The 2007 UKFF 50

[the flananator]

Now now theres no need to bring your snot into this discussion...Ho ho aren't we just the worst?

[Halitosis Romantic]

This isn't golf!

And with that kind of attitude, it never will be...

[the flananator]

This isn't golf!

And with that kind of attitude, it never will be...

You know what we're doing right? Re-inventing comedy, thats what.

[B3rry]

Re-inventing comedy in a repetitive un-funny form?Sorry... I did that YEARS ago... just ask anyone that knows me...

[ThumpSquids]

He's right. He did.

[Turnbucklepads]

I can't believe this is still going on. If you don't get them typed up quick you will just end up having to start 2008.Someone please tell me those blue tights Stone is wearing in those pictures are old ring attire. They make him look like a total plumb.

[Daaaaaad!]

Hell, if this takes any longer the King of Europe Cup DVD will be out!

[Big Benny HG]

Ladies and gentlemen, here we have it. I said the result may surprise you. May, as in it is probably exactly what you were expecting

 

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No. 2 - "The Man That Gravity Forgot" Pac

2006 Ranking: 6

2005 Ranking: Not Listed

Moving Up

 

Photo (kicking Dave Moralez IN THE FACE) - www.ipwuk.com

 

After storming out of obscurity in 2005/6, 2006/7 sees gravity forgetting Pac once again, as he increases his amazing 6th place last year to finish as the runner up this time around after breaking onto the international stage. The only way you can begin to dissect a year like Pac's is month by month...

 

Pac began July 2006 as the reigning FWA Flyweight Champion, 3CW Heavyweight Champion and WZW Cruiserweight Champion, and had just vacated the 3CW Young Lions Championship having won that promotion's main strap. A busy year has found him in demand more than ever (in the UK, mainland Europe, the US and Japan), but as a result promoters have been reluctant to book him in storylines, feuds or ongoing scenarios due to his packed schedule limiting his availability. As such, he has been presented more in showpiece attraction bouts against a range of opponents.

 

Coming off a well-received singles bout with former IPW:UK opponent Teddy Hart for 1PW, it was looking like the sky was no limit to Pac. However, a match for the Nattrass Boys' TTP promotion in Carlisle left Pac injured and on the shelf. As a result, he was forced out of August's week-long ROH UK tour, which he had apparently been lined up to play a major role in. Indeed, the tour was seen by organisers as somewhat of a "shop window" for Pac, but his opportunity was going to have to wait. Returning to action at the end of the month, Pac teamed with Chris Whitton and the no. 1 contender to his 3CW crown, Dragon Aisu, in a bizarre Team 3CW to face a "World" team of Go Shiozaki, SUWA and Ashley Reed at "International Wrestling Classic" in Northallerton. Though Team 3CW was successful, Pac and Aisu had a hard time getting along so close to their scheduled title match at "Darkest Deeds III" the following month. When 3CW's annual showcase event came around, a Gabriel Grey fireball to the face allowed Aisu to defeat Pac for the 3CW Heavyweight Championship in a really good match.

 

One week after his title loss, Pac returned to IPW:UK for their biggest show of the year, the "2nd Anniversary Weekender". On Night One, Pac was matched with Canadian PWG stars "Mr Wrestling" Kevin Steen and El Generico in a 3-way match. An impressive display saw Pac emerge victorious in an exciting bout, before he moved onto the International Gauntlet on Night Two. The first stage saw Pac and Generico face off again, this time in their first ever one-on-one encounter. Stealing the entire weekend, the two dropped jaws as they went at it full pelt in one of the most breathtakingly dazzling 10-minutes of action I have personally ever seen. With Pac beating Generico again, he immediately moved on to face legendary Toryumon founder, Ultimo Dragon. With the pace slowing down, the former WAR/AAA/CMLL/WCW/WWE star and J-Crown holder did beat "The Man That Gravity Forgot" after around 5 minutes of engaging combat (moving on to face rudo Ricky Marvin), but the fact that the Brit got to share the ring with the iconic figure only raised his standing. The biggest month of Pac's career to date was rounded off with a successful FWA Flyweight Title defence against "The Gift" Ross Jordan in a good match in Morecambe.

