Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted October 29, 2015 Author Paid Members Posted October 29, 2015 With key regular stars like El Ligero, Martin Kirby, T-Bone, Joey Hayes, CJ Banks, BINMAN, Jack Gallagher, Tabu and others not part of the advertised line-up, and no big gimmick or stipulation matches on the card, Grand Pro Wrestling’s ninth annual ‘Friday Night Thriller’ Halloween themed-show looked uninspiring on paper. It seemed other people thought the same since with no obvious competition (rugby, football, other local wrestling), the Wigan-based outfit drew what looked to be their lowest crowd in a long time. About 5 minutes before advertised bell time, attendance was about 70. Quite a few turned up right at the start of the show, though, and it was around the 100 mark when all was told. The audience was therefore just the baseline regulars who always come every month, and those that pick and choose when to attend based on line-up presumably decided to skip this one. What appeared to be an unassuming show, however, turned out to be really enjoyable, with 2 cracking singles matches and 2 super-fun tags. Given that it was mostly the core regular audience, they knew the characters and were into the show, making plenty of noise and reacting enthusiastically for the matches. The main storyline developments continued to concern the scenario which emerged at the last show, that being the establishment of heels Ricky J McKenzie, Kraig Collins and T-Bone as the rival contenders for lead babyface Bubblegum’s GPW Heavyweight Title. The previous event had seen the trio beat the champion in the 6-man tag team headliner, then argue over who would be the one to beat him for the belt. The main event on this night saw ‘Gum defend against RJM one-on-one. They were having an excellent, dramatic match (and easily the best I have ever seen RJM look anywhere), only for the champ to retain by disqualification when Collins ran in to attack him. RJM was visibly narked at that, obviously annoyed that Collins had cost him his shot. Over the years, the GPW audience has been one that has been accepting of non-finishes, no-contests and disqualifications where they form part of a storyline they know and are invested in. Indeed, the regular fanbase was one where such an ending would normally put the heat on the heel who ruined the match, rather than the promotion for cheating them out of a clean, decisive finish. I’m not convinced that’s entirely the same now, but GPW are still able to get away with it more than other places, and where it does advance the story it usually makes the eventual payoff all the more meaningful. Earlier in the night, Kollins himself actually became the No. 1 Contender to T-Bone’s GPW British Title when he defeated Ashton Smith in another extremely good contest. Given that Ashton was to that point undefeated in his 2-year GPW run, this puts Kollins over very strongly again after his own unsuccessful shot at Bubblegum over the summer. As previously mentioned, T-Bone himself was not on this particular show. The next show, now scheduled for Friday 4 December, is leadingly-titled ‘Double Jeopardy’, which seems to hint at a number possibilities for the title situation. Perhaps Bubblegum will defend against both RJM and Collins in either a 3-way or 2 separate singles matches, or perhaps, given T-Bone’s own title ambitions as well as Kollin’s contendership to his own belt, it will be a high stakes 4-way with both GPW singles titles on the line. That would be my preferred option what with the various intertwined rivalries in play, but the whole storyline is actually one that I am really enjoying and look forward to seeing play out. Elsewhere, one of the only other running storylines in the promotion came to an abrupt halt and has seemingly been dropped. All year, they had been running a storyline where Soner Durson had turned on his mentor Joey Hayes to side with Dylan Roberts, manager Alan Alan Alan Tasker and protégé Danxig. They had been building to Joey getting his revenge on Soner and then presumably facing his key rival Dylan in the money match. The Hayes vs. Durson match was originally scheduled for last month, but Joey was announced as being injured and they ran an promo where the two rescheduled their match for October instead, with the stipulation that Joey got his match with Roberts if he won. Then, when the ‘Friday Night Thriller’ line-up started being advertised, there was no sign of the announced Hayes/Durson contest. So, on this show Dylan Roberts, who is a hell of a promo these days, came out (without Durson or Danxig, actually) to sarcastically state that Joey was out with a “sick note”, so the Durson match was once again cancelled. Instead of continuing to build heat for a match with Joey, he completely killed that situation by going on to say that they were now giving up on him and turning their attentions elsewhere. It was at this moment he pointed out Jet Fashion, half of the GPW Tag Team Champions, sat in the audience with his Trophy and wearing an obnoxious purple suit that only he could get away with. He challenged him to a tag title match on the December show, the pair had a heated and intense scuffle, and we now have a makeshift tag title match of Dylan Roberts & Danxig vs. Midnight Bin Collection next time out. That should be decent, but it’s such a shame that the Hayes vs. Roberts/Durson/Danxig situation won’t be seen through to conclusion after being one of the few key storylines in GPW’s 2015. I have no idea what is actually going on with Joey, but the best I can tell is that he is genuinely injured since he hasn’t actually wrestled anywhere since August (aside from a couple of tags in PCW and Infinite where he actually did nothing physical). Other storylines coming out of the show include the continuing fallout of the Island Brothers split, which now looks to be heading to some kind of chain match stipulation as Rio and his manager Simon Valour beat down Sexy Kev with