Nothing can really be spoken about when it comes to My Week in Wrestling except for the death of Silver King on Saturday night.
Fancying a chance to watch the Fighting Cholitas, my daughter (whose mother was born in Bolivia) suggested we get tickets to the show. She chose – I wanted to go to the matinee but didn’t voice it; she booked for the evening. I’d been to see one of this Lucha Libre World shows several years ago with Dr Wagner Jr. one of the more notable names on the card. Having thoroughly enjoyed that, I was happy to part with the cash for this show.
We’d both been enjoying the show, though my concern – as ever when I’m in London – was getting home at a reasonable hour. Things were running late, but it had been good, pantomime-esque fun with a willing audience of adults and children. Many had bought masks to imitate the luchadors they were going to see that evening. Nothing had been amazing, but everything had engaged the crowd. An eight man battle royal contest had been staged in order to decide the ranking of a series of singles matches in the second half and had given the fans a chance to see all the big name for that evening in one place.
After Cassandro beat Cara Noir (the first two eliminated from the eight man contest earlier), it was Silver King versus Juventud Guerrera up next. At the time, the finish seemed like a complete mess, but I just assumed it was the occasionally wacky world of lucha libre, with even a tease that Black Terry, the official, wasn’t going to count Silver King down. It wasn’t helped by the ending to the aforementioned battle royal – it had also ended in confusion for many, so this didn’t feel as out of place as it may have done.
I thought King was still moving after Guerrera had won; perhaps it was more to do with gravity than actual movement. The ring announcer, scrabbling around, announced a second intermission. This was shortly superseded by a man over the PA system stating that the show was cancelled. By this point, CPR was openly being administered in the ring and the Roundhouse was practically silent.
As we left, two rapid response police cars and an ambulance, all with lights on, arrived at the arena. I had to get a train; King’s death was reported somewhere around 45 minutes to an hour later.
There has been some judgement passed on Black Terry and Guerrera for how they handled the situation. It definitely wasn’t handled well, but I think it was an unfortunate by-product of the ‘uber-masculine’ world that wrestlers live within. Injuries, KOs, concussions are all things to be shrugged off or worked through. Too much focus was on protecting the business rather than the health of a fellow wrestler, yet it is the former which they have drilled into them from day one. It is a tragedy that doesn’t need fingers to be pointed in such a fashion, though people inevitably will.
I would have seen Silver King in WCW; I can’t attest to much more knowledge of his work outside of that due to my scattered knowledge of Lucha Libre. However, even on this night you could tell that he was a guy who knew what he was doing, knew how to engage the crowd and had more of a presence than many of the men on the card. Such a shame that it was in this arena that his life would come to such a tragic end. RIP Silver King.
I return to my week! Why, because I’ve found time at last. After failing to review the 3 shows I watched last weekend, I’ve managed to clear my workload and contribute.
The GCW’s shows I watched last weekend were full of great wrestling, death matches and comedy. The highlights over the two nights were the ever impressive Tony Deppen, who since I saw him for the first time over Wrestlemania weekend has become one of the my favourite independent wrestlers. Deppen faced and defeated the phenomenal Jonathan Gresham, who I think is one of the best wrestlers walking the earth in 2019, from his entrance to ring work, Gresham is just flawless to watch. Dan Maff vs Chris Dickinson was also a wild brawl, overkill was the word of the match but you couldn’t help but be entertained, although the chair shots to the head were scary. I have become an avid GCW fan since watching Bloodsport, they have quickly become one of my favourite promotions.
Last Saturday I also attended Evo Wrestling in Gloucester, the card was stacked and featured some fantastic talent, however it’s a shame the company can’t appeal to a more adult audience. In one of the best matches of the evening the audience were either on their phones or talking between themselves, such a disappointment considering the talent in the ring. The standouts from the evening the ever reliable and hugely talented Hunter Brothers, Dragon Pro graduates Beano, Jay Joshua and Josh Holly. The one wrestlers who most impressed was Brendan White, another Dragon Pro talent, who since the beginning of the year has become one of the fastest rising wrestlers on the independent scene. Brendan currently reigns as the Evo Champion, and he does a great job as the heel champion. He is a name to watch right now, and someone every promotion should book.
On Friday 10/5 I attended Kamikaze Pro Live 18, which is a showcase for their dojo graduates mixed with a few well known independent names. The talent on offer was fantastic, the opening contest between fan favourite Deno Babic and Ender Kara was very good from start to finish, two names to definitely look out for. Other notable talents were Levi Muir, Chantal Jordan and their Kamikaze Pro Live Champion Luke Douglas. Other more well known names on the card were the Hunter Brothers, the amazingly talented NIWA and Kamikaze Pro MVP The Elliot Jordan Experience, who for me is one of the best characters on the scene, the atmosphere is raised as soon as he steps through the curtain. The matches ranged from average, very good and excellent, the talent exhibited by the younger wrestlers was very promising and of course the veterans were on form. Kamikaze is unarguably one of the most consistent wrestling promotions in the United Kingdom, I have never been to a bad show and nearly always the shows are pretty flawless.
Super excited for BOSJ 2019, which starts tomorrow. The event always delivers and the talent included this year certainly should live up to all expectations. The least said about WWE the better.
@RoxBlackburn
The downward spiral of WWE continues. Unfortunately I had another week where I couldn’t finish Raw. I didn’t even attempt Smackdown Live. I even had a friend on Facebook complaining about NXT.
I did managed NXT UK this week and I was happy to see them back on home soil. NXT UK does not work when it is filmed at WWE Axxess. The crowd aren’t hyped. There’s no pop or investment in it. Thankfully, the Scottish Crowd were on fire and the show was lively and fun to watch.
WWE are on my side of the pond this week and it’s the first WWE May tour I’ve missed in years. Given the state of things, I’m probably not missing much but it’s also hard breaking the habit of a lifetime.
I’ve been compiling a list of the best wrestling songs again. Loving the stroll down memory lane with bands like Powerman 5000 and Nonpoint. We’d love to hear your favourite wrestling themed songs.
I guess for WWE, it’s a limp towards Money in the Bank.
Outside of that, we have Double or Nothing on the horizon, which should be, simply awesome!
Also if anyone is up for homegrown musical talent, head over to Spotify and check out Hunter & The Bear. Saw them live again this week and they’re about to drop a new album and take over the world!
