2014 UKFF UK50 - Results Thread

[Big Benny HG]

No. 17 - Eddie Dennis
Twitter: @eddiedennis1
Entrance theme: ‘Party Hard’ – Andrew WK / ‘Prelude 12/12’ – A.F.I.
Did anyone vote him No. 1 in 2014? Yes sir.

UKFF UK50 history:
50th in 2013.

Regular promotions during period:
PROGRESS Wrestling in London... Triple-X Wrestling in Coventry... Kamikaze Pro in Birmingham... Pro Wrestling Kingdom in Birmingham.

 

Photo credit: Grae Davidson (Y2Grae Photography) & Triple-X Wrestling

 

Teamed with fellow Triple-X Wrestling fan favourites to fight off the latest incarnation of the Damned Nation, but then turned and laid out champion Devilman to make his intentions for the belt known.  Won the annual ‘Clusterf*ck’ match to officially earn a shot at the title, then defeated Devilman for the championship at ‘WrestleCunts’... Since defending his newly-won gold against Chris Brookes, has been involved in a long-running feud with number one contender Pete Dunne as they fight through various tag team and ‘Pick Your Poison’ matches to build towards their big title showdown... Became a firm favourite with PROGRESS fans through his energetic performances in matches with Doug Williams, Darrell Allen and his 2013 Natural Progression Series semi-final exit to Paul Robinson... Teamed with fellow ‘Defend Indy Wrestling’ representative Mark Andrews to form F.S.U. (“Friends Stand United” / “Fuck Shit Up”) and win the tournament to determine the first ever PROGRESS Tag Team Champions.  Fell in subsequent singles matches to Michael Gilbert and Tommy End, but combination with Andrews retained their title against all odds with an unlikely victory over the previously-undefeated London Riots at ‘Chapter 14’... Continues to be a staple of the PROGRESS ENDVR shows, facing the likes of Joey Lakeside, Rob Lynch, Will Eaver and Josh Bodom... Fought MVK Val Kabious, ‘The Unpronouncable’ Eastern Reece, Stixx, Dragon Gate’s Uhaa Nation and ROH Television Champion Tommaso Ciampa across Kamikaze Pro events, before failing in his attempt to wrest that promotion’s title from Ryan Smile... Faced former ECW standout Sabu for south-west-based CSF last August.

UKFF says:
"Always entertaining, he never fails to give a top match"

 

"The Pride of Wales had his best year yet in my opinion. The only wrestler on my list who I only saw compete for one company (Progress). However hes been one of the most consistent wrestlers on the roster. Ridiculously over he has had great matches with a range of wrestlers with varying styles. Often wrestles on the ENDVR Shows where hes had some great matches with far less experienced workers"

 

"Super versatile and charismatic. Dennis should be main eventing all over the place this time next year"

 

"Just a really fun wrestler who always puts on really fun matches. Always enjoyable to watch. Maybe it's just the AFI entrance music, but he really reminds me of a Welsh CM Punk"

 

"Big guy, fast and agile - love his Lucha gimmick too"

 

"not a fan of his jokey/banter when a heel but he has had some bare mental matches this year at Progress while teaming with Andrews and his latest bout with Morgan Webster at attack stole the show"

Benny says:
This guy is genuinely one of my favourites on the entire UK circuit.  I love the infectious energy and passion he brings as a perfect babyface in PROGRESS, but on the opposite side of the coin I also get a big kick out of him as the slightly-daft, unaware, delusional pantomime heel champion in Triple-X, where he comes over as a huge star.  He has undeniable presence and charisma by the bucket load, which translates into entertaining, exciting matches.  Over in PROGRESS, his F.S.U. tag bouts against the Swords of Essex, Project Ego & Screw Indy Wrestling (3-way) and the London Riots deservedly get a lot of praise, but I also really enjoyed his big man vs. little man Natural Progression match with Paul Robinson, which was a forgotten gem of a fun little contest.

