14/07/2019, Bristol
Ciaran James@TheCiaranJames
Shigehiro Irie def Nico Angelo
The second night of RaffleMania kicked off with this intriguing contest, with both coming off losses the night before the pressure was on both to get a win. For Nico this was another opportunity to obtain a first victory in an attack ring, Shigehiro meanwhile wanted to pick up a victory after tasting defeat to RSP. The match was a great choice for an opening contest as both competitors delivered, Nico again gave an impressive performance as the plucky underdog. On this occasion Shigehiro wasn’t being overpowered so he was the more dominant in this match, he controlled the tempo at times and inflicted Nico with some impressive offence. Nico isn’t one to stay down and kept fighting back, he showed great spirit and had Irie reeling towards the end of the contest. Shigehiro however was not tasting defeat for a second night, he took control as he planted Nico with a Piledriver and Lariat for the win.
Cara Noir def. ELP (El Phantasmo)
After recently taking NJPW by storm, the returning El Phantasmo made a grand return to Attack Pro Wrestling, his opponent was the fast rising and well-respected Cara Noir. ELP made his way out first and received a great ovation, he then took a seat in the crowd and awaited the entrance of Cara Noir. The match was a hotly contested affair, with the now cocky Bullet Club member vocally goading his opponent and the audience. The match flowed well, and both were able to shine individually, ELP has returned an even better performer, he was smooth, fluid and set the tempo of the match. ELP’s time in NJPW has seemingly improved his in-ring work and characteristics, he had the look and feel of an international wrestling superstar. Cara Noir who in 2019 has started to cement his career is now a hot prospect and continues to appear in some of the better matches on most shows. These two highly talented wrestlers exchanged some stinging strikes, and even bite marks in Cara’s case. Phantasmo looked to be on route to winning, however Noir shifted the momentum and planted ELP with a Package Piledriver for the victory.
Gisele Shaw def. Yuu
This was another hard-hitting match, and one of my personal favourite women’s matches of 2019. Gisele Shaw could arguably be the fastest rising star on the UK Indy scene this year, month to month she continues to improve and become a better all-round wrestler. Her opponent Yuu was a fierce adversary and a great challenge for Gisele, they exchanged some heavy looking strikes and kept baiting one another. Yuu took some stiff shots from Gisele but kept coming back, it seemed she relished the challenge of Gisele and continued to take the punishment and keep coming back for more. Both competitors went toe to toe as the atmosphere really grew, the tempo was high as both held nothing back and continued laying into each other. They went back and forth before Gisele took control and hit her patented twisting splash for a big win.
Attack Pro Tag Team Championship:
DAN/Man Like Dereiss © def. The Kabal (Asmodeus/Azaroth) & Aussie Open (Mark Davis/Kyle Fletcher)
Following the events of the previous evening these three teams met with the tag titles on the line, this wasn’t as slick as previous matches involving said competitors. Dan Maloney, Dereiss and Aussie Open have, and can perform better, the Kabal just were not at the level of their opponents in the ring. Aussie Open matches prior to this have been fast paced and competitive, this although good just didn’t deliver. The performances were good, Dan and Dereiss are quickly becoming a sought-after tag team, their entrance alone is worth admission and Dan himself brings a great aura to the ring. The match flowed well, the Kabal had a lot of the offence but were not able to capitalise on it, Aussie Open were as crisp as usual, they flow like water when on their game. Mark and Kyle seemingly had momentum on their side, they dispatched the Kabal and were about to take the win, however the champs returned and took out Aussie Open with Dan easily lifting Mark Davis for a huge piledriver.
Robbie X def. Rickey Shane Page
This was another international match that featured two diverse styles of wrestling, both picked up wins the night before and were looking to end the weekend on a high. There was a notable size difference in the two competitors that at first glances could have changed the dynamic of the match, however once they settled it didn’t come into question. RSP overpowered Robbie early on, the power game was all Rickey, that was until Robbie turned up the tempo and found his groove. As different as they are, their styles blended very well, and it made for an intriguing contest, Rickey looked to dominate but once Robbie starts flying around the ring it’s hard to keep up. Robbie exhibited here again another style of fighting a bigger opponent, he didn’t attempt to compete blow for blow, but he showed his speed, skill and ring awareness in this match. I personally expected RSP to pick up another victory, but it was Robbie who improvised for a big win using the ceiling. With RSP standing tall on the top turnbuckle, Robbie shifted his opponent, who’s height turned out to be a disadvantage as he went head first into one of the beams in the ceiling. He fell to the mat which allowed Robbie to hit his Cutter for the win.
Rufio def. Julian Pace
This was a nice exhibition match which featured two of Attack’s newest roster members, this was a tidy effort that allowed the two wrestlers to show what they could do. Both Rufio and Julian received a good response, the in-ring action was good, the match flowed well and didn’t have any down time. The match was very even and seemed as if it was designed to allow both enough times to show off what they could do. The audience were more than invested as both Julian and Rufio have showed great skill. For me it dragged a little towards the end but overall this was a decent effort from both. Rufio got the win after a high knee.
Ring Crew Express (Sid Oakley/Clay McLeod) def. Experiment in Terror (Elijah/LK Mezinger/Lloyd Katt)
After a stunning victory the night before, the Ring Crew Express were looking to strike lucky again. For Elijah this was a match he was not going to lose, he couldn’t be embarrassed again. Elijah awaited on the entrance of LK, he took his time but eventually he entered under his old Bowlarama moniker. Elijah wasn’t happy and shook his head in disgust, the audience on the other hand were overly happy and roared in approval. Elijah attacked his opponents and it seemed he wanted to get this over with quickly, unfortunately the distraction of LK AKA ‘Fat Katt’ only further derailed their chances of winning. The Ring Crew took advantage of the situation and once again scored another victory, another huge celebration commenced as Elijah walked away in disgust.
Attack Pro Championship *Title Change*
M. Shay Ultra def. Chief Deputy Dunne ©
With the temperature high, and after a long afternoon of wrestling this main event unfortunately did not have the atmosphere of previous Attack championship matches. I also think the result came as a shock to most, as no one saw Shay winning, his chances against Dunne were slim at best. The match was clunky and didn’t have the rapid, quick tempo of most Chief Dunne matches. Shay is a mid-card heel, and he plays that role very well without question, but a main event push and championship reign is just too much. The calibre of the match wasn’t as good as previous Attack main events, especially where Chief Dunne is concerned, overall the match just felt flat. The atmosphere picked up towards the end as the distractions and run ins took centre stage, the Kabal entered but were ultimately run off, it then seemed Dunne was surely going to retain. As the ref was distracted another run in took place as the leader of the Kabal took out Dunne, Shay then took advantage and planted the now former champ with a huge DDT for the win.
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