By Liam Byrne @tvtimelimit
The first show of 2018 for Riptide – Deep Six – would be most notable for me as the first Riptide show I saw live. Not only that, but it would also be the first ever wrestling show for a couple of my friends, who have since somewhat fallen in love with wrestling as a whole and the promotion in particular. Amongst the other matches on the card was a war between Mike Bailey and Travis Banks that it would be remiss not to mention, as well as Jimmy Havoc attacking Jinny after she had just finished a promo thanking him for his support. However, within our sphere of interest, it was the happenings between Jack Sexsmith and Spike Trivet that had everyone talking. A seed that had been planted the previous year came to fruition, yet not in the way many would have expected. Furthermore, the Brighton Championship Tournament would have its first qualifying match, setting us off on the road to Pride.
Firstly for us, we’d have another debut as David Starr took on Flash Morgan Webster, a match that quickly became a chance for Starr to offer Webster some ‘immersion therapy’ to get over his hatred for rockers. A leather jacket, a comb through his hair and a pair of sunglasses ‘turn’ Starr into a rocker, though they earned him a slap for his troubles. The match would spill to ringside early as Webster avoided a Starr suicide dive, but would soon find himself run backwards into the ring apron and slammed onto the hardest part of the ring as well. It took Webster using some shady tactics to turn the momentum of the match, grabbing Starr by the hair from the apron and pulling the Product’s arm through the top turnbuckle pad to trap him. With control of the contest, Webster would use a snapmare and a basement dropkick before hitting an imploding somersault senton and Death Valley driver into neckbreaker for two.
Starr managed to come back after winning and strike exchange, unloading multiple chops and punches on Webster in the corner. A spinning back elbow and huge lariat earned him a two count, as did the Product Recall. Webster utilised his distraction headbutt to then plant Starr with Eton Rifles, though he would take the opportunity to spit at Starr and bemoan his attempt to be a rocker. A mods versus rockers strike exchange ensued, with Starr eventually using reverse psychology to have Webster celebrate rockers, before both men wiped themselves out with errant chairshots that rebounded off of top ropes. After a Starr Cherrymint DDT, Webster would use a low blow to stop an attempted German suplex and his motorcycle helmet (with the referee removing the chair as a distraction) to knock out Starr and put him in the Strangler for the tainted victory.
The first Brighton Championship Tournament qualifier would see Candyfloss and Cara Noir once again cross paths, though this time it would be in a six person contest that also included Chuck Mambo, Veda Scott, Roy Johnson and Lion Kid. Scott got the action started after a party threatened to break out, attempting to burst a beach ball and kicking Mambo in the head. The action comes thick and furious from the get go with Candyfloss hitting a double knee armbreaker and two corner dropkicks, before Johnson takes her down with a tiltawhirl backbreaker, only for him to then get a wheelbarrow armdrag by Mambo and a gutbuster/double foot stomp combination from Mambo Floss (as the crowd would soon chant). Shortly afterwards a surfboard by Mambo on Lion Kid would lead to a body vice chain, all four opponents just in the right place to receive a Noir lick as he crawled over the top of them.
The referee would get the wrong idea by offering Candyfloss some broccoli as she tired herself out on a suicide dive run, though luckily for her, Mambo had some sweets and after a quick dance, the two would take to the sky. Scott would also fly through the air with the assistance of the referee, whilst the biggest aerial move saw Lion Kid scale the chair rack, unearth Simba and dive off with cuddly toy in hand to take out several wrestlers and members of the security team. Between these two dives, some interesting multi-person moves saw Scott use an Indian deathlock on Johnson and nail a German suplex on Candyfloss, whilst Mambo’s springboard knees on Johnson had him DDT Scott and Kid. Noir would find time to touch up his lipstick and offer Johnson a kiss, yet get a pop up punch for his troubles. It was Noir involved near the finish as Candyfloss avoided an attempt at a top rope package piledriver, nailed a Canadian destroyer and then slapped on the armbreaker on Scott for the tap out. Candyfloss would be the first official qualifier for the Brighton Championship Tournament.