[Big Benny HG]

No. 16 – Rob Lynch
Entrance theme: ‘Diesel Power’ – The Prodigy
Did anyone vote him No. 1 in 2014? No.

UKFF UK50 history:
None.

Regular promotions during period:
IPW:UK in Kent... PROGRESS Wrestling in London... Revolution Pro Wrestling in London & Kent... Future Pro Wrestling in London.
 

Photo credit: 'Big' Rob Brazier & PROGRESS Wrestling

 

I covered both Rob Lynch and his London Riots tag team partner James Davis together back at Davis’ own UKFF UK50 entry at No. 18.

UKFF says (on Rob Lynch):

"This big guy shows that you can be big and offer more than just brute power in the ring"

 

"The bruiser of the team. Lynch displays remarkable athletic ability for a man his size and isn't afraid to bump for his opponents. The team are very believable and draws hatred from the crowd where ever they go"

 

"Fuck these guys are the best pricks ever. Hard hitting style with some great power moves"

 

"Enjoy watching these guys at Progress and Rev Pro especially as they are involved in the Jimmy Havoc regression stable"

[Big Benny HG]

No. 15 - Robbie X
Twitter: @RobBell1995
Entrance theme: ‘Good Feeling’ – Flo Rida
Did anyone vote him No. 1 in 2014: Noooooooo

UKFF UK50 history:
19th in 2013... 38th in 2012... 47th in 2011... 46th in 2010... 47th in 2009.

Regular promotions during period:
Southside Wrestling Entertainment in the East, East, East Midlands and Hertfordshire... House of Pain: Evolution in Nottingham... Kamikaze Pro in Birmingham... Leicester Pro Wrestling in Leicestershire... Fight Club:Pro in Wolverhampton.

 

Photo credit: Brett Hadley & Southside Wrestling Entertainment

 

After failing to regain the Southside Speed King title from Jay Lethal, teamed with Mark Haskins as the ‘StarbuX’ to down The Predators (Paul Malen & Joseph Connors) for the Southside tag team championship.  Retained against The Predators and Paul London & Brian Kendrick, but then dropped the belts to the Sumerian Death Squad (Tommy End & Michael Dante) in a bout immediately following the latter... Teamed with X-Pac to beat Project Ego in May... Southside also afforded him showcase bouts with Johnny Gargano, Zack Sabre Jr, Prince Devitt, Petey Williams, AR Fox, Juventud Guerrera and, most recently, Chris Sabin as part of a bumper year... Squared-off with another US indie star in Davey Richards for Real Deal Wrestling in Lincolnshire... Won Kamikaze Pro’s version of the ‘Money in the Bank’ then, after several attempts, finally beat Damian Dunne for the Relentless Division title.  Defended against AR Fox and El Ligero before losing to Kamikaze Pro Champion Ryan Smile in a title unification Ladder match in June... Appeared as ROBBIE X-MAS on ATTACK! Wrestling’s December ‘Under the MistleTour’, which included him competing in a SNOW HOLDS BARRED match... Debuted for Preston City Wrestling at the ‘Road to Glory’ tournament in February, losing to Joey Hayes in the first round, then taking part in a cracking non-tourney 4-way with Martin Kirby, Noam Dar and ROH’s Tommaso Ciampa the next day... Competed in Italy in May, then debuted for PROGRESS Wrestling the next day in the 2014 Natural Progression Series.  He lost to Pete Dunne.

UKFF says:
"Robbie really broke out last year and this year has established himself as one of the best on the UK scene. Has been handed bigger and bigger matches and risen to the challenge every time. Made impressive debuts in Fight Club, Preston and Rev Pro over the last year and continued to star in Southside with possibly the 2 best matches of his career with Jay Lethal and Zack Sabre Jr."

