2012 UKFF UK50 - RESULTS THREAD

[Up Chuck]

 

I don't have a lot to do tonight.

[PunkStep]

Brilliant!

[Southside crew]

 

I don't have a lot to do tonight.

 

Quality

[Big Benny HG]

No. 14: Marty Scurll

Score: 161 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2012 votes: 4

Percentage of 2012 ballots including Marty Scurll: 28.1%

(2011=5th, 2010=15th, 2009=18th, 2008=30th, 2007=NL, 2006=NL, 2005=NL)

 

Photo credit: Tony Knox

 

Told you there was a surprise coming. Despite clinching more individual 1st places than anyone else so far in our countdown and being heavily tipped to win the whole damn thing, Cambridgeshire's 'Party' Marty Scurll falls 10 places in the rankings this year, dropping out of the Top 10 to equal his finish of 2 years ago. While his regular 'LDRS of the New School' tag team partner Zack Sabre Jr has enjoyed extended tours with Pro Wrestling NOAH, the former ITV1 'Take Me Out' contestant has been placed in a series of high-profile singles showcase matches with domestic and international talent, both in this country and mainland Europe.

 

In many ways, Scurll was pushed as the #2 British star behind Pac on the October 2011 Dragon Gate:UK series of shows, with a particular emphasis placed on a storyline in which both Scurll and Dragon Gate Japan supremo CIMA were fighting for their DG:UK careers due to their win-loss records (DG:UK has a gimmick where a wrestler with 3 consecutive losses is cut). On the first night in Hoddesdon, Herts, Scurll teamed with fellow Brits Mark Haskins and The Lion Kid to defeat the all-star Blood Warriors combination of CIMA, BxB Hulk and Naruki Doi in a tremendous trios bout. The next night, on the big show in Nottingham city centre, Scurll and Haskins went down to CIMA and GAMMA in another excellent offering. Finally, on the third day in nearby Beeston, Scurll squared off with Akira Tozawa in a match requested by fans in the build-up to the tour. Though he lost, the third magnificent match in 3 days announced Scurll's arrival as a serious top-level UK star.

 

When British Cruiserweight Champion Rockstar Spud was stripped of his belt due injury-led inactivity, Scurll beat Jonathan Gresham in a good match at IPW:UK's 'Summer Sizzler 2011' to advance to the semi-final of the tournament to crown a new champ. That came at the Kent-based outfit's '7th Anniversary Show' that November, but this time Marty was forced to pull double-duty. First, he beat

, then he and Sabre Jr defended the Undisputed British Tag Team Titles in the show's main event against The Young Bucks. Another strong match. 2012 began with Scurll and Sabre Jr teaming up for a number of All Star Wrestling appearances, notably against The Hooligans (the former Zebra Kid & Zack Zodiac) in Croydon and Mark Haskins & Nathan Cruz in Ipswich. At IPW:UK 'No Escape 2012' in February, Scurll learned that he would be facing US indie star Sami Callihan in April's tournament final when Callihan overcame Noam Dar and Sabre Jr. in terrific singles matches to book his place. That same night, Scurll earned a win over TNA Wrestling's Doug Williams, making a surprise unannounced appearance to rematch a memorable 2006 Orpington bout from early in Marty's IPW:UK career.

 

The LDRS retained their titles over Danny Garnell & Jimmy Havoc in Swanley then Jonny Storm & Dean Allmark at 'BritWresFest 2012', before Marty defeated Callihan in the main event of the 'Revolution' event at the London Docklands Troxy theatre to claim the vacant British Cruiserweight strap. This would prove to be only one of two separate singles championship belts Scurll would pick up in April, as the week prior he had become Southside Wrestling Entertainment's first ever Speed King Champion. That one had come when, in one night, Marty

, then bested Noam Dar, El Ligero, Bubblegum, Kris Travis and the mysterious masked Ego Dragon in

to bag the gold. Since then, he has gone on to retain the Speed King belt in well-received SWE contests with Mark Haskins,

, Dar and partner Zack, the latter coming an hour or so after the LDRS defeated the Fight Club: Pro combination of McKinnan and Jonathan Gresham. Both Scurll matches that night drew rave reviews.

