Kings Oak Academy, Bristol, 12/01/2019
By Ciaran James@TheCiaranJames
Show Opening
As Dave Mercy and the resident MC stood in the ring to kick start the year, Merlin Obadiah Cambridge stood on the entrance ramp, microphone in hand. Merlin announced his new position as the Pro Wrestling Chaos GM, several heel wrestlers surrounded the ring, and Merlin informed Dave that the evening would not continue until he relinquished all booking power to him. After a few minutes of consultation, Mercy laid his microphone down and left the ring. Merlin is a great character to introduce as a heel GM, he hits the rights notes and can easily work the audience into a frenzy. At this stage some big questions need answering, firstly why didn’t Dave just sack him as GM, after all he is the owner, and why employ Merlin in the first place?
Gideon def. Cara Noir
The opening contest of the evening turned out to be one of the most solid wrestling matches of the evening, both Gideon and Noir worked well together and the match was pleasing. Gideon was his usual aggressive self, he dealt out the punishment to Noir, and no doubt dishing out revenge for Noir’s countless attacks over the previous six months. The wrestling was good, both got in a healthy amount of offence, Cara Noir hit back with kicks and chops, Gideon was grounded momentarily before mounting a comeback. This was a good mixture of stiff strikes, chops and power moves, possibly another match is in the works? Gideon struck back with a Muscle Buster, he then proceeded to seemingly injure the arm of Noir before making the cover for a 3 count.
Drew Parker def. Mike Bird
I felt this match was a little underwhelming, I expected more from both competitors and the contest ended rather abruptly. I was expecting a more vicious, fast paced, hard hitting match, there were fleeting moments of where this feud could go but overall it lacked that moment that reaches out and grabs you. Mike Bird hit a stunning looking Piledriver, the contest should have been over after that, it was truly brutal. Drew came back into the match and notched a few near falls, he also hit a hard-looking double stomp and his version of a GTS. Knowing what these two are capable of, I was waiting for the moment this match spiralled out of control and the referee lost control, but it never came. Drew has built a great reputation for himself, and on his day, he is one of the most talented of his generation, maybe the weight of expectation from all those hardcore/death matches dampened this effort on this day. This feud will continue, once again Drew survived, this time via low blow, Bird is not finished yet.
Kip Sabian, Martin Kirby & Paul Robinson def. Shane Strickland, Beano & Robbie X
Excellent, excellent, excellent, these six men were exceptional and this contest was easily the best contest of the evening. The returning Paul Robinson, Shane Strickland and debutant Robbie X stole the show, the action was fast, furious and crisp, and everything was done to perfection. Robbie X was just amazing, I cannot praise this man enough, this was his first Chaos appearance and he certainly left a lasting impression on all who witnessed it. Shane Strickland was again excellent, this man makes every move look easy, and he does it with complete ease, how this man isn’t signed with WWE, NJPW, Impact or AEW is just crazy, he had the audience on their feet. Paul Robinson was his usual psychotic self, as soon as he walks out, he raises the atmosphere and tempers, his character is easy to hate, but when the bell rings he amazes again. Beano, Kirby and Sabian slotted into the match well, with Beano’s impending feud with Robinson on the horizon, I’d like to see Kirby & Sabian mix it up with the Crazy TeaCups. The last five minutes were breath-taking, everyone got in their spots and it seemed Beano was on course to win, that was until Paul Robinson rolled him up via his tights for the victory.
Knights Of Chaos Tag Team Championships
Crazy TeaCups (Eddie Ryan & Charlie Sterling) w/Pariah Khan & Eddie Lion def. The Hunter Brothers
I for one did not see this result happening, after what happened towards the end of 2018, I was expecting the TeaCups to finally implode. This was a one-sided affair for the majority of the contest, Crazy TeaCups dominated the action, from Sterling to Ryan they controlled and bossed the contest. The Hunters had brief moments where it seemed the momentum might swing their way; however, Sterling or Ryan would quickly stamp out any chance of a comeback. This contest could have been better, the antics outside the ring took away from the in-ring action, both Khan and Eddie Lion took away from the seriousness of the match. What baffled me further in this match was the handicapped four on two advantage in favour of the faces, it just went against the grain of face/heel booking. Surely the faces should have been victorious against the odds? Overall the contest ticked all the boxes as far as the audience goes, the action towards the end of the contest was franticly paced, Sterling and Ryan emerged after a Sit-Down Piledriver.
Bad Bones def. Danny Jones
This match just didn’t click, they seemed mismatched. Bad Bones looks impressive but his offence and selling was standard, Danny Jones although a fan favourite again lacked that energy to get the audience truly involved. The pace of the match dragged in places and neither man was capable of bringing this match above an average standard, some of the action was also sloppy in places. Bad Bones had some aura about him but all I imagined when I saw him was Bonesaw McGraw (Spiderman 2002), it only succeeded in allowing the audience to rest their vocal chords before the main event. Bad Bones scored the win with a top rope Elbow Drop.
Before the main event, permanent GM Merlin announced his dissatisfaction with the MC Rob Maltman, he attempted to sack him before Maltman himself quit. Jaida was then asked to announce the main event.
King Of Chaos Championship – 3 Stages of Chaos Match 1st Fall (Falls Count Anywhere) 2nd (Stairway to Hell) 3rd (Last Man Standing)
Dick Riley © def. Big Grizz (2 falls to 1)
Although this was a 3 stages of chaos match, neither fall seemed to differentiate from the other. The effort of both men was admirable, some of the stunts were seriously hard hitting and were genuinely dangerous. After 18 months of preparing Dick for the top spot, there was no way he was losing this, and the performance he put forth only further established the faith the promotion has in him. Grizz was unlucky not to end 2018 still champion, in the last six months of the year he had some tremendous performances against Walter, Jody Fleisch and Dick Riley. Due to the quality of matches the two competitors have had in 2018 this fell short as far as match quality goes, what you can’t put down though was their effort. These guys gave everything, Dick was victorious 2 falls to 1, his balcony dive towards the end of the contest was a photo moment, and he finally managed to put Grizz down via multiple Superkicks to the head to keep the challenger down.
You can follow me Ciaran James@TheCiaranJames for South West Wrestling coverage
For further information on Pro Wrestling Chaos check out http://www.prowrestlingchaos.com/
If you were unable to attend and would like to see the event, Chaos events can now be viewed @ ondemand/
Thank you to Y2Grae Photography for the imaged used @ Y2GraePhotography
