{"id":10823,"date":"2019-01-01T17:13:33","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T22:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=10823"},"modified":"2019-01-01T17:13:37","modified_gmt":"2019-01-01T22:13:37","slug":"my-top-5-indy-matches-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/01\/my-top-5-indy-matches-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"My Top 5 Indy Matches 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ciaran James@<\/strong>https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheCiaranJames<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SouthSide Wrestling, Die Another Day 30\/06\/2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southside SpeedKing Championship Match<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robbie X \u00a9 vs Mike ‘Speedball’ Bailey<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Robbie X vs ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The main event was worthy of being the match to close the show, featuring two phenomenal performers in Robbie X and Mike Bailey they tore the house down in a flawless contest. The early stages featured a back and forth struggle as both men settled into a rhythm, Speedball struck first with a thunderous kick to the chest of Robbie. The match then settled down as Robbie attacked the left leg of Bailey, he worked away and kept the heavy hitter grounded. This was from start to finish an exceptional contest, Robbie X is still in my opinion one of the most underrated guys in the United Kingdom, his exchanges with the equally impressive Mike Bailey were flawless. Speedball fought back and came back into the contest, his stinging chops and kicks could be felt by the audience at ringside, the atmosphere was at fever pitch for this match. This was arguably one of the best matches of the day, this wrestling contest was technically efficient, incredibly hard hitting with many near falls, it personified why wrestling is an art form. Robbie X retained in one of the best matches I’ve seen live in 2018, both men should be proud and have our respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamikaze Pro, 5th Anniversary Show 30\/06\/2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Ligero vs Robbie X vs Mike ‘Speedball’ Bailey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey vs Robbie X vs El Ligero<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Can I truly give this the review it deservers? How can I explain perfection? Quite simply El Ligero, Robbie X and Mike Bailey were exceptional, the ring was the canvas and these three men created a wonderful masterpiece. This was Junior Heavyweight wrestling at its finest, El Ligero was as flawless as ever, easy to see here why WWE signed him, \u2018Speedball\u2019 was fantastic and still is one of the finest wrestlers walking the earth, and Robbie X, arguably the most underrated wrestler working the UK indy\u2019s right now. You had the perfect blend, the action was crisp, flawless and smooth, the wrestling, strikes and high-flying aspects were sublime. People talk about NXT & NJPW five-star classic matches, well for me this was one of the best matches I have witnessed live in 2018, El Ligero clinched victory but all three men stood proud to a standing ovation. This was wrestling art. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro Wrestling Chaos, The Chaos Element 13\/10\/2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

King of Chaos Championship Match – Big Grizzly \u00a9 vs Dick Riley<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dick Riley vs Big Grizz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Well what can I say, this was the first of two match of the year contenders, unarguably Grizzly\u2019s finest match in a Pro Wrestling Chaos ring. This had everything, the atmosphere was electric, the audience were divided, the performers were simply astonishing and the match delivered. This was everything you could want from a Championship match, before the bell even rang Grizzly and Riley brawled all over the venue, the audience were on their feet from the start. Champion and Challenger traded blows on the outside, neither man could gain the upper hand before the contest finally got started. As I have done before with matches like this, I don\u2019t think words gives this match the credit it deserves. The match was flawless, Grizzly really exhibited here the type of champion he could be when pushed and Dick again proved how good he is when given the opportunity. After a spring\/summer slump the time seemed perfect for Dick to finally become the King of Chaos, however Grizz saw things differently. As a wrestling match this was near perfection, arguably as good as Riddle\/Bird from June 2017, but hey that\u2019s just my opinion. The offence, selling, reversals and near falls were timed to perfection, this was a damn fine wrestling contest. As they exchanged big moves the momentum swung in Dick\u2019s favour, he had Grizzly defeated…1, 2, 3……the ref counted, the room popped, however that was not the case, Grizzly the wily champion managed to put a foot on the rope. As another referee and announcer came to ringside Riley looked dismayed, the decision was made to restart the match. Grizzly fully recovered and pounced, he hit Dick with a low blow and hit a huge Double Choke Powerbomb on Riley to retain the title, the audience were aghast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamikaze Pro, Broomsticks & Superkicks 28\/10\/2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Speedball\u2019 Mike Bailey vs El Phantasmo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey vs Chris Brookes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arguably the match of the night? For many it was, these two lit up the venue and received a standing ovation from all in attendance. They were both well received when making their entrance, the audience were already in a frenzy before the bell rang. It\u2019s matches like this that I don\u2019t think I can explain how great it was via the written\/typed word, this was one of the best matches I\u2019ve witnessed in 2018. They complemented each other so well and the match flowed, the action was crisp, pacy and full of mouth-watering moments. This was high flying and hard hitting. Speedball controlled the majority of the match, his stinging kicks were brutally awesome, Phantasmo looked spent half way through this, he did however rally and come back into the match. ELP, sick of the constant brutality on display from Bailey decided to get his own back, this was via a series of slaps to the bare feet of Speedball. They exchanged feet chops before getting back to basics. The audience were in support of both men, the powerful kick game of Bailey took over as he further punished Phantasmo, Speedball finished off his opponent with his Shooting Star Double Knee Drop for an impressive victory. Exceptional wrestling contest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SouthSide Wrestling, Die Another Day 30\/06\/2018<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monster Mafia (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) vs Trial By Violence (Gabriel Kidd & Saxon Huxley) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trial By Violence vs Monster Mafia
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The second tag contest of the evening was one of the best matches of the day, Monster Mafia were phenomenal, and watching four big men throw each other around has never been better. Trial\u00a0By\u00a0Violence were also very\u00a0impressive,\u00a0especially\u00a0Gabriel\u00a0Kidd who has improved tremendously over the last\u00a0year. The match was hard hitting and brutal, as good as Gabriel and Saxon were, Monster Mafia were better, the alliance of Ethan Page and Josh Alexander work amazingly well together. The teamwork of both was really great to see, the splitting of the ring, using the ref and breaking of the rules was\u00a0so delightful\u00a0to see. The dominance of Page and Alexander was exciting, the\u00a0audience ate up the\u00a0in-ring\u00a0action and were fully behind Monster Mafia, Page on the\u00a0apron talking\u00a0trash throughout was highly effective. Kidd and Huxley had their moments too, they pulled no punches and were relentless in their beatdown, the match had a few close calls before the Mafia secured victory. Excellent match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special thanks to the following for images<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/Y2Grae\u00a0<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/wrestleography<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ciaran James@https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheCiaranJames SouthSide Wrestling, Die Another Day 30\/06\/2018 Southside SpeedKing Championship Match Robbie X \u00a9 vs Mike ‘Speedball’ Bailey  The main event was worthy of being the match to close the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,330,206,437],"tags":[211,730,434,731],"class_list":["post-10823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-kamikaze-pro","category-pro-wrestling-chaos","category-southside-wrestling","tag-pro-wrestling-chaos","tag-robbie-x","tag-southside-wrestling","tag-speedball-mike-bailey"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-2Oz","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/36538492_2003333919716741_3998434962813485056_n.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10823"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10841,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10823\/revisions\/10841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}