 

October was another typically busy month. First, he fought to a no-contest with "Mr IPW" Ashley Reed in somewhat of a match eagerly anticipated by fans of the UK scene (both men had really emerged onto the scene in the previous 12 months and were seen as hot properties, but this was their first ever meeting) on an IPW:UK show in Swanley (boo). The match itself could be classed as disappointing, but the run-in from Darkside (another "red hot" talent at the time) which prompted the referee throwing it out hinted at a mouth-watering 3 pronged "new generation" series......which never materialised. The next week, Pac made his return to One Pro Wrestling, where he was placed in another "first time ever" showdown, this time with US indy darling AJ Styles for the "1st Anniversary Show" in Doncaster. The bout could have been dismissed as yet another meaningless 1PW exhibition match that solely existed for the fans to applaud the flashy moves and chant "This is awesome (clap clap clapclapclap)!"....but Styles and Pac went out and created themselves the substance which would otherwise have been lacking, assembling a bonafide thriller that played out as a proving ground for Pac, as the established international star Styles continually pushed him further and further. Styles won, of course, put put Pac over hard in his post-match speech. The night after this cracker, it was back to IPW:UK for the rematch with El Generico. Taking place at "Hotwired" in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, the match was perhaps a tad below their September stormer, but was nothing short of awesome nonetheless. After tearing down the Broxbourne Civic Hall, a Brainbustaaaa saw Generico take the win, evening the series between the two at 1-1. Then, the week after that, Pac was a part of the IPW:UK "Extreme Measures III" tournament in Orpington. Beating "Phoenix" Jody Fleisch in a crap match in Round One, he moved on to the exciting 4-way with Jorge Castano, Aviv Maayan and eventual winner Leeeeeeeeee Roooooooooyy KINCAIDE.

 

November opened with the news that Pac had been signed for his first wrestling trip across the Atlantic. Steen and Generico had returned to PWG with glowing reviews of the man they had faced in September, and so Pac was lined-up for PWG's "All Star Weekend 4". In addition, in potentially bigger news, it was also announced that Pac was signed to MTV's brand new Wrestling Society X project and would be adopting the moniker "Steve Lydon", a British punk-based character. Problems obtaining a working visa put his trip back, however, and "The Man That Gravity Forgot" ended up missing the only tapings for the ill-fated WSX. While he was still on UK shores, however, he found the time to take on 3CW Champion Aisu and Darkside in a brilliant 3-way at 3CW "Night of the Damned" in Billingham (Aisu won), and add another piece of gold to his collection by winning a 20-man rumble at 1PW "Fight Club" to become their first ever Openweight Champion (having faced Jody Fleisch and Jonny Storm in a 3-way earlier in the night). When the paperwork finally did come through, he jetted across the seas in time for the PWG weekender, where he was matched with familiar faces in Styles and Generico on Nights One and Two respectively. Ironically, neither match was actually as good as the bouts against the same opponents here in the UK, but they were still damn good and SoCal fans were left buzzing by the sensational new face to arrive on the scene.

 

In December, Pac beat Storm and Fleisch in a rematch from 1PW, this time taking place at the Liquid Nightclub in Gloucester for XS:W's debut show, which saw innovative use of the nightclub interior and Christmas decorations. Then, he clashed with "Anarchist" Doug Williams for the first ever time, as they faced off for 3CW at "Fight Before Christmas: Night One" in Northallerton, Pac going down in a fine match. Later that weekend, Pac represented IPW:UK in their feud with the FWA (despite being an FWA title holder) as he beat Jonny Storm in a duff match in Colchester, before taking part in the potentially interesting 5-Minute Warning rumble/elimination match that night on the evening's XS:W "Gorefest" event. Pac didn't win that one (that honour going to WXW's Are$), and his misery was doubled as FWA owner Greg "The Truth" Lambert appeared, making an immediate match for Pac's FWA Flyweight Title. The exhausted and beat-down Pac was taken by surprise and defeated by Ross Jordan, ending his 8-month reign with that belt. Pac's 2006 ended with a place in the RQW "Not Just For Christmas" British Heavyweight Title tournament. First, he beat Ashley Reed in a dull quarter-final, before taking advantage of a distraction from Seamus O'Shaunessy to beat the monstrous Drew Galloway by countout in the semis. A superb finale saw him fall to 3 incredible lariats from winner Martin Stone, but this final bout in RQW's showcase of British wrestling was a subtle annoucement of the leading forces in the domestic industry.