such a gimmick at the conclusion of Valour’s loss to Kev and stated that it was a taste of what was in store for former partner Tabu. Elsewhere, new rivalries between Cyanide & Nate Travis, Chris Ridgeway & Sheikh Mohammed Rizzy Khan, and then The Bad Lads & The Circus were put into motion, with the surprise reveal that Jack Gallagher is now aligned with the big top brigade. He’s been with GPW for a long time, through various gimmicks, but his most recent, more colourful ‘Extraordinary’ Victorian carnival persona is a perfect fit for the group and his involvement instantly elevates their standing. Again, there continue to be no signs of new releases on DVD or download, despite this show once again being filmed and having live commentary recorded. This time, for the first in as long as I can remember at GPW, there was no big screen/projector displaying match graphics etc. either. I did have a chuckle to myself at the pre-show music playlist, though, as in amongst all the usual modern pop songs and current chart hits they played AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’, which surely had to be a rib (BABY!). And if it wasn’t, it should have been. As mentioned, the next show is ‘Double Jeopardy’ on Friday 4 December. That is a story in itself, in that GPW was originally scheduled for a week earlier on 27 November, with near neighbours PCW running 4 December as their ‘Festive Fury’ event. Then PCW, in managing to arrange the ROH deal for the second year, needed to move up a weekend. To avoid the head-to-head for the crossover of both wrestlers and fans, GPW moved back. It had been rumoured for some time, but ‘Friday Night Thriller’ was the first time GPW had publically confirmed it, with all publicity material as late as last month continuing to disply the original date. Brief results from ‘Friday Night Thriller 9’: Sam Bailey beat Nick Maguire with a top rope splash. This was Bailey’s first match back in about a year, with a new football-inspired look. The match wasn’t great, if I’m honest. Maguire’s ‘Lone Wolf’ mysterious loner character is quite cool, but it does mean he can’t really display that much emotion or ‘show out’ to the crowd much, and with this type of audience it’s therefore a struggle for them to get into his matches. Also, there was a lot of very noticeable pausing and putting heads together on just about every move for Sam to call the next spot, which was very distracting and broke up the natural flow. Ricky J McKenzie came out next for the Second Segment Alex Shane Talky Spot to build heat for the main event. “RUBBISH J MCKENZIE”, as one fan called him, basically said that he was better than everyone, and would win the title and be on his way to “another Universe”. He also warned T-Bone and Kraig Collins to stay out of his business. He then made sure that he calmly took the microphone with him backstage ready for Matthew Brooks entrance, which did look daft... Chris Ridgeway & Nate Travis & Jumpin’ Jimmy Jackson beat Cyanide & ‘Deadly’ Damon Leigh & ‘Magnificent’ Matthew Brooks. Brooks did his awesome opera entrance, this time singing a wrestling-themed version of ‘Phantom of the Opera’. This was a super fun match, full of big characters, with goodies being goodies and baddies being baddies. DDL is so enjoyable as a grumpy baddie. The match also sets some new storylines in motion. Cyanide and Travis have been off the shows for ages, so I can’t remember if there was any prior beef between them storyline-wise, but they immediately targeted each other from the start here and that was an interesting theme throughout until they paired off and brawled to the back. After Ridgeway pinned DDL with a Rainmaker-style short-whip knee-strike followed by bicycle kick, The Sheikh attacked him on way out, leaving him lying. Craig Kollins bt Ashton Smith with un iFOUL! behind the referee’s back, followed by his spike choke for the stoppage. Great match, with action and intensity. Kollins is looking great here this year, and Ashton is a top tier performer. After this came the interval, with in-ring photos with Sexy Kev for a fiver. After this came the Dylan Roberts segment described above, where he blew-off the Joey Hayes storyline, attacked Jet Fashion in the crowd and set up the tag title match for the next show. Despite the abrupt, out-of-nowhere nature of this, the fight was actually real good and full of anger. The Bad Lads (Micky Barnes & Drill) beat The Circus (‘Ringmaster’ Nicholas Cartier & Noah w/Melanie Price), using a chain behind the referee’s back. Boo! Cartier started with a promo beforehand explaining that we haven’t seen all the members of The Circus yet. I enjoyed this match so, so much – it’s everything I look for in a live wrestling show. Just so, so, so much fun. Few things in wrestling tickle me more than Barnes’ response to the blouse heckling always being “IT’S A SHIRT!!”. Noah was ridiculously over as a babyface, doing this great fiery performance flying all over the place that I haven’t seen from him before. Everyone has started joining in doing the ‘circus song’ too: “Du Du DuDu DuDu Du Du Du Du”. The Bad Lads tried to, erm, grab Mel after, only to be saved by newest member of the Circus Jack Gallagher. Next time it’s 6-man tag, the Gallagher and Alex The Student joining in. I CAN’T WAIT. Sexy Kev beat Simon R Valour (w/Rio) with a backslide. Simon & Rio beat down Kev with a chain afterwards (just moments after the Bad Lads had used a similar gimmick in their match) as “a taste of what’s in store at ‘Double Jeopardy’”. People chanted for Tabu, but he wasn’t there. Bubblegum beat Ricky J McKenzie by DQ to retain Heavyweight Title when Kraig Collins ran in and attacked him, much to RJM’s annoyance. RJM had jumped Gum at the bell, and from there this was a belter of a match; really dramatic and exciting and the best I’ve ever seen McKenzie look. ‘Gum, perfect in his current role as company ‘ace’, put out challenges to both McKenzie and Collins after. ‘DOUBLE JEOPARDY!’
