By Jake Clarke@JakeCCK
15/03/19 Forest Town Arena, Mansfield
On this day, I made my return to Mansfield for my 9th show of the year so far. I attend HOPE regularly, usually their Leicester shows but after this I may have to make Mansfield a regularity now. HOPE isn’t the biggest promotion. Whilst they do book some of the biggest stars on the scene, they do make some wild booking decisions on occasion and herald their own unique roster, one which is really established with the regular crowd members.
Ethan Allen def. Brad Slayer
This evening started off hot, with the young Ethan Allen taking on the ever so underrated Brad Slayer. While the crowd didn’t take to either man at first, as the match developed, the crowd really started to get involved. Ethan played the aggressor, the young man that anyone would’ve mistaken him for being a veteran of the game, whilst Brad was the plucky underdog, looking for a win to get him going. After a hot opener which included many stiff strikes and well-timed spots, Ethan eventually grabbed the win via submission, sitting on Brads back and wrenching at the arms. This was a fun opener and one that really got the crowd going. Hopefully this win will allow for Ethan to pick up some steam going forward.
Burchill def. Alexander Hyde
The young Alexander Hyde is really starting to gather some momentum recently as the mega heel manager to Chris Tyler. On this night however, he would have to deal with the working man Burchill. Burchill has just returned from hiatus at the rumble show and this was his first singles contest. There were no signs of ring rust on the big little man as he kept up with Hyde. The match began with both men trading heavy strikes with Hyde taking control. After a long control segment, Burchill fought back with a big powerslam. After then exchanging heavy power moves, Burchill got the victory with a big middle rope senton. This was quite a big victory for Burchill as it looks, he may be a big player within the future. Hopefully we will see Hyde in action more often, he has bags of potential and could be a big player in this promotion.
Joe Nelson def. Kyle Kingsley to retain the HOPE Young Guns Championship
This was really good match and probably the best pure wrestling match of the night. The ever so popular Joe Nelson took on the recently turned heel, Kyle Kingsley. Kingsley was a massive babyface just three months ago before turning on his ex-partner Warren Banks, we never got an explanation as to why. This match started with the bigger Kingsley teasing Nelson, overpowering him in every aspect. Joe responded with a flurry of fast paced offence including a big superkick and a suicide dive. Kyle fired back with grounding Joe, hitting him with multiple backbreaker’s. After Kingsley perched Nelson on the top rope, Nelson took him down and attempted a Spiral tap which he missed. After a fantastic competitive match Nelson picked up the victory with a tilt a whirl DDT. This was another match where originally, the crowd were not making much noise but as the match picked up, the crowd noise rose. Joe Nelson is a fantastic talent and has a big future ahead of him. Meanwhile, this was another loss for Kingsley, and it looks like he might be going straight towards a losing streak.
Danny Chase def. ‘Diamond’ Dave Andrews to become the new Kings Of Flight champion
I think it’s fair to say that going into this, I wasn’t very hyped unlike everybody else. The heel Danny Chase came out to a very mixed reaction and with him being the stronger wrestler of the two, this doesn’t surprise me. Dave Andrews came out to a mixed reaction also, which was shocking considering he’s incredibly over most times. This match started off slow and plodding but picked up after Andrews missed a back elbow of off the ring post. Both men traded big moves, including a cutter on the apron and a huge backstabber. With the match coming to a close, Chase hit a huge spinning sit out powerbomb which Andrews kicked out off. After this Chase hit Andrews with his chain and became the new champion. After this he went on to hit Andrews with a Gotch piledriver. This match massively exceeded expectations for me. A good back and forth match and a dirty finish would signify that this feud is far from over. That I’m not too happy with.
Sugar Dunkerton, Hustle Malone and Warren Banks def. Nothing to Prove (Eddie Dennis, tag team champions Elijah and L.K Mezinger)
This match came about after Eddie beat Dunkerton with a low blow at the Leicester show a couple of weeks ago. He undermined Sugar saying the WWE would never look at him and he could never beat him but Dunkerton proved him wrong. This match began with Dunkerton out wrestling L.K and Elijah and begging Dennis to get in the ring, and when he did Dennis instantly took control. This played out throughout the whole match with Nothing to Prove constantly being on top and dominating their opponents. After a couple of dragging control segments, the babyface team started firing back and after that is when the chaos ensues. After a ton of trading power moves, finishers and great storytelling, Sugar rolled up Dennis getting his win back to the dismay of Nothing to Prove. This match was good, it dragged in places, but the crowd were behind them the whole time. Everyone did their job well, but the big question is what is next for Nothing to Prove.
Chris Tyler/w Alexander Hyde def. Kelly Sixx
Another match that could make a play for best pure wrestling match of the night was this one. Both guys went full steam ahead, hitting all their big moves, showing outstanding athletiscm and having the crowd in the palms of their hands. Moves like a springboard X-factor, multiple dives and more. The only problem with this match was the ending. The ref was taken out by Tyler and Sixx floored Tyler. After not getting involved throughout this whole match, this was the moment Hyde got involved. He proceeded to choke out Sixx allowing Tyler to get the pinfall victory continuing his recent success since Hyde joined him. This got Hyde massive heat from the crowd. Tyler really benefits from having Hyde with him because although his matches have screwy finishes, it gets heat on Tyler, something he really struggles with as he is so easy to get behind.
Drew Parker def. Jayde, Jack Cave and Tim Lee to retain the Hardcore championship.
This was crazy. Genuinely scary moments happened during this match. But it was a spectacle. The match began with Drew eating a Kendo stick shot from Jayde after he deemed his challengers unworthy. Cave and Lee then hit Jayde with dual baking tray shots. After this the action spilled to the outside where Lee set Caves arm on fire. Yes, you read that correctly. Then Lee busted Cave open with kendo stick shots to the head. After this, Lee and Parker stuffed straws into each other’s heads busting each other open. Cave then got Lego and proceeded to hit Jayde with a spinning DDT onto the Lego in which the count should have been 3 but the referee was down on behalf of Parker. After this, Tim Lee spilled out the thumbtacks and hit Jayde with a Pop up Powerbomb which is when Parker came in and stole a pinfall. This was short but incredible, they put their bodies on the line to create something everyone would remember for a long time and they succeeded. Incredible overall.
Jack Jester def. Kip Sabian to retain the HOPE Championship
This match was billed as the final time we will see Kip in a HOPE ring, a former HOPE champion. Due to this it was painfully obvious that Jester was too retain. Also, this match suffered drastically due to having to follow the hardcore championship match. The crowd were silent for basically everything that went on in this match and even the finish didn’t get a pop. The match was technically sound, some cool spots but as mentioned before, the crowd reaction hurt this match. Kip hit a tornado DDT and reversed a tombstone into an off the rope hurricanrana maneuver. But eventually Jester would get the win in an actioned pack main event with the Tombstone to retain the HOPE Championship