 

Back to IPW:UK, where new Cruiserweight Champion 'Party' Marty and former champion Rockstar Spud, who never lost the belt in the ring, were locked in a bitter Twitter [...and I typed that before I realised, but hell, I'm leaving it in...] and YouTube feud, which had started to manifest itself onto shows in incidents during intervals and

. The pair were therefore matched together in the opening round of the 'Extreme Measures' tournament in June, where Scurll beat his rival in a wildly heated brawl which left plenty of room for more. The 4-way elimination final of the tournament took place that same night, with Scurll overcoming Stixx, Dave Mastiff and DG:UK rival Akira Tozawa in elimination fashion to earn a future shot at Heavyweight Champion Sha Samuels and potentially hold all 3 IPW:UK championships at once. It didn't happen. After the end of the 2012 UKFF UK50 period, the interference of Spud allowed Samuels to retain over Scurll, which then left the LDRS easy prey for a 'Money in the Bank' cash-in from Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby), who promptly relieved them of the tag straps.

 

Elsewhere, Scurll beat Sabre Jr in another reportedly superb match (starts at 6:43) on the debut show for THIS IS PROGRESS WRESTLING in March. That put him into the 4-way final later that night for the first TIP Championship. He outlasted Mike Mason and El Ligero, but was beaten by Nathan Cruz at the end. This set up a 2-out-of-3 falls rematch on TIP's second show in June, where Ligero's attempted interference backfired (or did it...? Well, that's the storyline) allowing Cruz to retain the Championship Staff. Scurll has also been a full-time member of the wXw roster in Germany, and has also appeared in the last 12 months for NWE in Italy, BCC in Belgium, DPW in Denmark (where he is the reigning Light Heavyweight Champion),

, CRW in Newcastle and PCW in Preston.

 

Photo credit: 'Big' Rob Brazier

 

What did the UKFF think?

"Raised his game in the last year physically and technically and Take Me Out made him the closest thing the Brit scene has to a draw"

 

"Marty has won me over this year with his tight and clean work. Excelled in Speed King Tournement"

 

"very hard worker, learned well from Zack"

 

"half of the country’s best tag team and also one of the very best singles talents around. Marty probably had the best year out of everyone eligible, his matches at the DG:UK weekend were superb, he has also gone on to have memorable singles matches with Travis, Allmark, Zack Sabre Jnr, Sami Calihan, and impressive tag matches with Fite Club, Young Buck, Hunter Brothers and numerous others. Really nice guys who is great with the fans and never lets you down in the ring. Marty surely deserves a place in this years top 3 at least"

 

"No Likey? I dont think so. Having a great year thus far"

 

"brought a lot of attention to the scene on take me out, also a solid wrestler"

 

"Top of his game at the moment and great to watch"

 

"gotten a bit of publicity due to 'no likey no lightey' but I still think he's a fun and exciting wrestler to watch in the ring"

 

"The guy has been phenomenal this year. Over the past couple of years he has been growning on me more and more but the past 12 months have seen him firmly cement himself as my favourite singles and tag performer in the UK. Entertaining as hell, works his socks off and surely a shoe in for the number one spot this year?!?!?! "

 

"Excellent performance at Dragon Gate and looked well at home on a big stage. Really fun to watch in the ring as he seems to have fun too whilst putting on consistently great matches"

 

"With LDRS partner Zack Sabre Jr away in Japan for six months of the UKFF UK50 year, finally stepped out of his shadow and became the man to watch. Pinned CIMA in a six man tag to a massively favourable reaction at Dragon Gate Invasion: UK 3 in Broxbourne to record his first DGUK victory, though losses in Nottingham at SHINGO vs Yokosuka 3 and Dragon Gate vs UK the next two nights mean his Dragon Gate UK career is in the balance if/when Dragon Gate return to the UK... While still one half of the IPW:UK Tag Team Champions, stepped into singles competition with victories over Jonathan Gresham, Dean Allmark and Doug Williams in Sittingbourne, then completed his mission to become IPW:UK Cruiserweight Champion in a terrific main event against Sami Callihan at The Troxy in London. Less week before his Troxy victory, he became the inaugral Southside Wrestling Speed King champion, and subsequently had reportedly very good defences against Mark Haskins and MK McKinnan, while he's been this close to winning the Nazi staff... erm, Progress Wrestling championship, defeating Zack Sabre Jr at Chapter One in a superior match-up to advance to the four way final, where he fell just short to Nathan Cruz. He lost to Cruz again in the 2 out of 3 falls main event of Chapter Two (starts at 07:41), partly due to a botched save by El Ligero that the masked man didn't seem too bothered about. There's an issue to settle there, while feud with Rockstar Spud that everyone has been talking about has taken in IPW:UK, Southside and other promotions, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and has now expanded to Tout. The only choice for UKFF UK50 top spot"