Mr. Noble Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 Cheers for keeping the shows going on here Benny! And thanks for the recent reviews, always appreciate hearing your thoughts. We'll get back onto contributing to this thread as the shows come up, and as you mentioned - our next one is 'Double Jeopardy' on December 4th. The Facebook event is https://www.facebook.com/events/1643936855845763/ All our 2016 dates are booked, they are: Jan 22nd Feb 26th Apr 1st May 13th Jun 10th Aug 19th Sep 23rd Nov 11th In answer to some of the questions raised, firstly - Joey is injured. We thought he'd be able to compete at FNT9 but the scan he had on the day of the show meant he couldn't. We have our fingers crossed he gets the all clear for December 4th and can wrestle Soner. Although there was no football or rugby that clashed with the last show, we were up against two touring companies both within 5 miles of the venue. Megaslam in Chorley and Ian McGregor in Leigh. In 12 years of promoting, we've never had so much competition so close by. We stepped up promotion for the event but I think the combination of the two companies promoting in the local area really hurt our draw for FNT9. Re: the DVDs, it's been a frustrating one due to our long serving DVD team retiring at the start of the year. After a lot of messing about, let downs and different options looked into, we now have a brilliant new team together. The plan with this years footage is to release it as a box set / condensed DVD, because you're right all footage and commentary have been collated. The plan moving forward for the DVDs is to get ALL the footage on line into a subscription model, much like Futureshock. That's 12 years and counting worth of footage, so bear with us it may take some time but after us wanting to do this for well over a year, we're finally in a position to start the long process of uploading and marketing it out. Expect a website overhaul and new tshirts all coming on the near future too.
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted November 17, 2015 Author Paid Members Posted November 17, 2015 Cheers for the answers, GPW! Anyway... onwards... Just over 2 weeks away, GPW bring the curtain down on their 2015 season. As is the custom in this promotion, the year-end show is a heavily stacked line-up as all the year’s storylines and feuds come together for the big payoff. It’s their WrestleMania, if you will. Because of that, it’s normally one of my favourite live British wrestling shows of the year as scores are settled, titles are decided, revenge is gained and grudges are resolved. This one, ‘Double Jeopardy’, absolutely looks set to follow in that tradition. I mean, look at this little lot they’ve got lined-up for us: Friday 4th December... It’s our final show of 2015 and the biggest show of the year! Tickets on sale now. Discounted pre-orders for £8 only from our website –grandprowrestling.co.uk/shop On the door prices £9.50. Expect to see ALL titles defended in our dramatic season ender! Venue: The Rose Club, Atherton Road, Hindley, Wigan, WN2 3EU. Doors open 7pm; show starts 7:30! GPW Heavyweight & British Championships 4-Way, 2-Falls Double Jeopardy Match: Bubblegum (Hvy C) vs. T-Bone (w/Lana Austin)(Brit C) vs. Ricky J McKenzie vs. ‘One Man Riot’ Craig Kollins 4 men, 2 titles on the line! Both British and Heavyweight Championships to be decided in consecutive falls in innovative 4-Way at Double Jeopardy. You cannot miss this mega match! GPW Tag Team Championship: Midnight Bin Collection (BINMAN & Jet Fashion w/Chrissy From New York)© vs. ‘100% WELSH BEEF’ Dylan Roberts & Danxig (w/Alan Alan Alan Tasker) It’s official, the Tag Titles go on the line at Double Jeopardy, December 4th! North West Rookie league duo, mentor Dylan Roberts and rookie Danxig cash their prize for winning the NWRL in against the mega popular tag champs, Jet Fashion and Bin Man!! Managers, Alan Alan Alan Tasker and Chrissy both scheduled to be at ringside. Chain Match: Tabu vs. Simon R Valour (w/Rio) Some things are worth waiting for. Tabu takes on his former manager and keeper, Simon R Valour in a Chain Match!! You cannot miss this match, buy your tickets now!!!! Joey Hayes vs. Soner Durson Cleared to wrestle after a short injury, Joey Hayes returns at Double Jeopardy to take on his former NWRL protege, Soner Dursun! Remember, there’s no love lost between these two and if Joey wins, in 2016 he will get his shot at Dylan Roberts! No Holds Barred Match: Nate Travis vs. ‘The Toxic Terror’ Cyanide Two big, hard hitting men clash in a special No Holds Barred Fight at Double Jeopardy! Don’t miss Nate Travis battle former Heavyweight Champion, Cyanide December 4th! Disclaimer: these two DO NOT like each other…! ’The Priority’ Chris Ridgeway vs. Martin Kirby (w/ Sheikh Mohammed Rizzy Khan & The Bodyguard) At Double Jeopardy, we will see a match that was first scheduled for Back To School but never took place. Since then the animosity between Ridgeway, Kirby and The Sheikh has escalated! Don’t miss our season ending show where one of these two men must win! The Circus (‘The Extraordinary’ Jack Gallagher & ‘The Ringmaster’ Nicholas Cartier & Noah w/Melanie Price) vs. Alex ‘The Student’ Jones-Casey & The Bad Lads (Micky Barnes & Drill) Six Man Tag made official for Double Jeopardy! Former tag champs, The Bad Lads along with partner in crime, student anti-violence protestor Alex Jones-Casey and they take on the NWRL runners up, The Circus who now can boast the addition of newest member, Jack Gallagher! Love it. If you were to naively take the line-up purely on face value, you might think yeah, it’s a fair card, nothing particularly special. But what makes it special, and what GPW does so well, is that EVERYTHING has been built up to this point with some form of backstory. Every single match on the show has a reason for taking place, a reason for you to want to see it and a reason for you to care about what happens... and it is that context and that build that turns this into a fantastically strong card. I especially like the way that everything on the show is the logical direction and conclusion that you have seen coming. Some promotions, for instance, announce stuff (a particular match, a guest star etc.) and then people start to get excited about it. The way GPW runs, with its long-running storylines between regular characters, you sort-of see the direction they are heading down and are already excited to eventually see it. When the resulting conclusive match is finally announced, you’re already there and it means so much more.