 

"This year I've finally seen what people have been saying about Robbie X for years"

 

"Good high flyer. X-Pac gave him a ringing endorsement after their Southside match against Project Ego. I didn't know if he was just one dimensional but I caught him at House of Pain Evolution being a heel against Sebastian Radclaw and he was pretty good at it"

 

Benny says:
I first came across Robbie X in 2007, when he was a 13ish-year old 1PW trainee who did an unscheduled run-in on an IPW:UK show, did a flip off the ring apron, landed on his back on the floor and started crying as the IPW:UK fans laughed at him.  My friends and I still talk and laugh about that incident to this day.  He apparently moved on to the House of Pain training system in Nottingham, and then started working regularly for Southside.  I saw nothing but little bits and pieces from him over the years, but nothing that made me think anything other than that he was ‘a bit shit’, so I was naturally skeptical of all these reports I kept seeing that were raving about him.  It wasn’t, then, until I saw him in GPW last October against Dylan Roberts that I finally realised ‘Whoa – this guy’s actually really good’.  He continued to shine brightly in the 3 bouts I saw him have at the PCW February weekender, and am somewhat surprised he hasn’t been back since there seems to be a ready-made slot on the roster for him to slip right into.  Match with Pete Dunne in PROGRESS was fine, though much more memorable for the awesome crowd giving him jip about his ‘red face’ and Gadge’s attempted chant/song “He’s got a red face on his head” getting picked up by the wider audience as the now-legendary “HE’S GOT A RED FACE ON HIS FACE”.

[Big Benny HG]

No. 14 – Bubblegum
Twitter: @Pipbubblegum
Entrance theme: ‘Jus’ A Rascal’ – Dizzee Rascal / ‘Where's The Love’ - Hanson
Did anyone vote him No. 1 in 2014?  Non.

UKFF UK50 history:
26th in 2013... 16th in 2012... 14th in 2010... 1st (WINNER) in 2009... 3rd in 2008... 5th in 2007... 37th in 2006.

Regular promotions during period:
Preston City Wrestling in Preston... Infinite Promotions in Liverpool... Pro Wrestling Kingdom in Birmingham.

 

Photo credit: Tony Knox & True Grit Wrestling

 

Is a founding member of ‘Team Single’ in PCW, aligning him with T-Bone and Rampage Brown.  The trio have contested multiple 6-man and 8-man (with fellow villain Joey Hayes) tag bouts against different combinations of goodies... Fans sing his entrance theme back to him as "Just a Rent Boy"... Failed to win the Money In the Bank Ladder match at PCW’s 2nd anniversary show, but did beat female wrestler April Davids for the Cruiserweight strap at ‘Who Dares Wins’ in March, a belt he continues to wear to this day... Other PCW opponents have included international names Elijah Burke, Awesome King, Al Snow, The Godfather, Papa Shango (yes) and Chris Hero, whilst he has also faced the likes of Hardcore Holly, D-Lo Brown, Chris Masters, Juventud Guerrera and Uhaa Nation as part of tag attractions...

 

As a babyface at Infinite Pro, feuded with champion CJ Banks and his associate Sam Bailey, including a steel cage match against the former and a Baseball Bat On A Pole contest with the latter.  Reformed the Hubba Bubba Lucha unit with El Ligero as part of that series, then won an 8-team tournament, beating The Models in the final, to become the first Infinite Promotions Tag Team Champions... Returned to Wigan’s Grand Pro Wrestling as part of the 2013 ‘Crazy Cruiser 8’ tournament, where he lost to Jack Gallagher in the first round.  Joined Damon Leigh, Cyanide and Binman at ‘Only The Strong Survive’ the following April as part of an 8-man tag team elimination match, where they made an unsuccessful attempt to win back the GPW Heavyweight Title from evil invader faction The Cause... Appeared on the 4FW-hosted Michinoku Pro tour, tying up with Ultimo Dragon and Hiromu Takahashi across two nights... Faced Mark Andrews and El Ligero in Manchester punk-based underground promotion HXC.