 

"The 'No Likey, No Lighty' Man has had a fantastic year. Doesn't come North as much as I would like him too, but you cant have everything"

 

Does he have shit on the market?

Why, yes, he does:

 

Big Benny says...

Perhaps it was the lack of appearances in the northern half of the country which harmed Scurll's ranking this particular year....?

[PunkStep]

Wow, that is surprising- I had him pegged (not from personal opinion, but from his exposure and how others rate him) for a top 3 finish and possible winner.

[cobystag]

Fuck.

[uk_wrestle_fan_1981]

Literally stunned by Scurll being ranked so low. I also thought that he would certainly be a shoe in for top 5 at least. Maybe it is due to his lack of bookings in the northern half of the UK this year, am I right in thinking that he has only done a few Nottingham shows for Southside and just a single show at PCW? He didn't seem to go down too well at Preston but is very over at Southside (aswell as obviously being a major star at IPW and having 2 great performances so far at Progress).

[hitman89762000]

Hes not exactly low in the rankings is he? 14th out of 50... Without working regularly up here thats pretty fucking good.

[uk_wrestle_fan_1981]

Hes not exactly low in the rankings is he? 14th out of 50... Without working regularly up here thats pretty fucking good.

 

Maybe low was the wrong choice of word, I live in Kent so obviously see Marty an awful lot and just assumed he would be easily in the top 5 based on what I have seen this year

[Leary of Doom]

He didn't seem to go down too well at Preston

 

 

Think this is down to him wrestling Travis that night, he is so over at Preston at the moment, noone was going to come in and be the face against him. Credit to Marty though, he picked up on which way the crowd was swaying very quickly, and played to it in a great match

[patiirc]

He didn't seem to go down too well at Preston

Think this is down to him wrestling Travis that night, he is so over at Preston at the moment, noone was going to come in and be the face against him. Credit to Marty though, he picked up on which way the crowd was swaying very quickly, and played to it in a great match

 

I thought he was really well received to be honest, wrestling Trav or otherwise. Different folks for different strokes and all that. 14 out of 50 is pretty good and he made my top 15 based on the PCW effort and what I've seen of him elsewhere, been impressive

[king_dezeeuw06]

I'm also shocked at how low Marty is, I was convinced he was nailed on for top 5 at least.

 

He had a cracker with Travis in Preston but I got the impression a lot of fans on the night had no idea who Marty was to start with other than he was on that dating show, and he was getting a lot of stick for that. So that plus being against PCW's top face meant he was always going to have an uphill battle to get over as a baby face straight away. So I can understand why some would think he didn't go over too well as it was only at the end of the match after putting on a good show that the fans started to respect him, but unfortunately he hasn't been back. I think if he did go back he would get a much better response and would end up one of the crowd favorites given a handful more appearances.

[Big Benny HG]

No. 13: Mikey Whiplash

Score: 166 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2012 votes: 1

Percentage of 2012 ballots including Mikey Whiplash: 31.6%

(2011=13th, 2010=33rd, 2009=27th, 2008=24th, 2007=NL, 2006=NL, 2005=NL)

 

(Photo credit: Craig McDonald)

 

The former full-time All Star Wrestling roster member, who has worked all around mainland Europe, makes his 5th appearance in the UKFF UK50 and clinches the exact same ranking that he did 12 months ago. Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, the last year has seen Whiplash now base himself out of Scotland and appear for SWA and all the other major Scottish promotions.