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted December 4, 2015 Author Paid Members Posted December 4, 2015 This is TONIGHT. If you can't make it I should be live-tweeting what goes down over at @BenPCorrigan. EDIT: for stupid double-post.
GPW Kristian Zane Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 Results The Circus def Alex Jones-Casey, Mickey Barnes and Don Meacho (sub for Drill) via pinfall Before the second match, Mohammed R. Khan announced that he had removed Kirby from the match because a better opportunity had arisen. Chris Ridgeway def "Magnificent" Matt Brooks via submission NHB Match Nate Travis def Cyanide via pinfall Before the next match it was revealed that Dylan Roberts and Danxig could not attend but replacements had been found. Tag Team Trophy Match The MBC w/Crissy (ch) def Martin Kirby and Sheikh Mohammed Rizzy Khan w/ The Sheikh's Bodyguard via pinfall Joey Hayes def Soner Dursun via submission Chain Match Tabu def Simon Valour. Rio abandoned Valour during the match and then reconciled with his brother after the match concluded. "Double Jeopardy" Match First Fall- Bubblegum def T-Bone, (ch) Craig Kollins and CJ Banks (sub for RJM who was injured) to WIN the British Title Second Fall- T-Bone def Bubblegum (ch), Craig Kollins and CJ Banks to WIN the Heavyweight Title
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted January 20, 2016 Author Paid Members Posted January 20, 2016 Just realised I didn’t say anything on here about the ‘Double Jeopardy’ climatic season-ender I was so excited about. A number of card changes from the planned line-up did take a little of the shine off things, particularly in the first half. While one of the key attractions of GPW is that they try to present such a strong storyline-driven product, with plotline reasons and consequences behind just about every match to make you care about what happens, it does mean that when unavoidable switches do happen it can make the resulting substitute bout lack that same interest. Dylan Roberts & Danxig weren’t there, so The Sheikh & Martin Kirby replaced them in the Tag Title match, with ‘Magnificent’ Matthew Brooks replacing Kirby in his scheduled bout with Chris Ridgeway. In addition to this, Drill was missing from the opener (replaced by FutureShock’s Don Meacho) and Ricky J McKenzie was absent for the 4-way main event (replaced by CJ Banks). As such, the first half of the show was okay, but did come off very flat with a series of short matches that didn’t particularly have any invested interest in them. The Circus (Jack Gallagher, Noah & Nicholas Cartier) beat Alex Jones-Casey, Mickey Barnes and Don Meacho. Drill’s absence was explained as him having been “arrested for indecent exposure on the estate”. This was quick and simple, but was good fun and I enjoyed it while it lasted. Ridgeway vs. Brooks was another quick one, the highlight actually being Brooks’ best operatic singing entrance yet. It helped that the sound system seemed better this time, so you could clearly hear the words, but it was a version of the Frozen song ‘Let It Go’, with lyrics cleverly altered to make reference to wrestling. Despite being a heel so far, and presumably being so against babyface Ridgeway here, this got a massive reaction and a lot of people cheering him throughout the match. Ridgeway won with a kneebar. The No Holds Barred grudge match between Nate Travis and Cyanide was also pretty short, but was violently intense and came off as decent. Travis won after a chairshot. Midnight Bin Collection (Jet Fashion & BINMAN) defeated The Sheikh & Martin Kirby took a while to get going, but closing stages were especially fun. BINMAN speared Kirby to retain the GPW Tag Team Championship. Capitalising on his earlier popularity, and seemingly cementing a babyface turn, the in-ring interval photos this time were with ‘Magnificent’ Matt Brooks (when they eventually found a photographer!). Amazingly, the cost of such photos was only £1 (O*N*E*P*O*U*N*D). I’m in 2 minds about this. On one hand it makes the wrestlers more accessible to the audience and creates a connection going forward, but on the other with the cost being so very low it cheapens the product and makes it sound second rate. The second half was where things REALLY picked up, though, and from here the remainder of the show was genuinely EXCELLENT. Joey Hayes defeated former protégé Soner Dursun by submission to a crossface to supposedly earn his match with Dylan Roberts. This was a really good heated grudge match, with Durson showing me more as a baddie here than I’d ever seen from him all year. Then, Tabu defeated Simon R Valour (w/Rio) in a BRILLIANT story-driven chain match. This was dramatic and engaging. I must say Simon was absolutely terrific here, showing that while he no longer wrestles on a regular basis he still has a fantastic understanding of timing, pacing and character superior to most. Valour tried to get Rio to interfere at one point, only for Rio to refuse and walk out. Rio returned afterwards and, after a brief moment of tension, reunited with Tabu as the Island Brothers were reformed. The main event was of course the big 4-way ‘Double Jeopardy’ match of Bubblegum vs. T-Bone vs. Craig Kollins vs. CJ Banks. They explained Ricky J McKenzie’s absence as due to “suffering a big toe injury and not wanting to jeopardise the US contract he is considering” (the gist of his heel persona is that he believes he is supposedly on the verge of leaving to join WWE). While that took a little bit of the storyline purpose behind this one away, the addition of such a talent in CJ Banks actually probably made it better