UKFF says:

"This man is pure gold. In simplest terms, he's brilliant at being a prick. Walking the line between annoying and amusing is tough, but 'gum remains a guy I simply love to hate. There are few things in wrestling more fun than singing "He's just a rent boy" at Bubblegum and watching him strop"

 

"A fantastic ‘chicken shit’ heel – yet brings the intensity when the time is right. A good all-rounder"

 

"his PCW run has been incredible, also live the fact he's tagging with ligero again"

 

"although probably a 'veteran' these days, he still has more to offer than 90% of the workers in this country"

 

"Gum's only getting better as the years go by, ever since he went heel in 2010 it's stated a chain reaction that's made him a much better performer, his face work has always been brilliant and his heel work is even better, I hope trainees are paying close attention to Bubblegum, this guy knows how to get a response"

 

Benny says:
A truly fantastic pro wrestler by whatever standard you choose to measure.  His annoying, sneaky, brash, cocky little dickhead chav Man City fan persona that he has created for himself is tremendous – it’s funny, but never in a way you want to cheer him, always that you want to see him humiliated and beaten.  You never, ever see him in anything less than a good performance that he isn’t entirely convincing in.  Linking him with T-Bone and Rampage in PCW has proved a masterstroke – they all play off each other fantastically (usually ‘Gum hiding behind his ‘muscle’, sneaking in and picking his opportune moments to strike).  In terms of actual in-ring action, he can go with the very best, as evidenced by his top drawer 3-way Cruiserweight Title matches vs. Kris Travis & Mark Andrews and, after the end of this year’s UKFF UK50 period, Mark Andrews & Austin Aries.  His awesome match with Ligero in April was also the highlight of an impressive debut show from new Leeds outfit True Grit Wrestling.  In the few places he still appears as a blue-eye, such as the GPW bouts I saw him in, he shows he is still just as great in drawing sympathy and support in that role as he was back in 2008 when those qualities saw him win this entire UK50 thing.

[Big Benny HG]

No. 13 – Doug Williams
Twitter: @DougWilliamsUK
Entrance theme: 'British Invasion Theme' - TNA Wrestling
Did anyone vote him No. 1 in 2014? No.  No.  No.

UKFF UK50 history:
1st (WINNER) in 2008... 1st (WINNER) in 2007... 1st (WINNER) in 2006... 1st (WINNER) in 2005.

Regular promotions during period:
Preston City Wrestling in Preston... PROGRESS Wrestling in London... All-Star Wrestling (nationwide)... ‘A-Merchandise Presents’ in the south-east... Revolution Pro Wrestling in the south-east... Premier Promotions on the south coast...

 

Photo credit: Gordon Harris & Preston City Wrestling

 

Started the period as PCW Heavyweight Champion, after beating T-Bone in May 2013.  Held onto the belt in a brilliant 60-minute Iron Man match against El Ligero at PCW’s ‘Too Good To Be Two’, but dropped it immediately afterwards when rumble winner Lionheart seized the opportunity to claim his guaranteed title match... Became involved in a 3-way title situation with Lionheart and Noam Dar, failing to regain his belt from LH at ‘Final Fight’ but defeating Dar at ‘Fright Night II’.  Teamed with Lionheart to beat Dar & Uhaa Nation at ‘Supershow 3’, then beat Uhaa in a singles bout at ‘Festive Fury’ the following month.  That one was his final PCW appearance to date... Won a 3-way over Eddie Dennis & Darrell Allen at PROGRESS ‘Chapter 8’, but failed to unseat Rampage Brown as the PROGRESS Champion in the main event of the next show... Fought Rampage’s ‘Screw Indy Wrestling’ stablemate Nathan Cruz at ‘Chapter 10’, then Dave Mastiff on PROGRESS’ debut in Camden’s Electric Ballroom...

