The Yorkshire Wrestling Discussion Thread

[Big Benny HG]

The Yorkshire area is one of the busiest in terms of wrestling events anywhere in the country, some of which have their own threads on here, most of which don’t.  I therefore thought it would be best-served to have a ‘catch-all’ thread to cover the various shows and goings on in North, South, East and West Yorkshire, as well as Teesside (well, it was once considered part of the North Riding) that don’t get a dedicated thread.

 

At my last count, we currently have the following running (or having run) in an area which could probably be covered in just over an hour-or-so’s drive:

 

New Generation Wrestling

Storyline-driven family-friendly shows in Hull, Northallerton, Keighley, Pudsey and Beverley, and also further afield in Liverpool.  I’ll post more on them shortly.

 

TIDAL Wrestling

Mainly runs more ‘grown-up’ all-standing nightclub shows in Leeds, but also more family-friendly cards in occasional other locations like Darlington and Newcastle.  I’ll also post more on TIDAL very soon.

 

GRAPPLE

Leeds-based training school, also running regular shows in towns like Selby, Horsforth and Garforth that feature their trainees.  I went to one of their shows in Selby earlier this year which, in accepting the experience level of most on the cards, was a fine and perfectly fun way to spend a fiver for a Sunday afternoon’s entertainment.  I’ll no doubt go back.

 

UKWE

I think this is the reincarnation of UKW, which used to run out of the ‘Wrestling Warehouse’ in Wakefield and had that awful TV show on MyChannel on Sky.  Now seems to be overhauled and upgraded, and has recently announced that Control Nightclub at Cardigan Fields leisure park in Leeds (a brilliant venue, which hosted the first 2 TGW events in 2014) will be their regular home.

 

Mega Slam Wrestling

This is Brad Flash’s group, isn’t it?  Runs All-Star-esque family pantomime shows on holiday camps and caravan sites in the region, as well as in Yorkshire coast towns like Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough.  Also recently ran a show at the DONCASTER DOME.

 

Elite British Wrestling

Runs family shows in a theatre in Sheffield.  I believe Mark Sanders and Mikey Van Riot are key stars.

 

LPW

Bowler~!  You know all about this....

 

Monkey Madness Wrestling

Ran a reportedly fun working men’s club debut event in York in May using a mix of locals and ATTACK/DEFEND guys.  Despite being the most local event to my home, I missed the show due to being on honeymoon.  They are running there again in October, but I think I’ll be missing that one too since it’s the same night as RevPro/NJPW Global Wars UK in Reading.

 

4GW

Runs in Castleford.

 

Phoenix

Runs Rotherham, I think.

 

EPW

Runs AMERICAN WRESTLING LIVE-type shows across Teesside, North Yorkshire and County Durham, usually advertising steel cage matches, TLC matches and falls-count-anywhere bouts all on the same poster.  Attracts big crowds for their shows at the Rainbow Leisure Centre in Coulby Newham.  Got recent internet attention for their advertising of a ‘DILDO ON A POLE’ match for their 18+ shows in Middlesbrough.  Started running the old 3CW home venue of the Billingham Synthonia Social Club theatre, after 3CW dropped it on moral grounds when the venue’s theatre school manager was implicated in a paedophilia scandal.

 

First-Class Wrestling

Tony Spitfire’s (?) occasional Teesside-based All-Star clone, once known as All-Action Wrestling, using a lot of All-Star and former WZW guys.  Inherited Middlesbrough Town Hall from All-Star to run a couple of times a year, as well as occasional shows in Redcar and other north-east locations.  I saw one of their ‘Boro shows in 2013 that featured Spitfire, Nathan Cruz, Ringo Ryan, AJ Anderson, Robbie Dynamite, Little Legs, Colossus and even the otherwise long-forgotten (but completely transformed) former Full Pack member ‘Loud Mouth’ Mickey Long.  It was fair, for what you’d expect from this type of thing.

 

True Grit Wrestling

The ‘big sister’ partner promotion to GRAPPLE, that ran 3 terrific Leeds nightclub shows in 2014 and was supposed to move to UKW’s Wakefield warehouse venue for a full 2015 schedule.  After another good first Wakefield show, the venue became unavailable and all planned events were cancelled.  Current status of promotion is unknown.

 

Pro Wrestling Heroes

Ran a really fun debut event in a workies’ in Leeds back in May but have been quiet since.  Facebook hints at something being planned for December.