as a one-off match from an action point of view. So, this was 2 consecutive falls, the first for the GPW British Title and the second for the GPW Heavyweight Title. The Heavyweight Title has tended to be the more prestigious in recent years, but there have also been times when they have been presented as equal (in the same way as the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Title), and the British Title has headlined over the Heavyweight title on occasion. I have no hesitation in saying that this match was AWESOME; quite possibly GPW’s best match of 2015. It was non-stop exciting action, with something always happening, yet you always knew what was going on and could follow what was happening at any time. All 4 looked great. The deal was that incoming champions T-Bone and Bubblegum ended up SWAPPING titles, each winning the corresponding fall. What’s more, both T-Bone and Bubblegum actually won their fall by pinning the other, to really establish the idea of them being complete equals. Afterwards, despite ‘Bone being a heel, there was a big show of respect between the pair, before new British Champion Bubblegum ended the year by challenging new Heavyweight Champion T-Bone to a champion vs. champion, winner takes all, best man wins match.... ************************************ ... and that brings us to this coming Friday, as GPW’s 2016 season kicks-off with that very Champion vs. Champion match, making for a much more significant version of their traditional curtain-raiser than ever before. Indeed, whereas the annual ‘Back With A Bang!’ year-opener usually sets up the year by introducing new feuds, new faces and new plots in a show with plenty of talking and plenty of angles, in 2016 they look to be going straight away with the biggest singles match they currently have, between 2 top UK names in an offering that has great appeal far beyond the bubble of the usual GPW fanbase. Unless there are shenanigans (which is always a possibility with GPW, since traditionally the nature of their product has just about been able to get away with it if it plays into the storyline to build something even bigger), and guess they could always do a non-finish here that then sets up a “DEFINTELY, THIS TIME, GUARANTEED” unification bout for one of the next shows, it does look like they may well be creating one main individual singles champion in the promotion going forward. Even with GPW, however, I feel there is a bigger risk than usual of lasting audience disappointment if they fail to deliver a clear outcome here. At this stage it’s not clear if this is an actual unification of the two titles, whether the resulting champion will then defend both belts individually (like Seth Rollins in WWE or Jay Lethal in ROH) or whether the British Title would then be vacated(Ultimate Warrior, WM6) for the crop of newcomers to contest. Also interesting to see Travis Banks on the show. He’s a New Zealander who wrestles in promotions both in his homeland and Australia, but has also toured the US (doing stuff for AAW and a dark match for ROH) and Japan (with Zero-1) and is currently over here. He’s done some stuff for ATTACK!, Just Do Wrestling and Infinite Promotions, and now turns up in GPW. So, with that, the current line-up for GPW ‘Back With A Bang 2016’ is as follows: GPW Heavyweight and GPW British Championships: T-Bone© vs. Bubblegum© The main event for Jan 22nd Back With A Bang is a first time ever, Title v Title match! British Champion, Bubblegum looks to recapture the Heavyweight Title he lost to T-Bone. You cannot miss this! An amazing, historical match awaits! Six-Man Tag Team Match Joey Hayes & Midnight Bin Collection (BINMAN & Jet Fashion) vs. The Hate League (Danxig, Soner Dursun & Dylan Roberts) Reigning Tag Champs, The Midnight Bin Collection team up with GPW’s favourite son Joey Hayes to take on the Hate League, Dylan Roberts, Soner Dursun and Danxig! This one will be a cracker, don’t miss it! ‘Magnificent’ Matthew Brooks vs. ‘Deadly’ Damon Leigh Don’t miss this one as one of the brightest stars of the future takes on the well traveled veteran Damon Leigh, who undoubtedly will pull out all the stops to teach Brooks a lesson! Tag Team Match The Island Brothers (Tabu & Rio) vs. The Bad Lads (Drill & Mickey Barnes) The Island Brothers are back!! After over 12 months apart, the former tag champs reunite in 2016 to take on fellow former champs, The Bad Lads. The Island Brothers reign of dominance at the top of the tag division speaks for itself, but are they the same team in 2016 as they were when they held the championship? ‘One Man Riot’ Craig Kollins vs Ashton Smith Jan 22nd sees a huge re-match! It’s Kollins v Smith II! Last time these two met, Smith passed out to Kollins’ chokehold, putting an end to an impressive winning streak spanning over 18 months. However, Kollins never pinned Smith and Smith never tapped out, these two will meet again at Back With A Bang where there is a big score to settle! It was MOTN last time, don’t miss it this time! Cyanide vs Noah Former Heavyweight Champ, Cyanide looks to start his 2016 campaign better than his 2015 one ended. He has targeted popular NWRL runners up The Circus and Noah has accepted the gigantic challenge! Chris Ridgeway vs. Travis Banks The final match announcement for Friday sees one of the UK’s fastest rising stars, Chris Ridgeway go one on one with the debuting Travis Banks! Can Banks make his GPW debut a memorable one, or will the super popular Ridgeway have other plans? Friday 22 January 2016 Doors 7:00pm; Show 7:30pm The Rose Club; Atherton Road; Hindley; Wigan, WN2 3EU Tickets £8 in advance; slightly more on door.