 

2007 kicked off for Pac, like it did for so many others, with the seeming end of one of their places to work, as 1PW announced that it was entering liquidation. 3CW stepped in to produce a tribute show, which Pac was a major part of. On the 3CW "Fight Club" afternoon card, Pac main evented against the returning Stevie Lynn, then beat ex-ECW/WWE wrestler Kid Ka$h on the main "Will Not Die.......today" event, notching up a successful Openweight Title defence. Back in the "proper" 3CW, however, Pac wasn't having as much luck. At the "Free IV All" show in Billingham, he was upset by fellow former IWF wrestler Little Dragon on the undercard, before being dumped out of the titular 30-man Free For All rumble in a matter of seconds. Hmmm. "TMTGF" returned to RQW to face Jonny and Jody again in yet another 3-way in February, this time Jody coming out with the victory (and a title shot against Stone), leaving all 3 men with a 3-way win over the others. Later that month, it was back on board that plane, as PWG came calling again. This time, Pac faced Kevin Steen in the Van Nuuys Armory in southern California, and managed to wow stateside fans once again on the event which would eventually be known as "Holydiverdown". In a milestone, and a sign that PWG had future plans for him, he scored his first victory over the former PWG champion and current major player.

 

March finally saw the opportunity that Pac had missed out on last time, as ROH returned for their 2nd UK tour. Well, this time it wasn't so much of a tour as a weekend, with 2 shows at the Liverpool Olympia. On the first night, our boy wrestled No Remorse Corps member Roderick Strong for the FIP World Heavyweight Title in a great bout that was as much a demonstration of the restraint and control in Pac's performance as it was about wowing a new promotion. He didn't win, of course, but moved on to night two to face Matt Sydal in a bout billed as the "battle of the high flyers". While it sounded potentially sickening, it was actually a really well-constructed and captivating battle that Pac eventually came out of the losing end of.

 

April perhaps marked Pac's most hectic period yet. At the "Resurrection" of 1PW in Doncaster, he defended his 1PW Openweight Title against established former AAA/ECW/WCW/XPW/CMLL/FWA/WWE flyer Juventud Guerrera, on this evening representing Italy's NWE. Then, over in America, PWG's "All Star Weekend 5" also had involvement from "TMTGF". A main event title-shot against El Generico in yet another excellent match in their series on the first leg was followed up by a rather good bout with former WCW and Michinoku Pro wrestler Kaz Hayashi, who's been plying his trade in AJPW for the past few years. Pac also lost on this second night, too, but returned to England for another weekender at the end of the month. The inaugural "King of Europe Cup" took place in Liverpool and also featured afternoon "Taste of IPW:UK" shows. On that first afternoon, it was time for the UK version of the Pac vs. Generico series to come to an end, as they faced off in a climatic 2/3 falls match. It could again be argued that this one was a notch below some of their previous efforts, but was still a blinder. As might have been expected, the home talent won over, coming out 2-1 winner after the epic. Pac then went forward and represented IPW:UK in the main Cup, beating PWU's clueless Trent Acid in a stunt-based 1st round match on night one (that some fans absolutely loved, some absolutely detested), but was eliminated in the quarter finals by ROH's Nigel McGuinness after a terrific brutal bout on Night Two. The fact that Pac had gone straight to hospital following his match with Acid and emerged for Night Two in a Terry Butcher-style head bandage only added to the drama and power of the McGuinness clash.

 

As April turned into May, Pac took part in another international tournament just 1 week after "KOEC", being WXW's 3-day "16 Carat Gold" tourney in Essen, Germany. Facing El Generico yet again in the first round, Pac went down to a Brainbustaaa and was therefore involved in non-tournament filler action on day two. Making his long-awaited return to 3CW, he then led a surprisingly heelish team of White Tiger and Last Ninja (formerly Little Dragon.....and Fucking A) in a losing Scramble Match effort against The Kraze (El Ligero, Blokbusta and Marky B). After a terrible bout, Pac's 3CW losing streak continued. He was to experience better results on his next trip to California...

 

With El Generico now holding the PWG World Title, and Quicksilver taking an indefinite absence from wrestling, the PWG Tag Team Titles that they had held were declared vacant. When the previously announced Jack Evans was unable to attend, Pac was brought in as a replacement, and teamed with Roderick Strong over the 2-day "DDT4" title tournament. Overturning former long-running PWG tag champs (and tournament favourites) Super Dragon and Davey Richards in Round One, they then beat Dragon Gate's Muscle Outlawz team of Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino on the 2nd day in the semis, before finally toppling the Briscoes to lift the straps - Pac's first taste of gold overseas.