 

RI:SE

That’s ‘Radical Innovation Sports Entertainment’, in case you were wondering.  Runs (ran?) underground fight club-like adult shows  at Temple Works in Leeds, having originally intended to be based in Middlesbrough.

 

Woah.  And all of that is in addition to Southside, ICW, LDN and, yep, WWE that all run a few events in the region every year too, and just on the edge of the counties you have HOP:E in Mansfield and RDW in Lincolnshire as well.  Some is good, some is not so good, but there’s always something happening...

 

It fascinates me how many promotions are actually running specifically in Leeds, all using pretty much the exact same core of wrestlers and drawing pretty much the exact same people in the crowd.

[Big Benny HG]

Purposeful double-post, to start off with some notes on New Generation Wrestling (NGW), which is a promotion I haven’t really ever paid much attention to, but has recently piqued my interest.

 

They started running in the late 00s in a small community hall in a residential area on the outskirts of Hull, but attracted the eye of one Alex Shane and became the centre-piece of the British Wrestling Council movement as a strongly-branded, heavily-story-driven product. They outgrew the little recreation centre and started pulling big crowds to the AIRCO Arena and Ice Arena in the city, and, in addition to a regular smaller show circuit, now draw 1’000+ attendances to their big shows at Hull City Hall. They’ve also added Liverpool Olympia to their list, running there again in November.

 

I’ve so far only ever attended one of their events live, which was a fun Northallerton show about a year ago, but have recently started following the promotion more closely through the ‘British Wrestling Weekly’ television show which airs on many of the new local TV stations on Freeview 8/Sky 117 (I one I currently get is ‘Made in Leeds’), where I’ve been impressed with their storylines and overall presentation as a product you can follow, which builds to the key events. The recent ‘Ultimate Showdown’ in July, for instance, came over on TV as an unmissable event, with everything on the card having a backstory and having been build up to mean something. I’ve got that to look forward to in terms of my TV viewing coming up, as I’ve currently got about 6-weeks’ worth of the TV show stacked up in my Sky planner to catch up on (and, of course, I did miss this unmissable event in terms of attending live, since I was about 8-weeks behind on the TV and only started seeing the build-up after the show had actually happened...).

 

I also like their roster, which is a good blend of local names (Matt Myers, Dara Diablo, Sam Wilder, Caz Crash, Colossus, Liam ‘Lazarus’ Slater, Dan James etc.) and national stars (Rampage Brown, Nathan Cruz, El Ligero, Bubblegum, Mark Haskins, Martin Kirby, Zack Gibson, Stixx, London Riots etc.). Everyone has a distinguishable and recognisable character, as well as something understandable to do on each show. As I continue to watch the TV, I’ll start posting some reviews and notes in this thread, and look forward to adding NGW to my regular live attendance plans as and when I can going forward.

 

I might get stick for this, but do you know how I personally would best describe NGW? 2003 FWA, done to 2015 BritWres standards of scale and quality...

 

The current NGW schedule looks like this:

 

Sat 05/09/15 is an untitled event at the Hambleton Forum in Northallerton, North Yorkshire (a cracking little venue in which I saw my first ever live wrestling show way back in 1994, which now resembles a northern, smaller, version of staple British wrestling venue the Broxbourne Civic Hall). I’m tempted by this one in my former hometown, but it does clash with the Josh Warrington title fight in Leeds the same night.

 

Sat 19/09/15 is ‘Collision Course 2015’ at the Hull City Hall. Again, I’m tempted by this, given it is one of their big key events that all the storylines build to (and I hope the weekly TV show, provided I’m caught-up, is scheduled to fit-in storyline-wise). It’s also a fantastic-looking venue on TV, and is likely to draw another 1,000+ crowd.

 

‘Eternal Glory 2015’ isn’t in Yorkshire, but is over at the Liverpool Olympia on the afternoon of Sunday 01/11/15. I sound repetitive now, but this really is one that I’m tempted by given that I’ll already be in nearby Preston the day before for PCW’s big ‘Super Fright Night’ show. I didn’t bother with any of the TNA tours or the BritWresFest event, so my last visit to the Olympia would be back in 2007 for the second ROH UK tour and the ‘King of Europe Cup’ that came a few weeks later. I really like Liverpool as a city, but have only managed one return visit since then (for an impressive Infinite Promotions show, again coming the day after a PCW event).

 

Sat 21/11/15 is ‘Auld Enemies Collide’ at the Victoria Hall in Keighley. I’m making the obvious assumption from the title that this is going to have an England vs. Scotland theme, and the likes of Joe Hendry, Kid Fite and Davey Blaze have already been introduced and established to the Keighley crowd given their appearance on the last show there.