chrisisfear Posted February 12, 2016 Posted February 12, 2016 Confirmed card so far for GPW Bad Blood, more to come... Main EventDylan Roberts vs. Joey HayesIt's been a long time coming but on Feb 26th Dylan Roberts goes one on one with Joey Hayes!GPW Tag Team Title MatchHate League (Sonor Durson & Danxig) VS Midnight Bin Collection (Ste Bin Mann & Jet Fashion) ©The Tag Titles are on the line on Feb 26th! The Hate League hold a victory over the champs in a six man tag from last month. Will it be a different story this time round when it's just two on two? Don't miss The Midnight Bin Collection defending their titles against Dursun & Danxig of the Hate League, at GPW Bad Blood!Matthew Brooks Operatic Showdown'Magnificent' Matthew Brooks sings opera uninterrupted and live!Friday 26 February 2016Doors 7:00pm; Show 7:30pmThe Rose Club; Atherton Road; Hindley; Wigan, WN2 3EUTickets £8 in advance; slightly more on door.
Paid Members Big Benny HG Posted February 26, 2016 Author Paid Members Posted February 26, 2016 Realised that I AGAIN didn't say anything on here about the last show. I plan to be starting a 'blog' type thing soon that will capture stuff like that but, well, it's not up and running yet. So, they did go ahead and do a double-KO draw finish in the big T-Bone vs. Bubblegum title vs. title main event last month after all. They gave each other one hell of a battering over an intense, hard-fought, high-impact and fast-paced match, 'Bone managed to get 'Gum up in the Steiner Screwdriver, then neither man beat the referee's 10-count. Immediately after the bell, The Hate League ran in to beat up both of them, and T-Bone and Bubblegum joined forces to try to fight them off. The numbers, and effects of a grueling match, proved too much though, and the show ended with HL's leader Dylan Roberts posing with the GPW Heavyweight Title belt. It should be pointed out that it was, in fact, a superb match, and one that will probably still be sitting in my UK top 5 or 10 by the end of the year. There was a packed house there for it, with the attraction of two of the UK's best and most well-known names fighting it out in a main event double title match seeming to be a big draw beyond the usual GPW bubble. I can't help but wonder if those coming in to see that particular match will have been disappointed with the non-decisive finish and put off coming again, though the finish absolutely made sense from a storyline point of view for those who are already familiar with what's going on. As I've said before, GPW is somewhat unique in that it can just about get away with non-finishes if it is something that actually advances the story and makes you even more interested in seeing what's coming next. Interesting point is that the match ended with the double-KO and THEN the heels ran in for the beatdown, so the story isn't that the baddies ruined the match before we could see who was going to win, the story is the continuation of the situation that Bubblegum and T-Bone, as the two GPW singles champions, are absolute equals and there is nothing to separate them. For the immediate future it looks as though T-Bone and Bubblegum might be teaming up to feud with the Hate League, and Dylan Roberts seemed to indicate his own championship ambitions at the end (though Dylan and his cronies are already in the middle of unfinished feuds with Joey Hayes and the Midnight Bin Collection), but the ending and story if left it open for them to revisit the 'Gum and 'Bone competitive rivalry later in the year in a 'THIS TIME, WE PROMISE' once and for all climatic decider. Elsewhere on the show, Ashton Smith and Craig Kollins had another decent bout to even up their mini-series, and the reunited Island Brothers looked strong in a fun tag over the Bad Lads as they seem to be marching on back towards the tag titles. ****************************** And so the next GPW show is...... TONIGHT! That's right, it's 'Bad Blood' at the usual time, place and price (7pm doors; 7:30pm show; Rose Club, Atherton Road, Hindley, Wigan; £9.50 on the door). It's the scene of the long-awaited, long-built Joey Hayes vs. Dylan Roberts grudge match and the Hate League's tag title shot, as well as the start of the new 'Fast-track Four-way' series. Here's what's on offer: Joey Hayes vs. Dylan Roberts(w/ Alan Alan Alan Tasker) This one started during the North West Rookie League last year, when Joey's protege Soner Durson betrayed him to join Dylan's new villainous group. Plenty's happened since then, but the main point is Joey has been slowly working towards the match he wants - a singles collision with Roberts. This should be great. Dylan's putting in the performances of his life at the moment, and Joey is tremendous as the driven, motivated good guy. GPW Tag Team Championship: Midnight Bin Collection(Jet Fashion & Bin Mann)(w/Chrissy From New York)© vs. The Hate League (Soner Durson & Danxig)(w/Alan Alan Alan Tasker) Again, there's back story here and it's likely to get one of the biggest crowd reactions of the night. Fast-track Four-Way: 'The Priority' Chris Ridgeway vs. Alex 'The Student' Jones-Casey vs. 