 

In the SWA, Mikey had rumbled with the likes of Damian O'Connor and Mike Musso, before dethroning Andy Anderson for the NWA Scottish Heavyweight Title, the top honour in the promotion, at 'New Testament' this past June.

 

The new Pro Wrestling Elite promotion held it's first show in July 2011 in Ayr. On that night, Whiplash fought to a no-contest with BT Gunn, leading to a rematch on October's 'Rise of the Elite' event, where Gunn emerged victorious. At 'Elite Unfolds' the following April, Whiplash was bested by Andy Wild then, coming just after the end of the 2012 UKFF UK50 eligibility season, went to war in an all-English heavyweight 4-way with Stixx, Dave Mastiff and winner Johnny Moss at the 'One Year Anniversary Show'.

 

He also challenged for championship gold in PBW, where he was first defeated by Heavyweight champ Gunn in the main event of the Barrhead show in March, then teamed with Johnny Moss in an unsuccessful effort against tag team title holders Lionheart and Wolfgang at 'Breaking Limits 7' in Largs. He's also popped up in BCW, taking on Andy Wild and Joey Hayes.

 

An interesting character development came with Whiplash's debut for Insane Championship Wrestling in October. Faced with hardcore hero Jack Jester, Mikey unveiled a surprising, bizarre gothic cross-dressing persona. Though he lost

, he added to his act by stealing away Jester's valet. The feuding pair met again on the January 2012 show, with Jester again coming out on top. After beating Carme anbd Kay Lee Ray in a male vs. female 1 vs. 2 handicap match in February, Whiplash went to the final of the ICW Heavyweight Title number one contendership tournament, beating Kid Fite in his semi-final but

the following month. The situation with Jester then came to the fore once again, with the rivals meeting in a

, just after the end of our eligibility season.

 

Mikey also brought the transvestite gimmick to Preston City Wrestling, back down in England. Having made his debut for the promotion in a losing effort to PCW Heavyweight Champion T-Bone at 'Festive Fury', Whiplash brought the bizarre when he became Dave Rayne's latest tag team partner in the latter's attempt to defeat Disco Madness (Sam Bailey & Mad Man Manson), and came out the winners of their tag bout at 'Spring Slam'. This led the way to an all-male tag team Bra n' Panties rematch at the June show, the preparation involving a

in which cross-dressing Mikey tried to assist Rayne with selecting suitable attire. An absent Manson was replaced by hesitant Bubblegum in the actual match, and Whiplash and Rayne again came out on top.

 

Other English appearances included the continuation of his 2011 run in GPW. Having beaten William Gaylord on the last show before the Wigan outfit's traditional summer break, Whiplash replaced an injured and, thus increasingly disheartened, Danny Hope in

for a shot at GPW British Champion Jack Gallagher later that same evening. Whiplash beat Noam Dar, El Ligero and Dylan Roberts to earn the shot, which actually ended up taking place on the FutureShock Wrestling show in nearby Stockport 2 days later when ring failure caused the GPW show to end prematurely. Jack, on his way to the top of FutureShock, defeated Whiplash in a reportedly great match.

 

(Photo credit: Kate Ellison)

 

What did the UKFF think?

"Cross dressing gimmick has revitalized his career. Always been a fantastic wrestler but now has a great gimmick to match"

 

"Top talent, his consistency in the ring is second to none"

 

"Just awesome ive seen him steal the show in Gpw,pcw,futureshock and his new gimmick is a hoot"

 

"Amazing wrestler, disturbing to see in a dress"

 

"Never saw much of him until October, but either as a Straightlaced machine in SWA or a psychopathic transvestite in ICW he has been the best thing in either promotion"

 

"I didn

[BoomBoomBoom]

Amazing worker Mikey is, love his gimmick in ICW cant wait to see his upcoming match against Grado

[Big Benny HG]

No. 12: Mark Haskins

Score: 170 points

Total 1st place rankings in 2012 votes: 0

Percentage of 2012 ballots including Mark Haskins: 42.1%

(2011=4th, 2010=8th, 2009=8th, 2008=29th, 2007=NL, 2006=NL, 2005=NL)

 

 

Oxford's Mark Haskins drops out of the UKFF UK50 Top 10 after 3 years, yet still featured on over 4 out of every 10 individual UKFFers' individual Top 15s during Stage Three. He appears in the UKFF UK50 for the 5th time.