 

“Man!!”

 

Some notes on TIDAL Wrestling coming soon. ..

[PRINCE2356]

Regards NGW, they have just started running Pudsey just outside of Leeds a couple of weeks ago by all accounts the show drew a good crowd of around 300-400 plus it was only £2.50 for a pint (so good in my book).

 

With it being my first NGW show i couldn't help but notice the bad entrance themes which sound like they are done on a 1990s casio keyboard, The London Riots theme was just sirens and whistles. Apart from that they put on a good product and i think they said they are due to run again in 2016 in Pudsey so i will be a regular to that.

[Big Benny HG]

Oh god yes. The homemade custom entrance themes they use (presumably to avoid TV rights issues) are fucking abysmal. Most just sound like a collection of random noises.

 

Are there no local up-and-coming bands they could get to knock something up?

[truthofsin]

RE: Monkey Madness..

 

The debut show was a lot of fun and had a really stacked roster for a debut. Being only a few minutes walk from my flat made a it a no brainer. Had a fun night and would be attending their upcoming second show if not for it taking place on a Saturday. Hopefully the move to Saturday pulls in a larger crowd for them though, as the initial mid week debut show didn't get much in the way of attendance sadly. A real shame as the show was a lot of fun. Ligero and Stixx brawling on Melrosegate was fantastic. Hoping these guys draw a crowd this time around as i'd love to attend future shows.

 

RE: Tidal..

 

I've missed 3 Leeds shows since their debut (haven't been further afield), sadly this includes their last 2 outings. Between Glastonbury and working it just wasn't to be. But every time i've been to a Tidal show i've always come home happy. They continue to go from strength to strength with every show and have slowly built up a solid fan base along the way. The man behind Tidal is also a lovely bloke, very approachable and with a genuine love for what he's doing. The move downstairs to Stylus has been a positive one, as the atmosphere in there is unique and adds a lot to the shows. If you ever get the chance to go to a Tidal show, i'd highly recommend it.

[Panhead]

I always enjoy Tidal. The shows at the Cockpit were pretty good but Stylus really does feel like its home. It has a similar feel to PCW with the chanting and stuff. I missed their last Leeds show but the one before with the Lego Deathmatch was great.

[Big Benny HG]

As promised, some thoughts on TIDAL, who have become one of my regular promotions these days.

They started in late 2013 run, I believe, by an established gig promoter (Hidden Talent Booking, or have I remembered that wrong?) who wanted to try their hand at pro wrestling.  The result was a star-studded nationwide tour that I described at the time, based on line-ups, presentation and style, as being like “RevPro Does All-Star”.  Some venues worked well, some didn’t, but based on their experiences of that initial tour the promotion settled into a regular schedule of Leeds, Darlington and Newcastle shows.

I went to the Darlington leg of the initial tour, then another enjoyable Darlington show at the end of 2014, but since then have attended nearly all the Leeds shows in 2015 (March clashed with PROGRESS...).  What’s more, the June show, ‘High Tide 2015’, was one of my favourite live shows I’ve seen anywhere in the country this year, though it’s true to say that all of the Leeds events in general have been very good.

It’s also true to say that the Leeds TIDAL shows are a completely different beast to that you would see from them in, say, Darlington.  Given the initial Leeds shows were at the now-closed famed gig venue ‘The Cockpit’, they always seemed to have more of an underground, ‘grown-up’ feel to them compared to the rest of their circuit, and they quickly established a reputation for big, wild brawls that would occasionally spill onto the street outside.  When The Cockpit closed down, the shows moved to the Student Union building at Leeds University, initially in an upstairs event space but now moved down into their (quite frankly brilliant) regular home of Stylus nightclub in the basement.  I would definitely agree with the comparison to PCW, and not just because of the standing, nightclub-type environment.  In exactly the same way as what makes the Preston shows so enjoyable, you have a very enthusiastic, vocal and responsive audience that is really into all the characters and matches, and you can tell this is a crowd that really wants to have fun.  Audience-wrestler participation is high, with the baddies on the receiving end of some fantastic teasing and heckling.