'Lone Wolf' Nick Maguire vs. 'Jumpin' Jimmy Jackson A new concept that's going to run this year. The winner of the fall gets a singles title match of their choice later this same night. The loser of the fall is completely eliminated from the Fast-track Four-way process. The other two remain to compete with 2 others in the next FTFW in 2 shows' time, when the process is repeated. I like the idea, since it makes the undercard matches with the relative newcomers have a purpose and something to fight for, with stories coming out of it for everyone. I wish PCW had done something like this with the multiways they ran on their shows last year, which were fun, but just ended up being Ashton Smith, Dean Allmark, Charlie Garrett and A N Other trading pointless wins. GPW Heavyweight Title or GPW British Title: Bubblegum© or T-Bone© vs. Winner of the Fast-track Four-way As above, really. Great chance to elevate someone, but I have got to feel there will be some kind of story development involving others. Ashton Smith vs. Craig Kollins Their third singles match, having split their others 1-1. The previous two have been very good from an in-ring perspective (the first especially great), so this should follow along similar lines. Nice little rivalry here. I've been a fan of Ashton for years, but Kollins has really captured my attention over the last 6-12 months as someone immensely talented and capable. Could be the 'wrestling' highlight of the night. The Circus ('The Extraordinary' Jack Gallagher & 'The Ringmaster' Nicholas Cartier & Noah)(w/Melanie Price) vs. Sheikh Mohammed Rizzy Khan & Martin Kirby & Travis Banks Signature GPW affair - a big multiman contest with plenty of ridiculously colourful cartoon characters. Should be incredible amounts of fun. 'Magnificent' Matthew Brooks Operatic Performance His singing performance was interrupted when 'Deadly' Damon Leigh jumped him last time, so we have this special little thing. Brooks is massively gaining in popularity, and is another of those great characters, but you have to think DDL will show up at some point to heat things up. So, there we are. I'll be heading along shortly, keep an eye on @BenPCorrigan for live news and views.
pryko Posted February 26, 2016 Posted February 26, 2016 Joey Hayes vs. Dylan Roberts(w/ Alan Alan Alan Tasker) This one started during the North West Rookie League last year, when Joey's protege Soner Durson betrayed him to join Dylan's new villainous group. Plenty's happened since then, but the main point is Joey has been slowly working towards the match he wants - a singles collision with Roberts. This should be great. Dylan's putting in the performances of his life at the moment, and Joey is tremendous as the driven, motivated good guy. Sorry, just had to modify part of your post
Paid Members gadge Posted February 26, 2016 Paid Members Posted February 26, 2016 Minor update: Benny text me a few minutes ago to say there's no Internet signal ANYWHERE IN HINDLEY this evening so tweets/thoughts are delayed..
GPW Kristian Zane Posted March 16, 2016 Posted March 16, 2016 Our next show, on April 1st is our signature survival show! Live from The Rose Club on Atherton Road, Hindley in Wigan.The Cibernetico returns like you've never seen it before! For the first time ever, 6 teams will do battle in the Torneo Cibernetico for the Tag Team Titles! Holders, Hate League will team up with former Champs, The Bad Lads and the new duo of The Sheikh and Martin Kirby to take on former Champs The Midnight Bin Collection, former Champs The Island Brothers and representing The Circus, Jack Gallagher and Noah! If you've never seen a Torneo Cibernetico before, you're in for a treat! Another match up for April 1st, and it's official - 'The Ringmaster' Nicholas Cartier will take on former Heavyweight Champion, Cyanide!! This rivalry began back at Back With A Bang 2016 in January when Cyanide destroyed Noah in singles action and then added insult to injury by stealing Noah's prized Teddy Bear, Oscar. At "Bad Blood" in February, Cartier promised retribution for his friend and is aiming to pick up a huge win over the former Heavyweight Champion Cyanide! Tell your friends and don't miss the return of one of our signature shows!To pre-order your tickets for just £8 head to grandprowrestling.co.uk/shop
GPW Kristian Zane Posted March 17, 2016 Posted March 17, 2016 The Main Event for Only The Strong Survive on April 1st! A traditional survivor series match! Captain Dylan Roberts has chosen triple crown champ, DDL, the One Man Riot, Craig Kollins and GPW newcomer Travis Banks. They'll take on a team chosen by Heavyweight Champ, T-Bone as he is joined by British Champ Bubblegum, Ashton Trent Smith and Chris Ridgeway! Who will survive!? Be there, April 1st to find out. Tickets on sale now for £8 from the website!