 

In the same way that his IPW:UK matches against PWG stars in 2006 eventually saw him booked in the US for that promotion, Pac's efforts against Dragon Gate talent saw word get back to Japan, and thus Pac was invited to take part in their off-shoot WrestleJAM series (series of shows based around wrestlers from various continents battling). Since then, Pac has also returned to the US for PWG, Chikara and ROH (making his US debut for the promotion), and also lost his 1PW Openweight Title to James Wallace at "Know Your Enemy".

 

With demand for "The Man That Gravity Forgot" coming from all around the US indies, and now Japan aswell, I think it's fair to suggest that Pac's appearances on this side of the pond will be strictly limited in the future, as we have started to see now. Indeed, the next time he appears in your local hall may well be the last for a very long time...

 

Photo (flying at Nigel McGuinness) - Amy Hanifan

 

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No. 1 - "Anarchist" Doug Williams

2006 Ranking: 1

2005 Ranking: 1

Holding Rank

 

Photo - www.futurewrestling.co.uk

 

Profile to follow shortly.

 

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The 2007 UKFF 50:

 

50 Zack Sabre Jr.

49 Steve Grey

48 Johnny Kidd

47 Juice

46 Ashe (LDN version)

45 Terry Frazier

44 Ashley Reed

43 Jon Ritchie

42 Sha Samuels

41 Sweet Saraya

40 Red Lightning

39 Joey Hayes

38 Jon Ryan

37 JC Thunder

36 Jody Flesich

35 Jetta

34 Sam Slam

33 Conscience

32 Johnny Moss

31 Iceman

30 Stixx

29 James Tighe

28 Seamus O'Shaunessy

27 Adam Shame

26 Scott Renwick

25 Dave Moralez

24 Darkside

23 James Wallace

22 Mad Man manson

21 Lionheart

20 Jack Storm

19 Ross Jordan

18 Luke "Dragon" Phoenix

17 Eden Black

16 Dragon Aisu

15 Wolfgang

14 Ricky Knight

13 Robbie Brookside

12 Falcon

11 ANDY SIMMONZ!!

10 Jonny Storm

9 Drew Galloway

8 Darren Burridge

7 Majik

6 El Ligero

5 Bubblegum

4 Spud

3 Martin Stone

2 Pac

1 Doug Williams

 

Again, thanks to all that participated for your time and effort, and also thanks to all those who've come along to discuss, debate and remonstrate about the results!! The whole point is to create a talking point - something for discussion, and I think it's achieved that.

 

Here's to 2008!!

[alexander]

Thanks for all the hard work, Mr Hat. Very interesting as always.Now, I really need to see a Red Lightning match!

[The Cum Doctor]

Now, I really need to see a Red Lightning match!

I don't think Lightning is amazing or anything. He's one of the best heels in Scotland at the moment though. He makes for some terrific entertainment. He's actually very solid in the ring, but it's his mix of being a great heel and that talent that makes him so good.

[Halitosis Romantic]

Geez, Pac literally kicked 17 million shades of colour out of Dave Moralez! What's up with that pic?Good work, Hat Lad... do we start voting for the next year now?

[alexander]

Now, I really need to see a Red Lightning match!

I don't think Lightning is amazing or anything. He's one of the best heels in Scotland at the moment though. He makes for some terrific entertainment. He's actually very solid in the ring, but it's his mix of being a great heel and that talent that makes him so good.

I was mainly remarking on the fact that, for the second year running, he's the only guy in the whole 50 I've never seen, not even on tape.

[Turnbucklepads]

What is so great about Pac? I haven't really seen enough of him to comment. But from what I've seen he is just your average aerialist. Does he wrestle? Or have good timed spots? Or just fly all over the place in an AJ 2001 style?

[alexander]

Pac's more than just a high flyer. He's turning into a really smart worker as regards playing his role in matches and timing the big moves. His match with AJ in PWG was ridiculously good and I hate Styles. Pac can mat wrestle pretty well too, and he has good strikes. He's got a good build for a flyer as well. And the high flying stuff he does is insanely great, which really pushes him over the top. A lot of guys have good spots, but no-one outside of Mexico has the amount of jaw dropping stuff you just don't see anywhere else that Pac does. Having truly unique stuff can help matches, provided it's done right and not totally pointless (Like M-Dogg 20's flag press etc.).

[The Dart]

Does he wrestle? Or have good timed spots? Or just fly all over the place in an AJ 2001 style?

Yes. Yes. No.