The actual cast of characters you will see on the shows is actually one of the most unique  and attractive things about the promotion.  They are mainly built around a core of local regulars (like El Ligero, Rampage Brown, Martin Kirby, Liam Lazarus, Dan James, Sean Only, The Proven, JD Boom, Ruby Summers and Violet O’Hara) who will be on most events and who carry most of the show-to-show storylines.  On top of this, you then get a handful (car full...) of guys from different parts of the country each time out to make what is possibly the most varied and interesting rosters you’ll see in British wrestling.  I mean, look at the line-ups I’ve gone on to list below and tell me you can see shows with such an eclectic mix anywhere else... One time you might get a group from Scotland (Wolfgang, Noam Dar, Grado, the Coffeys, Big Damo etc.), the next you might get a gang from the south-east (London Riots, Bakewell Boys, Pastor William Eaver, Oliver Peace etc.), then you could have a group of the DEFEND/ATTACK regulars from the Midlands (Pete Dunne, Damian Dunne, Ryan Smile, Chris Brookes, Nixon Newell, Tyler Bate etc.), or guys from Wales, or from Manchester.  Then, in addition to all of this, the shows will likely be rounded off by local GRAPPLE trainees in supporting roles.  In a time when most promotions that run in the same areas as others all generally tend to use the same guys, TIDAL are doing something very different and putting out a blend you can’t see anywhere else.

There are 2 belts, oops, “championships”, up for grabs in TIDAL; the TCW Championship that Liam Lazarus won from Rampage Brown at the end of 2014, and the Open Championship recently won by Sean Only.  So, while they do have national names on all the shows, they are going with two fairly lesser-known wrestlers as their championship cornerstones.  Hailing from Bradford (or, to use the local dialect, “Bra’ford”), Liam is a somewhat newcomer and someone I’m really high on as a prospect, having seen him around various Yorkshire shows over the last 12 months.  He does a Yorkshire Tea-drinking, Vengaboys-dancing, “look-how-WACKY-I-am” babyface character at present, which he’s good at and is infectiously entertaining, but will always have a ceiling in terms of how he will be perceived.  Since he does do so much of the goofiness, on the occasions in matches where he has had to show some real aggression, intensity and fire, it comes over brilliantly.  Sean Only, originally from Liverpool, is someone I’ve yet to be convinced by in terms of ability, having yet had chance to see him in what I would call a ‘good’ match.  He is obviously very heavily influenced by CM Punk and Seth Rollins in terms of appearance and style, to the point it’s actually a distraction and a disconnect when I watch him.  Having said that, he recently turned on Lazarus to effectively put himself in the role of TIDAL’s top heel.  While his lone TIDAL match since the turn (the one in which he won the new Open Title) ended prematurely due to his legitimate shoulder injury, it did seem to be a role that he is far, far better suited to, coming over as a great dirty sleazeball heel.  I’m looking forward to seeing what he has in store.

Anyway, that’s enough from me.  Here’s what they have coming up for the rest of 2015:

Saturday 12/09/15 is ‘ Last Dance’ at the Dolphin Centre in Darlington.  It’s currently scheduled to be TIDAL’s last Darlington show, given poor crowds there and claimed poor relationship with venue:
TCW Title: Liam Lazarus © vs. El Ligero
Martin Kirby vs. HT Drake
Josh Bodom vs. Assassin
Lana Austin vs. Ruby Summers
The Enforcers (Perfect Purdie & AJ Anderson) vs. The New Nation (Alexander Henry & Jason Prime)
Dan James vs. Dan Evans
The Dragon vs. Cpl Manners

Sunday 27/09/15 is then ‘Against All Odds 2- Hardcore Edition’ back at Leeds University Student Union in, well, Leeds.  This was originally scheduled to feature the annual appearance of the CZW guys, but that UK deal fell apart.  Now, however, it stars HARDCORE HOLLY:

4 corners, 4 chairs for TCW Title: Liam Lazarus © vs. El Ligero vs. Matt Myers vs. Dara Diablo
Hardcore Holly vs. Joseph Conners
Martin Kirby vs. Chris Ridgeway
Jack Gallagher vs. ‘Armbar Superstar’ Dan James
Xander Cooper vs. HT Drake
The Proven (Sam Wilder & Caz Crash) vs. The New Nation (Alexander Henry & Jason Prime)
Lana Austin vs. Violet O’Hara
JD Boom vs. Josh Alden

TIDAL’s ‘Anniversary #2’ is Sunday 22/11/15, in Leeds.  They do like to announce line-ups some 2-3 shows in advance, so we already know we’re getting:
Rampage Brown vs. Mike Bird
Mark Haskins vs. Martin Kirby
Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne
So Scandalous (Ryan Smile & Damian Dunne) vs. The Proven (Sam Wilder & Caz Crash)
Addy Starr vs. Nixon Newell
Ward 13 vs. The Burial (David Graves & <someone> Rose)
+ El Ligero, Liam Lazarus, Sean Only, Dara Diablo, Dan James & Violet O’Hara