A clearly injured Millie McKenzie was already facing a significant disadvantage going into her match; it couldn’t help that her opponent was Chris Brookes. Brookes would mock McKenzie early on, toying with the idea of tapping on an arm wringer before easily putting his foot on the rope, whilst he would then easily pick her up as she tried to apply a side headlock and grab the ropes once more. A patronising pat on the head didn’t go down too well with McKenzie though as she used a snapmare to hit multiple kicks to the chest. However, a back elbow would swiftly cut her off and allow Brookes to drop a knee on her arm before applying a submission. Considering her disadvantage, McKenzie would impress with a tiltawhirl headscissors that had Brookes scrambling to the outside.
A headscissors at ringside continued McKenzie’s momentum, but an attempted sunset flip powerbomb saw Brookes use the ring apron to temporarily blind his opponent, just long enough for a stamp to the face. The camel clutch/wet willy combination was soon to follow, though a kneedrop would only get Brookes a two count. Some derisory kicks to the back of the head by Brookes once more had McKenzie trying her best to fire back, even managing to land a suicide dive on an injured leg and score a two count off of a top rope crossbody. An avalanche wheelbarrow bulldog also earned McKenzie a nearfall, though she was on the back foot once more after a springboard cutter stopped her in her tracks. At least that was until Brookes decided to German suplex her, which earned him two for his troubles, as well as a spinning DDT and a cutter as she tried her best to put her much bigger opponent down. An octopus hold and Code Red followed, but a huge bicycle kick, knee to the face and praying mantis bomb ended McKenzie’s brave challenge.
Having promised to team up with Jack Sexsmith following their singles match the previous year, Chris Ridgeway was the very capable support the Pansexual Phenomenon had against the team of Spike Trivet and Damon Moser. Ridgeway would be used as an initial distraction, allowing Sexsmith to attack Trivet as the bell rang, which in turn sparked a brawl that ended up over in the merchandise area and saw Sexsmith take a bodyslam on the floor from Moser. However, by the time the fight returned to the ring it was Trivet who found himself isolated and victim to an arm wringer/double foot stomp combo. His woes were short as a big forearm wiped out Sexsmith and allowed the heels to cut the ring in half with strikes, quick tags and judicious cheating behind the referee’s back. Sexsmith would eventually use big boots from the corner to halt the onslaught and make the tag to Ridgeway, with a German suplex and Saito suplex nailed on Trivet and Moser respectively.
An eye poke was what it took to stall Ridgeway’s momentum, followed up by a Trivet gourdbuster. Ridgeway was now in the heel corner and would find himself rocked by a huge Trivet slap, but a kick to the head of his opponent let him make the hot tag to Sexsmith. A neckbreaker/DDT took out both Trivet and Moser at the same time, whilst simultaneous kicks from the face team were celebrated with a kiss. Things turned bad very quickly. Ridgeway would come up holding his knee after a suicide dive, before being carried out after Sexsmith’s somersault senton aggravated it further. This left Sexsmith in a perilous position, furthered by a Triver legdrop for two, as well as a spit bath in the tree of woe position and a coast to coast headbutt by Moser. Just as it looked like things were unassailable for Sexsmith, Ridgeway limped his way back to the corner. A double sliced bread put Sexsmith in position to make the tag, only for Ridgeway to nail him with a spinkick to the head!
The deal sealed with a handshake between Ridgeway and Trivet, Ridgeway would ‘tag’ Sexsmith back in, leaving him easy prey for the butterfly neckbreaker. Trivet had finally won a match on a Riptide show, beating his biggest rival and doing it not off the strength of his ability, but the size of his wallet. That is the beauty of this feud and the booking throughout; Trivet was a loser, but managed to buy himself into a winning position at the expense of Riptide’s natural face hero, the man who is the embodiment of everything Brighton itself represents.
More significantly for me, this match helped to introduce my friends to the idea of the heel turn. Having lifestyles that cross similar paths to that which Sexsmith celebrates, their desire for him to win, their happiness when Ridgeway returned, and their shock when Sexsmith was dropped with a spinkick were so powerful as to almost feel tangible. A silence had descended upon the Bright Helm centre by the end of the show, a silence that was deafening when it came to the reaction of my friends. Having laughed along at the antics of David Starr, Chuck Mambo, et al, they were taught the horrible reality that – from time to time – good wrestling can rip your heart out and stamp on it.
