades, even a board from the floor [used to cover the ice] was used. Thorn does do an amazing crucifix powerbomb though, he put Travis through two of them. It eventually came down to Travis and Thorn, as Travis picked up the win [in a spot I can't actually remember].
There were four people in front of us, they seemed like pretty cool people, but one of them vanished after the first match and I didn't see him again. A girl with medium lengthed hair and another with dark red hair. There was a guy with them, he looked just like Michael Jackson, with a pale face and black curled hair. It was like short but had a long section on it. Pretty funny. Interval lasted thirty minutes. It was 8:45 when everybody's favourite announcer, Stevie Aaron returned to the ring...But I forgot something...ZOMG G-MAN CAMEO~! If you don't recall my 'To The Extreme' report, G-Man was a guy with long hair who wore a ski-mask and played the annoying bitchboy of heel 1PW World Heavyweight Champion, Sterling James Keenan. He was just used to equip the ring, as he prepared it for the next part of the show.
Bret Hart came out to the arena to his theme, an awful loud ovation from the audience, as he began to talk about how he's had a great career and that he knows the older spectators in this arena know him more, and the next generation seem to be forgetting him. Hart says that he has had many great moments in Sheffield, but really only mentions one, a match with Rick Martel. That got a tiny pop, but it seemed like a desperation move to deliver a great line. He says that this may be the final time he will be in the United Kingdom, but he will be watching the rest of the show just like us, and he's as much a wrestling fan as any of us.
The next section started off quickly, as Stevie the ring announcer got more heat, just rambling and announcing the winners of the raffle. Then, the Aaron Curtis group came out, consisting of Curtis [assuming he was the soliciter/lawyer manager], Fight Club [Kid Fire and Liam Thompson] and Dave Moralez. Moralez got crapped on for being fat, as any random Brit would insult a fat guy for that. Moralez actually reminds me of a British Stan Hansen. They cut a promo on Lionheart, before he ran down to the ring, only to be beaten down by Moralez and Fight Club, before a young duo wearing Paul London and Brian Kendrick's exact turquoize attire ran down to the ring for the save. Their names were never announced, and I have no clue who they were, but they seemed pretty damn athletic and agile. It was a fast-paced match, and it ended with Moralez and one of the Londrick-impersonators, as he nailed two powerbombs before linking it up with a decapitating lariat [the Londrick impersonator landed RIGHT on his head, Hansen-esque] for the win.
The second match after the interval was for the 1PW Openweight Championship, as Nigel McGuinness took on Johnny Moss in what was similar to the opening bout. It was great technical action, even going around ringside, but the audience just weren't too occupied by it. They popped mainly during the near-win positions both men had, aswell as back-handed chops. Moss had McGuinness in a cradle, which nearly gave us a new champion, but Nigel switched it the other way, McGuinness getting the sneaky win. Nigel acted like the face at 'To The Extreme', but here he played the heel, despite the fans cheering him. Babyface Moss for the heel reaction.
The next bout was a bit of a cock-up. A boxer vs wrestler match between hometown light-heavyweight boxer, Ryan Rhodes and 'Darkside' James/Scott Gallagher. I say James/Scott because when Gallagher entered, his name appeared as James Gallagher, but silly Stevie Aaron called him 'Scott'. He was wearing MMA gear, and apparently has had previous skills in fujitsu. Anyways, they both came out with their posses, as Rhodes unintentionally turned heel by saying the British Boxing Commission had denied him to compete. This made Darkside look a bit of a twat, as he was cheered, but insulted the fans in his thick, Scottish accent. Darkside battled Rhodes' bouncer instead, who I am led to believe was Iceman, but I'm not so sure. The audience saw through it, yelled 'we want wrestling', as Darkside kicked 'Iceman' repeatedly to no-selling, as the bigger man kept closing in on Scott/James. Gallagher got a weak win via chokehold. He jumped on the big man's back and 'choked' him. Gallagher, the supposed heel got a face reaction, as he called Rhodes out repeatedly. Rhodes, the supposed face then got booed, as he knocked Darkside out cleanly in one punch.
Up next was the main event, as it was Abyss taking on Martin Stone for the 1PW World Heavyweight Championship. Before this, however, Abyss came to the ring, as he was interrupted by Spud, who came out as a rockstar gimmick, like Christy Hemme back in the Rock and Rave Infection faction in TNA. He got squashed by Abyss, as he called Martin Stone out.
Stone out, and boy oh boy, does he look jobber-esque. He's supposed to be the 1PW World Heavyweight Champion and dresses like he's a traditional 80s jobber. Abyss towered over Stone, and he worked over him throughout the match, taking him out to ringside and trying to get the audience to nudge and get a noise. Unfortunately, the audience didn't care too much any longer, as there were still people interested, but not as much as the other bouts. Two ref bumps took place, as Sterling James Keenan then rushed down the aisleway, costing Stone the match via chairshot. This gave Abyss the win and possibly the title. But no, it had to be a screwjob decision. Abyss was immediately stripped of the title and returned to Stone. Abyss took out SJK, as he raised Stone's hand. Bret Hart also came out to hold Stone's hand up also.
Overall, it was a good show, but there seemed to be some serious cockups and continuity errors during the show.
But I enjoyed it.
LINK TO 'TO THE EXTREME' REPORT:
wfigs.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wfuk2&action=display&thread=128030