 

The 'Star Attraction' spent the 2012 eligibility period signed to a contract with TNA Wrestling, having impressed the right people with his appearances for the US company on their January 2011 tour of Europe. Haskins made his first appearance in Orlando at the iMPACT! Zone at 'Destination X' in July 2011, where he was beaten by Douglas Williams in a disappointing bout. He participated in the TV tapings held over the next few days, firstly as part of an X-Division gauntlet match (alongside winner Austin Aries, Alex Shelley, Zema Ion, Jesse Sorenson, Kid Kash, Tony Nese and Robbie E) for iMPACT!, then was beaten by Brian Kendrick in a bout taped for Xplosion, the secondary show which airs in the UK.

 

Up next, back on this side of the Atlantic, the TNA-contracted Haskins was part of the 2011 Dragon Gate UK tour in October. He had played an increasing role in the 2009 and 2010 tours, and when the 2011 series rolled around, he was cast in a key central role. On the first night, the Broxbourne Civic Hall in Hoddesdon, Herts, home to previous FWA, IPW:UK, ROH, LDN, DGUK an Pro Wrestling NOAH shows, was host to Haskins, Marty Scurll and The Lion Kid of Team UK downing CIMA, BxB Hulk and Naruki Doi of the Blood Warriors in a tremendous trios tussle. The following evening in Nottingham, on the biggest show of the tour, a desperate CIMA picked former-championship-partner-turned-rival GAMMA as his surprise tag-mate to face Haskins and Scurll, the Japanese going over in another contest of supreme quality. Finally, on the third and final day, the tour rolled on to Beeston on the outskirts of Nottingham. This time, Haskins had a main event singles match with Shingo Takagi, arguably the standout performer on previous DGUK events, but was defeated in what would end up being one more really good offering.

 

When TNA came back to town in early 2012, they wanted Haskins on board. Programmed with X-Division Champion Austin Aries and Alex Shelly, Haskins went down in 3-ways in Brussels, Nottingham and Manchester, before

on the episode of iMPACT! taped at Wembley Arena, a bout memorable for Haskins landing on his head during a shooting star press. When TNA headed back home, Haskins hit the roads of the UK with All Star Wrestling, where he had matches with The LDRS, James Mason, a

of

with Dean Allmark, and various tag team bouts with Nathan Cruz and

as his partners.

 

Since then, while not being used by TNA, Haskins has appeared in showcase matches for multiple promotions all over the country. He faced

in PCW, Kris Travis, Ego Dragon and Marty Scurll in SWE, Noam Dar and Andy Wild in PWE, Pac, Matt Myers and Lion Kid for NGW,

and many more. He returned to IPW:UK to reform his renowned tag team with Joel Redman, but 'The Thrillers' lost their match to Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) at 'No Escape' in February, leading to

with a post-match superkick. Haskins beat All Star foe Allmark at 'Battle Royal' in Swanley that March, before Haskins and Redman had their big grudge match at 'Revolution' in London the following month. There, Haskins beat Redman in the latter's farewell IPW:UK appearance before heading off to become Oliver Gray for WWE NXT.

 

 

What did the UKFF think?

"Has spent a lot of time in uk and has shown a great amount of improvement as year has gone on. Tna have got to use him in x division soon ?"

 

"Recently signed to TNA, but still works so regularly on the UK Scene. Plays the roll of such an arrogant and cocky heel, and the contents of his matches are always intriguing and interesting to watch. Fantastic matches this year with Austin Aries at TNA tour, recently had a 'show stealing' match with Matt Myers at NGW's 4th Anniversary Show, as well as a fantastic match with Rampage Brown most recently for the UKW Championship at UKW! Delivers in every match I've seen him in"

 

"Set up to fail by the way he was introduced to the TNA American fan base combined with some bad luck and some nervous moments will probably leave Mark Haskins feeling like he hasn