 

Wrestled Johnny Kidd and Marty Scurll as part of A-Merchandise’s 2013 shows, then Jonny Storm, Zack Sabre Jr. and Rampage Brown on the 2014 return... Appeared as part of a 12-man, 4-way trios tag match on ‘Rowdy’ Ricky Knight’s retirement show, then returned to the WAW promotion in March to beat Steve Corino for the vacant World Heavyweight Title... Made guest appearances in Southside Wrestling Entertainment to face Mark Haskins, FutureShock Wrestling to fight champion Cyanide, British Championship Wrestling to battle their champ Kid Fite, IPW:UK to contest the All-England Title with Jonny Storm, Premier British Wrestling to fight Lionheart on the ‘Maximum Impact’ supershow, Infinite Promotions to wrestle Damon Leigh and UKMEW to tangle with his late-90s/early-00s enemy Kerry Cabrero... Appeared in Germany for wXw, POW and EWP, and won the TopCatch European Title from Michael Kovac down in Austrian promotion EWA (and later losing it to Johnny Moss)... Returned to TNA during their January 2014 UK tour, appearing on an episode of Impact and then at the ‘Jokers Wild’ One Night Only PPV taping.

UKFF says:

"It would have been easy for Doug to come home after leaving TNA and just coast by but he's still working fucking hard out there every time to make sure his opponent looks great. We're lucky to have him back home"

 

"It's as if he never left us to join TNA, still the technical master he was back in the day"

 

"C'mon, he's Doug, is there really anyone reading this list who needs his inclusion justifying?"

 

"A pleasure to have Doug back on our shores. I enjoyed getting the chance to see him take on some of the newer generation of British stars during this past voting period"

 

Benny says:

You don't see this guy for years as he's off doing his thing in America, then he comes back years later just as solid, smooth, capable and reliable.  His 60-minute Iron Man Match with El Ligero over the PCW strap was excellent; one of my top British matches of 2013.  They started slow, but built and built and built, making the final 20 minutes genuinely thrilling.  His December PCW match with Uhaa Nation was also impressive and in no doubt added to the popularity of Uhaa in that city.  I also saw Doug and Cyanide contest a really, really good match in Manchester for the FutureShock title last summer, his PROGRESS title battle with Rampage was terrific, and his trips down to Triple-X have usually added a legitimacy and elevation to the younger performers he has been working with.  He tends to work more as a special attraction in 2014, rather than the focus of storylines etc. but it is always a treat to see him listed on a card.

[ryan1888]

is this getting finished at all ?

[PunkStep]

Give him a break, it's only been a week since his last entry. It's not exactly a ten second job doing a write-up for each entry.

[cobystag]

He still has 20 days left of 2014.

[FLips]

It's why I never bother with these things. I appreciate they take effort, but they're so slow. And where's the shitarses we were promised?

[Retro Red]

But you're posting in the thread, which indicates that you have bothered with this thing.

[FLips]

Well I didn't vote, have checked it maybe a handful of times, and couldn't tell you who placed where.

 

So no, it doesn't.

[Southside crew]

He still has 20 days left of 2014.

 

 

Not any more.

 

Is it often that it is finished by the end of the year ?

[Linus]

I suppose Ben will have to give you all your money back for not getting it finished by now. What's that? Oh.

[Big Benny HG]

No. 12 – Mark Haskins
Twitter: @Mark_Haskins
Entrance theme: 'Hold On (Mark Haskins theme)' – WrestlingStore.co.uk
Did anyone vote him No. 1 in 2014? Why yes.  Yes they did.

 

UKFF UK50 history:
7th in 2013... 12th in 2012... 4th in 2011... 8th in 2010... 8th in 2009... 29th in 2008.

 

Regular promotions during period:
Southside Wrestling Entertainment in Hertfordshire & the East Midlands... New Generation Wrestling in Hull... PROGRESS Wrestling in London... Revolution Pro Wrestling in the South-East... IPW:UK in Kent... WrestlingStore.co.uk in the South-East... Fight Club: PRO in Wolverhampton.