The ‘Silent Nightmare’ year-ender is then Sunday 13/12/15 in the same place:
Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) vs. So Scandalous (Ryan Smile & Damian Dunne)
Nathan Cruz vs. Josh Bodom
Caz Crash vs. Dan James
Sam Wilder vs. Chris Ridgeway
Addy Starr vs. Ruby Summers vs. Lana Austin vs. Violet O’Hara vs. Alexis Rose
Joseph Conners vs. Pete Dunne
+ more

TIDAL have also released some dates for 2016, all so far at Leeds Uni (no line-ups yet, as that really would be bonkers):

Sun 31/01/16 ‘Wipe Out’
Sun 13/03/16 ‘Spring Storm’
Sun 24/04/16 ‘All Crime Is Legal’
Sun 12/06/16 ‘High Tide’

[Carbomb]

I find it fascinating that there are so many Yorkshire promotions now; back in 2004/5, when I first got into British wrestling, it was the Midlands that was burdened with an over-abundance, and there was almost nothing in Yorkshire outside All-Star and FWA: North in Hull.

[Big Benny HG]

Here are the highlights videos of TIDAL's last two Leeds events:

 

'High Tide' (June):

 

 

'Return of the Kraken' (July):

 

 

In particular, check out the MENTAL footage from the Intergender Fans Bring The Lego Deathmatch, Tag Team Streetfight and Last Man Standing matches from June...

[Panhead]

Man, I lost my shit when they finally used the lift. If that June trailer doesn't make you want to go to a Tidal show, then I don't know what would. Free cake, maybe.

[deaglesuk]

Man, I lost my shit when they finally used the lift. If that June trailer doesn't make you want to go to a Tidal show, then I don't know what would. Free cake, maybe.

I do believe they've given away free cake at one Leeds show.

 

"UKWE

I think this is the reincarnation of UKW, which used to run out of the ‘Wrestling Warehouse’ in Wakefield and had that awful TV show on MyChannel on Sky.  Now seems to be overhauled and upgraded, and has recently announced that Control Nightclub at Cardigan Fields leisure park in Leeds (a brilliant venue, which hosted the first 2 TGW events in 2014) will be their regular home."

 

Not anything to do with UKW, just a really close name. Got a double show this weekend called "Testing Grounds" if anyone is at a loose end Saturday or Sunday (but Saturday you should probably go to Tidal in Darlo).

[Panhead]

Haha, yeah that's right! I think it was the first anniversary show!

 

Man, free cake, great wrestling and I can be home just after 10. Tidal is great.

[cobystag]

I want to get to another Tidal show after I greatly enjoyed the CZW tour one last October. I went to the Stylus recently to see Dope/Soil and it looks to be a cracking venue for wrestling. If I don't get to the September show I've already spoken to my fiancee about the possibility of doing their November Anniversary show.

 

South Yorkshire was dead until Southside ran Sheffield for the first time last year and now October/November/December see's Southside, ICW, Hogan, Angle and NXT all doing shows in the space of a few weeks.

 

Really looking forward to the next Southside show at Sheffield Corporation next month however. Ligero vs Havoc in a street fight! Jeans vs Axe!

[Big Benny HG]

A reminder that what looks like TIDAL's last ever show in Darlington, 'Last Dance', is tonight at the Dolphin Centre with the following:

 

TCW Title: Liam Lazarus © vs. El Ligero
Martin Kirby vs. HT Drake
Josh Bodom vs. Assassin
Lana Austin vs. Ruby Summers
The Enforcers (Perfect Purdie & AJ Anderson) vs. The New Nation (Alexander Henry & Jason Prime)
Dan James vs. Dan Evans
Micky The Dragon vs. Cpl Manners

 

As a special, they'll apparently have all the Darlington/Newcastle DVDs available at low, low prices on the merch stall.

 

I'm not able to make this one, unfortunately, but will definitely be in Leeds in a couple of weeks for 'Against All Odds'.  They are some of my favourite shows at the moment.

 

On the NGW side, I didn't go along to the show in Northallerton last week, nor have I watched any more of the TV show.  I will though (10 episodes currently sat on Sky planner....)...

[Your Fight Site]

What makes it tha last show in Darlington?