GPW Kristian Zane Posted March 17, 2016 Posted March 17, 2016 More matches signed for April 1st Only The Strong Survive! Former Heavyweight Champion, Ricky J McKenzie jumped the barrier last month in protest of not being booked, this month he's demanded a match! He has a chance to join the Fast Track 4-Way in May. But, he must beat FT4W participant, 'Jumpin' Jimmy Jackson first. If he loses, he'll lose the chance to get back into the title picture! Who will survive!? Don't miss this, tickets on sale now for just £8! Don Meacho returns to GPW on April 1st for Only The Strong Survive. After issuing a fight to anyone on the roster, Magnificent Matthew Brookswas quick to accept the challenge from Bad Lad Meacho. His estate mates, Drill and Micky Barnes have made a big impression since debuting, Meacho looks to follow in their footsteps but crowd favourite, Matthew Brooks stands in his way! Buy your tickets now for just £8 from our website!!
LariatTom Posted March 19, 2016 Posted March 19, 2016 Going to be doing my very best to get to this show. Card already looks great with some very fun matches and a stacked main event, and it's been a long time since I was last at a GPW show.
Mr. Noble Posted May 12, 2016 Posted May 12, 2016 Greetings Grapple Fans! Sorry I've not been in touch for a while, I've been very busy putting things in place for the next exciting instalment of Grand Pro Wrestling. Our next event is entitled "Friday The 13th" and you can see the card below: F13 will feature the 2nd Fast Track Fatal 4 Way with the winner advancing to a Title Match of his choice in the main event of F13. The Contenders: Craig Kollins: The Barrow Power House made an immediate impact when he first appeared in 2015 going toe to toe with the best Grand Pro has to offer. Kollins nearly captured the Heavyweight Title in his first title match last year. Could Friday The 13th be a lucky night for the "One Man Riot?" Dylan Roberts: The Grand Pro Veteran is looking to secure his first ever British Title or Heavyweight Title Match by winning the Fast Track Four Way and has to be considered the favourite. Roberts scored his biggest win to date when he pinned Joey Hayes at Grand Pro "Back With A Bang" 2016 and then later that night The Hate League assaulted Heavyweight Champion T-Bone and British Champion Bubblegum at the conclusion of their bout. Nick Maguire: The Manchester Native has yet to receive a One On One Title Match and will be looking to score a big win here against the other three contenders. Maguire's biggest victory to date was a win over the former British Champion El Ligero at "Back To School" 2015. "Jumping" Jimmy Jackson: Jackson may lack the experience but willl no doubt be the crowd favourite going into the contest. Jackson will be looking to score an upset and propel himself to new heights in Grand Pro Wrestling. The Circus vs. The Bad Lads These teams last met at Double Jeopardy but on that night Drill was mysteriously absent. This will be the first time that all three Bad Lads will be joining forces to combat the hugely popular trio known as The Circus. The Circus are currently undefeated as a trio in Grand Pro and will be looking to score another big win here. This will be Jack Gallagher's last appearance in Grand Pro before he heads to WWE to compete in the Cruiserweight Classic. Will he leave us in a blaze of glory or will the Bad Lads ruin Jack's farewell? Very few rivalries are as personal as the one between newcomer Brookes and the former Heavyweight Champion RJM. The feud began back at "Bad Blood" when RJM rudely interrupted Brookes musical performance and vowed to rid GPW of others he perceived to be beneath him. At "Only The Strong Survive" their dispute further intensified when Brookes retaliated by costing RJM his chance to qualify for the F13 FT4Way Match. This one comes to a head at F13, expect fireworks! F13 signature bout will be the Unlucky For One Match. Grand Pro Tag Team Champions, The Hate League (Danxig & Dursun) will face either the Heavyweight Champion T-Bone or the British Champion Bubblegum. Both Champions face a tough night at F13, defend their title or face a beating from The Hate League and neither man will know who they'll be facing until the bell goes at the conclusion of the Fast Track Four Way. "The Battle Of The Banks" CJ Banks returns to Grand Pro to step into the ring with New Zealander Travis Banks at F13. Travis Banks will be looking to attain his first win against the former CC8 and British Champion while CJ Banks will be looking to get back into the title hunt by sending a message to the champions with a pin fall over the top prospect. And of course, our main event will feature the winner of the Fast Track Four Way versus Either Heavyweight Champion T-Bone or British Champion Bubblegum! VENUE: Rose Club, Atherton Rd. Hindley Wigan WN2 3EU. TIMES:Doors open 7pm, show starts 7:30pm.Pre-order tickets now for just £8 at grandprowrestling.co.uk/shop Tickets on the door will be £9.50 per person or £29 for a family ticket."
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