 

Photo credit - Brett Hadley & Southside Wrestling Entertainment

 

Won the Heavyweight Championship from Stixx as part of a 3-way (with Max Angelus) at Southside’s Third Anniversary show, then added that promotion’s tag team titles to his haul when he joined Robbie X to down The Predators the following month.  The so-called ‘StarBuX’ would lose the tag straps to continental standouts The Sumerian Death Squad (Michael Dante & Tommy End), but Haskins himself kept hold of his singles gold with wins over Stixx, Uhaa Nation, Trent Barretta, Prince Devitt, T-Bone and Roderick Strong... Was already the Heavyweight Champion as a bad guy up in NGW, who aligned himself with heel authority figure Richie West in ‘The Control’.  Lost that belt to El Ligero in a streetfight, held at the Hull Ice Arena on NGW’s biggest card of 2013.  Moved from there into a feud with Ligero’s protégé Dara Diablo... Part of the SCREW INDY WRESTLING faction in PROGRESS, where he lost successive bouts to Stixx, Zack Sabre Jr. (in a thrilling 3-way with Ricochet) and Adam Cole, then targeted the Tag Team Championship alongside SIW stablemates Nathan Cruz then Sha Samuels...

 

Twice failed to wrest the All-England Title from Jonny Storm in IPW:UK, but reached the quarter-finals of the 64-man British National Championship tournament before being eliminated by eventual winner Darrell Allen... Unsuccessfully challenged Dave Mastiff for the Fight Club: PRO title, then reached the final of the 2013 ‘Infinity Trophy’ tournament, where he was beaten by Trent Seven... Was a key part of tours from Tidal Championship Wrestling and WrestlingStore.co.uk/A-Merchandise then, just after the end of the 2014 eligibility period, once again took a central role in the Dragon Gate UK tour, sending long-time partner/rival Marty Scurll packing from DG:UK in a fantastic No Disqualification contest.

 

UKFF says:
"Strangely seems to have been phased out from Rev Pro and Fight Club despite being one of their best performers, yet has enjoyed a great year as top dog in Southside winning their title and taking on all comers. Always reliable to put on an excellent match and is a true main event talent, most memorable matches include Trent Baretta, London and Kendick, Prince Devitt and the genesis of his feud with Tommy End"

 

"Quite possibly my favourite British wrestler today every show i have seen him on be it at dguk, progress, ipw uk or rev pro has been made better because of his matches on the card"

 

"Consistently on the best shows from Progress to FCP, Southside to DragonGate - works hard every time"

 

Benny says:
Though I didn’t see him in the starring-roles he occupied in Southside and NGW, the matches I saw him have in PROGRESS, RevPro, Tidal and later DG:UK showed him to still be one of the smoothest, most capable performers going.  While I can’t point to many where he stole the show, the PROGRESS 3-way with Ricochet and Zack was superb; a genuine UK Match-of-the-year candidate in 2013 (I think it was one of about 4 matches I had pegged at ****1/4).  Though I personally think he’s much better as a baddie, and although it came after the end of this year’s eligibility period, his continued blow-up with Marty Scurll in DG:UK, followed by the awesome climatic bout in Broxbourne, was brilliant.

[Big Benny HG]

No. 11 – Noam Dar
Twitter: @NoamDar
Entrance theme: ‘Do I Wanna Know’ – Arctic Monkeys / ‘Morning Glory’ - Oasis
Did anyone vote him No. 1 in 2014? Nay.

UKFF UK50 history:
4th in 2013... 2nd in 2012... 19th in 2011... 43rd in 2010.

Regular promotions during period:
Preston City Wrestling in Preston... Insane Championship Wrestling in Glasgow (& tours)... British Championship Wrestling in Lanarkshire & Ayrshire... PROGRESS Wrestling in London... Premier British Wrestling across Scotland.

 

Photo credit - Gordon Harris & Preston City Wrestling

 

Returned from injury in October 2013 to face long-term rival Andy Wild at ICW’s ‘Fear & Loathing VI’, then subsequently contended for Mark Coffey’s Zero-G Championship in both singles matches and a triple-threat also starring Prince Devitt...  Return in Preston City Wrestling saw a storyline where he was at loggerheads with PCW management, who refused to book him straight back into the Heavyweight Title scene.  From there, went on a year-long PCW losing streak where, amongst others, he recorded losses to Lionheart, Doug Williams, Steve Corino, Chris Hero, Martin Kirby and even Mad Man Manson.  Over this period, showed more and more frustration, desperation and despair each time, as the audience gradually turned on and mocked him.  Finally turned fully to the dark side at when the frustration exploded in a bout with Dean Allmark at ‘Supershow 4’then beat the c**p out of Dave Rayne at the Third Anniversary Show...

Beat El Ligero at PROGRESS ‘Chapter Eleven’ in January; a rematch of their awesome contest the previous year.  Won the PROGRESS one-night, eight-man ‘World Cup’ in June by defeating Grado, Darrell Allen and Rampage Brown, thus earning a shot at Champion Jimmy Havoc.  His challenge came at ‘Chapter 14’, where the referee missed Havoc tapping-out and instead counted Dar down... Won the BCW Openweight Title in a 4-way Ladder match at ‘No Blood, No Sympathy XI’, then held onto the gold in defences against Kris Travis and Grado... Also appeared on Tidal Championship Wrestling shows in Newcastle and Leeds, and turned up in Manchester’s FutureShock Wrestling to battle technical wizard Jack Gallagher.

UKFF says:
"Dar has had a tough year with injuries and it has affected his in ring performance. But his personality has excelled and he's still really entertaining to watch"

 

"I ranked Dar number two last year and in reality his talent would suggest that ranking but injuries kept Dar out of the ring for too much of the voting period to rank him above others"

 

"After an unfortunate period with injuries Noam appears to be getting back on track with a more mature outlook and style. Another guy who is becoming a really good promo"

 

"match with El Ligero at progress chapter 11 was amazing and also his comedy match with grado at the progress world cup were just some highlights of this guy who has everything going for him at the moment"

 

"Funny, technically sound and exciting to watch, any card with Noam on becomes interesting. Southside Speedking and PCW have been stand out for Dar"

Benny says:
During Lionheart’s PCW Heavyweight Title reign, when the champ was getting mega-heat, Dar seemed to be on the verge of being positioned into the PCW lead babyface role, and the crowd was definitely ready and eager to accept him as the guy to get behind in taking down the passionately-hated champion.  Things didn’t end up working out that way, and Dar’s losing streak storyline went in a different direction.  Now, losing streak angles in wrestling are rarely any good, but Dar’s storyline in PCW was actually pulled-off really, really well.  His anger and frustration visibly grew each time and the audience, picking up on what was going in, went from believing in him as the next championship hope to openly mocking his inability to win.  Perfect.  His ‘bad guy, don’t give a f**k’ character over the course of the summer was excellent.  Don’t ask me to explain why, then, he suddenly appeared as a good guy across the entire recent ‘Supershow of Honor’ weekend with no explanation...

Away from PCW, I saw him have a really strong match with ROH’s Michael Elgin for RevPro in London.  The PROGRESS World Cup, which for all the world looked like Rampage Brown’s, came as somewhat of a shock when Dar picked up the win, but Dar was perfectly credible over subsequent shows as one of the promotion’s lead babyfaces, taking the war right to Jimmy Havoc’s Regression stable.  He’s also a really funny guy, as his bouts with Grado and Martin Kirby have evidenced.  Everyone has been saying ‘next year will be Dar’s biggest and best yet’ every year for, erm, years now, but I don’t have any reason to suspect it not to be true.